Shi Quan led his men back to his thatched hut. Having lost face and genuinely been frightened, he was visibly on edge.

He’d bottled it up for so long that as soon as he entered the thatched hut, he went berserk, smashing the wooden utensils stored inside.

The beastmen who had returned with him stood outside the hut, watching him shout and scream, and suddenly furrowed their brows.

It seemed the chieftain had truly grown old; unable to salvage his pride and too afraid to lash out at the provocateur, he could only vent his frustration by lashing out inside his own thatched hut.

The beastman had a change of heart and spoke up, “Chieftain, why don’t we go discuss this with the Chief of the Golden Tiger Clan?”

“What’s the point of going to her! What else does Hu Fei know how to do besides sleep?” Shi Quan roared.

Hu Fei happened to be passing by nearby and heard Shi Quan’s roar, but she didn’t take it seriously at all.

That arrogant lion was bound to suffer a major setback sooner or later.

Hu Fei walked briskly up the mountain path. Spotting two Golden Lion Clan beastmen standing before a large boulder, she surmised this must be where the sub-beastman was being held.

She sighed softly. Seeing the two Golden Lion Clan beastmen staring at her warily, Hu Fei shook her head and continued up the mountain.

She looked around, then headed back down the mountain empty-handed.

She scratched her head, feeling a bit foolish—as clan chief, it seemed she didn’t have much to show for herself.

As she passed the cave again, she noticed the large boulder had been moved aside, and Lionquan’s furious roar echoed from within.

Hu Fei stood there listening for a moment, then furrowed her brow slightly.

“Tribal Chief!” Someone at the foot of the mountain spotted her and called out, “Hu Gui sent me to find you!”

Hu Fei raised her hand and waved, signaling that she understood.

After descending the mountain, Hu Dou rushed over and said, “Hu Gui said to hurry over.”

Hu Fei sighed, but in the end, she followed Hu Dou into the woods—still empty-handed.

She’d only heard about that enormous python and imagined what it might look like, but it wasn’t until she actually walked up to it and saw it for herself that she realized it couldn’t even be classified as a giant python anymore.

Hu Fei furrowed his brow, clearly thinking about the evolution of the beastmen.

Hu Gui, seeing her, walked over and said, “Look at those three brothers from the Black Bear Clan. Earlier, when I went to the Salt Mountain Tribe to trade for salt, I tried to get some honey from them in exchange for a dual-purpose beast bone knife. But they haggled and scrimped, using that tiny bit to take away one of my bone knives—a leg bone from a terror bird that I’d polished myself.” He curled his lip and snorted, “Look at them now—they’d practically crawl up their legs and beg for salt!”

Hu Fei cast a glance down at the animal-skin bag at his feet. Judging by its bulging shape, it was likely filled with all sorts of sharp bone knives he’d saved up over time.

“You’re not much better than him, are you?” He couldn’t help but snap back, only to be met with a withering glare from Hu Gui.

The guy actually rolled his eyes at her three times in a row. Hu Fei’s mouth twitched, and she slapped him across the face. “Get lost. You’re so ugly.”

Hu Gui flew into a rage, pouncing on her and trying to pinch her. “Who do you think I brought all this stuff for? That damn arrogant Shi Quan actually said we didn’t get much salt in return, and made us trade three times as much meat for salt. Does he really think I’m an idiot?”

Hu Fei patted his shoulder and tilted her chin upward. “Keep your voice down—people will hear you.”

“So what if they heard? Last time I asked him straight out—the people from the Salt Mountain Tribe doubled the amount of meat they brought for the salt trade, and he still added another 10 percent on top. He thinks he’s the only smart one around!” Hu Gui grew angrier as he spoke, his face turning an ugly shade of red.

Hu Fei patted his shoulder again. “Keep your voice down, keep your voice down. When I said ‘others,’ I meant the people behind you.”

Hu Gui paused, then slowly turned his head to look back. He saw that the crowd of people who had been bustling about to exchange salt were all staring at him, their expressions making it perfectly clear that they had heard everything.

Not only had they heard it, but they’d heard it loud and clear.

Zhang Shuguang’s eyes darted around as he shifted his body to the side and asked Mang Er, “Second Brother, if I bring an entire clan back to the tribe, do you think the Chief and the Shaman will flip out?”

Mang Er raised his eyes to look at the two Golden Tiger Clan beastmen not far away. While sub-beastmen might not be able to distinguish what a beastman’s animal form looks like, as beastmen themselves, they could identify which clan the others belonged to at a glance.

“The Golden Tiger Clan’s chieftain is one of the few female beastmen—every single one has been male,” Mang Er replied, sidestepping the question.

Zhang Shuguang nodded slightly. “A matriarchal society.”

Mang Er asked him, “Do you plan to take all the Golden Tiger Clan beastmen back with you?”

“I’d like to try. Look at all that resentment over there. Just because they used to live together peacefully doesn’t mean they still can. That Lion Clan chieftain shattered the peace with his own hands,” Zhang Shuguang sneered. “Seriously, he’s both stupid and vicious.”

Mang Er raised his hand and gave him a light pat on the back of the head, soothing him, “Don’t get so worked up—Mang Jiu is fine.”

Zhang Shuguang pursed his lips and turned to look at him. “I’m not worried.”

“He’ll be fine. If anything were wrong, you’d sense it,” Mang Er tapped his chest lightly with his index finger. “He gave you his scales to eat.”

Zhang Shuguang hummed in acknowledgment. He was just about to say that the python knew quite a lot when he suddenly stopped himself.

Wait a minute—how did Mang Er know that?

Did Mang Jiu tell him?

Impossible—Mang Jiu isn’t the type to tell just anyone.

That sense of unease crept up on him again. He remembered Mang Er saying he’d recalled some events from a long time ago.

Mang Er sensed his confusion, gently ruffled his hair, and looked at him in a way that almost made Zhang Shuguang think he was seeing his older brother.

Whenever he threw a tantrum, his older brother would always reach up and give him a light pat on the back of the head, then ruffle his hair.

Zhang Shuguang blinked hard, a sudden lump forming in his throat.

“I have a younger brother—I lost him,” Mang Er said softly, withdrawing his hand and staring into Zhang Shuguang’s eyes. “I searched for him for a long time but couldn’t find him. I didn’t dare go back to tell my father. Later, I got so tired from searching that I found a cave to sleep in.

I fell asleep and had a dream—I’d always see my younger brother in my dreams, so I just kept sleeping and sleeping.”

Mang Er exhaled and said hoarsely, “I know you have a lot of questions. I have plenty of things I don’t understand myself, so I can’t answer your questions.”

Zhang Shuguang gave a soft “Mm-hmm,” lowering his eyes to stare at his fingertips. The look on his face would make anyone feel sorry for him. “I don’t even know what to ask.”

He didn’t even know if he had another older brother besides Zhang Chenyang—how could he possibly ask anything?

“Can you trade me for some salt? This is all I have.” A pair of grubby little hands reached out, clutching a bone knife with chipped teeth.

This bone knife wasn’t even as big as the smallest fish-gutting knife Zhang Shuguang had used before, but for this little boy, it was likely one of his few possessions.

He followed the hands with his gaze and saw a scrawny little boy; because there was so little flesh on his face, his eyes looked large and round.

There was no innocence or carefree spirit—only a deep-seated anxiety of being rejected.

Zhang Shuguang saw the pattern on the boy’s chest and furrowed his brow slightly.

Noticing the change in his expression, the little boy’s outstretched hand trembled; he pursed his lips and pulled it back.

It was his fault—how could anyone possibly be willing to give him back such precious salt!

Zhang Shuguang reached out and took the little boy’s hand, taking the bone knife from him and asking, “How much salt do you want in exchange?”

The little boy’s eyes lit up. He looked at him hopefully and asked, “Can you really trade me for salt? I just want a little bit—I, I don’t eat much, so I don’t need a lot!”

Zhang Shuguang took a clay bowl from the basket beside him, scooped a bowlful of fine salt from the bag, and handed it to him. “Here, this is for you.”

The little boy was taken aback, then waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no, no! That’s too much, way too much! I don’t need that much, really!”

Zhang Shuguang handed him both the small bowl and the salt. “I’m the one who decides what to trade, and don’t think you’ll be able to keep all this salt just because you’ve got it.”

The little boy’s face was tense, his eyes red-rimmed as he looked at Zhang Shuguang. “Thank you. I—I’ll repay you!” With that, he snatched the small bowl, tucked it into his animal-skin skirt, and turned to run off as fast as he could.

A beastman from the Golden Lion Clan who had come to trade saw this and remarked, “That’s the son of the former clan chief—the only one left from the whole litter.”

“A child of the Golden Lion Clan?” Li turned to look and asked, “Then why does he look so malnourished?”

Anyone with eyes could see that this little boy was clearly struggling even to get enough to eat.

The beastman was holding a piece of jerky he’d traded for. Seeing that Li was interested in hearing his story, he began to eat as he spoke: “It’s a miracle a child with no one to care for him is even alive—who’s to judge whether he’s doing well or not? By the way, how was this jerky made? It tastes really good.”

“No one’s taking care of him?” Li was shocked.

Not just Li—everyone in the Cliffside Tribe was shocked.

“Yeah. The last chieftain ran into a terror bird while hunting—the whole party was wiped out. His mom ran off with the current chieftain, so the little brat was left with no one to take care of him,” the beastman said in a matter-of-fact tone, not thinking he’d said anything out of the ordinary.

But the people of the Cliffside Tribe—whether beastmen or sub-beastmen—all looked as if they’d just heard the most shocking news imaginable.

Zhang Shuguang, of course, heard it too, and he let out a soft sigh.

Such is the nature of lions; not killing the previous chieftain’s cub outright was likely the greatest act of mercy the lion could have shown.

The people of the Cliffside Tribe looked at one another, and thought of the little ones in the tribe who’d been eating and playing to their hearts’ content every day lately—each one plump and chubby. Even during the previous snow season when food was scarce, the beastmen and sub-beastmen of the tribe would pool their rations to make sure the little ones were fed first; they’d never withheld food from a child simply because it wasn’t their own.

“Give me two more pieces of jerky! I’ll trade this bone knife for them.” He pulled an old bone knife from his waist and tossed it onto the table, then reached out to grab the jerky from the bamboo tray.

Zhang Shuguang raised his hand to block him, then handed the bone knife back. “No trade.”

“Why not? Even that little brat just traded a crappy knife for some salt!”

“Because I feel like it,” Zhang Shuguang said indifferently, pointing to the items in front of him. “These are ours. We can trade them however we like. We have no use for your bone knife, so we won’t trade for it.”

The beastman was furious, but he didn’t dare actually lose his temper and cause a scene. He could only glare fiercely at Zhang Shuguang before grabbing his bone knife and walking away.

Li cast a worried glance at Zhang Shuguang. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Are you in a bad mood?”

“Mm.” Zhang Shuguang leaned against the cool snake, his lips pressed into a tight line. “It’s fine. You guys can trade however you like. Just ignore the ones who’re obviously trying to take advantage.”

Sure enough, a long line had formed in front of the barbecue stall in charge.

They’d eaten plenty of grilled meat before, but the Yaan Tribe’s version had a unique flavor. Not only was it seasoned with salty, savory salt, but its crispy, numbing texture and tender, juicy meat meant that anyone who tried it once couldn’t resist ordering another piece.

“I’m so tired. I don’t want to grill anymore,” Guo pouted, looking thoroughly unhappy.

Although they’d traded the grilled meat for more fresh meat, he’d been grilling nonstop without a break.

Xiong San, who had already eaten five pieces of grilled meat, heard this and quickly stuffed all the meat in his hand into his mouth. He wiped his mouth with his hand and asked, “Why don’t I help you grill it?”

Guo looked up at him, then turned his head to glance at Zhang Shuguang beside him.

Zhang Shuguang raised an eyebrow and let his gaze circle Xiong San twice.

Xiong Da and Xiong Er, holding the salt they’d traded for, had already gone back to pack up their things, saying they’d tell the other clan members to set up their stalls next to theirs. Xiong San, however, stayed behind, claiming he wanted to eat some grilled meat, but his eyes never left Guo.

His intentions were so obvious that Zhang Shuguang found it hard to ignore them.

“It’s your own barbecue stall—you can ask whoever you want to help.”

Guo looked up at Xiong San, who grinned at him.

“Just don’t burn it, and don’t put too many ingredients on it.” He stepped aside and said to Xiong San, “Shuguang worked hard to get these ingredients—we can’t waste them.”

Xiong San quickly nodded. He awkwardly held the chopsticks between his fingers; since he’d never used them before, he nearly dropped the meat slice on the ground the first time he tried to pick it up.

Guo’s heart was in her throat as she muttered from the sidelines, “Take it slow! If you drop it, all that grilling will have been for nothing!”

“How can you be so clumsy? You don’t even know how to use chopsticks!”

“Ah! Don’t put so much salt on it—it’ll be way too salty!”

“That’s Sichuan pepper powder—if you put that much in, it’ll be inedible!”

“Yaaah, turn down the heat—it’s burning, it’s burning!”

Listening to her fussing and fretting beside him, Xiong San didn’t show the slightest trace of irritation or annoyance; his face was beaming with a smile.

The people nearby would occasionally turn their heads to glance their way, and the beastmen waiting to eat the grilled meat were also watching them—though most of them were envious of Xiong San for being so close to a sub-beastman!

Sub-beastmen from the Golden Lion Clan held a very low social status, yet the Golden Lion Clan beastmen were so eager to have a sub-beastman of their own that the attitudes of those who came to trade for meat were somewhat hard to stomach.

Some were smug and arrogant, while others stared at them so intently they were practically drooling. In any case, after several encounters, the five single sub-beastmen from the Cliffside Tribe had formed a completely negative impression of the Golden Lion Clan beastmen.

Eventually, the five sub-beastmen simply handed their stall over to the beastmen who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines and entered the inner circle marked off by Mang Jiu.

Xiong San stood in front of the grill, gazing longingly at Guo’s retreating figure.

“Xiong San, aren’t you going to come back and help?” Xiong Da had already set up the stall with his men, arranging various flowers and plants on it, along with a few slightly larger stone jars—a full size bigger than the one they’d just given to Zhang Shuguang to store honey in.

Zhang Shuguang looked up and patted Li, who was standing beside him. “Keep an eye on things. I’m going over there to take a look.”

“Are you planning to trade for more honey?” Li had also tasted the Black Bear Clan’s honey earlier—it really was delicious. “Their honey is so much sweeter than the one you brought back.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded. “Just taking a look. I figure tomorrow the other tribes will set up all their stalls near us.” He glanced at the Cat Clan members who had also brought their people over. A little while ago, they’d come over to ask how to trade for salt, but they hadn’t made a direct exchange, saying they couldn’t make the decision on their own and needed to go back and ask their elders.

It was only then that Zhang Shuguang realized that while other tribes all had elders and tribal leaders, his own Cliffside Tribe had no such positions—only the chief and the shaman.

Was it because they were carefree, or simply didn’t care?

Zhang Shuguang didn’t think it was either—it was more accurate to say that in the Yaan Tribe, everyone was essentially equal.

Xiong San turned his head with a hint of reluctance, glanced around, and realized there really were no fruits to be seen. Only then did he wipe his hands and head back to his tribe’s stall.

Zhang Shuguang stood up, grabbed a handful of jerky, and handed it to him. “Thanks for your help. Come back tomorrow.”

Xiong San looked at the jerky in his hand, then looked up at him. After a moment’s pause, he suddenly smiled. “Yeah, I’ll come help Guo as soon as I wake up.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded, a smile in his eyes. A smart guy—level-headed and proactive. Not bad at all. Just right.

The two of them arrived at the Black Bear Clan’s stall, one in front and one behind. Unlike Zhang Shuguang, who had gone to the trouble of setting up a table to display his goods, they simply spread a short-haired animal hide on the ground and placed the items they’d brought on top of it.

At a glance, Zhang Shuguang saw that besides fresh flowers and herbs, there were also flower seeds and grass seeds, as well as dried flowers of various colors. The rest were stone jars of all sizes, all filled to the brim with honey.

The sweet, rich aroma was so strong he could smell it without even getting close, and Zhang Shuguang couldn’t help but swallow hard.

If Mang Jiu were conscious, his eyes would surely light up at the sight of so much honey!

The Black Bear Clan beastmen, seeing him approach, all broke into broad smiles.

Zhang Shuguang crouched down, pointed at the pile of stone jars, and asked, “Is this all the honey you brought?”

“Yes,” replied the middle-aged beastman, Xiong Ri—the clan elder leading this expedition. Upon hearing his question, he looked up at him with a smile. “Your beastmen are very powerful.”

Zhang Shuguang clasped his hands together and bowed slightly to him. “Thank you. What would you like to trade for the honey?”

Xiong Ri looked at him with some surprise, “Didn’t you already trade for a lot of honey? Do you want more?”

He recalled that Xiong Da, Xiong Er, and Xiong San had each brought a shi-sized jar of honey and traded it for two bags of salt. They hadn’t expected such a generous exchange rate. The people of the Cliffside Tribe were very generous, and their salt was exceptionally flavorful—much saltier than regular salt blocks, so only a pinch was needed each time.

In the Crocodile tribe, they needed honey from three small stone jars to trade for a bag of salt blocks. The salt blocks tasted bitter and weren’t very salty; they were also full of impurities. Basically, from the first bite to the last, every mouthful contained sand.

They once dissolved the salt blocks in water and discovered a layer of fine yellow sand had settled at the bottom; they stored the brine for later use.

Zhang Shuguang had no idea what he was thinking, nor did he realize they were just a few steps away from refining a purer form of salt. He simply smiled and asked, “I’ll take all the honey. What do you want in return?”

Xiong Ri blurted out, “Can you make that decision?”

Zhang Shuguang nodded. “Yes, I can. I’m in charge.”

Before they left, Xiong Kui had specifically mentioned that the extra five bags of salt were a supply from the tribe. From now on, for every ten bags of salt they collected, one bag would be his—his own property—and whatever he traded for it would also belong to him.

Zhang Shuguang hadn’t used his five bags of salt yet; the three stone jars of honey he’d just traded for were for the tribe, so he’d used two of the twenty bags of salt for that.

In fact, although many people had come to look at the salt, only the Black Bear Clan had actually traded for two bags; the rest were mostly there to watch the commotion and sample the roasted meat.

Seeing that Xiong Ri was still staring at him in surprise, Zhang Shuguang realized they might need to trade the honey for other items, and since the gathering had only just begun, it didn’t seem quite right for him to take all the honey at once.

“Well, I have a beastman at home who’s quite fond of sweets,” he replied, gesturing toward Mang Jiu’s massive form. By now, the giant snake’s head had shifted to the other side, and all that was visible was the gleaming scales on its side.

For some reason, he thought of the bulge he’d felt earlier; he couldn’t help but feel a little curious about it.

Xiong Ri’s eyes widened. He hadn’t witnessed Mang Jiu snapping dozens of large trees in half with a single swipe of its tail; when he arrived, all he’d seen was this colossal creature coiled on the ground.

Let alone having seen it—he didn’t even dare to imagine that, in his lifetime, he would actually witness such a colossal beast!

The moment he laid eyes on Mang Jiu, a question involuntarily popped into his mind: “Even the Beast God couldn’t be any bigger than this, could he?”

Of course, this was just a question he asked himself; he wouldn’t dare blurt it out to anyone else.

“You’re saying he’s your Beast Lord?”

Zhang Shuguang gave a soft “Mm-hmm.My mate.”

Xiong Ri nodded, thought for a moment, and said, “We still have a few other things to trade. Can we wait until we’ve finished trading everything else before exchanging them for salt?”

Zhang Shuguang nodded repeatedly. “Of course. I was a bit forward just now.”

Xiong Ri pointed to one of the stone vats and said with a smile, “I’ll set this one aside for you.”

“Sure,” Zhang Shuguang thought for a moment and said, “How about this: once we’ve laid out all our goods tomorrow, you can take a look to see if there’s anything here you need. If there is, can you prioritize trading with us?”

“You have other things too?” Xiong Ri was surprised again. “Do you have anything for storage? Stone jars can hold honey, but they’re very heavy. We can’t carry too many each time we come over, and the honey doesn’t keep for long. If we don’t finish it quickly, it’ll become watery and lose a lot of its flavor.”

Zhang Shuguang hadn’t expected him to bring this up. Perhaps because he was a beastman from the Giant Bear Clan within the tribe and felt a sense of kinship toward the Black Bear Clan beastmen, he didn’t hide anything and said, “I have a kind of jar,” he said, gesturing with his hand to indicate the size. “It has a lid, so it’s good for storing things, but it can’t keep them for very long. If kept in a cool, shaded place, it should last for about sixty sunrises and sunsets.”

The more Xiong Ri listened, the brighter his eyes shone. Only when Zhang Shuguang fell silent did he ask anxiously, “That jar—did you bring many of them? How many can I trade for?”

“Quite a few,” Zhang Shuguang admitted, though he didn’t actually know the exact number—after all, everyone in the tribe was making jars, and he’d brought at least a hundred or so with him. “I have other things as well. First thing tomorrow morning, after you’ve eaten, if you’re interested, you can come take a look at our stall yourself.”

Xiong Ri nodded repeatedly. “All right, all right, I’ll definitely be there tomorrow!”

He thought Zhang Shuguang would leave, but to his surprise, Zhang reached out and pointed to a pile of flowers and plants set aside nearby. Then he asked with great interest, “Can I trade for these, too?”

“No trade,” several beastmen behind Xiong Ri—who had been watching Zhang Shuguang the whole time—quickly chimed in. “We’ll give you all of them!”

Caught off guard by their sudden enthusiasm, Zhang Shuguang froze for a moment. But when he saw these beastmen looking at him with pleading eyes—and noticed Xiong San’s expression of disgust mixed with exasperation toward his own kind—a light bulb went off in his head.

“Oh, so you guys want to chat with our sub-beastmen?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Zhang Shuguang scratched his chin and grinned—a smile that, for some reason, sent a shiver down the spines of the group.

Why did it feel like a chill was running down their spines?

Zhang Shuguang turned to Xiong Ri and said, “Our tribe’s chieftain is from the Giant Bear Clan, and there are also two members of the Giant Bear Clan among the beastmen who’ve come this time. They’re all warm and hospitable, and they’re very happy to see brothers from a branch clan. Why don’t we all have dinner together when it gets dark?”

Xiong Ri let out a bewildered “Ah.” Have dinner together? That was completely beyond their usual way of thinking.

The young beastmen were all excited, patting Xiong Ri on the shoulder from time to time and urging him, “Elder, say yes! Say yes already!”

Moved by his clan’s enthusiasm, Xiong Ri smiled and agreed.

Only then did Zhang Shuguang wave goodbye to him.

Hu Gui and Hu Fei, who had been watching from the shadows, saw Zhang Shuguang leave the Black Bear Clan’s stall with a beaming smile, and noticed how excited the young beastmen were. They were both curious about what had been said.

Zhang Shuguang turned halfway around and waved directly at where the two were standing, calling out with a smile, “Don’t just stand there watching! If there’s anything you want to trade for, come on over—we’re very hospitable and our prices are great!”

Hu Fei froze for a moment, while Hu Gui’s mouth twitched.

He couldn’t help but mutter to Hu Fei, “Are all the sub-beastmen in their tribe like this?”

Hu Fei shot him a sidelong glance. “What are you up to?”

“Well, they seem pretty easy to get along with,” Hu Gui scratched his head, bent down to pick up the large, animal-hide sack at his feet, and said, “Come on, let’s go check it out together. They’ve invited us, after all.”

Hu Fei was at a loss for words, but he didn’t refuse and followed along.

Zhang Shuguang stood where he was, and it wasn’t until Hu Fei emerged from the woods that he could see clearly.

His eyes widened, and he thought to himself, “What a beauty!”

A stunning beauty with an exotic charm, somewhat reminiscent of the Indian beauties he’d seen on TV.

“I’m Hu Fei, chieftain of the Golden Tiger Clan.” Hu Fei stood before Zhang Shuguang, not taking issue with the fact that he was a sub-beastman.

In the Golden Tiger Tribe, sub-beastmen were also few in number, but their status was completely different from that in the Golden Lion Tribe—at the very least, no one bullied them.

Although the Lion-Tiger Tribe consisted of members from both clans living together, due to their differing lifestyles and various other complications, they were essentially just neighbors living close by in the city. The two clans would only team up when going out to hunt; otherwise, they had very little interaction on a day-to-day basis.

One was a matriarchal society, the other a patriarchal one—it was a miracle they didn’t come to blows.

She’d been standing on the sidelines watching for a while. This sub-beastman showed not the slightest sign of fear in the face of all kinds of beastmen; he was completely different from the other sub-beastmen.

Moreover, for some reason, Hu Fei sensed that the sub-beastman before her must hold a high status within his tribe as well.

“I’m Shuguang. Hello, Chief Hu Fei,” Zhang Shuguang smiled at her, then turned to look at Hu Gui, and then back at Hu Fei. “You two look quite alike.”

Hu Gui nodded slightly—of course, siblings would look alike. “I’m Hu Gui.”

“I’ve seen you standing here for quite a while. Are you unsure of what to trade?” A few young beastmen from the Golden Tiger Clan had come over earlier to trade for grilled meat; their demeanor was quite gentle—much more polite than the beastmen from the Golden Lion Clan.

Hu Gui opened the leather pouch in his hand. Zhang Shuguang peered inside and let out a sharp intake of breath.

He looked up at Hu Gui and asked uncertainly, “Are you… planning to go to war?”

Hu Gui was taken aback, and Hu Fei, standing nearby, burst out laughing.

Zhang Shuguang looked at the two of them, then finally pointed toward his own stall. “Why don’t we go sit down and talk over there?”

Hu Fei nodded, and Hu Gui followed, carrying the leather bag.

“Shuguang, let’s make dinner!” Li asked when she saw him return, “I saw you talking over there for quite a while—what were you talking about?”

Zhang Shuguang patted his shoulder, turned to introduce Hu Fei and Hu Gui to Mang Er and the others, and then said, “I invited some beastmen from the Black Bear Clan over for dinner. Their young ones are really friendly.” After saying this, he winked at the group.

The others, catching his hint, quickly nodded. “Then let’s go hunting and let them taste our cooking!”

“Go hunt some boars and bring back their heads—we’ll render some lard.”

“Gather some eggs—I saw some birds over there.”

“Come on, come on, let’s go.”

The group ran off, discussing their plans as they went.

Zhang Shuguang looked at Mang Er, who raised an eyebrow at him before turning to Hu Fei and Hu Gui and saying, “If you don’t mind, stay for dinner. It’ll be a good chance to discuss the salt trade.”

His straightforward manner greatly improved Hu Fei and Hu Gui’s impression of the Yaan Tribe, so they nodded in agreement.

Hu Gui followed Mang Er into Mang Jiu’s encampment, while Hu Fei remained where he was and said apologetically to Zhang Shuguang, “That girl, Hong Yanyan—you remember her, right?”

Zhang Shuguang nodded. Noticing her evasive gaze, he asked uncertainly, “Do you… know her?”

Hu Fei rubbed his face with his hand, let out an “Ah,” and said awkwardly, “She’s my kid.”

Zhang Shuguang’s eyes widened instantly. “You can actually give birth to a bird chick?”

Hu Fei: “……”

Zhang Shuguang realized his question was a bit off and quickly apologized, “Sorry, sorry! I got a little carried away. Don’t take it personally—I was just really curious.”

Hu Fei waved his hand and said, “No, she’s a chick I found and brought home. I’ve been raising her by my side for a long time now.”

With just that one sentence, Zhang Shuguang’s impression of Hu Fei improved even more. “Did you have Hong Yanyan come here to spy on us?”

“No, no, no—it wasn’t to spy,” Hu Fei shook his head quickly. “She’s just really curious. She said the meat you guys cook smells especially good.” The more he spoke, the more embarrassed he felt. “She said you’re a good guy—you gave her meat to eat and didn’t make things hard for her.”

Zhang Shuguang chuckled softly, running his hand gently over the snake’s body. Remembering that Hu Fei was the clan chief, he decided to take a chance and asked, “Do you know anything about beastmen’s evolution?”

Hu Fei looked up; by now, Mang Jiu was slowly slithering forward, its head already gliding toward them.

She stared at the snake’s head for a moment, then asked, “Did he used to look like this? I remember that the beastmen of the Giant Python Clan didn’t look like this.” She wasn’t sure if it was because Mang Jiu’s beast form was so overwhelming, but she couldn’t even remember what the original beast forms of the Giant Python Clan looked like!

Zhang Shuguang chuckled, raised his hand to touch the tip of the snake’s nose as it slid toward him, and only after feeling that its temperature wasn’t as high as before did he say, “He doesn’t usually look like this. His appearance changes a bit every time he sheds his skin; his nose wasn’t this prominent before.”

As he spoke, he patted the snake’s body and asked, “Are you awake?”

Mang Jiu made no sound and continued to slither along.

It now resembled a large ring, slowly shifting its body. The ground had been gouged into deep furrows by its weight; once it returned to human form, this spot would be perfect for planting a tree.

Zhang Shuguang turned to look at Hu Fei. “Chieftain Hu Fei, have you ever seen an evolved beastman that’s changed its appearance?”

Although he phrased it as a question, he was already certain in his heart that Hu Fei must have seen one.

As expected, Hu Fei nodded.

Zhang Shuguang stared at her, and then heard Hu Fei say, “I’ve seen a member of the Giant Tiger Clan who’s undergone a transformation, but…” She looked up at the giant snake. “But he didn’t live much longer before he died.”

“My Great Serpent will definitely live to be a hundred years old.” Zhang Shuguang looked at her with a stern expression, his tone somber.

Hu Fei paused for a moment before bursting into laughter. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I was talking about that transformed beastman—he was a giant beast with two fleshy lumps growing from his spine.” She tapped the area between her shoulder blades with her fingers, her hands clasped behind her back.

Zhang Shuguang slowly furrowed his brow and pressed, “What kind of fleshy lumps? Can you describe them in more detail?”

Hu Fei clenched her fist and waved it around. “Two of them, about this big. You couldn’t tell when he was in human form, but they were very obvious after he turned into a giant tiger. At first, when I touched them, I thought they were just his flesh, but they kept getting bigger, and eventually the skin split open and started bleeding.” As if recalling something disgusting, Hu Fei grimaced. “I never want to see that again.”

Zhang Shuguang was completely dumbfounded. He hadn’t really been paying attention to what Hu Fei was saying, but when he saw her shake her fist at him to indicate the size, his mind involuntarily drifted to the lump on Mang Jiu’s abdomen.

He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow, running his hand along the snake’s body as he muttered, “I remember it was right here—where did it go?”

Hu Fei followed him, puzzled. Seeing him feeling around, she felt a bit of an itch to join in. She reached out and asked, “What are you looking for?”

“I remember feeling a bulge here before—why is it gone?” Zhang Shuguang muttered, his hand stopping Hu Fei’s as she was about to touch Mang Jiu’s body. “Don’t just go touching it.”

Hu Fei withdrew her hand, surprised to see that after he’d touched it, the snake’s body was actually twisting slowly.

“I found it!” Zhang Shuguang hadn’t even noticed when the snake’s pale white belly had become visible. He pressed his finger lightly on the bulge and turned to Hu Fei, saying, “It’s right here!”

Hu Fei froze in place, not daring to move a muscle, and frantically signaled to Zhang Shuguang with her eyes.

Look behind you, look!

Zhang Shuguang was puzzled as to why she’d suddenly grimaced, and it wasn’t until a shadow fell over his head that he belatedly realized: Mang Jiu had woken up.

Not only was he awake, but he had also raised his neck, his massive serpentine head hanging low as he looked down at him.

“Shuguang, you’re touching me,” Mang Jiu’s voice was deep and heavy with sleep, “It’s not even the rainy season yet—why are you touching me?”

Zhang Shuguang was completely dumbfounded.

Σ( ° △°!!!!

What did I do!!!!