Qi Yuan watched her figure disappear at the cave entrance before lowering his gaze. He tried to clench his fists at his sides, only to let them fall open limply.
His raven-black lashes cast crescent shadows, concealing every emotion in the depths of his night-black eyes.
An Jin didn’t keep him waiting long. She returned, panting, as she dragged a fluffy white Long-eared Beast in through the cave entrance. Although she was currently strong enough to kill a wild boar weighing over a hundred jin, with her small build, she simply couldn’t drag one back.
The Long-eared Beasts of this world actually looked just like rabbits, except they were much larger, growing to the height of a person’s lower leg. One was enough to feed a female and a child.
Their fluffy, soft, snow-white pelts were also very popular among the females.
"..." Qi Yuan looked up, his expression cold and weary. He just watched as she skillfully and efficiently skinned, gutted, and quartered the Long-eared Beast without so much as blinking.
He pressed his lips together and said nothing.
’She’s so bloodthirsty and brutal.’
’—We’re the same kind of people.’
As he thought this, his attitude toward An Jin relaxed considerably. ’A female who can’t shapeshift is actually able to hunt on her own. How strange.’
He suddenly no longer wanted to kill her. ’It isn’t as if one more soul on my hands would make a difference, and besides, there’s no challenge in killing a female. As if guided by some unseen force, he found himself wanting to see what she truly wanted from him. No one helps a stranger for no reason. At least, in his view, such overflowing, indiscriminate kindness is utterly foolish.’
"You Beastmen can all eat raw meat, but you’re severely injured right now. I’ll cook this for you. It’ll be better for your recovery," An Jin said without turning her head.
No sound came from behind her.
An Jin took his silence as agreement. She found a flat, thin stone slab outside, washed it clean by the river, and then carried it into the cave with a grunt and a puff.
She stacked a few uneven, thick stones beneath the thin slab to fashion a simple stove, then stuffed the dry wood and grass she had gathered inside and started a fire.
To start the fire, she used a Fire Source Stone, which was unique to the Beast World. Striking it hard twice would create sparks.
The moment the sparks touched the dry grass she was using as tinder, the fire spread rapidly.
Soon, the flat, thin stone slab placed on top grew scorching hot and began to glow red.
That’s right—she was making stone-grilled barbecue. She was hungry after expending so much energy on the hunt, so of course she had to make something delicious to treat herself.
An Jin selected the thinly sliced pieces of meat according to their cut and fat-to-lean ratio, then arranged them neatly on a large leaf.
The Long-eared Beast didn’t have much fat, only a thin layer beneath its skin. An Jin placed the fattiest slices onto the red-hot slab, and with a sharp "SIZZLE~," hot oil immediately began to pool on the stone.
Once the oil was rendered, An Jin laid the rest of the meat slices and some wild vegetables she had found onto the slab, a little at a time. When one side was seared to a glistening, golden brown, she flipped everything over to cook the other side.
Fragrant oil dripped from the cracks between the dark stones, splashing onto the licking tongues of flame below and causing them to erupt in a shower of fierce sparks.
Qi Yuan’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to her. A love for good food is written into the very genes of every living creature.
Especially when one was extremely hungry after two days without food, no one could resist the temptation of such an aroma.
Qi Yuan told himself he was only watching out of boredom, but his gaze remained uncontrollably fixed on her busy figure. His small, fair nose twitched, and smelling the aroma wafting through the air, he couldn’t help but swallow hard.
’If not for his injuries making it difficult to move, he was certain he would have already gone over to snatch the food.’
"It’s ready. Have a taste, see if you like it." After sprinkling on some seasonings she always carried with her, An Jin gently wrapped a piece of glistening, golden-brown meat in a leaf and held it to his lips.
This time, the boy ate without hesitation—much more readily than he had taken the bitter medicine.
"How is it?" she asked expectantly.
Qi Yuan, who had started by wolfing down the food, slowed to a more deliberate pace. He lowered his dark eyes, his somewhat childish voice devoid of emotion as he said, "Completely unnecessary."
[Favorability +1!]