Bao Cheng pondered the situation, and the more he thought about it, the more his head spun.

Hu Sheng was clearly a troublemaker—who knows, he might just mess things up for him…

What should he do?

If only he hadn’t turned down the Giant Bear Tribe’s offer.

When they passed by the Giant Bear Tribe, Xiong Wu had asked Xiong Xing to guide them, but he’d refused.

If Xiong Xing had come along, he could certainly have acted as a go-between to help smooth things over…

Bao Cheng was very worried, but Hu Sheng didn’t share this concern. From a distance, he could already smell the aroma of the hearty stew, and his wide mouth instantly stretched into a grin that reached his ears. What perfect timing—he was definitely going to score a free meal today!

With so many heavy animal-skin bags on him, he couldn’t run, so he could only shout to Fan Zhou from a distance: “Tu Zhou, I brought a whole lot of star anise!”

Fan Zhou looked at the large and small animal-skin bags on him and was a bit speechless—it seemed this dim-witted tiger had been taking on plenty of side jobs again.

Still, the star anise arrived just in time—how could you make stewed meat without it?

“Great. Come on over—I was just about to add some to the pot,” he said.

With Fan Zhou’s approval, Hu Sheng was delighted. He did his best to scurry toward Fan Zhou in little hops; it looked like he was definitely going to score a free meal today!

When he reached Fan Zhou, he lay down on the ground and raised his front paw to point at the one-meter-long animal-skin bag closest to his neck: “The star anise is in this bag.”

Fan Zhou raised an eyebrow—there really was quite a lot.

Just then, Feng Xun walked over, untied the animal-skin bag, and opened it; it was filled to the brim with star anise.

Fan Zhou grabbed a handful and placed it in Feng Xun’s hand, then gently raised his right hand. Immediately, a stream of clear water flowed out, falling onto the star anise in Feng Xun’s hand. He said, “Rub them a bit—give them a good wash.”

For today’s college students, cooking is all about cleanliness and hygiene.

Feng Xun immediately began scrubbing the star anise. After washing them thoroughly, he placed them into the large stone pot nearby.

After washing six handfuls in a row—adding star anise to each large stone pot—Fan Zhou finally tied off the animal-skin bag with satisfaction.

Husheng rubbed his large paws together, his furry face beaming with a smile: “Tu Zhou, can I eat the rice from the stone pot?”

“Sure,” Fan Zhou nodded.

Even though Husheng hadn’t properly repaired the road again, considering all those star anise, he felt too embarrassed to refuse.

“Did you guys finish fixing the road?” Fan Zhou asked.

“Done, done! It goes straight to that hard-fruit grove!” Husheng replied immediately.

Niu Zhuang, Yang Chang, and Niu Bao, standing nearby, all nodded in agreement. However, their attention was on the large stone pots—they wanted a free meal, too.

Just as they were about to speak up, a swift figure suddenly darted past them and charged toward Fan Zhou. They looked closely and realized it was Bao Cheng.

“What are you doing?!”

“Stop right there!”

“Watch out, watch out!”

The three of them shouted.

Bao Cheng seemed not to hear them, charging headlong toward Fan Zhou. As a leopard, he was incredibly fast; the twenty-plus-meter distance was covered in the blink of an eye.

He lunged forward, his massive body coming to a halt just one meter from Fan Zhou. Prostrate on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the earth, he shouted, “Bao Cheng will forever submit to you, my Great High Priest!”His body was trembling slightly.He hadn’t even trembled when he saw that vast expanse of Beast Spirit Hua at the entrance to the Waterfall Tribe.But what had he just witnessed?A stream of water had actually materialized out of thin air in Tu Zhou’s hand—Xiong Wu hadn’t lied to him!Hu Sheng and the other beastmen hadn’t lied to him either!A miracle—it was truly a miracle!Excitement, fear, relief—relief that he had come to the Waterfall Tribe, and relief that he hadn’t actually committed an unforgivable act. So, having witnessed the divine miracle, he took off the animal-skin pouch from his body and decided to beg for mercy first.Surely the High Priest wouldn’t hold it against him…With that thought in mind, he kept his large head pressed against the ground but tilted it slightly, looking up to gauge Fan Zhou’s expression.But what met his eyes was a very tall, handsome man—so tall that, from his current position, he couldn’t see the man’s face at all.Feng Xun stood in front of Fan Zhou; thinking Bao Cheng was about to launch a surprise attack, he pulled Fan Zhou behind him. But to his surprise, Bao Cheng suddenly slid forward on his knees.With his arms crossed over his chest, he glared with obvious annoyance at the “Hua leopard” before him—whose mouth seemed to be smeared with honey—and wanted nothing more than to kick that Hua leopard right in the head.What do you mean, “His Highness the High Priest”?The rabbit is his!Feeling the undisguised chill emanating from Feng Xun, Bao Cheng flinched slightly. Was this the former Punisher?Recalling how Xiong Wu and the others had praised Feng Xun’s strength, he quickly whispered an explanation: “I didn’t mean to offend Your Highness the High Priest. I was just so excited to see you… You are the light and hope of the Beastmen. I—I just couldn’t help but want to get closer to you…”Feng Xun: “?”“Haha—” Fan Zhou emerged from behind Feng Xun, unable to hold back his laughter.True enough, compared to the usual descriptions of other beastmen—like “powerful,” “generous,” and “kind”—this leopard’s praise offered a bit of a fresh twist.“So you’re Bao Cheng?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.“Yes! Your Holiness, your most loyal subordinate—I’m late!”Bao Cheng immediately replied in a loud voice.He let out a sigh of relief—the High Priest was actually smiling.Fan Zhou was amused by this again. Just as he was about to ask how he’d become his loyal subordinate, Hu Sheng suddenly shouted from the side, “Tu Zhou! Bao Cheng’s lying to you! The whole way here, he’s been doubting your strength and praising the Sanctuary as incredibly powerful!”“……”The smile on Fan Zhou’s face turned into a wry grin.“That’s right, that’s right. This Bao Cheng has been praising the Sanctuary the whole time,” Niu Zhuang shouted in support of Hu Sheng.Yang Chang and Niu Bao also spoke up one after another, confirming that Hu Sheng wasn’t lying.“So, you’re actually on the Sanctuary’s side,” Lang Tian said angrily. “Did the Sanctuary send you here to spy?”“I didn’t!” Bao Cheng shouted hurriedly—he was being framed!If only he could have hooked up with the Sanctuary—but unfortunately, the Sanctuary didn’t even give the Treehouse Tribe a second glance.

But he didn’t want to get involved with the Sanctuary anymore; all he wanted was to follow Tu Zhou, the Beast God’s newly chosen High Priest!With a grim expression, he recounted what had happened after he returned to the tribe. He hadn’t witnessed the High Priest’s divine miracle with his own eyes—he’d relied solely on two Beast Spirit Huas. Once he’d escaped the fanatical atmosphere of the Giant Bear Tribe, he’d calmed down considerably.He simply couldn’t refute his tribe members’ doubts.So it was only natural that he felt confused…However, looking at the furious orcs around him, he dared not show any sign of resentment. Instead, he hung his head and apologized to Fan Zhou: “Great High Priest, please forgive me. I’ll never dare to question you again.”“You haven’t done anything to harm me or the Waterfall Tribe—it was just a little doubt. I won’t hold it against you.”Fan Zhou was magnanimous and understanding.The Treehouse Tribe had seen the wider world, while their Waterfall Tribe was tucked away deep in the mountains and forests. It was only natural that they wouldn’t believe a new High Priest had emerged from such a remote mountain valley.If he were in their shoes, he’d think it was a scam, too.Bao Cheng was taken aback by this—was he really being let off that easily?“Don’t stay on the ground—get up.” Fan Zhou beckoned to him.“…You are so merciful!” Bao Cheng said from the bottom of his heart.He understood why beastmen like Lu Xin, Hou Yan, and the others revered Fan Zhou so much—he was both a bearer of divine miracles and gentle-natured. Truly, he was worthy of being the Great High Priest newly chosen by the Beast God!He stood up and hurriedly said, “High Priest, I brought several hundred Beast Spirit Flower seeds, and plenty of sesame seeds too!”These things should make the High Priest happy, right?Fan Zhou was indeed pleased: “All right, we’ll exchange them after lunch. You’ve traveled such a long way to get here—you must be exhausted. Later, you can try the Waterfall Tribe’s stew.”“But first, try some honey soy milk.”Honey soy milk?The Beastmen, including Bao Cheng, didn’t know what soy milk was, but they understood the word “honey”!Wow, is the High Priest giving them honey to drink right off the bat? Hu Sheng was indignant and shouted, “Tu Zhou, why are you letting them eat the food you made? They used to look down on our tribe—and on you!”“They’ve never been to our tribe before, nor have they met me—it’s only natural for them to have their doubts. They’re here to trade; what’s wrong with letting them taste something delicious?”These beastmen from the Treehouse Tribe weren’t his prisoners; they were here to do business, so of course he welcomed them with a smile.Ignoring Hu Sheng’s grumbling, he went to the cave where the pottery was stored and brought out a stack of earthenware bowls.These bowls had wide rims and shallow bodies; they were the special bowls Fan Zhou used to entertain members of other tribes.The beastmen, led by Bao Cheng, were once again astonished when they saw the pottery.Sure enough, he was the High Priest newly chosen by the Beast God—he could even make pottery.They took the bowls, cradling them carefully in their hands as they examined them; they’d only heard of pottery, but had never seen or used it before.So this is what pottery looks like—it’s so smooth and beautiful; they fell in love with it at first sight!They lined up in front of the large stone cauldron, waiting for Fan Zhou to ladle out the soy milk for them. They stared at the cauldron, swallowing hard with curiosity: Is this really soy milk?It looked like animal milk, but wasn’t as thick.When they finally took a sip of the soy milk, they all cast grateful glances at Fan Zhou. It was delicious! The grassy flavor of the plant was mixed with a distinct sweetness. They hadn’t drunk much honey back in the Treehouse Tribe, so they never expected to taste it so soon after arriving at the Waterfall Tribe.

The High Priest is so generous!

Bao Cheng once again felt deep regret. He was wrong—he was truly wrong. He shouldn’t have listened to his tribe’s words and doubted the High Priest. Thinking back to the boasts of the Giant Bear Tribe, he couldn’t help but clench the earthen bowl in his hand.

He, too, wanted the High Priest to gently and patiently teach him farming and animal husbandry techniques…

Of course, what mattered even more were the Beast Spirit Hua!

The High Priest was actually going to give Monkey Salt a hundred Beast Spirit Hua—he was so jealous he could die! He had no idea how many the High Priest would be willing to give him, or if the number might be reduced because of his doubts…

Just as Bao Cheng was agonizing over what might or might not happen, on the other side, the Beastmen who had worked diligently all morning were finishing their shift.

They’d brought their large bowls to the sorghum fields first thing in the morning, all so they could rush to the big stone pot as quickly as possible after work.

Mao Yu ran ahead, bowl clenched in her mouth, with Xiong Jing close behind her. When they reached the big stone pot and spotted unfamiliar beastpeople, the two of them exchanged just a single glance before quickly holding out their large bowls for Fan Zhou to serve them.

The aroma was driving them wild—they were so hungry!

“Catfish and Jingjing, you’ve worked hard. Eat up—there’s plenty.” Fan Zhou smiled as he picked up the large ladle and scooped half a bowl of sorghum and dried vegetables into their bowls.

“Tu Zhou, you’ve worked hard too, cooking so much food!” Catfish said as she walked over to the stone pot filled with the hearty stew. She’d really come to love this style of eating—rice topped with stew.

The slightly bitter grass seeds and unpalatable wild greens, soaked in the stew’s rich broth, took on the flavor of the meat and became incredibly fragrant.

The other beastmen weren’t slow either. They ran over to the large stone pot, first scooping up some sorghum from the side, then grabbing some meat from the stew. Everyone was wolfing down their food, too busy to even glance at Bao Cheng and the others standing nearby.

Bao Cheng and his group of orcs could also eat the stew, but they could only use the small bowls they’d just used for soy milk. These palm-sized bowls were nowhere near enough to fill them up—they could only get a taste.

After finishing the food in their bowls, they felt too embarrassed to ask Fan Zhou for more. They carried the leftover game from that morning with them, found an open spot, and began building a fire to roast the meat.

At that moment, they shared the same feeling as the Giant Bear Tribe: they used to think meat was the most delicious thing, but now, as they gnawed on the dry, roasted meat, they no longer felt the same satisfaction they once did when eating meat.

How envious they were of the beastmen from the Waterfall Tribe!

The beastmen of the Waterfall Tribe had no idea that Bao Cheng and the others were envying them; after their hearty meal, they all returned to their caves to rest.

Fan Zhou had Lang Tian and the others wash the pots and dishes, while he and Feng Xun walked over to the leather bags Bao Cheng had brought, preparing to make a trade.

The Treehouse Tribe didn’t have any special products—at least, Bao Cheng hadn’t found anything worth exchanging with the Waterfall Tribe—so these leather bags were all filled with sesame seeds.

Although they had previously doubted Fan Zhou, the red salt and hemp cloth were indeed real, so they spent time and effort threshing the sesame seeds.

There was plenty of sesame near their tribe; they didn’t even have to go out of their way to find it—they could easily cut down a large pile with just a stone axe.

All told, there were over two thousand jin of sesame seeds.

In addition, Bao Cheng had brought five hundred Beast Spirit Flower seeds.

Five hundred seeds might seem like a lot, but Bao Cheng had kept quite a few for himself. Worried that the Waterfall Tribe might be up to something, he hadn’t brought all of them.

That’s why he was now deeply frustrated.

If he’d brought all his seeds, the High Priest might have been so pleased that he would have generously given him plenty of Beast Spirit Hua—just as he had with Monkey Salt.

“Great High Priest, please don’t think this is too little. I actually have many more seeds—ten sets of five hundred. As soon as I return to the Treehouse Tribe, I’ll rush back here as quickly as possible to hand over the remaining seeds to you,” he said, looking at Fan Zhou with a sincere expression.

Hearing this, Fan Zhou was surprised: “How do you have so many seeds?”

Ten sets of five hundred—that’s five thousand!

“When I was a child, Beast Spirit Flowers were becoming increasingly rare, so I decided to collect some to grow them myself.”

The Treehouse Tribe also knew how to grow plants, and Bao Cheng had known how to plant grass seeds since he was a child.

If grass seeds could be planted, then Beast Spirit Flowers surely could be as well—so he began collecting seeds.

He hadn’t actually collected that many, but since Beast Spirit Flower seeds were so plentiful, he ended up saving quite a few just by gathering them casually.

Over the years, he’d used up quite a few seeds, but not a single Beast Spirit Flower had ever sprouted.

This time, while passing through the Giant Bear Tribe, he heard Monkey Salt say that even ordinary beastmen could grow Beast Spirit Flowers. Unfortunately, there were no mountains near their Treehouse Tribe—otherwise, they wouldn’t be living in trees.

So, he decided to hand over all his remaining seeds to the High Priest.

After hearing Bao Cheng’s explanation, Fan Zhou found it hard to suppress the smile spreading across his face.

Five thousand seeds!

Once these five thousand seeds bloom and bear fruit, he’ll get tens of thousands of seeds!

He’ll soon have an endless supply of Beast Spirit Hua.

“All right. Once you bring the remaining seeds, I’ll give you Beast Spirit Hua at the price we agreed upon with Hou Yan.”

“That’s great! Thank you, High Priest!” Bao Cheng was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly expressed his gratitude.

“If you’re not in a hurry to leave, you’re welcome to stay for a few days. The Beast Spirit Flowers in the cave are about to bloom—these five hundred seeds can be exchanged for thirty Beast Spirit Flowers.”

This ratio was slightly lower than what he’d offered to Hou Yan.

But for Bao Cheng, this was already more than enough.

“Great, we’ll wait a few more days!” Bao Cheng was overjoyed—thirty plants! My goodness, he hadn’t seen Beast Spirit Flowers in years, and now he was about to have thirty of them!

After agreeing on the number of Beast Spirit Flowers, Fan Zhou and Feng Xun returned to the cave to fetch some hemp cloth. The Waterfall Tribe didn’t have much salt left either, so they could only pay for the sesame seeds with hemp cloth.

Then the two of them led Bao Cheng and his group of beastmen over to the guesthouse area. Construction on the guesthouse hadn’t started yet, but the small shed the Giant Bear Tribe had erected last time was still there.

Bao Cheng and his group settled in temporarily at the Waterfall Tribe.

The next day, Bao Cheng sent half his clan members out to hunt, while he led the rest to work in the sorghum fields. When it was time for lunch, they didn’t compete with the Waterfall Tribe’s beastmen for food; instead, they served themselves rice into the clay bowls from the previous day, eating only a small bowlful.

The Treehouse Tribe had sinned, and this was their way of atoning.

The High Priest bore a divine sign bestowed by the Beast God; to question him would be blasphemy.

Although the High Priest did not hold it against them, they could not help but make amends.

They had to atone for their sins!

Still, the food provided by the High Priest was truly exceptional. Today’s dish wasn’t a stew—it was a cold salad made from wild vegetables and meat that had been cooked and then dressed with sesame oil and sesame paste. It was so fragrant that after finishing, they licked their earthenware bowls several times.

Sesame is indeed a wonderful thing; they’d been so foolish to have previously treated it as mere weeds.

It took a little over a day for the beastmen to finish harvesting Fan Zhou’s sorghum. Fan Zhou no longer needed to provide meals, but Bao Cheng still led his clan members to work for the Waterfall Tribe.

Lang Tian’s impression of Bao Cheng improved considerably. It’s good that he recognized his mistake—he’s a decent beastman!

Fan Zhou would occasionally exchange a few words with Bao Cheng and the others, asking about the situation at the Treehouse Tribe.

Although the Treehouse Tribe was close to the Bridge of Reflection, it wasn’t a trading hub, so aside from news from the Sanctuary and the Central Continent, they didn’t know much else.

Previously, the Treehouse Tribe had also had a beastman who contracted a strange illness, but they had driven that beastman out…

Of course, when mentioning this, whether it was Bao Cheng or the other beastmen, they all cringed, afraid that Fan Zhou would fly into a rage. They also repeatedly assured him that if any orcs contracted the disease in the future, they would absolutely not drive them out.

While the other orcs were bustling about, Fan Zhou and Feng Xun weren’t resting either. To pay for the sesame seeds this time, they’d have to hand over all the hemp cloth they’d saved up. Tooth-cleaning grass isn’t available year-round, so while it was still in season, the two of them planned to weave as much hemp cloth as possible.

Moreover, the beastmen of the Waterfall Tribe also wanted to trade for more linen.

After Summer left, the temperature dropped significantly; it was only warm around noon, and their previous tank tops and skirts were no longer warm enough. Since Fan Zhou and Feng Xun were both wearing long sleeves and pants, the others wanted to switch to long sleeves and pants as well.

With the demand for hemp cloth skyrocketing, Fan Zhou and Feng Xun had no choice but to work overtime.

After three consecutive days of intense hemp weaving, Fan Zhou was starting to lose it—it was just too monotonous! It was no different from tightening screws in a factory.

He leaned against a pillar of the thatched hut and let out a long sigh.

Feng Xun was crouched by the stream, pounding the fibers of the tooth-cleaning grass. Hearing the sound, he looked over at Fan Zhou: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just keep working,” Fan Zhou replied listlessly.

Seeing this, Feng Xun stopped what he was doing.

Coming over to the hut, Feng Xun crouched down in front of him, raised her hand, and gently pressed against his slightly furrowed brow, asking with some concern, “Are you unhappy?”

“It’s a bit tedious. I’d like to find someone to weave the hemp cloth for me.” Fan Zhou sighed again. Who could he ask?

This was a secret craft unique to him and Feng Xun—it had to be kept under wraps… …Jingjing had learned it long ago, but she preferred hunting—there was no way she’d spend all day weaving hemp cloth.

“How about we give Songli a Beast Spirit Flower?” After thinking for a moment, he spoke up again.

Once Songli could transform into a human, she could take over this task.

“Okay.” Feng Xun nodded without hesitation; it was best to let the rabbit make this decision.

He took Fan Zhou’s hand and asked tentatively, “Why don’t we go explore the cave?”

They’d been so busy these past few days; after a long day’s work, the rabbit would collapse into sleep, and the two of them hadn’t been intimate for several days.

Upon hearing this, Fan Zhou blinked, stared at the handsome man’s face for a few seconds, and suddenly realized.

He got it.

He was feeling restless right now—partly because weaving hemp cloth was tedious, and partly because it had been ages since he’d indulged in some beauty!

In this barren, desolate world where nothing was to be found, what else was there to enjoy besides beauty?

It was nourishment for both his mind and body!

Cupping Feng Xun’s face, he smiled broadly and planted a firm kiss on Feng Xun’s lips: “Okay.”

Feng Xun smiled, stretched out his arms, and wrapped them around Fan Zhou in a princess carry. Fan Zhou wrapped his arms around Feng Xun’s neck and couldn’t resist leaning in to kiss him again.

The two walked into the cave and collapsed onto the straw mat. First, they shared a passionate kiss; by the time it ended, Fan Zhou was already stripped of his clothes.

Just as Fan Zhou was about to start undressing Feng Xun, Ying Xiao’s shrill cries suddenly rang out from down the mountain: “Tu Zhou! Tu Zhou! Trouble! I’ve spotted a strange beastman! Tu Zhou! Tu Zhou!”

Fan Zhou: “……”

He gritted his teeth. That Ying Xiao—he never comes early or late, but had to show up right at this moment!

As it happened, he’d been thinking of making a feather duster, and Ying Xiao’s feathers would be just right.

Feng Xun was also in the middle of plucking Ying Xiao’s feathers. Hearing Ying Xiao’s voice getting closer and closer, he pulled Fan Zhou into his arms and gave him a few firm squeezes, then immediately dressed Fan Zhou.

Once Fan Zhou was fully dressed, he walked out of the cave with a sour expression.

Just then, Yingxiao flew up, shouting, “There was an eagle—as big as Songli—hiding in the tree, sneaking around! It scared me so much I almost fell to the ground!”

It really scared the life out of him. Seeing an eagle so much bigger than himself suddenly lurking behind a tree trunk out of the blue made every feather on his body stand on end.

Luckily, the eagle didn’t recognize him. He pretended to be an ordinary bird and took a detour back to the tribe.

Still, hehe, he’d spotted the eagle—he’d earned some credit!

He really was useless; aside from using his small size to gather intelligence, he couldn’t do anything else.

Especially when it came to major tasks like harvesting sorghum, he couldn’t help at all.

For the past few days, every orc in the tribe had been in the sorghum fields from morning till night, leaving the area around the tribe deserted. To prevent a repeat of the previous capture incident, Fan Zhou had assigned him to patrol near the tribe.

As it turned out, a stranger had indeed trespassed into the Waterfall Tribe’s territory!

“Where is that eagle?” Feng Xun asked, frowning as he walked behind Fan Zhou.

“Follow the stream forward, past all the sorghum fields. He’s hiding in a large tree not far from the sorghum fields,” Ying Xiao said, raising his little wing and pointing toward the forest.

The Waterfall Tribe’s sorghum fields were planted along the stream, and since this eagle was hiding not far from them, it meant he had indeed penetrated deep into the Waterfall Tribe’s territory.

“I’ll go take a look. Tu Zhou, you and Ying Xiao can just stay here.”

Feng Xun pursed her lips, saying uncertainly, “I might know this eagle.”