Chapter Bonanza (9/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The small river by the western cave wasn’t wide, and the wild grass had all scattered and was floating in the water.

Not far downstream, the beastmen had simply cut down the trees along the bank and laid them across the riverbed to prevent the wild grass from being carried away by the current. Lin Qiu estimated it would take four or five days for the grass to soak.

Lang Yan stood behind him, his gaze fixed on Lin Qiu’s ankles. His ankles were slender, and the straw shoes had worn deep, dark marks into the skin from prolonged use. Straw shoes tear easily; ones made of animal hide would likely hold up better.

On Wolf Mountain, a wolf’s howl rang out—slow and lingering. It was like clouds drifting leisurely across the sky after the Xue season, exuding a sense of peace and contentment.

The beastmen were calling everyone to dinner.

Before the howls had even faded, several beastmen burst out of a cave to the west, led by Lang Mo, and raced toward Wolf Mountain. 

Lang Yan: “…Let’s go.”

The riverbank was a slope; as Lin Qiu’s straw shoes touched it, his feet slowly slid downward. Just as he was about to shift his position to gain a better foothold, Lang Yan grabbed his arm.

“Don’t make them out of hay—they won’t last long. I’ll get you some animal hides when I get back.” Lin Qiu asked, “Do you still have any animal hides?”

Lang Yan Song shrugged, “I have enough to make you a few pairs of animal-skin shoes.”

The two were in no hurry; they strolled back to Wolf Mountain as if taking a leisurely walk. By then, most of the beastmen had already eaten their share of the meat soup. Today’s dish was snake soup; the tribe had run out of other seasonings, so they used only salt.

They hadn’t caught many snakes, so Lang An had mixed in other meats to cook with them. The beastmen rarely ate this dish, but even without any other seasonings, they savored it with relish. When Lin Qiu held up a bowl of snake soup, he saw that the meat looked no different from the others—in fact, its texture was even more tender.

But the moment he thought of what it must have looked like before it was skinned… Lin Qiu’s lips tightened, and he shifted away slightly.

“I can’t.”

Lang Yan, standing beside him, asked, “Can’t eat it?” Lin Qiu shook his head.

A mental block.

“If you won’t eat it, I will!” Lang Mo, standing nearby, leaned in, holding out his empty bowl, his eyes sparkling like gems. “I can eat it.”

Lang Yan: “…Mo.”

Lang Mo silently ducked his head, looking at Lin Qiu, then poked his empty bowl toward Lin Qiu again with his finger. Lin Qiu: “Go ahead and eat it.”

“Hey!” Lang Mo immediately scooped up Lin Qiu’s bowl and poured its contents into his own, scraping every last drop of broth clean. Defying Lang Yan’s glare, he whispered, “King, Qiu gave it to me. He offered it himself.”

After scraping it clean, he hugged the bowl to his chest and began eating.

The beastman standing a step behind him was eyeing it greedily; he was certain it would be snatched the moment he turned his back. The beastmen were disappointed, and sighs of regret swirled around them.

Seeing Lang Yan frown, Lin Qiu said casually, “Hasn’t that egg you carried back been touched yet?” Lang Yan looked down. Lin Qiu’s face was serene, his complexion clear, and his eyes bright. He didn’t seem the least bit reluctant. It seemed he truly didn’t like it.

He said, “It hasn’t been moved.” 

“Then can I eat it?” 

“You can eat as much as you want.”

They spoke in unison, their gazes meeting. A faint smile rippled across Lin Qiu’s eyes as he held up two slender fingers and waved them. “I’ll just take two.” Lang Yan replied, “That’s exactly what I found for you and the cubs.”

His gaze was direct and unguarded. His gray eyes were like a night sky illuminated by moonlight—serene and profound. A circle of beastmen stood nearby, listening without objection.

Lin Qiu: “Alright.”

Since it was his share, he might as well use it.

Snake soup is actually quite nourishing, and it should taste good, but Lin Qiu just couldn’t bring himself to eat it. He’d been forced to do too much in the past; now, he’d do whatever made him feel comfortable.

He kept dinner simple, just making some egg custards.

With a side of green vegetable salad, that was enough for a meal.

Lang Mo and Lang Xi finished eating early and came back to keep Lin Qiu company. They watched as the eggs—which were clearly diluted with water—were beaten, poured into the pot, and gurgled, only to solidify into a single clump.

The beastmen stared wide-eyed, looking dumbfounded. Lin Qiu: “Want to try some?”

“Yes!”

The three beastmen stood side by side. Lang Guo, having just washed the cub’s bowl, saw this, hobbled over, and leaned in.

“What are you tasting?”

Lin Qiu: “Egg custards.”

Lang Mo and the others knew their limits; they’d just eaten their fill and weren’t quite that ravenous yet. Each took a portion; the moment they took a sip, it slid right down their throats!

“Hey!” As if trying to call back the egg custard before it could be fully savored—he hadn’t even tasted it yet! Lang Guo sipped the egg custard and nodded. “It’s just right for the cubs.”

Lin Qiu: “All the eggs in the backpack are for the cubs.”

Lang Guo: “Then I’ll make it for them tomorrow. Teach me how to do it later.”

“Sure,” Lin Qiu agreed, his eyes clouding slightly as he looked at the three wolf-beastmen before him, their faces full of disappointment.

In his previous life, Lin Qiu had been forced to eat an egg every single day from childhood onward—even after work, he was supervised, and every aspect of his life—food, clothing, shelter, and daily routines—was strictly controlled, leaving him feeling suffocated.

He didn’t actually like eating them much.

That aside, eggs were indeed very easy to come by back then. But now, even eating an egg was a struggle for the beastmen.

A few beastmen were gathered around a bowl of egg custard, their mouths watering, looking miserable and pitiful…

In the distance, Lang Yan leaned against a low wall, his long legs slightly bent, letting his well-fed cubs climb all over him. He watched the few greedy-looking members of Lang Mo and his group.

With only two eggs, if he shared them with them, how much would be left for himself?

“King.” The cub sitting on his shoulder burped. Lang Yan lowered his gaze, his cheek brushing against the cub’s tiny body. “Say it again.” 

“King-woo!” The cub’s voice was soft and babyish, causing Lang Yan to nuzzle his chin against the cub.

“You can talk now.”

Lang Xue waved his paw. “Woo!”

Lang Yan: “If you want more eggs, ask Lang Guo to make them for you. Qiu is busy.”

Lang Xue tilted his head, looking at their King. He plopped his head against his face and wrapped his paws around his neck. “Sleepy.” 

Lang Yan cupped the pup’s back and cradled him in his arms.

Glancing down at the other cubs who’d been scrambling for a while without making it up, he scooped them up as well and cradled them in his arms. It was a good thing that the cub could speak now.

He gently pressed his fingertip against Lang Xue’s ear. This cub had lost its father before birth, and not long after it was born, its other father was gone as well.

Lang Yan cradled the cub’s little head in his palm and held it like that for a while. Only after hearing the cub’s deep, contented snores did he carry them back to their grass nest.

Eggs were a rare commodity; the beastmen would occasionally come across redbird eggs in the woods, but it was all a matter of luck. Lang Mo lay in the grass nest, his wolf legs tucked up, swaying back and forth like a human.

At the edge of the grass nest, Lang Xi squeezed in, pressed his snout against Lang Mo’s neck, and whispered, “Let’s go look for eggs tomorrow. I still want to eat some.” Lang Mo ran a paw over Lang Xi’s forehead. “Who doesn’t?” 

“There aren’t many red birds to begin with—how could we possibly find red bird eggs? King and the others brought them all the way from the swamp… that’s so far away…” 

“Let’s go to the swamp, too.”

Lang Mo looked at him quietly.

Lang Xi: “…Even if you look at me like that, I still want to eat one.”

Lang Mo: “I’ll go ask Qiu tomorrow; he always has a way.”  

“Hey, great!”

Lang Xi rolled into his own den and settled down as if asleep.

Lang Mo rolled over, rested his chin on the edge of his grass nest, and stared at Lin Qiu inside the cave. He thought it over and over: if he wanted to eat eggs, he’d have to go back to the Great Marsh—there were plenty there.

But the eggs weren’t easy to collect.

He wondered how Qiu managed to collect them…

Lang Mo wasn’t sure; his eyelids were too heavy, and with a snap, they closed as he began to snore. Lin Qiu was sleeping when, in the middle of the night, the cub crawled out of the nest again.

He heard a “chu, chu” sound but assumed the cub was just making random noises. He placed his paw over the cub’s head, tucked it into the animal hide, and fell asleep holding it.

Lang Xue nudged his hand with his snout, his moist eyes gazing quietly at him. He leaned in to lick Lin Qiu’s face, then curled up with his head pressed against the side of his neck.

“Qiu…”

Lin Qiu unconsciously patted the cub’s back and drifted back to sleep. Lang Yan watched this scene and thought of the other cubs in the cave.

There were others like Lang Xue, but they were a year younger and still too young to understand much.

No new pups had been born since the last winter season, and there were only a handful of paired beastmen in the tribe—beastmen reproduction was a major problem.

The hunting party consisted entirely of young and strong male beastmen, with more middle-aged ones as well—over sixty in total. Then there was Lang Shi’s guard unit, which also numbered over a dozen male beastmen.

The young wolves haven’t reached maturity yet, so they aren’t counted for now.

As for the sub-beastmen and female beastmen, there were only the twenty-odd members of the foraging party, plus a few Lang An who remained behind to guard the tribe.

Most of the sub-beastmen in the foraging party had partners, while the few sub-beastmen left behind at Wolf Mountain were already middle-aged; a few had lost their partners, and the rest had all passed away. 

Beastmen bond with only one partner for life; it’s unrealistic to expect them to find another.

Lang Yan swished his tail impatiently.

Where on earth were they supposed to find that many female beastmen and sub-beastmen for these fifty or sixty single male beastmen?

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Lin Qiu woke up to find that there was even more fur hanging from the edge of the grass nest next door.

He shifted the cub covering his face and picked up a tuft; the wolf hair swayed gently with his breath. Lang Yan seemed to be shedding more and more.

He gathered the wolf hairs into a ball and instinctively pulled them through the gap between the two grass nests. When he saw the ball of wolf hair nearly filling the bottom, he was puzzled.

“When did they shed so much?”

“Qiu.” The cub was also peering over the edge of the grass nest.

Lin Qiu heard clearly that it was calling his name. He lifted the cub up. “You can talk now?” “Qiu.” The cub was delighted and called out even louder.

Lin Qiu pinched the cub’s little ear. “Is that all you can say?”

The cub affectionately tilted its head back and licked his hand, prompting Lin Qiu to pinch its muzzle and tuck it inside his fur coat.

“Don’t lick everything—it’s dirty.”

There were too many clumps of wolf fur in the cracks of the grass nest, and it looked messy. He brought over a wicker basket and picked up all the clumps of wolf fur from the cracks, placing them in the basket. He set the wicker basket down next to the grass nest.

Lin Qiu stood there for a moment, watching. The cub poked its head out from under the animal-skin coat and stared at the basket of fur balls.

“Qiu!”

Lin Qiu pinched the cub’s little paw and corrected him, “Not ‘Qiu,’ it’s ‘ball.’”  

“Qiu.”

“Ball.”

“Qiu!”

Lin Qiu thought about how he’d plucked so much wolf fur from Lang Yan; just thinking about it made his ears itch. He fetched some dry grass to cover it up—after all, no one was going to go poking around anyway.

Lin Qiu cleaned out the crevice. Seeing that Lang Guo and the other pups weren’t in the cave, he took Lang Xue outside. The pups joined their companions and rolled around together, playing.

Their bellies were all bulging; they must have just eaten.

The beastmen were sprawled against the low wall, with a large bowl placed in front of them. The fish soup had meat on one side and broth on the other, and it smelled fishy.

The beastmen ate reluctantly; it was even harder than drinking herbal gruel.

Clearly, they’d eaten worse before.

“Qiu, come here,” said Lang An.

Lin Qiu walked over to the stove and saw there was still quite a bit left in the pot.

“No one’s eating it?”

Lang An sighed, “There’s nothing left. It just didn’t turn out right.”

Still, if it meant getting the beastmen to eat grilled fish one more time, he’d be happy to use up every last bit of seasoning.

“Is there nothing left at the priest’s place either?”

Lang An: “I didn’t dare ask.”

Lin Qiu: “I’ll go ask later.”