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

Chapter 83 Preparations Before Winter

Yan wasn't her partner yet, so he wouldn't always cling to her like Bai; nor would he always subtly flirt with her like Yao; nor would he often give off an invisible pressure with his expressionless face like Feng. Ye, who used to always be by her side, always kissing and hugging, seemed to be quiet lately and wouldn't come over to hug her anymore. She wondered if the passion had faded and things had calmed down, or if he was about to hibernate because the weather was getting colder. Regardless of all that, Yan was obedient, quiet, and cooperative, so Lin Ni had gained a lot and was even thinking about raising the rabbits that hadn't died yet.

Yan said directly, "Then let them continue to live in the back mountain. I can catch them whenever I want."

Lin Ni: "Can that be the same?" But thinking about how rabbits dig burrows, she wondered where to keep them. Not knowing how to weave a bamboo cage was really difficult! Then it suddenly occurred to her that although she didn't know how to weave a bamboo cage, she knew how to weave a flat bamboo strip. Maybe if she told Yao and the others her idea, they could make one? She didn't know how to make bows and arrows either! Hmm, she'd have them make one when they had time!

Early on the third day, Yan left the Tiger Beast Tribe before Lin Ni even woke up. Lin Ni was used to their sudden departures, wondering if they didn't want to wake her or feel the sadness of parting. But this feeling was still a bit unpleasant, and she would definitely have a good talk with them when she had the chance!

Under Linni's deliberate control, her life began to become more regular. Every morning she would go to pray for blessings, then practice archery and throwing skills in the mountains. Lunch would be eaten in the back mountains, followed by half an afternoon of playing before going home to rest—mainly because she couldn't stay away; her three partners had rather strong sex drives, and it wasn't convenient for them to sleep together at night. They needed to be given some treats during the day, so they could only be intimate at home every afternoon. Whether it was intense or tender depended on the individual. After intimacy, they would take a hot spring bath and then slowly prepare dinner. After dinner, they would tidy up some small gadgets for daily use at home, waiting for their partners to come home. Before going to bed, they would each share their day's achievements.

Simple and happy days passed by one by one. Linni sincerely prayed until the end of the five-day blessing ceremony, but for the ten-day bonfire party, she would eat her fill and leave immediately. She already had enough companions and didn't want to find another. As for interacting with other females, she could do so before and after the blessing ceremony; there was no need to linger at the bonfire party, this large-scale courtship event. During this time, Linni had her monthly period again. Having learned from the previous experience, there were no conflicts this time. Mainly, Night and White were both experienced, and Sun was very gentle and got along well with everyone.

With less than twenty days left in autumn, Yan returned, saying that the team sent out by the Tiger Beast Tribe had completely cleared the Cursed Land and was now on their way back. He had finally completed his mission and could now stay in the tribe for the winter. Occasionally going out on patrols was a trivial matter; in fact, Ye and the others had also been assigned to patrol and guard the tribe during this period. As long as they could go home every day, everyone was willing to do these tasks.

This was good news. After hearing Yan's words, Ye immediately went to check on the food piled up in the cave after all the hard work over the past few days, the firewood that filled the entire cave, and the pool full of fish in the spring next to the house where they usually got their drinking water (Lin Ni had them catch these fish with nets made of vines; keeping them in the spring made it much easier to eat fish, and most importantly, they could eat fresh fish anytime, and they could also be stored for a very long time when they froze in winter). Ye felt that these supplies were enough for Lin Ni to get through the long winter, so he said to Lin Ni, "Lin, is there anything else I can do for you? Do you have enough clothes?"

Lin Ni looked at the wardrobe full of clothes and said, "That's enough. I'm even doubting if I can wear them all." It's worth mentioning that Ye finally made her a full set of long-sleeved tops and pants, so she no longer had to wear her two sets of sportswear every day. Her sportswear was almost worn out from wearing it so many times.

Ye said, "Yan is back, and Feng is on his way back. You're safe in the tribe, and you have enough supplies. So I'd like to leave the tribe tomorrow, is that alright?"

Linni was a little surprised: "You're leaving the tribe? Are you preparing to hibernate?"

Night nodded: "I'll go gather some energy first, and then find a safe place to hide and hibernate."

Lin Ni guessed that he was accumulating energy by eating a lot. Seeing Ye's listless appearance, she knew he had been forcing himself to prepare food for winter, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Although it was still autumn, it was quite cold, with daytime temperatures below ten degrees Celsius and even colder mornings and evenings. Lin Ni didn't even dare to imagine how harsh the winter would be. The joy of Yan's return was immediately replaced by the sorrow of Ye's impending departure. Lin Ni reached out and hugged Ye's broad chest, leaning against his cold body: "Ye, I can't bear to part with you."

Night reached out and touched Linni's newly cut shoulder-length hair—Linni had used Night's scales to cut her waist-length hair short because it was difficult to dry. She had originally wanted to cut it to her chin, like a student uniform from the Republican era, which would have looked quite nice, but the other men were worried about her long hair, fearing it wouldn't grow back, so they could only give her a medium length. "If anything happens to me during my hibernation, you can stimulate my mate mark, and I'll come back to you immediately."

Lin Ni nodded. She knew she wouldn't wake him unless it was a matter of life and death. Yao had previously mentioned the harm that not hibernating would cause him. Although Ye himself said he could manage, judging from his current appearance, it must be very difficult for him to keep going. Lin Ni said, "Let's sleep together tonight."

Ye pushed away Lin Ni, who was leaning against him, and touched her face, which was cold from his touch: "Okay, I'll go to the hot spring to warm up and then come back to keep you company."

Linni nodded, watching Ye turn and leave. Ye had been with her for over two hundred days, from when she knew nothing about the Beastman Continent to when they had trekked from the Great Waterfall to the Tiger Beast Tribe. They had truly experienced so much together. Linni smiled at Yan: "Yan, you've worked hard these past few days. Get some rest tonight, and I'll take you out to play again tomorrow."

Yan smiled at her, and Lin Ni's eyes were overflowing with reluctance to part with Ye. He couldn't very well say something like, "I want you to stay with me." So he nodded, "Okay, I can stay by your side from now on. You should have a good talk with Ye tonight."