Leisurely Life in the Beast World - Chapter 237

Ya Li stood dumbfounded, watching the shameless old beastman take yet another spoonful of stir-fried meat slices from a grandmother’s pot. His worldview as a beastman felt distorted. Were the elderly this popular now?

“Mew, mew, mew~” A familiar cat-like sound emerged near his feet. Ya Li looked down, and there it was—his own round-bellied kitten Mao Miaomiao, sitting comfortably after a hearty meal.

He bent down, scooped the little one up, and started mumbling complaints. “You little rascal, all you care about is eating. Why didn’t you think of bringing some food back for me, huh? Such a selfish little troublemaker.” He gave her nose a gentle poke while speaking.

The kitten squinted her tiny eyes in discomfort from the tickling on her nose. She lifted her chubby little paw, its soft pink pads brushing against her nose, and looked at Ya Li with a gaze full of grievance, meowing in protest with her tiny voice.

Ya Li sighed in surrender, stroking her fur and scratching under her chin, quickly consumed by the task.

“Alright, everyone, take a break and come eat!” A grandmother’s voice rang out, causing the male beastmen in the tribe to light up with excitement. They dropped whatever they were working on and dashed toward the cooking area.

Ya Li casually tucked the small kitten into his pocket and dashed off with his long legs, quickly reaching the firepit.

Taking a large ceramic bowl from a grandmother, he gazed at the shimmering purple grain rice and the fragrant, sour, and savory stir-fried meat slices he had only been able to admire from afar earlier. Scooping the meat and rice together, he shoveled them into his mouth. The taste was divine, so good that Ya Li felt he could swallow his own tongue.

He finished one bowl in no time, then turned to refill it. Four large bowls later, he patted his now round stomach, let out a satisfied burp, and returned to his work with a newfound vigor.

“Nuan Nuan, will these herbs survive if we plant them back in the tribe? Can’t we just let them grow here and collect them when we need them?” Xiu Yan grumbled while bending down to pick some small medicinal plants Ji Nuan had pointed out, his lips pouting in discontent.

He was finally alone with the little female cub, but even so, a nosy mooing creature tagged along. And instead of chatting with him, she was only focused on collecting herbs. Humph.

Perched atop the mooing beast, Ji Nuan grinned. “Of course it’s not the same! If we plant them in the tribe, we can pick them whenever we need. But if they stay out here, what happens if there’s a beast tide like now, and we can’t go out? Then we’d run out of herbs, wouldn’t we?”

Xiu Yan nodded. Her reasoning made a lot of sense.

And so, the cheerful herb-collecting session continued with Ji Nuan pointing out plants and Xiu Yan diligently gathering them.

However, for some reason—perhaps they had wandered too far—the forest around them grew eerily quiet. The unnatural silence was unsettling.

Even the mooing beast stopped nibbling at the tender grass. Its ears stood straight up, its gaze alert as it scanned the surroundings.

Suddenly, it began stomping its hooves anxiously, clearly agitated.

“Calm down, Moomoo, stop moving,” Ji Nuan scolded, her voice laced with mild irritation.

The usually obedient Moomoo ignored her this time, continuing to stomp nervously and glancing back toward the tribe repeatedly.

Ji Nuan noticed something amiss. She turned toward Xiu Yan, who was already on high alert, and called out to him cautiously, “Brother Xiu Yan, is—”

Before she could finish, Xiu Yan raised a hand to silence her. “Don’t make a sound. There’s movement nearby.”

Oh great, does having wings make you all that? Stop flying around already!