Chapter 31: She’s Changed
Xiao Jihan’s heart stirred at the thought of the food she made. A rare trace of warmth softened his clear, cold eyes. “You’re going to much trouble, Wife Master.”
Su Muyao waved her hand. “It’s no trouble at all.” She genuinely enjoyed cooking. Especially with such an abundance of ingredients, the process was a pleasure in itself.
And so, Xiao Jihan accompanied Su Muyao toward the tribe’s mill. The mill was on the far eastern side of the settlement, and to get there, they had to walk right through the center of the tribe.
It was mid-afternoon, and many of the tribe’s females were gathered in twos and threes, chatting by their doorways. Others sat under the large tree in the center of the tribe, enjoying the shade.
The moment they saw Su Muyao and Xiao Jihan, the chatter stopped. Everyone instinctively turned to stare at Su Muyao. Their surprise and confusion were plain to see, their gazes undisguised as they looked her up and down.
Su Muyao figured that if she had a little less composure, she might have been flustered, not knowing where to put her feet. But she had been a powerful wood-ability user in the apocalypse; she was immune to being the center of attention. She walked past the tribe’s stares with perfect calm.
As soon as Su Muyao and Xiao Jihan had passed, the tribe members turned back to each other, and the buzzing chatter resumed.
“It’s the middle of the afternoon. Where is Su Muyao going?”
“No idea. Surely not into the forest?”
“Her beastman husband is right there with her.”
“She never used to go into the forest, and she abused her husbands. I heard they all despise her.”
“You can’t just say that. The morning before last, her snake beastman husband carried her into the forest, and yesterday her fox beastman husband did the same. If they despised her, they wouldn’t be carrying her around.”
“It must be because she has healing abilities. That’s why her beastmen husbands are treating her differently.”
“Have you all noticed? Su Muyao seems different from before. It’s like she’s not abusing her husbands or cursing at people anymore.”
“I think you’re right. The night before last, Su Muyao even saved the chief’s daughter.”
“Only the chief would dare ask her for help. We wouldn’t dare get near her.”
“Exactly! Getting cursed at would be the least of it. What if she decided to be malicious and killed someone with her ‘treatment’?”
“She treats the husbands who protect her so badly, how could she be good to anyone else? I heard she was vicious back in the Beast Imperial City. She used to have five other husbands, but they were willing to cripple half their power just to break their contracts with her…”
“And I heard those five husbands who broke the contract want her dead! People sent assassins after her on the road to exile. If it weren’t for the five husbands she has left, she would have died on the road…”
The tribe members chattered on, all talking at once. They were all afraid of Su Muyao, yet they couldn’t resist making her the center of their gossip. There really wasn’t much else to do in the tribe, and with so much time on their hands, Su Muyao was the natural topic of conversation.
These females weren’t exactly quiet, either, making no effort to lower their voices. Xiao Jihan could hear them perfectly clearly without even trying, let alone Su Muyao.
Xiao Jihan glanced down at Su Muyao. He had expected her to be furious. But her expression was perfectly calm. She wasn’t angry, and she didn’t lash out. It was as if they weren’t even talking about her.
Right now, she had a quiet, gentle aura about her, completely different from the hostile person who was always ready to fly into a rage. But the poison… How was she suppressing the poison that was supposed to make her so irritable and impulsive? He couldn’t imagine who would use such a vicious poison on her.
Su Muyao could feel Xiao Jihan’s gaze. She looked up, meeting his deep, searching eyes, and asked, “What is it?”
A complex look flickered in Xiao Jihan’s clear, picturesque eyes. He said softly, “It’s nothing. I was just thinking… it must be very difficult for Wife Master to suppress that poison.”
Su Muyao said lightly, “It’s manageable.” She seemed to understand his unasked question and explained with a smile, “I told you I would change. Even if the poison makes me irritable and impulsive, I’m not a wild animal. I can control it.”
“So you don’t have to worry about me flying into a rage and abusing you again.”
In that moment, Xiao Jihan saw a bright, optimistic smile on her face. He was momentarily dazed by its brilliance.
After a beat, Su Muyao added, “And of course, I won’t… do that kind of thing to you again, either. I certainly won’t try to drug you.”
She lowered her head as she said this, the tips of her ears turning red. Even though she wasn’t the one who had done it, just saying the words made her blush.
Xiao Jihan saw the blush on her ears, as delicate as a blooming flower. His expression wavered slightly.
When they reached the mill, Su Muyao went inside. The mill house was tidy, with two stone mills inside.
Su Muyao walked up to one of the mills, expecting to have to clean it, but it was already spotless. It was ready to use.
Su Muyao took the wheat out of her dimension. She used a scoop to pour it into the opening at the top of the mill and began to turn the handle.
Seeing her struggling with the heavy handle, Xiao Jihan quickly stepped forward. “Wife Master, let me.”
Su Muyao didn’t argue. She stepped aside, “Alright, go ahead.”
And so, Xiao Jihan turned the mill while Su Muyao scooped the wheat grains in. They used an animal-hide bag to catch the flour at the spout.
After grinding it finer and finer, Su Muyao collected the bag of flour and stored it in her dimension.
On their way back, as they passed through the center of the tribe again, they saw Hua Linye frantically asking questions. “Sister Lin, excuse me, have you seen my Wife Master?”
Su Muyao paused, then quickened her pace and called out, “Hua Linye, I’m over here!”
Hearing her voice, Hua Linye couldn’t control himself. He rushed forward and pulled Su Muyao straight into his arms. “Wife Master, you scared me to death!”
Holding her, Hua Linye’s frantic heart finally settled. Heavens only knew the panic he’d felt when he returned to the courtyard, saw the signs of a fight, and couldn’t find her. He was terrified something had happened to her.
After all, so many people wanted her dead.
In that moment, Hua Linye realized he truly didn’t want anything to happen to her.
Hua Linye’s public display, hugging Su Muyao right in the middle of the tribe, stunned everyone.
“Heavens! Don’t Su Muyao’s husbands despise her? Don’t they refuse to let her touch them? Why does he seem so worried about her?”
“I know! And he’s hugging her! Hugging her so tightly, he clearly cares a lot.”
“Right? He just charged over asking if anyone had seen his Wife Master. He must be terrified of losing her!”
“I heard she used to drug them to try and get them, and it never even worked. Looking at him now, she clearly doesn’t need to.”
“It looks like Su Muyao and her husbands get along just fine…”
Su Muyao heard the chatter and blushed, gently pushing at Hua Linye. “Everyone is watching!”
Hua Linye didn’t loosen his grip in the slightest. His foxy eyes flickered as he glanced around, then he leaned in and whispered, “If Wife Master finds this inconvenient, then let’s go home.”
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