Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Gluttony Flared Up

“I met Lai Yin in Senyu Beast Forest,” Lin Lang said, voice calm. “He was injured. I happened to pass by and helped him a little.”

“A little?” Lai Yin scoffed, though warmth softened it. “It was saving my life.”

Agma·Lei Shi nodded, satisfied. “Then you’ll treat him well. He’ll be staying in our clan for a few days. We’ll put him in the empty bamboo building next to yours. How about it?”

“Yes, clan chief,” Lin Lang said.

Agma·Lei Shi began distributing the Devil-Hunting rewards. “This time, Lin Lang takes the greatest credit. Reward: fifty crystal coin, twenty pieces of high-grade beast hide, fifteen barrels of fruit wine, one hundred jin of jerky, ten baskets of fresh fruit, and one bamboo building.”

“Thank you, clan chief,” Lin Lang said. Then he looked to Lai Yin. “We’ll drink together later.”

Lai Yin nodded. “Alright.”

Suo Fei Li went up next. Shava stared as if she’d forgotten how to blink.

Su Yan leaned toward her, amused. “So this is true love.”

“You should’ve married him earlier and made him your first beast consort,” Ashley teased, smiling. Then she added, “I’ll go handle something. I’ll come back later.”

“Go,” Su Yan said. “After all those rewards, you owe us a feast.”

Ashley laughed over her shoulder. “Yours will be even more. If anyone treats, you treat first.”

After Ashley left, Su Yan’s gaze drifted to Zulu.

He was talking with several rabbit clan males. One of them looked similar enough to be family—a blood brother. His brothers had visited before, but only briefly: peek at the little rabbit brats and mouse brats, leave gifts, and go.

After this banquet, Su Yan really should host something of her own—properly step into her role as wife lord, and give Zulu a public standing before the baby in her belly was born.

No matter what, Zulu was her first beast husband.

As for the black panther… he’d been a lifeline, nothing more. He’d taken his child away. Between them, things were settled.

This Zulu—this one who wasn’t the real him—once the baby was born, everything would come to an end.

Su Yan lowered her lashes, hiding the chill that flickered through her.

As if he sensed it, Zulu turned to look for her—and found nothing but air.

“Second Brother,” he said quickly to Jun Sen, “I need to step away. If it’s my turn, go up for me. Please.”

Jun Sen frowned. “How can that work? Where are you going?”

Zulu was already scanning the crowd.

Su Yan had left the seats, a sudden, sharp hunger clawing through her. She went straight for the food.

Since getting pregnant, she didn’t like jerky much. But there was no fresh meat here—only dried strips she had to gnaw until her jaw ached.

Mouse clan were rodents, but their teeth didn’t grow endlessly like beasts’. Like humans, once their baby teeth fell out, what grew back was all they got.

“Why are you eating that?”

Zulu appeared beside her with a plate of fresh meat.

Su Yan’s eyes lit up. “My gluttony is acting up again. Looks like you’ll have to find more spirit materials for me.”

“Don’t call it trouble.” Zulu’s voice softened immediately. “I’ll take you home first. We have meat there, and it’s safer.”

He was always attentive when it came to the children.

Su Yan nodded. “Okay.”

Once she started eating, she didn’t stop. Staying here like this wasn’t wise.

Zulu found Little Luo and ordered him to go back with Su Yan, watch her while she ate, and keep her safe. Then Zulu would head into the Beast Forest.

Little Luo’s face went pale the moment he heard the gluttony was back. He hurried to tell Oro, then rushed after Su Yan.

As Zulu left, Agma·Lei Shi called his name—demanding he come up and take his reward.

Zulu didn’t even slow down.

Right now, the only thing in his head was spirit materials. Rewards meant nothing.

When Zulu didn’t appear, Jun Sen went up instead. “My brother had urgent business. I’ll accept his rewards on his behalf…”

Below, the crowd protested loudly, hungry to see Zulu in person. But he was gone. In the end, Jun Sen accepted a mountain of goods in his stead.

The rabbit clan’s old clan leader watched it all, pride and regret wrestling across his face. Letting such a popular son marry in… What had he been thinking?

Then he remembered Su Yan had already given the Deyila family two female and one male. And one of the little females was said to have talent.

A treasure-level female.

Back home, Little Luo hauled out a bucket of tender back meat from the ice cellar.

Zulu had built the cellar specifically for Su Yan—fresh meat stored safely, chilled just right to keep it sweet.

“Home meat is the best,” Su Yan said, swallowing raw bites as if she’d been starving for days. “At the banquet, I don’t even know where Zulu got that so-called fresh meat. It wasn’t fresh at all.”

“Of course it wasn’t.” Little Luo sounded proud. “Zulu Ge chooses the best beasts and the best cuts. He preserves it with spices and ice—no stink, just sweet freshness.”

“Mm.” Su Yan nodded and pushed the bucket toward him. “You eat too. You didn’t eat at the banquet.”

“I’ll just take one piece.” Little Luo sliced a thin pink strip. “I wonder what reward Zulu Ge will get from clan chief.”

“Whatever they give, we take,” Su Yan said, and kept eating.

When the meat was gone, she grabbed a bucket of milk and drank like she was pouring it into a bottomless well.

She had no idea where it all went. She stayed hungry, yet her belly still wasn’t big.

“I’ll buy a few more buckets,” Little Luo said, alarmed. “The two in the cellar won’t be enough.”

Su Yan waved him off. “Go.”

Zulu returned soon after.

In his hands were several seven-star scarlet fruit—and a purple, root-like thing.

“Purple cloud fruit,” he said. “It’s a spirit material. If your talent vitality is severely depleted, one bite can restore it. You… try it. See if you can eat it.”

Zulu had figured it out: Su Yan’s ability to bear high-talent offspring beyond her tier had to be connected to what she ate while pregnant.

Seven-star scarlet fruit might be a spirit material, but in his eyes it was barely better than weeds. This—this was real.

Su Yan asked the System’s Little Mei first, quietly in her mind. Purple cloud fruit wasn’t in the notes she’d been given. Could she eat it?

The answer came at once—cold, mechanical. Yes.

Then Little Mei tossed her a book title like an afterthought: Spirit Materials Compendium.

Su Yan stared at the purple cloud fruit in her hand. It looked like a dark purple sweet potato. When she cracked it open, the flesh inside was translucent and glossy, sparkling like violet crystal, and it carried a faint floral scent that rose the instant it met air.

“So pretty,” she breathed, almost reluctant to ruin it.

“The texture is good too,” Zulu said. “Crisp and sweet.” He handed her half.

“I’ll try it.”

She bit in—

Honey-sweet. Clean and rich. The kind of sweetness that flooded her mouth and refused to leave.

“So good.”

She finished her half, then immediately grabbed the other without hesitation.

“The banquet probably isn’t over,” she said around a mouthful. “Do you want to go back?”

“No.” Zulu’s answer was instant. “I didn’t want to be there anyway.”

Little Luo returned with another bucket of milk. “All the milk went to the banquet. This one was just milked.”

“I’m fine now,” Su Yan said, patting her belly as she swallowed the last bite of purple cloud fruit. “My gluttony is under control again. Put it in the cellar.”

Then she leaned back and let out a long, satisfied burp.