Qing Li tilted his head, studying her with his pair of unsettling emerald eyes. His gaze was intense, calculating, like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
"Should you even be here?" Xin Yi managed to speak out, her voice squeaking slightly. She pulled the leaf wrap tighter around herself. Why was he suddenly here?
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he swam closer to her, and then he inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring.
"Sssstrange," he hissed softly. "The scent. It attracted me from my territory. How are you all smelling so.….nice?"
"Oh! It's—it's soap!" Xin Yi explained, relaxing slightly. "We made it today! Do you... do you want some? I can teach you how to make it!"
"No, thank you." His response was immediate and cool. Ice guy.
"Oh." Xin Yi blinked. "Alright then. Um. Can you... can you go away now? You may leave, I do not want you seeing anything."
His lips curved into something that might have been a smile. Might have been a smirk. It was hard to tell with the slight hiss underlying his words.
"My people," he said, ignoring her request entirely, "long for your delicious food. We smell it all the time. The wind carries it to our territory." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Will you come feed us?"
Xin Yi stuttered. "I—er... should I... I mean..." Her mind raced. Feed an entire clan of SNAKES? "H-how do I know you won't just... swallow me? I have been told to not trust snakes like you."
The smirk definitely became more pronounced. "Hmmm. Never mind that. If you are too afraid to come, that is very well." He turned away smoothly. "My people will come soon enough. They are quite eager."
"Wait!" Xin Yi called out, her mind conveniently ignoring the fact that he just said his people would soon come into panther territory just for her food. "How can you keep coming here? Into Panther territory? Isn't that... dangerous?"
He glanced back, his expression cold. "I do whatever I want, pink skin." Huh? Pink skin? That was different from what both Feng Huang and Hei Yan called her.
"But…..you hate Hei Yan, don't you? I heard you two fought—"
"I hate ALL Panthers," he corrected, his voice dropping several octaves lower. "Every single one of them. They make my cold and icy blood boil."
"Why?" Xin Yi asked softly, knowing she should probably not be discussing with him.
"They are liars." He sounded even angrier than before. "Thieves and liars, all of them."
Thieves? Liars? Hei Yan? Before she could ask what he meant, he looked at her one more time. His eyes traced her face, lingering on her lips for just a moment.
"Bye bye, pink skin."
Then he dove beneath the water and disappeared without another splash. Xin Yi stood there for a long moment, staring at where he had vanished.
[Ooh, mysterious! Snake boy has TRAUMA! (╯°□°)╯]
"Shut up, System!"
[He's definitely coming back though! That's the look of a male who's interested! ☆]
"He is NOT interested! He just wants food!"
[Sure, Host. Keep telling yourself that. (◕‿◕)]
~
The next morning, Xin Yi stood before the gathered clans with a new sense of purpose. "Today," she announced, "we're upgrading from leaves!"
Cheers erupted from amongst them, and some of them were even jumping.
She had unlocked the clothing pattern from the System, and it came with knowledge about processing plant fibers, weaving, and basic sewing. It was primitive compared to modern textiles, but it was leagues better than leaves.
"First, we need to gather specific plants..." She listed off the materials, and the beastmen scattered eagerly. By midday, they had piles of fiber-rich plants ready for processing. Xin Yi demonstrated how to separate the fibers, spin them into thread, and weave them on simple looms.
The beastmen watched with rapt attention.
"This is incredible!" a Tiger female breathed, running her fingers over the rough fabric. "It's so.….sturdy!"
"And it won't fall apart when wet!" added a Panther male.
They worked through the afternoon, and soon, simple tunics and wraps began to take shape. The fabric was rough, more like burlap than cotton, but it was actual cloth.
"Look at me." Feng Huang strutted around in his new tunic, which barely covered his muscular frame. "I am civilized now."
"You are still half-naked," Xin Yi pointed out. The tunic only reached mid-thigh.
"That's by design, little female." He winked. "To show off my best assets."
Several female beastmen giggled, and Xin Yi rolled her eyes. But as the day wore on, she noticed something, or rather, someone, missing.
Hei Yan still hadn't returned.