She stared at the empty, hard stone bed—not even a single beast hide to soften it. Not only would it be unbearably uncomfortable to sleep on, but with the cold night temperatures, she was sure to catch a chill.
In this beast world, the temperature difference between day and night was drastic. Without something to cover herself, she would definitely get sick.
Su Xiyue's gaze fell on the dirty beast hides piled near the cave entrance. She didn't have the courage to bring them inside as a cover.
With a soft sigh, she decided to gather some dry firewood nearby and carried it back. Then, in the center of the cave, she built a small fire.
It could provide warmth—and keep wild beasts away.
She certainly didn't expect any of those five beast men to come protect her during the night.
After a long day of hard work, exhaustion weighed heavily on her, and her stomach growled with hunger.
Her eyes involuntarily drifted toward the grilled meat and fish wrapped in broad leaves. She swallowed hard.
"No eating, no eating... If I eat more, I'll just get fatter," she whispered to herself, desperately trying to self-hypnotize.
Then, painfully, she forced her gaze away, refusing to look at the tempting food.
But she was truly starving. The grilled fish she had eaten in the afternoon had long since been digested.
Her eyes flicked back to the fish again, craving it terribly.
But looking at her plump body, she forced herself to resist.
To distract herself, she sat by the fire and began to cultivate her supernatural abilities.
The beast world was rich in wood spirit energy, making cultivation smooth and effortless—so much better than the post-apocalyptic world she came from.
Su Xiyue felt that it wouldn't be long before she could advance to level two.
Thinking of her current miserable face, she knew that although her ability had dropped to level one, reducing her healing power, she could still detoxify herself in simple ways.
Her face was obviously covered with accumulated toxins, combined with excessive oil secretion, causing her skin troubles.
To heal thoroughly, she had to detoxify first.
She opened her palm, palm facing up, and with a focused thought, a small green vine sprouted from her palm, emitting a faint green glow.
It was beautiful.
The vine grew longer and longer, crawling up to her face. The green light spread over her entire face, beginning the detoxification process.
As the ability seeped through her skin, her face started to itch terribly, as if something was about to burst out. Several times she wanted to scratch.
But fearing scars, she resisted the urge.
Enduring the itch, she focused on her cultivation and detox.
About the time it took to finish a cup of tea,
she suddenly felt her nose, eyes, and entire face were covered in some black, sticky substance, making it hard to breathe or see clearly.
The stench was horrid—like rotten eggs—and nearly made her vomit.
She withdrew her ability and touched her eyes, nose, and face—covered in black, foul-smelling grime.
"This stuff... is the toxin coming out of my face?"
She felt disgusted and hurried out of the cave, not forgetting to bring her facial cleanser.
Though it was dark, the bright moonlight made the path visible enough.
Many men, women, and children in the tribe were still awake—some chatting in small groups, others washing by the river, and some doing other things.
Some were even sneaking off into the woods or hidden corners for secret trysts.
The beast world was extremely open-minded, especially at night—wherever you went, you could hear the sounds of passion.
The noises made one's ears burn, cheeks flush, and heart race.
Along the way, she spotted several couples in the act—truly anytime, anywhere; just find a patch of woods or a corner and it could happen.
Su Xiyue twitched her lips, not understanding why they didn't just go to their caves instead of making a spectacle under the open sky.
But this was the beast world, after all—at heart, all animals. Who could expect any sense of shame?
She kept her expression normal and walked to the river as if she hadn't seen or heard anything.
After decades surviving the post-apocalypse, there was little that could shock her.
Compared to the disgusting zombies of that world, this was nothing.
Just as she reached the riverbank, she heard the noises again. A glance from the corner of her eye showed a large patch of crushed grass. It was too dark to tell who was there.
Just as she was about to look away, a face suddenly turned—moonlight revealed it was Mia.
As for which beast husband was with her, Su Xiyue didn't need to guess.
Not long ago, Mia had mocked her, and if she was caught spying, she would surely be ridiculed even more.
To avoid trouble, Su Xiyue moved downstream, away from the scene.
Only then did she squat by the river and start washing the grime from her face.
She washed thoroughly three times, until her face felt fresh and clean, then stopped.
Under the bright moonlight, she looked at her reflection in the water. Though many pimples still remained, they had clearly reduced in number and there was no more pus. Her skin looked much better.
She touched her face and felt quite optimistic.
Planning to continue detoxifying with her abilities tomorrow, she was confident that a few days of treatment would heal her face.
Just as she was about to get up and leave—
Suddenly, she heard the splash of water upstream and curiously glanced in that direction.
The moment she looked, she froze.
Under the moonlight, a man stood in the river, bathing—his upper body bare. His bronzed skin gleamed alluringly in the soft lunar glow.
Eight-pack abs, each segment symmetrical and perfectly defined—an absolute masterpiece.
Water droplets rolled down his body, falling into the river below.
Su Xiyue swallowed hard; this man had an incredible physique.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long powerful legs.
Her gaze instinctively flicked downward—but his lower body was submerged beneath the water.
Her eyes then moved up, landing on the man's face.
His features were strikingly handsome: deep-set eyes framed by sharp, arched brows, a high, proud nose bridge, and perfectly shaped lips.
He radiated a wild, untamable aura—utterly captivating yet fiercely intimidating.
This had to be her fifth beast husband, Xuan Ming.
A fifth-rank beastman, his true form apparently that of a Netherdark Wolf—the only one of his kind in the tribe.
A rare specimen.
The man sensed her gaze suddenly, snapping his head up sharply like a drawn sword aimed straight at her.
Su Xiyue's heart jumped. She quickly withdrew her eyes and turned to run.
But the next moment, her body froze rigid.
The man had called her name, his voice cold and grinding with barely concealed anger.
"Su Xiyue, you're really bold—daring to spy on me while I'm bathing."
Before she could react, he rose from the water and strode toward her with long, purposeful steps.
Without thinking, Su Xiyue bolted.
No joke—if not now, when?
In the original story, the protagonist was caught spying on Xuan Ming bathing and almost beaten to death.
She was not about to relive that nightmare.
In her mind, she cursed Xuan Ming endlessly for being so pretentious—he came to bathe by the river and then accused her of spying? She had been perfectly upfront about it!
Of course, she didn't forget to grab her facial cleanser as she fled.
If she lost it, there'd be no place to buy another.
Xuan Ming watched her escape, puzzled by the strange item she clutched—something delicate and pretty, unlike anything he'd ever seen.
He didn't think much of it, his handsome face darkening with disdain at the thought that this female had dared to spy on him again.
The last time she did it, he'd given her a severe beating.
Now she was back for more—truly, she remembered the treats but forgot the beatings.
Su Xiyue ran all the way back to her cave, and when she saw that Xuan Ming hadn't followed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Sitting beside the fire, she thought about Xuan Ming's impressively sculpted body and couldn't help but swallow hard once again.
No doubt about it—this man had the best physique she'd seen since coming to the beast world.
Handsome too, with that fierce, aggressive charm.
Such a man was so perfect it was almost infuriating.
Too bad, he utterly despised her.
Winning him over was going to be a serious challenge.