"I won't run around. I want to bathe. And I don't want to sleep here."
"What's wrong with you?"
Lang You stared at Yue Ling suspiciously, clearly unsettled by the seriousness in her expression.
Yue Ling was no longer the original crazy female who owned this body, and she had no intention of pretending to be insane.
Looking at Lang You, she felt nothing but speechless frustration.
Was he deaf?
"I said I want to bathe. And I don't want to sleep here."
She then turned her head and looked at Lang Zuo, continuing calmly,
"Is it possible that the shaman cured her madness?" Lang You exclaimed in shock, throwing his arms around Lang Zuo in disbelief.
Yue Ling: ...
Lang Zuo shoved Lang You away in open disgust and looked back at the female before him, suddenly unsure of what to think.
By now, dusk had fallen. The sky was awash with red clouds, and the faint golden light of sunset spilled across the land. The small, grimy female stood there quietly, her figure seemingly gilded in gold, unexpectedly eye-catching.
"We'll agree to everything you've asked for," Lang Zuo finally said. "But for these two days, you're not allowed to wander off."
He couldn't tell whether this crazy female had truly recovered, or if she was merely in a brief lucid phase before another episode.
In any case, they only had two days left before handing over caretaking duties to the next beastman. As long as she behaved during that time and cooperated, these minor requests were easy enough to fulfill.
After all, they weren't really demands at all.
Females were precious. Any female could choose a cave she liked and move in without question. No male beastman would dare object, for fear of offending her.
Hearing that she wanted to bathe, both Lang Zuo and Lang You secretly let out a sigh of relief.
This crazy female was nearly an adult and had practically never bathed. Every time the tribe tried to force her to wash, she would slip away and disappear.
She was so filthy it was unbearable to look at—reeking and suffocating.
Even the least hygienic female in the tribe bathed at least once a month.
Yue Ling nodded. She could tell the brothers were mostly afraid she'd run off into the mountains again and force them to search everywhere for her.
Since an agreement had been reached, Yue Ling added her own conditions.
"I want hot water. And I want a new animal-hide dress."
This body was far too weak. She was afraid that bathing in cold water would leave her sick.
The Beast World might be rich in resources, but medical care was clearly primitive. Falling ill here could very easily mean death.
Especially for a female everyone already considered mad and worthless.
"Alright," Lang Zuo nodded.
"You go prepare hot water," he ordered Lang You.
Lang You: ...
He pursed his lips in displeasure.
"You can't trust what this crazy female says. What if she suddenly relapses and runs off again?"
Their sense of smell was sharp, but even so, they couldn't stand playing endless games of hide-and-seek with her.
If this were a male beastman, he would've been beaten half to death long ago.
Lang Zuo found Lang You unbearably noisy and shot him an angry glare.
Lang You snorted toward Yue Ling in clear defiance, then reluctantly went off to prepare the bathwater.
Lang Zuo led Yue Ling into a new cave.
It was roughly two hundred square feet—clean, dry, and filled with the faint scent of earth. Though empty, it was a far cry from the filthy cave she had lived in before.
Yue Ling nodded in satisfaction.
"This is much better. Thank you."
Hearing her gratitude, Lang Zuo felt a strange, indescribable emotion stir in his chest.
Females were always aloof and untouchable. No female had ever thanked him before.
Lang You soon returned, carrying an enormous stone cauldron nearly half his height, guided by the lingering stench.
Yue Ling stared as the massive pot was set down.
"…I'm supposed to bathe in that?"
Lang You placed the cauldron on the ground and said irritably,
"Wash."
Yue Ling glanced at the two brothers still standing inside the cave.
Yue Ling: ...
"With you standing here, how am I supposed to bathe?"
Only then did Lang You react, his mind going completely blank.
In his eyes, this crazy female had never really counted as a female at all—so the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.
"Never mind," Yue Ling said, pointing toward the corner of the cave. "Put the cauldron over there."
The cave was shaped like a reversed seven, and the corner she indicated was partially hidden.
Lang You finally carried the cauldron over with a series of heavy grunts.
Meanwhile, Lang Zuo had brought over clean animal-hide skirts and furs.
Yue Ling fashioned a crude curtain herself, hanging it up to block the view.
Lang Zuo and Lang You had no habit of peeping on females bathing—especially not a filthy, foul-smelling crazy one.
Looking at the curtain, Lang You scoffed inwardly.
As if anyone would want to spy on her bathing. She was seriously overestimating herself.
After waiting for a long moment, Yue Ling cautiously peeked out from behind the curtain. Seeing the two brothers standing motionless outside, she finally let out a breath of relief.
She stripped off the stiff, grimy animal-hide top and skirt that had long since hardened with filth, then stepped into the stone cauldron.
The moment she looked down, she froze.
A thick layer of black, greasy scum floated across the surface of the water.
Yue Ling: ...
System 999: [Host, stay calm…]
"Could you please prepare some more hot water?"
Yue Ling's awkward voice drifted out from behind the curtain.
It was just too disgusting—far too greasy. She instantly lost all desire to sit in the water.
At this point, she couldn't help wondering whether one of the reasons this body was so weak was because it had been harboring countless layers of filth—and who knew how many diseases along with it.