The beastmen of the Golden Tiger Clan raced alongside Xiong Bai. In their minds, bears were clumsy, yet this giant bear left them far behind; they had to hold their breath just to keep up.

Not to mention ordinary members of the Golden Tiger Clan—even those from the Giant Tiger Clan were struggling to keep up.

Xiong Bai and Mang Ba weaved swiftly through the woods; not only were they running fast, but they were also chatting as they ran.

Their conversation was particularly touching. Xiong Bai said, “I didn’t use to run very fast, but ever since I joined a hunting party with Mang Jiu, my running speed has been getting faster and faster.”

Mang Ba replied, “Hmm, I can tell. If you slow down even a little, my stomach starts to ache.”

Xiong Bai stumbled, nearly tripping over his own hind legs and doing a forward somersault, face-first into the ground.

Mang Ba turned his massive snake head to look at him, speechless.

Xiong Bai shook his massive head and mused, “Beasts are right not to speak.”

Mang Ba let out a soft chuckle—a rare smile—though his serpentine face remained expressionless.

Xiong Bai gradually slowed down and lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Mang Ba coiled himself into a large ball and flicked his tongue from side to side. “It’s going to rain.”

Xiong Bai shook his head and looked up at the sky—it was clear and cloudless. “How do you know it’s going to rain?”

“The air’s gotten more humid,” Mang Ba said, poking his tongue out again to test the air. “It’ll be a light rain.”

Xiong Bai turned to look at him. “From now on, you’ll perch on the highest peak and stick out your tongue every day to check if the air is humid. Then you can let everyone know if it’s going to rain.”

Mang Ba swiped his tail at Xiong Bai’s butt, and Xiong Bai shuddered.

As the two of them were fooling around, a rumbling sound came from behind them.

“You’re so slow—we almost went to find something to eat ourselves.” When Xiong Bai saw Hu Fei, he couldn’t help but snap at her: “You’ve been running for so long—haven’t you gotten used to it yet?”

Out of breath, the big tiger didn’t even feel like talking; she just plopped down on the ground.

It wasn’t just Hu Fei—all the other beastmen of the Golden Tiger Clan were in the same boat.

Xiong Bai sighed, stood up, and said, “Wait here. We’re going hunting. After we eat, we’ll find a place to rest. Mang Ba said it’s going to rain, so make sure to keep an eye on anything you brought that can’t get wet.”

Mang Ba said, “The salt can’t get wet, or it’ll all dissolve.”

Hu Fei nodded, shifted into human form, went over to check on her clan members, and made arrangements for them to take shelter from the rain.

Xiong Bai and Mang Ba didn’t stay away long; they returned with three giant deer beasts. After setting down the game, the two didn’t linger, saying a quick goodbye before leaving again.

Leaving two giant tiger-beastmen behind to ensure the tribe’s safety, the other four giant tigers followed them out. They needed to eat more to store energy; if any tribe members couldn’t run, the tigers could carry them on their backs.

Hu Fei turned to look at Hu Gui and asked, “Are you holding up okay?”

Hu Gui sighed. “I’ve got to keep going, even if I’m not feeling it. Actually, I wanted to say we don’t need to rush—there’s no need to run this fast.”

Xiong Bai, who had keen hearing, turned his head upon hearing this and said, “You may not be in a hurry, but we are. If we’re the last ones to show up and the first to leave, people will laugh at us to death.”

“How could we possibly be the last to return?” Hu Gui was taken aback. “We left two days earlier than everyone else.”

“What good does leaving two days early do? Even if you’d left three days early, Mang Jiu would’ve caught up anyway. His speed really makes me wonder who’s the one with four legs.” Xiong Bai shook his head. “That’s not the kind of speed a normal beastman has.”

Hu Gui: “Your speeds are pretty abnormal too.”

Xiong Bai chuckled derisively. “If you went hunting with Mang Jiu a few times, you’d be fast too—you wouldn’t be gasping for breath after just a short run.”

Hu Gui: “……”

While hunting earlier, Xiong Bai and Mang Ba had come across a herd of giant deer. The two of them charged straight in, pouncing and biting their way through, bringing back three for the Golden Tiger Clan and leaving the remaining three where they were.

Mang Ba said, “I’ll eat one; you guys can split the rest.”

Xiong Bai: “I’ll eat half. Chief Hu Fei, will you take the other half?”

Hu Fei nodded: “Alright.”

The remaining giant deer was just enough for the other three to share.

Xiong Bai said as he gnawed on the meat, “You guys eat way too little. No wonder you’re not growing any bigger.”

Hu Fei swiped her thick tail at him, whipping his butt.

Xiong Bai shrugged indifferently, “Eat a little more, really. If the Black Wolf Clan grows a bit more, they’ll all be bigger than you guys. I honestly didn’t expect your Giant Tiger Clan to be about the same size as ordinary wolves.”

Hu Gui, tearing at the venison, looked up at him with a mouthful of blood upon hearing this. Chewing the meat in his mouth, he said, “I’ve never seen an ordinary wolf clan member bigger than a tiger, either.”

Xiong Bai thought about their tribe’s meals lately—they seemed to be eating better than before, mainly thanks to Mang Jiu, who was so reliable, dragging back huge wild beasts every other day.

He lowered his head and took a big bite out of the giant deer’s soft belly, devouring it with a series of “woof, woof” sounds. He needed to eat more too—get strong enough to find a sub-beastman to have a litter with!

Mang Ba wrapped his body around the giant deer, swallowed more than half of it, then spat it back out.

Xiong Bai looked up at him upon hearing the sound and asked in confusion, “What’s going on? Did you choke?”

Mang Ba shook his giant snake head and said, “I can sense Mang Jiu’s presence.”

“What?” Xiong Bai was dumbfounded. “Come on, he’s way out of here!”

Mang Ba flicked his tongue from side to side, then shook his head in confusion. “I must have misread it—it doesn’t seem to be him.”

With that, he lowered his head and slowly swallowed the giant deer all over again.

“I thought the deer’s antlers had scratched your throat.” Xiong Bai licked his lips, then turned to look at Hu Fei, who was eating. His gaze swept over her fur, which glistened golden in the sunlight, and he praised, “You’re really beautiful.”

Hu Fei looked up at him.

Xiong Bai didn’t know what had gotten into him, but after locking eyes with Hu Fei, he blurted out, “Would you be willing to have a cub with me?”

Mang Ba instantly stopped swallowing the giant deer; his snake-like eyes were filled with astonishment—this time, he was genuinely taken aback.

The other three giant tigers nearby also stopped eating and looked over.

The meat fell from Hu Fei’s mouth as she stared blankly at Xiong Bai and repeated, “You want to have a cub with me?”

Xiong Bai nodded and said matter-of-factly, “Your golden fur is so beautiful. I’m white, too. If we had a baby, we might just have a golden bear cub or a white tiger cub—how beautiful that would be! And it would definitely be a giant beast.”

Hu Fei blinked a few times, picturing the beautifully colored cub in her mind, and to her surprise, felt a faint, eerie flutter of excitement.

“Hu Fei!” As her older brother, Hu Gui knew his sister’s way of thinking all too well—if he didn’t stop her now, the consequences would be unimaginable!

“Hurry up and eat. Once you’re done, let’s go hunting—Hu Dou and the others haven’t eaten yet.” Hu Gui glared at Xiong Bai and said coldly, “A bear and a tiger can’t have cubs. Give up on that idea!”

“Why?” Xiong Bai asked, puzzled.

Hu Fei also turned to look at Hu Gui. Though she didn’t ask, her expression clearly conveyed the same two words: Why?

“There aren’t that many ‘whys’—just eat up!” Hu Gui glared at them, unwilling to waste words on the two of them, and lowered his head to gnaw on the meat in a huff.

If Zhang Shuguang had been there, he might have offered an explanation: one was a bear and the other a cat. While species diversity should be respected, a relationship between the two of them really wouldn’t work out.

Xiong Bai stared at Hu Fei and asked her, “So, what do you think? Will it work?”

Hu Fei shook her head in refusal. “No.”

“Why?”

“You don’t seem very sharp.”

Xiong Bai: “……” He felt a little hurt!

But he was easygoing and didn’t feel upset—it had just been a momentary crush anyway.

Meanwhile, the beastmen led by Mang Er, who were hurrying back, were also taking a break. Since they were escorting the sub-beastmen, their pace wasn’t very fast.

During the heavy rain earlier, they’d taken shelter in the tunnels dug by the earth-dwellers and hadn’t gotten wet.

“I’m hungry,” Li said, lying against Mang Er’s neck and yawning. “I’m both sleepy and hungry.”

“Didn’t you just wake up?” Mang Er stopped slithering and turned his snake head to look at him. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m not sick. I’m just sleepy after eating, and when I’m sleepy, I get hungry—and after I eat, I’m still sleepy.” Li yawned again. “Let’s stop and rest for a bit.”

Mang Er nodded. “Then you rest for now. I’ll take the others hunting.”

The beastmen split into two groups: one busied itself preparing a meal, while the other followed Mang Er off to hunt.

Yun walked over to Li’s side. Seeing him looking so listless, as if he hadn’t fully woken up yet, she looked up at the sun in the sky and was at a loss for words.

“You two weren’t making babies again last night, were you?”

Guo also leaned in, his face full of envy, and said, “When will I ever be able to have a baby?”

Li was breathing out clouds of steam, and tears were streaming down his face. He raised his hand to wipe his face, not feeling the least bit embarrassed by their teasing, and replied calmly, “The rainy season is coming soon, so Mang Er is naturally a bit more passionate.”

“……”

“But you’re slowing us down like this,” Yun said, shooting him a sidelong glance. “You get tired several times a day, and whenever Mang Er sees you’re tired, he stops to rest. We haven’t even gone very far yet.”

Li tilted his head to look at him. Noticing a hint of evasion in his eyes, he couldn’t help but feel that this wasn’t what the man had intended to talk about.

Slowing us down?

So what if we’re slow? Even at this pace, it’s still faster than letting them walk back on their own.

Ever since he’d been with Mang Er—maybe it was thanks to better nutrition—Li had clearly become a bit smarter. Upon hearing Yun’s words, it took him just a moment to figure it out: Yun was in a hurry to take that Elephant Clan person back.

“You’re not seriously thinking of having a baby with that Xiang Wei guy, are you?” Li asked.

Yun’s lips twitched, and he couldn’t help but raise his hand to slap his arm. “Why are you talking nonsense! I have nothing to do with him!”

“Then why are you in such a rush? As long as you can go back, that’s all that matters.” Li dodged him and teased with a laugh, “You must have something up your sleeve. Could it be that you’re not interested in the Elephant Clan after all, but in the Earth-Dwelling Clan? You saw their beast forms—they’re not imposing at all. Are you planning to have a kid like that someday?”

Yun was so furious he lunged at him to pinch him, but Li quickly dodged, giggling, and the two of them wrestled playfully.

After Jiao and Fang had prepared the ingredients for dinner, they heard the commotion and curiously went over to take a look. Once they figured out why the two were roughhousing, Fang’s eyes lit up, and she said, “Yun, if you don’t want to have a kid with Xiang Wei, I’ll talk to him. I think he’s actually pretty nice.”

Although they hadn’t spent much time together on the journey so far, it was clear that the three Elephant Clan beastmen had been actively trying to integrate into their group. They were also very strong and had no trouble hunting; though they weren’t part of the Giant Beast Clan, their beast forms were still formidable, and no one would consider them weak.

As for Xiang Wei, he was quiet and reserved but worked tirelessly, which gave Fang some insight into his thoughts.

Upon hearing Fang’s words, Yun paused for a moment as he reached out to pinch Li’s hand, but Li managed to pull away.

He turned to Fang and said, “If you want to have a kid with him, just go tell him. Why are you telling me?”

Fang pursed her lips. “I’ll go tell him. But if he agrees to have a kid with me, don’t you dare get involved.”

Yun waved his hand dismissively. “Go ahead—as if he’d actually agree just because you asked.”

Li and Guo exchanged a glance from the side, both with faint smiles in their eyes.

Others might not notice, but how could they possibly miss it? It was obvious that Yun had feelings for that Elephant Clan beastman, but he was too proud to admit it.

Fang snorted lightly. “Whether he agrees or not has nothing to do with you. Just mind your own business.” With that, she turned and walked away.

Judging by the direction she was heading, she was clearly going over there to find someone.

Jiao called out to Fang, but Fang ignored her.

She let out a soft sigh and said to the huffing Yun, “If you’re really interested in that beastman, just say so. It seems to me he’s pretty nice to you, too.”

Yun pursed his lips and muttered, “He’s nice to everyone. I don’t want someone who’s nice to everyone.”

Jiao shook her head, at a loss as to what to do with her.

Over there, the three beastmen from the Elephant Clan sat together, feeding grass to the Meimei beasts whose vines had been untied. The first time the vines were loosened, the Meimei beasts had bolted, but after being whipped by Mang Er, they’d all settled down. Now they obediently ate when told to eat and slept when told to sleep—they were much easier to manage than the egg-laying ones.

When Mang Er had led his men away earlier, he’d instructed the three of them to feed the Meimei Beasts. If they didn’t feel like picking grass to feed them, they were to take the creatures out so they could forage for themselves.

Xiang Wei recalled how nervous Zhang Shuguang had been about the Meimei Beasts before they left. If they were let out and got lost, they’d be in big trouble. So he decisively abandoned the idea of letting them go out to graze on their own. He’d rather go through the trouble of cutting grass to feed them than risk losing even one.

Xiang Gu sat on the ground with his arms crossed, watching the carefree Meimei Beasts—who were very docile as long as they were well-fed—and couldn’t help but say, “What does he want these Meimei Beasts for? Their meat doesn’t even taste good.”

Because the Meimei Beasts’ meat has a strong, gamey odor, beastmen usually don’t go out of their way to catch them for food; they only do so when there’s absolutely no other prey available.

Hearing this, the other two shook their heads in unison. Xiang Ping said, “If you’re so curious, go ask Mang Er.”

Xiang Wei retorted, “He can do whatever he wants—why are you butting in so much?”

Xiang Gu’s mouth twitched slightly as he said to Xiang Wei, “Why are you getting so worked up? I was just asking.”

Xiang Wei furrowed his brow slightly, his eyes fixed on the long blade of grass in his hand. The Meimei Beast, which had been munching on the grass, suddenly gave it a sharp tug, snatched it away, and turned to head off in another direction.

“What’s wrong with you?” Xiang Ping turned to look at him.

Xiang Wei pursed his lips and said, “I just feel like he’s avoiding me.”

“Who? Who’s avoiding you?” Xiang Ping looked completely baffled by what he’d said.

Xiang Wei sighed, shook his head, and fell silent.

As he stood there brooding, Xiang Gu and Xiang Ping were left completely baffled.

Just then, Fang walked over, heading straight for the dejected Xiang Wei.

Xiang Gu nudged Xiang Ping with his elbow, jutted out his chin, and gave him a knowing look, as if to say, “Look, look—the sub-beastman is here to see Xiang Wei!”

Xiang Ping shot him a sidelong glance, then turned to Fang with a smile: “Is there something you need?”

Fang had a very straightforward and bold personality; she was warm, outgoing, and not at all shy. Upon hearing this, she pointed at Xiang Wei and said, “I’m here to ask him if he wants to have a baby with me.”

Xiang Wei looked up at her in surprise; even Xiang Gu couldn’t keep up with her, and Xiang Ping was taken aback as well.

The last time they’d seen a sub-beastman as direct as this was Ning, who’d been chasing after Mang Jiu day in and day out, constantly harping on about wanting to have a baby with him. In the Ivory Tribe, everyone knew Ning was practically possessed—she was absolutely determined to have a baby with Mang Jiu.

Now he was seeing another one—and this time, it was with Xiang Wei. It was truly… amazing.

Fang didn’t think there was anything wrong with the three of their reactions. Instead, she pursed her lips with a coy smile and repeated her question exactly as she’d asked it before: “Xiang Wei, I want to have a baby with you. Are you willing?”

Xiang Wei shook his head. “No.”

Fang looked at him in confusion. “Why? Am I not pretty enough?”

Xiang Wei looked up at her and shook his head. “No.”

Fang: “Then why?”

Xiang Wei sighed and shook his head. “There’s no reason—I just don’t want to.”

Fang stamped her foot. “Could it be that you’ve actually fallen for Yun? He doesn’t even pay you any attention!”

Xiang Wei didn’t say a word and didn’t even look at her; he just had this attitude of “no matter what you say, I’m not having it.”

Fang snorted and turned to walk away.

She walked away with a carefree air, and Xiang Wei lowered his eyes again, saying nothing.

Xiang Gu and Xiang Ping snapped out of their daze and turned to look at him at the same time.

Xiang Gu asked, “When you said earlier that someone wasn’t paying attention to you, you weren’t talking about that Yun, were you?” As he spoke, he turned to look at Yun, who was talking with Li not far away. “Have you taken a liking to him?”

Xiang Ping rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and then had a sudden realization. “Oh, oh, oh, I remember now. Back when you went to exchange your sausage, even though other vendors had sausages, you wouldn’t exchange with them—you always went to his stall. You must’ve had your eye on him even back then!”

Xiang Wei glanced up at them with a hostile look in his eyes; he was clearly annoyed that his feelings had been exposed.

“Then just tell him directly. I think Shuguang probably wants you two to get together too—otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought him here to exchange items.”

Xiang Wei shook his head. “No, he doesn’t feel that way.”

“You haven’t even asked him—how do you know he isn’t interested? Besides, since he went along to trade with you, he wouldn’t have gone if he really wasn’t interested,” Xiang Ping said.

Xiang Wei went, “Oh,” and fell silent again.

Xiang Ping got annoyed and raised his hand to give him a light tap. “Can’t you work on this habit of yours? Either you don’t say anything at all, or you say just a couple of words and end up pissing people off. Can’t you just communicate properly?”

“Exactly. Sometimes even we can’t stand you. If you really want to find a sub-beastman to have kids with, you’ve got to change,” Xiang Gu scratched his nose and offered some advice. “Why don’t you give it a try? If he rejects you, then forget it. But if he doesn’t reject you outright, that means you still have a chance. You’re just sitting here without even asking—even if he’s interested, he’s not going to say so.”

“Are you seriously waiting for that sub-beastman to come right up to you and say something?” Xiang Ping snorted with a laugh. “Do you think all sub-beastmen are like Ning or that Fang from earlier? Just like them? If you don’t take the initiative, a sub-beastman will never be yours.”

Xiang Wei looked up at them. “Should I go talk to him?”

“Yeah, if you want to have a kid with him, just say so—don’t play dead here.”

Xiang Wei took a deep breath, stood up, and brushed the sand and dust off his clothes. “All right, I’ll go talk to him.”

Lin had just finished boiling the water. He looked up at the group standing nearby and was about to call out for them to come over and help cook when he saw Xiang Wei striding toward him with a stern expression on his face. He was startled.

Yun was facing Xiang Wei’s direction; when he saw him approaching, he looked at him with some puzzlement.

Li noticed the strange look in Yun’s eyes, turned to glance at him, chuckled softly, and pinched Yun’s arm. “You’d better keep your cool—don’t be so aloof. He’s actually a decent guy.”

“How do you know he’s a decent guy?” Yun shot him a sidelong glance.

Li raised an eyebrow. “If Shuguang could bring them back, he wouldn’t have done that if the guy wasn’t up to par.”

Yun was instantly at a loss for words.

He really is a good guy—or at least, it’s nice to hear it from him.

Xiang Wei stopped about two meters away from the group. Without saying a word, he just stared intently at Yun.

Yun felt completely uncomfortable under his gaze, and with his companions giggling softly from time to time, he didn’t know why, but his face actually turned a little red.

He rubbed his face, but in the end, he couldn’t ignore the other’s presence. He walked over and asked, “Are you looking for me?”

Xiang Wei nodded.

Yun took another step forward and looked up at him. “What’s up?”

Xiang Wei nodded.

Yun sighed. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Then he saw Xiang Wei’s face begin to slowly, slowly turn red.

He widened his eyes, but before he could ask, “What’s wrong?” he heard Xiang Wei speak.

Here’s what he said.

“I brought things over to trade for sausage because I wanted to see you a few more times.”

“I think you’re really good-looking, and you’re very capable.”

“I want to ask you—would you have a baby with me?”

“We weren’t from the same tribe before, so I didn’t dare ask, but now that I’ve joined the Cliffside Tribe, I dare to ask.”

Yun was so stunned by his words that his eyes went wide, and his mind was filled with “What? What? What? What?”

He was so confused he didn’t even know what “what” he was talking about.

Xiang Wei’s face was already bright red, his eyes darting about—he’d glance at Yun’s face, then quickly look away, only to glance back at him again, and then look away once more.

Yun was amused by his furtive glances and asked him with a twinkle in his eyes, “Did Fang just go talk to you about having a baby?”

Xiang Wei nodded, his expression serious. “I turned her down.”

Yun let out an “oh” and, with his head bowed, murmured, “What if I were to turn you down?”

“Then just turn me down,” Xiang Wei replied, also keeping his head down. Neither of them looked at the other’s face.

Yun bared his teeth, thinking to himself, Why can’t you just ask me a few more times? If you asked me enough times, who knows—I might actually say yes!

Xiang Wei said, “I know you’ve only just met me, but the moment I saw you, I felt something was right. So… why don’t you just say yes?”

Yun couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Xiang Wei looked up at him, his gaze direct.

Yun chuckled softly for a moment, then asked him, “What if my father doesn’t agree?”

Xiang Wei froze. His father wouldn’t agree? He’d agreed, but his father wouldn’t?

That must be what he meant!

He raised his hand and pounded his chest twice. “I may not be from the Giant Beast Clan, but my beast form is still very powerful. I can go hunt big wild beasts to prove to him that I can support you and make sure you’re well-fed!”

His voice was loud, and the few people nearby—who weren’t far away to begin with—heard him clearly.

Li looked up and let out an “Oh-yo.”

Yun turned and glared at them. “Go on, go on!”

Li called out with a grin, “Oh my~~ You’re actually a little shy!”

Guo joined in the teasing: “Hurry up and say yes! Someone who’ll promise to keep you well-fed—how great is that!”

Lin, from the other side, chimed in, “Ask him if you’re the only one. If you’re the only one, just say yes!”

Xiang Wei looked at Lin in confusion and asked, “What do you mean, ‘just you’?”

Lin: “Just one sub-beastman. No one else.”

Xiang Wei nodded. “In our Elephant Clan, it’s always one beastman and one sub-beastman together. There’s never more than that—unless one of them dies first, then we’ll find someone else to have offspring with.”

Yun went, “Oh,” but said nothing.

Xiang Wei scratched his head and ears, asking, “Is that okay?”

“What do you mean, ‘is that okay’? We haven’t known each other that long. We’ll talk about it later.” After saying that, Yun didn’t bother with his reaction and ran over to Lin to help with the work—though his cheeks were a little flushed and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Lin raised an eyebrow at him, and Yun shot him a glare.

Xiang Wei walked away, looking a bit dejected. He returned to his original seat, and after being grilled by Xiang Ping and Xiang Gu, he repeated what Yun had just said, concluding, “He doesn’t want to have a kid with me. I got rejected.”

Xiang Ping’s mouth twitched, and he raised his hand to give him a hard slap. “Are you stupid? How did he reject you? He clearly just wants to hang out with you!”

Xiang Gu chimed in from the side, “Now I get it—you’re always getting into fights because you’re not very bright. Don’t blame anyone else.”

Xiang Wei glared at him.

Xiang Gu glared back, “He clearly said yes—he just gave you some time to prove yourself. And you actually thought he turned you down? If we hadn’t pointed this out to you, do you think you would’ve missed your chance? By then, Yun would’ve definitely ignored you.”

Xiang Wei thought about it for a moment; it seemed to make sense.

Meanwhile, Zhang Shuguang and Mang Jiu had already reached the Wild Plains. Since Zhang Shuguang needed to go to the hunting grounds to store the Divine Blood Tree in Xiao Cai’s warehouse, Mang Jiu had taken a detour.

“What do you guys think of this place?” Zhang Shuguang stood in the tall grass, glancing at the Hot Rock Cave not far away. Thinking of the hot spring inside, he felt a bit tempted to take a dip.

Xiong Yan, Xiong Ri, and Xiong Ji all widened their eyes, looking utterly incredulous. “Can we stay here?” Xiong Yan looked at Zhang Shuguang and exclaimed excitedly, “This place is perfect! There aren’t that many trees, and it’s spacious.”

“Sure. But if you’re going to stay here, it’s best not to get too close to that mountain. We often come here to quarry stone, and if you live too close, you might get caught in the crossfire.” Zhang Shuguang didn’t hide anything from them; after all, if they were going to live here, they’d find out about Hot Rock Mountain sooner or later.

“Those rocks are hot, and there are hot springs in the caves where you can bathe, but it gets a bit dangerous over there during the snow season—there are wild animals in there.”

Xiong Yan nodded and turned to look at Xiong Ri and Xiong Ji.

Xiong Ri and Xiong Ji nodded in unison; they both thought this was a good spot, and with the thick grass, it would be easy for them to build a thatched hut.

“There are plenty of small animals around here, too. If you have some free time, you could raise some cuckoo chickens, long-eared beasts, and Meimei Beasts,” Zhang Shuguang’s eyes twinkled as an idea formed in his mind. “The tribe will definitely need large quantities of hides from long-eared beasts and bleating beast fur in the future. I also have spices that can remove some of the gamey smell from bleating beast meat. I’ll teach you how to process them, and you can trade these items with the tribe for other things.”

The three looked at him with surprise. Zhang Shuguang continued, “The land here is fairly level. You can clear some of it—use part of it to grow flowers and part to grow vegetables. I can trade you some vegetable seeds.”

“Really? Can we really live here? Then we won’t have to go to the Cliffside Tribe?” Xiong Ji asked eagerly.

Zhang Shuguang turned to look at Mang Jiu, who nodded.

He turned back to the three of them and said, “That area over there is the hunting ground where the tribe’s beastmen usually go to hunt, and that’s the tribe itself. If you really want to live here, you don’t have to go back with us. It’s not too far from the tribe, so you can always go visit if you want.”

Xiong San walked over at that moment and asked, “We want to go to the tribe. Is that okay?”

“Sure, go if you want to. Those who don’t want to go can stay here—it’s no problem.”

In the end, apart from Xiong Da, Xiong Er, and Xiong San, everyone else stayed on the Wild Plains. Mainly, having suddenly left their tribal lands and arrived in an unfamiliar place, they really didn’t want to deal with so many strangers. They figured they could visit the tribe once they’d gotten used to living here.

Xiong Da, Xiong Er, and Xiong San helped their clan members set up grass huts, while Zhang Shuguang and Mang Jiu left first, planning to come back and pick up the three of them once they were done.

The two moved faster on their own. Mang Jiu didn’t shift into beast form; instead, he remained in human form, carrying Zhang Shuguang on his back as they ran swiftly toward the Divine Blood Tree.

“I’ll ask Xiao Cai how to store this tree away.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Zhang Shuguang rested his cheek against Mang Jiu’s shoulder. “Xiao Cai.”

Xiao Cai: “Master, I’m here. What can I do for you?”

Zhang Shuguang: “That mission from before is done. Have the rewards been distributed yet?”

Xiao Cai: “Yes, and there’s an extra reward: cabbage seeds.”

Zhang Shuguang: “That’s great. Give me all the seeds when I get back to the tribe—I’ll plant them all then.”

Xiao Cai: “Master, the rainy season is coming soon. If we plant them now, they probably won’t grow very tall.”

Zhang Shuguang thought about the recent frequent rains and sighed, “It’s okay. I can set up a cave garden. I’ll see if there are any empty, unoccupied caves on the first level—planting them there should be fine.”

Xiao Cai: “Master, you’re so smart.”

Zhang Shuguang: “Thanks. By the way, how do I get that Divine Blood Tree into your storage? Do I just dig it up?”

Xiao Cai: “Please wait a moment; I’ll go ask.”

After about ten seconds, Xiao Cai said, “The Main System says all you have to do is place your hand on the tree and silently say ‘collect.’”

Zhang Shuguang: “Alright, just be careful over there later. Keep an eye on those two half-grown earthworms—don’t let them nibble on the tree leaves.”

Xiao Cai: “Yes, Master.”

Mang Jiu was fast; he sprinted with Zhang Shuguang on his back. By the time Zhang Shuguang was dozing off, the Divine Blood Tree was already visible in the distance.

Zhang Shuguang sat up straight, bracing himself with both hands on Mang Jiu’s shoulders. He stared wide-eyed at the towering blood-red tree, its leaves fluttering wildly in the wind, and asked in puzzlement, “Has it grown?”

Mang Jiu replied in a calm voice, “It’s taller and thicker.”

“What’s going on?” Zhang Shuguang asked, somewhat puzzled. “And what are those things lying next to the tree?”

“Animal hide,” said Mang Jiu, furrowing his brow as well. “It’s similar to the animal hide I vomited up, except it has bones.”

Zhang Shuguang frowned, his expression turning somewhat grim.

He had a rather unpleasant hunch.

The hunting grounds here were being watched, and when the two men approached, everyone was startled, completely baffled as to why they were there—weren’t they supposed to be at the Lion-Tiger Tribe’s gathering?

“Back already?” The giant eagle circling in the sky landed and transformed into a beastman. Zhang Shuguang glanced at him—he didn’t recognize him, but the face looked familiar.

“I’m Ying Jiu.” The man smiled at him and asked Mang Jiu, “How did you two end up here?”

Mang Jiu set Zhang Shuguang down and nodded toward the Divine Blood Tree in the distance. “What’s going on?”

Zhang Shuguang said, “I came to take it away. It’s not good to leave it here. How did so many suddenly grow here?”

Ying Jiu let out a huge sigh, as if a weight had been lifted.

“It seems to be able to hunt on its own. The herd of Horned Cattle that ran off earlier has returned, and a few were drawn close by it. This tree seems almost alive—it pierced several of the Horned Cattle right through with its roots and sucked out all their flesh and blood, leaving only skin and bones. We didn’t dare go near it, so we could only keep watch from a distance,” Ying Jiu said helplessly, offering a wry smile. “It’s grown quite a bit after consuming all that flesh and blood. It would be best if we could get it to leave—it’s really dangerous, and it eats a lot.”

Zhang Shuguang furrowed his brow slightly and turned to look at Mang Jiu.

Feeding on flesh and blood—how does that sound, just like what happened with Aila?

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm and stop overthinking, then smiled at Ying Jiu: “Thank you for your help. I’ll take it away right away.”

Ying Jiu quickly waved his hands. “No trouble at all! We’re happy to help the Divine Son watch over the Divine Tree—it’s just that it’s a bit dangerous.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded repeatedly and pulled Mang Jiu over to the Divine Blood Tree.

He first walked around the tree once, then looked down at the skeletal remains—skin and bones, resembling mummies—scattered beside it, his lips pressed tightly together.

“Don’t they look just like that little brat?”

Mang Jiu murmured in agreement from the side, bent down, and pressed his fingers against the bones—not a drop of moisture remained; they were completely shriveled. “What do you think?”

“I don’t have any thoughts. Right now, I’m not only questioning what kind of creature I am, but I’m also questioning what kind of creature Aila is. This is exactly the same as him sucking people’s vital blood.”

Zhang Shuguang sighed, his expression somber as he reached out to touch the smooth tree trunk.

He stowed the Divine Blood Tree—which had grown considerably taller—into Xiao Cai’s storage and asked, “Xiao Cai, can you store it separately? It’s very dangerous.”

Xiao Cai: “Sure, Master. The main system has already set aside a separate area to store the Divine Blood Tree. Rest assured, it’s absolutely fine—it won’t affect those two worms.”

Zhang Shuguang was reassured. “All right, thank you. Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you if I need you.”

The two planned to spend the night here before leaving. As they headed to the cave they’d visited earlier to store their belongings, Zhang Shuguang suddenly said, “You haven’t been to that area with the coal mine yet. Want to check it out?”

Mang Jiu nodded. “Sure. Let’s go take a look—we might make a new discovery.”

The two left the cave again and hurried off.

Ying Jiu mused, “No wonder he’s the Divine Son—he never stops for a moment.”

“Last time we were here, the air smelled pretty bad, but now it’s actually quite pleasant. I can see the underground coal fire has gone out.”

“Will the Earth-Dwelling Clan be able to come and live here?” asked Mang Jiu.

Zhang Shuguang tugged on his hand and said with a smile, “Once we actually dig up the coal, we’ll be able to fire pottery and make bricks. Then we can build houses—wait, no, we can hold off on the houses for now. We can start by building earthen beds; they’re especially warm to sleep on in the winter.”

“Do you know how to make one?”

“I don’t,” Zhang Shuguang said with complete confidence. “I don’t know how, but the Main System definitely does. I’ll ask it later if there are any tutorial videos or something like that. Oh, and let’s take a walk around in a bit to see if there are any suitable trees we can use to make paper. I really can’t stand using leaves and grass anymore.”

Mang Jiu chuckled softly and patted him on the shoulder. “Alright, I’ll help you.”