Chapter 43: Almost Coming to Blows

Xuan Ming's gaze fell upon Su Xiyue, his intention self-evident.

Ever since stepping into the cave, he had been greeted by a rich, savory aroma of meat that had tickled the cravings deep within his stomach.

Knowing what he wanted, Su Xiyue smiled, walked over to the cave entrance, and ladled a bowl of bone and mushroom soup for him.

As she scooped, she said, "I originally made a few delicious dishes using offal, but while I was out fetching water in the mid-afternoon, my mother sneaked in and ate them. Although a lot was left, I figured you wouldn't want to eat them since she had touched them with her bare hands, so I took the rest over to my father."

With that, she looked at Xuan Ming and handed him the bowl of bone and mushroom soup. "It's fresh off the fire. Be careful, it's hot."

She also handed him a pair of chopsticks and, fearing he wouldn't know how to use them, explained the method of use.

Xuan Ming reached out to take the soup and chopsticks. Though his expression remained calm, a flash of satisfaction flickered in his eyes.

Recalling what she had just said, he replied calmly, "I'll make something to block the cave entrance for you later, so others won't just wander in."

Clearly, he was extremely displeased with Mu Qing's act of sneaking food and grabbing it with her hands.

Joy bloomed in Su Xiyue's heart. She had only mentioned it casually, never expecting Xuan Ming to proactively offer to build a door for her. It simply couldn't be better.

Looking at Xuan Ming with curved, smiling eyes, she said happily, "Thank you, Xuan Ming. There's plenty of soup left in the pot, so please drink as much as you like. If it's not enough, once the stone pot is empty, I'll make more food for you all."

Xuan Ming gave a cool hum of acknowledgment, his gaze lingering on her as if to say: *at least you have some sense.*

Naturally, that single pot of soup wasn't enough to satisfy the three of them. No matter how delicious it was, it was mostly water; a single trip to relieve themselves and it would be gone.

They would definitely be hungry in the middle of the night and would naturally need to eat something else.

He carried the bone and mushroom soup into the cave, sat down at the chair, and placed the bowl on the table.

Though he wasn't very adept with the chopsticks, he had previously watched Bai Qi use them and, with Su Xiyue's explanation, managed to copy the technique. He could use them well enough, though his movements were still a bit stiff.

His manner of eating was exceptionally elegant, unlike the ravenous gorging of other beasts.

Even though the soup was remarkably delicious—so delicious that he practically wanted to swallow his own tongue along with it—watching him eat remained a pleasing sight.

Seeing this, Qing Zhu hurriedly walked over and asked Su Xiyue without a trace of politeness, "Where's mine?"

Su Xiyue glanced at him sideways, though she didn't say anything, and quickly ladled a bowl of soup for him. "Here. Drink this, and scoop more from the stone pot yourself when you're done."

Qing Zhu took the soup bowl, uttered a cool "hm," and paid her no further mind, his attention completely captured by the bone and mushroom soup.

After fumbling with the chopsticks for a moment, he drank with his head down, nearly burying his face in the bowl, yet his table manners were surprisingly not unsightly.

Mainly, because he was handsome, anything he did looked good—it was just a pity his tongue was so venomous.

Right at that moment, Mo Lin returned carrying a dressed reindeer.

The moment he saw Xuan Ming and Qing Zhu inside the cave, eating with their heads completely buried, instant irritation flared within him.

It wasn't that he cared whether they had waited for him; he was purely afraid that everything would be eaten and none would be left for his share.

Tossing the reindeer casually onto the ground, he strode directly over to the stone pot. Seeing that there was still plenty of soup left inside, his expression softened somewhat.

However, a wave of confusion arose in his heart.

He remembered Su Xiyue saying she was going to cook offal for them, didn't she?

Why was it a soup stewed with just two bones and mushrooms?

Such watery fare, no matter how tasty, wouldn't fill a stomach.

Without waiting for Su Xiyue to come over, he picked up an empty stone bowl from the stove and ladled a generous bowl of soup, packed with a large portion of mushrooms, and topped it with a bone laid across the rim.

Though he had no idea what was so good about two bare bones, since Su Xiyue had put them in to stew, they naturally had to be something good.

Seeing this, Su Xiyue's mouth twitched. She walked over and said, "Those bones are for flavoring the soup. Even though there's no meat on the surface, they contain bone marrow inside. Once you crack them open and suck it out, it's a real delicacy—very nourishing."

Mo Lin glanced at her from the corner of his eye and gave a light "hm" in acknowledgment.

He reached out for a pair of chopsticks, carried his bowl of soup into the cave, and sat down to drink on the opposite side of the chair.

The taste was exactly as he had anticipated—truly exceptional, and a culinary delight he had never experienced before.

It was genuinely hard to imagine that two bones boiled together with mushrooms could yield such a wonderfully fresh flavor.

It was so delicious that one could never seem to get enough.

Xuan Ming and Qing Zhu had long since finished their first bowls of soup and, without needing Su Xiyue's help, went to ladle more from the pot themselves.

Bowl after bowl, they simply couldn't stop.

The mushrooms in the pot had long since been thoroughly cleaned out, not a single one remaining.

The two of them had nearly come to blows over the very last bone.

All because of Su Xiyue's remark that bones were good things containing nourishing marrow.

They didn't care in the least whether it was nourishing; they simply felt it was a treasure, and even without meat, they wanted to gnaw on it.

Su Xiyue was nearly laughing her head off. Ignoring them, she simply urged, "Hurry up and finish the rest of the soup in the stone pot. I'm going to stew the venison in a moment. If you don't want to eat it, I won't make it."

With that, she ladled a bowl for herself as well.

Though she was watching her weight, drinking none at all was impossible, and her cravings proved too strong to resist.

Hearing this, Xuan Ming and Qing Zhu stopped their tussle and quickened their pace.

Clearly, they wanted to finish quickly so Su Xiyue could start stewing the venison.

If soup boiled from just a few bones and mushrooms could taste this fresh, the venison would undoubtedly be even more delectable.

As the three of them drank their soup, anticipation crept into their expressions, driving them to drink even faster.

After finishing a single bowl of soup, Su Xiyue didn't take any more, turning instead to prepare the venison.

Meanwhile, in another section of the Wolf Tribe, inside Su Lie's stone house.

Su Lie sat upon his stone chair with a gloomy expression, his gaze sharp as a blade fixed upon Wolf One, who knelt on one knee before him.

"Are you certain you heard Mya call Mu Qing 'mother' with your own ears?"

He stared coldly at Wolf One before him, asking in an icy tone.

Feeling the chill emanating from the chieftain, Wolf One lowered his head even further and replied respectfully, "It is the absolute truth, Chieftain. This subordinate heard Mya call Mu Qing mother with my own ears, and she referred to Su Xiyue as her younger sister, telling Mu Qing not to be angry because the girl was young and ignorant."

Su Lie's expression grew even darker, the aura around him cold enough to freeze a man solid.

No wonder Mu Qing had favored Mya so deeply—so deeply that she would bully Yue'er on Mya's behalf.

As it turned out, Mya was her bastard child, conceived in secret right under his very nose with Qing Yan, a warrior of the tribe.

Qing Yan had never taken a mate; years ago, he had simply brought back two female cubs, who were Mya and Miyao.

He had claimed they were born to a female from another tribe who had died shortly after giving birth to them.

At the time, none of the warriors in the tribe had suspected anything.

Nor had he doubted it, merely feeling pity for Mya and Miyao for losing their mother at such a tender age.

Thus, he had paid no mind to Mu Qing's habitual pampering of Mya.

Looking back now, however, everything seemed to follow a clear trail.

Thinking of Miyao, Su Lie shifted his gaze to Wolf One and commanded coldly, "Go investigate Qing Yan again. Find out when he and Mu Qing first became involved. And check Miyao as well—find out if she, too, is a daughter secretly born between him and Mu Qing."

"Understood, Chieftain."

Wolf One answered respectfully.

In an instant, he transformed into a tall, majestic white wolf and vanished like a blurred streak of light within the stone house, setting off to carry out the chieftain's orders.

Su Lie stared into the empty space where Wolf One had vanished, his expression terrifyingly dark.

The thought that Mu Qing had betrayed him long ago and cuckolded him filled him with the urge to strangle her to death.

Back then, Mu Qing had promised him that he would be her only male consort for the rest of her life, which was why he had chosen her as his mate.

Yet look how it had turned out: Mu Qing had betrayed him long ago, not only bearing Mya with Qing Yan, but potentially fathering Miyao with him as well.

The deception was simply beyond tolerance.

His face was ashen, fury churning violently within his heart.