As XiShi and HaoYue descended the rocky path, the air grew thick with the scent of woodsmoke and anticipation. She spotted HuanHuan, amidst a flurry of activity. HuanHuan and her mates,  along with several other men from the Rock Mountain tribe, were clearly in the midst of preparations for the evening's bonfire. XiShi's smiled as she immediately veered towards HuanHuan, a playful glint in her eyes.

"Hey, HuanHuan! How are my little villans doing?" she inquired, referencing the wolf cubs that HuanHuan had .

HuanHuan, her face flushed with exertion, replied with a smile, "They're at home, causing a ruckus with MuXiang's little ones."

XiShi chuckled, picturing the chaos. "It really is hard to catch you these days, isn't it?" HuanHuan teased, a playful pout on her lips. XiShi, unperturbed, simply brushed it aside.

"Oh, is it now?" she retorted, trying to feign nonchalance.

HuanHuan wasn't done. "But seriously, when are you going to give my cubs a playmate? Huh?" she playfully whined. "I want to be an aunt and spoil your babies too! It's not fair that you get to sneak all the treats to my cubs!" she finished, pointing an accusing finger at XiShi who gaped at her in mock horror.

So She had ratted her out about the secret goodies she'd been sharing with the wolf cubs, she thought with an internal sigh; she had underestimated HuanHuan's capacity to sniff out secrets.

"Soon enough," XiShi admitted, a hint of shamelessness in her tone, "After my heat in the winter." HuanHuan groaned theatrically at the answer.

They settled under the shade of a sprawling tree, joining several other women who were chattering away. HaoYue, XiShi noticed, had already gone ahead to help the other men prepare for the feast and the bonfire. But he still had his eyes on her , awww how handsome he looked when he winked at her.

"So, what's this bonfire for exactly?" XiShi asked, curious.

"Well, apparently it's just a small celebration..." HuanHuan started, but was quickly interrupted by ShenYan, remember the leader of the feather tribe, apparently fishing for melon seeds from HuanHuan. Ah, so that's her next mate then she thought with a subtle smirk. XueLing had been her fourth in the novel but XiShi had stolen the man from HuanHuan. So a bird for a bird then?

HuanHuan shooed ShenYan away with a firm hand and returned her attention to her aunt. "It's to celebrate the horse tribe joining us. They helped us in business majorly, and were good friends now."

Ah, okay. XiShi thought with a roll of her eyes. It must have been a minor event, one that had been conveniently omitted from novel.

No big deal at all.

Right?