Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 117: Courting The Tiny Female

The next three days in the Golden Mane Tribe encampment felt like three entire lifetimes.

Xin Yi stood in the center of the dusty, sun-baked clearing, completely covered in sweat, dirt, and exhaustion. She was holding a stick.

She was using that stick to point at a freshly slaughtered, incredibly bloody antelope lying in the dirt.

Around her, fifty massive, heavily muscled, mostly naked lions were sitting cross-legged on the ground, staring at her like she was speaking an alien language.

"For the last time," Xin Yi shouted, her voice hoarse. "You cannot just eat it off the ground! You have to cook it! Fire! Meat! Heat! Does anyone understand?!"

Jin Xuan, who was sitting in the very front row with his loose linen cloth practically falling off his waist, raised his massive hand like an eager school child.

"Yes, tiny female!" Jin Xuan grinned, his golden eyes sparkling. "We put the meat on the hot red flower, and then it turns black and tastes like ash!"

Xin Yi slowly lowered her stick. She stared at the Lion Prince. She stared at the sky.

Just take me now, she prayed to whatever gods were listening.

[Ding!]

[(⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠) System Notice: Civilization Progress Report - Golden Mane Tribe!]

[Phase 1: Basic Hygiene. Result: CATASTROPHIC FAILURE.

Target ’Jin Xuan’ attempted to eat the Lavender Soap. Three other lions rubbed the soap in the dirt to ’mask their scent for hunting’.]

[Phase 2: Clothing. Result: COMPLETE DISASTER.

Target ’Chief Jin Hai’ flexed his pectoral muscles and completely shattered his linen tunic. He then declared clothes were ’prisons for the strong.’]

[Phase 3: Culinary Arts. Result: TRAUMATIZING.

The Lions believe fire is a magical punishment. They refuse to wait for the meat to cook and continue to eat it raw when Host turns her back.]

[Current Civilization Progress: 0.0002%. (Host, you are basically trying to teach calculus to a piece of dry toast!)]

"I can see that!" Xin Yi yelled out loud, completely forgetting that the beastmen couldn’t see the floating blue screens.

The lions all blinked at her in unison, completely bewildered by her outburst.

"She is talking to the sky again," one of the older lionesses whispered loudly to Wan Ning, who was glaring daggers at Xin Yi from the back of the crowd. "The tiny hairless female has a sick brain."

"Enough!" a cold, venomous voice hissed, instantly dropping the temperature of the entire savanna.

Qing Lin materialized from the shadows of a nearby baobab tree.

The Azure Snake King looked spotless, his dark green silk robes untouched by the dust, his long black hair falling perfectly down his back.

He glided forward, glaring at the sitting lions.

"If you mindless felines cannot comprehend basic instructions, then starve," Qing Lin sneered.

He stepped right into Xin Yi’s personal space, wrapping a long, pale arm around her waist and pulling her against his side.

He tucked her under his arm, and he leaned down, burying his nose in her neck and inhaling deeply, a blatant, highly territorial display designed to anger every other male in a ten-mile radius.

"You have exhausted yourself for these barbarians," Qing Lin murmured softly against her collarbone, completely ignoring the audience.

"Let them wallow in their filth. Come, Xin Yi. The sun is too hot for your soft skin. Return to the shade with me."

Xin Yi stiffened.

Four weeks ago, this kind of dark, brooding protectiveness would have made her heart race. It would have made her blush furiously and stutter.

Now? It was just giving her a massive headache.

Ever since they arrived in the savanna, Qing Lin had turned the possessiveness dial up to a thousand.

He wouldn’t let her walk alone. He hissed if Hei Yan offered her water. He threatened to strangle Sha Chen every time the wolf smirked at her. He was acting like a giant, venomous guard dog, and it was suffocating.

"Qing Lin, I am fine," Xin Yi sighed, gently trying to pry his iron grip off her waist. "I have to finish the lesson. If I don’t complete the ’Basic Fire Building’ quest, the System will deduct my points."

"I do not care about this ’System’," Qing Lin growled, his grip tightening. He pulled her closer, his fangs grazing the sensitive skin of her ear.

"I care about you. You are mine. You do not need to look at these naked, filthy beasts. Look at me."

Before Xin Yi could tell him he was acting completely ridiculous, a massive golden blur inserted itself directly into their personal space.

"Look what I found for the tiny female!" Jin Xuan cheered loudly.

The Lion Prince shoved a giant, freshly decapitated, blood-dripping ostrich right into Xin Yi’s face.

"AH!" Xin Yi shrieked, jumping back and practically climbing into Qing Lin’s robes to avoid the splashing blood.

Jin Xuan beamed proudly, holding the massive bird by its legs. "I ran all the way to the dusty river to catch it! It has very long legs, just like the female! You can eat the heart, it is the softest part!"

The vein in Qing Lin’s forehead throbbed so violently Xin Yi thought it might actually burst.

"Get that putrid carcass away from her," Qing Lin hissed, his lower half completely shimmering as if he was struggling not to shift into a python right then and there. "And step back, you oversized stray, before I rip your arms off."

Jin Xuan blinked, tilting his head. "Why are you always so angry, Snake? The tiny female likes me. I let her hit me with the flat black rock. We are courting!"

"WE ARE NOT COURTING!" Xin Yi yelled, rubbing her temples. "Jin Xuan, please go wash your hands! You are covered in blood!"

"Oh, look. The snake is hissing again," a lazy, arrogant voice cooed from the edge of the clearing.

Sha Chen strolled forward, his spear resting casually on his broad shoulders.

The Arctic Wolf’s hair caught the harsh sunlight, his eyes filled with mockery.

"Are you feeling threatened, Qing Lin?" Sha Chen smirked, stopping a few feet away. "Can’t handle a little competition from a dumb cat? If you are too weak to defend your claim, step aside. I will take her to the shade."

"You will take her nowhere, Wolf!" a thunderous roar echoed from the trees.