Chapter 23 - 20 Giving New Clothes to Bei Ji_1

The plant resources of the Beast World were abundant, incomparable to the resource-scarce apocalyptic world. Si Yan was very excited. While excited, she also felt grateful to have been reborn in this world, rich in materials. On her way back, she even found a gigantic lettuce as tall as a person! Seeing such a large lettuce, Si Yan felt that tonight’s dinner was sorted. She carried the lettuce back like a robust man. The male Beastmen who saw Si Yan returning, laden with the lettuce, were all dumbfounded. Passing by the trap, Si Yan, who hadn’t held much hope, suddenly saw that the trap had collapsed. A surge of excitement rushed through her, and she ran over to find a bewildered Long-eared Beast trapped inside, bumping around, unable to get out. Facing the pitiful, innocent, and cute Long-eared Beast, a satisfied yet sinister smile spread across Si Yan’s face. Si Yan returned home with her bounty. Hearing the commotion outside, Xi Qing and Bei Ji both rushed out. When they saw Si Yan returning with the lettuce and the Long-eared Beast, expressions of surprise blossomed on both cubs’ faces. Realizing the expression he had shown, Xi Qing immediately lowered his head and turned it to one side. He had never expected the bad female to come back. He never had. Si Yan placed the large lettuce on the ground and asked Bei Ji and Xi Qing, "Do you know how to tan hides?" "Mother, I do," Bei Ji chirped, his face lighting up. Si Yan carefully peeled the skin off the Long-eared Beast using a snake scale, marveling as she did, "These are amazing! How can these snake scales be so sharp?" Bei Ji was very relaxed at this moment and said happily, "Mother, wait for Bei Ji to grow up and ascend to a Purple Crystal Beastman. Then, I’ll give my snake scales to you to use." "Good boy," Si Yan said, patting Bei Ji’s head. Xi Qing stood at a distance. His previous feeling hadn’t been wrong. Bei Ji, that traitor, was currying favor! He was really currying favor! TCH, traitor! Shameless! Si Yan had completely peeled the hide off the Long-eared Beast. Bei Ji found a white fruit in the grass, crushed it to extract its juice, sprinkled it on the hide, and then took the Long-eared Beast hide to the riverbank to tan. Xi Qing approached Si Yan and said, "Don’t think Bei Ji is so amazing. Tanning hides is a basic skill for male Beastmen. It’s not just him; my older brothers and I can do it too." Xi Qing didn’t know why he’d said that. Perhaps, subconsciously, he hoped Si Yan would treat them all well? Si Yan said, "Knowing how to do it is one thing, actually doing it is another. Anyway, I think Bei Ji is very impressive right now." Xi Qing felt his heart clench. After Si Yan cleaned the Long-eared Beast, she sprinkled the coarse salt she had gotten from Xiong Rou onto it, then hung it on a tree branch in front of the cave. Xi Qing, puzzled, asked, "Female, what are you doing?" Although Si Yan’s storage space could preserve freshness, items would eventually rot and spoil over extended periods. Besides, opening the space consumed a lot of energy each time. The space itself was only one cubic meter and already filled with many everyday items, leaving little room for food. Naturally, she wanted to preserve food for as long as possible. Si Yan explained, "Meat processed with salt, when air-dried like this, can be preserved for a very long time." Xi Qing was stunned. "How long is ’a very long time’? Five days or ten days?" "More than that. Several months, perhaps," Si Yan replied. Xi Qing said in disbelief, "Impossible!" "Hmm? Why would that be impossible?" Si Yan asked curiously. Xi Qing observed her silently for a while, still doubtful, before saying, "The Yanxiang Tribe has no methods for preserving food. If we did, not so many Beastmen would starve to death in winter!" The current season was spring, a time of abundant food. In winter, however, food became extremely scarce. Most of it was given to females and cubs, leading to many adult male Beastmen starving to death. Si Yan looked steadily at Xi Qing. "Don’t worry," she said. "You’ll believe it in a few days." Xi Qing fell silent again for a moment, then asked, "Female, are you going to tell the village chief about your food preservation method? If the Yanxiang Tribe knew it, many Beastmen could be saved." Si Yan didn’t answer directly. Instead, she casually asked, "There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do the village chief and the other Beastmen in the tribe treat you well?" Si Yan had made some observations these past few days. The village chief seemed fair in his dealings. It was evident that Xiong Rou didn’t treat her cubs well, but Si Yan hadn’t been able to observe how others in the tribe behaved. "The Beastmen of the tribe... they don’t treat us very well," Xi Qing said, turning his head away. "But the village chief is alright. Sometimes, when we’re starving, he gives us something to eat." Si Yan recalled how the village chief had intervened when Xiong Rou was making things difficult for the four cubs. "I’ll consider whether to tell the village chief about the food preservation method," she said. Xi Qing said nothing and turned to enter the cave. After finishing with the Long-eared Beast, Si Yan started to process the lettuce. She planned to eat half of it today and tomorrow, and dry the other half to make dried vegetables. Having learned about the winter hardships in the Beast World from Xi Qing, Si Yan was determined to preserve more food for the coming season. Dried vegetables could be eaten directly or rehydrated with water. Bei Ji excitedly brought over the tanned Long-eared Rabbit hide. Si Yan saw his hands were a little red. She took them in hers and blew on them gently. "Bei Ji, you’ve worked hard," she said. Bei Ji shook his head, visibly excited. He asked Si Yan, "Mother, what will this hide be used for?" Long-eared Rabbits in the Beast World were quite large. Si Yan gestured towards Bei Ji, then said, "It should be enough to make two snow-white hide skirts." Bei Ji’s face flushed with pleasure. He was delighted that the Long-eared Rabbit hide he’d tanned could be used to make hide skirts for his mother. Taking the hide into the cave, Si Yan measured it carefully, then cut it with a snake scale. Si Yan casually looked up and asked Xi Qing and Bei Ji, "What do you use to sew hide skirts together?" Bei Ji replied, "There’s a kind of tree; the fibers stripped from it can be twisted into thread. But we Snake Beastmen prefer to use our hair." Bei Ji plucked a few strands of his hair for Si Yan. His snow-white hair indeed matched the white Long-eared Rabbit fur perfectly. Si Yan sewed the hide pieces together, used rabbit teeth for buttons, and made buttonholes for easier wear. The hide skirts weren’t difficult to make, and she quickly finished two of them. Looking at the finished skirts, Bei Ji asked in confusion, "Mother, aren’t these hide skirts a bit small?" Si Yan smiled. "Come try one on, and you’ll see." "Me?" Bei Ji exclaimed in surprise. Bei Ji couldn’t believe it. "Mother, you made them for me?" Si Yan nodded again. Bei Ji was truly stunned. Si Yan said, "Come here. Your hide skirt is all torn up. It’s time to wear a new, cute one." Off to the side, Xi Qing watched Si Yan and Bei Ji with eyes full of envy. Bei Ji walked forward in a daze. Si Yan untied his tattered hide skirt, and his little face turned bright red. Si Yan put the newly made snow-white hide skirt on him. Looking at the lovely little cub before her, she wore a satisfied smile. "So pretty." Bei Ji’s little face flushed an even deeper red. Suddenly, unable to control himself, he transformed right in front of her. It’s hard to describe the shape-shifting process of a Beastman in the Beast World. Science definitely couldn’t explain it. Right in front of Si Yan, Bei Ji transformed into a wrist-thick python. Though still exuding a cub-like cuteness, it was already quite large. "Not good!" Xi Qing exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Bei Ji must have been too happy and couldn’t restrain his beast form, so he suddenly transformed. However, this bad female was extremely afraid of snakes; whenever they revealed their beast forms, she would go crazy and attack them! Indeed, as the snow-white snake cub appeared before her, Si Yan suddenly understood why Xu Xian might have instantly dropped dead and gone to meet the King of Hell. She was truly petrified; of all things, snakes were what she had feared most since childhood!