No sooner had Lin Qiu nodded than Lang An grabbed him and ran off.

Lang Guo had just finished washing the clay cooking pot when he saw them running toward the priest’s cave. He hurried after them and asked, “Where are you going?”

Lang An: “To check on the cubs.”

“Oh!” Lang Guo hurried back to the cave. Seeing the cubs crawling out, he grabbed a fur pouch, picked them up one by one, packed them in, and ran out with them.

Now that the weather had warmed up, the cubs were getting more and more active.

Once they woke up, they didn’t just stay in their grass nests.

Curious about what Lin Qiu and the others were up to, Lang Guo decided to take the pups along to the Priest’s Cave.

When it comes to the beastmen’s food supply, that’s the tribe’s biggest concern.

Lin Qiu spent the entire afternoon in the Priest’s Cave, catching up on his schoolwork while he was there, while Lang An and Lang Guo left the tribe early to begin making preparations.

According to Qiu’s plan, there are three tasks that need to be done in the fields right now.

The first is thinning and replanting the seedlings; the second is digging drainage ditches; and third, applying fertilizer.

Thinning and replanting the seedlings, along with digging drainage ditches, needed to be scheduled for an overcast day. The priest predicted this would happen no later than the day after tomorrow, so they needed to prepare the manpower and tools in advance.

Qiu also provided several methods for making tools. Whether using wooden sticks, animal bones, or stones, the beastmen found them all troublesome; they were more comfortable using their claws.

This saved time on tool-making.

Fertilizing, however, was a bit of a hassle.

They did have some wood ash, and Qiu said that would work too. The most fertile option was fermented animal manure. 

Manure?

The beastmen shook their heads at the suggestion.

Without manure, the wolf beastmen would quietly find a secluded spot to relieve themselves. Now that there were so few animals in the territory, where could they possibly find any?

And it had to be fermented… Lin Qiu said it would take at least several months to kill off the insect eggs and bacteria inside—there was no way they could manage that in time.

‌The only option was wood ash, of which their tribe had plenty.

Lin Qiu merely offered suggestions and participated in the decision-making. After spending another drowsy afternoon studying in the priest’s cave, the next day, it was time to fire the kiln.

After a comfortable nap, Lin Qiu finally felt refreshed.

He’d gone to bed early last night, so he woke up at the slightest sound this morning.

Lin Qiu opened his eyes and sat up from his nest, only to see Lang Yan putting on an animal skin skirt.

Beastmen have broad shoulders and narrow waists; the lean muscles honed by hunting are quite beautiful, but waking up to find him naked, Lin Qiu silently blushed.

Lang Yan paused for a moment, then tied the animal skin skirt in place with a few quick movements.

“Did you sleep?”

Lin Qiu: “Mm.”

Seeing him blush a little, he thought: Maybe it’s just a sub-beastman thing—showing a little skin should be pretty normal.

He pulled back the animal skin and got up too.

“When’s the kiln opening?” Lang Yan asked.

Lin Qiu yawned, his soft, unbrushed hair brushing against Lang Yan’s arm—smooth as ever.

Lin Qiu walked out alongside him.

Lin Qiu: “Probably this afternoon.”

We’re going to the priest’s place this afternoon.

“Do you guys want to watch? If you do, we’ll wait for you to come back.”

Lang Yan hadn’t even spoken yet, but dozens of pairs of eyes in the cave were staring at him intently; Lang Yan felt as if his back were on fire.

Lang Yan: “Alright. We’ll try to get back as early as possible.”

Lang Yan was nearly a head taller than him, with broad shoulders. Lin Qiu studied his face in the morning light.

His features were sharply defined, but his eyes were the most striking.

His gray eyes resembled the sky just before dawn, tinged with a faint blue. It was as if a few stars were scattered within them, emitting a faint, ethereal glow.

Lin Qiu met his gaze, and a vision of a naked beastman flashed through his mind.

He turned his head away, a hint of panic in his eyes.

Lang Yan noticed his ears turning pink and clenched his jaw slightly, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Just then, Lang Bing came by and said the priest was calling him, so he left immediately.

Lin Qiu let out a soft sigh.

After finishing his meal, Lin Qiu went to the priest’s quarters to study.

Lang Mo and the others were crouched at the entrance to the priest’s cave, their heads resting on their paws, nearly covering the entire platform outside the cave.

Pairs of eyes stared intently into the cave, their paws occasionally scratching at the ground, leaving behind scratches and dust. 

They were very anxious!

They could have just opened the kiln right now, but with Lin Qiu here, they felt reassured.

But waiting until the afternoon was too agonizing, so they lay in wait outside the Priest’s cave.

The old Priest glanced outside, swapped the animal hide in his hand, and continued teaching Lin Qiu.

“Red birds are found in nearly every forest across the Beast God Continent. They’re medium-sized, with average-quality meat. They lay eggs twice a year—once after the winter season and once after the rainy season—with three to seven eggs per clutch. The shells are greenish with spots…”

“Back when Red Birds were most abundant, Lin Zi used to see them flying in flocks—the sky would be so dark with them that you could have thrown a stone and hit one. They were the first choice for training young hunters to catch flying prey…”

As the priest spoke, he brought over the single Red Bird left over from the tribe. As for the other one, which was half-dead, it had long since been killed and eaten by the beastmen.

As Lin Qiu listened to the priest’s hands-on explanation, he poked the red bird, which was still twitching on the wooden plank.

The red bird tasted like chicken.

Its feathers were vibrant, shimmering with a kaleidoscope of red hues in the sunlight.

“Priest, we have no food right now. Why keep so many red birds?”

Priest: “A beastman can eat one in a single bite—not even enough to fill their stomach. How many would it take to feed an entire tribe?”

Lin Qiu stroked the bird’s beak and nearly got pecked.

The priest grabbed the bird’s head and gave it a sharp tap; the red bird settled back down obediently.

It looked quite docile, but it was still a fierce creature. 

Actually, given the current state of the Beast God Continent, relying on it to naturally produce enough animals to feed the beastmen is unlikely to be achieved in the short term; ultimately, they’ll have to resort to farming and cultivation.

Lin Qiu understood all this now, laying the groundwork for the future.

After all, his mind was completely blank regarding everything on the Beast God Continent.

Lin Qiu stayed here all afternoon, filling his head with knowledge, then went off to process it on his own.

Lang Mo and the others knew they had to wait for the other beastmen to return before firing up the kiln, so they continued to lie in wait at a distance. Every so often, they’d open their eyes to check on him; or they slept soundly.

Lin Qiu opened his eyes once more and locked gazes with the pack of wolves across from him.

Lin Qiu: “Shall we go dig for yams?”

The beastmen: “Let’s go!”

Once they’d settled in, they couldn’t help but want to dig open the kiln right away.

Lin Qiu slung the wolf-hide backpack Lang An had made for him over his shoulders; it fit perfectly. The two straps were made of wide, tanned animal hide, and they dug into his shoulders just a little.

Lang Shi stayed behind at the tribe, while Lang Mo, Lang Xi, and the other six members of the first squad of the guard unit all came along.

‌Heading into the woods, it was a bit brighter than usual.

The nearby trees were covered with vines, which the beastmen were ordered to tear down completely to make fish traps.

The ground, along with the torn-off leaves, had been sun-cured until they were curled up; they rustled with every step.

In the past, the beastmen had dug for itch-relief roots, so yam vines were everywhere. Lin Qiu searched for the largest ones; once he pinpointed a spot, he began digging.

Lang Xi and Lang Mo helped him on either side, while the other six beastmen paired up in twos to search for yam vines on their own.

The topsoil was loose and crumbled at the slightest dig. The deeper they went, the harder it became.

With a snap, Lin Qiu’s stick broke.

Lang Mo dug his claws into the ground, leaving a deep gash. He looked at where Lin Qiu was digging, eager to try, “Qiu! Move aside, let us do it.”

Realizing their racial instincts had been stirred, the other wolf beastmen grew excited as well.

Lin Qiu stepped aside; even the densest soil crumbled like crumbly tofu under the wolf’s claws.

Behind him, Lang Xi helped push aside the dug-up earth. With the two wolf beastmen working in tandem, there was little need for him.

Lin Qiu simply slung his basket over his back and moved to four different spots.

“Qiu! We’ve hit something here!” Whenever they dug to a shallow depth, the beastmen would call out to him.

Lin Qiu was in charge of pulling the yams out, while the beastmen moved on to another spot and dug with renewed enthusiasm.

He didn’t really know what “enthusiasm” meant—it was just curiosity. There were still so many treasures hidden beneath the vines.

“Qiu!”

“Got it.”

“Qiu! There are so many here!”

“Qiu! What if it breaks?”

“Qiu!”

Lin Qiu carefully pulled out a whole yam as tall as him, looked up at the ground, and said, “Here!”

The beastmen were fully immersed in the joy of digging for yams. They’d saved their energy by eating some fish for lunch—they’d originally planned to use it to fire up the kiln—but now they were happily digging up the yam vines with gusto.

The four groups of beastmen were scattered far apart, and excited “woof-woof” cries echoed from time to time.

Lin Qiu’s backpack was already full.

By the time his stomach started growling and his vision began to darken, he looked up and realized it was nearly dusk.

“Qiu!”

Outside, many pairs of green eyes were watching—the beasts of Wolf Mountain had found him.

Lin Qiu: “Over here!”

As soon as he spoke, he heard the hurried footsteps of the beastmen brushing against the grass on the ground. Before long, the scene before him cleared.

Lin Qiu was surprised—it was Lang Yan.

“You’ve returned.”

Lang Yan watched him stuff long, itchy roots into the basket. Glancing around, he tore off a vine and helped tie up the rest.

The eight beastmen had been digging so intently they’d forgotten about the kiln. The yams were piled high—at least three hundred pounds.

And this was just what the beastmen had dug up while starving.

Lang Yan crouched down, tied the yams securely, and hoisted them onto his shoulder.

Lin Qiu followed behind him, calling out “Lang Mo” into the dim forest, receiving a “woof” in response.

It wasn’t until they left the woods and could see clearly that they realized the eight beastmen had been carried out by another beastman.

While digging, he hadn’t felt it, but now his paws were trembling.

“Lang Qiu! Open the kiln!” Lang Mo only remembered the important task after they’d left the woods.

Lin Qiu looked at Lang Yan.

Lang Yan: “It’s almost dark. We need to hurry.”

He was close to Lin Qiu and knew exactly what was going on.

Lin Qiu’s two hands were pitch black, his eyes gleaming. His breathing was slightly labored, and his steps were as heavy as if he were treading through a swamp.

He was exhausted.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! King! We want it! We want it! We’ve all been waiting all day!” The beastmen, who had been too weak moments ago, now howled so loudly it was deafening.

Knowing what was happening over here, the beastmen on the edge of Wolf Mountain heard the cries and howled back twice.

In a moment, as if it were a game, the howls rose and fell in waves.

“Woof!”

“Woof-woof-woof!!!”

Lang Yan frowned and glared at Lang Mo.

The beastman turned his head away, his ears pressed flat against his forehead—he was scared! They were about to fire up the kiln!

Lin Qiu: “Let’s do it now.”

Lang Yan: “Alright.”

After a few more howls, the beastmen had already gathered in front of the kiln. Lin Qiu was still carrying the yams; he told Lang Yan to carry them over with one hand and put them back on Wolf Mountain first.

Lin Qiu washed his hands and followed him over.

The beastmen had all gathered; seeing Lang Yan and Lin Qiu approach, they automatically made way. Lang Mo and the others, who had been too weak moments ago, were now eagerly waiting at the kiln entrance, just waiting for Lin Qiu’s orders.

Lin Qiu: “Go ahead. Just be careful.”

It had been two days and two nights; it should be ready.