Lang Yan was one of the few beastmen in that group who maintained human form. Beside the blazing campfire, he stood like a silent stone monument.

His shoulders were broad, his back straight—ignoring his somewhat slender chest, his figure was still imposing—yet his spirit seemed to have collapsed under a heavy weight. A thousand-pound burden weighed upon him.

Lang Yan was too perceptive. Lin Qiu pressed his lips together, lowered his gaze, and fell silent, continuing to prepare his dinner.

“He” was the tribe’s outcast; no one trusted him.

Even if he was willing to lend a hand now, he was stuck on Wolf Mountain, powerless to do anything.

He had already revealed enough; it all depended on the tribe leader’s attitude. If suspicion arose, the day the truth came out would be the day he left—or died.

Lin Qiu thought that day couldn’t be far off.

He didn’t want to think about the future; his parents had uttered those two words a thousand times, and he loathed them. Just getting by was his current state of mind.

He thought that was just fine.

Dinner was late, and the beastmen looked particularly bedraggled today.

Fortunately, they managed to scrape together a decent meal, and when they collapsed into their grass nests, they fell asleep the moment they closed their eyes. Tonight should be a rare night of restful sleep.

Lin Qiu was still bringing up the rear as they entered the cave, where the sound of snoring rose and fell in waves.

The beastmen had no leisure or entertainment; only endless hunger and a night’s peaceful sleep after a rare, satisfying meal. Lin Qiu walked slowly past the grass nests and lay quietly on his own.

The night was deep and still, the wind carrying a hint of moisture. Before long, a light drizzle began to fall outside. Lin Qiu felt a chill. Half-asleep, he heard a rustling sound.

It was very close to him.

Something soft brushed against his hand, and Lin Qiu snapped his eyes open.

The last glimmer of light from the fire illuminated the cub that had crawled to the edge of his grass nest.

Pure white fur, and those same wet eyes.

Lin Qiu quickly pulled his hand back. The cub’s raised paw missed its mark, and it tumbled backward, landing headfirst and rolling around in the grass nest. Lin Qiu shifted back a little.

The cub whimpered, its paws sinking unevenly into the soft, springy nest, and ran toward Lin Qiu again.

Sensing the gaze behind him, Lin Qiu moved his hands even further away and turned to look. Lang Yan had woken up, his gaze fixed on the cub in his den.

Lin Qiu whispered, “He came here on his own.” 

Lang Yan glanced at him. “Mm.”

He rose to his feet—a towering figure, his body covered in thick, deep wolf fur, layer upon layer of it. Lin Qiu sat sideways in the grassy nest, looking up at him, unable to suppress a sense of dread.

The black wolf’s paw pads touched the ground without a sound as he moved closer, attempting to grasp the cub by the back of the neck.

Its massive head poked into the nest. Lin Qiu pressed his back tightly against the edge of the grass nest, yet it seemed as though he were cradling the wolf’s head in his arms.

The cub was mischievous and squirmed unhappily.

Lin Qiu heard a low, muffled growl, and then the cub settled down.

The palm-sized cub was obediently carried in his mouth, its paws curled up and tail tucked between them like a ball, as it was carried deep into the cave. The wolf-beastman guarding the cub had also woken up. Seeing the cub brought by Lang Yan, he couldn’t help but poke the cub on the forehead.

This wasn’t the first time it had run off.

Lang Yan returned to the grass nest and saw Lin Qiu lying down again, facing the inner part of the cave with his eyes closed. He was hugging his arms to his chest—he must be cold.

Lang Yan sighed softly to himself, turned back into the inner part of the cave, and emerged carrying a piece of animal hide in his mouth. Lin Qiu felt a weight on his body; the back of his hand brushed against soft fur.

Lin Qiu opened his eyes to find that Lang Yan had already walked into the adjacent grass nest. Under the gaze of those gray eyes, he gently pulled the animal hide up over his shoulders.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

Lang Yan closed his eyes and gave a gentle flick of his tail.

The pelt was just the right thickness, and Lin Qiu slept soundly wrapped in it until dawn.

Listening to the whimpering of the cub inside the den, he sat up, wrapped in an animal hide. His shoulder-length hair brushed against the tip of his nose, tickling him slightly. Lin Qiu brushed it aside a few times, only to find a small tuft of black fur in his palm.

It was about as long as a finger, jet-black all over, and somewhat coarse. Lin Qiu instinctively glanced at the grass nest next to him.

The cave was too dark to tell if there was any wolf fur inside.

The sky was overcast today; without sunlight, the wind outside felt cold. Lin Qiu ate breakfast, then ran into the priest’s cave to begin his busy day.

The priest always had a great many herbs here; among the piles of plants, there were far more than the usual dozen or so varieties. There were also many that not only Lin Qiu didn’t recognize, but even the priest had to examine closely.

There were not only plants but also mushrooms.

Lin Qiu watched as the priest picked a bright red mushroom and popped it into his mouth. “That’s poisonous,” Lin Qiu said. 

“Hmm,” the priest replied.

He ate it even though it was poisonous.

Lin Qiu noticed the old priest seemed intent on tasting every herb, and fearing the old beastman might accidentally poison himself, he suggested, “Perhaps you could keep a squeaker.”

The priest looked slightly annoyed, turning his face, which was as wrinkled as tree bark.

Lin Qiu said, “Let the small beasts try it first. If they don’t die from the poison, then you can eat it. That way, you won’t go meet the Beast God all at once.” The old priest stared at the mushroom in his hand for a long time, then set it down.

The tribe still needed him.

Lin Qiu looked away and continued cleaning the plants.

By noon, Lin Qiu began preparing his own lunch.

He didn’t like eating nothing but meat for a meal; a mix of meat and vegetables was less cloying.

Last night’s five pounds of meat had left over four pounds—he’d barely cut off a corner. Lin Qiu decided to make some meatballs.

But before that, he made a trip to the stream to retrieve the basket he’d set down there yesterday. A splash echoed through the calm waters.

Lin Qiu looked closely and saw only a few dried shrimp and fish, each no bigger than his little finger. He hooked the grass and gave it a shake; the basket tilted, yielding barely a handful.

Enough to make a meatball soup base.

With limited resources in the stream, Lin Qiu decided not to rely on this little stream anymore.

Fortunately, the earth ear mushrooms and wild garlic Lang Shi had given him yesterday went unused. The remaining meat was half-fat, half-lean, so he could render some fat from it; today’s meal should be tasty. As Lin Qiu sat before his stove, the beastmen lying on the ground quietly turned their heads, their gazes obscure as they stared in that direction.

Watching Lin Qiu slice the meat into thin strips and toss them on the stone slab, the beastmen thought to themselves, How could such a small amount of meat be enough to feed us?

But when Lin Qiu added the wild garlic, a powerful aroma filled the air. The beastmen couldn’t help but swallow hard, their eyes lighting up as they stared intently.

Lin Qiu first pan-fried the meat, then rendered some fat from the pork to fry small fish and shrimp, before pouring everything into a stone cooking pot to bring to a boil. He stood up, placed half the fried meat on a leaf, and set it down beside Lang Shi.

“As promised.”

After setting the food down, Lin Qiu returned to the stove. To make meatballs, he had to pound the meat to a pulp.

The clanging sounds came from Lin Qiu’s side again, but the beastmen couldn’t tear their attention away. They crawled along the ground at an extremely slow pace, inching closer to Lang Shi. Lang Shi was still torn.

He should have given it back to Lin Qiu, but the sub-beastman didn’t seem to think much of this small amount of food. On his gray-furred wolf face, he alternated between frowning and gritting his teeth.

Suddenly, his paw was poked. Lang Shi looked down.

Lang Mo: “Are you gonna eat it or not?” If not…

Lang Mo slowly reached out a paw. As his paw pad stung, Lang Shi extended his sharp claws. Lang Mo sulkily withdrew his paw.

Lang Shi looked up at the beastmen, their faces full of longing, and silently placed his two front paws on either side of the large leaf. Just as he was about to open his mouth…

“Slurp! Slurp, slurp…” 

“Gulp, gulp, gulp!!!”

Lang Shi shut his eyes tightly and withdrew his claws.

“Eat up.”

“Woof!” A dozen wolves, suppressing their growls, swarmed forward, instantly engulfing Lang Shi.

His face was twisted by the wolves’ claws, his paw was slapped by some starving beast, and his back was trampled countless times, but he managed to take advantage of the chaos.

In an instant, the food before him was swept clean.

As the beastmen dispersed, Lang Shi shook his head, and a tuft of gray fur he’d lost drifted slowly to the ground. He silently glanced at Lang Mo, who was licking a large leaf nearby.

Lang Mo twitched his ears, turned his back, and continued licking with a smacking sound. Lang Shi was so angry he nearly fell over.

Who was trying to steal his food!

Lin Qiu pounded the meat, hearing a commotion. When he looked up, the beastmen were still sprawled in their usual spots, but now they were all licking their paws. As if they still wanted more.

Lin Qiu withdrew his gaze.

The beastmen twitched their ears and gave their tails a quiet wag.

The water in the stone cooking pot was boiling, and a handful of fish and shrimp were churning in the bubbling broth. Though there wasn’t much, the broth remained rich and fragrant.

Lin Qiu shaped the pounded meat into balls and dropped them one by one into the water. About a dozen of them, each the size of a fish ball. As soon as the meat hit the water, the broth’s flavor became even richer.

The beastmen, still basking in the joy of having just snatched a bite of food, licked their lips and, like sunflowers, turned their heads in unison toward Lin Qiu. So fragrant, so fragrant, so fragrant…

So hungry, so hungry, so hungry!

How could Lin Qiu fail to notice such burning gazes?

But when he looked up, all the beastmen were staring intently at their own paws, with only one ear turned toward him. 

Lin Qiu: “……”

He added a handful of firewood to the stove.

He made no secret of how he did it; if the beastmen wanted to learn, they’d pick it up just by watching. But there was plenty of soup left in the pot…

Lin Qiu filled his own stomach first; half the soup remained in the pot, and half the meatballs were left. During this time, Lin Qiu felt like they were staring holes right through him. When he looked over again, the beastmen were still staring at their own paws.

A hint of a smile flashed across Lin Qiu’s eyes, but it vanished in an instant. Among the beastmen, he only recognized Lang Shi and Lang Mo. Lin Qiu: “Mo.”

“Woof!” Lang Mo snapped his head up, standing as straight as a giant black bamboo shoot. 

Lin Qiu: “This soup…”

“I want it! I want it! I want it!”

Lang Mo darted toward Lin Qiu like a whirlwind, reaching out with both hands toward the pot’s rim—only to pull them back quickly, wincing at the heat.

Glancing at Lin Qiu’s composed expression, Lang Mo suddenly remembered something, and his greed-induced recklessness gave way to reason.

He jerked back. “Don’t think that just because you’re feeding me, we’ll overlook the fact that you stole the food.”

The relaxed corners of Lin Qiu’s mouth slowly tightened as he lowered his eyelids. “If you don’t want it…”

“I’ll eat it!”

“I’m just reminding you that food can’t buy my loyalty.”

“I told you, I won’t do it again.” There was not a trace of emotion in Lin Qiu’s voice.

Perhaps Lang Mo, with his rare perceptiveness, subtly sensed Lin Qiu’s mood; he stared at the meatballs in the pot, shifting from one foot to the other, unable to stand still.

“No, as long as you don’t.”

Lin Qiu stood up. Lang Mo asked anxiously, “Can I still eat?”  

“It’s up to you.”

Lin Qiu walked away from the stove.

This spot had no shelter and wasn’t suitable for a cooking fire; he needed to find a new location. Lin Qiu glanced again at the sunburn marks on his body—he still had to make some clothes.

Lin Qiu had walked a good distance away, and Lang Mo sat down where he had been standing. The food was right in front of him, but he didn’t seem as… as… as happy as he had been when he’d been fighting over the meat earlier.

Lang Mo rarely thought things through. By the time he snapped back to reality, several beastmen were already poking at the food with sticks.

“Mine!”

Don’t you dare steal it, you bastards!

If I keep thinking about this, I won’t get any!

It was night again when the hunting and gathering party returned.