My Orc Husband Dotes on Me Excessively

Chapter 6:Exchange The Sacred Fire

Chapter 6:Exchange The Sacred Fire

When the truth unfolded before her eyes, Anluo was utterly stunned, yet she did not regret the decision she’d made that day… Seeing her readily agree, Baize was faintly surprised. He never thought of himself as a gentle beastman—that was merely how strangers described him, for they did not truly know him. Deep down, he was cold and aloof by nature. It was only his white lion bloodline that lent him an innate affability, softening his otherwise ferocious aura! He had always been indifferent, even resistant, to the matter of taking a mate. But the moment he caught other beastmen casting covetous glances at his little female, he frowned for the very first time. The white lion bloodline carried an unyielding loyalty; once a lion set eyes on his mate, it was a bond for life. The strange fondness blooming in his heart left him without a shred of hesitation. He openly claimed the little female as his own before all the other beastmen, never expecting to receive divine approval in return… “Very well! The Beast God has granted your plea!” Jutu said, a warm look of relief on his face. Anluo tilted her head in confusion. She and her brother were merely staying in Baize’s private cave—did they really need the Beast God’s permission for that? What sort of deity was this, anyway? To meddle in such trivial, insignificant matters—surely the god had far too much free time on his hands! Before she could untangle her swirling thoughts, a huge chunk of raw meat covered in matted fur and fresh blood materialized right in front of her. The gruesome sight made her shudder violently and stumble backward. She shot a nervous glance at Baize. “Is this meant for me to eat?” Baize nodded. Anluo stretched out her hand, only to jerk her fingers back right before touching the meat. She forced an apologetic smile. “Can I eat this later? I’m not hungry right now.” With that, she turned her face away. Baize’s brows knit tight at her rejection. Every other little female lit up at the sight of meat, practically leaping for it. Why was his would-be mate so repulsed by it? Following her line of sight, Baize glanced over and spotted a pile of fruits not far off. It clicked into place instantly. His little female craved fruit instead! Still, she was far too picky. Refusing fresh meat explained why she was so thin and frail. “I will fetch you some fruits instead,” Baize stated. Anluo let out a small gasp and snapped back to her senses. Only then did she notice a mound of red and green fruits stacked a short distance away, bright and inviting, looking absolutely delicious. She knew Baize had misunderstood her reluctance, but she said nothing to correct him. She had to eat something, yet she could not bring herself to bite into raw meat caked with fur and blood. A grateful smile tugged at her lips. “Thank you, that would be lovely.” Baize’s brows drew together faintly. “Do not thank me.” He strode off toward the female distributing fruit, leaving Anluo standing there thoroughly confused. She wondered what words passed between Baize and the fruit keeper. The female distributing fruit suddenly glanced over in her direction and smiled warmly. Then Baize handed over the slab of raw meat to the woman and walked back carrying five fruits. “Here,” Baize held out two fruits to her. The fruits looked tiny in his massive paws, yet once Anluo took them, she realized they were enormous—she could barely cradle just one in both hands. Baize’s gaze drifted involuntarily to her soft, pale hands. He darted his tongue over his lips, then pulled one fruit back. “Eat this one first. I will keep the other for you.” He then turned to the young cub beside her. “Would you prefer meat or fruit?” The cub’s eyes lit up instantly, thrilled to be offered something too. “Meat!” “Fruit!” Anluo’s voice cut through the cub’s eager reply as she snapped back to her senses. Things had been different before, but now that she was here, her little brother would no longer have to live as he once had. Raw meat teemed with parasites, and the cub was still far too young to eat such things. Seeing his sister forbid the meat, the light faded completely from the cub’s eyes. His small face fell, and he mumbled glumly in agreement. “I’ll listen to A-jie. I’ll have fruit instead.” Watching the cub’s dejected little form, Anluo’s heart ached with pity. She glanced at Baize, then the cub, gritted her teeth and made up her mind. “Fine, we’ll have meat. But we can’t eat it like this!”

At the mere mention of meat, the cub instantly perked up and nodded repeatedly. “I don’t care how you cook it, A-jie, as long as we get meat!”

Thinking of their health, Anluo resolved to roast the meat.

Though she already had a plan in mind, she still turned to Baize to ask for his opinion. “What about you? How do you want yours?”

Baize froze for a moment, not expecting she’d ask about him. After a long pause, he only managed two words. “Anything’s fine.”

Anluo fell silent for a beat. “Then we’ll roast it!”

Both Baize and the cub nodded in unison.

Once the decision was made, Anluo handed the fruits back to Baize and set about preparing everything.

She asked Baize for a bone knife, sliced off all the fur covering the meat, carried it over to the stream to wash it thoroughly, then got ready to start a fire by drilling wood.

Her odd movements drew plenty of attention.

No one around understood what she was doing, yet curiosity pulled them all to gather round.

Baize watched her for a while. He could not fathom why she bothered fumbling with sticks before eating meat, but seeing how much effort it cost her, he stepped forward to take over the task.

Anluo did not turn down his help.

Drilling wood to spark fire was exhausting work; she was glad to let someone else handle it.

Baize went along with it, thinking he was merely amusing his little female—until thin wispy smoke began curling out from beneath the sticks every now and then.

At first, Baize thought his eyes were tricking him.

How else could he explain the faint glimmer of sacred fire beneath the wood?

It happened once, then twice. As smoke grew thicker and more frequent, he could no longer pretend he had misseen. His hands moved faster and faster against the wood.

Then there was a sudden whoosh. A brilliant tongue of sacred fire burst forth, igniting the dry grass beside it. Baize’s eyes widened completely, overcome with shock.

If he was this stunned, the other beastmen were beside themselves.

Chief Jutu was so dumbfounded he did not even notice the slab of meat slip from his hands and hit the dirt.

Only Anluo and her little brother remained calm.

One knew fire could be made this way from the start, and the other had already witnessed it before. Besides, the cub’s whole attention was fixed on the meat; he paid no mind to the miraculous flame.

Fearing the fire might die out, Anluo quickly added dry branches. Once the flames burned steady, she threaded the cleaned meat onto sharpened wooden skewers and held them over the fire to roast.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. “Fire! Sacred Fire! That’s the Sacred Fire!!!”

The shout broke the stunned silence that had fallen over everyone. Cheers and exclamations erupted one after another.

Even Anluo, fully focused on tending the roast, could feel the wild excitement radiating off the crowd.

Jutu stumbled forward with trembling legs, his gaze filled with awe and exhilaration as he stared unblinkingly at the flames. He stammered at her, “An… Anluo, is this… is this the Sacred Fire?”

Anluo did not know why they called ordinary fire sacred fire, yet she knew they meant the same flame, so she nodded.

Jutu grew even more agitated, nearly fainting from shock.

He rubbed his palms together nervously. “Anluo, might I discuss something with you?”

“Speak, Chief.”

“Could our tribe have a portion of this Sacred Fire?” Afraid she would refuse, he hastened to add, “Rest assured, we will not take it for free. We will trade you food for it!”

Anluo agreed without a second thought, but turned down his offer of food.

Jutu frowned, assuming she thought the trade unfair, and upped his offer. “If you agree to exchange the fire, the tribe will give you ten extra beast hides!”