One can live without love, but never with hatred.

The two returned to the wooden cabin.

Seeing the dishes left on the rattan table, Cang Qian said, “The food has gone cold. I’ll warm it up before we eat.”

Banai nodded.

Cang Qian walked over, picked up two plates, and headed toward the kitchen.

Noticing that the firewood beneath the stove was still burning, she poured water directly into the iron pot, then placed a rack inside. She set the two plates of food on the rack and covered the pot.

She waited patiently nearby.

Banai leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching her, and asked, “You used healing powers to stop Che Baiyuan’s bleeding, but since the fetus was in the wrong position, natural delivery was impossible. How did you solve that?”

For now, she couldn’t tell him about the natural birth pills she had exchanged for in the system’s points store.

After a moment’s thought, Cang Qian said, “I know how to perform fetal position correction.”

The moment the words left her mouth, a wave of unease washed over her.

Her anxiety wasn’t because she feared Banai wouldn’t believe her, but because if he did, then the next time a female beast faced complications during childbirth, Banai might send her to help—and what if she didn’t have enough points to redeem the birth pills then?

Suddenly, Banai strode forward, gripping her wrist tightly. “If you knew how to correct fetal position, why didn’t you save my sister back then?!”

“My sister?” Cang Qian asked, puzzled.

Banai said, “My sister died from complications during childbirth. Have you forgotten?”

At that moment, fragments of memory surfaced in Cang Qian’s mind—a female beast who looked very much like Banai.

That female had suffered a difficult birth, losing much blood, and because the fetus was improperly positioned, she couldn’t deliver, resulting in the death of both mother and offspring.

That female was Banai’s sister, Baru.

This explained why Banai had anxiously rushed into the Che family home when he heard about Che Baiyuan’s difficult labor, even vouching for Cang Qian to help.

He was reminded of his sister’s fate and, unsure if Cang Qian could help, thought that as long as there was a glimmer of hope, it must not be abandoned.

Banai couldn’t bear to see any other female beasts suffer the same fate as his sister.

To his relief, Cang Qian succeeded—she truly saved Che Baiyuan and her cubs.

After learning about Baru from the memory fragments, Cang Qian took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry. I hadn’t yet learned fetal position correction when your sister was giving birth.”

Hearing this, Banai’s grip on her wrist slowly loosened, his mood sinking deeply.

Cang Qian saw his ears drooping in sadness, resembling a forlorn puppy.

She instinctively stepped forward and embraced him, offering comfort. “What’s done is done. Don’t be sad anymore.”

“I promise you, if I ever encounter a female beast facing a difficult birth again, I will do my best to save her. Okay?”

Banai nodded instinctively. Suddenly realizing that Cang Qian had taken the initiative to hold and comfort him, a rare smile flickered across his face.

He returned the embrace, resting his chin on the hollow of her delicate neck, savoring her scent.

Suddenly, Banai’s eyes turned blood-red, his primal male beast desire ignited.

He grabbed her slender waist, pinning her against the wooden wall behind, his lips trailing densely over her neck.

Startled, Cang Qian pushed him away. “Banai… wait…”

Banai’s eyes, still glowing red, fixed on her as he panted, “Weren’t you going to prove your fertility by getting pregnant? What’s this—now you’re unwilling?”

Watching him and hearing his tone, Cang Qian felt no warmth or sincerity. Instead, he seemed rough, even a little harsh. Perhaps he still harbored some resentment toward her.

Shaking her head, she said, “I know you still hold some hatred for me. You only acted on instinct just now because you were holding me and overwhelmed by desire.”

“You’re not sincere. To me, such acts can happen without love, but never with hatred. So, let’s wait until I heal your leg and help you rid yourself of that bitterness before anything else.”

Banai’s desire gradually subsided, and the redness in his eyes faded back to normal.

Noticing the change, Cang Qian was curious but said nothing, instead telling him, “The food is warmed up. You should go sit down; I’ll bring the dishes out.”

Banai glanced at her and turned to the living room to wait.

While preparing the meal, Cang Qian asked the system in her mind, “Xiao You, why do Banai’s eyes turn red? This afternoon when he grabbed my neck, they were like that too.”

[System: Male beastmen on the Spirit Beast Continent have relatively low spiritual power levels, so when they feel murderous intent or desire toward females, they find it hard to control their instincts, causing their eyes to redden.]

“Ah!” Cang Qian said fearfully, “When we… when we are intimate, won’t his excitement make him hurt me?”

[System: Don’t worry. Although the male beastmen’s instincts manifest similarly, their minds can distinguish between murderous intent and desire.]

[System: But you did the right thing earlier. It’s best to wait until Banai’s hatred toward you is completely gone before becoming intimate.]

[System: Because if he harbors even a trace of hatred, and his emotions spiral out of control, desire could easily turn into murderous intent.]

“Oh my goodness!” Cang Qian shuddered, “Luckily I stopped him in time, or I would have died in bed!”

“Xiao You, you’re so unfair! Why didn’t you warn me earlier?!”

Hearing this, the system immediately fell silent—tonight it was playing dead, choosing silence as its refuge.

Cang Qian knew Xiao You was pretending and huffed in frustration, ignoring it.

She then carried the hot dishes out of the kitchen.

In the living room, the two ate dinner in silence, neither mentioning the earlier events in the kitchen.

As they were finishing, Cang Qian said, “After I wash the dishes, I’ll treat your leg.”

Banai nodded. “I’ll wash the dishes. You’ve already cooked, so it’s only right that I clean up.”

Cang Qian smiled and replied softly, “Alright.”

After dinner, Banai began tidying the dishes. “While the fire is still strong, you should go wash up. By the time you’re done, I’ll have finished here.”

Cang Qian nodded and headed toward the bathroom behind the kitchen.

Since Banai’s home lacked a large wooden tub, bathing meant using a small wooden bucket and ladle, pouring water repeatedly.

While bathing, Cang Qian checked the system’s points store for a large bath tub.

There was one, complete with water supply and drainage pipes, but it was extremely expensive—two hundred points.

She sighed, “Looks like I’ll have to wait until after giving birth to redeem it.”

Just then, Banai had finished washing and tidying the kitchen. He sat quietly in the living room, waiting.

…
…