Bonus chapter thanks to SweetLittleBunny on Kofi, thanks for your support!

But Que Yu had no way out.

Because for the beastmen, filling their stomachs was the most important thing.

Lang Tian had specifically sought him out, telling him to stop his teachings and herbal collection and instead go with the gathering team to plant seeds.

This infuriated him.

The rough stone axe would tear up his delicate white hands!

What to do…

Que Yu’s worried expression didn’t escape Xiong Jing’s notice.

Every evening, when Xiong Jing roasted meat, the heat from the fire made her sweat, so she often bathed under the small waterfall.

Que Yu used to like standing by the pond, admiring his beast form, and wasn’t very enthusiastic about eating.

But in the last few days, Que Yu hadn’t been seen spreading his wings by the pond anymore.

When it came to clearing land and farming, Xiong Jing’s beast form made it difficult to do anything. Fan Zhou would carry tools to help her, and during their casual chats, she shared Que Yu’s strange behavior with him.

“He’s probably just in a bad mood,” Fan Zhou said.

“You’re right. He doesn’t like working, and now the chief is asking him to plow the land, of course, he’s not happy,” Xiong Jing agreed deeply.

Fan Zhou smiled when he heard that, then changed the subject. “The chief wants to send someone to the Giant Bear Tribe to exchange for more grass seeds. Are you going?”

Lang Tian planned to plant all the grass seeds, but he thought it was a risky move.

However, he did agree with expanding the planting scale—there weren’t enough grass seeds. Even if they planted all the seeds from the tribe, the cultivated area would only cover about three or four football fields.

That much food wasn’t even enough for him alone.

After all, winter was long, and what else could he do if not make delicious food?

Moreover, the tribe now had plenty of salt and hemp cloth, both of which were valuable goods in the wild, and they could exchange them for many things.

Last time, Xiong Jing had managed to trade for some cotton, and now he wanted to get some cotton seeds.

The Giant Bear Tribe was a large tribe, and smaller tribes in the area often went there to trade.

It was a major trading hub, and he really wanted to go—maybe he could find some good things.

But his roommate’s legs weren’t in great shape, and he still had to guard the Beast Spirit Flowers. He couldn’t leave.

While Fan Zhou and Xiong Jing were discussing the upcoming trade for food, not far away, Que Yu suddenly sat down with a thud. He stared at his red, calloused palms, and his eyes shot hateful glances toward Fan Zhou.

After staring at Fan Zhou’s smiling face for a few moments, he narrowed his eyes and soon came up with an idea.

Using the excuse that the stone axe in his hand was too cumbersome, he said he needed to return to the village to get a bone knife. That way, he finally had a brief moment of free time.

He hurried off toward Fan Zhou’s cave.

Hehehe, he had a plan!

“Lang Xun! Lang Xun, Lang Xun!” he shouted loudly from the foot of the mountain.

He paused for a moment, but there was no response.

Feng Xun didn’t answer or appear at the edge of the rocks.

Grinding his teeth, he shouted again, “Lang Xun, I have something to tell you. It’s about Tu Zhou.”

As soon as these words left his mouth, Feng Xun’s figure appeared quickly by the rocks, his face cold, his voice equally chilly.

“What is it?”

Que Yu took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said, “I want to go up and talk…”

Fearing rejection, he quickly added, “I won’t actually go up; I’ll just stand on that step.”

He pointed to the step closest to the cave.

Fan Zhou’s cave was a bit steep, and it wasn’t convenient to go up and down. So, Feng Xun had transformed into his beast form and used his claws to dig a few steps to make it easier for Fan Zhou to climb.

Feng Xun thought for a moment and gestured for Que Yu to go up.

Que Yu was overjoyed and immediately transformed into his beast form. He spread his wings and, with his brilliant tail feathers, flew toward the cave.

He quickly landed on the step closest to the cave, lifting his head to look at Feng Xun above him.

His beautiful form soared through the sky, and the man before him…

Feng Xun frowned and impatiently urged, “What do you want to say?”

Que Yu’s colorful feathers were making his eyes uncomfortable.

He himself was white, so he liked softer-colored fur.

Que Yu: “…”

He tried to calm himself down. “I heard that Tu Zhou found a Beast Spirit Flower for Xiong Jing. Your legs still haven’t healed, so why hasn’t he given the Beast Spirit Flower to you? When a beastman injures their leg, they’re basically useless. Isn’t your leg more important than Xiong Jing’s ability to transform into human form?”

“Tu Zhou helps Xiong Jing when she works, and when there’s something tasty, he shares it with her. He definitely likes her. He might even want to become her partner. You should move to the tribe and stop doing all the work for him.”

Having said this, he held his breath, waiting for Feng Xun to show signs of sadness, frustration, or even anger.

But he was disappointed.

Feng Xun’s face didn’t change at all. “Is that all you have to say?”

“Y-yeah… that’s all,” Que Yu said, a bit dazed.

“Then hurry up and leave, or I’ll make a move,” Feng Xun said as he pulled out a slingshot from behind, loaded it with a stone ,and aimed it at Que Yu.

“You, you, you…” Que Yu was startled and immediately flapped his wings, flying backward.

Even if he was angry, he couldn’t attack him.

Feng Xun wasn’t angry, but he was in a bad mood. As he watched the somewhat plump bird fly farther and farther into the sky, he didn’t hesitate to shoot the stone from the slingshot.

“Ouch!”

Que Yu winced in pain, his body shaking a few times before flapping his wings furiously toward the tribe.

It wasn’t until he landed at the entrance of the tribe that he finally caught his breath.

Transforming back into his human form, he rubbed his back. The stone had hit him… hmm? His eyes widened.

It didn’t hurt as much as he had imagined.

In his previous life, he had seen Feng Xun take action. A group of very powerful beastmen, hundreds of them, attacked the Sacred Mountain, and the sight of it scared him so much that he hid in a tree and didn’t dare make a sound.

But Feng Xun had remained calm. He didn’t even see how Feng Xun made his move. All he saw was a white shadow passing through the beastman crowd, and then the beastmen all collapsed, unable to get back up.

But now, Feng Xun had hit him, and it didn’t hurt enough to make him roll on the ground. What was going on?

Could it be that Feng Xun had held back?

…

It must be!

He had exposed that bad rabbit’s true colors. Even though Feng Xun had vented his anger on him, he had still gone easy on him.

This was a good start!

He felt happy, his steps light as he entered the tribe.

Feng Xun, on the other hand, was a bit regretful. He hadn’t knocked Que Yu down. The slingshot was too small, and he was too weak.

He sat back under the grass hut and continued weaving hemp cloth.

The rabbit liked him too.

The rabbit had made him the spicy chili stew made with bird meat, and even Xiong Jing didn’t get to taste it!

The rabbit had fried two large wooden tubs of small fish and shrimp for him to snack on. Although he shared some with Xiong Jing, he ate far more than she did.

As for the Beast Spirit Flower he had discovered in the Red Salt Valley, it was originally meant for Xiong Jing. The rabbit couldn’t go back on his word.

Moreover, as soon as the rabbit returned to the Waterfall Tribe, he immediately went to look for Beast Spirit Flowers for him. In the end, the rabbit was so tired that he couldn’t move and had to be carried back by Feng Xun.

If you talked about liking, the rabbit definitely liked him.

But…

He stared blankly at the half-woven hemp cloth, his nimble hands still.

If they were to become partners, only one could be chosen.

Who would the rabbit choose?

More importantly, did he himself want to become the rabbit’s partner…?

He had thought about this before. Too many beastmen had confessed to him, both male and female. Some of them didn’t give up after he turned them down, asking him what kind of partner he liked.

What kind of partner did he like?

He could hunt plenty of game himself, so he didn’t need a partner to be very strong.

But he didn’t like those who were too weak either. He liked to explore, and those who were too weak couldn’t keep up with his pace.

So, he never had an answer before.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━______

At noon, Fan Zhou returned to the cave with a basket of wild vegetables, followed by Xiong Jing.

The hunting team didn’t go out hunting today, so Fan Zhou took a fishing net with him. Using his special abilities to cheat, he caught a lot of fish—big and small—enough to make fish soup for the beastmen.

After giving the fish to the tribe, he dug up some wild vegetables that the beastmen liked and planned to make some bird stew again.

Xiong Jing hadn’t tasted it yet.

He had raised the grey birds he had caught earlier, and there were still two left. This time, even though they lacked the spicy chili seasoning, the sweetness of the hard nuts made up for it. Xiong Jing was delighted.

After lunch, Fan Zhou prepared a portion of fried small fish for Xiong Jing as a snack, then happily sent her on her way.

Feng Xun watched the entire process, not showing any signs of unease.

Two more days passed, and the beastmen finished planting all the grass seeds.

The team heading to the Giant Bear Tribe had also been chosen. Niu Shan was still leading, but Xiong Jing wasn’t going. The Beast Spirit Flower was about to bloom, and Fan Zhou wanted her to take him to find more chili peppers.

The place where Xiong Jing had found the chili peppers was a bit far, outside Fan Zhou’s usual exploration range. After picking the peppers, they wandered around the area for a bit, and by the time they returned to the tribe, it was nearly evening.

Having walked so far, both of them were a bit thirsty. Fortunately, there was a small creek nearby, the one just beside his cave. So they turned to drink some water.

Of course, Fan Zhou quietly swapped the water in his palm for the Spirit Spring water.

Not far from where Fan Zhou and Xiong Jing were, behind a large tree, three beastmen were hiding sneakily.

“That’s Tu Zhou, right?”

“Definitely. Xiong Jing calls him Tu Zhou.”

“Well, our luck’s pretty good. Just as Niu Shan left, we caught Tu Zhou alone. Should we grab him?”

“Of course! He knows how to make salt, grow grass seeds, and make hemp cloth! Xiong Jing can’t beat us.”

“Then don’t hesitate, let’s grab him and run!”

The three beastmen quickly transformed. One turned into a white tiger, another into a rhinoceros, and the third into a sheep with long fur and hard horns.

They rushed out from behind the tree, charging at Fan Zhou.

Xiong Jing, who was drinking water, was startled. As soon as she saw the three beastmen’s appearances, she immediately shouted, “Tu Zhou, run! Quick!”

These three were from the Axe Tribe!

She yelled, glaring at the tiger in the front, “Hu Sheng, what are you doing?!”

“We’re planning to take Tu Zhou to the Axe Tribe to teach us how to make salt. Step aside, you can’t beat the three of us.”

Even though Niu Shan had taken five beastmen and left, Hu Sheng didn’t want to actually start a fight here in the Waterfall Tribe’s territory.

It was too far from the Axe Tribe, and getting injured would be troublesome!

“You wish!” Xiong Jing was furious and was about to charge at Hu Sheng.

“Jingjing! Don’t fight!”

Fan Zhou quickly reached out and tightly held her.

At this point, Hu Sheng, the rhinoceros, and the long-haired sheep had already surrounded them.

He held Xiong Jing down and said to Hu Sheng, “You just want me to go teach you how to make salt; you won’t kill me, right?”

“Of course not.”

Hu Sheng quickly replied.

Niu Shan had just temporarily left; he was not dead. If Niu Shan returned with beastmen to cause trouble at the Axe Tribe, things wouldn’t go well for them either.

“Jingjing, did you hear that? You can’t beat them. Go back and get help. I’ll go with them, and you can bring people to catch up quickly.”

Fan Zhou didn’t want to see Xiong Jing hurt, so he wanted to send her away.

He also wanted to gauge the strength of these three beastmen in front of him.