Chapter 47: A Blend of Grace and Severity

Lin Feng smiled and asked Cheng Xiangyu, "Why do you care about this question so much? Could it be that you've fallen for me?"

Cheng Xiangyu's pretty face flushed, and she lightly scolded, "In your dreams! How could I possibly like you? I practically hate you."

Lin Feng smiled without a word.

Women truly were creatures who said one thing and meant another.

As for Qin Meng and He Tiantian, he had already made up his mind long ago. Before leaving the deserted island, he would use them as free laborers. After all, there were many things they could do, and they were quite useful.

If one day there was a genuine, high probability of leaving the island, and these two women still hadn't been completely conquered by him, he would simply kill them to silence them. By the way, he would also drag Cheng Xiangyu into it, making her an accomplice so she wouldn't dare leak a single word of the truth. If she refused, she would be killed along with them.

Therefore, Lin Feng's current plan for the three beauties was to train them well and gradually, step by step, completely conquer them.

Carrying Cheng Xiangyu on his back, he returned to the cave and tended to her split wound, applying fresh medicine and rebandaging it.

During the process, the scenery beneath Cheng Xiangyu's skirt was once again exposed to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng looked. Such beautiful scenery would be a waste not to see.

This time, Cheng Xiangyu also realized that Lin Feng was peeking. But she didn't scold him or say anything; she only blushed deeply, feeling exceptionally shy.

...

Not long after, He Tiantian and Qin Meng arrived at the cave with the supplies from the treehouse.

In truth, there wasn't much. Just four coconuts, a few pieces of clothing, and a few bottles.

Lin Feng opened the formal dress, took out two packs of leopard jerky from inside, and handed them to Qin Meng and He Tiantian, one pack each.

Huh?

Seeing the leopard jerky handed over by Lin Feng, Qin Meng and He Tiantian were instantly stunned. They had thought they would have to put in a lot of effort to get the leopard jerky, and had even prepared themselves to beg Lin Feng. They never expected Lin Feng to simply give it to them like this.

It was completely unexpected.

Lin Feng said, "What are you staring at? Take it!"

"Oh, right, thank you!"

Qin Meng and He Tiantian responded excitedly one after the other, quickly taking the leopard jerky and starting to eat.

"We finally get to eat leopard jerky! It's delicious, truly delicious!"

After eating a single piece, He Tiantian couldn't help exclaiming in admiration.

Qin Meng squinted her eyes slightly, chewing the jerky with an expression of pure bliss.

That's right! This was the exact taste! It was simply too fragrant!

Watching the expressions of the two women, Lin Feng felt immensely satisfied.

A stick combined with a carrot. This method of combining harshness with favor was indeed very effective.

Seeing that they had eaten quite a bit in a short time, Lin Feng said, "Although leopard jerky is delicious, don't eat too much of it, or your stomachs won't be able to handle it."

"Besides, neither of you has eaten your fill over the past two days, and you threw up just a moment ago. Your stomachs can't handle too much stimulation right now."

"You must remember, this is leopard jerky; a pound of fresh leopard meat doesn't even yield half a pound of jerky."

"Each of these small packets weighs seven or eight taels. Don't finish it all at once; it's best if you stop eating right now."

"If you don't believe me, drink some water, and you'll feel completely full."

Hearing this, Cheng Xiangyu also quickly advised, "Lin Feng is right. Don't eat too much, or your stomachs won't take it."

He Tiantian and Qin Meng, who were just about to pick up more jerky to continue eating, hesitated after hearing their words, and then very reluctantly put it down. After all, both of them knew that Lin Feng was a doctor and wouldn't speak nonsense. Furthermore, they understood such basic common sense.

Qin Meng's heart grew even warmer, feeling that Lin Feng still cared about her after all. Perhaps, just as He Tiantian had said, he would eventually turn back around and become her devoted follower.

Since there was no water, the two women each grabbed a coconut, knocked open a hole, and drank the coconut juice inside.

Before long, they discovered that it was just as Lin Feng had said—they felt their stomachs were very full, almost bloated.

After that, everyone began to discuss how to conceal the truth of Lin Feng killing Wang Xingyu.

After a round of discussion, they still felt that claiming Lin Feng acted bravely for a just cause wasn't ideal; given the influence of the City Lord's Mansion, there was still a possibility he could be sentenced and imprisoned. Moreover, no matter how they fabricated the details, a lie was a lie, and they felt there would always be loopholes that made it easy for others to discover they were lying.

Finally, Qin Meng suddenly said, "How about this? Let's just say that we encountered a leopard, and Wang Xingyu, in order to protect us three girls, blocked the leopard for us."

"By the time we went to call Lin Feng for help, Wang Xingyu had already been bitten to death by the leopard."

"Portraying Wang Xingyu as a hero will make it much easier for the City Lord's Mansion to accept, and they won't investigate too deeply. Even if there are minor loopholes in the details we fabricate, they won't be easily noticed."

"If we portray him as a criminal attempting to force himself upon us, the City Lord's Mansion certainly won't accept it easily and will definitely investigate thoroughly, thereby uncovering the truth."

After listening, Lin Feng gave her a thumbs-up and praised, "Good, this explanation is good. Let's go with that."

Then Cheng Xiangyu and He Tiantian also nodded, agreeing with this narrative.

Everyone then began discussing the details of how they encountered the leopard, how Wang Xingyu bravely rushed toward the leopard to protect them, striving to make everything complete, lifelike, credible, and free of loopholes.

Most importantly, they needed to paint Wang Xingyu as a fearless and deeply admirable hero. They wanted the entire City Lord's Mansion to feel proud and glorious regarding Wang Xingyu's heroic deeds of fighting fierce beasts to protect the three beauties, so that they would have no desire to investigate any further.

After nearly two hours of discussion, they finally managed to piece together all the details and unify their story.

Then Lin Feng went off alone to process the leopard skin further and took it outside to dry. Afterward, using his dagger, he dug a pit a good distance away from the cave and buried the leopard's offal and internal organs.

The leopard jerky was already enough to last for many days; there was no need to eat those parts. After all, the stomach and intestines were difficult to clean properly, and without spices, the fishy, foul odors of the liver, lungs, and heart were hard to mask.

Seeing Lin Feng busy by himself, He Tiantian couldn't help leaning close to Qin Meng's ear and whispering, "Sister Meng, did you see that? Not only did Lin Feng give us jerky to eat, but he didn't give us any chores to do."

"This shows that deep down, he still really likes you."

"After all, he paid such a huge price for you before; how could he ever bear to just let it go?"

"I think it won't be long before he turns right back around and becomes your devoted follower."

Hearing this, Qin Meng smiled and nodded. Deep down, that was precisely what she was thinking as well.

However, right at that moment, Lin Feng suddenly looked toward them and said, "Stop sitting around. Come with me, move the medicinal herb mats over from the treehouse, and bring the clay bowls and clay pots we made earlier too."

"By the way, search around in the woods to see if there are any medicinal herbs, wild vegetables, or wild fruits."

"Medicinal herbs can prevent and treat illnesses, and wild vegetables and fruits provide vitamins. We can't just live on leopard jerky alone; it'll make us sick."

Huh?

He Tiantian was stunned. The second before, she had been saying Lin Feng wouldn't give them chores, but the very next second, Lin Feng had assigned them tasks. If she had known, she wouldn't have run her mouth.

It was definitely because Lin Feng had overheard their whispers that he suddenly gave them work to do.

Qin Meng pouted, turned to look at Cheng Xiangyu, and said, "Lin Feng, what about her? Aren't you going to give her any work to do?"