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nBai Qingqing picked all the wood ears she could find, preparing to dry them out in the sun and then enjoy them slowly. She then picked a few white mushrooms, using the bamboo that had been cut into two to cook mushroom and wood ears soup.

nThere was only ginger, garlic, and salt added to the soup, without any hints of oil. The fragrance smelled like sawed wood. However, this didn’t affect Bai Qingqing’s appetite. No matter what, it would still be able to give her some nourishment.

n“They should be cooked.” Bai Qingqing picked up a piece of white mushroom and was about to stuff it in her mouth when Cortis held onto her hand and stopped her.

n“I’ll eat it first,” Cortis said.

nBai Qingqing didn’t mind and brought the mushroom to Cortis’s mouth. She smiled and said, “If you aren’t scared that it’s hot, then go ahead.”

nCortis looked at the food that was emitting steam and could sense how high the temperature was without using his tongue. He pursed his lips and ate the food.

nBai Qingqing drew in a cold gasp. He was really daring.

nCortis didn’t even chew it and just swallowed the piping hot mushroom whole. His scarlet tongue flashed by his lips, giving off hissing sounds.

n“Let me have one of the black fungi as well.” Saying that Cortis licked the top part of his mouth that had been scalded.

nBai Qingqing docilely picked up a piece of the wood ear, not bearing to see him eat it while it was still scalding. She put it by her mouth and blew on it before feeding it to Cortis.

n“Can I eat now?” Bai Qingqing asked.

nCortis felt very warm inside because of how considerate the female was, and the scalding feeling in his mouth no longer felt as unbearable. He said softly, “Don’t eat it yet. Wait for a while. My digestion is quick. If there’s any poison, the reaction will show very quickly.”

nThe rice wasn’t cooked yet anyway, so Bai Qingqing agreed. “Alright.”

nThe white mushroom still looked tough, and Bai Qingqing continued to add firewood to cook it. Cortis bore with the flames and sat down next to Bai Qingqing, in case she were to sneak a bite.

n“Crackle.”

nA big crack appeared on the bamboo containing the rice, and the rice’s fragrance leaked out.

nBai Qingqing quickly used a branch to flip the bamboo. At this moment, Cortis, who was right next to her, suddenly let out a low moan.

n“What’s the matter?” Bai Qingqing turned to look at him. To her surprise, Cortis’s body became incorporeal, switching unsteadily between his human form and snake form. He appeared to be in extreme agony while in both forms.

nBai Qingqing was given a bad scare and looked at the mushroom soup. “Could it be that it’s really poisonous?”

nCortis lost control and transformed into his snake form. His massive body fell to the ground with a loud plop, his snake body rolling into the flames, sending the burning firewood flying out everywhere.

nThe soup splattered out, putting out some of the flames. Even the bamboo rice was smashed by his massive body.

n“Cortis!” Bai Qingqing anxiously used a poking rod to move the firewood to the side.

nCortis twisted his body crazily, dashed out of the cave, and rolled incessantly on the wet ground.

nBai Qingqing followed after him, not daring to get too close to him. She could only watch the python that was crazily twisting around from afar.

n“I didn’t do it on purpose…” Bai Qingqing almost broke out in tears from anxiety after seeing how Cortis was in so much pain.

nWas she going to escape? This was a fantastic chance!

nBai Qingqing kept on hesitating but didn’t move back a single step.

nIt wasn’t long before Cortis gradually calmed down. He laid on the ground, panting, and turned his snakehead toward Bai Qingqing. He felt happy to see that she was still around.

nBai Qingqing looked at Cortis while holding onto a tree, her eyes moistening up as if there were tears in them. Her slightly drooping eyes looked at Cortis, feeling both worried and scared.

nBai Qingqing still had thoughts of escaping, but she knew that it was too late for that now. However, given that Cortis had recovered so quickly, he’d definitely be able to catch her and bring her back very quickly even if she had attempted to escape earlier.

nCortis took on his human form and walked towards her. The first thing he said was, “Thank god you didn’t eat it.”

nThere was no blame in his tone, not even a hint of anger. Just pure relief.

nIt was males’ nature to be indulging toward females. It was no exception to homeless beasts. Their only baseline was not to be abandoned.

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