Earth ear mushrooms are commonly found after rain; they taste similar to wood ear mushrooms, with a slight earthy flavor.

When Lin Qiu was a child, he used to eat earth ear mushrooms stir-fried with eggs at his grandparents’ house, and thinking about it now still makes his mouth water. However, they are extremely difficult to clean and easily get covered in mud and sand.

Under the circumstances, he was just glad to have something to eat and wasn’t picky. He set the wild onions aside and gathered all the wood ears.

Large leaves used by the beastmen to wrap meat were everywhere, so Lin Qiu used them to wrap the mushrooms and took them all back with him.

He made no attempt to hide it. The beastmen at the foot of Wolf Mountain had originally resented his comings and goings, but when they saw the black thing he was holding, a touch of sympathy stirred in their hearts.

They don’t eat this stuff.

To fill their stomachs, the beastmen tried everything they could get their hands on—whether it was edible or not.

Most of the other things they avoided only after getting stomachaches from eating them. This black thing didn’t cause any problems after eating, and there was plenty of it around, but its texture was strange—it felt like eating a mouthful of sand—so everyone ruled it out as food.

Lin Qiu, clutching the ingredients he’d gathered, stepped over several wolves lying on the grass. The wolves’ heads, like signposts, turned to follow him as he changed direction.

They were all staring at him.

By the stream, Lin Qiu set down the ingredients first, not rushing to clean them.

He currently lacked containers to hold things, as well as cooking utensils.

Since setting out a few days ago, aside from making meat soup once using a priest’s clay pot, he’d been grilling meat the rest of the time.

Now he needed to build a makeshift earthen stove—one that could both pan-fry meat on a stone slab and simmer soup. He also needed to weave some baskets to make it easier to carry supplies while foraging. Flat stone slabs were easy to find, but ones suitable for making pots were hard to come by.

Lin Qiu first used stones mixed with mud to build an earthen stove beside his fire. After letting it dry, he walked from the upper reaches of the stream to the lower reaches, turning over dozens of stones before finally finding a slab of rock and a stone of suitable size with a slight indentation in the center.

Lin Qiu set the slab aside after cleaning it, then picked up a slightly harder pebble and began striking the concave part of the other stone. A beastman nearby pricked up his ears, the sound giving him a splitting headache.

Seeing Lin Qiu banging stone against stone as if he’d gone mad with hunger, the beastman clamped his claws over his ears and tucked his snout under his furry tail.

The usually quiet Wolf Mountain echoed with the clanging sounds all afternoon. Persistence paid off, and the basketball-sized stone cooking pot was finally completed. Placed on the now-dry hearth, it fit perfectly.

Lin Qiu glanced at the blistered skin on his hand but didn’t rush to pop it. Instead, he carried the stone cooking pot to the stream, grabbed a rock, and ground it against the pot to remove the surface grit.

The process of pounding the stone cooking pot broke a few pieces of stone, sending shards flying. Lin Qiu picked up a few suitable fragments to use as stone knives. He then cut some tough grass and vines and quickly wove a simple basket.

With everything ready, Lin Qiu began washing the wild garlic and earth ear mushrooms.

The water in the small stream beside the cave was particularly clear and crisp; the beastmen usually drew their water from this stream. The water was sweet, and everyone drank it straight from their cupped hands.

He poured the earth ear mushrooms into the basket and let them soak in the running water, allowing the current to filter them for a while. Meanwhile, Lin Qiu washed the wild garlic he had on hand. If they had meat tonight, he would make a stir-fry of wild garlic and earth ear mushrooms with meat.

Lin Qiu kept his head down, focused on his task. By the time he had rinsed the earth ear mushroom for the third time, the beastmen who had gone out hunting had all returned.

Today’s catch wasn’t large, and the fur wasn’t as light in color as that of the previous curved horn beast. The beastmen skinned the animals immediately; once tanned, the hides would be used for warmth.

Although there were two animals, they were small, so each person received only a small portion of meat.

The tribe’s beastmen surged over to the bonfire. As the flames blazed, the dimly lit surroundings were filled with their gloomy faces. Many clutched their stomachs and staggered about, looking just like the zombies in post-apocalyptic movies.

Lin Qiu, who already had a small appetite among the beastmen, was still going hungry. These wolf-beastmen ate only a single piece of meat a day; it was obvious that it was merely enough to keep them alive.

Lin Qiu lowered his gaze, looking at the earth ear washed by the flowing water, and lifted the basket.

Water trickled down the crevices. The beastmen who had come to the stream to wash saw the earth ears in his basket, frowned briefly, and hurried away. Lin Qiu avoided them and walked over to sit by his own campfire.

The night breeze made the flames flicker. Lin Qiu picked up a few burning logs and placed them in the hearth. He first boiled a pot of water in the stone cooking pot, then poured it out and refilled it with stream water to continue heating.

Before long, the bustle around the campfire died down.

Lang Mo walked over and handed him today’s portion of meat. It was a lean cut, half the amount he’d received before.

Lang Mo’s gaze lingered on the stove in front of him. He said nothing, held his breath, and hurried away as far as he could. With so little meat today, he feared that smelling the meat Lin Qiu was cooking would only make him hungrier.

With so little meat, most of the beastmen had only taken a quick bite to taste it before it was gone. Wolf Mountain once again fell into a silent atmosphere—no beastmen playing, no beastmen laughing or joking.

The beastmen soon dispersed, leaving only Lin Qiu and a handful of others at the foot of Wolf Mountain.

Lean meat doesn’t render much fat, so today’s stir-fry of wild garlic and earth ear mushrooms with meat was far less flavorful than usual. But there were plenty of vegetables, and he was able to eat his fill—a rare occurrence. Just as Lin Qiu was placing the earth ear mushroom on the stone slab, a beastman strode over, looking menacing.

It seemed as though he had come to seek revenge.

Lin Qiu stopped stirring and looked up, recognizing the beastman who often lay at the foot of the mountain during the day. His face was dark, as if he were about to kick over his stove.

Lin Qiu’s gaze was cold as he watched silently.

The beastman took long strides and stopped a short distance away. Suddenly, he hurled something into Lin Qiu’s lap.

After throwing it, he warned, “If we catch you helping other beastmen steal food again, you won’t be allowed to stay in the tribe.” Before Lin Qiu could say a word, the beastman had already entered the large cave.

Lin Qiu frowned and slowly lowered his eyelids.

The flames roared fiercely; even with the fire, it was still rather cold out here.

Lin Qiu chose not to dwell on the beastman’s earlier actions and was about to continue frying the meat when he caught sight of the object the beastman had just thrown at him. He picked it up and examined it; it was pitch-black and hard as a rock—a piece of jerky.

His eyes flickered slightly as he realized that the beastman’s earlier menacing demeanor hadn’t been meant to warn him, but to offer a gesture of goodwill.

It really was just like the old priest’s action. Lin Qiu set the jerky down and didn’t move.

He had only cut half the meat, so he prepared a stir-fry as planned.

However, the earth ear—which he’d originally intended to use only half of—had prompted him to use the entire portion.

He first filled his stomach, drank the lukewarm water from the stone cooking pot, and then went to the stream to wash up. Next, he wrapped the remaining half of the meat on the stone slab in a large leaf and carried it into the cave.

The wilderness was silent, with the chirping of insects echoing from all directions.

The wind rustled through the trees, and Lin Qiu, feeling the fullness in his stomach, let out a soft yawn. Upon entering the cave, he spotted the beastman who had just given him the jerky among a pack of wolves.

It was a gray wolf; the beastmen seemed to call him Lang Shi.

Instead of heading straight for his grass nest as usual, Lin Qiu stopped at the edge of Lang Shi’s nest, clutching the object in his hand. This unusual behavior caused the beastmen who were still awake to look up in surprise.

Stared at by dozens of wolf eyes, Lin Qiu remained unfazed.

Lang Shi didn’t know what he was up to; his wolfish face slowly grew fierce. 

Lin Qiu: “I won’t.”

Lang Shi’s sharp eyes widened in confusion; he didn’t get it.

Lin Qiu looked at the gray wolf’s slightly bewildered expression and said, “I won’t steal food anymore.” 

Lang Shi growled, “Good to know.”

Lin Qiu placed the food in his hand by the wolf’s den. “I made too much. Thanks for the jerky.”

“I don’t want it. You keep it…”

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Qiu had already left the grass nest.

Lang Shi stared at the bulging bundle of leaves by the den, his nose catching whiffs of a faint fragrance. It was quite different from the simple scent of pan-fried meat, mixed with a strange yet alluring aroma.

Food was precious; as a male beastman, how could he possibly eat the food of a sub-beastman?

He had said he wouldn’t eat it…

Lang Shi closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep.

Few beastmen had seen Lin Qiu foraging for earth ears. Judging by the object wrapped in that large leaf, only a faint scent of meat could be detected. A wolf beastman would never take advantage of a weaker sub-beastman.

Everyone swallowed hard, then tucked their heads under their fur, paws pressed against their empty stomachs, forcing themselves to sleep. Lin Qiu paid no mind to whether he ate or not; he tiptoed past the large black wolf with his eyes closed and crawled into his own den.

He was full and had been busy all day; he’d even forgotten to pop the blisters on his hands. He sank into the grassy nest and fell asleep almost immediately.

Food was scarce, and going hungry was a common occurrence for the beastmen of the Wolf Tribe. As long as they held out a little longer, they might just get to eat more meat the next day or the day after.

But for some reason, this night was particularly agonizing.

Wolf-beastmen have a keen sense of smell; the faint, wispy scent in the cave was barely there, yet they managed to pick it up. For Lang Shi, who was closest to it, the wait was even more agonizing.

He dreamed of lying amidst a pile of meat; in his dream, the meat smelled exceptionally delicious. He opened his mouth to bite into it—he could feel his teeth sink in—but the more he ate, the hungrier he was.

Lang Shi rolled over, kicked his legs restlessly, and let his head dangle outside the grass nest. His nose brushed against the large leaf, and he sniffed it instinctively.

Somehow, as his snout poked and prodded, he pushed the leaf aside, and the scent wafted straight into his dream. He opened his mouth and bit down again—this time, he had a firm grip on the meat.

So fragrant, so delicious…

Rustle, rustle. Lang Shi had finally managed to dream of a full belly and was stuffing himself voraciously. But why was there grass mixed in with the meat?

Lang Shi jolted awake, shook his wolfish head, and looked at the large leaf in front of him—which he had licked clean and was now covered in drool—feeling a pang of guilt. He instinctively glanced around.

Beside him, Lang Mo stared at him intently, his eyes glowing green, drool hanging from his mouth in a long string. Lang Shi’s face went stiff.

Lang Mo gave a low snort, rolled over, and sulkily went back to starving.

Lang Shi looked at the leaf, now punctured with several holes from his teeth. Embarrassed, he scratched at it with his paw and hid it beneath the grass nest. He quietly lay back down in the nest, then licked his lips with a hint of lingering satisfaction.

There wasn’t much meat, but mixing it with grass actually made it taste this good. And those slimy wood ears—they actually had a meaty flavor too.

Although he felt embarrassed for having refused the food earlier only to eat it now, it was just so delicious…

Lang Shi licked his lips again.

Lang Mo heard every sound clearly and pressed his hand firmly against his rumbling stomach. He wasn’t jealous at all!

He wasn’t hungry at all!

Lang Mo couldn’t help but tilt his head back to sniff the lingering aroma in the cave. Realizing how pathetic he looked, he quickly covered his snout with his paw to hide it.

Black-skinned vegetables—tomorrow he’d go find some black-skinned vegetables!

That night, Lin Qiu slept soundly.