Huo was reluctant to leave Ziqian alone. He had only met the sub-beast today, yet the thought of parting from him was already unbearable. If it weren't improper to linger alone with an unmarried sub-beast, he would have remained by Ziqian's side far longer.
Still, he advised Ziqian to rest and to look for him if he needed anything before reluctantly leaving. On his way toward the tribe's boundary, his mother's words suddenly echoed in his mind.
What if Ziqian changes his mind and decides to visit my tent?
The thought made him freeze mid-step. It would be far too embarrassing if Ziqian saw just how messy and unkempt his place was. Without a second thought, Huo hurried back, practically strutting with excitement, eager to clean up.
Meanwhile, Ziqian—now alone—sighed.
He glanced around the tent. Near the entrance on the left was a tidy hearth, swept clean of ashes, with several logs neatly stacked and ready to burn. In the opposite corner rested a large bed of soft grass, its quilts carefully folded. Many items were scattered around the tent, yet each was perfectly arranged in its place.
The person living here obviously has OCD, Ziqian thought.
He was walking toward the bed to rest but paused when he spotted the four fluff balls huddled together in a corner.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked.
The moment they heard their Ah-Zi's voice, the four fluff balls zipped over to him happily.
"We were just talking about the twins," Phi replied honestly.
"What's wrong with them?"
"Nia has a strong affinity with Huo, and I'm with Xue," Gae said with excitement.
It was rare for guardians to find someone they shared such a strong bond with. For Gae and Nia, finding humans they shared a strong affinity with upon entering the tribe filled them with joy.
They were so wrapped up in their happiness that they didn't notice Ziqian's puzzled expression.
Wait… shouldn't it be Gae with Huo and Nia with Xue? How does the hot-blooded Huo pair with shy, quiet Nia?
Still, it didn't matter. What was important was that the fluff balls were happy.
"Congratulations, you two," Ziqian said warmly as he gently kneaded the white and blue furballs. After satisfying himself with a few squeezes, he added, "Let's check the rewards for my first quest."
When he'd first arrived at the tribe's entrance, he had received a notification that his initial mission was complete and that the rewards were now available in his inventory.
He opened the familiar blue interface and tapped on the treasure trove icon. Where there had once been an empty box, two items now appeared: a small pouch and a scroll. The scroll had to be the promised brick recipe, while the pouch likely contained his accumulated points.
The moment he clicked the scroll, knowledge rushed into his mind, leaving him slightly dizzy. The recipe was simple, and the materials were all readily available in this world. For people still living in tents, this discovery was invaluable—it meant they could now build sturdy brick houses.
Next, he clicked the pouch and found 70 points inside.
Ziqian blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected such a generous reward for his very first quest. Only 30 more points were needed to unlock the shop.
"The points you earned are based on how much time was left on the countdown," Gae explained.
Ziqian nodded, pleased with his gains.
Outside, dusk was falling, and the savory smell of roasted meat wafted through the tribe.
Inside the tent, Ziqian lay quietly on a grass bed covered with soft fur, his mind dazed.
He wasn't the type to nap—his body was used to surviving on only two or three hours of sleep each day. Instead, his thoughts drifted aimlessly as he listened to the muffled chatter of the bustling tribe beyond the tent walls.
"What's wrong?" Phi asked, noticing Ziqian's sudden silence.
Ziqian was uncertain. He feels elated at one moment and melancholy the next second. He knew these emotions were normal and that he shouldn't rush himself to accept everything all at once, but he still can't stop himself from overthinking the future.
Instead of answering, he changed the subject. "When will the next quest appear?"
"Just wait a few days. For now, rest and get used to the tribe," Gae replied.
"Okay."
_______________.
Before he knew it, a week had already passed.
Ziqian quickly grew accustomed to life in the tribe and even befriended several females.
The hide and fur Lia had gifted him that night helped him blend in easily. At first, wearing them felt strange, but after a few days he no longer minded.
Females and sub-beasts wore decent clothing, but the males remained half-naked, wearing nothing more than loincloths, for normal clothing would only hinder their transformations.
Ziqian, who had always been used to mingling with people, considered friendliness the most natural approach for a newcomer. He greeted others with a smile, showed respect to elders, and never acted arrogant, even when shown favor.
Unfortunately, not everyone could be pleased.
Sub-beasts were rare and heavily protected, which made some of them arrogant and unapproachable. So when the beautiful new sub-beast always greeted others warmly and spoke without air, the females and beasts quickly welcomed Ziqian, but that very warmth made other sub-beasts resent him.
From the moment Ziqian stepped into the tribe, he had drawn attention. Now his friendliness only highlighted their pride, making them look bad. Some chose to ignore him, while others openly treated him coldly or muttered mockery in passing.
It was impossible for Ziqian not to notice, especially with the four fluff balls constantly updating him on the tribe's gossip.
"Envy and jealousy really can give birth to hatred," Phi said sadly.
"Because they aren't as pretty as our Ah-Zi, they slander him whenever they get the chance!" Ero fumed, his red fur darkening with anger.
"What do you want to do, Ah-Zi?" Gae asked, his childish voice unusually serious. Because of their restrictions, the guardians couldn't act directly, but they could help Ziqian devise the perfect punishment to shut those mouths for good.
Ziqian only smiled. He was already used to this sort of thing. In his previous world, plenty of people treated him kindly, only to spread rumors and gossip behind his back.
Compared to those experiences, the sub-beasts' petty actions felt almost childish. As long as they didn't make the first move, he had no intention of wasting energy on them.
"Kill," Nia muttered flatly, breaking his usual silence.
"No!" Ziqian quickly cut in after hearing Nia's suggestion. "It's not a big deal, so don't worry about it."
"Humans are really hard to understand," Phi sighed, nuzzling his yellow furball against Ziqian's cheek in comfort. "Don't worry, Ah-Zi. We'll watch them closely and let you know right away if they plan anything bad."
Ziqian sighed softly.
Meanwhile, the four fluff balls began plotting in secret. Since only Ziqian could see them, they took advantage of their invisibility, slipping into the tents of the malicious sub-beasts to dig up their most humiliating secrets. Each time they uncovered something new, they eagerly reported it to Ziqian, urging him to use the information as blackmail to silence his haters once and for all.
Naturally, Ziqian had no intention of doing so—not unless someone crossed his bottom line.
"I want to wash. I feel sticky," Ziqian muttered as he stood up, grabbed a change of clothes, and left the four fluff balls behind, who were still absorbed in their discussions. He headed toward the nearby stream for a quick bath.
Recently, Ziqian had joined a group of females in gathering red roots. Red root was the staple food for sub-beasts and females—it tasted somewhat like sweet potato, while beasts relied mostly on monster meat.
Every morning, their group would trek up the mountain to collect red roots, and if they were lucky, they might stumble upon some wild fruits.
As a sub-beast, Ziqian wasn't required to hunt or forage; he was expected only to handle lighter, menial tasks within the tribe. After all, food gathering was both laborious and dangerous, and casualties weren't uncommon.
But after a week of meals consisting only of roasted meat and boiled red root, Ziqian was getting sick of it. If not for the heart-shaped fruits he had harvested earlier, he wasn't sure how long he could endure. He had shared some of those fruits with Lia, and the remaining supply would only last a few more days. That was why he decided to join the gathering team, hoping to find more edible fruits.
What baffled him even more was that the tribe had salt, yet never used it for cooking. Instead, the high priest reserved it for rituals meant to ward off monsters and negative energy.
Ziqian had heard of such practices on Earth, but to him, salt belonged in food—anything else was a waste.
As he stepped out of the tent, he was met with greetings from the passing beasts and females. He returned them with a polite smile and wave before heading toward the stream.
As he walked, his mind wandered to the problem of improving their meals. He couldn't bear the thought of living on nothing but boiled root and roasted meat forever.
Just then, the blue interface suddenly popped up in front of him.
[Generating Second Main Quest…]
A few seconds later, another screen appeared.
[Main Quest #2: Find 10 edible fruits and 10 edible vegetables.
No time limit
Reward: Food Encyclopedia
Failure: None]
In the blink of an eye, the four fluff balls he had left in the tent materialized at his side.
"The second quest is here!" Ero cheered.
Food Encyclopedia?
"It's a collection of information on every edible food in this world," Gae explained.
"Hey, that's a great reward!" Ziqian said, eyes brightening.
Indeed, it was incredibly useful. With the encyclopedia, once he found ten fruits and ten vegetables, identifying edible plants and even edible monsters in the future would become effortless.
The thought filled Ziqian with excitement—he couldn't wait to set out tomorrow.
But then he recalled that for the past three days with the gathering team, they had only ever dug up red roots from the same place near the tribe.
If things go on like this, how could I possibly find all ten fruits and ten vegetables?
His excitement faded, giving way to worry. Even without a time limit, completing the quest seemed impossible if he kept following the team.
Going out alone was dangerous—and terrifying. But asking someone to accompany him also felt too troublesome.
Ziqian let out a long sigh.
Until he reached the stream, Ziqian still hadn't figured out how he could ask Lia and Bei to let him wander the forest alone.
He crouched down, scooping up the clear water to wash his face. The coolness was refreshing against his skin, easing away the fatigue of walking and digging roots all day. The thought of stripping down and soaking in the stream was tempting, and he had just begun to remove his clothes when a familiar voice called out—
"Ziqian!"
Before he could even turn around, strong arms wrapped around him from behind.
"Huo?" Ziqian asked in surprise. The man didn't answer. Instead, he buried his face against Ziqian's neck, the warm breath tickling his skin.
"What's wrong?" Ziqian asked softly, but the man only tightened his hold.
In the past week, their relationship had grown much closer. Huo never failed to visit him every day, even volunteering to act as their group's escort whenever they went out.
Sweet, stubborn, and hopelessly clingy—that was the Huo Ziqian knew. Yet according to the others, he was terrifying, hot-blooded, and impossible to approach. The contrast only made him seem even cuter in Ziqian's eyes. Of course, he also knew exactly why Huo treated him differently.
Ziqian's hand moved soothingly over his head. "You looked fine when we separated earlier. Tell me, what's bothering you?"
"Ziqian."
"Hm?"
There was no reply. So Ziqian stayed quiet too, letting Huo hold him as tightly as he wished until he felt a warm breath against his nape, followed by a sudden ticklish sniff and a light kiss.
Ziqian couldn't help but giggle. "Stop it, Huo!"
The man stilled. Then, in a low murmur, Ziqian heard him whisper—
"Ziqian… I like you. I like you so much."