Chapter 11

The family enjoyed an exceptionally hearty meal, their stomachs full to the brim, leaving them with a deep sense of comfort.

Watching her mother and elder brother eat happily, Ye Baizhi’s face lit up with a smile, feeling an unusual sense of satisfaction. She cherished the warmth of being together as a family. The act of cooking over a wood fire—so rich with the essence of everyday life—created a slow, soothing rhythm that allowed one to relish the stability, peace, and tranquility of the moment.

“You’re truly remarkable, my daughter. Who would have thought that some mushrooms are poisonous while others aren’t? As long as you know how to distinguish them, it’s fine.”

“And this shepherd’s purse—we used to see it while hunting, but we just thought it was grass. Who knew it could be eaten, and taste so delicious?”

“Now we have several more types of food. If we store enough, we won’t go hungry in winter.”

Ye Lu felt that ever since her daughter returned, life had been filled with hope. Every morning, when she woke up and thought of going hunting, she was filled with energy. Unfortunately, she was only at the third-tier level of strength. If she were still at the sixth tier, she could gather some spirit herbs for the children. But spirit herbs were always guarded by powerful beasts, making them nearly impossible to approach for ordinary people.

Ye Baizhi thought to herself—this was only the beginning. There were still countless food sources in the mountains and forests, with an incredible variety.

“Mother, we’ll have even more food to eat in the future.”

“And today, I used pork fat to render a lot of oil. Tomorrow, we can stir-fry our food instead of just stewing it.”

Having oil in the stomach makes one feel fuller. In the beast world, people generally eat two meals a day—breakfast and dinner. Sometimes, when food is scarce, they may eat only one meal or even just one meal every two days. But for those who go hunting, they must at least ensure one meal a day, or they won’t have the energy to hunt.

In truth, this scarcity stems from a lack of knowledge about food. If people could identify more edible ingredients, they could also start growing food and raising simple livestock like chickens and ducks, improving their situation.

Of course, these changes won’t happen overnight. Many things require time and gradual learning.

“You truly understand so much, my daughter. From now on, I’ll listen to you.”

“I’ll listen to my sister too.”

Ye Baizhi found it quite nice to be the one making decisions—it saved her the trouble of explaining everything each time. She pulled out the now-cooled meat crisps from beside her and smiled. “Mother, try some of these meat crisps with my brother.”

“They’re made from the fat left after rendering oil. If you ever get hungry, you can grab a few pieces to eat.”

“Mother, hunting every day makes you easily hungry. You can wrap some in leaves and carry them with you—just eat a few pieces when you get hungry to fill your stomach.”

Usually, Mother would go hunting with Uncle. Sometimes, she would go with Aunt instead. She could take some for herself and also share them with Uncle and Aunt.

Even though Ye Lu and Ye Chuan had just finished a full meal, the aroma of the crispy meat bits was so enticing that they couldn’t resist trying them.

They picked up a piece each and were stunned. They never expected food to be so fragrant and crispy.

From the bottom of their hearts, they admired Ye Baizhi.

…

Meanwhile, Qiu Shi and his family had returned home.

Qiu Shi and Qiu Cai’s parents had spent the day hunting together, but they hadn’t caught much food. When they returned, they looked disappointed, feeling guilty towards their children.

“Let’s eat some of the wild fruits from the past few days to fill our stomachs for now. Tomorrow, we’ll go hunting again and try to catch more.”

Qiu Shi smiled and said, “Mother, we dug up a lot of radishes today. We can have them for dinner.”

“Radishes? What are those?”

Qiu Shi and Qiu Cai quickly tipped over a basket full of radishes to show their parents.

Their parents stared in shock.

“What is this? We’ve never seen it before. Is it a new fruit that grows on trees?”

Qiu Cai, excited, explained, “No, this is the food we dug up from underground! Ye Baizhi was the one who told us about it…”

Qiu Cai recounted the events of the day.

Their parents were astonished.

“Did Ye Baizhi really take the first bite to test whether the new food was safe?”

“Yes, exactly. She was completely fine the whole day. She even mentioned that she had eaten radishes before in the imperial city of the Central District.”

“Mother, Father, she’s really a good person—nothing like the rumors at all. I think someone must have wanted to harm her and deliberately spread those lies.”

Right now, Qiu Cai admires Ye Baizhi more than anyone.

Qiu Shi and Qiu Cai’s parents became excited.

“If that’s the case, then these must really be food. Tomorrow, we can dig up more.”

“Tonight, we’ll eat these radishes.”

And so, Qiu Shi and Qiu Cai’s family had radishes for dinner. Since they had never eaten radishes before, they found the taste unique—crisp and delicious.

Since they had dug up plenty, there was enough to fill all four family members’ stomachs. It wasn’t just their family—Lin Caocao and their household also praised Ye Baizhi.

Of course, what surprised everyone most was how different Ye Baizhi was from the rumors.

People’s perception of her shifted—they realized they shouldn’t believe everything they heard.

Everyone was curious—they wondered how the shepherd’s purse and mushrooms that Ye Baizhi had gathered tasted, and whether they were truly safe to eat. If they turned out fine, they could collect some more tomorrow, adding to their food supplies.

The thought filled them with anticipation and excitement.

…

That night, after the Rabbit Tribe had fallen asleep, Ye Baizhi quietly got up and transformed into her rabbit form, swiftly heading toward the forest she had visited earlier in the day. She found the chestnut trees.

Using her wood-element ability, she hastened their ripening, then picked up a long wooden pole and began striking the fuzzy chestnut husks in the tree.

However, her movements were slow. Having expended energy on ripening the trees, her strength was somewhat diminished, and knocking the chestnuts down took effort.

Still, Ye Baizhi was determined. She persisted for a while, though soon her neck began to ache from craning upward.

The tree was simply too tall. She took a deep breath and rested for a moment. “If only a gust of wind could blow them all down,” she muttered.

Then, she resumed striking the branches.

Just then, a sudden strong wind swept through. The chestnut husks all tumbled to the ground. Remarkably, they avoided landing directly on her.

Ye Baizhi’s eyes lit up. “No way… did they really all fall?”

Excited, she started gathering them up, storing them in her spatial pocket.

As Ye Baizhi continued gathering the chestnuts, a strange feeling crept over her. Slowly, she lifted her gaze—only to see a breathtakingly beautiful man standing not far away, bathed in the soft glow of moonlight. His long, snow-white hair cascaded down his back like a waterfall. Dressed in pristine white, his entire being was more radiant than jade itself. The moon’s hazy light blurred his features slightly, but it couldn’t obscure the pure, ethereal elegance exuding from him.

Untouched by dust, calm and composed, the moonlight seemed to drape him in a gentle glow. It was as if the very essence of the forest had been drawn into him, as if he carried the brilliance of the moon within himself.

He stood in the night—like a celestial being, like a mesmerizing phantom—so breathtaking that it was almost overwhelming. Just one glance was enough to leave one utterly stunned, as if even breathing became difficult.

Ye Baizhi froze. She thought she was seeing an illusion, but as she took a closer look at that strikingly refined and beautiful face, memories she had deliberately buried surged back all at once.

This… this wasn’t just anyone—this was Xue Youchen, the Snow Wolf King she had encountered that night.

Oh no!

Was he here to settle a score with her? Or worse—was he about to tear her apart?