The witch doctor slowly helped Kana sit up. Tu Ze's eyes were fixed on her.
Her smooth black hair, pale skin, and peaceful sleeping face looked even more holy under the light.
Tu Ze couldn't help but reach out to touch her. Compared to the females in the settlement who rarely cared for their hair, hers had always been clean and smooth, like water plants in a river.
"Tu Ze, how did you get those injuries on your body?"
"I only remember that I went hunting and was bitten by a beast. Then I met those siblings. After that, everything turned red before my eyes, and I didn't return to normal until much later."
"Bitten by a beast…" The witch doctor asked carefully, "Then how did you return to normal?"
Tu Ze shook his head. He was desperately trying to recall who that white figure was, but his memories of the red haze were blurry, like a picture covered with mosaic.
He let go of her hair. Females were often willful. Maybe a feather fell from the sky, and he just mixed things up.
"Maybe it was the antidote potion I carried with me that worked."
The witch doctor frowned. "Antidote potions don't work like that."
Seeing that Tu Ze didn't want to say more, the witch doctor didn't push further.
Kana slowly woke up. She saw a figure leaving the room. The witch doctor, worried about her body, sighed with relief when he saw she was fine.
Soon, more beastmen came inside.
"Idris! You're alive!"
Idris's eyes lit up when he saw Kana. He quickly took a few steps toward her but stopped, his expression complicated.
The witch doctor teased, "You two know each other? What a coincidence. Today, Idris just became the mate of Faya, the fox tribe leader's sister. He must have come to share wedding candy with everyone."
The room fell silent.
"We all thought you and Yujin were dead."
Kana patiently explained to the witch doctor, "On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, we exchanged keepsakes. But then the beasts attacked our village. We escaped at first, but Idris went back to protect the village. We lost contact after that. I lived in the forest for a while before arriving at the settlement with my brother."
Yujin, who was already in the room, punched Idris.
"Who said we were dead! You know you had a promise with my sister!"
Idris didn't fight back. He silently took the blows.
The witch doctor quickly stopped Yujin, afraid he'd cause more trouble.
Kana gently took off the stone necklace from her neck and placed it in Idris's hand.
"We both had our own struggles. You're not wrong, and I don't blame you. Neither of us owes the other anything."
"You also saved me and the tribe, so I wish you a happy marriage."
She said this and left with Yujin.
"Neither of us owes the other anything…"
Idris bitterly repeated those words. He wanted to say more, but he already knew he had lost the right to be with Kana.
As for her, a heavy weight in her heart was finally lifted. She had worried about how to tell Idris about the child, but now that he had a new mate, she no longer needed to. She also completed the system's task.
She felt completely free.
A natural smile appeared on her lips.
Yujin thought she was acting strange from grief and didn't dare to speak. In his heart, he cursed Idris thousands of times.
Tu Ze hadn't gone far. He leaned against the witch doctor's door, quietly listening to everything inside.
She didn't cry or make a scene, didn't complain to her family. She just left calmly, without hesitation.
Quite free-spirited.
"Brother Tu Ze! You're here? I brought fresh fruit, come taste it."
Standing in front of him was the fox tribe's most beautiful female, Malara.
"Fruit isn't that tasty. I have fresh prey I just caught!"
"I only have two beast husbands. You can be with me today."
Tuze had only been standing at the healer's door when a group of females surrounded him, all talking at once.
So annoying!
"Roar..."
A wolf's threatening growl came from his throat. The females instantly went silent and moved aside.
When he looked again for Kana, she was already gone.
On the roadside, Wayin was selling freshly hunted prey.
Then he spotted two familiar figures. Ignoring the orcs asking about prices, he rushed over and hugged his family tightly.
He burst into tears.
Ever since being separated from his elder brother and younger sister, his days had been empty. Food lost its taste, he couldn't sleep at night, and even while hunting, his mind would wander.
Even when running the stall, he was always distracted.
He had seen others lose family or become disabled. At least they had an ending. But he felt abandoned by the world, left all alone.
Now, seeing them safe, he couldn't hold back anymore.
He cried so hard he couldn't breathe.
"You... you're back... it's good you're back... sob sob..."
Wayin held Kana and Yujin's faces, kissing them again and again.
They both laughed at his reaction.
"You must be hungry. Eat something."
After days of traveling, they were starving. Kana didn't care whether it was raw or cooked meat and started eating right away.
Beside the stall stood Wayin's new friend, Yuxing, a wolf orc. From the first time he saw Kana, he couldn't control himself.
He quickly pulled Wayin aside. "When did you get a mate?"
"Pah! That's my sister!"
"Sister? Oh, that's great. Sister, that's great." Yuxing rubbed his hands nervously.
Of course, Wayin knew what he was thinking, so he said, "It depends on what my sister wants."
Yujin and Kana were happily eating, not paying attention to their conversation.
Yuxing handed money to Wayin. "You have many in your family. I also have some extra supplies. You can come get them anytime."
Wayin smiled. "How about tonight we all eat together? This is Yuxing. When I was injured, he took care of me."
Kana and Yujin agreed happily.
It was time for the family to reunite properly.
Kana looked up at Yuxing.
"System, check Yuxing's information."
"Level: 13
Talent: Power of Wind Control
Attribute: Wind
Grade: Blue (Normal)"
She smiled lightly. Yuxing looked away shyly, though his eyes still glanced at her from time to time.
He untied the belt at his waist and handed it to Kana.
"These are freshly picked fruits. Eat meat and then fruit. Life should have flavor."
Kana studied Yuxing. Compared to other orcs, he was indeed stronger. Years of archery had built up the muscles on his arms.
"My sister, he's the famous wolf tribe archer. Whether hunting or living, he's skilled at everything."
Kana didn't refuse much. Orcs mostly eat meat. They have no problem eating it every day, but Kana wasn't used to it.
Eating some fruit now was a good way to change the taste.
"These are red berries, only found in the settlement. They only grow during the change of autumn to winter. I don't know if you'll like them."
Yuxing said gently while watching Kana closely.
Wayin could already smell the faint tension in the air.
Yujin put his arm around Yuxing and introduced him, "My sister is a very kind and brave orc, not like those spoiled females who only know how to act willful."
His words were full of pride.
What caught Yuxing's attention was the clothes. He himself wore coarse cloth, which was already a sign of a well-off life among orcs.
But Kana's white clothes looked soft, finely made, and very comfortable.
They didn't look like something ordinary orcs could make.
"Where did your clothes come from?"
Kana didn't expect Yuxing to ask this.
It wasn't strange though. Among tribes where most wore animal skins or leaves, her clothes stood out, even though they were just simple cotton.
"A friend gave them to me, a very close friend," Kana explained.
She couldn't say she made them herself. She didn't even know how to sew animal skins.
So she gave a half-true answer to avoid awkwardness later if she wore different clothes.
Yuxing narrowed his eyes and asked, "Which tribe's male gave them to you?"
In his mind, only strong orcs deserved better lives.
Weaker males and females only deserved to live in drafty caves.
"A female gave them to me. We're very close. Even if I told you, you wouldn't know her," Kana teased. "What, do you also want to know where she lives?"
Yujin and Wayin both watched Yuxing carefully.
"No, no, I didn't mean that, haha."
Wayin said, "Alright, see you tonight then."
After Yuxing left, Kana asked about him.
"Brother, didn't Yuxing choose a female during the coming-of-age ceremony?"
Wayin shook his head and said with a sneer, "That guy has his nose in the air. He's already been through two ceremonies and still didn't choose a female."
"I asked him why before. He just said that for him, the most important thing in choosing a female, besides fertility, is beauty."
Most orcs would be glad just to have a female. Who would dream of having a beautiful one too?
"A beautiful female for him? Ha." Wayin mocked. "He may be a divine archer with the sharpest eyes, but his standards are way too high."
"Normally, with his strength, he should've had children long ago. But he dragged it out till now."
Kana thought for a moment. It seemed that the stronger the male, the more they cared about things other than fertility.
Yujin urged, "Forget that. How are we preparing for dinner tonight?"
"System, open the ingredient storage."
Kana glanced at it. Ingredients could be exchanged with the beast world's currency.
Luckily, it didn't require points, or that would've been too expensive.
She said confidently, "Brothers, just get the ingredients ready. Leave the rest to me."
Yujin and Wayin exchanged worried looks. "Can you really do it alone?"
Kana nodded firmly. "I promise you'll enjoy tonight's meal."
"Alright, then we'll wait for tonight's big meal!"
As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the place Wayin had bought.
Compared to the fox tribe's cave, the environment here was much better.
Inside, there were already some simple pieces of furniture, with a full set of tables and chairs.
There were also three bedrooms, each with a thick grass nest.
Kana and Yujin asked in surprise, "Is this our place to live?"
Wayin looked proud, his eyes shining as he said, "This isn't just a place to live, it's a home."
"These past years, I've managed to save some money, so buying a place like this wasn't a problem."
"Our fox tribe has suffered so much loss. With you both here, I finally feel at ease."
"When I save up more, I'll hire beastmen to renovate this place properly."
Yujin hugged Wayin tightly, touched as he said, "Good little brother, you've worked so hard. As your older brother, I'll also do my part."
Kana was also very moved. At first, Wayin didn't treat her very well.
But now he had made this home so decent, life suddenly felt hopeful.
Looking at Wayin's face, she found it more and more dear.
"I'll also take good care of both of you," Kana said seriously.
Looking around the house, they came to the kitchen. Inside, there were only some simple utensils, covered with dust from long disuse.
Kana remembered she still had some crystal cores Idris gave her in her system space.
They could finally come in handy.
"System, open the food category."
"Exchange ten jin of salt, one jin of pepper, half a jin of soy sauce, half a jin of peanuts, half a jin of sesame, half a jin of sugar, one jin of rice wine…"
She exchanged all the seasonings she could think of, plus a stew pot.
She chose the stew pot because in winter, eating hot stews with soup was the best way to warm up.
Drinking soup also nourished the body.
When she saw the kitchen now piled high with supplies, she was shocked it only cost two crystal cores.
She decided she had to find ways to get more crystal cores in the future.
Yujin and Wayin also carried in fresh prey. Seeing the pile of things in front of them, they were stunned.
The two beastmen couldn't help but look around curiously.
Especially when Wayin dipped a little salt on his tongue, happiness almost overflowed from his face.
Yujin, however, looked worried and asked, "Sister, all these things don't look like they can be bought in the settlement. Where did you get them?"
"Uh…" Kana's mind raced as she quickly explained, "These are things I saved up before I met you."
"Second brother set up a home for us, so I wanted to add something useful."
"Good sister, then I didn't waste my money," Wayin said warmly, then told Yujin, "Big brother, don't keep asking. What's wrong with sister having her own things?"
He remembered how she had just shown her talents not long ago, and now she suddenly had so many supplies.
She really had many secrets.
He thought he'd better not ask too much in the future.
"Alright, you both should go out. Good food needs some mystery before it's ready." Kana pushed her brothers out of the kitchen. Yujin and Wayin smiled indulgently at her words.
Her memories from Blue Star could finally be used.
She put the chopped ingredients and seasonings into the stew pot, added water, carefully controlled the fire, and tossed in more spices.
As time passed, the aroma of simmering meat filled the whole house.