The wind whipped past Lin Wan’s face, a cold, stinging lash that forced her to bury her head deeper into the thick, silver-spotted fur of Wang’s neck. He had been running for hours, his powerful leopard muscles working with a tireless, rhythmic precision that felt like an engine beneath her. Behind them, the sounds of the tribe, the angry shouts of the Chief and the triumphant, high-pitched cries of Mei Xiu, had long since faded into the silence of the deep forest.

[Ding! System Notification: New Territory Scouting in Progress.]

[Warning: Host, your adrenaline levels are beginning to drop. Fatigue is imminent. Suggestion: Secure a shelter before the ’Gloom-hour’ descends.]

I’m working on it, Weiwei, Lin Wan thought, her fingers aching from gripping the leather harness. But I’m not the one driving the leopard.

Wang began to slow his pace as the dense, ancient forest began to give way to a hidden geological fracture, a narrow, rocky pass that seemed to lead nowhere. He navigated the jagged stones with a delicate grace, his paws landing silently on moss-covered granite. As they cleared the pass, the world opened up.

Below them lay a hidden valley, cradled by three steep mountain walls. A silver thread of a waterfall cascaded down the furthest cliff, feeding into a wide, crystal-clear stream that meandered through a lush meadow of tall, violet grass. It was a natural fortress, hidden from the sky by the overhanging canopy and shielded from the ground by the narrow pass they had just entered.

Wang stopped, his chest heaving with exertion. He shifted back into his human form in a shimmer of golden light, catching Lin Wan as she slid down from his back. He didn’t let go of her immediately; he held her against him, his nose pressed into her hair, drawing in her scent as if to reassure himself she was still there after the madness of the exile.

"This is Wanshuo Valley," Wang rasped, his voice rough. "It is neutral territory. No tribe claims it because the mountain spirits are said to be restless here. But the soil is good, and the water never freezes."

Lin Wan looked around. It was really beautiful, but it looked like, nobody had lived here before, not even to rest and continue on their journey, There were no stone dwellings, no tribe to provide the "standard rules" she had just started to get used to.

"It’s perfect," Lin Wan said, her brain already checking in the natural resources, around them. "Wang, your tribesmen thinks they’ve won. They think we’ll starve to death or worse be eaten by ferals beast. It’s their loss, they don’t know who we are ."

Lin Wan: I’ll make them regret their choice.

She walked toward the stream, kneeling to splash the cold water on her face. Weiwei, you said I need to develop the world to get my wishes. Well, welcome to Phase One of my development plan.

[Ding! Mission Initiated: The First Hearth.]

[Objective: Construct a ’Permanent Shelter’ with at least two rooms and a raised sleeping area. Current progress: 0%.]

[Reward: Basic Blueprint for ’Clay Oven’, 100 Experience Points.]

Lin Wan looked at the flat, sturdy ground near the waterfall. "Wang, we aren’t living in a cave this time. I want to build something different. Something stronger. A ’House’."

Wang frowned, tilting his head. "A house? You mean a stone nest? The rock here is too hard to hollow out quickly."

"No," Lin Wan said, her eyes sparking with the excitement of an architect. "We’re going to use the trees and the river stones. I’ll show you how. But first, we need a fire that doesn’t just roast meat, we need a fire that can stay alive all night without us having to constantly watch it."

Wang looked at the darkening sky, then at his mate. He still felt the sting of the tribe’s betrayal, the sight of Garon’s disappointment and Kael’s cowardice, but looking at Lin Wan, he felt a strange, new kind of strength. He wasn’t just the leopard tribe’s warrior anymore; right now, he is a beasthusband, that’ll make sure his female has everything she desires.

"Tell me what to do, Wan’er," he said, his voice dropping into that deep, devoted tone. "My strength is yours to use."

For the next few hours, the valley echoed with a different kind of sound. Wang used his lethal claws to cut down young, sturdy trees, while Lin Wan used the knowledge tucked away in her mind to gather heavy river stones and sticky grey clay from the riverbank.

She wasn’t just surviving; she was engineering. She directed Wang to build a stone-lined pit, not just a hole in the ground, but a raised hearth that utilized the "chimney effect" she remembered from a survival documentary she had once watched with Chen Wei.

Take that, Chen Wei, she thought scornfully While you’re probably at a bar, I’m building a civilization here.

As the moon rose, a steady, controlled flame flickered in the center of their new clearing. It was warm, bright, and contained. Lin Wan sat on a pile of fresh cedar boughs, looking at the frame of their future home.

Wang sat beside her, his silver hide draped over both of them. He was exhausted, but his eyes were fixed on the hearth, the future no longer looking so bleak to him, " Wan’er, don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,I’ll make sure you have a roof over your head, food to eat and hides to cover your body."

"Mmm, the future ahead of us, is so bright," Lin Wan said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

After a while, Wang’s voice rang out, breaking the silence.

" We’ll also need to go to the Beast City, to find Couple brothers, it’s my fault for being to greedy and wanting to have you for myself. . ."

"Couple brothers?" Lin Wan questions.

Is Wang saying what I think he’s saying

"Yes, couple brothers, you don’t need to worry, I’ll do the selection, I’ll make sure that the new couple brothers must be of good characters and have adequate strengths, I know females like males that are of good appearance, I’ll keep that in mind."

" Huh?" Is this the same Wang that got so jealous about Wei Xiang hunting for me.

"Wan’er?"

"Y. . . Yes"

"Will you detest me when new couple brothers enters the family?"

"No, I will not d. . ."

"You don’t need to say more, as long as you keep to your promise to me, I Wang will lay down my life for you."