She turned her gaze to Ye Ling, her eyes flickering slightly. Walking over with a smile, she said sweetly, "Ye Ling, could you do me a favor?"
Ye Ling barely lifted his eyelids, casting a cold glance at her. Without even thinking, he refused. "No."
She wasn't surprised at all by his cold rejection. Her smile remained unchanged.
She immediately switched tactics, softening her tone. "Ye Ling, these stones are really important to me. I need them to improve my living conditions. If you help me carry them back, I'll agree to one condition of yours."
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, his silver eyes flashing with a hint of surprise. "Any condition?"
His expression was half amused, half curious, his tone tinged with mischief.
Su Xiyue tensed up, knowing full well that this damn man was hard to deal with. She gritted her teeth and nodded. "As long as it's not too excessive, and I can do it, then yes."
She emphasized the words "not too excessive" and "can do."
Ye Ling sneered, eyeing the layers of fat on her body with obvious disdain. "Since you put it that way, I have two conditions. First, you must lose 50 jin (about 25 kg) in one month. Second—"
He paused, watching her nervous expression, then continued, "Second, you are not allowed to deliberately disgust me like before. No clinging to me, or doing anything else that makes me want to throw up."
Hearing his conditions, she felt a wave of relief. She was already trying to lose weight.
Who could stand being nearly 300 jin (150 kg)?
She was a woman, after all. Even she couldn't stand herself.
But losing 50 jin in a month would be difficult. She wasn't even sure if she could do it.
Was this bastard trying to starve her to death?
Still, she knew she was too fat. She had to lose weight—there was no other choice.
Honestly, the fact that he didn't ask her to lose 100 jin in a month already showed some mercy.
As for the second condition, as long as Ye Ling didn't provoke her, she wouldn't deliberately disgust him.
"Fine. I agree."
After some thought, Su Xiyue nodded and agreed.
Ye Ling was a bit surprised at how readily she accepted, feeling suspicious that she might be up to something.
But he wasn't afraid of her going back on her word. If she dared, or failed to meet the conditions, he'd definitely make her pay.
He got up and walked over to the place where the bamboo basket, stone pot, and millstone were placed.
Looking at the overflowing basket and the two large stones, his face darkened.
"So much stuff—you expect me to carry it all back? Am I supposed to haul it on my back?"
And that wasn't even counting the fact that he also had to take her back.
Su Xiyue looked at the pile of things on the ground, a bit embarrassed.
"Well… you're going to shift into your beast form anyway. The basket can hang on your back, you can carry the stone pot in your mouth, and I'll weave a stronger basket for the millstone and hang that on the other side of your back. One basket on each side. Then I'll ride on top."
Ye Ling's face turned even darker.
Carry one in his mouth, two on his back, and her on top?
He was a dignified fifth-rank peak beast warrior, and now he was being treated like a pack mule?
But he had already agreed, and it would be hard to go back on his word.
Seeing that he didn't object, Su Xiyue took it as silent approval. She quickly went to gather some tough, flexible vines nearby.
Sitting down on a stone, she began weaving a basket.
Her movements were skilled.
In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a sturdy basket was complete.
Ye Ling watched her quietly, a trace of surprise flashing in his silver eyes.
He had assumed those baskets she used came from somewhere else. He didn't expect her to make them herself.
Not even the Wolf Tribe or the Beast King City had things like this.
He couldn't help but feel curious—where had she learned this? How did she know how to make it?
"What's this called? It's actually pretty useful for carrying stuff."
His voice came low and calm—not as cold as usual.
Su Xiyue glanced at him and casually replied, "It's called a 'carrying basket.' I came up with it myself. It's for holding things."
Ye Ling's silver eyes bore into her, clearly not believing her.
In his memory, Su Xiyue had always been lazy, greedy, devious, messy, and brainless. Could she really come up with something like this?
But… she did seem different now.
At least, she wasn't as lazy or messy. She even seemed a bit smarter.
Even the pustules and acne on her face had cleared up a bit, and her skin looked fairer—though she was still ugly.
"You seem different," he said suddenly, his silver eyes deeply probing as he stared at her.
Su Xiyue was startled by his unexpected words. She froze, then looked at him while pretending to be calm. "What do you mean different?"
Inside, she felt nervous. Afraid this damn man would notice something was off.
But she wasn't the original Su Xiyue. There was no way she could live exactly as the original had.
Ye Ling continued to stare at her without answering.
When he saw that her basket was done, he stepped forward, bent down, and placed one half of the millstone inside, lifting it to test its strength.
Thankfully, the vines were strong and tough enough to hold the weight of the stone without a problem.
Then, a flash of white light enveloped him as he transformed into his beast form—majestic, fierce, and strikingly handsome.
He opened his wolf jaws, picked up the baskets, and swung them onto his back—one on each side.
Seeing this, Su Xiyue quickly climbed on.
Ye Ling felt the weight on his back, his face darkening, but said nothing.
With the stone pot in his mouth, he leapt forward and raced away from Rockstone Mountain, heading toward the rendezvous point in the Tagel Forest.
Even burdened with a person and stones, his speed didn't falter in the slightest.
After about half an hour, they reached the meeting point.
By then, many beastmen had already gathered there. The ground was piled with all kinds of prey—bloody and varied, the air thick with the scent of blood.
The beastmen clustered in groups of three or five, chatting and laughing.
Sitting on Ye Ling's back, Su Xiyue immediately spotted her father Su Lie, her brother Su Mu, Mo Lin, Bai Qi, Qing Zhu, Xuan Ming—her four beast mates—and other members of the tribe.
Clearly, this was the post-hunt gathering. From the looks of it, they had been waiting for them.
The gathered beastmen were all staring at Ye Ling—his mouth clamped around a giant stone, his back burdened with two odd-looking contraptions, and Su Xiyue sitting on top.
Especially Su Xiyue—what in the world was she wearing?
It looked somewhat like a grass skirt.
A few leaves were strung together and barely covered her essential parts. The rest of her flabby flesh was completely exposed, sagging and layered, soft and greasy. The sight was truly an eyesore.
However, her skin did seem fairer, and the pustules and acne on her face were gone.
Su Lie stared at Su Xiyue's outfit, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. But he said nothing.
As Ye Ling walked closer, the surrounding beastmen quickly gathered around.
"Ye Ling, what are those things? I've never seen them before."
"They look like they're woven from vines. I saw seven or eight of them under that tree over there, covered with grass. I was wondering who left them there."
"Eh? Why are they filled with rocks? And such strange shapes too…"
"Yeah, Ye Ling, why did you bring back so many rocks? Where's your prey?"
…
Faced with the beastmen's barrage of questions, Ye Ling's expression turned frighteningly dark, but he didn't respond.
He opened his wolf jaws, letting the stone pot drop to the ground with a thud. He said coldly, "Aren't you getting down yet?"
That was directed at Su Xiyue, still on his back.
Without a word, she quickly slid off.
Ye Ling then shook off the two baskets hanging from his back, letting them drop to the ground. A flash of white light later, he shifted back into human form.
Su Lie walked over but didn't mention a word about Su Xiyue's leafy attire.
Whatever she wore, as long as she wasn't streaking around naked, it didn't matter to him.
He looked down at the stone pot and the two baskets filled with oddly-shaped rocks, frowning. "Ye Ling, where's your prey? Why did you bother dragging back all these strange stones?"
Mo Lin, Bai Qi, Qing Zhu, Xuan Ming, and Su Mu also came over, curious about the scene.
The others didn't recognize what those baskets were, but Xuan Ming did.
He had seen Su Xiyue weave them before and knew they were used for carrying things—they were called "carrying baskets."
But as for why they had brought back so many odd-looking stones, even he had no idea.
ps: advance chapters come to my https://www.patreon.com/c/Seraphim777