Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Two Weeks in the Beast World
It had been another week already. Time passed so fast that Su Qinglan almost didn’t notice. Now it had been two full weeks since she came to the beast world.
She sat near the entrance of her cave and looked outside. The sky was bright, the air fresh, and the forest around the tribe was calm and green. Everything felt so peaceful that she couldn’t help but smile.
"Life here is really good," she said softly.
In the past week, she had found many new fruits while exploring — some small orange plants, a few sweet fruits she didn’t know the name of, and even a few roots that could be eaten after roasting. Everyone was excited about it.
The females still teased her sometimes, but they also listened when she taught them new things. Almost all the potatoes around their tribe were dug out now. You couldn’t find a single one left. The beastmen had even started to build their own small fires and cook on them.
Su Qinglan taught them how to mix things together to make new dishes. It made her happy to see them trying and learning with interest.
Outside her cave, there was a small chili plant she had grown herself using her plant-type power. It had grown fast, and now there were many green chilies hanging from it. She smiled proudly at it. Luckily, no one noticed, because beastmen didn’t care much about plants or fruits. They only noticed prey and meat.
Their tribe mostly contained foxes, and all other beastmen were also carnivores. So they preferred to eat meat every day. But Qinglan liked all kinds of food. She didn’t want to live by eating only meat.
Back in the apocalypse world, she had lived on junk food for so long that she still remembered the terrible taste. The mutated beef meat they used to eat back then was so awful she almost gagged remembering it. She never wanted to eat that kind of thing again.
Now, at least, she could cook fresh food with real ingredients. She had learned cooking when she was young, after her father died and there was no one else to take care of her. Those skills helped her survive later.
She looked at the empty field nearby and sighed.
"All the potatoes are gone," she said to herself. "If we only eat and don’t plant again, soon there will be nothing left."
She thought for a while, then nodded.
"Tomorrow, I’ll take a few females and their beast husbands to the forest. We’ll plant new potatoes there. That way, our tribe can eat again later."
Her eyes brightened as she planned it in her heart. Life here might be wild and strange, but it was still a life worth living.
Soon, Rong Ye came back from hunting. He was dragging a huge creature behind him. From far away, it looked like a bull, but when she looked closer, its face was strange, and it was much bigger than any bull she had ever seen.
Rong Ye was pulling it with just one hand. The body was too large to carry on his shoulder. Still, he didn’t look tired at all. Su Qinglan stared at the giant prey and sighed.
"Can they even finish eating that much?" she muttered.
Rong Ye had started to bring bigger and bigger prey every day, as if he wanted to prove something. He ate so much too. It was unbelievable how these beastmen could eat like they had no bottom to their stomachs.
When Rong Ye saw her, his face lit up and he waved happily from afar. But Su Qinglan only gave a small nod.
Beside her, her spiritual plant, the one she had named Stove, suddenly perked up. The plant’s leaves quivered, and it even drooled a little when it saw the big prey.
Rong Ye noticed it too. His smile slowly disappeared, and he glared at the plant. Stove flinched, made a soft squeak, and quickly hid behind Su Qinglan’s legs.
Rong Ye frowned. He still couldn’t understand how a plant could move, eat, and even act like a living creature. He had heard a few stories about spiritual plant-type beings before, but he never believed they were real. Until now.
At first, he had been surprised and curious. But when he realized the plant ate more than him and didn’t do any hunting, his surprise turned into frustration. Now, every time he saw Stove, he wanted to beat it or rather throw it in some unknown place.
He came closer and dropped the big prey heavily on the ground with a loud thud.
"Su Qinglan," he said, looking proud. "Today, I brought this for you. Females like eating this."
She looked at the giant beast on the ground and blinked in surprise. Her mind quickly began to think of dishes when she realized that she could think of it as beef.
"We can roast it, make spicy stew, or even fry some slices," she said, naming a few things without thinking.
Rong Ye had no idea what those words meant, but he nodded quickly. He knew that whatever she cooked always tasted good.
Just then, another voice came from behind.
"Qinglan!"
They turned. It was Hu Yan, walking over with two huge fish slung across his shoulders. The fish were shiny and big — bigger than her entire height.
"Where did you catch those?" she asked with wide eyes.
Hu Yan grinned proudly. "In the river near the cliff. Do you know how to cook fish? I like them very much."
As a tiger beastman, Hu Yan loved eating fish with sharp bones — what the tribe called thorny fish. Most beastmen didn’t like them, but he had grown used to them. He was good at eating around the bones. Still, he knew most females didn’t like them, so he was happy that Su Qinglan did not reject them.
When Su Qinglan looked at the fish again, her eyes widened in shock.
"Wait... this looks like salmon!" she gasped.
Her whole face lit up. Back in her world, salmon was very expensive, and she could never afford this much. But here, she could eat all she wanted. Her heart almost jumped with joy.
She smiled brightly. "Yes, I can cook it. Leave it to me."
Hu Yan looked at her expression and laughed. He liked seeing her happy. But then, as he stepped a little closer, she suddenly froze.
A strange smell from the fish hit her nose. Her stomach twisted.
Without a word, she turned pale, covered her mouth, and rushed outside the cave. She leaned forward and vomited hard, throwing up everything she had eaten that morning. The sour taste burned her throat as she gasped for air.
Her body trembled, and she felt dizzy. She wiped her mouth and frowned in confusion.
"Why... why all of a sudden..." she whispered.