Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 35: Stirring Pots

Xin Yi stood at the center of the village, surrounded by twenty iron-sized stone pots and a small army of snake beastmen who were looking at her with the kind of intense, unblinking focus that usually preceded an ambush.

"Listen up, you slippery noodles!" Xin Yi shouted, slamming a giant wooden spoon against a stone vat to get their attention. "Today we are making the Mother of All Broths! If I see anyone trying to throw a whole, unskinned lizard into the pot again, I will personally make sure you spend the rest of the week eating nothing but raw grass! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Goddess!" the tribe hissed in a terrifyingly rhythmic unison.

Xin Yi groaned, rubbing her temples. "I told you, it’s Xin Yi! Or Teacher! Or ’Hey, you!’ Just stop with the Goddess stuff!"

[DING! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ]

[System Note: Host, give up! You’ve brought soap and flavor to a world that previously used mud for both. To them, you’re basically a high-tech deity with great skin. Own it! +50 Authority Points!]

Authority points don’t help me keep these guys from boiling their own fingers, System! The day was a whirlwind of culinary chaos. Since the snakes were cold-blooded, they were fascinated by the heat of the cooking fires. Unfortunately, "fascination" often led to "clumsiness."

"No, Su Lan! The herbs go in after the water boils, not when the pot is still dry! You’re searing them!" Xin Yi dove across the clearing to save a bunch of wild aromatics.

Meanwhile, Mo She was trying to use his tail to carry four heavy water-skins at once. He made it halfway to the vat before his tail slipped, sending a mini-tidal wave crashing into a group of weaving hags.

"I am so sorry, Goddess! My scales... they are too clean from the soap! They have no grip!" Mo She cried out, looking genuinely devastated.

Xin Yi sighed, wiping a splash of swamp water from her face. "It’s fine, Mo She! Just... use your hands! You have two of them for a reason!"

By mid-afternoon, the village smelled incredible. The scent of roasted bones, wild onions, ginger-root, and the "special seasoning" packets from her System subspace was drifting through the trees. Even the most stoic warriors were intrigued, their tongues flicking out every few seconds to catch the savory molecules in the air.

Qing Lin appeared at sunset as he had left Xin Yi shortly after he returned her to his people. He walked through the rows of simmering pots, his nose twitching.

"The scent is... distracting," he admitted, stopping beside Xin Yi, who was currently covered in soot and smelling like an onion. "My people have done nothing but talk about this ’Liquid Gold’ all day."

"It’s just soup, Qing Lin. Well, very good soup," Xin Yi said, her arm muscles aching from stirring. "Go on, try it."

She handed him a carved wooden bowl. He took a sip, his emerald eyes widening slightly. The depth of the flavor, the richness of the marrow combined with the sharp bite of the wild herbs, was unlike anything a beastman had ever tasted.

"You are dangerous, Xin Yi," he whispered, looking down at the bowl. "If the other tribes find out you can make even water taste like heaven, the war for you will never end." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Great. More reasons to be kidnapped," she muttered.

As night fell, the village transformed. The successful cooking session had put everyone in a celebratory mood. Armed with their new bars of soap and the promise of a feast, the tribe headed down to the river for a mass cleaning.

Xin Yi sat on a mossy log, watching the moon rise. In the distance, she could see the glowing eyes of the snake warriors splashing in the water. But as the night grew darker, the atmosphere shifted.

Beastmen were primal, and apparently, a good meal and a clean body were the ultimate aphrodisiacs, just as she had seen with the Panthers and Tigers. From the shadows of the reeds, she began to hear the sounds of heavy breathing and the rhythmic thumping of tails.

"Are they.....seriously?" Xin Yi asked, her eyes wide as she realized several couples were celebrating a little too enthusiastically in the shallows. Sigh. What did she expect?

"It is the way of the world," Qing Lin’s voice came from right behind her. He sat down on the log, much closer than necessary. "They are fed. They are clean. They are happy. Naturally, they wish to ensure the next generation is just as fortunate."

He leaned in, his shoulder brushing hers. He began to poke at her arm with a long, elegant finger.

"Stop it," she snapped, though her heart gave a little jump.

"Why?" he asked, his voice a low, teasing hum. He poked her again, this time near her ribs.

"Because I’m not a toy! You have to respect me!" she huffed, scooting away.

Qing Lin paused, his head tilting to the side. "Respect. I have shown you more respect than I have shown any living creature, Xin Yi. I listen to your stories of ’trucks’ and ’televisions.’ I let you boss my warriors around. Tell me.....if I show you the ultimate respect, will that make you choose me over the cat?"

Xin Yi groaned, her face heating up. "I don’t know! Everything is a mess! Choosing a husband shouldn’t be like choosing a favorite flavor of soap!"

"And yet, here we are," he smiled, his lips curving slowly. Then I will continue to be respectful. And patient."

He reached out and gently took her hand. Xin Yi winced, her fingers red and cramped from the heavy wooden spoon.

"My fingers are sore," she complained, trying to sound grumpy.

Qing Lin didn’t let go. Instead, he brought her hand to his lips. He began to trace tiny, soft kisses over each knuckle, his breath cool against her skin. It was incredibly intimate, somehow more intimate than Hei Yan’s frantic licking.

"Oh? Too bad," he murmured. He looked at her then, his pupils so dilated his eyes were almost entirely black. He looked hungry, but not for soup.

Suddenly, he flicked his tongue out, licking the tip of her index finger with a slow stroke.

Xin Yi shuddered, a bolt of electricity shooting straight down her spine. "I—"

"You taste like salt," he whispered.

She yanked her hand away, her heart racing in her ribs. Why were beastmen so shameless?! "That is enough! It is nighttime! I’m going to sleep! Byeeeeee!"

She scrambled off the log and sprinted toward her elevated hut, not looking back.

Qing Lin’s chuckle followed her through the dark. "Sleep well, Little Female. We still have six days."

Xin Yi dove into her mossy bed, pulling the soft furs over her head. System, I hate it here. Why are they all so hot? Why is the snake so smooth?

[DING! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

[System Note: Because the ’Beast World’ doesn’t have Netflix, Host! Romance is the only entertainment! Sleep tight!]

Xin Yi eventually drifted into a restless sleep, dreaming of giant bowls of soup and emerald eyes.

But in the middle of the night, a strange sensation pulled her back toward consciousness. It felt like something smooth was sliding over her ankle, moving up her leg beneath the furs.

Her eyes snapped open, her breath catching in her throat. The hut was pitch black, save for a sliver of moonlight filtering through the thatched roof.

Slide. Slink. Slide.

The weight moved higher, coiling gently around her waist.

Xin Yi sat up with a gasp, her heart nearly stopping. "Qing Lin?" she whispered into the dark.

But as she reached down to push the weight away, her hands didn’t feel a man’s skin. They felt the hard, icy-cold, diamond-patterned scales of a python.

[DING! ((((;゜Д゜)))]

[System Note: HOST! DON’T MOVE! YOU HAVE A BEDFELLOW!]