Unedited chapter
23. Courting Favor Together
The n.o.ble and precious little sub-beastman actually lived in a dark mud cave. He could only warm himself with animal skins and cogongra.s.s, and he could only use a stone bowl to cook . . . .
Barely entering the cave, Jeress and the other men were distressed to the utmost.
Although they often went hunting and camping in the wild, but the condition would not be so harsh. The s.p.a.ce b.u.t.ton was always equipped with many camping equipments.
These men looked distressed, but Shu Shu felt that there wasn’t anything wrong with his cave.
He was in human form now, so he had been tidying up the cave properly, and the huge snake had also helped him add many things to his possessions. His situation was already much better than the time when he had been a hamster living in the wild. Comparatively, the only setback was maybe that there was no TV here.
He did like to watch TV. When his owner had watched TV, he had always watched attentively, eyes unblinking.
Entering the cave, Shu Shu at once went toward the bonfire and added a bit of firewood to build a roaring fire. However, even with the roaring fire, the cave was still quite dark. Shu Shu and Edgar who preferred the night and also had a very outstanding night vision were already accustomed to the dark. Those beastmen, however, were very unused to it.
Such a cold day, and to these men’s surprise, there was only a bonfire to warm oneself here . . . . The little sub-beastman was really too pitiful.
There were a total of six men in this group; each of them was tall. After entering Shu Shu"s cave, they crowded into it until it was completely packed. Two men even sat at the cave mouth, making the inside of the cave look darker.
Upon seeing this, Jeress quickly took out a tiny camping light.
This camping light was not big, but when it was switched on, the soft light shined brightly over the entire cave.
Shu Shu was pleasantly surprised when he saw the camping light; his eyes were full of curiosity—there seemed to be a lot of high-tech gadgets on these monsters’ hand? In that case, could he also bring home some gadgets later? He still loved those high-tech gadgets that humans had.
Thinking this way, Shu Shu was all the more determined to curry favor with these monsters. He went into the cellar he had dug himself and very generously took out the food he had stored there, little by little. Then he grabbed the stone pot, planning to cook the food.
Seeing Shu Shu"s action, Jeress and the other men realized that this little sub-beastman was trying to make some food for them, and they were immediately overwhelmed by this favor.
Beastmen ate too much; preparing meals for them would absolutely make the sub-beastmen exhausted. Therefore, in ancient times, the beastmen had learned to prepare their own meals. Nowadays, many sub-beastmen would actually use the oven to bake a pile of meat for the beastmen to eat. But it was also just this and nothing more . . . . This sub-beastman though, he was planning to prepare a meal for them with his own hands!
Of course, with a small stone pot like that, if he had to made enough food for six people to eat, it might take most of the day. By then, his spirit would be weary and his strength exhausted . . . .
Jeca thought he was about to have an opportunity to eat the food prepared by the little sub-beastman, so he was extremely excited. Nevertheless, Jeress immediately stood up : "I"ll help!"
He then took out several forks from his own s.p.a.ce b.u.t.ton. He also took out more or less six kilos of wild game meat. He stuck the forks into the meat and started to roast the meat. He even took out a kettle for outdoor use and began to boil some water—this kettle used energy stone, so using it for boiling water was really very convenient.
As Shu Shu watched this scene unfold, he repeatedly gasped in surprise. However, Jeca and the other men were quite depressed—the major deserved to be called major; he was smarter than them. They were still there, stupidly waiting to eat the food cooked by the little sub-beastman, while the major had already thought of the importance of courting the little sub-beastman’s favor.
They were a little slower, but they soon imitated Jeress. One after another, they took out all kinds of things and started to help preparing the meal.
At this time, Jeress was already one step ahead from them and began to help Shu Shu deal with the pheasant that Edgar had brought back.
Beastmen had a natural desire to protect the sub-beastmen. Even if the sub-beastman in front of them was an old man, they would also help. Furthermore, the sub-beastman before their eyes was not only not an old man, but also a good-looking boy . . . .
This boy was also a single sub-beastman, ah!
If the little sub-beastman liked one of them, in another two years or so, the little sub-beastman would be fully grown, and they could get married then.
Compared to the ancient times, there were many more sub-beastmen now, and it was because the premature mortality rate had already been reduced by a lot. However, the number of sub-beastmen was still 20% less than that of the beastmen. And on this planet, they saw even less than a few sub-beastmen . . . . G.o.d knew they wanted to get married to the point of insanity. They could not wait to see their sub-beastman come to their house and hold the proffered beast bead—which was their most precious possession besides the beast core—in his hand. Only then could a beastman and a sub-beastman be on intimate terms.
"My barbecue skill is the best."
"You all just give up and make a place for me. I brought some vegetables, and I can cook a soup for the little sub-beastman to eat!"
"I have some sauce and a pot here. I can make hotpot!"
……
Those five people, you jostled me, I jostled you. The cave that originally was not big suddenly became very crowded. Shu Shu was also carefully pushed away from the bonfire.
Suddenly having nothing to do, Shu Shu could only squeeze in beside the huge snake: "Big Snake, I didn"t expect that there are actually so many daemons in this world!"
Because there were many people in the cave, and they were all daemons, Shu Shu was not so afraid of the huge snake and was very close to it: “They took out many things. The outside world is surely very beautiful. I really want to go outside and take a look around.”
The little sub-beastman leaned to Edgar’s side. Edgar very much wanted to touch him, but in the end, he still gave up. He just quietly and contentedly listened to the little sub-beastman speak.
"If it’s quite good outside, we won’t return . . ." Shu Shu whispered. Every time he spoke, he couldn"t help inhaling through the nose, sniffing a mouthwatering smell in the air.
The food smelled really, really good. After he left the forest and went outside, could he eat continuously? With such a thought, Shu Shu could not help but drool.
Listening to the words that the little sub-beastman said, Edgar"s mood was not good at all. The little sub-beastman could return to human society and had to return to human society. He, however, could not.
"The roast bird is ready. Taste my cooking, please?" Not only was Jeress the first one who had thought of cooking for Shu Shu, but he was also the first one who finished cooking a couple of dishes and then presented them in front of Shu Shu.
In order to prevent the little sub-beastman from refusing the food, Jeress handed over the pheasant that had been caught by the fallen beast.
The roast bird smelled extraordinarily good, and Shu Shu couldn"t stop drooling. Although he couldn"t understand Jeress" words, but he could figure out the meaning of those words. He immediately said, "Thank you."
After saying thank you, Shu Shu took the proffered roast bird and tore off a bird leg to eat. Then, just like he usually did, he put the rest of the roast bird in the wooden bowl in front of Edgar.
Edgar silently swallowed a mouthful of roast bird. Raising his head, he saw the other men surround the little sub-beastman, fawning over the little sub-beastman incessantly.
Tasty mountain mushroom soup; delicious barbecue; aromatic, spicy, and appetizing hotpot . . . . The dishes were spread over an area in front of the little sub-beastman.
Edgar wished that he could also do something for the little sub-beastman. Unfortunately, he was unable to do anything.
Edgar was just thinking this way when he suddenly found a lot of roast meat inside the wooden bowl in front of him.
"Good disciple, you eat more!" Shu Shu was simply unable to eat any more of those foods. He found out that he could not decline the offerings, so he tried a little bit of each dish and gave the rest to his disciple.
Edgar swept his eyes around and discovered that the beastmen who had presented the little sub-beastman with food were all staring at him angrily. His mood suddenly turned good.
He ate all these things until his stomach bulged out.
Shu Shu"s sole stomach also bulged out. Patting his stomach, he felt perfectly satisfied while thinking that these daemons before his eyes were really very friendly!
Everyone was a good man, ah! Shu Shu"s eyes narrowed in happiness.
Eating and drinking their fill, the day was already late. Shu Shu didn"t urge them to leave. He gestured to those daemons, allowing them to stay in his cave for one night.
Jeress and the others agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Shu Shu got up and took in the cave he lived in. He saw that his living room seemed to be not big enough to cram in so many people. He immediately beckoned to the lion daemon he liked and then patted the room next to him, giving permission to the other man to sleep with him: "The living room is too crowded, you can sleep with me!"
"!!!" Jeress was a bit stunned. The little sub-beastman actually invited him to sleep together? This . . . this . . . .
Edgar was also stunned. He was a little angry at first, but he soon realized that maybe the little sub-beastman simply didn’t know what sleeping together meant.
Whatever it was, he certainly could not let other people bully the little sub-beastman!
Quickly blocking the entrance to the little sub-beastman’s bedroom, Edgar looked at Jeress coldly.
Once again, Jeress sensed that terrible power of suppression coming from the fallen beast’s body. Quivering, he at once became clear-headed and happened to make eye contact with the little sub-beastman’s pure gaze and brilliant smile. At this moment, he finally managed to respond. The little sub-beastman clearly didn’t understand anything at all, and he might not even know the difference between a beastman and a sub-beastman . . . .
Taking out a sleeping bag, Jeress laid it down in the corner and got into it. Upon seeing this, the other men also followed suit. They all evaded the little sub-beastman’s invitation—they inferred that they really shouldn"t take advantage of an underage sub-beastman.
Shu Shu saw that these men would rather squeeze in together than sleep with him, so he could only gave up on this plan. Then he got into his gra.s.s nest and fell asleep.
He slept well that night. He was faintly aware that someone was leaving the cave, but he didn’t even open his eyes—most likely, it was just one of those men going out to the toilet in the middle of the night, nothing important . . . .
Outside the cave, Edgar slithered some distance away and then stopped. Turning towards Jeress who followed closely behind him, Edgar used his tail to write down a bunch of words on the ground: "Tomorrow, take him along with you. I’ll leave together with you to ensure his safety. Then later, I’ll return here."