It was the first time she had ever played with Hei Yao's tail like this, and she had to admit, it was actually pretty fun. A small spark even popped from the tail, but it wasn't hot at all.
Of course, that was because Hei Yao was controlling the temperature. He watched Si Lu play with his tail, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, his eyes full of indulgence.
The little female liked playing with his tail, and he was quite happy about it, though he didn't really understand why she enjoyed it so much.
To him, the tail didn't seem particularly fun, but the little female, much like a cub, seemed to enjoy playing with all sorts of strange things.
For these adult males, such things were normal, but to females and cubs, it was a completely different matter.
Hei Yao looked at Si Lu as she happily played with his tail, feeling a sense of joy in his heart.
"Lulu, if you're done playing with the snake tail, you can play with my tail. I have two big, fluffy ones, and they're very soft and beautiful!" Bai Di said with a smile, his face full of flattery.
Si Lu's face immediately turned black at Bai Di's words.
What did he mean by "welcome to play with my tail"?
Where did he get such a line from?
He wasn't trying to compete for attention; he just felt bad because he might have said something earlier that made Si Lu upset and wanted to make it up to her.
"Lulu, the tiger's tail is also really nice to touch," Big Tiger chimed in.
"Well, well, the rabbit's ears are nice to touch too. The rabbit's tail may be short, but the ears are long and soft," Nance said hesitantly.
His expression was cautious and anxious, unsure if Si Lu would like what he said or be annoyed by it.
But he still wanted to try.
After all, the reason he was part of this group was because of Si Lu, wasn't it?
Besides, with the harmonious atmosphere, he wanted to contribute to the conversation.
"The sika deer's antlers are also fun to play with," Cheng Mo added.
Si Lu rolled her eyes at their words and tugged at the corners of her mouth. These guys were really something, never giving her a moment's peace.
All she did was play with Hei Yao's tail for a bit, and now they were all recommending their own tails, ears, and even antlers.
Honestly, there was no end to the weird things they could come up with.
Ignoring them, Si Lu continued playing with Hei Yao's tail.
Of course, she only played with the tip of the tail, keeping a good distance from Hei Yao's still-healing wound.
Looking at the wound, which was almost fully healed, she felt quite relieved.
It seemed like it wouldn't take more than a couple of days to heal completely. Once again, Si Lu marveled at how powerful beastmen were, with their incredible healing abilities.
If a human had such an injury, it would take at least two or three months to heal to this degree. Beastmen truly had remarkable bodies.
Even seemingly fatal injuries could be overcome if they didn't die immediately, as long as they had enough time to recover.
What an amazing species! Si Lu thought to herself.
After playing for a while, she started feeling tired and lay down against Hei Yao's large tail, closing her eyes for a nap.
As soon as Si Lu fell asleep, the others worked even more carefully.
Although they all appeared to be focused on their tasks, most of their attention was still on Si Lu.
For these male beastmen, multitasking was effortless, so they immediately noticed when Si Lu dozed off.
Since they didn't dare move her, they just softened their movements to avoid disturbing her.
Time passed, and Si Lu's breathing became more steady as she fell into a deeper sleep.
Just as Hei Yao finished carving the wooden plaque in his hands, he carefully picked Si Lu up from the ground and carried her over to a pile of grass covered with animal skins a little further away.
Since they were all downstairs, it was better to let Si Lu sleep down here with them. If she woke up alone upstairs and didn't see them, she might get anxious or scared.
Besides, none of them felt comfortable with her sleeping upstairs by herself in the bamboo house.
It was much better to have her sleep downstairs, where they could keep an eye on her and take care of her. It also put them more at ease.
When they first built the bamboo house, Cheng Mo had already thought of this.
That's why there were grass piles covered with animal skins downstairs as well, and not just one, but three. That way, anyone could sleep on a grass pile and keep watch at night.
Of course, the ones upstairs were larger.
The others fully supported Hei Yao's decision. After he placed Si Lu on the grass pile, he carefully covered her with a clean animal skin before returning to the fire pit to continue carving the animals.
The little female liked these carvings so much that they wanted to finish them quickly so she could see and be even happier.
In the quiet bamboo house, the only sounds were the soft breathing of the little female and their own heartbeats.
As time went by, the pile of carved plaques grew higher.
They didn't make too many; they simply carved one set, then moved on to another. There were a total of twelve animals.
If they made too many types of animals, things would get too complicated.
So, after finishing one set of twelve, they grouped them together and then started on another. Since the little female liked them so much, making an extra set wouldn't hurt.
So they continued working.
Noticing that it was getting late, Bai Di began preparing food, making a stew with meat broth.
Hei Yao, meanwhile, returned to Si Lu's side and sat by the grass pile, quietly watching over the little female as she slept.
Outside, the rain continued to pour down, the sound growing louder. Cheng Mo, standing at the edge of the bamboo house under the roof, used a tornado to pull up fish and shrimp from the river. They all landed neatly on the bamboo raft.
Big Tiger and Nance, as if in perfect sync, immediately went over to start preparing the fish and shrimp.
Everyone was busy with their own tasks.
After a long while, Si Lu woke up, not from being fully rested, but from hunger. She was hungry again. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw grilled fish by the fire, a pot of shrimp, and a pot of stewed meat.
Oh my goodness, she felt so happy. The moment she opened her eyes, she was greeted by so much delicious food that she didn't even have time to check out the finished bamboo plaques.
The smell of the food kept drifting into her nose.
"Lulu, you're awake. Are you hungry? Perfect timing. There's food ready by the fire. Do you know what you feel like eating? After you fell asleep, Cheng Mo knew you liked fish and shrimp, so he went and caught some more," Hei Yao said with a smile.
"That's right. Now that we're traveling by water, it's so easy to catch fish and shrimp. Cheng Mo just whips up a tornado, and before long, it's brought back a bunch of fish and shrimp. It's unbelievably convenient. We can have as much as we want," Bai Di said with a laugh.