Guo and Xiong San chatted back and forth on the side, with a string of little red hearts in the background.

The people around them looked on with envy.

Xiong Da and Xiong Er chewed on the soft, greasy bits in their mouths, moving in perfect unison as they popped a piece into their mouths, chewed, chewed, chewed, and swallowed.

“Is Xiong San about to get a sub-beastman right now?” Xiong Da stared intently at Xiong San, his expression bordering on a snarl.

The pork cracklings were so fragrant and delicious, and seeing Xiong San chatting and laughing with the sub-beastman was so enviable that his expression was slightly contorted.

Xiong Er was in much the same state, but after glancing at Xiong San a few times, he shifted his gaze to the slices of meat sizzling on the thin stone slab nearby. The meat, sizzling with oil, gave off a rich aroma—not only a blend of scents he’d never smelled before, but also a familiar honeyed fragrance.

He stared at the meat without even blinking, and upon hearing this, he grunted, “Probably. If he really manages to make that sub-beastman happy, who knows—maybe she’ll even be willing to bear him a cub.”

Xiong Ri, standing nearby, overheard their conversation and snorted. “You’re dreaming! You’d be lucky if she’d even let you have some grease scraps—and you’re already thinking about getting a sub-beastman to bear your children? Don’t you even look at yourselves—what a pair of bears you are!”

“I’m a black bear—what else could I look like?” Xiong Da turned to face Xiong Ri and said in a simple, guileless tone, “My bear form is actually pretty majestic!”

Hearing this, Xiong Ri swung his hand and smacked Xiong Da right on the back of the head.

Xiong Da staggered forward from the blow and quickly shielded the small bowl in his hands, afraid the pork cracklings inside would fall to the ground.

“Elder, what’s the big deal? I didn’t say anything wrong!”

Xiong Er nodded. “Exactly! Xiong Da is the most majestic black bear in our tribe!”

“How dare you talk about being majestic in front of the Giant Beast Clan?” Xiong Ri glared at them and nodded toward Xiong San. “Take a cue from him. If the two of you were even half as smart as Xiong San, you wouldn’t still be childless! You’re all cubs from the same litter—how come there’s such a huge difference between you?”

Xiong Da and Xiong Er were often teased for not being as smart as Xiong San—they’d long since gotten used to it—but today, at this very moment, it left them feeling a bit down.

They asked themselves: We’re all cubs from the same litter—why did Xiong San find the sub-beastman before us? We want soft, slippery sub-beastman cubs too!

On the other side, Hu Fei and Hu Gui were also holding small bowls. Zhang Shuguang had not only served them fatty pork with grease, but also some lean pork with grease.

After all, since they were a group they hoped to lure away, they deserved slightly better treatment. Of course, Elder Xiong Ri’s bowl also contained lean meat and pork cracklings, but the old man was shrewd. As soon as he noticed that the contents of his bowl were different from those of his clan members, he quickly began picking at them first. The flavor was so delicious that he licked his lips as he ate, determined to ask how it was made so he could prepare it for everyone back in the tribe to try.

Hu Fei popped one piece of crackling after another into his mouth, crunching away with the aroma filling the air.

As for Hu Gui, he held his small bowl and wrestled with himself for quite a while before slowly putting a piece of golden-brown pork crackling into his mouth. He took a tentative bite; a hint of fat spread across his tongue, carrying the aroma of meat blended with various spices. The texture—crisp on the outside and tender on the inside—was utterly irresistible; once he took a bite, he couldn’t help but take another.

By the time Hu Gui came to his senses, more than half the pork cracklings in his small bowl were gone.

Zhang Shuguang watched as Hu Gui’s eyes went wide with fascination at the oil cracklings. Holding a wooden spoon, he stirred the chunks of meat in the stone pot and asked with a smile, “Elder Hu Gui, how do the oil cracklings taste?”

Hu Gui nodded solemnly, “Delicious.”

Zhang Shuguang’s smile grew even brighter. “If you like it, help yourself to some more later—there’s plenty left.” He pointed to the wooden basin beside him.

Hu Gui felt uncharacteristically uncomfortable; he still remembered saying earlier that he wouldn’t eat any.

What a slap in the face.

The “It Smells So Good” Law.

Hu Fei didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed about finishing her bowl and filling it up again—after all, she was the clan chief. She used a wooden spoon to fill her bowl with more pork cracklings, then sat cross-legged on the ground, eating while tilting her head back to watch Zhang Shuguang prepare the meat. “Your tribe is so amazing. I’ve never smelled so many different aromas all mixed together without it smelling bad.”

She pointed at the chunks of meat in the pot. “I’ve never eaten it prepared like this either.”

“This is Shuguang’s original way of eating it. Now everyone in our tribe eats meat this way—it’s especially delicious.” Li held a brush made from the long hair of a boar in her hand, brushing honey water onto the skin of the roasting meat. As she brushed, she licked her lips. “It smells so good—how can it be this fragrant! Shuguang, can I have a piece?”

Zhang Shuguang peered over and poked the meat’s skin with her chopsticks, then shook her head. “It’s not done yet. Keep grilling it, and make sure you brush the syrup evenly.”

“It’s all cooked!” Li swallowed hard, her hands moving nonstop as she complained, “I’m dying of hunger! Do you believe me when I say that if Mang Jiu were here, he’d definitely gobble up the meat in one bite?”

Zhang Shuguang snorted, grabbed the diced potatoes, dried mushrooms, and dried bamboo shoots sitting nearby, and tossed them into the pot. After stir-frying them, he added salt and water, covered the pot with a large wooden board, then turned to look at Li. “Mang Jiu wouldn’t be as greedy as you.”

Li snorted and continued to greedily brush honey water onto the grilled pork belly.

Zhang Shuguang walked over to the stove on the other side, looked at the bone broth simmering in the pottery pot, tossed a handful of wild greens into it, then turned and asked, “Has the one who went to collect eggs come back yet?”

“They’re back!” Xi Shiyi replied. “They’re all right here—I’m washing them now.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded. “Once you’re done washing them, crack them all into the earthenware pot. I’ll make you some egg custard later.”

“What’s egg custard?” asked Hu Gui, who was serving himself a second bowl of pork cracklings.

Zhang Shuguang thought for a moment and described it to him, “It’s slippery and tender—you don’t have to chew it; you can just slurp it down in one go. Um… It’s a delicious dish made with beaten eggs.”

This time, Hu Gui had learned his lesson. After hearing his explanation, he simply nodded, his face full of longing. “I want to eat that.”

Hu Fei rolled her eyes at him from the side and looked up at Zhang Shuguang. “Thanks for letting us stay for a meal.”

“I do have my own ulterior motives, don’t I?” Zhang Shuguang gave her a look that spoke volumes.

Hu Gui slowed down his chewing of the fried pork cracklings and looked down at Hu Fei.

Hu Fei looked up at him; the brother and sister locked eyes, then both looked away at the same time.

Zhang Shuguang opened the other earthenware pots one by one and added ingredients to each: some with a Sichuan pepper kick, some sweet and sour, and some with the aroma of lemongrass. The pork ribs simmering in the various pots each had a distinct flavor.

Steam rose from the pottery pots, and the mouthwatering aroma wafted through the air.

Since Mang Jiu had gone out hunting, their activities were no longer hidden, so many people on the outskirts could see what they were doing.

However, fearing they might be driven away if they got too close, the onlookers dared only to watch from outside the deep trench left by Mang Jiu. As they watched, they murmured to themselves, “So fragrant, so fragrant,” swallowing their saliva, “So fragrant, so fragrant.”

“Chieftain!”

“Chieftain! Have mercy on us!”

“It smells so good—really, it smells so good!”

“Chieftain! Elders! Please let us have a bite!”

“Xiong Ri! Do you still want to trade dried fish with us? Hurry up and share some with us!”

“You Black Bear Clan members! Let me take a bite, and I’ll trade you an extra piece of dried fish!”

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Shuguang looked up at the beastmen clamoring to trade their dried fish for meat and chuckled. “I have dried fish too—not just that, but all kinds of dried seafood as well. Want to give it a try?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiao dragged over a leather bag. Zhang Shuguang opened it and pulled out several large dried shrimp—even though they were air-dried, their size was undeniable!

Zhang Shuguang waved the dried prawns around, and Jiao pulled a dried squid out of the animal-skin bag. Its splayed tentacles left the forest-dwellers staring in astonishment.

“What is this? It’s so ugly!”

“Is it edible? Why is it blackish-red?”

“It smells so fishy—and it’s salty, too!”

“Can we really eat this? Isn’t this a sea creature?”

Everyone who had never tried it before had questions. Zhang Shuguang smiled as he took the large dried squid, tore it open by its tentacles, and then shared it with Hu Fei and Hu Gui beside him, as well as the other beastmen of the Black Bear Clan. “Give it a try—it’s cooked, so you can eat it right away.”

He’d brought two kinds of dried squid: one steamed and one raw. The kind Jiao had taken out was the steamed variety, which could be torn apart and eaten right away.

Hu Fei and Hu Gui held the squid tentacles in their hands, sniffed them first, and immediately furrowed their brows at the fishy smell.

“Is this stuff really edible?” the brother and sister asked skeptically.

Zhang Shuguang tore off a piece of meat himself, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it a few times. Then he handed the remaining dried squid to Jiao, gesturing for her to tear it up and share it with the others.

“It’s delicious—it doesn’t taste as strong as it smells.”

The Black Bear Clan members had clearly already been won over by the fried scraps. As soon as Zhang Shuguang handed them the dried squid, they eagerly took a bite. The savory, salty flavor and chewy texture were delightful—and not only that, but as they chewed slowly, they could detect subtle hints of sweetness.

Those who stuffed their mouths full immediately began to regret it once they finished—they should have taken small bites!

Xiong Da and Xiong Er looked longingly at Xiong San. While the other two had devoured their dried squid in one go, Xiong San was the one who’d taken small bites, savoring it with his eyes half-closed, his expression one of pure enjoyment.

“I just ate the whole thing in one go,” Xiong Da said, smacking his lips as he savored the savory flavor lingering in his mouth. “San’er, give me another bite! Just one little bite!”

Xiong Er nodded repeatedly beside him. “Yeah, yeah, yeah—give me a little bite too!”

Xiong San ignored them completely, simply getting up and walking over to sit next to Guo. “Do you need my help? Take a break—I’ll handle this for you,” he asked.

Guo glanced at the slices of meat in front of her and handed him the brush. “Just brush it again once this marinade dries. No need to put on too much.”

“I know—just like we did with the meat chunks earlier.”

“Yeah, these don’t need to cook as long. Just grill them until they’re done and transfer them to the plate.” Guo pointed to the bamboo tray beside her. “We wove this ourselves, too—out of bamboo.”

“Bamboo? We have bamboo near our tribe, too. Some of the beastmen in our clan really like to eat bamboo when they’re in their beast form.” Xiong San, holding the marinade in one hand and the brush in the other, chatted casually with Guo while watching the sizzling meat on the grill. “I didn’t even know bamboo could be woven into useful things besides being used for firewood.”

Zhang Shuguang happened to walk over to check on the meat slices and, upon hearing this, asked, “The Black Bear Clan that likes to eat bamboo? They aren’t all black, are they?”

Xiong San nodded, looking puzzled. “How did you know?”

Zhang Shuguang thought to himself, I don’t just know—I’ve even held a panda cub!

He glanced at Guo, then at Xiong San, thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to lure the Black Bear Clan to the Cliffside Tribe as well. After all, since they could bring in so much honey, they must have mastered beekeeping—and that’s a rare talent!

Xiong Ri stood to the side, slowly gnawing on a piece of dried squid with his teeth; the chewy texture posed a challenge to his teeth.

When Zhang Shuguang looked over at him, he actually shuddered slightly, feeling inexplicably cold.

“You’ve brought a lot of things,” Hu Fei said, snapping Zhang Shuguang back to attention.

“Mm-hmm,” Zhang Shuguang gestured for her to help lift the wooden lid. He sprinkled a handful of chopped lemongrass inside, then had her put the lid back on. “Mainly, I just wanted you all to know that we have salt—lots of salt.”

He glanced at Hu Fei, then at Hu Gui, then at Xiong Ri, and finally at the Cat Clan, Elephant Clan, and Golden Lion Clan beastmen in the distance. “Our chieftain said that if you run short on salt, you can come to us for a trade.”

Hu Fei nodded slightly. “The salt from your tribe has a very distinctive flavor.”

Those who haven’t lived by the sea don’t know the taste of seawater. After eating the squid tentacles, Hu Fei had formed a guess. “From the sea?”

“That’s a tribal secret—we don’t share it with outsiders,” Zhang Shuguang smiled, then turned to call out to the few people watching the pottery pot over the fire, “Everyone, give it a taste. Put the dried shrimp into the pottery pot with the wild greens and cook them together. If it’s too salty, add water; if it’s too bland, add salt.”

The people tending the fire responded. Each took a small bowl and a wooden spoon, scooped some broth from the pottery pot into their bowls, and tasted it.

“Delicious!”

“Fragrant!”

“Numbing!”

“It’s sour!”

“If it’s sour, add some honey—don’t add water.” Without even waiting for Zhang Shuguang to speak, Li turned around and called out on his own.

“How much honey should I add? Li, come over and do it—I’m afraid I’ll add too much if I do it myself.” Lin furrowed her brow, holding a small bowl filled with the honey they’d traded for. “Hurry up—the soup’s about to boil dry.”

Li went over to help add the honey. Zhang Shuguang, inhaling the intoxicating aroma, nodded. “That’s about right. Let it simmer a little longer, and it’ll be ready to eat. Clear a spot on the stove for me—fill the wok with water, heat it up, and set the bamboo tray on top. I’m going to make egg custard.”

He beat the eggs from the earthenware jar into a batter, bent down to sniff the mixture, and found it had a slightly fishier smell than the eggs they ate back at the tribe. So he rolled up a ball of lemongrass and dropped it in, gave it another stir, added salt, chopped dried shrimp, and water, continuing to stir. After sniffing the mixture again and removing the lemongrass bundle, he turned and called out to Guo, “Guo, bring over as many small earthenware bowls as there are people and arrange them on the bamboo tray—I’m going to pour the egg mixture.”

“How many of us are there?” Guo looked completely bewildered and began counting on her tiptoes.

“There are fourteen of us—no, wait, thirteen. Mang Jiu isn’t here,” Xiong Bai said.

Xiong San said, “There are nine of us.”

Hu Fei and Hu Gui stood there and nodded at him. “Two.”

“Chieftain!!! We’re here too! Ah! Ah!” The beastmen of the Golden Tiger Clan nearby let out a loud howl.

Hu Fei didn’t even turn her head, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing.

Hu Gui waved his hand. “Hurry back. Don’t make fools of yourselves here.”

“Elder! We want meat!”

Hu Fei gestured toward the leather bag set aside. “You’ve got a whole pile of bone knives over there—trade some for meat to feed them and shut them up.”

Hu Gui sighed, turned, and asked Zhang Shuguang, “Can we trade for some grilled meat? Or something else edible?”

Zhang Shuguang walked over to take a look and found that the bag was filled with bone knives of all sizes and shapes.

Straight, curved, pointed, wide, narrow.

He paused for a moment, looked up at Hu Gui, and asked the ultimate question: “Are you… a collector or something?”

Hu Gui looked confused. What did that mean?

Hu Fei asked him, “Does ‘collector’ mean he has a lot of bone knives?”

Zhang Shuguang gave her a thumbs-up for her understanding. “Exactly.”

“He’s always had this habit. See if you can trade some meat for them—they’re arguing over there and giving me a headache.” Hu Fei waved his hand dismissively, clearly not wanting to deal with his own clan members.

Hu Gui looked at Zhang Shuguang with pleading eyes. He was a bit reluctant—fine salt was crucial—but the thought of trading his prized possessions for meat made him even more reluctant.

“You’re going to trade this for salt, right?” Zhang Shuguang looked at Hu Gui, who nodded. “Right.”

“So you’re trading it for meat?” Zhang Shuguang looked at him in surprise.

Hu Gui pursed his lips and waved his hand dismissively. “Go ahead, go ahead. Pick whichever ones you like. Give them plenty to shut them up, so they stop yelling over there.”

Zhang Shuguang chuckled softly, turned around, and beckoned to Xi Shiyi, pointing at the leather bags. “Take them all back,” he said, then turned to Hu Gui and asked, “Can I trade these for three bags of salt?”

Hu Gui’s eyes widened as he asked in surprise, “Three bags of salt?” He pointed at the stack of leather bags set aside. “Those kinds of bags—three of them?”

“Mm-hmm,” Zhang Shuguang nodded. “I’ll throw in an extra bag of jerky myself—you can share it with them.” He gestured to Lang Qian and Lang Li behind him, signaling them to bring the salt over.

Not only was Hu Gui taken aback, but Hu Fei was equally shocked.

“Isn’t that too much? You’re losing money on this,” Hu Fei said, holding out his hand to stop him.

“It’s not too much. I’m trading this with you personally,” Zhang Shuguang said without further explanation, gesturing for someone to come take the salt and the bag of jerky. “These aren’t from the tribe.”

Hu Gui didn’t even know what to say; he felt like giving Zhang Shuguang a big hug right then and there.

Hu Fei stood up with a stern expression and bowed slightly to Zhang Shuguang. “I’ll bring this up with the tribe and give you an answer as soon as possible.”

Zhang Shuguang hadn’t directly mentioned the matter of relocating the tribe, but Hu Fei understood clearly that the fact he’d been so generous in exchanging salt with them was a signal in itself.

Not only had the nearby Black Bear Clan witnessed the entire exchange, but other tribes had seen it as well.

Everyone thought Zhang Shuguang had gone mad.

Exchanging three bags of salt for a single bag of random bone knives—anyone could sharpen those knives; it was a complete waste!

How could they let the sub-beastmen decide how to trade the salt? They had absolutely no idea how to do it!

The people of the Cliffside Tribe, however, didn’t see anything wrong with his actions at all. Never mind that the three bags of salt belonged to Shuguang himself—it wouldn’t have mattered even if the salt had been taken from the tribe’s own supply!

Shuguang had taught them how to sun-dry all that salt—if it weren’t for him, they’d still be eating salt lumps mixed with sand!

Mang Er walked over, opened the bag, and took a look at the bone knives inside. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Who sharpened these?”

Hugu patted his chest proudly and said, “I sharpened them myself—every single one works great.”

“They’re pretty good,” Mang Er said, pulling out a long knife about as long as his forearm and as wide as his palm. The bone was blackened; just by looking at it, you’d never guess it was a bone knife. He swung it, creating a whooshing sound. “Did you burn this over a fire?”

“Yeah,” Hu Gui said, realizing the man knew his stuff. He leaned in and pointed out the details. “See those red parts? I rubbed them with herbs. When you slash a wild beast with this, it’ll knock it out, but it won’t harm people who eat the meat. And these black parts—I burned them and then soaked them in water. They’re very durable and won’t break easily.”

Zhang Shuguang said to Mang Er, “Take these back and distribute them to the sub-beastmen. They can use them for self-defense when they go out foraging. They’re lighter and sharper than the stone knives they usually use.”

He also pulled out a slightly shorter bone knife shaped like a dagger, twirled it in his hand to show off, and gave it a thumbs-up: “It feels good in the hand.”

Hu Gui was captivated by his display of skill, staring at him wide-eyed and asking, “Are you really a sub-beastman? How did you get so many of these?”

Zhang Shuguang and Mang Er exchanged a glance, both chuckled, and then offered him two words: “Take a guess.”

Not far away, the other beastmen who had received three bags of fine salt and a bag of jerky were in an uproar, their gasps of astonishment ringing out in waves.

They didn’t think there was anything wrong with that sub-beastman; they didn’t think he was stupid, and they certainly didn’t think he was crazy.

They simply thought he was a wonderful person—truly kind!

“Chieftain, we’re heading back first!” The Golden Tiger Clan beastmen cheerfully hoisted their bags and ran off.

Hu Gui simply couldn’t hold back any longer and roared, “Save some jerky for me!”

“Got it, Elder! We’ll save you two strips!!!”

Hu Fei patted him on the shoulder and offered some consolation: “Look on the bright side—you got to eat the fresh meat Shuguang prepared, while they’re stuck with just jerky.”

Hu Gui’s mouth twitched. “Why didn’t you mention that the jerky they’re eating was traded for my bone knife?”

Zhang Shuguang handed him a strip of jerky. “Here, eat this. Don’t let it get to you.”

Smiling, he poured the egg mixture into the small bowls where the fruit had been arranged. When one layer wasn’t enough, he placed another bamboo tray on top, then covered it all with a bamboo lid—one that Zhang Shuguang had specifically had woven with a Hua pattern, so fine that the mesh was practically invisible.

“Medium heat. Pull out two large logs. Put out the fires under the pottery pots over there, and bring the pots straight to the table.”

Everyone began following his instructions. Soon, pot after pot of fragrant meat was carried to the makeshift long wooden table, which was covered with large banana leaves.

Guo handed out bowls and chopsticks to everyone, saying as he did so, “We use chopsticks to pick up food. If you can’t get a good grip, you can poke the meat with them, or use that wooden spoon to scoop it into your bowl—just don’t grab it with your bare hands.”

Everyone nodded. They wouldn’t grab it—absolutely not. The meat in that pot was still bubbling away; if they stuck their hands in, they’d surely get scalded.

“There are too many of us—let’s eat standing up. Take whatever you want,” Zhang Shuguang said, pointing to the half-roasted male Giant Boar on the table. “Use the bone knife to carve this. Cut off whichever piece you want.”

Mang Er led his men to dig up the mud balls they’d buried in a pit earlier. They smashed the baked, hardened mud, revealing the leaves inside that had been roasted to a golden brown.

“Just put them over there. Anyone who wants some can help themselves.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded. “Right, the roasted vegetables inside are pretty good too—don’t just eat the meat.”

As several leaf wrappers were cut open, a variety of aromas instantly filled the air.

Unlike the rich aroma of meat, these carried a different, delicate fragrance.

“Elder,” the beastmen of the Black Bear Clan were drooling. They stared intently at the food on the table—steaming hot and exuding a rich aroma. The various scents collided in a way they’d never experienced before; it was pure torture. “Elder, can we move to the Cliffside Tribe? This smells amazing! After eating this meal, aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to eat anything else in the future?”

Xiong Ri’s face darkened. Of course he was afraid!

Never mind eating—just smelling this aroma too much might make him lose all interest in other foods in the future.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Even if you want to move there, they might not even accept us!”

“I do! We’d be thrilled!” Zhang Shuguang’s eyes crinkled with a smile as he walked over to Xiong Ri’s side and whispered, “Elder Xiong Ri, why don’t you give it some thought?”

Xiong Ri stared at him in bewilderment. Consider what?

“Consider relocating your clan,” Zhang Shuguang dropped his smile and suggested earnestly, “Our tribe would be a great fit for you.”

Xiong Ri glanced at the meat on the table, then at the meat in his bowl—it instantly lost its appeal. He sighed and shot Zhang Shuguang a displeased look: “You’re clearly up to something here.”

This stewed meat wasn’t being served for free—using the meal as a pretext to win them over was his true intention.

Zhang Shuguang nodded with a smile. “That’s right. I call this an ‘open scheme.’ I’m telling you outright that I’m interested in both the Black Bear Clan and the Golden Tiger Clan. If you move to our tribe, your clans will have better opportunities for development and the continuation of your bloodline.”

Xiong Ri hadn’t expected him to lay it out so bluntly. He turned to look at Hu Fei. Although he didn’t know much about the current female chieftain of the Golden Tiger Clan, anyone who’d risen to that position surely had to be sharp.

So when he saw her holding her bowl, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing and continuing to eat with relish, Xiong Ri gritted his teeth inwardly.

Keep pretending! Keep it up!

No wonder he was able to trade a sack of broken-blade knives for so much fine salt earlier—it turns out they’d already made a deal!

Xiong Ri had originally intended to refuse outright, but when he thought of the daily lives of his own tribe members and then looked at what the other clan had to eat and use, he felt he couldn’t be so selfish.

The tribal lands where they’d lived for years were nice, but aside from the fact that they could raise flying insects to collect honey and trade for supplies, the place really wasn’t very suitable for their future development.

Most importantly, there were too many tribes living in the forest; with so many groups, conflicts over game were inevitable during hunts.

The Black Bear Tribe was already small in number; it was a small tribe. If it weren’t for the honey, which they could trade for plenty of supplies to supplement the tribe’s food, their people would likely be living a life of hunger one day, full the next.

To put it bluntly, honey is sweet and tasty, but it can’t really fill their stomachs.

They deal with honey all day long and have eaten plenty of it; they’ve long since grown tired of it. What outsiders see as sweet honey is, in their eyes, no more appealing than a piece of meat.

Xiong Ri remained silent. Zhang Shuguang sensed the middle-aged elder’s wavering thoughts and said, “We plan to stay here for ten days. You might want to think it over.” He turned to Hu Fei and Hu Gui. “The same goes for the Golden Tiger Clan.”

Hu Fei nodded without saying a word.

As for Hu Gui, he was chewing on a piece of sweet-and-sour spare rib, the cartilage crunching loudly in his mouth. Once he’d swallowed, he asked, “Does this apply to all clan members? Or just those who are strong and healthy?”

Zhang Shuguang, holding a small bowl, chuckled at this. He looked up and met Hu Gui’s gaze, saying, “Let me put it this way: I’ve set my sights on the Black Bear Clan and the Golden Tiger Clan. I hope both of your clans will relocate to our Cliffside Tribe—everyone, regardless of age, health, or disability.”

A faint smile played in his eyes, and though his voice was soft, his words left all three of them speechless.

Everyone!

Not just the young and strong beastmen, but even the elderly and frail, as well as the young who couldn’t care for themselves—every single one of them!

It was the first time the Golden Tiger Clan had encountered anyone discussing tribal relocation with them, but for the Black Bear Clan, this was not the first time—or rather, they were frequently targeted by slightly larger neighboring tribes. Almost every tribe that approached them would say, “We only want your young and able-bodied members; leave the old and the young behind.”

Zhang Shuguang saw the gleam in the three’s eyes. After a moment’s thought, he realized that since he was determined to bring both tribes on board, he naturally had to offer some appropriate incentives!

So he said, “Our tribe provides fine salt for free—you don’t have to trade anything for it. As long as you don’t go around scattering it like sand for fun and don’t waste it, you can come back for more once you’ve run out. Of course, you’ve tasted how salty it is—eating too much isn’t good for your health, so we don’t encourage overindulgence.”

The three of them were completely dumbfounded.

Even Hu Fei, as the chieftain of her own tribe, had to trade for salt—after all, the salt blocks were obtained from the Salt Mountain Tribe. Although they provided some of the goods in exchange, the expenses incurred by the salt-trading caravans along the way had to be factored in. So even if the caravans brought back a considerable amount of salt blocks, the tribe actually received very little of it; they still had to trade for salt blocks.

The Cliffside Tribe actually supplied fine salt for free! How on earth did they manage that? They’d never heard of it before—besides the Salt Mountain Tribe, there were other tribes capable of producing salt!

The three had different thoughts, but they all began to reassess the Cliffside Tribe’s strength.

To be honest, they hadn’t believed Xiong Bai’s earlier claim that the tribe had over four hundred Beast Clan beastmen—after all, anyone could make such boasts.

But now, they weren’t so sure anymore.

The three of them let their gazes linger on his face for a moment before turning to look at Mang Er, who was standing not far away.

Clearly, they didn’t trust the words of a sub-beastman.

Mang Er, being perceptive, turned his head to look over.

Zhang Shuguang beckoned, “Second Brother, come here for a moment.”

Mang Er set down the small bowl he was holding, walked over to him, glanced at the bowl in his hand, and furrowed his brow: “Why aren’t you eating?”

“I’ll eat in a bit,” Zhang Shuguang said, smiling reassuringly. “After being exposed to all that smoke for so long, I’m not hungry anymore. I’m fine.” He looked at the three people across from him who were silently eating. “I’ve already explained to the three of you that we don’t need to trade for fine salt from our tribe.”

Mang Er lifted his eyelids, looking as if he hadn’t quite woken up yet, with a somewhat lazy air about him. Yet his aura was very powerful, so the three assumed he was the one leading the group to the gathering.

Hearing this, they all turned to look at him, waiting for his reply.

Mang Er gave a noncommittal “Mm-hmm. If you’re worried about being cheated, you can send someone to check it out first. It’s only a seven- or eight-day round trip anyway.”

“Seven or eight days?” Xiong Ri’s eyes widened. “How could it possibly take only seven or eight days?”

Hu Fei furrowed his brow, while Hu Gui looked at Mang Er with a puzzled expression. “Seven or eight days—as in seven or eight sunrises and sunsets?”

Mang Er nodded. “If you cut through the Black Forest, that’s all it takes. Going along the riverbank might take a bit longer.”

“There are too many large beasts in the Black Forest; we can’t make our way through it,” Xiong Ri said, shaking his head. “I’ve heard from people in the Ivory Tribe that they always go around the edge of the Black Forest.”

Mang Er went, “Oh. We’ve got Mang Jiu. Any big beast that comes our way is just a snack.”

Zhang Shuguang: “……” 

Second Brother, are you serious with that show-offy tone? Do you know you’re just asking to get beaten up?

Hu Fei’s eye twitched slightly, Hu Gui’s mouth twitched, and Xiong Ri clutched his chest—he felt a tightness in his chest.

As if that weren’t enough, Mang Er added, “Before we came, Mang Jiu took down a Scaled Bird. Shuguang’s frying pan is actually made from the scales of a terror bird.”

“You hunted a Scaled Bird?”

Hu Gui’s eyes widened in shock. He raised his hand and patted his abdomen, where there was a gruesome scar—about the size of a fist—as if someone had torn out a chunk of flesh and patched it back together with other skin and flesh. “I encountered a Scaled Bird the last time I led a hunting party. It bit me, and it took me a long time to recover.”

Mang Er, recalling all the times he’d been kicked flying by the Scaled Bird’s powerful limbs, suddenly felt a sense of kinship.

“Mang Jiu killed the Scaled Bird all by himself; I just gave him a little help from the sidelines,” he said, his attitude toward Hu Gui visibly warmer. He even took the initiative to pick up a piece of Sichuan pepper-seasoned meat with his chopsticks and place it in Hu Gui’s bowl, adding, “I haven’t used these chopsticks yet—they’re clean.”

Hu Gui didn’t understand why his attitude had suddenly changed; he simply nodded and popped a piece of meat into his mouth.

The sudden numbing sensation caught him off guard; his lips trembled, and he nearly flung the bowl from his hand.

“W-what is this? What’s wrong with my mouth!” His expression was so terrified that Hu Fei, who had been about to put a piece of meat into her mouth, paused.

She’d finally managed to pick up the piece of meat with her chopsticks, but now her hand hung in the air, the chopsticks visibly trembling.

“Your mouth’s just fine—what are you yelling about!” Hu Fei shot him a disapproving glare. Before the piece of meat could fall back into the bowl, she quickly shoved it into her mouth. The moment her tongue touched the sauce, her eyes widened in surprise.

She kept her mouth tightly shut, afraid that the sauce trembling on her lips might accidentally squirt out.

Zhang Shuguang reached out to stop Xiong Ri, who was about to take a bite, and pointed to the honey-glazed grilled meat being sliced. The skin had been evenly roasted until it was wrinkled and crispy; with a single cut, it gave off a crisp “crack.” Just by looking at it, one could tell the meat had been grilled to perfection.

“Please try this—it’s made with honey we traded for from you guys.” He used the serving chopsticks on the plate to pick up a few pieces and pass them over.

Upon hearing this, Xiong Ri quickly picked up a piece and took a bite.

“Mmm! Mmm!” He nodded repeatedly. “This is great. How did you make it?”

Zhang Shuguang smiled mysteriously—I told you, this is how I’m going to win you over with good food.

Hu Gui spoke up at that moment, but instead of addressing Zhang Shuguang, he called out loudly to Hu Fei, “I can take some people to the Cliffside Tribe. We’ll see if it’s really as good as he says.”

Hu Fei:…

Do you really think spouting all that high-sounding rhetoric can hide the fact that you’re just a glutton at heart?

Zhang Shuguang chuckled softly. “I’m not afraid of you coming—once you get there, you won’t want to leave!”

“Sure, bring your people along after the gathering ends, and we’ll head out together.” He agreed with a smile, then turned to Xiong Ri. “What do you think, old man? Why not send a few people to check it out? Seeing is believing, after all—it’s no use for me to just talk a big game.”

Before Xiong Ri could speak, Xiong San shouted from the side, “I’m going to your tribe!”

Zhang Shuguang pointed at him. “Is there anyone else?”

“Me!”

“Me too!”

“Do you even know what you’re getting yourselves into? All you do is ‘me, me, me’—you think you’re a bunch of clucking chickens!”