Hu Jiao Jiao eagerly nodded.
“Yes, yes, Uncle Niu. I’ll trade this meat for some animal hides. Do you think these are enough for a few?”

She pushed the meat closer to the old man, afraid that he might reject her offer.

The loud voice of Old Niu had already attracted the attention of nearby beastmen.

They were shocked to see Hu Jiao Jiao bring so much meat.

Even Old Niu was surprised. He couldn’t believe that this female was willing to exchange meat for hides.

He lifted the meat to weigh it—at least 70 to 80 pounds. In the tribe, some beastmen did come to him to trade for hides, but only the stronger ones who were too lazy to prepare their own. Most would tan hides themselves.

But there has never been anyone as generous as Hu Jiao Jiao.

He was getting old, he caught fewer and fewer prey and was in great need of food. Seeing that Hu JiaoJiao really only wanted to exchange for hides, he nodded.

“This meat is enough for three large hides. You can pick whichever you want.”

Hu JiaoJiao beamed with joy and quickly thanked him.
“Thank you, Uncle Niu.”

Three hides were more than enough—she could patch together clothes for her four little ones. She then lifted her head and started selecting suitable hides from those hanging on the branches.

Not far away, the gathered beastmen began whispering among themselves.

“Hu Jiao Jiao is personally trading meat for hides? Has she gone mad?”

“Her cubs are so malnourished; they barely have enough to eat. Where did she get so much meat to trade?”

“I heard that the prey Long Mo brings home is never enough. Did she steal this meat? Or maybe she robbed someone?”

Hearing this, the other beastmen sneered with contempt.

Just when they thought Hu Jiao Jiao had changed for the better, it turned out she was still doing the same shameless things.

“Hu Jiao Jiao is trying to swindle Old Niu out of his hides.”

“Yeah, when the beastman who lost his meat finds out, they’ll come and reclaim it. Old Niu will lose both the hide and the meat.”

Old Niu’s face darkened upon hearing this. He had thought Hu Jiao Jiao had turned over a new leaf, but it seemed she was trying to scam him.

With a scowl, he grabbed Hu Jiao Jiao’s arm and started pushing her out.

“Get out of here, Hu Jiao Jiao. I’m not trading hides with you. Take your meat and leave.”

Hu Jiao Jiao staggered but quickly regained her balance. She cast a cold glance at the group of beastmen standing outside. The one accusing her of stealing meat was a delicate young female. Hu Jiao Jiao felt puzzled.

Who was this woman? And why was she deliberately slandering her? Was she another one with a grudge against the original body?

Feeling unlucky, Hu Jiao Jiao looked up at Old Niu to explain,
“Uncle Niu, this meat was sent back by Long Mo. I didn’t steal it…”

Before she could finish, Old Niu roughly pushed her out, along with the meat. He wasn’t interested in her explanation.

“Go, go, go! Don’t bother me anymore. I said no deal, and you won’t get a single hide from me, no matter how much you plead!”

He glared at her in disgust, as if she were something filthy.

“Uncle Niu…” Hu Jiao Jiao frowned, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could, a mocking voice rang out behind her.

“Hu Jiao Jiao, Old Niu already told you to leave, but you’re still lingering around. You really have no shame, do you?”

“Yeah, stop disgusting everyone. Go back to your broken hut. How can you have the nerve to flaunt stolen meat?”

Hu Jiao Jiao turned around, her cold eyes sweeping over the beastmen who were mocking and insulting her. The female who had slandered her earlier stood smiling smugly, as if she had accomplished something.

Hu JiaoJiao became more certain that this woman had a grudge against the original body and was purposely causing trouble.

If Old Niu didn’t want to trade hides, fine. Next time Long Mo brought back more prey, she’d ask Hu Min to teach her how to tan the hides herself.

Unfortunately, her cubs would have to endure a few more days without proper clothes.

She memorized the faces of the gossiping and mocking beastmen around her, then picked up the meat and left.

At that moment, a male beastman squeezed through the crowd.

He spoke anxiously, defending Hu Jiao Jiao,
“You’re wrong! That meat really was brought back by Long Mo. I carried it myself. Hu Jiao Jiao didn’t steal anything.”

Hu Jiao Jiao paused, surprised. She turned to see who it was. It was Hou Xiaotiao, and she was puzzled.

“Hou Xiaotiao, why are you here?”

Hou Xiaotiao was carrying a bundle of hides. He hurried over, his forehead dripping with sweat. Wiping it away, he explained,
“I heard you needed hides. Here, take these. They’re hides I tanned myself. Consider it repayment for saving my life.”

Hu Jiao Jiao looked down. He was holding exactly three hides.

In the tribe, hides weren’t a rare commodity. Only lazy beastmen lacked hides in their homes.

After a moment of thought, Hu Jiao Jiao smiled and pushed the meat toward Hou Xiaotiao.
“Thank you. I’ll trade meat for these hides, so I don’t have to carry the meat back.”

Last time, he had lost prey while helping her save Long Yao, and now he was offering the hides. She would be taking advantage of him again.

Hou Xiaotiao panicked, waving his hands.
“No, no, I can’t take your meat…”

With two cubs at home, the meat could last them two days. For just three hides, he couldn’t accept so much in return.

“Don’t refuse, or I won’t know how to thank you for saving Yao’er.” Hu Jiao Jiao’s face was serious as she looked at him sincerely.

“If you don’t accept, I won’t take the hides either.”

“Alright then…” Hou Xiaotiao reluctantly accepted, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Seeing Hou Xiaotiao get so much meat, the onlookers grew envious. Even Old Niu felt some regret. With that much meat, he wouldn’t have to hunt for two or three days.

Suddenly, a sour voice piped up from the crowd.
“We all know what kind of person Hu Jiao Jiao is. Hou Xiaotiao, why are you defending her do you have any unspeakable secrets with her?”

“CuiCui’s right. How do we know you’re not both lying?”

“Hou Xiaotiao, you have a mate. Getting involved with Hu Jiao Jiao like this doesn’t look good. If your mate finds out, you’ll be thrown into the Snake Cave!”

The beastmen chimed in, their words filled with malice.

For males, having a mate meant they could no longer associate with other females. If they were caught, they faced harsh punishment—like being thrown into the snake Cave.

Hearing this, Hu Jiao Jiao’s face grew cold. She turned and walked toward the crowd, stopping in front of the female who had slandered her earlier.

If she had heard correctly, this female’s name was CuiCui.

Lu CuiCui, Lu Mian’er’s cousin. Like Hu Jiao Jiao’s original self, she was infatuated with Ying Yuan. She often used concern for Lu Mian’er as an excuse to interact with him. One of the sister is a white lotus saint, the other a scheming green tea.

Since she couldn’t win over Ying Yuan, she took her anger out on the original Hu Jiao Jiao.

With a bright smile, Hu Jiao Jiao said in a loud voice,
“Of course, I’m nothing compared to you, Lu CuiCui. Pretending to care about Lu Mian’er, but secretly throwing yourself at Ying Yuan. You even told the other males where Lu Mian’er bathes when Ying Yuan wasn’t around.”

“You are really Lu Mian’er’s good sister!”