Holding both kids in his arms, Mang Jiu leaned toward Zhang Shuguang, locked eyes with him, and said, “Kiss.”

Just one soft word—Zhang Shuguang heard them, but thought he must have imagined it.

Mang Jiu looked completely serious—his expression could even be called cold—and he was asking him for a kiss? Are you sure it’s a kiss?

Not “I’m hungry”? Not “I’m so hungry”? Not “It smells so good”?

Not any other two words? Or something like that?

He blinked hard, a look of confusion on his face. “Huh?”

Zhang Shuguang really wasn’t sure if Mang Jiu was talking about a kiss.

Mang Jiu leaned in closer, enunciating the word clearly, “K-i-s-s.” He was practically pouting!

Zhang Shuguang’s mouth twitched. He tried to step back, but Mang Jiu, anticipating his move, reached out and grabbed him—even pulling him slightly forward.

“!” Zhang Shuguang’s eyes widened.

Mang Jiu pressed his lips against Zhang Shuguang’s cheek, making a smacking sound.

After the kiss, Mang Jiu turned his head and pointed to his cheek. “Kiss.”

Zhang Shuguang’s face and ears flushed red. Seeing his gesture, and afraid that refusing would result in him forcing his head down for a kiss, he simply closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Mang Jiu’s, producing another smacking sound.

Satisfied, Mang Jiu sat up straight and began grooming the two cubs on his lap.

Perhaps because they’d been eating so well lately, the two cubs’ fur was smooth and soft, with that characteristic fluffy softness of young cubs; their warm bodies felt incredibly pleasant to the touch. As a cold-blooded creature in his beast form, Mang Jiu was drawn to that warmth.

He usually envied Zhang Shuguang when he saw him cuddling the cubs and grooming them, but he knew the cubs were afraid of him and rarely came near him.

If Tangdou hadn’t suddenly flown onto his shoulder today, asking for a kiss, he definitely wouldn’t have gone out of his way to kiss the cubs himself—he was afraid of scaring them.

But kissing Zhang Shuguang—and letting Zhang Shuguang kiss him—that’s a different story. And the feel of it was just so good!

From now on, he’d give him a kiss every day—and the kids too! He had to keep up this good habit.

While Mang Jiu’s mind was racing with a thousand thoughts, Zhang Shuguang was too busy blushing to notice his gleaming eyes. Those eyes were filled with an intense determination regarding a certain matter.

Zhang Shuguang, his face flushed, stared intently at the clay bowl in the fire. Right now, only two thoughts occupied his mind.

Mang Jiu kissed me! I kissed Mang Jiu!

Aaaaaah, we kissed each other! We kissed on the cheek!

We kissed! We did!

Zhang Shuguang’s face grew redder and redder.

Li, who had been watching the two of them kissing just moments ago with his mouth half-open in shock, was startled when he saw Zhang Shuguang’s bright red face.

“Shuguang! Are you standing too close? Step back a bit.”

Zhang Shuguang snapped back to his senses, grabbed a nearby twig, and was about to toss it into the fire when Mang Jiu grabbed his hand.

“Slow down.”

Zhang Shuguang saw that the twig in his hand had nearly poked the clay bowl, so he quickly moved it aside.

“Thanks.”

Mang Jiu looked at his bright red cheeks and ears, thought for a moment, and asked, “Are you shy?” Zhang Shuguang bristled. “Why would I be shy! I was just thinking!”

Mang Jiu nodded. “Oh.”

Zhang Shuguang shot him a glare, then stood up. “You guys watch the fire. I’m going to dig up some more mud.” Without waiting to see how the three of them reacted, he grabbed the wooden bucket and ran off, looking as if he were fleeing in panic.

There was still quite a bit of mud left in the bucket, and it was heavy. Zhang Shuguang carried it to the water’s edge, set the bucket down, and plunged into the water with a splash—he’d even forgotten to take off his straw sandals.

He didn’t bother with his sandals either; he bent down, cupped his hands, and splashed water on his face. Cool down, cool down.

He stood in the ditch for a moment until the heat on his face subsided, then casually scooped up two handfuls of mud before climbing out.

“Shuguang!” Mang Qiqi, lured by the aroma and unable to resist any longer, called out to him, “Can we eat yet? Did you get lost? The smell of meat is just too strong!”

Zhang Shuguang looked up at the sun in the sky and calculated the time.

“Dig one up and take a look. If the mud is completely dry and hard, it’s done.”

Mang Qiqi reached out impatiently to dig, but was stopped by Mang Jiu. “You want to lose your hand?”

After being scolded, Mang Qiqi obediently pulled his hand back and looked at him with pleading eyes. “Uncle Jiu, I’m hungry~” Mang Jiu sighed, picked up a thick wooden stick lying nearby, turned over the soil, and pried out a clump of mud.

Qi’s eyes widened in amazement, and he kept taking deep, rapturous breaths.

Li also caught the scent of the meat and couldn’t help but swallow hard. “Shuguang, this smells even better than the roast duck you made last time.”

Zhang Shuguang set the wooden bucket aside, bent down, and ruffled the hair on both their heads. “It’s completely natural, and all the aroma has been sealed inside the mud. With the roast duck last time, you could smell the fragrance from the very start. By the time the duck was done, you’d gotten used to the smell, so it didn’t seem as fragrant.”

He took the wooden stick from Mang Jiu’s hand and tapped the mud ball, producing a series of thuds. The mudball cracked under his blows.

“It should be done.” He used the stick to push the mud aside, revealing the leaf wrapper inside, which had turned a golden brown from the prolonged heat. “Mang Jiu, hand me the bone knife.” He held out his hand, and Mang Jiu placed the bone knife in it.

Zhang Shuguang used the bone knife to slit open the leaf wrapper, and the aroma of meat wafted out along with the rising white smoke. Mang Qiqi covered his mouth with his hand and swallowed hard twice.

“It smells so good, so good!” His voice was muffled by his hand.

Zhang Shuguang couldn’t stand the sight of his greedy expression. He made a couple of cuts into the meat with the knife to confirm it was cooked through, then simply handed him the whole duck.

“Eat slowly, don’t burn yourself.”

Mang Qiqi’s eyes welled up with tears of gratitude. “I’ll definitely eat slowly!” 

“Remember to spit out the bones,” Zhang Shuguang reminded him.

Mang Qiqi nodded vigorously, setting the duck and its leaf wrapper aside to make room for Zhang Shuguang. Zhang Shuguang dug up four more mud balls—one for himself and three for the kids.

They dug up more as they finished eating, and in the end, they divided up over a dozen ducks among themselves.

Mang Qiqi’s hands and face were covered in grease. He set the duck bones aside—not a shred of meat remained, and he’d licked them clean, not leaving a single drop of grease behind.

Zhang Shuguang watched him still licking the bones, clearly relishing every moment, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is your little nephew always this greedy?” He turned to look at Mang Jiu.

Mang Jiu shook his head to indicate he didn’t know, then gave half of his duck to Mang Qiqi.

Mang Qiqi took it and exclaimed, moved: “Uncle Jiu, you’re even better than my father!”

Zhang Shuguang rested his elbow on his knee, propped his chin in his hand, and tilted his head to look at him. “If you call him ‘Uncle,’ shouldn’t you call me ‘Uncle’ too?” 

“What does ‘Uncle’ mean?” Mang Qiqi and Li both looked at him.

Zhang Shuguang: “You don’t know what it means, yet you call him Uncle Jiu?”

“I’ve heard you call other people older than you that.” Mang Qiqi chewed on a piece of duck meat as he tilted his head and thought for a moment. “You called Ying Cao that the other day, and you call Ying ‘Aunt Ying’ too.”

Zhang Shuguang: “You’re really smart. Not only do you have a keen sense of smell, but you’re quick on your feet, too.” Mang Qiqi smiled, lips pursed, delighted by the compliment.

After praising him, Zhang Shuguang realized something was off. He hadn’t been with Ying Cao or Ying when he spoke to them—how had Mang Qiqi heard that? He looked at the little white snake gnawing on meat in surprise and asked, “Where did you hear that?”

“I heard it when I was passing by the foot of the mountain,” Mang Qiqi said matter-of-factly, leaving the other three speechless.

“You could hear me talking to Mang Jiu over there just now, too?” Zhang Shuguang lost his composure and began to panic a little.

Mang Qiqi: “No,” he looked at Zhang Shuguang with some confusion, “I can’t hear everything. Sometimes I hear things, and sometimes I don’t…”

After he finished speaking, he scratched his head. “My nose works better than my ears,” he said, pointing at Mang Jiu. “You’re covered in Uncle Jiu’s scent.”

Mang Jiu raised one eyebrow slightly, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Zhang Shuguang coughed violently, choking on his own saliva.

Mang Jiu patted him on the back and asked Mang Qiqi, “When did you start having such a keen sense of smell?”

“Ever since I was little,” Mang Qiqi replied, sitting up straight obediently, holding the last half of a duck leg in his hand. “When I was out training as a kid, I’d always follow the scent to find tasty fruits. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had enough to eat, and I definitely wouldn’t have grown this big.”He licked the duck leg reluctantly and said, “Father says that if it weren’t for my keen sense of smell and all the fruit I ate, I’d probably still be a little white snake, not even as thick as a finger.”

“……” Zhang Shuguang twitched the corner of his mouth. What a father—when it came to looking down on his son, it was the same in every world, just like how mothers are always eager to set their sons up on dates.

Mang Jiu nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

Zhang Shuguang patted him on the shoulder. “What’s going on with them?”

Mang Jiu replied, “They’ve evolved.”

“Huh?” Zhang Shuguang froze for a moment. “Evolved?”

“Yeah. Just like I can stay underwater for a long time, Mang Da has a keen sense of smell—but his is even sharper.” After saying this, Mang Jiu stroked his smooth chin. He’d often seen Zhang Shuguang do this, and when he tried it himself, he didn’t feel anything. After stroking his own chin, he reached out and ran his hand over Zhang Shuguang’s chin. “Let me shave you.”

Zhang Shuguang was genuinely startled by this sudden gesture and instinctively pulled his neck back a little.

Mang Jiu picked up the bone knife he’d just used to cut the leaves for the wrapper, then rinsed it clean with water. “Come here,” he said, patting his muscular thigh. “Lie down.” He set the cub he was holding aside.

Just as Zhang Shuguang was about to say he didn’t need help—that he could shave himself—Mang Jiu grabbed the back of his neck and pressed him down. His body fell backward, his head resting sideways on Mang Jiu’s thigh.

Face-to-face with… well, his crotch…

Beneath the Beastman’s leather skirt—that view, that thicket of hair, that massive thing.

“F@#$%@^#@#%^@!” A string of expletives he hadn’t even expected to utter burst from Zhang Shuguang’s mouth. He was terrified!

It almost hit him in the face! What the hell was going on!

Why were so many unexpected problems popping up today! Aaargh!

Without a word, Zhang Shuguang scrambled to his feet, covered in dirt, and ran off. Mang Jiu froze, one hand still raised with the knife, the other hanging limply at his side.

Confused, he looked up to see Zhang Shuguang running off like the wind, then looked down at the little ones beside him.

Apart from Tangdou, who had been sleeping on Zhang Shuguang’s shoulder the whole time, the other two cubs, Naidou and Maodou, were just as bewildered as he was. Half-asleep, they’d felt a sudden gust of wind—whoosh—and their fur had been blown all over the place!

Mang Jiu turned to look at Li and Mang Qiqiqu. The two of them were just as puzzled. Li pointed at the clay bowl burning in the fire, his face a mix of bewilderment and panic:

“Are we just… going to ignore that?”

They wouldn’t dare burn that thing!

Shuguang had crafted it so meticulously—what if they ruined it!

Mang Jiu thought for a moment and said, “You two keep an eye on the fire. Don’t let it go out. I’ll go find him.” Naidou and Maodou cried out that they wanted to come along, but he patted each of their heads and said, “Wait here.”

The two little rascals reluctantly crawled back down, letting out a couple of whimpers. Mang Qiqi raised a hand and pointed, “Shuguang ran that way.”

Mang Jiu took a step forward and turned to look at him. “You should call him Uncle Shuguang.” Mang Qiqi: 

“…Oh, Uncle Shuguang went that way.”

Mang Jiu turned and walked away quickly.

Zhang Shuguang ran all the way to the experimental field. He stood at the edge of the field, hands on his knees, panting heavily.

“Am I fucking crazy?”

“How could I let my mind wander like that!” 

“Am I an idiot?”

He fired off a triple question at himself, and after asking, he answered his own mind. He was crazy.

He was overthinking. He was an idiot.

“Aaaah, I’m straight, aren’t I!”

He let out the ultimate existential question.

“What do you mean, straight?” Mang Jiu’s voice came from behind him, shattering all of Zhang Shuguang’s wild imaginings. He bolted forward like a startled rabbit.

But because his mind was in such a panic and his heart was in such turmoil, he hadn’t even noticed where he was landing—right on top of the vegetable seedlings that had just sprouted tender green shoots.

“!” He could already imagine that if he stepped on them, not only would a patch of seedlings be crushed, but he’d probably sprain his ankle too.

But none of that happened.

Mang Jiu lunged forward in a single bound, grabbing his waist a split second before he hit the ground and spinning him around in a wide circle.

The spin itself wasn’t the problem, but perhaps because the movement was too abrupt, he lost control and flung Zhang Shuguang right out of his grasp. Tangdou, who had been dozing on Zhang Shuguang’s shoulder, was startled and flapped its wings, flying away.

Zhang Shuguang let out a cry, thud, and fell to the ground, landing squarely on his butt.

“Ow~~!! Ouch!!!” In an instant, the pain made his vision go black.

Mang Jiu was startled too. He hurried to help Zhang Shuguang up, reaching out to feel his buttocks. “Are you okay? Are you okay?”

Zhang Shuguang clenched his teeth and swatted away the hand that was trying to grope him, gasping for breath, “Do I look like I’m okay to you?! This is worse than if I’d just stomped on it!”

A dull ache radiated from his tailbone. He straightened his back, only to find that the slightest movement sent a wave of pain through him.

At that moment, Zhang Shuguang stuck his butt out—as if deliberately sticking it out—and shuffled forward slowly. Just a tiny step; the distance between his feet was probably less than thirty centimeters.

The pain made him shut his eyes tight and curl up. He suspected his butt was shattered!

Waaah, it hurts so much!!!!

If he weren’t afraid of losing face, he’d really want to clutch his butt and wail in agony right now! It felt like not just his butt hurt, but his balls too!

Waaah, I want to rub it!!!

Mang Jiu circled him once, saying anxiously, “Why don’t we find some Ying Cao to take a look?”

“No! Way!” Zhang Shuguang ground out the two words through clenched teeth, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Stay calm—if I stay calm, it’ll stop hurting.

It’s just a big fall on his butt. 

He secretly rubbed his leg to check—good, nothing was broken. Mang Jiu frowned, bent down, and picked him up horizontally, turning to head toward the foot of the mountain.

Zhang Shuguang quickly slapped his shoulder and snapped, “I’m not going to Ying Cao’s place!”

“Hmm, back to the cave.” Mang Jiu pressed his lips together, his expression somber.

Zhang Shuguang actually wanted to say he still needed to fire the clay bowls, but then he remembered he’d just run off. How those bowls turned out would be entirely up to Li and Mang Qiqi to improvise.

“Cheep, cheep, cheep!!!” Tangdou flew back and landed on Zhang Shuguang, chirping anxiously.

Zhang Shuguang gritted his teeth against the waves of pain and gave her a wry smile. “Daddy’s fine, sweetie.” Tangdou hopped on his chest a couple of times, then bounced up to his face, poking her little head out to nuzzle him.

Zhang Shuguang had intended to kiss her to comfort her, but when he realized that everything had started with a kiss—and that it would start with kissing Tangdou—he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Mang Jiu hurried up the mountain path, carrying him in his arms. They ran into a few male Sub-Beastmen who had come out to pick fruit. Just as they were about to say hello, Mang Jiu vanished like a gust of wind.

“What’s wrong? Shuguang looks really pale.”

“Is he sick? We haven’t seen him around the tribe much lately.” 

“Mang Jiu is carrying him—he’s probably just tired.”

“Shuguang is truly blessed—Mang Jiu dotes on him so much.” 

“Shuguang is great too—it’s Mang Jiu who’s lucky.”

Zhang Shuguang let out a groan as Mang Jiu set him down on the stone slab bed. Mang Jiu quickly picked him up again.

“Lie on your stomach, lie on your stomach.” Zhang Shuguang grimaced, his eyelids twitching from the pain. Mang Jiu helped him roll over so he was lying face down on the stone slab bed.

Zhang Shuguang exhaled deeply, arching his back slightly and sticking his butt out.

“You… go over to the ditch,” he said weakly, shaking his legs. “I’ll be fine if I just lie on my stomach for a bit.”

Mang Jiu pursed his lips and crouched beside him. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Let me rub it for you.” 

Zhang Shuguang stared at him wide-eyed. “No need!”

“Why not?” Mang Jiu asked, puzzled. “If you’ve hurt yourself, doesn’t it need to be massaged to heal?”

“……” It wouldn’t hurt to massage away the bruising, but the injury was in a rather awkward spot, and he really didn’t want anyone to help with that! Zhang Shuguang rested his head on his arm and mumbled, “Really, no need. I’ll be fine after resting for a bit.”

Mang Jiu gave a soft “Oh” and stood up. “Then I’ll go get our things.” Zhang Shuguang gave a soft “Mm-hmm.”

Tangdou hopped onto the stone bed, her little beak gently brushing against Zhang Shuguang’s cheek.

Zhang Shuguang turned to look at her, but in the end, he couldn’t resist giving her a kiss. “Daddy’s little girl, Daddy’s in so much pain!”

“Cheep?” Tangdou tilted her little head, staring at him for a moment, then suddenly flapped her tiny wings and flew onto his back, her two little claws tapping away as she ran back and forth across his back.

Zhang Shuguang chuckled, “Tangdou, are you giving Daddy a massage?” 

“Cheep cheep!!” Tangdou chirped twice, then scampered happily back and forth.

“Shuguang, I saw Mang Jiu leave again,” Hua said as she entered the cave. “What’s wrong with you?” Zhang Shuguang turned to look at her and greeted her. “Sister Hua, why don’t you sit on Mang Jiu’s stone bed?”

“Are you sick?” Hua set down the backpack she was carrying.

Zhang Shuguang gave a dry laugh. “I just took a tumble. I’ll be fine—I just need to lie down for a bit.” He glanced at the basket on the ground. “Did you weave this for me?”

“That’s right,” Hua nodded with a smile. “Xiong Kui told me you’ve been so busy sun-drying salt lately that you haven’t had time to weave baskets, so I made these two especially for you.”

“Thanks, Sister Hua. I’ve got another favor to ask of you.” He didn’t want to refuse her kindness. “You’re using thinner bamboo strips now than you did at first, aren’t you? This one looks really smooth to me.” Zhang Shuguang slowly shifted his body closer to the edge, reached out to pick up the back basket, and ran his hand over it. He needed to find something to distract himself so he wouldn’t keep thinking about his sore butt.

Sister Hua’s craftsmanship was truly exceptional; this single bamboo basket could rival the work of those internet-famous uncles from later generations.

Sister Hua nodded.

“What would you like me to weave for you?”

“Weave me a pillow,” Zhang Shuguang pointed to his animal-skin pillow. “This one’s way too hot, and it attracts bugs.”

Hua hummed in response. “Tell me what you want it to look like, and I’ll see if I can make it for you.”

Zhang Shuguang eagerly began sketching with his finger on the stone slab, but because he drew too quickly and left no mark, Hua was completely baffled by his description.

“Get me a charred twig, and another slab of stone or wood.”

Hua went out to find a branch and brought it back, then fetched a wooden plank.

Ever since Zhang Shuguang had taught the tribe how to make fire by rubbing sticks together, wooden boards had become a staple in nearly every cave—every household kept at least two on hand.

Taking the wooden board and holding the twig in his hand, Zhang Shuguang saw that the twig was quite thick and convenient for drawing, so he began sketching a bamboo-woven pillow on the board.

“First, you need to set up the crossbar,” he said as he drew, thickening the lines where support was needed. “It’s best to use several bamboo strips to secure it. Then, if the bamboo board isn’t too thick, you can heat it over a fire to bend it, and start weaving around the crossbar using thinner bamboo strips.”

Hua saw that although what he had drawn looked quite difficult, once she thought it through, it actually seemed pretty easy to weave. Plus, it would probably go quickly since the bamboo pillow was much smaller.

“No problem. I’ll weave one for you in a bit.”

“Make a few more,” Zhang Shuguang said with a smile. “I’ll save some for the kids to use.” 

“Aren’t you going to make one for Mang Jiu, too?” Hua teased him.

Zhang Shuguang winced as his butt stung. “Sure, of course, he’ll get one. Hua, did the Chief mention when they’ll be distributing salt in the tribe? I want to teach you how to make jerky. It’s getting hotter and hotter—at least with jerky, we won’t have to eat spoiled meat.”

“You know how to make jerky? The kind that keeps for a very, very long time?” Hua asked in surprise. “Someone traded for some at a gathering once—it was brought by Beastmen from the Northern Continent. There wasn’t much of it, but they traded away a lot of raw meat for it.”

Zhang Shuguang thought back to the descriptions of the Northern Continent and realized that it wasn’t hard to imagine people there having methods for preserving meat. After all, the harsher the living conditions, the stronger the human instinct for survival.

“Yeah, it’s pretty easy to make, though it does take a bit of time. You can have anyone who wants to make jerky go chop down a cinnamon tree in advance and peel off the bark to dry it first—like the ones I dried earlier.” Zhang Shuguang pointed to the large bamboo tray on the rack. “Take a piece and give it a sniff. This bark can be ground into powder and sprinkled on the meat, or you can just break off a piece and stew it with the meat—it works great for removing the gamey smell.”

Hua nodded repeatedly, committing every word he said to memory.

“I’ll have them go check out the tree in a bit. I know exactly where that cinnamon tree you mentioned is.” Having lived here for centuries, they knew the surroundings like the back of their hands. They hadn’t realized before that these things could be turned into something delicious, but now that they knew, they were more eager than anyone else.

The allure of good food is endless.

Zhang Shuguang added, “Actually, Sister Hua, you should try farming with me. You’ve seen the condition of the vegetable seedlings on my plot these past few days.”

Hua hummed in acknowledgment. “We’ve all gone to see them—they’re growing quite well. But once the wild vegetables and fruits ripen in a while, we’ll be able to pick plenty. I used to dislike wild vegetables, but ever since you taught us to render fat from pork belly, they’ve become quite tasty.” She recalled how many people had recently asked her about the pot Shuguang used for cooking, and smiled. “The hunting party plans to go hunt terror birds in the next couple of days.”

“Hunt a terror bird?” Zhang Shuguang asked in surprise. “Aren’t they supposed to be huge and hard to kill? Why would we hunt one?” He’d never seen a whole terror bird, but the fact that a single bird’s meat could feed the entire tribe for four or five days meant it was truly enormous and had an abundance of meat.

Hua sighed helplessly. “When I saw that pot you made from a terror bird’s scale plate, I wanted one too. The Beastmen found Xiong Kui and said, ‘Since we’re going out to hunt anyway, why not bring back a terror bird? There’s plenty of meat for everyone, and we can split the scale plates to make some pots to use.’”

Zhang Shuguang admired, “Whoever came up with that is a genius.”

Hua, however, expressed her concern: “You don’t understand—you can’t just hunt a terror bird by having a large group. Even if dozens of Beastmen go together, they might not all come back.”

“Why?” Zhang Shuguang was taken aback. “Didn’t Mang Jiu only take a few people last time?”

“That was because Mang Jiu was with them. If Mang Jiu hadn’t been there that day, they would’ve either all fled or died there, becoming food for the terror birds.” Hua’s expression grew somber. Seeing how genuinely curious he was, she explained, “The Beastmen in the tribe, though they belong to the Giant Beast Clan, haven’t evolved greater strength.”

Zhang Shuguang’s pupils widened. “Sister Hua?” He couldn’t help but feel that Hua seemed to know a great deal.

Ever since he’d seen A-Si suddenly transform that day, and just now heard Mang Jiu say that Mang Qiqi’s keen sense of smell was due to evolution, he’d actually kept it in mind, planning to ask Xiao Cai before bed that night why the Beastmen here had evolved.

Little did he know that Hua had merely come to deliver two backpacks, yet they’d end up discussing evolution.

It was quite a coincidence.

Hua said, “My father was the previous chieftain. He belonged to the Gray Wolf branch of the Giant Wolf Clan. As you’ve probably noticed, the Gray Wolf Clan consists mostly of Beastmen from the Giant Beast Clan, whereas the Black Wolf Clan and White Wolf Clan do not.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded. “I know. I’ve seen the Black Wolf Clan’s Beastmen.”

Hua pressed her lips together, her expression darkening. “My father died because his evolution failed. It wasn’t because he was injured while hunting, as they claimed.”

“Huh?” Zhang Shuguang was genuinely startled. “Evolution can actually fail?”

Hua nodded. “For ordinary Beastmen, evolution simply means becoming part of the Giant Beast Clan. Their bodies stretch out, and their beast forms grow much larger, but it’s excruciating. Basically, no one can endure it. Plus, I’ve heard that during evolution, Beastmen can’t move around—their bodies must remain fully extended.”

Zhang Shuguang thought back to As’s condition at the time and nodded. “What about the old chieftain? Wasn’t he a Giant Beast Clan member?”

“He is a Giant Beast, but he’s old. Any physical changes would be extremely difficult for him to endure.” Hua’s eyes were filled with sorrow. “Before my father died, he said that if any Beastmen in the tribe attempt to evolve, we must stop them.”

“Stop them?” Zhang Shuguang’s mind was filled with question marks.

Hua waved her hand. “I always felt that he didn’t really know why or how the Beastmen evolved. He just thought evolution was dangerous, which is why he said we had to stop it.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded in agreement.

“So what about Mang Jiu… can you tell?”

Hua chuckled and handed him the wooden panel she’d drawn. “Mang Jiu is different from everyone else—haven’t you noticed? Mang Er is many snow seasons older than Mang Jiu. Before Mang Jiu’s beast form started growing larger, he was the tribe’s greatest warrior.”

It took Zhang Shuguang a moment to grasp what she meant: Mang Er was older than Mang Jiu, and Mang Er had once been the tribe’s greatest warrior. That lazybones who just eats, sleeps, and eats some more?

He hadn’t seen Mang Er in the last few days. According to Mang Jiu, his older brother was asleep again—apparently, he’d intentionally eaten a bit more than usual during a recent hunting trip, and now he was curled up in his den in beast form, snoring away.

“No one expected Mang Jiu’s beast form to be this huge. I heard he’s shed his skin again. No matter which branch of the Serpent Clan they belong to, beastmen only shed their skin after their bodies grow larger and their strength increases.” Hua patted him on the shoulder. “You’re in for a treat.”

Zhang Shuguang was taken aback by her last remark and asked, confused, “Why am I lucky?”

“The stronger the Beastman, the more formidable their offspring will be.” Hua winked at him with a smile. “Your future children are sure to be healthy and fierce.”

Zhang Shuguang: “……” I don’t know how to respond to that.

Lately, it seemed like everyone was bringing up the topic of kids with him, and he couldn’t even have any! Argh!

So annoying!

Hua stood up and said to him, “You should rest. I’ll go back and make you a pillow. If it’s easy to make, I’ll teach the others how to make some too.” “Sister Hua,” Zhang Shuguang called out to her, “why are you telling me all this?”

Hua turned to look at him. “I think the Shaman was right. You can help us live better lives.” “Ah…” Zhang Shuguang froze.

Hua waved her hand and walked away, carrying the wooden plank.

By the ditch, the three adults and two children huddled around the fire, exchanging glances before fixing their eyes on the few clay bowls in the flames.

“Can we take them out yet?” Li stepped back a bit; the heat from the fire was too intense.

Mang Jiu frowned deeply. He was worried about Zhang Shuguang’s condition, yet he couldn’t just leave things here—he was torn. Mang Qiqi shifted closer to Li, and the two kids followed suit.

There was nothing to be done—Mang Jiu’s aura was too intense and cold right now. Even though standing next to him would be refreshing, they didn’t want to get too close!

“Uncle Mang Jiu…” Mang Qiqi rubbed his arms and asked cautiously, “Um, Uncle Shuguang hasn’t eaten anything yet. Why don’t we head back for today?”

Mang Jiu nodded. “Alright.”

He picked up the bamboo tube beside him and splashed the water inside into the fire with a loud splash. Li and Mang Qiqi were both dumbfounded.

“Um… won’t that cause an explosion?” Li asked uncertainly.

Mang Jiu frowned. He was in a hurry and simply didn’t have the patience to pick up firewood one by one to put out the flames.

But upon hearing Li’s words, he recalled how much Zhang Shuguang valued these clay bowls, so Mang Jiu had no choice but to abandon the idea of pouring water a second time.

Li understood his impatience and hurried over to help put out the fire.

The stone slab was pulled out and set aside; two of the clay bowls on top were broken. Li stole a glance at Mang Jiu: “The two that cracked seem to be the ones you just poured water on.”

Mang Jiu hummed in acknowledgment. “It’s fine. Take the rest back and show them to Shuguang.”

He packed up the two broken clay bowls as well. Since the clay had hardened, he pulled some grass to cushion them, afraid they might shatter again if they bumped into anything.

“Naidou, Maodou, let’s go home.” Mang Jiu called out to the two kids, then turned to Li and Mang Qiqi: “Carry the wooden bucket and pack up the rest.”    

“Okay, okay,” Li nodded vigorously. “You go ahead. We’ll be back as soon as we’re done.”

Mang Jiu thanked them, then bent down to pick up the kids and ran off.

Inside the cave, once the pain in Zhang Shuguang’s butt had subsided, he crawled out of bed and slowly walked in circles on the ground.

“Cheep, cheep, cheep!” Tangdou flew onto his shoulder.

“Daddy doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m fine. I need to walk around a bit to get used to it; otherwise, if I fall asleep and wake up, I won’t be able to move.” Zhang Shuguang supported his waist with one hand and shuffled slowly.

“Is anyone there?” A soft, delicate voice came from outside the cave. Zhang Shuguang paused for a moment. “Come in. Someone’s here!”

“I’m here to see Brother Jiu. Is he not here?” Tian Lu walked in and, seeing that only Zhang Shuguang was in the cave, asked somewhat sheepishly. Zhang Shuguang found it quite amusing to see him blush after just one sentence.

Smiling politely, he said, “Mang Jiu will be back shortly. If you need to speak with him, please wait a moment.”

Tianlu nodded with a smile and stood there motionless, his eyes fixed on Zhang Shuguang. He watched as Zhang slowly circled the floor, his hand resting on his waist, looking as if walking was a struggle. Unable to hold back any longer, he asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Zhang Shuguang gave a dry laugh. “My butt hurts.”

“Your butt hurts?” Tian Lu’s eyes widened, and his eyes instantly turned red. 

Zhang Shuguang: “Ah…”

Tianlu stamped his foot and turned to run.

Zhang Shuguang: “Ah… I just tripped… What’s going on? Why are you running?” Tianlu burst out of the cave and collided head-on with Mang Jiu, who was returning with the cub in his arms.

Mang Jiu reacted quickly, stepping aside, but Tianlu’s foot twisted, and he fell straight to his knees.

“Waaah! Waaah, that hurts!” Tian Lu knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face. The fall itself might not have hurt that much, but it hurt his heart!

Zhang Shuguang said his butt hurt! He was having trouble walking! His cheeks were bright red—he’d clearly just woken up! Waaah, they… they actually did that!!!

Waaah!!!

Tianlu scrambled to his feet and ran off.

Mang Jiu turned to glance at him. Only after seeing that he had already run down the mountain did he enter the cave and ask, “What was he doing here?”

“I don’t know, maybe he had business with you,” Zhang Shuguang took the two cubs from him. As the cubs licked his face, one on each side, he stepped back a bit. “Stop licking, stop licking. Your mouths are full of meat.”

Mang Jiu set his backpack on the ground. “Then why did he run off?”

Zhang Shuguang shook his head. “He asked me what was wrong. I said my butt… hurt…” His lips twitched. Oh man, that’s going to cause a misunderstanding. Mang Jiu tilted his head. “Hm?”

“Nothing. Did you bring back those clay bowls?” He quickly changed the subject; otherwise, Mang Jiu would keep fixating on his butt. “Yeah,” Mang Jiu nodded. “Let me see how your butt is doing.”

Zhang Shuguang: “……” Is there no getting past this now?!

(╯‵□′)╯！