"Can’t we just cure it directly with salt? Why do we have to stir-fry it with peppercorns?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Yuan Lang looked at the peppercorns the little female had prepared, and his handsome face instantly wrinkled. He glanced at her, wanting to say something but holding back, as if desperate to tell her not to add that stuff because it was so awful to eat.

Seeing the conflicted expression on the Beastman’s face, Wu Yue chuckled. She grabbed a handful of peppercorns and held them out to him. "Stir-frying the salt and peppercorns together makes the cured meat taste better."

"Oh~"

Too lazy to deal with the Beastman’s sudden princess fit, Wu Yue smacked her hand right on his thigh. SMACK!

The crisp sound echoed instantly, and thanks to the cave’s acoustics, it even had a bit of reverb.

Wu Yue squeezed the muscle under her hand, her eyes narrowing slightly.

’Hmm, feels nice. The muscle is firm. This is one powerful thigh.’

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

The System, which had been watching the whole time, heard its Dog Host’s inner thoughts, and a wild peal of laughter erupted from every corner of Wu Yue’s mind.

"Dog Host, are you trying to kill me with laughter? I thought your head was full of dirty thoughts, but you’re actually just appraising a ham!"

Wu Yue: "..."

’Just shut up!’

But the only response she got was a string of "ha-ha-has." Wu Yue could even picture the damn System rolling on the floor, howling with laughter.

"How does it feel?" A deep, husky voice sounded by her ear. His warm, moist breath brushed against the fine hairs there, and Wu Yue’s ears twitched involuntarily, their tips burning hot.

Realizing what she had done, she quickly snatched back the roving hand that was still on the Beastman’s thigh.

"Um, well, I was actually trying to pat your back to get you to put the stone pot on the stove."

The Beastman looked at her with a half-smile. "Oh~ so that’s how it was~"

Wu Yue: "..."

’What’s with that tone? Are you suspecting that I—a worldly woman who has touched the thighs of countless celebrity standees—would drool over your long legs?’

"I’ve touched countless pairs of legs, you know."

As she spoke, she curled the hand that had just touched the Beastman’s thigh and rubbed her fingers together, her limpid eyes narrowing slightly.

’It felt nice. Much better than a standee.’

The curve of Yuan Lang’s lips instantly froze. A chill gathered in his eyes, but his voice remained soft and husky. "I wonder, whose thighs has Lord Wuyue touched?"

The chill coming off the Beastman couldn’t have been more obvious.

Wu Yue, who had been about to boast, immediately put on a serious face and started counting on her fingers. "Chicken legs, pork legs, beef legs... and many, many more. I’ve butchered a lot of game, you see."

"Is that so?"

Yuan Lang’s dark eyes curved slightly, and the smile returned to his lips. "So our Lord Wuyue is this capable."

Wu Yue laughed dryly and nodded repeatedly. "Of course. I’m a very diligent little female."

The System, about to laugh its non-existent eight-pack abs off, sat up at her words and looked at its Dog Host with utter contempt. "Dog Host, with that overwhelming will to live, you really don’t seem like someone who’s been single since birth."

Wu Yue felt that having a System like this was the greatest misfortune of her life. She really wanted to use her witch power to conjure a pitchfork and skewer this damn thing out of existence.

The little female’s watery eyes blinked up at him, and Yuan Lang felt as if his heart was being gently tickled by a million tiny hands. It was unbearably tantalizing.

’I want to touch her~’

But when he remembered what this seemingly soft and cute little female looked like when she flew into a rage, he retracted his restless tiger claws.

’Hmm...’

’A hunt requires patience.’

Patting Wu Yue’s messy hair, Yuan Lang stood up, walked over, and placed the already cleaned stone pot on the stove.

The flames licked continuously at the stone pot. The moisture inside evaporated from the high heat, leaving it dry once more.

"Now you can pour the salt and peppercorns in."

The salt and peppercorns tumbled in the pot. After a while, not having heard the Beastman speak, Wu Yue turned to look but couldn’t see him anywhere. She instantly started to panic.

"Yuan Lang?"

’Holy crap, in a pitch-black cave like this, that guy wouldn’t just abandon a petite, delicate, and lovely little female like me, would he?’

"Look down..."

Yuan Lang watched the little female in front of him, who was only looking up and around, and was left speechless.

’Speaking of which, if you think I’m that tall, why did you think you could pat my back while you were sitting down?’

’So I wouldn’t believe you for a second if you said you weren’t trying to cop a feel just now.’

Hearing his voice, Wu Yue looked down. The Beastman was sitting on a Beast Skin, tossing firewood into the stove with a helpless look on his face.