Chapter 160: Chapter 159: Drunk

Zhi Le, Gong You, and Yin Jiang returned one after another. With the weather growing warmer, they were covered in sweat and a fine layer of dust after a long day of running around outside.

Some went to the bathroom to shower, while others, like Zhi Le, were out in the courtyard dumping water over his head again!

Once they had all cleaned up, they each chatted with Si Shuo for a while before dinner began.

Each person got a massive bowl of dumplings, plump and white, floating in a pale green broth.

“The pleated ones are filled with lamb, cabbage, and glass noodles. The ones where you can see green are cucumber, egg, and shrimp, and the last kind is pork and shiitake mushroom. The white and red ones have a sweet filling,” Xu Chi explained, having already set a plate aside for Si Shuo to cool. “These are boiled dumplings. I’ll cook more when you’re finished.”

Si Shuo didn’t like her dumplings fresh out of the pot. She preferred to wait three to five minutes, letting the steam die down until the wrappers became perfectly chewy. Dipping one in a chili and vinegar sauce and popping it into her mouth whole—nothing could be more delicious.

Dumplings were a universal favorite. The simple cooking method perfectly brought out the fresh, savory flavors of the ingredients. Paired with the chewy texture of the wheat-flour wrappers, every bite was pure satisfaction.

Ji Liang had also bought a few side dishes to go with drinks: crispy lotus root, a cold salad of spring shoots, pig ears and tails, and five-spice beans.

Si Shuo also had Xu Chi whip up a plate of fried peanuts, green beans with sesame paste, tofu with scallions, and century eggs with minced ginger. These were all perfect, all-purpose side dishes!

A sip of wine, a bite of a side dish, followed by a whole dumpling—life was so good it made a person want to close their eyes in pure contentment.

Xu Chi, Yin Jiang, and Xiao Cheng had to report to the Beast Soldier Camp tomorrow. The camp had a strict rule against drinking the night before a shift.

Xiao Cheng watched wistfully as Zhi Le, Zhi Qi, Ji Liang, and Gong You slowly savored their drinks. All he could do was take big mouthfuls of the side dishes, burying his head and devouring his dumplings at an even faster pace.

Setting his bowl down emphatically, he looked at Si Shuo. “Si Shuo, I’m drinking tomorrow night!”

Xu Chi didn’t mind; he hadn’t drunk much in the past and wasn’t craving it. Yin Jiang’s eyes, however, also held a hint of anticipation.

Si Shuo smiled and nodded. “Of course you can, but not too much. Just three of these small cups.”

The cups she indicated were tiny. An amount like that was really just for savoring the taste; it wouldn’t be enough to get them drunk.

As she thought this, she turned her head and saw Gong You’s dark green eyes fixed on her. They held a sort of innocent daze, and it was clear he was a little tipsy!

After washing up for the night, Si Shuo sat on the edge of the bed, drying her hair with a towel.

The house had electricity thanks to a Solar Energy Board, so Si Shuo had bought several small nightlights and placed one in every room. The light wasn’t especially bright, but it was enough to see one’s surroundings clearly.

Gong You came in and placed a hand on her damp hair. With a slight movement, all the moisture was drawn out, flowing along his hand before arcing into an earthenware basin by the door.

Once Si Shuo’s hair was mostly dry, he pulled her into his arms and began nuzzling her, far more passionately than usual. He didn’t stop until Si Shuo’s eyes were glistening with tears, finally burying his face in the crook of her neck and starting to leisurely nip at her skin.

“Gong You, was training tiring today? Were you guarding the city walls this afternoon, or on patrol? Are the soldiers under you easy to manage? What about your squadron leader? Is he easy to get along with?”

’With all the Beast Husbands so busy now, I’ll have to sleep more during the day so I can stay up and talk with them at night.’ She missed him, too, and loved being close and affectionate like this.

Gong You chuckled, humming in response. “Training isn’t very tiring. The intensity isn’t that high; it’s even a bit easier than what we did back at Dongye Middle Square.”

“We’re on patrol duty this month. We have a fixed route just looping around the South City District. Seventy percent of the twenty Beast Soldiers are new recruits from our batch. They know what I’m capable of, so they’re pretty obedient.”

“The other thirty percent were rejects tossed in from other squads—insubordinate and not very strong. I had to beat them down one by one, and now they don’t dare cause any trouble.”

“Our squadron leader just gave us our assignment and left us alone after that.”

“It’s just… I missed you…”

He was used to seeing her every day, so now that he was suddenly spending the entire day away from home, he found himself thinking of her whenever he had a free moment.

Holding her now, he wished he could fuse her right into his embrace!

“When Beastmen first join the camp, they have to spend two or three years on the fringes. It takes time to build connections, find friends for mutual support, and get backing from factions with influence inside the camp before they can slowly rise through the ranks.”

“I’m pretty content just being in the Beast Soldier Camp. It lets you have a house to live in, I can earn Crystal Stones, and I get to do what I want.”

“But what happened with the He Xi Tribe gave me an idea.”

“I’m not really skilled at much else, but I did gain a lot of experience from my time fighting in the arenas in Nanye City. I’m thinking of opening a Martial Arts Hall to teach people fighting techniques.”

Guangshou City had plenty of Martial Arts Halls, both large and small. The young ones in the city had never seen a Fierce Beast in their lives and rarely had a chance to fight one.

This stable environment bred complacency, so they didn’t advance in level very quickly. Most of them had their levels artificially boosted with family resources, generally reaching Level 8 or higher.

Forget Level 8—even if they were Level 10, they would just be chased around by Fierce Beasts if they ever set foot in the forests of the Border City District.

That was why Beast Cities didn’t have academic schools but had established Martial Arts Halls long ago. They existed specifically to teach skills to the young and to train Beastmen who planned to hunt in the Border City District.

“Actually, I can improve myself by teaching others,” Gong You said with a smile, nuzzling against her again. “I’m a Blue Whale Beastman. My natural talent is a given; I’ll be able to reach Level 15 in this lifetime one way or another.”

“I just want to get there sooner so I can do a better job of protecting you.”

Si Shuo snuggled into his embrace. ’It’s true Gong You is a Fish Beast,’ she thought, ’but he’s a lung-breathing mammal.’ His body temperature was constant. While not as scorching hot as Zhi Le and the others, his body held a pleasant, cool warmth that was very comfortable.

She mused that once the weather got truly hot, she should install air conditioners in a few of the rooms. ’Their rooms aren’t very big,’ she thought. ’I could probably just cut a hole in a wall and have one unit serve two rooms.’

The breeze from an air conditioner was much more comfortable and less damp than simply placing blocks of ice around the room.

The only problem was, she didn’t have many Beast Coins left. She had bought so many things on their journey. The items seemed cheap individually, but the sheer quantity added up. One day it was yogurt, towels, and soap; the next it was chocolate, potato chips, and watches…

A smug thought surfaced. ’It’s a good thing I chose the Replication Ability. I can just turn one air conditioner into four or five!’

Listening to him, Si Shuo smiled. “That’s a great idea. It’s wonderful that you’re thinking about this, Gong You. When the time comes, you could even hire Pan Zhou to help you out.”

“On your day off tomorrow, you and Hang He should go out and have a look around. See how other people run their Martial Arts Halls and learn from their experience.”

“Then, once we find a suitable location, you can get your own Martial Arts Hall up and running.”

“Okay. But our Martial Arts Hall doesn’t necessarily have to be inside the city. There’s plenty of uncultivable hilly land on the outskirts that would be perfect for building on.”

That really was a good idea. As long as they advertised, attracting customers wouldn’t be a problem.

Gong You continued to hold her and nuzzle her. His usual coolness was gone, replaced by a rare clinginess as he expressed his deep affection. He was being so lovey-dovey that she felt tempted to just pounce on him.

’Who knew this Big Fish Beast could be so clingy when he’s drunk?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep