Jiang Xi said casually, “Nothing much, just a little experiment.”
Lu Liufeng pressed his lips together and didn’t ask further, but while stirring the thick porridge, he couldn’t help glancing at his female master from time to time.
Beside the stone basin, Jiang Xi dipped her hand into the water again.
A soft green glow shimmered as she infused her healing power into the water.
Then she took a deep breath, held it, and submerged her face completely.
A tingling, slightly numb sensation spread across her skin.
She stayed that way until she could no longer hold her breath and finally lifted her face from the water.
Sure enough, the water in the stone basin had turned black.
Moreover, this water therapy method covered a larger area and consumed much less energy.
Jiang Xi’s eyes lit up with delight.
But when she looked at the pitch-black water, she fell silent again.
The dark water coming off her body seemed highly toxic.
The stone basin was too heavy for her to lift; after trying a few times, she had no choice but to ask Lu Liufeng for help.
“Lu Liufeng, can you pour this water out somewhere far away? Don’t dump it near the house.”
If she accidentally poisoned everyone here, it would be a disaster…
Lu Liufeng came over and easily lifted the stone basin in his arms.
Jiang Xi looked at him enviously, then quickly reminded him,
“Be careful, don’t let the water splash on you. It might burn your skin.”
Lu Liufeng let out a low “mm.”
He felt as though he were dreaming.
Never had he imagined that his female master could be so gentle.
As Jiang Xi watched him carry the basin toward the backyard, she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening behind her.
When she turned around, she saw a white-haired, blue-eyed man with striking, almost ethereal beauty step inside. Even though his fur clothing was stained with blood, it couldn’t conceal his innate allure.
This was Yi Yuexi, her snow-fox beast husband — a man famed throughout the Holy City for his beauty. Countless females had fought over him, some even coming to blows.
In the end, Jiang Xi’s holy-rank mother had forced the marriage upon him through political pressure.
Since the wedding, Yi Yuexi had never once treated Jiang Xi kindly, making no attempt to hide his disgust and rejection.
Yet the more he rejected her, the more the original Jiang Xi adored him.
To her, he was a trophy — something to show off, pleasing just to look at.
Yi Yuexi cast her a sideways glance with his upturned fox eyes, then walked straight past her into his room. The door slammed shut with a loud bang.
He ignored her completely, which actually made Jiang Xi breathe a sigh of relief.
When Lu Liufeng returned after dumping out the water, he saw what had happened.
Fearing that their mistress might lose her temper, he quickly tried to explain,
“He was injured last night during the beast tide. He’s just come back from the healing hut.”
Indeed, last night Lu Liufeng had tried to convince Yi Yuexi to come back and ask Jiang Xi for treatment — her healing ability worked better than any medicine.
But Yi Yuexi had only frowned and replied, “Even if I die, I won’t beg her.”
Jiang Xi noticed the flicker in Lu Liufeng’s beautiful eyes and immediately guessed Yi Yuexi’s reluctance.
She nodded slightly and didn’t press the matter.
“Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Before the meal, Mu Ling came back carrying firewood.
His fur garments hung loosely, exposing half of his muscular upper body. Despite the snow outside, a light sheen of sweat glistened on his sun-tanned skin — an undeniably striking sight.
Jiang Xi glanced once, then quickly looked away.
Lu Liufeng ladled out the pot of cooked food into several large wooden bowls — a sticky, shapeless mush of uncertain contents.
Mu Ling dropped the firewood, wiped the sweat from his chest, and sat by the fire.
There was no table in the kitchen; everyone sat in a circle around the fire, each with a bowl in hand.
With the doors closed, the cold wind was shut out, but the atmosphere in the kitchen grew tense.
After all, their mistress had never eaten with them before.
Normally, they had to deliver her meals to her room.
Lu Liufeng awkwardly threw another log into the fire.
Mu Ling never once looked at their mistress. He simply held his bowl and ate quickly.
Jiang Xi scooped up a spoonful of the sticky mush, put it in her mouth — and instantly frowned.
It was so… indescribably awful.
What on earth was this stuff?
A raw earthy taste mixed with the rank smell of meat. She nearly gagged trying to swallow it down.
Seeing her reaction, Lu Liufeng looked embarrassed.
“Master, after last night’s beast tide, we didn’t have time to hunt. Please forgive us for having to serve plain mixed porridge today.”
Mu Ling, having finished his first bowl, started scooping a second.
Watching Lu Liufeng’s deferential tone, he couldn’t hold back.
“Master, game is scarce in winter. Many families in the tribe can barely eat. Please don’t be so picky anymore.”
Jiang Xi pressed her lips together.
She wasn’t picky — but this was truly inedible.
“Mu Ling!” Lu Liufeng hissed, trying to stop him before he angered their mistress and suffered for it.
But Mu Ling’s sharp brows lowered defiantly.
“Spring, summer, and autumn — fine, she can be choosy then. But now, in the dead of winter, how are we supposed to find more prey?”
“Can you guarantee we’ll catch anything today if you go hunt?”
“I’ve said my piece. If she wants to hit me or scold me, I don’t care!”
The original Jiang Xi, raised in the Holy City, had always been pampered.
Even after being exiled to this cursed land, she demanded fresh meat every day. If she didn’t get it, she’d rather starve than eat leftovers.
From her memories, they’d caught a small, squirrel-like animal yesterday — and she had eaten the entire thing herself.
Jiang Xi was silent for a few seconds before meeting Mu Ling’s eyes.
“I won’t hit you. And I won’t ever hit any of you again.”
His sharp-boned face and cold demeanor were intimidating — if she didn’t know beastmen were forbidden to strike females, she might not have dared to speak so boldly.
“As for food, I’ll find a solution. You shouldn’t have to bear it all alone.”
She then looked at both of them.
“I know you all want to dissolve our marriage contracts. If we can find a Golden Soul Fruit, I’ll cooperate.”
That was the method she’d found in her inherited memories.
But even with the fruit, the dissolution would only be safe if the female agreed willingly — otherwise, the beastman would suffer terrible backlash.
She didn’t know how the five beast husbands in the Holy City had managed it, but if the five here in this cursed land could find such a fruit, she was willing to let them go.
If things couldn’t improve between them, she didn’t want to spend her life with people who despised her.
Once her poisoned body was cured, she could always find someone who truly loved her — and live happily together.
Lu Liufeng and Mu Ling both froze.
Though Lu Liufeng already sensed their mistress had changed, he never expected this.
That she would actually agree to dissolve their bonds.
In the past, whenever the topic came up, she would rant venomously — cursing the five beast husbands from the Holy City, wishing them to lose their powers or even die after separation.
She had even warned the five men here: if they dared use the Golden Soul Fruit, she’d make sure they suffered horribly — even if she agreed, she’d ensure they lost half their lives in the process.
