Chapter – 49
The Unconscious Competing Beasts
Horen?
Jiang Xi was taken aback for a moment.
She had almost forgotten he existed.
Her gaze passed over the line of beastmen, facing the wind and snow, and landed on a tall, upright blond man carrying a cow, appearing at the front of the courtyard.
Seeing so many beastmen suddenly gathered, Horen stopped outside, his emerald-green lion eyes flickering with slight surprise.
“What happened?” he asked.
The beastmen in the yard quickly shook their heads, then nodded.
Quick, holding a small lion cub, bowed to him.
“Lord Horen, Xiao Di was injured. I’ve come to request the Mistress of the Female Beasts to heal him.”
Quick had once been part of the Brown Lion clan of the Holy City but was exiled to the Cursed Land after accidentally harming a female.
For the Holy City, and indeed for most of the lion clans, the Golden Lion clan was the king of lions—they would not tolerate any disrespect.
“Mistress of the Female Beasts?”
Horen frowned.
If he remembered correctly, only females blessed by the Holy City could be called the Mistress of the Female Beasts, right?
And hadn’t Jiang Xi’s visible spiritual power disappeared?
Horen lifted his eyes toward the direction of the firehouse.
Yi Yuesi was leaning against the door, his face still wearing that expression of someone enjoying a show.
Inside the firehouse, there were several strange low platforms.
Mu Ling and Lu Liufeng were standing behind one of these platforms, on which sat a familiar yet strange figure.
Beastmen had keen senses, so Horen could clearly see the uneven black-and-white skin on Jiang Xi’s face.
When their eyes met, his gaze faltered for two seconds.
Those… weren’t the eyes Jiang Xi was supposed to have.
Yet the fluctuations of the marriage contract told him that the female sitting on the platform was indeed Jiang Xi.
Horen stepped into the courtyard, dropped the cow from his shoulder onto the ground, and walked toward the firehouse.
The beastmen quickly made way, some casting envious glances at the cow before leaving.
As he drew closer, Horen’s face overlapped with the memory Jiang Xi had of him.
Blond hair, green eyes, handsome and sharp, with deep and noble features—approaching like a majestic lion, imposing and commanding.
Jiang Xi’s strength hadn’t fully recovered. She leaned on the chair, her head resting on Lu Liufeng’s hand. As the tall figure approached, she slowly tilted her head back.
Horen stopped in front of her, his piercing eyes lowering fully onto her.
He squinted slightly, a sharp glint crossing his gaze.
Jiang Xi leaned back in the chair, looking up at him. Neither spoke.
Just as Lu Liufeng was about to speak, Horen lowered his head first, letting his messy hair fall, partially covering his cold, sharp brows.
He pressed one hand to his chest and bowed in a ceremonial gesture unique to the Holy City.
“Mistress.”
After finishing the gesture, he straightened without waiting for Jiang Xi to speak, feigning surprise.
“Has the Mistress restored her visible spiritual power?”
But no matter how he acted, his inherent arrogance and coldness could not be hidden.
He scrutinized Jiang Xi, seemingly searching for any flaw.
Jiang Xi didn’t care how he looked at her; she nodded lightly.
“Yes, it was just restored recently.”
Her eyes flicked toward the cow lying in the courtyard. Her tone was calm.
“If you haven’t eaten breakfast yet, sit down and eat with me.”
But inside, her heart was overjoyed.
Great! The whole family would finally have something to eat!!
Horen’s gaze landed on the strange dishes on the table. He paused for a moment, then frowned.
“You’re eating this now?”
He had only been away for a little over a month—had their lives really become this hard?
They couldn’t even get a proper meal?
Though strange food aromas wafted through the firehouse, Horen’s instinct didn’t connect these yellow, green, and white dishes—occasionally with bits of meat—to actual meals.
He motioned a few beastmen aside with his chin.
“I hunted a local cow on the way back. Let’s process it together and have a good meal today.”
His eyes flicked briefly toward Jiang Xi, subtly taking note.
Also, he had something to discuss with them privately.
Golden Soul Fruit wasn’t difficult for him to obtain, but for these beastmen, it would be hard.
He had tracked down the Golden Soul Fruit and could make a trade with them.
After all, this was the Cursed Land. No matter how strong he was, without the Golden Lion clan’s help, it would be difficult to fend off the beast tide alone.
Mu Ling didn’t catch any hint of disdain in Horen’s words and handed him a bowl.
“Let’s eat first, then handle it.”
“You need strength after eating.”
Yi Yuesi sipped from his bowl of potato flour and meat soup, a satisfied look on his face.
He loved being sarcastic, so of course, he noticed the disdain in Horen’s tone.
He glanced at him and chuckled lightly.
“Eat, good stuff you won’t find outside.”
Though imposing, Horen’s appearance betrayed his rough life outside these days.
His beast-hide clothes were worn and torn, unwashed; his beard, though regularly shaved, showed roughness and signs of fatigue along the jawline.
Horen hesitated at the table, but having traveled overnight without eating, he was ravenous.
Even processing that cow would require significant effort.
He nodded faintly, resigning himself to eating a little.
The firehouse was a bit crowded with another beastman inside.
Fortunately, Mu Ling had gotten up early to prepare a chair for the Mistress in the room, ensuring Horen had a place to sit.
The square table now had a fifth chair added, making it tight.
Lu Liufeng shifted his chair closer to the Mistress.
Yi Yuesi’s fox-like eyes glanced around; he moved his chair as well, pressing it right against hers.
For a moment, aside from the space next to Jiang Xi, the rest felt spacious.
Mu Ling wanted to squeeze closer but saw no space and reluctantly sat beside Horen.
At first, Horen’s attention was on the strange food, but soon, it was entirely on the bizarre behaviors of the beastmen.
If he didn’t know their true feelings toward the Mistress, he might think they were competing for her favor.
Some dishes had cooled during the delay.
Lu Liufeng reheated them and brought them back, thoughtfully breaking half a corn cob for the Mistress.
“Mistress, eat while it’s hot.”
Over the past few days, he had learned her eating habits.
She didn’t like meat in the mornings; even if she did, it would be potato flour soaked in meat broth with some greens mixed in, or sweet, soft corn.
Horen glanced at Lu Liufeng as he lifted his bowl, a trace of surprise flashing on his cold, handsome face.
Then the other two beastmen’s actions left him nearly dropping his bowl in astonishment.
Mu Ling quickly served the Mistress a piece of meat, his wolf-like eyes gleaming, full of anticipation.
“Mistress, eat meat!”
Yi Yuesi did differently. He took a thin bamboo skewer from somewhere, pierced a corn kernel, and elegantly handed the corn cob to the Mistress.
“Mistress, eat corn.”
