They had to put some food in the traps to lure the fish inside. Lin Qiu waited until the beastmen returned from hunting, received his share of meat, and then set aside a portion to place in the fish traps.

Lang Yan looked at the meat in the cage but said nothing.

Lang Mo chewed on a piece of meat he’d just roasted to perfection, his eyes fixed longingly on the fish traps.

“Why are you feeding it to the fish? If you’re not going to eat it, give it to me.”

Lang Shi sank his canine teeth into the meat, his wolf eyes brimming with trust.

“Qiu has big plans.”

Lang Mo: “It’s just catching fish, isn’t it?”

He said this, but there was a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

Lang Yan watched Lin Qiu head toward the riverbank with the fish trap in hand. After a moment’s thought, he followed. The sky had turned dark and gloomy, and the surroundings were growing hazy.

The water by the river was deep; he feared he might miss a step and plunge straight to the riverbed.

Lin Qiu heard footsteps and turned to see Lang Yan. Suddenly recalling waking up in someone else’s den that morning, a flash crossed Lin Qiu’s eyes, and his eyelashes trembled.

“Aren’t you going to eat the meat?”

Lang Yan snatched the fish trap from Lin Qiu’s hands. “It’s dangerous by the river. How did you end up here?”

Lin Qiu noticed he didn’t seem the least bit surprised, and wondered if he might have accidentally rolled into his den after he’d left that morning. The thought had barely crossed his mind when he remembered the wolf fur covering his hands, and his toes involuntarily curled.

His expression remained calm, though his face felt slightly flushed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lang Yan walking beside him and was relieved that it was nearly completely dark. He would definitely be careful tonight.

Lin Qiu had no experience setting fish traps, so he simply told Lang Yan to toss it into the deep water, throwing it as far as the leather rope would reach. Watching the trap sink into the water, Lin Qiu motioned for Lang Yan to tie the leather rope to a rock on the shore.

Now, all they had to do was wait. 

After dinner, inside the cave.

Beastmen had little in the way of entertainment; after eating, they made the most of their time to sleep.

Lin Qiu lay in his own den, his back turned toward Lang Yan, his fingers clenched tightly around the edge of the animal hide.

His spine was taut. Thinking of the fur ball wedged between the two grass nests, he couldn’t help but pull the hide up higher to cover his head as well.

The cave wasn’t exactly quiet; some wolf-beastmen snored, while others ground their teeth and muttered in their sleep. The firewood crackled in the hearth, and the wind whistled through it from time to time. With the animal hide pulled over his head, Lin Qiu felt as though he were cut off from everything outside. It was a long time before he finally relaxed his body and slowly drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Lang Yan opened his eyes.

The wolf cub, Xue, crawled out of the den again and instinctively curled up against Lin Qiu’s neck. Lin Qiu seemed accustomed to this; he casually wrapped his arms around the cub, their heads pressed close together in a particularly affectionate moment.

Lang Yan watched the cub for a moment, then glanced at Lin Qiu, who was curled up in a ball.

A rare night of peace.

The next morning, Lin Qiu first checked the spot where he’d slept, then looked at his hands. They were clean—he hadn’t done anything wrong.

His brow relaxed. He calmly greeted Lang Guo at the cave entrance, then went to retrieve the fish traps, completely oblivious to the fleeting flicker in Lang Guo’s eyes.

Seeing Lang An weeding with the beastmen, Lin Qiu called out to him. Whether they’d caught anything or not, he wanted Lang An—who’d helped out—to see for himself.

When he called out, only Lang An and two other older sub-beastmen came over; the rest continued working diligently. Only a few curious ones glanced over before lowering their heads to get back to work.

Their work was more important than watching the spectacle.

Pulling up the trap was a bit of a struggle, but fortunately, the animal-skin ropes the beastmen had twisted were sturdy enough. The fish traps began to move slowly, and murky bubbles rose to the surface. Lang An and Lin Qiu pulled on the rope together, and Lang An said, “It’s heavy.”

Lin Qiu kept his eyes fixed on the water.

When they felt a tremor in the rope, Lin Qiu and Lang An pulled with all their might almost simultaneously. The fish traps broke the surface, and Lang An exclaimed happily, “We’ve got one! We’ve got one!” Lin Qiu peered closely into the trap and saw a large fish with silvery scales flash by; his furrowed brow smoothed out.

They pulled the trap to the riverbank and dragged it a little farther from the water. Now they could see inside clearly.

The cage was large to begin with, but he supposed the fish inside had never been well-fed—they were packed in so tightly.

There were two large fish, about the same size as the ones they caught last time, and enough smaller fish to fill a whole basin.

There were also palm-sized river shrimp and big crabs…

It definitely wasn’t a wasted effort.

The other two sub-beastmen said excitedly, “Let’s check the other one.”

With that, they walked over to the other cage together. They pulled it open with combined strength, and the cage rattled and clattered—the catch was just as plentiful.

Although there was only one large fish, there were several that weighed two or three pounds each. Add in the river shrimp and crabs, and combined with the first cage, it was enough to fill the tribe’s largest clay cooking pot three times over.

Lang An’s face lit up with a bright smile as he watched the fish wriggling on the shore—it felt like a windfall.

The other two beastmen were happy too, though seeing the crabs that had been crushed to death or suffocated, a look of regret flashed across their faces.

Lin Qiu said, “Ask the priest about these fish. If they’re safe to eat, we’ll cook them later when it’s hottest, otherwise the kids won’t have the strength after they’ve finished gathering grass.”

“Alright, I’ll go ask the priest!”

“I’ll go tell the kids.”

Both sub-beastmen were in their thirties or forties, in the prime of their lives, but due to food shortages, they were both thin and frail. The more outgoing one was called Lang Yu, and the more reserved one was called Lang Shuang.

The two sub-beastmen had once been members of the foraging party, but now that their stamina couldn’t keep up, they stayed behind in the cave.

When the priest learned that Lin Qiu had actually caught fish using a wicker cage, he immediately excused Lin Qiu from his morning duties and ordered the tribe’s most skilled beastmen to work together to craft fish traps right away.

The members of the Lang Bing Squad gathered around in a flurry. Seeing the fish of all sizes laid out on the grass mat—knowing they’d been caught in a net—they let out exclamations of surprise and immediately grabbed the net to examine it.

Lang Mo grinned, his tail wagging.

“My efforts weren’t in vain,” he said, lying down on the ground to stretch his back, then called out, “Qiu! Do you want more canes?”

Qiu: “The priest said, the more the better.”

He had intended to help the tribe anyway, but now it had become an official task assigned by the priest. Lin Qiu adapted well, simply gathering the beastmen assigned to make the fish traps into a group to speed up the work.

Lang Mo, meanwhile, took two strong beastmen into the woods to gather more vines and prepare the materials. In no time, the area in front of Wolf Mountain buzzed with activity.

The priest had said that the first batch of fish caught should be distributed by Qiu, so Qiu had everyone prepare them for a meal.

So now smoke was rising in front of Wolf Mountain as the beastmen scaled and gutted the fish, and following Lin Qiu’s instructions, they removed the gills as well.

Perhaps Lin Qiu’s recent effort in making the fish traps had made the beastmen realize he was truly changing for the better; their attitude gradually shifted, and they no longer showed that subtle, lingering hostility.

After a meal of grilled fish, the lingering resentment over his food theft was deflated, finding an outlet to dissipate.

Lin Qiu had spent the entire morning weaving fish traps, and the sub-beastmen had watched and started helping out. He planned to take a stroll through the woods in the afternoon. Given the tribe’s consumption, fish alone wouldn’t be enough.

Apart from their ability to shift shapes and their greater strength, beastmen are actually no different from humans. The fact that they grow millet suggests that starchy foods are sufficient to satisfy their hunger.

The foraging party has been searching for wild fruits and leafy greens, rarely venturing into the roots and tubers. With these vast mountains stretching before them, Lin Qiu couldn’t believe there wasn’t anything else to eat.

That morning, Lang Mo and two beastmen had cleared nearly all the vines from the nearby woods. Now, after lunch and a short rest, they were gathering them up to carry back.

Lin Qiu walked by, clutching the wooden stick he’d prepared for fishing last time, stepping on the thick layer of leaves as he passed them. Lang Mo: “Qiu? We’ve got enough vines.”

Lin Qiu: “I’m just taking a stroll.”

Lang Mo immediately said, “I’ll come with you.”

Lin Qiu had never ventured deep into this primeval forest, so he didn’t refuse.

The Wolf Tribe’s territory lay in the northern part of the Eastern Continent. The year was long, divided only into the snow season and the rainy season. The snow season was bitterly cold, often blanketed by blizzards; streams dried up, great rivers froze over, and when the snow was deep enough, it could bury half the entrance to a cave.

The rainy season brought unceasing rain, accompanied by high temperatures, humidity, stifling heat, and countless snakes, insects, and rodents. Some beastmen who had barely survived the winter season often perished during the rainy season.

The priest says that during the rainy season, beastmen are frequently bitten by snakes and insects. That is why a large portion of the medicine being prepared now is for antidotes.

The forest in front of Wolf Mountain is flat, with only the undulating mountain ranges visible on the horizon. Here, the trees are extremely lush, but animal resources are scarce.

Lin Qiu took a look around; even birds were rarely seen.

Seeing him looking around and occasionally poking the ground with a stick, Lang Mo asked, “Qiu, what are you looking for?” 

Lin Qiu replied, “Food.”

“The ground’s just dirt—there’s nothing to eat here.” Lang Mo gazed up at the treetops. “There are fruits up there, but they’re sour enough to make your teeth ache. Want some?”

Lin Qiu looked up. He didn’t know what kind of tree it was, but the fist-sized green-skinned fruits hanging from the branches certainly looked tempting. Even from this distance, he could almost smell the sourness.

Lin Qiu squinted, but before he could get a clear look, Lang Mo had already darted up the tree.

He was agile, and having eaten his fill at noon, he had some energy to spare.

Lin Qiu watched as he leaped to the treetop in a few bounds. He scanned the area, then grabbed a branch heavy with fruit and snapped it with a powerful twist of his arm. The crisp cracking sound echoed through the quiet forest.

“Qiu, move over a bit.”

Lin Qiu stepped back a bit. Lang Mo tossed the branch down, and it landed with a few thuds.

Leaning against the tree, he watched Lin Qiu pick the fruit and said with a smile, “We’ve eaten all the fruit in this forest. These are ripe now, but they’re still sour.” Lin Qiu plucked one; as it left the branch, it made a crisp sound.

He sniffed it; a fresh, fragrant scent wafted up.

Lin Qiu wiped it off briefly, wanting to taste it, and took a bite.

Before he could do much, Lang Mo was drooling, his face wrinkled with countless creases.

“Slurp.” Lang Mo’s mouth was flooding with saliva; he shrugged his shoulders and, seeing Lin Qiu merely furrow his brow slightly, asked in surprise, “It’s not sour?”

Lin Qiu: “It’s okay. Crunch—”

Lin Qiu watched as Lang Mo took a huge bite.

“Yuck!” The beastman winced at the sour taste, baring his teeth and spitting it out.

Lin Qiu found the fruit a bit soft, so he simply broke it open. Inside was white pulp dotted with black seeds. Lin Qiu crouched down, picked the fruits one by one, and placed them in the basket.

Lang Mo stuck out his tongue, drooling profusely.

“You really like eating this?” He couldn’t help but shudder.

Lin Qiu: “We could try cooking with them. I haven’t seen these at the priest’s place; I’ll take them back to study.”

By the time he finished speaking, the branch’s fruit had filled half the basket.

They continued on, stopping and starting, sunlight filtering through the gaps, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow across their bodies.

Lang Mo led the way, mimicking Lin Qiu by picking up a branch. He swung it back and forth as they walked, sending broken twigs and leaves flying everywhere. Lin Qiu trailed behind, when suddenly a leaf fluttered toward his face.

He caught it on the fly, about to toss it aside, when he suddenly paused.

“Wait a moment.”

Lang Mo, who had been swinging his stick with gusto, heard the call and flung it from his hand; it flew straight into the thicket.

“Huh?”

Lin Qiu held up the triangular leaf. “This one—let’s look for it.”

Lang Mo glanced around and pointed casually to the side. “Aren’t they everywhere?” 

Lin Qiu: “Dig one up and take a look.”

Lang Mo ran over to retrieve the stick, his expression grave. “It’s a long itchy root. You can’t eat it.”