Qiao Ang suddenly remembered the stern look in Qiao Xixi's eyes when he snatched the water.
'But I really want to eat the roasted meat right now!'
He stared longingly at the skewer in Qiao Qiao's hands. There was only one piece left!
Just as Qiao Ang was anxiously about to make another move, a steaming skewer of roasted meat was thrust into his hands.
"There's plenty more. You'll all get some."
Qiao Ang looked at the roasted meat and impatiently shoved it into his mouth.
"AH, HOT HOT HOT!"
The meat was scorching. Qiao Ang hopped around in pain but couldn't bear to spit out the piece in his mouth.
"Be careful. Food cooked over a fire is always hot. You have to blow on it before you eat."
Qiao Xixi then handed another skewer to Qiao Lie.
Qiao Lie had a cold and detached nature. Even though he was desperate for the roasted meat, his handsome little face showed little emotion.
Qiao Lie took the skewer, blew on it, and took a bite. The meat was delicious, but his expression remained just as cold.
Qiao Xixi spread out the leaves she had gathered and placed the rest of the cooked meat on top.
The three cubs ate one piece after another. When Qiao Xixi saw their bellies were round and full, she stopped them. Eating too much could give them indigestion.
The three cubs were still young, after all, and they grew sleepy once their bellies were full.
Qiao Xixi spread out a beast hide for them to lie on and go to sleep.
Only after she saw they had all closed their eyes did Qiao Xixi sit down. She separated half of the roasted meat from the leaves and brought it over to Jin Ling.
Jin Ling was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Qiao Xixi to be willing to share the roasted meat with him.
"This is to thank you for being willing to share your food with us."
In truth, Qiao Xixi was still wary of him. Her goodwill gesture was merely to prevent him from getting any malicious ideas about her and her cubs, alone and vulnerable.
He might be in bad shape now, but the memory of him deliberately unleashing his intimidating aura on her during the day still left her with a lingering fear.
Jin Ling had thought it smelled fragrant. After accepting the roasted meat, he took out a piece of raw meat and offered it to her.
"I don't need a female to provide for me."
Qiao Xixi didn't stand on ceremony. It would be a waste not to take it.
"Fine. We'll call it an equal exchange."
Qiao Xixi took the raw meat back to the fire, sat down, and began to eat the roasted meat.
Even without any seasoning, cooked meat was infinitely better than raw meat to her.
After finishing the last of the roasted meat, she extinguished the fire and lay down beside the cubs.
Jin Ling picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. It was cooked perfectly—crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, better than any he'd had before.
He shot Qiao Xixi a deep look. 'This female... she's certainly different.'
When he finished eating, he glanced at his injured leg and frowned.
'The wound on my leg is still too severe. It probably won't heal anytime soon.'
He grabbed the beast-hide loincloth from the ground. His hand morphed into sharp claws, and he tore the hide into strips. Then, he bandaged the mangled flesh of his leg.
The combination of his injury and the flare-up of his internal malady had damaged his beast soul. He was physically drained. The moment he finished bandaging the wound, he exhaustedly closed his eyes.
In her sleep, Qiao Xixi sensed the sound of breathing near her grow increasingly rough and heavy.
She awoke with a start. She felt for the sleeping cubs beside her, and only after confirming they were alright did she look over in Jin Ling's direction.
'Do all male beastmen breathe this loudly when they sleep?'
Just as she was about to close her eyes and go back to sleep, she realized something was wrong with the sound.
The breaths were sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, a sign that he was sleeping very restlessly.
After a moment's thought, she got up and felt her way through the darkness toward him.
As she got closer to Jin Ling, she spoke softly.
"Hey, are you okay?"
There was no response.
Qiao Xixi frowned. 'Male beastmen have incredibly sharp senses. I'm this close and he hasn't reacted at all. Something is definitely wrong.'
Qiao Xixi fetched a few branches, returned to Jin Ling's side, and rekindled the fire.
A faint glow illuminated Jin Ling's tightly shut eyes.
Unlike the cold severity in his gaze when his eyes were open, the sleeping Jin Ling looked a fraction softer.
Qiao Xixi leaned closer and placed a hand on his forehead.
"He's burning up. He has a fever."
Qiao Xixi glanced at the wound on his leg. It was just crudely wrapped with strips of hide. A dressing like that would do nothing to help it heal.
'But I don't have any medicine, so there's no way for me to treat him.'
'But I can't just stand by and do nothing, not after taking half of his hunt.'
After a moment of thought, Qiao Xixi stood up and left the cave. When she returned, she was carrying a large handful of snow.
She covered him with a spare beast hide, then applied the snow to the crooks of his arms, his armpits, his neck, and his forehead.
'These are all major points of blood circulation. Applying it here will bring his temperature down faster.'
As Qiao Xixi was tending to him, she discovered five stars on his right shoulder. She was stunned.
'He's actually a five-star beast soul.'
'From what I know, that level is rare even in a medium-sized tribe.'
'I wonder where he came from.'
Qiao Xixi didn't stop. She went back and forth, in and out of the cave, all to bring Jin Ling's fever down.
As she watched his scorching temperature slowly fall, Qiao Xixi became so tired her own eyelids began to feel heavy.
She yawned and got up, ready to go back and sleep beside the cubs.
But she had been squatting for too long, and her legs had gone numb. The moment she stood, she swayed and fell right on top of Jin Ling.
"Oof!"
Qiao Xixi's face slammed into his chest, and her nose stung with pain.
'How can this male beastman's muscles be so hard?'
Her hands fumbled in the dark as she tried to push herself up.
'These pecs... they feel surprisingly good...'
"What are you doing, female? Get off."
"Hey!"
He shoved her straight onto the ground. She landed so hard she thought her tailbone would shatter.
Jin Ling's handsome face was icy as he stared at Qiao Xixi, his eyes severe.
He hadn't expected Qiao Xixi to take the opportunity to climb on top of him.
"You'd best give up any ideas of making me your mate."
Qiao Xixi flared up in anger. She had spent all night genuinely trying to save him.
"Who wants you as a mate? You had a high fever last night! I was kind enough to use snow to bring your temperature down, and this is how you repay me?"
Jin Ling's expression didn't change, clearly disbelieving her. "I don't need you to do anything for me."
"No good deed goes unpunished."
Qiao Xixi huffed angrily and went back to sit beside the cubs.
"Useless, stupid female."
Qiao Xixi turned to meet the disdainful gaze of Qiao Lie's red eyes.
"You couldn't even handle him when he's injured," Qiao Ang added, sitting up with bleary, sleepy eyes.
Beastmen have sharp senses, so the cubs had heard everything.
In their eyes, Qiao Xixi had tried to force herself on Jin Ling and failed.
Qiao Xixi was speechless!
"I was treating him!"
The three cubs simultaneously gave her a huge eye-roll before turning over to go back to sleep.
"No, I'm your mother! How can you not believe in my noble beastly character?"
"Mama, what's 'beastly character'? Can you eat it?"
Qiao Qiao turned back, her big, sky-blue eyes filled with innocent curiosity.
"No."
"Oh. It's okay, Mama. If you can't eat it, we don't want it."
Frustrated, Qiao Xixi covered her face with her hands.
Jin Ling listened to the exchange between the mother and her three cubs, the corners of his mouth tightening. But he quickly noticed something was wrong.