180: Chapter 180 "Thank goodness... this time it's not a dream."

He had his Mistress hand-feed him meat, while that Stinky Fox did not. Fentian thought triumphantly.

Hu Che withdrew his gaze and continued with the work in his hands.

After all the meat was processed, Tang Ruan asked Fentian to go find some branches that could be used to skewer the mutton.

She specifically emphasized that they were "branches."

She was afraid he would carry the entire tree back.

By then, whittling them into skewers would take quite a bit of effort.

Actually, it could be grilled without being skewered.

But the essence of mutton skewers lies in the "skewering." The taste of skewered meat versus unskewered meat is just different; it's very "metaphysical."

Fentian nodded repeatedly.

He leapt into mid-air and disappeared with a "whoosh."

Tang Ruan then remembered that the trees in Dragon Valley all had mild toxicity.

Fentian knew this.

Therefore, she guessed he had gone to the Beast Kingdom again.

Tang Ruan: ...

Forget it, it still needed to marinate for a while anyway.

"Are you tired, Mistress?"

Hu Che tidied up the "kitchen" area and washed his hands clean.

He brought over a stone basin, pressed Tang Ruan's hands into the warm water, and helped her wash them.

"I'm okay."

After her Energy increased, she couldn't really feel tired anymore.

Recently, perhaps because the egg had grown a little and she had been busy all day,

she felt a little weary.

Hu Che used a piece of soft fur to help her dry her hands.

"Then I'll carry you back to rest for a while."

As he spoke, he scooped her up in his arms.

A soft gasp immediately came from the surroundings.

Tang Ruan turned her head to look.

The Beastmen hadn't left yet!

Each of their eyes was sparkling with Xingxing, and they were looking at the two of them with benevolent, maternal smiles.

Tang Ruan understood.

The two of them looked very "shippable" right now.

When passing by Long Bao, Hu Che paused his steps.

Long Bao immediately said: "Brother is back, I'll go call you."

As he spoke, he held up two fingers, his white beard curling up with a smile, "Two bowls of sweet dumplings."

Hu Che winked his left eye at him, "Deal!"

Tang Ruan: Long Bao, you really are your brother's own brother! You even thought of the payment.

Hu Che carried Tang Ruan back to the cave and placed her on the bed.

He lay down behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her.

"Sleep!"

He rested his chin on the top of her head and rubbed it gently. Then, he quieted down.

Tang Ruan: ...

Just ... sleep?

She thought ... weren't they going to kiss?

"Mistress, you aren't thinking about anything strange, are you?" Hu Che's voice suddenly sounded from above her head.

Tang Ruan felt guilty and curled up, pretending to be asleep.

Tang Ruan: She definitely wasn't, she would never admit it.

Hu Che held her with a firm, comfortable grip.

His skin was exceptionally delicate, smooth, and fair; when close, she could even smell a faint floral fragrance.

Tang Ruan looked at Hu Che's hand, which was draped across her chest and placed by the side of her face.

It was slender, fair, and strong. The veins on the back of his hand were slightly raised but not excessively so... giving her the urge to take a bite.

She had just slightly opened her mouth...

"I'm just holding you to take a nap. Don't let your imagination run wild. As for the rest, wait until the egg is born..." He leaned close to her ear and whispered.

Tang Ruan: Can he read minds?

"Ouch!"

Hu Che was kicked.

Tang Ruan said exasperatedly: "It's broad daylight, don't seduce me!"

He kept saying things that made her have wild thoughts.

Hu Che widened his amber eyes and slightly pouted his lips. He hadn't. But he was very happy that his Mistress thought this way.

He moved his hand down to her waist, which was safer, but held her even tighter. Cuddling with his Mistress was so blissful.

In a half-dreaming, half-waking state, Hu Che remembered. About five years ago, after a great battle with the rebellious clansmen.

Lying beside the corpses of his kin, exhausted to the point of fainting.

That day, he had a dream. In the dream, he was holding her tightly in his arms just like now.

Sniffing the faint fragrance in her hair. Her body was soft and warm.

All his exhaustion, pain, unwillingness, and despair melted away in her faint breathing.

At that moment, he understood. Although he had thought about giving up this relationship for the sake of the Red Fox Tribe.

Like his father, "selling" himself for a good price. But in this life, he wouldn't be able to do it.

Afterwards, he had the same dream several times almost every year. Every time he woke up and looked at his empty arms, he felt an indescribable sadness.

Hu Che suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing the person in his arms was still there, he slowly let out a breath.

"Fortunately... this time it wasn't a dream."

--- On the other side. Beast Kingdom.

Yan Qing's orders were conveyed by the fastest Beastmen. In just half a day, more than a dozen nearby cities had already resubmitted their maps.

Yan Qing's gaze lingered for a long time on a newly drawn map.

"I'm back!" Lang Lie pushed open the door and jumped in, slightly panting.

Just as Yan Qing had noticed the abnormality in that map, he had transformed into his Beast Form and made a round trip.

"There is indeed an extra river there." Lang Lie pointed to the lake connected by the small river on the map.

"The water in this lake originates from the largest river in the Beast Kingdom, and the water volume is sufficient. According to the Beastmen, not long ago, a river inexplicably appeared."

At that time, many beasts heard a sound as if the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing. But because the lake was some distance away from the city and was already outside the territory of the Beast Kingdom.

The White Deer Tribe Beastmen living there were timid by nature and almost never left the Beast Kingdom. Therefore, few Beastmen knew about it."

"Someone is diverting water." Yan Qing said in surprise. Tang Ruan had taught the Beastmen to do this before to irrigate farmland.

"It's diverting a river; irrigation doesn't need such a large volume of water." Lang Lie added, "That is already a real river."

Yan Qing had not seen it with his own eyes. Naturally, he didn't know how abundant the water volume of that river was. But he believed Lang Lie.

"Where does the river lead?"

"I ran for a long time and still didn't see the end. I let Lang Mo and the others continue searching ahead while I came back to report first. But it seems to be running along the coast."

"The coast..." Yan Qing's brain spun rapidly.

Beastmen once said that the Beast God flew towards the sea. Therefore, after waking up, he had gone to Beast God Mountain once more.

He guarded at the foot of the mountain for a long time. But according to the Merfolk bought off by Chief Hu Xiao, they did not see anyone enter Beast God Mountain.

Instead, on the day the Beast God took Tang Ruan away, they saw a huge Beast Form that covered the sky and the sun flying over the sea.

Listening to their description—it was the Beast God. In other words, they had gone to a place even further away.

But no matter how far, even after Yan Qing flew and transformed into his Beast Form, he still didn't see any land.

"Mistress likes hot springs." Lang Lie suddenly said. Pulling back Yan Qing's thoughts.

On the map left by Hu Che, there was also a hot spring, and he even specifically used curves to indicate the temperature.

"Is that lake hot?" Yan Qing asked.

"Yes. But after the lake water enters the river, it gradually stops being hot."

"Perhaps he doesn't know." "He didn't think that much." The two spoke at the same time.

Listening to the Beastmen, the Beast God was still very fond of the Mistress. But he had a proud personality, was careless in doing things, and did not understand this world.

Some things that seemed like common sense might be overlooked by him...

"Let me in, I want to go in and speak!" "The Beast King doesn't have time to see you." "I'll give you a chicken."

"No!" She Mu said sternly, "If you make any more noise, I will throw you out."

"You big guy, why don't you know how to be flexible at all?" A voice of a Female Beastman arguing with She Mu suddenly came from the doorway.

Lang Lie opened the door. He saw a young Black Fox Tribe Female Beastman standing at the doorway.

Seeing Lang Lie, she instinctively took a step back. She twitched the two pointed ears on top of her head.

"I want to see the Beast King!" She put her hands on her hips and said, lifting her chin.

"What is it?" Lang Lie looked displeased.

The Black Fox Tribe Female Beastman swallowed nervously. "Someone stole my sheep!"