My husband is too wild, I need to go home and find my mom.

Chapter 51 Bonfire Party

After a female member of the tiger-beast tribe stepped back, she looked up at Feng and asked, "Feng, will you participate in the beast fight tonight?"

Feng glanced at Lin Ni, then said coldly to the female tiger beast, "We'll see." He then turned to Lin Ni and said, "You two sit here for now, I have some things to do."

Linni nodded: "Okay."

Feng nodded slightly to Ye and Yao, then turned and left, several women following his retreating figure with ardent gazes. Lin Ni couldn't help but marvel at Feng's popularity, and felt a secret thrill at being treated specially.

They sat down on the ground, but before they were even settled, another tiger-beast female said to Yan, "Are you the Black Eagle Beastman who just returned from the Ten Thousand Ren Cliff after participating in the coming-of-age ceremony?"

Yan smiled politely at her: "Yes, my name is Yan."

Another woman looked over and asked, "Are you going to participate in the beast fight tonight?"

Yan glanced at Lin Ni: "No, I already have a female I like."

The curious onlookers glanced at Lin Ni and shrugged off, returning to their seats. Only the tiger-beast female, who hadn't yet been marked with a mate, remained beside Yan and asked, "Yan, if you're willing to accept me, you can be my first mate."

Yan looked at Lin Ni with a nervous expression: "No, no need, I just like Lin."

Lin Ni didn't say anything and lowered her head to drink water.

The female tiger-beast looked at Lin Ni again, and the female tiger-beast who had spoken first said to her, "She is Lin, who was blessed by the Beast God at the Beast God Stele this morning."

After hearing this, everyone looked at Linni curiously for a few moments before sitting back down and talking to the other women or their partners.

Yan looked at Lin Ni carefully: "Lin, I really like you, and I won't accept any other woman."

Linni looked up and said softly to him, "Before I say I accept you, you have the right to accept any female's courtship." Seeing that Yan wanted to explain, she added, "But I don't like being bothered by females who like you. I hope you can handle it yourself." Linni didn't like the feeling of being a third wheel. Last time in the fox beast tribe, a woman named Sha came to her because of Yan. If these tiger beast females came to bother her again, she might not allow Yan to get close to her.

Yan said somewhat disappointedly, "I understand, I'll handle it."

Yao broke open a dried fruit and handed it to Lin Ni: "Lin, try some."

Lin Ni took a bite; it was a bit like a walnut, but about the size of a fist, and the texture was quite good. After only two bites, she heard a drumbeat coming from the direction of the Tiger Gate. Looking over, Lin Ni saw nine male beastmen standing above the long corridor behind the gate, each with a large drum in front of them made of some unknown material. Feng was standing among them, vigorously striking the drums with both hands. It must be said, Feng looked really cool playing the drums; he was the kind of powerful, muscular man—cool, arrogant, strong, and possessing a mature masculine charm.

As the drums sounded, everyone shouted along with them, and the entire square erupted in cheers—it was truly awe-inspiring!

Linni hadn't expected so many mysterious and captivating rituals to exist in this primitive beastman tribe. Both the morning's blessing ceremony and the evening's bonfire party had a profound impact on her. She had many thoughts and reflections after the morning's blessing, but so much had happened that day that she hadn't had time to process her feelings. Then, the evening's bonfire party gave her a different kind of excitement. This tribe of thousands of beastmen was so different from the medium-sized tribes of the ape-beast tribe with only a few hundred people.

After a five-minute-long, rousing, and exhilarating drumbeat, the entire square fell silent. At this moment, Yang, the chieftain of the Tiger Beast Tribe—the father of Feng, Bai Shubai, and their respective tribe's top experts—stepped forward and stood beneath the Tiger Gate. His loud and stirring voice echoed throughout the square: "Have all the members of the Tiger Beast Tribe arrived?"

All the tribespeople present let out a wild, beast-like roar: "Here—!"

Linni was startled to see Yan looking excitedly in Yang's direction, just like the other orcs.

Yang continued, "Today is the third bonfire party of autumn. The prey in the towering mountains will be at their fattest! Let us hunt more prey in this bountiful autumn! Let us fatten up well during the cold winter so that we can have more cubs next spring. Let us work together for the growth of our tribe!"

All the orcs present roared again.

Yang continued, "Thanks to the blessing of the Beast God, at this morning's prayer meeting, a little female from our tribe received another blessing from the Beast God!"

This was met with another burst of excited shouts.

Yang raised his hands high and shouted, "Beast God, protect me! Beast God, protect me!"

The members of the Tiger Beast Tribe stood up and shouted, "Beast God, protect us! Beast God, protect us!"

Then the deep, rhythmic drumbeats resumed, and everyone held hands, singing mysterious songs as they danced around the campfire. Linni and the other two followed along, the dance moves weren't difficult, and they quickly caught up with everyone's steps, dancing to the beat of the drums.

The flames of the bonfire danced with sparks of hope, reflecting the bright white full moon in the sky and illuminating the dark night. The roaring fire glowed on everyone's faces, and joyful enthusiasm rose in the flames.

The dancing lasted about half an hour, the drumbeats gradually growing louder before ending in a thrilling climax. Everyone returned to their seats. By then, the game roasting over the campfire was fully cooked, and the entire square was filled with the aroma of roasting meat. The men began distributing the meat, placing it in fruit shells, stone bowls, or leaves in front of the women. The women ate the roasted meat and various fruits, chatting and laughing in the firelight.

Linni then learned that one of the two unmarried females, named Zhi, had already reached adulthood just after the rainy season. However, Zhi had always wanted Feng to be her first partner, so she hadn't married yet. The other unmarried female was named Ying, the one who wanted Yan to be her first partner; she had only reached adulthood a few days ago. Moreover, the other six females sitting there all had few partners, and in order to prepare more food during the bountiful autumn harvest to get through the winter, they wanted to find a few more partners tonight.

As everyone was eating barbecue, Feng came over, broke off a piece of fruit about half the size of his face, and handed it to Lin Ni: "Lin, try it and see if you like it."

Linni smelled passion fruit and heard a woman say, "It's passion fruit." Linni took it and looked at it. The pulp inside was like pomegranate seeds, a little larger than peanuts. The red pulp was translucent and looked delicious. She picked one out and put it in her mouth. It was indeed passion fruit, but the texture was more like jelly. After eating roasted meat, eating this juicy fruit was the most refreshing thing. She smiled and nodded with satisfaction, "It's delicious! Thank you!"