Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Adorable Little Ones

Bang bang—

Chang Xia heard the sounds coming from the courtyard and couldn’t help but smile.

As expected, Chen Rong didn’t go to rest. Instead, he chose to keep working with Yadong and the others, continuing to build the corridors and eaves. In the end, they decided to use ironwood for both—the wood is hard, wear-resistant, and even repels insects and ants. The benefits are just too many to list.

Most of the furniture inside the cave dwelling was made from rosewood.

A faint, natural woody fragrance filled the entire space.

The once-empty cave was now bustling and full, thanks to the hard work of Chen Rong and his team.

Brand-new furniture paired with the clean, tidy cave made everything look vibrant and full of life.

Gen Chu hadn’t come by for several days, except for that one time to learn from them.

He was probably busy making furniture in his own cave dwelling.

Changxia had heard that some clan members had braved the rain to go into the mountains and cut wood. She was eagerly looking forward to finishing her own furniture, so she could tidy up her cave and make it beautiful—enough to make the others envious.

“Changxia, your corridor and eaves are going to look amazing when they’re done,” Nan Feng said enviously.

Changxia replied, “Once I’m finished here, I’ll ask Chen Rong to help you out.”

“I’m not in a hurry,” Nan Feng said. She wasn’t as particular as Changxia—whether the corridor and eaves got built or not didn’t matter much to her. What she really coveted was the furniture inside the cave.

“If you’re not in a hurry for the corridor and eaves, what about a canopy bed? Or a wardrobe, or a nightstand?” Changxia teased, seeing right through Nan Feng’s words.

At that, Nan Feng immediately got anxious.

“I want them! Of course I want them.”

The canopy bed was what she wanted most.

Those beds had a huge appeal for females.

Males, on the other hand, didn’t care much.

It was rare for a female not to like them—clearly, when it came to aesthetics, females were all on the same page.

Time flew by as everyone kept busy.

“Baiqing, can you go check if Granny Suye is done resting?” Changxia stepped out of the kitchen and asked Baiqing, who was helping plane wood in the courtyard, to call Suye for lunch.

The chicken soup was ready, and its rich aroma filled the air.

Nan Feng kept glancing over, but thankfully she remembered the soup was meant for Suye.

“Okay,” Baiqing put down the wood and headed toward the cave where Suye was resting.

Before he could knock, Suye came out on her own. After a good rest, she looked much better. Clearly, detoxifying Chen Rong hadn’t been as easy for her as she made it seem.

“No need to call me, I’m already up,” Suye smiled and walked toward the kitchen.

As a shaman, Suye had a very keen sense of smell.

She hadn’t even reached the kitchen yet, but the rich aroma of chicken soup was already making her mouth water.

“Granny Suye—” Changxia called out, then turned to call Chen Rong and the others in for lunch.

“Changxia.”

Just as everyone sat down in the kitchen and was about to eat, they heard Nuanchun’s voice calling from outside.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise, set down their bowls and chopsticks, and headed to the courtyard.

“Nuanchun?” Changxia asked in surprise.

At that moment, Nuanchun was holding her twin cubs, with Shankun following beside her.

“Changxia, I missed you so much!” Nuanchun said excitedly. “It smells amazing—what are you guys eating?”

She had planned to come earlier, but just as she arrived, Chen Rong was in the middle of his crucial detox. Shankun had stopped her, and by the time she could come over, it was already noon. Not caring about the time, she grabbed her cubs and hurried over.

The early rains had left her feeling cooped up, and even the cubs felt the same way.

As soon as she carried them out of the cave, the two little ones started howling, eager to get down and play.

Beast tribe cubs could usually shapeshift into human form around the age of one.

Some with particularly strong constitutions could do it as early as six to eight months, but most managed it around one year old. Changxia had it the hardest—she couldn’t reliably shift until she was three.

But then, she was frail, and her beast form was safer.

“We made pork lung stew—want some?” Changxia smiled.

She stepped forward and took the two soft, chubby cubs from Nuanchun’s arms. They’d grown a bit since birth, and now their round heads and chubby bodies were absolutely adorable.

Their pink noses nudged against Changxia, rooting around, while they made soft, babyish howls.

Every sound nearly melted Changxia’s heart.

“Nuanchun, they’re so cute!” Changxia exclaimed.

Nan Feng reached out, grabbed one of the cubs by the scruff, and lifted it up, surprised. “Nuanchun, they’re growing so fast! They’re pretty heavy—I remember Changxia wasn’t this heavy at three months.”

Changxia looked at Nan Feng’s rough handling, exasperated.

But Nuanchun and Shankun didn’t seem to think anything was wrong.

Even Suye didn’t think Nan Feng’s actions were inappropriate.

Clearly, the beast tribe only raised their cubs carefully when it came to Changxia. The rest of the time, it was rough-and-ready—so long as the cubs could eat and drink, that was enough. Careful pampering was out of the question.

“Nan Feng, put the cub down!” Changxia scolded.

Nan Feng protested, “Don’t worry, Changxia. This little guy is strong and healthy—he’ll be fine. Even if he fell, nothing would happen.”

Beast tribe cubs all grew up getting knocked around.

Well, except for Changxia—she was the exception.

“Don’t worry, Changxia,” Nuanchun chimed in, picking up the other cub from Changxia’s arms and tossing it lightly in the air a few times.

Changxia watched, heart in her throat, until she couldn’t take it anymore and snatched the cubs back, hugging them tightly.

The cubs, however, didn’t appreciate it—they started howling in protest.

“You two! Such brave little things—aren’t you afraid of falling and getting hurt?” Changxia said with a smile, tapping their noses with her finger. Then she called Nuanchun and Shankun into the kitchen for lunch.

Both cubs were black, and looked almost identical.

“Nuanchun, have they started talking yet?” Changxia asked.

As they sat down, Changxia kept the cubs in her arms. Chen Rong helped her mix a bowl of cold noodles and set it in front of her. In the middle of the long table was a large wooden basin filled with pork lung stew, this time seasoned with chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.

The taste was completely different from last time, and Chang Xia liked it even more.

As for the others, Chang Xia didn’t ask.

For the beastfolk, there’s really nothing they can’t eat or don’t like to eat.

Nuan Chun asked, “Open their mouths? Open their mouths for what?”

“It means starting them on solid food,” Chang Xia explained. “They’ve been drinking milk all along—can they eat fruit paste, minced meat, and bird eggs now?”

“They’ve already started,” Nuan Chun replied, shooting a glare at Shan Kun beside her and saying irritably, “Shan Kun fed them fish meat on their second day after birth. Lately, they’ve been having it with fruit paste. What’s this about minced meat and bird eggs?”

“Minced meat is just finely chopped meat,” Chang Xia answered. “As for bird eggs, you crack them, beat them well, add some water, and steam them. You can also steam the minced meat together with the eggs.”

Beastfolk really are naturally gifted.

They can eat solids right after birth—no wonder they’re so tough.

“Alright, I’ll remember that,” Nuan Chun nodded, planning to try it at home.

The cubs had already nursed before coming out, but the smell of food on the table was too tempting. They couldn’t help but crawl all over Chang Xia, whining and trying to get onto the table.

“Chang Xia, just put them on the floor and ignore them. Let’s eat,” Nuan Chun said.

Shan Kun nodded, “Chang Xia, it’s fine to put them on the ground.”

Chang Xia was speechless.

Are they raising pets or something?

Who would actually put newborn cubs on the floor?