Chapter 16
The two teams from the Black Wolf Tribe met at the border between the two tribes’ territories.
When the sub-adults heard Lang Yan tell them to deliver the curved-horned beasts to the Snow Wolf Tribe, they were originally very happy. After all, they had just eaten the Snow Wolf Tribe’s food, and at this moment, they were very willing to have contact with the Snow Wolf Tribe.
But the moment they took over the curved-horned beasts, the faces of the entire group of sub-adults changed on the spot.
Curved-horned beasts ran fast, had good endurance, and male curved-horned beasts would even turn around and attack beastmen. But curved-horned beasts had two advantages: they were numerous, and they were large.
The two Lang Qi had brought over were medium-sized curved-horned beasts. One weighed about as much as four or five adult wolves combined. Five sub-adults carrying two of them was simply impossible.
Lang Yan swept his gaze over them and picked out the few sub-adults who had followed over to watch the excitement. “You go help.”
The Snow Wolf Tribe had not attacked the sub-adults before. Now that they were bringing food over, they would be even less likely to do anything. Lang Yan was very at ease, so he only left the sub-adults behind.
After speaking, Lang Yan looked around warningly. “If you get lost again, don’t bother coming back.”
Being scattered by prey and getting lost was understandable. But if they could still get lost while delivering prey, then they really could not be kept. This was the first time he had seen tribe members get lost and somehow find their way to another tribe’s settlement.
Hearing this, the group of sub-adult black wolves lowered their heads and stared at the ground.
Mm. This snow was really white.
Lang Yan was too lazy to scold them any further and brought the adult black wolves, who had been running around searching for sub-adults until now, back to the tribe.
Once the chief left, the group of sub-adult black wolves dawdled in place for a while. Then they looked at one another, split into two teams, and lifted the curved-horned beasts.
The few missing sub-adults had eaten until they were stuffed. Not only had they run for an entire day, they had just sprinted in one breath from the Snow Wolf Tribe’s settlement to this place. Their physical strength was nearly exhausted. The other group of sub-adults had not been as miserable, but they were not much better. They had been too busy watching the excitement to eat more than a few bites, and in the end, they had become part of the excitement themselves. As a result, the entire team moved slowly.
On the other side, the Snow Wolf Tribe’s sub-adults were also hurrying along.
They only carried one basket of food on their backs and had not done much activity during the day. At this moment, they were full of energy and could almost be called flying.
In the end, the sub-adults of the two tribes met not far from the border between their territories.
When both sides saw each other, their eyes held undisguised delight.
The sub-adult snow wolves were thinking: Two curved-horned beasts. Once they brought them back, they could have Lang Shuo teach them how to make something delicious. It was still early now. After they returned, they absolutely had to have an extra meal.
The sub-adult black wolves were thinking: After walking most of the way around, their stomachs happened to feel a little empty. It seemed they could still eat a bit more.
The exchange between a group of sub-adults was not filled with guardedness and probing like the confrontation between chiefs. It was entirely sincere happiness.
They happily exchanged supplies, and the two teams of sub-adults each returned to their own homes.
There were eight sub-adults from the Snow Wolf Tribe. Four people carried one curved-horned beast. Although it was somewhat strenuous, the moment they thought of the food they had eaten recently, they became full of motivation.
The sub-adult black wolves were equally full of energy. The food in the back basket gave off waves of fragrance. After separating from the snow wolves, they impatiently reached in to take some.
In any case, there was so much food. Eating a little would not be discovered.
Sub-adults were at the age of growth. Beastmen at this age had even larger appetites than adult wolves. One or two bites of food meant nothing to them. By the time the group of sub-adults realized they needed to reach their arms down into the basket, more than half of the full basket of food had already been eaten by them.
The sub-adults, who had been walking while eating, stopped and looked at one another.
One sub-adult black wolf tentatively asked, “If we tell the chief that the Snow Wolf Tribe only gave us this much…”
The other sub-adults looked at him, their eyes clearly saying: Do you think the chief will believe that?
The chief definitely would not believe it. There had never been anything they could hide from the chief. The sub-adults walked down the mountain dejectedly.
The Black Wolf Tribe also lived in caves. Unlike the Snow Wolf Tribe, they had lived in this territory for more than ten years, and the caves had already expanded to the surrounding mountain. Almost every family had an independent cave.
At this moment, Lang Yan and the other adult wolves were eating. After returning from the hunt, they had rushed out to find the missing sub-adults without eating a single mouthful of food. The group of adult wolves were also very tired, and their eating speed was much slower than usual.
When the sub-adults appeared in sight, the most excited people were none other than their parents.
The lifespan of wolves was generally around fifty years. Wolves over forty had physical strength far inferior to that of young and strong wolves and could only stay behind in the settlement. Naturally, they could not be allowed to go search for missing wolves in another tribe’s territory, so they had been waiting in the tribe the entire time.
Even though Lang Yan had said the sub-adults were not injured and had only not returned because they had something to do, they were still extremely worried. Only now, seeing the group of sub-adults return healthy and well, did they finally relax.
The wolves who felt sorry for the sub-adults gathered around them. Just as they were about to say something, they suddenly noticed something was wrong.
The black wolf closest to them wondered, “Why does it smell so good?”
“What did you eat?”
They had originally thought this group of sub-adults would come back hungry and had already prepared food for them. Only when they got closer did they discover that the dozen or so sub-adults all had oily shine at the corners of their mouths, as if they had just eaten their fill.
It was understandable that the sub-adults who had returned once before had oily mouths. After all, before following Lang Qi out, they had eaten quite a lot. But what was going on with the few missing sub-adults? They had never heard of lost wolves returning with full stomachs before.
Just as the group of wolves found this strange, one sub-adult burped in front of them.
There was no helping it. He had eaten too much in the Snow Wolf Tribe and had eaten quite a bit along the way too. He really could not hold it back.
Lang Yan sat at the foot of the mountain, his expression calm. He was holding a piece of roasted meat and shaving it casually with a knife. Hearing the movement, he raised his head and looked toward the sub-adults. His tone had no fluctuation. “What are you carrying?”
Hearing Lang Yan’s voice, the surrounded sub-adults involuntarily took a step back. However, even if they ran, they could not escape. They could only dawdle forward.
The sub-adults obediently placed the back basket in front of Lang Yan.
There was one-third of the food left inside. One could tell it was all meat, but it looked different from what their tribe ate. It had been cut smaller, and some pieces looked especially broken up.
Lang Yan’s expression sank slightly.
The Snow Wolf Tribe usually ate these things?
Was it because there was too little food that the young wolf was so thin?
Thinking of that timid young wolf, Lang Yan could not help frowning. The young wolf looked very similar to the Snow Wolf Tribe’s chief, so they should be brothers. Even with that relationship, the young wolf could still go hungry. It seemed that the Snow Wolf Tribe truly did not have much food.
The sub-adults, who had been secretly observing his expression, thought the chief was dissatisfied because they had secretly eaten. Their hearts trembled, and they collectively took a few steps back.
Only then did Lang Yan withdraw his thoughts and turn his gaze to them. “Are you full?”
The sub-adults nodded.
Full, full, they were full.
When they realized Lang Yan was staring at them, the group of sub-adults finally noticed a problem. It seemed they had confessed without being asked and directly admitted to stealing food. They hurriedly shook their heads.
To their surprise, Lang Yan did not cling to this matter. His tone remained calm. “You worked hard. Go rest.”
The group of sub-adult black wolves did not move. Instead, they observed Lang Yan’s expression, attempting to obtain useful information from it. At the very least, they wanted to know whether Lang Yan was in a good mood or not. This would determine whether they would receive one beating or several beatings next.
However, all their brains put together were not as useful as Lang Yan’s. After staring for a long while, they did not see anything.
Suddenly, one sub-adult had a flash of inspiration and tried to claim credit from Lang Yan. “Chief, this food is very delicious. Try it. It’s really good.”
The other sub-adults nodded desperately, proving that what he said was correct.
They believed that as long as the chief ate this food, he would definitely understand them.
Lang Yan looked at the sub-adults before him, who were beginning to grow excited again, and asked, “Is that your reason for casually eating food from an unfamiliar tribe?”
As soon as these words came out, the sub-adults abruptly realized what mistake they had made.
The Black Wolf Tribe had a rule: do not eat food from unfamiliar tribes. After all, food was precious to every tribe. Very few beastmen would share food with members of other tribes. If they did, it was very likely they wanted something.
However, because of the tribe’s habits, aside from the fixed market time each year, the Black Wolf Tribe rarely interacted with other tribes. Their relationship with the surrounding tribes could not be called bad, but it was not close either. They had never encountered something like another tribe taking the initiative to give them food. Normally, the adult black wolves in the tribe did not keep this rule on their lips.
When they had arrived at the Snow Wolf Tribe today, the sub-adults had been so hungry they were nearly hallucinating, so naturally, they had not thought of this matter. Later, when they saw the food the Snow Wolf Tribe brought over, they had only been happy and had long thrown all of that to the back of their minds.
Now, hearing the chief bring it up, the group of sub-adults guiltily lowered their heads.
Lang Yan scolded them a few times. Seeing as this was their first time making such a mistake, he did not punish them. “This must not happen again.”
The sub-adults hurriedly agreed. There absolutely would not be a next time!
In the future, they would definitely not eat food from an unfamiliar tribe!
Lang Yan waved his hand and told them to return to their caves, lest looking at them any longer make his mood even worse.
The sub-adults felt as if they had been granted amnesty and finally dared to breathe normally. They ran over to the other sub-adults to show off.
There were more than twenty sub-adults in the Black Wolf Tribe in total. Aside from the five who had gotten lost and the few who had gone to watch the excitement, the rest were still in the tribe.
The sub-adults who had eaten the Snow Wolf Tribe’s food shared their discovery.
The sub-adults who had not eaten listened more and more greedily, regretting that they had not followed along to watch the excitement. Otherwise, they would have gotten to eat too.
As they were talking, one sub-adult who was praising the food suddenly asked, “There’s still food left. The chief won’t throw it away, will he?”
The other sub-adults immediately stopped talking and looked at the one who had spoken. There was indeed still quite a bit of food in that container called a back basket. If it were thrown away, that would be too much of a pity.
However, it was impossible for them to openly go ask. Tonight, they had nearly been beaten. Although they did not know why the chief had not acted in the end, they all understood that if they went up now, they would absolutely be beaten.
Even if the Black Wolf Race had thick skin and tough flesh, they still did not want to get another beating.
But that food truly was delicious. Not eating it would be too wasteful. The group of sub-adults thought this and, while no one was paying attention, secretly looked over.
They saw Lang Yan pinch up a piece and taste it. He did not say anything. He poured the food into a large stone bowl and said to Lang Qi, “Divide it among everyone.”
The sub-adults: “???”
Hadn’t he said they could not eat food from unfamiliar tribes?
Lang Qi looked much gentler than Chief Lang Yan. After tasting it, he passed the food to the member beside him and glanced toward the place where the sub-adults were staying.
Seeing their confusion, Lang Qi rarely explained kindly, “The reason you’re not allowed to eat food from unfamiliar tribes is because we’re afraid there might be medicine in the food. You ate so much and nothing happened, so of course the rest can be eaten.”
Originally, Lang Qi had not understood how this group of young wolves could eat two bites of food and forget the tribe’s rules completely. After tasting the food, he understood.
The Snow Wolf Tribe’s food pieces were small, so eating them was not especially satisfying, but the flavor was much better than what their tribe made. Even though it had already gone cold, it still left people thinking about it. No wonder this group of young wolves had been so greedy they could not resist.
However, the matter of the food could be skipped over. The grudge from running back and forth all these times today could not go unanswered. Lang Qi suggested to Lang Yan, “Chief, the young wolves didn’t catch any prey today. Should they continue going out tomorrow?”
The Black Wolf Tribe’s territory was rich in resources and had plenty of prey. But today, the young wolves had only caused trouble and even chased an entire herd of prey into another tribe’s territory. Naturally, their rest time should be made up.
Lang Yan looked toward the sub-adults and nodded. “Mm. The sub-adults will continue hunting tomorrow.”
Lang Qi touched his chin and continued suggesting, “How about letting them hunt on their own tomorrow? In any case, even if we follow them, we can’t stop them. We might as well let them run however they want.”
After running enough times and becoming tired, they would naturally know how to cooperate in order to save strength.
After thinking briefly, Lang Yan accepted Lang Qi’s suggestion. “Fine.”
The weather was growing colder and colder. The tribe needed to store more food. No matter which team the sub-adults followed, they would only make trouble. Letting them form a team alone might actually be more efficient.
…
Snow Wolf Tribe.
A group of sub-adults laboriously carried the curved-horned beasts. Once they reached the foot of the mountain, they could no longer endure it and threw the curved-horned beasts to the side before lying on the ground, panting hard.
When they had first started carrying them, they had not felt tired and had even been very excited. But after walking for a while, they only felt the curved-horned beasts on their shoulders grow heavier and heavier. Clearly, it had only taken a short while to reach the place on the way there, but on the way back, this road felt as if it would never end.
Curved-horned beasts were food. No matter how heavy they were, they could only grit their teeth and carry them. Now that they had finally returned to the tribe, they only wanted to rest for a while.
Several sub-adults tugged at the animal hides on their bodies, wanting to take them off.
Lang Shuo heard the movement outside and worried that the young wolves might get sick. He hurriedly reminded Lang Yu, “Brother, let them come into the cave to rest. Lying outside will make them catch a cold.”
It was no longer early. Even if it did not snow tonight, the temperature was still much lower than during the day. Lang Nuo and the others had just sweated all over. If they stayed outside now, they could easily catch a chill.
Lang Yu had originally not planned to bother with the sub-adults. After all, everyone had come through this age. After experiencing it a few more times, they would remember the lesson once they got sick. But seeing Lang Shuo worry, he went out, grabbed two at a time, and dragged Lang Nuo and another sub-adult back into the cave.
The other sub-adults were naturally dragged in by Lang Shi and the others.
The sub-adults were exhausted and let them move them however they liked. Even after entering the cave, they were too lazy to move.
Lang Nuo struggled to turn over and met Lang Shuo’s gaze. Feeling wronged, he said, “Shuo, I’m so tired.”
Lang Shuo’s heart ached as he rubbed the young wolf’s fluffy head. “Be good. I’ll make something tasty for you tomorrow.”
