The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 31 Shameless
Bai Qingyu was momentarily stunned by her smiling face, instinctively avoiding her gaze, turning her head slightly away, and lowering her head to put the mashed potatoes in her mouth.

Qinghe was reserved and proud, and Bai Qingyu couldn't resist his flirtatious attitude at all. He lowered his head and tried his best to maintain his usual indifference until he finished half a bowl of mashed potatoes. Only then did he belatedly realize that the milky yellow mud in the bowl tasted unexpectedly good.

Food becomes much more flavorful when a little salt is added.

More curious than the potatoes were the pale yellow salt powder in the bag: "Where did you get this salt powder?"

"Extracted from rock salt."

Rock salt extraction is not a technology worth keeping secret.

She bent down and handed the bag of salt on the rock to Bai Qingyu: "Actually, salt extracted from rock salt is not very good for your health if consumed in the long term."

"So this time, besides wanting to rent the ice cave on the mountain, I also wanted to ask you if you know where there is a salt lake on this grassland."

“These potatoes…”

What Bai Yun cared about most was the potatoes that could fill her stomach.

Ling Chengen must have a complete plan by taking this out. He wanted to hear how this young Shilin clan chief intended to exchange these potatoes for this cooperation.

Ling Chengen interlaced his fingers and looked at Bai Yun earnestly: "I want to join forces with the Hanshan tribe to grow potatoes on a large scale."

"This plant is planted from late March to mid-April each year and harvested from October to November. Under certain conditions, it can be stored for up to a year."

"A year?" Bai Yun was so shocked that she forgot all about her manners, her eyes widening slightly. "How is that possible? No matter what kind of food it is, it would have gone bad long ago if it were left out for a year."

“Of course I wouldn’t lie to you. After all, our Shilin tribe also needs potatoes, a food that can be stored for a long time and is plentiful enough to fill you up during the cold season,” Ling Chengen said calmly.

"Moreover, many foods can be stored for a long time, but this involves various technical methods. If you agree to long-term and in-depth cooperation between the two tribes, we will share these technologies."

After hearing Ling Chengen's words, Bai Yun was undoubtedly moved.

However, there are still risks.

Since there is no precedent, it is not something that can be verified in a short time whether potatoes can really be stored for that long.

Seeing that Bai Yun was clearly wavering, Ling Chengen turned to Bai Qingyu beside him and said, "Actually, even if the cooperation between the two tribes doesn't turn out as expected, you won't actually lose much."

“The ice cave is ready-made. It’s useless for you to leave it empty. You might as well rent it to us. That way, we can get some of the prey as payment.”

"To put it bluntly, if a conflict arises between the two tribes, it is we in Shilin who should be the ones with a headache. Since the prey is stored on your territory, if you take it for yourself, we will at most have a fight to settle it. As for the outcome... well, that depends on the strength of each side."

"My reason for seeking cooperation with you is more of a gamble that you won't give up long-term benefits for this small piece of the pie."

Bai Xi scooped out the remaining potatoes from the pot, mashed them all, and distributed them to the clansmen who were watching from the outside. When she returned, she heard Ling Chengen analyzing the pros and cons of the cooperation with the two most cautious members of his family.

He immediately laughed and said, "Let's put cooperation aside for now. This is such a big deal as food. You're just bringing a little eagle here to talk about it so casually?"

"And you only mentioned the favorable aspects for our Hanshan tribe, why didn't you analyze the unfavorable aspects?"

"Or perhaps you want to use this to get A-Yu to be your fifth beast husband?"

The moment Bai Qingyu raised her eyes, a sharp glare swept across her.

Ling Chengen looked up and sized up Bai Xi, who looked like a smiling tiger, and was somewhat surprised by the guy's shrewdness.

"Of course there are drawbacks."

“Cooperative planting is a big deal, and both sides need to contribute. Planting potatoes is naturally not an easy task. As you all know, the weather on the Beast Plains is unpredictable, especially the rainy and dry seasons, which seriously affect crop yields.”

"One of the reasons we want to cooperate with you is that your Cold Mountain tribe has a lot of water-type beastmen. During the rainy and dry seasons, at least the drainage and irrigation of crops will be much easier for us."

“If the potato seedlings die from drought or flooding during the planting process, our two tribes will face the fate of working for nothing for half a year and ending up with nothing.”

Ling Chengen looked up at Bai Xi quietly: "Do you have any other questions?"

"My third child."

Ling Chengen raised his eyes and said, "I had no intention of forcing him. He refused so many times before, and I didn't do anything excessive, did I?"

"Moreover, my purpose in visiting you this time is to achieve a win-win cooperation, not to force you to exchange people for benefits."

Bai Xi stroked her chin and nodded thoughtfully: "That's true."

"Although you're a bit of a troublemaker, you really didn't force my Ayu to do anything."

Bai Qingyu looked up at her second brother speechlessly: "Can you please stop talking? I'm not dead, am I?"

Don't you care about his reputation if we talk about these things in front of him?
"Tsk, he's actually annoyed."

Bai Xi looked at her handsome younger brother, sighed twice, and then stopped teasing him.

Because if this kid gets angry, even if he's the second brother, Bai Qingyu will still beat him up without hesitation.

Of the three brothers in the family, Bai Qingyu has the strongest superpower.

If a fight really breaks out, he's definitely going to suffer a loss.

Bai Xi suddenly walked up to Ling Chengen, bent down and got close to her face, her clear eyes looking straight into her eyes.

"Actually, it's not just Ayu who's pretty in Hanshan. I'm pretty too. If you like me, I'm willing to be your beast husband."

Ling Chengen remained seated, staring at him, and suddenly chuckled, "If you want to be my beastly husband, that's not impossible."

"You can talk after you can beat me."

After speaking, she stretched out her right hand, pressed her fingertips on Bai Xi's forehead, and gently pushed away that flamboyant and beautiful face.

Her fingertips were warm, and when they touched Bai Xi's forehead, Bai Xi's pupils suddenly contracted.

Bai Xi straightened up, put her hands on her hips, and said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "I can't beat you?"

“I’m a level six fire-type ability user, only one level lower than A-Yu’s. Where do you get the confidence to beat me?” Bai Xi retorted defiantly.

Ling Chengen looked up at his thin chin, raised an eyebrow and said, "What? Want to fight?"

"It's not impossible," Bai Xi said, pointing outside the village. "Do you dare to come?"

"Bai Xi, don't fool around here."

Bai Yun suddenly interrupted his provocation, gave her youngest son a look, and Bai Qingyu understood immediately. He grabbed Bai Xi from behind and dragged him away from the spot.

Once they were far away from Bai Yun and Ling Chengen, Bai Qingyu slammed Bai Xi against a rock and looked at her coldly: "Are you serious? You actually want to be Ling Chengen's beastly husband?"

"What? Can't I?"

Bai Xi leaned against the rock, arms crossed in front of her, long, flowing pink and white feathers on her shoulders swaying gently in the wind. She looked unruly and raised her chin slightly.

"Don't you dislike Ling Chengen?"

"What I want to do is none of your business, right?"

Bai Qingyu frowned and grabbed the animal skin coat in front of him with her left hand: "Second brother, Ling Chengen is not an ordinary female."

"Once you provoke her, it will be difficult to get away from her."

Whether I can extricate myself or not is my business; it's none of your concern.

Bai Xi brushed Bai Qingyu's hand away, straightened her animal skin coat and the flowing feathers on her shoulders, and said slowly, "You're just too dull, just like your father."

"I used to think she was a bit dull, even a little stupid, but I didn't expect that she would become so much smarter after not seeing her for a while. Aren't you curious about where she learned all these things?"

Bai Qingyu was naturally curious, but he knew that some things were not suitable to be asked in detail.

He suddenly moved closer to Bai Xi, lowered his eyes slightly, and spoke softly but forcefully: "Ling Chengen came to our tribe with the idea of ​​mutual benefit. Second brother, I don't want the cooperation between the two tribes to break down because of your own selfishness."

"If this thing called potato can stop all the orcs in the tribe from starving and abandoning the wasteland, so what if the origins of the things she possesses are unknown?"

Bai Qingyu suddenly raised her eyelashes, and a rare fierceness flashed in her usually gentle and elegant eyes.

Bai Xi quietly looked at her younger brother, who rarely showed such a cold side, and suddenly grinned and said, "You really know how to hide yourself." "I told you Ling Chengen was blind. He doesn't like a handsome and straightforward male like me, but he likes a guy like you who looks clean on the surface but is actually incredibly dark inside."

Bai Qingyu released her hand, a smirk playing on her lips, and said, "Say what you will."

"If you just want to test her, I advise you not to do it."

"If you really want to be her fifth beast husband, I won't stop you."

"Anyway, Father said that you are always dressed up and flamboyant, so you will probably be the first of the three brothers to find a partner."

“My second brother’s breeding season is almost here. If he’s really eager to find a mate, I can understand.”

After saying that, Bai Qingyu turned and left.

Bai Xi stood still, arms crossed over her chest, fingertips slowly tapping her arms, suppressing a surge of anger within her.

That brat Bai Qingyu actually dares to threaten him?!
Wait!
At the latest, in a month or so, this kid's breeding season will be approaching. He has no mate and absolutely no experience in getting through the breeding season...

He was just waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

but……

Bai Xi lowered her eyes, gently twirling her fingertips as she pondered in her heart.

Finding Ling Chengen as a partner doesn't seem like a bad option.

Anyway, he was determined not to be a fool and open his heart to his future partner or serve her hand and foot.

Ling Chengen has four beastly husbands; one more won't make a difference.

If he really wanted to hook up with Ling Chengen, he could coax her during the breeding season each year and enjoy his freedom outside the rest of the time... It wouldn't be impossible.

As for the cubs, let fate decide.

It would be even better if she didn't get pregnant.

He didn't want to get pregnant so young!

Pshaw, he's got a baby at a young age!
……

When Bai Qingyu returned to Bai Yun's side, Ling Chengen and Bai Yun had already decided to cooperate, and the details of the cooperation had been discussed and finalized.

Ling Chengen picked up her spatula, looked at Bai Qingyu who was standing in front of her, and tilted her head in confusion.

"What's wrong? Is there anything else?"

Bai Qingyu handed the small bag of salt back to Ling Chengen: "I'd like to talk to you about the salt lake you just mentioned."

"Go ahead and ask, what do you want to ask?"

Bai Qingyu: "When you say salt lake, do you mean a saline lake?"

Ling Chengen nodded: "Yes."

After receiving confirmation, Bai Qingyu slowly said, "Salt lakes are mainly distributed in the northwest of the wasteland, which is quite far from here. Last year, I went on a long hunt with a hunting team and went to the waters in the northwest. I encountered several salt lakes, some large and some small."

"You want to go?"

Ling Chengen nodded, but quickly sighed, "But not now, I have to go to the Misty Swamp first."

Bai Qingyu suddenly frowned and said, "Why go there? Your Stone Forest hunting range never includes that place, does it?"

“Go hunt Xuanlin lizards.” Ling Chengen tied the pot with vines and hung it directly on Wu Zhuo’s chest. He turned to Bai Qingyu and said, “After my father brought Su Weihua back, he found that he was not only crippled, but also poisoned by lizards by his own kind of beastmen.”

"If we don't hunt snake lizards soon to extract their bile and blood for medicine, Su Weihua will die."

Bai Qingyu's face turned extremely ugly: "How could the Snow Wolf Tribe be so vicious? Su Weihua was their former young clan leader. Doesn't she feel any remorse for doing this?"

"If they had any conscience, Su Weihua wouldn't be in this terrible state now."

"I really can't stay any longer. He was threatening to commit suicide this morning. I have to go home..."

Bai Qingyu watched as she and Wu Zhuo prepared to leave, opened her mouth, but still couldn't figure out how to start the conversation.

Just as he watched Wu Zhuo transform into beast form and prepare to flap his wings and leave, he suddenly appeared beside the man and the eagle: "Wait a moment."

As soon as Ling Chengen jumped onto Wu Zhuo's back, he turned around and looked down at Bai Qingyu: "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Bai Qingyu felt something was off.

She used to always be chasing after him, always talking to herself endlessly. He was always a little impatient and didn't really want to listen to her rambling.

Unexpectedly, times have changed, and fortunes have turned around; now it's his turn to be the one chasing after her.

Bai Qingyu swept that strange thought that had suddenly popped into his mind, straightened his back, and stood as tall as a pine tree, saying, "If you want to go to the Misty Swamp, I can go with you."

"Are you being so kind?"

Ling Chengen hadn't expected him to make this suggestion on his own initiative.

"Don't you hate me? Why are you helping me?"

Ling Chengen rested his elbows on his knees, propped his chin on one hand, and looked quietly at Bai Qingyu, who was half an arm's length away, with his eyes lowered.

Bai Qingyu looked directly into her eyes without flinching: "I don't hate you."

"lie."

Bai Qingyu blinked: "I'm not lying to you."

"I just don't like it when you pursue me."

Ling Chengen curled his lips and said, "We are not related, how could I dare to ask you to risk your life with me?"

"Furthermore, the Misty Swamp is an extremely dangerous place. If I let you accompany me and something goes wrong... your father will skin me alive."

“My father wouldn’t. He’s a reasonable beastman,” Bai Qingyu said confidently.

Ling Chengen lowered his eyes slightly: "Even the most reasonable person will find it difficult to remain rational when faced with a life-or-death issue involving their closest blood relatives."

"I'm very grateful that you're willing to come with me."

Seeing that she flapped Wu Zhuo's wings and was about to leave, Bai Qingyu suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm.

“I’m serious. The Misty Swamp is really dangerous. Without an experienced flying orc to accompany you, hunting the Blackscale Serpent Lizard is harder than climbing to heaven.”

“Your life is tied to the food supply for our tribe’s young and old this winter. If anything happens to you, the cooperation you discussed with my father will all be for nothing.”

“I’ve hunted in the Misty Swamp, I have experience.”

"And among the orcs you know, there shouldn't be anyone faster than me."

Ling Chengen looked at his arm that was being held, pondered for a long time, and said, "I'll think about it."

Bai Qingyu released her grip, took a few steps back, and watched the golden-topped giant eagle carry her away.

As soon as he turned around, he saw Bai Xi leaning against the foot of the village.

Bai Xi crossed her arms and sneered, "How come I don't know when you went hunting in the Misty Swamp?"

"Give me back 'I have experience'~"

"You held someone's hand and then lied to that young female!"

"Bai Qingyu, do you have no shame?!"

(End of this chapter)