Chapter 14: Don’t Provoke Them
After the porridge was cooked, Su Muyao ladled out five large bowls and placed them on the table. Then, she transferred the stewed, braised offal into a basin so everyone could easily pick at it with their chopsticks.
“Alright, it’s ready! We can eat in a bit!”
Honestly, the braised meat would have been best with steamed buns or rice. Unfortunately, there was no flour or rice here. According to her predecessor’s memories, she knew that crops like rice and millet did exist in the beastman world. In the northern mountains and forests, there was corn, sorghum, and soybeans, but no wheat. Moreover, the corn, sorghum, and soybeans from her predecessor’s memory were two to three times the size of the ones from the apocalypse. The grains of rice were also two to three times larger.
Su Muyao went to check on Wen Nanxi and the others. The three of them had cleaned the stove and the courtyard until they were spotless. The firewood was chopped and neatly stacked in a corner, and the corn starch had been stirred again and was now sitting quietly to settle.
She also noticed an opening in the corner. Her expression flickered, and she walked over to the corner of the yard, her eyes lighting up. “Is this an ice cellar?”
Xiao Jihan replied in a low voice, “Yes. I finished it last night. If there’s anything you don’t like about it, my lady, I can fix it.”
Su Muyao crouched down and looked inside. There were even steps leading down. She started to descend the steps to get a better look.
“Careful, my lady.”
Seeing her foot slip, Xiao Jihan instinctively stepped forward to steady her.
Just as Su Muyao was about to fall into him, she remembered how much he despised her and threw herself to the other side instead, tumbling onto the ground.
Xiao Jihan stared at his empty, outstretched hand. His fingers trembled, and a layer of mist seemed to settle over his cool eyes.
Su Muyao, of course, didn’t notice his strange reaction. She had slid down the rest of the steps and was now looking at the ice-covered cellar with great satisfaction.
“Xiao Jihan, thank you.”
“This is perfect. Now we can store the leftover pork and pork skin from yesterday.” It was a natural refrigerator! Su Muyao was genuinely grateful to him.
When she looked up at him from below, her eyes were filled with a sincere smile. She seemed truly happy, her eyes curving into crescents, as clean and clear as running water. It was no longer the paranoid, crazed, or even malicious smile of the past.
A jolt went through Xiao Jihan’s heart. She really did seem different. No matter how much a person pretended, their eyes could not change so completely. He couldn’t help but think of what Hua Linye had said.
He composed himself and said in his clear voice, “If there is anything else you need, my lady, please just give the order.”
Su Muyao waved her hand. “No need. Let’s eat breakfast first!”
Having witnessed their fighting prowess the night before, she didn’t dare to provoke them carelessly.
After everyone had entered the cookhouse, Su Muyao placed a large bowl of the corn and egg porridge into a basket. “You all eat first. I’m taking this bowl to Gu Ningning. She’s weak and can’t eat other things, but she should be able to drink this.”
Wen Nanxi stood up. “You eat first, my lady. I’ll go.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll go myself and check on her condition.” She had thought about it the previous night. If she could nurse Gu Ningning back to health, the tribe would know she had medical skills comparable to a shaman’s, which would elevate her status. After she left these beastman husbands, she should be able to live a good life. At the very least, the people her predecessor had offended wouldn’t dare to do anything to her. After all, no one could guarantee they would never get sick or injured in the tribe, right?
Still worried, Wen Nanxi didn’t even bother with breakfast and vanished like a gust of wind. He followed her secretly to protect her, afraid someone might bother her on the way.
The sky had just brightened, and there were very few people on the path. The adults all automatically avoided her. Only a few young beast cubs pointed at her. “Ugly monster.”
“A mean and ugly monster.”
“Don’t talk about her, she’ll hit people.”
“If she tries to hit us, we’ll run.”
“My mom said she has special powers, we can’t offend her…”
Wen Nanxi heard the cubs’ words and worried that Su Muyao would get angry. But she was basking in the morning sun, a sweet smile on her face, seemingly unbothered. She heard them, looked in their direction, and smiled, not looking angry at all.
When Su Muyao smiled at the cubs, they seemed to get scared and scampered away. The sight made her laugh. “They’re actually quite cute.” These beast cubs were still very weak. Some hadn’t fully transformed; some had cute ears, others had adorable little horns, and some were still in their full beast forms. There were many wolf cubs, and they looked fluffy and cute.
Wen Nanxi watched her, his heart stirring at the sight of her bright, radiant smile. This was her true smile, wasn’t it? In front of them, even when she smiled, it was somewhat restrained. He continued to watch over her from the shadows, not revealing himself.
At the chief’s house, the chief’s wife was surprised to see Su Muyao personally deliver the corn and egg porridge.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly…”
“Madam, you can let Ningning try it,” Su Muyao said. “Her stomach is weak, so she should start with something easy to digest. Once her stomach gets stronger, she’ll gradually get better.”
The chief’s wife was both touched and a little embarrassed.
“It’s just made with cornmeal and a beaten bird’s egg. It’s nothing.”
Su Muyao took Gu Ningning’s pulse to check her condition. The wound from the mutated beast bite was completely healed; there were no problems.
As Su Muyao was about to leave, Gu Ningning boldly reached out and tugged on her sleeve. She blinked her round eyes at her, looking pitiful.
Su Muyao’s heart softened. She gently patted the girl’s hand. “You try the porridge. Drink a lot of it, and get more sun. You’ll get better.”
Gu Ningning smelled the fragrant, pleasant scent coming from her and thought that Sister Su was a wonderful person. She nodded and obediently took a spoonful of the porridge. After one bite, her eyes sparkled, and she took another.
“It’s so good.”
The chief’s wife was stunned. “This… Miss Muyao, how did you make this? I used to give Ningning cornmeal, and she would always spit it out!”
Su Muyao explained, “It’s a very simple recipe. First, you have to dissolve the cornmeal in cold water and stir it until it’s smooth, then…” She told the chief’s wife the recipe, and she nodded in understanding. So that’s how it was done. Now she knew what to do next time.
The chief’s family was extremely grateful to Su Muyao.
When she returned home, she saw Wen Nanxi and the others standing there, waiting for her. They hadn’t touched their food.
“What are you all standing around for? Why haven’t you eaten breakfast?”
“Is it not good?”
Hua Linye’s foxy eyes curved as he looked at her with a meaningful expression. “Have you forgotten, my lady? You made a rule that we are not allowed to eat until after you have eaten. We were only allowed to eat your leftovers. Most of the time, you would just flip the table and not let us eat at all. We often went out to hunt on an empty stomach. Now that you’ve allowed us to eat at the table, you are already treating us much better. How could we possibly eat before you?”
Recommended Reads
![Does A Broken Mirror Reunion Exist in Esports? [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/esports-225x300.png)
