Another New Year's Festival. This year, the trees budded earlier than usual, and Warrior City was awash in green.
Beneath the shade of a large tree in the east city, a pair of figures were engaged in something unknown to others.
"Xiong Qi, these are the potatoes I grew. Take them to eat," a robust female, blushing profusely, thrust a bag of potatoes into the arms of an even more muscular male beastman.
Xiong Qi reluctantly pushed it away. "I'm sorry, Xiong Hua, I can't accept them."
Xiong Hua was taken aback. "Why? I'm giving them to you. You don't have to pay!"
Just as Xiong Qi was about to explain, someone else chimed in, "He has so many potatoes he can't finish them all. Even if he took yours, they'd all rot!"
Cang Lang joined them with a smile that was not quite a smile, his forehead still damp with moisture, as if he had hurried over.
Xiong Hua, annoyed by the interruption, retorted, "How can he not finish them? With the appetite of a male, these potatoes won't last long!"
Cang Lang snorted, "Males have strength from eating meat. Only incapable males eat vegetables."
Yes, vegetables. Ever since Shu Yue began teaching, plants had been categorized.
Xiong Hua found his words baffling. "Xiong Qi isn't an incapable beastman. What's wrong with eating both meat and vegetables?"
"Xiong Qi, please accept them. I'll be sad if you don't eat them~" With that, she placed the potatoes in his arms and ran off.
Xiong Qi didn't even have time to refuse.
Seeing this, Cang Lang's face darkened. "If you actually eat them, I'll be sad too!"
Xiong Qi's lips twitched. "You're a male, why are you arguing with a female? Later, I'll return the potatoes to her house."
Hearing this, Cang Lang's mood brightened. "That's more like it!"
His good mood lasted less than a minute before his face darkened again. "Why do females actively seek you out, and no one seeks me?"
Xiong Qi chuckled. "What else could it be? You're ugly. Which female would dare to like you?"
At this, the scar on Cang Lang's face twitched, making him look even more ferocious.
Xiong Qi didn't want to talk too much with him outside and headed home with the potatoes.
Cang Lang followed behind, maintaining a distance of four to five meters between them.
As they passed a neighbor's door, a beastman inside greeted them, "Where are you two going?"
Xiong Qi replied, "I went for a walk around town. It's really lively."
Cang Lang said, "I just came back from the river." The sweat on his hair, not yet evaporated, proved it.
In reality, he had just returned from a hunt. On his way home, he saw Xiong Qi talking to a female, so he quickly dropped off his things at home and came out to 'catch them in the act'!
The neighbor didn't think much of it and said with a smile, "It's always this lively. We'll go out for a stroll with the family in a bit too."
Xiong Qi waved. "Go early. There are plenty of things right now. If you go late, they'll be gone."
"No rush, we don't lack anything at home," the beastman smiled and waved back, standing at his doorstep and watching the two walk further away.
Once they were out of sight, he went back and muttered to his partner, "I don't know what Xiong Qi and Cang Lang are thinking. They've been adults for so long and haven't found a partner. What's the point of two males living together?"
His partner's voice came from the kitchen, "They have a good relationship. It's just a pity for the females who like Xiong Qi. I really don't know what kind of female Xiong Qi likes..."
Compared to back then, Cang Lang and Xiong Qi were worlds apart. They had survived the mouths of savage beasts. Every year, they participated in the most dangerous hunts. Over the years, their strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, making them the top-tier warriors in Warrior City, leaving Yin Xiao far behind.
Upon returning home, the two instantly relaxed. Cang Lang stopped pretending and directly cupped the other's head for a passionate kiss, only stopping this lung-capacity-testing activity when saliva dripped from his chin.
Xiong Qi calmly wiped his mouth, his honest and steady eyes sparkling with affection.
Cang Lang reacted instantly but feigned a hint of displeasure. "It's still like that. How come I feel like you're becoming more and more alluring?"
Xiong Qi heard this and hooked his lips with a smug smile. "It's because you like me more and more."
Cang Lang was momentarily speechless and shamelessly admitted, "You're right. And you? Do you like me more and more?"
Xiong Qi's eyes flashed with a sharp glint. "Of course. Let me have my way with you tonight, and I'll love you even more~"
"Heh, you should say the opposite," Cang Lang's tone held a hint of danger, but there was a smile in his eyes.
"Old rules, let's have a fight. Whoever wins gets to be on top."
"Alright, let me see if you've improved..."
While other families were busy visiting relatives and preparing New Year's Eve dinner on New Year's Day, these two were fighting fiercely in the yard and then in the bedroom, indistinguishable from each other.
After the fight, it was nearing dusk. Xiong Qi emerged refreshed to grill meat and prepare a few vegetables. Although neither of them liked eating vegetables, it was a festival day, so they had to include a few dishes, otherwise, it would seem too meager.
Cang Lang emerged, grinning and pulling up his pants, clearly unable to accept the reality. "Xiong Qi, did you secretly train behind my back? How come you've been winning the last few times?"
Xiong Qi chuckled. "Except for when we hunt separately, we're together all the time. What do you think?"
Due to their strength, both of them were hunting captains, managing a small but not insignificant team. Sometimes their hunting times coincided, and sometimes they didn't. To conceal their true relationship, they naturally couldn't have special treatment; they just obeyed the arrangements from above.
Cang Lang knew this but couldn't understand how Xiong Qi had improved so quickly. It seemed he had to train harder, otherwise, he wouldn't have a chance to take the offensive!
Seeing him enduring the discomfort, Xiong Qi asked with concern, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Cang Lang pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Other than that, it's fine. It's just a bit uncomfortable when I use the restroom."
"How about letting Shu Yue take a look?" Xiong Qi suggested nervously.
Upon hearing Shu Yue's name, Cang Lang instinctively resisted. "No need. I'm fine. I'll be better in a couple of days."
It wasn't the first time. After a couple of days of discomfort, once he wasn't subjected to that, he would be fine.
Xiong Qi also had some experience in this regard and didn't insist further.
While it was pleasurable, there was nothing to be done about the discomfort afterward.
However, beastmen had strong physiques and good self-healing abilities, so there were no lasting injuries. He would ask other partners if there were any solutions when the opportunity arose.
These two males, who had no experience with females, didn't know about the little pleasures between partners and relied solely on their own exploration, yet they enjoyed themselves immensely.
Cang Lang, with limited mobility, sat on a stool to grill the meat. Xiong Qi went into the kitchen to stir-fry a few dishes, with little salt and no vinegar. No one had taught them, so no one would have guessed that these two males were living together.
Anyway, it was just a formality. They primarily ate meat, and the vegetables were swallowed as soon as they entered their mouths. Why waste salt?
After eating New Year's Eve dinner, the two sat in the yard chatting. The one who fell in love first was always insecure, like Cang Lang.
Cang Lang gazed at the bright moon in the sky, suppressing the urge to roar. He asked the person beside him, "Xiong Qi, we've been together for seven years. There are still many long years ahead. Will you always be by my side?" His tone carried a hint of melancholy.
Xiong Qi heard this and touched his forehead, as if asking, "Are you sick?"
Cang Lang felt a slight blush under his gaze. "Cough, I was just asking casually." When he asked the question, he already felt something was wrong, though he couldn't pinpoint what.
He felt like a neurotic female. He was a male, and it wasn't good to be too dependent on another male.
"Oh right, you still haven't returned the potatoes. Hurry up and return them!" If the potatoes weren't returned, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
Xiong Qi twitched his lips and went to return the potatoes.
...