Chapter 25: What Is Your Beast Form?

Chapter 25: What Is Your Beast Form?

There was still a piece of lean meat left from the Grunting Beast distributed by the tribe last time. Wen Ran had Lang Zhi mince it and form it into meatballs. After frying them in lard, he added ingredients like chili, onion, sand chive, and ginger, stir-fried them briefly, then added a little broth and simmered for a while. A simple version of lion's head was ready.

While the lion's head was simmering, Wen Ran wasn't idle. He sliced off the pig ears and tongue from the braised pig’s head and, using century plant leaves and onion, made a spicy and refreshing cold dish of pig ears and tongue.

As for the half Grunting Beast brought by Mao Shi and Mao Fei, part of it was ribs, which Wen Ran particularly liked. After washing and cutting them into small pieces, he made another dish: braised ribs.

Tonight’s meal consisted of lard-fried agave flowers, lion's head, braised ribs, cold pig ears and tongue, and rose flower cakes, with the rose flower cakes serving as the main course.

Wen Ran also took out some ginger and selected some sand dates with redder skins to make a pot of hot red date ginger tea, which he left at the cave entrance to cool.

The nights were cold, and after eating and drinking, having some ginger tea could warm them up and replenish qi and blood.

Aside from the pig ears and tongue used for the cold dish, there was still quite a bit of meat left on the pig’s head. Wen Ran said it shouldn’t be wasted. After picking out some tender and easy-to-chew cheek meat for the three young ones, he gave each of Lang Zhi, Mao Shi, and Mao Fei a pig’s head to gnaw on. All three ended up with greasy faces.

In Wen Ran’s eyes, it was like two large white cats and a large wolfdog eating with greasy faces, while the three smaller kittens happily munched on pig head meat, rumbling contentedly.

Wen Ran realized he might be a bit peculiar, as if he had developed a strange feeding fetish. The more the cats and dogs ate, the more satisfied he felt. He wondered if other pet owners on Earth felt the same way.

Wen Ran gave a few pieces of ribs to the three young ones and Lang Zhi, telling Mao Shi and Mao Fei to help themselves to whatever they liked.

The color of the ribs was incredibly appetizing. Without soy sauce, he used agave syrup for coloring. Each rib was coated in a brownish-red glaze. One bite revealed sweet, fragrant, and tender meat—crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside—so delicious it made one want to devour them all in one go.

After eating a few ribs, Wen Ran focused on the agave flowers. It had been a long time since he had eaten greens, so tonight he ate the most agave flowers, feeling incredibly full with a rounded belly.

Mao Fei’s eyes lit up when he saw the delicious food. “Wen Ran, every dish is so delicious! The rose flower cakes are sweet and filling, the braised ribs and lion's head are incredibly fragrant, the cold pig ears are spicy and refreshing, and the agave flowers are good too. But compared to beast meat, as a carnivorous White Cat, I prefer meat.”

Mao Shi nodded in agreement.

“I thought so,” Wen Ran laughed. Meat should be more popular among beastmen. He had noticed that Lang Zhi only took a bite of the agave flowers to taste them and didn't touch them after that, clearly not a fan.

On the other hand, Mao Fei, as a Lesser Female, though not particularly fond of agave flowers, still ate several bites. It seemed Lesser Females in the beast world were more accepting of greens.

As Mao Fei devoured the food, he kept praising Wen Ran nonstop, which kept Wen Ran smiling the whole time.

Seeing Wen Ran looking quite pleased with himself, Lang Zhi, behind him, seemed to see a little tail wagging back and forth and couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Wen Ran gave him a look, and Lang Zhi quickly put a fist to his mouth, coughing lightly to hide his laughter, though his fluffy wolf tail wagged even more vigorously.

After the meal, everyone sat in the cave drinking ginger tea to help with digestion. The tea was just the right temperature—neither too hot nor too cold.

Mao Fei took a sip and scrunched up his face. “It’s awful, so spicy, but this spiciness is different from chili.”

Wen Ran added a bit of agave syrup to his cup. “Try it now.”

“It’s sweet! With this honey-sweet syrup, the ginger’s spiciness isn’t so bad anymore,” Mao Fei said happily. When Mao Fei was happy, his pair of white cat ears perked up, looking especially cute and inviting to touch.

Wen Ran watched quietly, his hands itching to touch them. But the other male was right there, and it wouldn’t be appropriate.

Suppressing his urge, Wen Ran redirected his attention and stroked the tail of the Big Black Wolf beside him. The Big Black Wolf was unclaimed, so touching it wouldn’t make any partner feel offended.

Lang Zhi’s tail stiffened for a moment before relaxing again, wagging gently in small arcs, clearly in a good mood.

While stroking the fluffy tail, Wen Ran sipped his ginger tea slowly, watching the dust devils outside the cave swirling with yellow sand, rustling the poplar leaves at the cave entrance. He savored this rare moment of peace.

Mao Fei asked curiously, “By the way, Wen Ran, after knowing you for so long, I still don’t know what your beast form is. You’re so cute and capable, but also quite small. Are you a rabbit beastman? No, no, even if rabbit beastmen are half-beasts, they still have rabbit ears. You don’t have any. Come on, tell us, what kind of beastman are you?”

Wen Ran hesitated. He was absolutely certain he was human.

But here, aside from females who were fully human, all other genders had some beast-like characteristics. His gender in this world was defined as Lesser Female, and Lesser Females were all half-beasts, which contradicted the rule that only females were fully human. Should he say he was an ape beastman?

Ugh, Wen Ran shuddered. Better not. He was much better-looking than a monkey. Back in middle school, high school, and college, he had even been voted the school idol.

Seeing Wen Ran struggling, Lang Zhi stepped in and answered for him, “Wen Ran has forgotten some things and doesn’t remember what kind of beastman he is.”

“What a pity…” Mao Fei said regretfully.

Mao Shi, concerned for his Lesser Female partner, noticed how much Mao Fei enjoyed the cooked food made in the large iron pot and asked, “How did you make the… tool you use for stewing meat? I’d like to make one too, to stew meat for Mao Fei.”

“You mean this?” Wen Ran pointed to the large iron pot. “This is a pot, unique to our tribe. It seems the Sand Cat Tribe’s territory doesn’t have it.”

Seeing Mao Shi and Mao Fei’s disappointed expressions, Wen Ran paused and said, “But you can find similar stones to make a stone pot instead. Although there aren’t many stones in the desert, they’re not nonexistent. Find stones that can withstand heat, shape them into stone pots and stone slabs. Although they heat slower compared to iron pots, they can still cook food.”

Mao Shi and Mao Fei carefully noted the characteristics of the stone pot, their white cat ears perking up attentively.

It was already very late, and the small whirlwinds outside showed signs of growing into large whirlwinds. Mao Fei, so full he could barely move, sat on the ground burping continuously until Mao Shi helped him up.

Mao Shi said, “We should head back to our cave now. The food tonight was delicious. Thank you, Wen Ran and Lang Zhi.”

Lang Zhi shook his head. “I didn’t do anything. It was all Wen Ran. Captain, if you want to thank anyone, thank Wen Ran.”

“Yes, thank you, Wen Ran.”

Wen Ran smiled and said, “No problem, Captain Mao Shi. I’m happy to have made a friend like Mao Fei.”

Hearing this, Mao Fei wrapped his arms around Wen Ran’s neck, giving his Alpha Male a smug and playful look.

Mao Shi smiled dotingly, which made Wen Ran uncomfortable. Watching two grown men be affectionate in front of him was a uniquely novel experience.

Before leaving, Mao Fei mentioned that the cub he was carrying had finally eaten its fill after so many days. He glanced at Wen Ran and sighed sincerely, “That was so satisfying! Wen Ran, whoever forms a cave with you in the future will be so lucky! It’s just that I’ve already formed a cave and met you too late. Otherwise, I’d definitely join your cave as your Lesser Female. Or you could join my cave as my Lesser Female!”

Mao Shi’s face instantly darkened.

Even Lang Zhi’s face darkened a few shades. His movements as he saw them out became hurried, as if he wanted to sweep them both out of the cave with his tail, afraid Wen Ran might be swayed by Mao Fei’s words.

Wen Ran also nearly lost his composure, his handsome face almost cracking. This White Cat actually wanted to have a relationship with him?!

He definitely didn’t have the ability to make a White Cat pregnant—they were separated by biological incompatibility!

After seeing off Mao Shi and Mao Fei, Wen Ran took advantage of the fact that Lang Zhi didn’t need to go hunting that night and quickly took out the three antelopes from his storage space.

The antelopes distributed by the tribe this time were whole, with both meat and skin. Wen Ran wasn’t very skilled at skinning and was afraid of ruining the hides, which would be a shame.

The hides, once tanned, could be used as blankets or bedding, or made into clothes and shoes—very useful. They couldn’t afford to damage them.

Seeing Wen Ran’s troubled expression, Lang Zhi picked up a bone knife and began skillfully skinning the antelopes. As he worked, he said, “Wen Ran, you don’t need to know how to skin prey. I’m here.”

Wen Ran rubbed his nose, feeling a strange sensation. What did he mean by “I’m here”?

The three young ones also gathered around the antelope to help Lang Zhi, sometimes pressing down on a leg with their small paws, other times tugging the hide taut with their teeth to make skinning easier. They were busy and having fun.

In no time, the hides of all three antelopes were skinned.

Lang Zhi’s skinning job was perfect—each hide was intact without any damage. Wen Ran hung the hides on bone frames to dry and asked Lang Zhi to separate the meat from the bones. He planned to make jerky, as it would be easier to preserve that way.

While Lang Zhi separated the meat and bones, Wen Ran wasn’t idle either. He still had many desert rose petals from the last harvest. He took some out, washed them, and laid them under the sun to dry, planning to store them for making flower tea later.

The work efficiency of wolf beastmen was no exaggeration. By the time Wen Ran had just finished spreading out the petals, Lang Zhi had already finished butchering the first antelope, placing the bones in one pot and the meat in another, making it very convenient for drying.

Jerky is least suitable for areas with high humidity, but the desert in the beast world had very little moisture, with dry air and windy nights—perfect for drying meat.

Wen Ran took a piece of antelope meat and cut it into several thinner strips. For jerky, the strips couldn’t be too thick, as they wouldn’t dry properly, nor too salty, as it would affect the taste and make it too salty to eat.

Wen Ran carefully rubbed each strip with salt, sand chive, ginger, and chili, and century plant leaves, then placed them in a pot to marinate. Afterward, he made a few simple stands from poplar wood and hung the marinated meat at the cave entrance in the windy area, letting it harden.

Ideally, he could have used soy sauce to give the meat a reddish color, making it look more appealing when dried, but since he didn’t have any, he had to work with what he had. The taste wouldn’t be too bad anyway.