Chapter 23
Hearing Lang Yan’s words, Lang Yong froze in place.
The other young wolves were also extremely shocked.
The chief had never taken their food before. The only time had been the food the Snow Wolf Tribe gave them last time, which they had eaten more than half of on the road.
But this time was different. This was food for the two members who had gone back to report the news, along with the snacks Lang Shuo had packed for them.
However, looking at the chief’s expression, the group of sub-adults exchanged glances with one another, and none of them dared to raise an objection.
Including Lang Yong.
In the end, Lang Yong painfully took off the back basket. When he handed it to Lang Yan, his face was filled with reluctance, especially hoping that Lang Yan’s next words would be, “Never mind.”
However, Lang Yan did not fulfill his wish. Iron-blooded and merciless, he took the back basket, glanced at it, then handed it to Lang Qi beside him.
Lang Qi was currently gloating as he watched the sub-adults who had ignored his hints. When a back basket suddenly appeared in front of him, he did not react for a moment.
No, couldn’t they just let the young wolves carry it back themselves?
Lang Yan said, “Hold it.”
Lang Qi thought about the sub-adults’ personalities and obediently took it into his own hands.
If the sub-adults carried it back, it was uncertain how much would still remain by the time they returned to the tribe. On the way here, the Snow Wolf chief had led the team, so they had been able to endure in front of the Snow Wolf Race. But in front of them, Lang Yan did not believe this group of young wolves could hold back.
The group of sub-adults watched the back basket pass from one person’s hands to another’s, wishing they could go up and carry it themselves. Even if they could not eat it, smelling the scent would still be good.
Their wish was destined to fail. They watched helplessly as Lang Qi carried the back basket on his back.
Lang Yan ordered them to leave. Lang Qi and several members led the way at the very front, the sub-adult wolves were in the middle, and Lang Yan followed at the back.
Sensing Lang Yan’s gaze, the group of sub-adults did not dare play any tricks and honestly followed behind the adult wolves. Every time a young wolf lost focus and was about to fall behind, he would receive Lang Yan calling his name.
Being called out by the chief was far too terrifying. The named sub-adult immediately snapped back to attention and hurriedly ran to catch up with the group.
After returning to the tribe, Lang Yan took out the food the sub-adults had brought back. The young wolves were drooling, and the two young wolves who had run errands looked full of expectation. He ignored all of them.
Then, in front of the many sub-adults, Lang Yan distributed the food to the adult members who had gone to look for them.
Lang Qi looked at the two pitiful young wolves waiting and asked, “Boss, should we give them two a bit?”
They had gone back early to report, after all.
Lang Yan sneered. “Give it to them, and tomorrow the whole team will get lost again, then send two more back to report?”
Hearing this, Lang Qi immediately shut his mouth. Not to mention, that was truly something sub-adults could do.
Lang Yan looked around. “Everyone eats here. No one is allowed to take any back to the cave.”
The entire tribe’s members more or less had some kinship ties, and sub-adult young wolves were very good at acting spoiled. If they were allowed to bring the food back, it would probably end up in their stomachs again.
After Lang Yan finished speaking, he saw the light in the sub-adults’ eyes extinguish by another half.
Since the chief had spoken, even adult beastmen close to the sub-adults did not dare openly disobey the order.
It was not that they were unwilling to give them any. It was that the chief’s order had to be obeyed.
That was what they thought at first.
When the food entered their mouths, only one sentence remained in their minds.
What a good order.
Food like this should be eaten by them.
Lang Yan was not in a hurry to move. It was not as if he had never eaten food before. The taste was indeed better than their tribe’s, but not to the point of ignoring risks and entering another tribe’s territory.
It seemed they had been too good to the sub-adults recently.
Wolves ate quickly. Even though the adult wolves here had already eaten dinner, it still did not affect their eating speed. Adult wolves would not eat until stuffed like sub-adults. They would stop once they were full. In addition, they had taken a walk around, so even though they had not gone as far as last time, quite a bit of food had already been digested. Because of this, it did not take long before the food was gone.
The light in the group of sub-adults’ eyes gradually extinguished, until they saw the food in front of the chief and suddenly grew excited.
The chief still had not eaten his!
However, even if they were given ten more guts, they would not dare snatch what was in front of the chief. At that time, never mind the chief—the other members would not spare them either.
Lang Qi had the most courage, and his position was also the closest to Lang Yan. At this moment, he had already finished what was in front of him. Seeing that Lang Yan had not moved, he tested, “Boss, if you’re not hungry, I’ll help you eat it.”
Lang Yan looked at him.
Lang Qi immediately withdrew the probing claw. That glance was a little dangerous.
Lang Yan said, “Tomorrow, you’ll follow the sub-adults. If they run off, you don’t need to come back either.”
“What?!” Lang Qi seemed to be struck by lightning. He wished he could slap himself twice. This was what he got for running his mouth. Now look. He had not gotten to eat the food, and he had gained an extra task. His life was so bitter.
Lang Yan ignored him. He looked at the food in front of him and picked out a small bone.
Snow season nights were too cold, and the food had been brought from the Snow Wolf Tribe to their tribe. It had long since gone completely cold on the road, yet he could still taste the difference between this and their tribe’s food. Not only compared with what they usually ate, even compared with what the Snow Wolf Tribe sent last time, this piece was far superior.
It was just that no matter how delicious something was, once it cooled, the flavor would always be affected.
Lang Yan placed the remaining bones on the stones beside the fire. The stones were hot. Not long after the bones were placed there, they heated up, and a rich fragrance drifted out.
The other wolves: “???”
No, doing this made their behavior of directly eating without thinking look very stupid, did he know that?
Lang Yan paid no attention to their reactions and let them discuss tomorrow’s list of people to watch the sub-adults themselves. He picked up a small piece of dried snow fruit and put it into his mouth. It was sweet and sour, far better than gnawing snow fruit.
Beside it were pieces of jerky broken into finger-sized strips. The bones were large and could not be heated through completely in a short while, so Lang Yan pinched up a piece of jerky and put it into his mouth.
The moment it entered his mouth, Lang Yan discovered that it was different from last time. The method had probably changed. It was not as difficult to chew and had less smoky flavor.
Lang Yan ate several pieces of jerky, then picked up the bone on the stone and gnawed on it.
Mm. As expected, it was better hot.
Lang Yan ate all the food in front of him, wiped his hands, and asked, “Have you discussed it?”
The place that had originally been somewhat lively instantly fell silent.
The group of adult wolves did not dare meet his gaze. They looked left and right, anywhere but at him, afraid they would be called on.
The only one unaffected was Lang Qi. He had already been confirmed to go. Nothing could be worse than that.
Lang Yan swept his gaze over their reactions and said, “Lang Qi, you choose the people.”
“Ah?” Lang Qi was shocked. Lang Qi could not believe it. Lang Qi raised his hand and covered his own eyes.
Look, look, keep looking. Everyone else avoided looking, but only he had looked. Now look what happened. Not only did he have to go himself, he also had to personally choose the members going with him.
This was definitely a task that would offend people.
If he chose people now, there was no need to wait until tomorrow. He would be beaten tonight.
The chief’s order could not be disobeyed, but if he obeyed, he would also be unlucky. Lang Qi could only plead, “Boss, you should choose. If you choose the people, the young wolves will behave.”
The sub-adult team was the hardest team in the entire tribe to manage. He alone could not control them at all. The members who could help him manage them had status similar to his and would not listen to him. So the chief had to personally name them.
Lang Yan did not make things difficult for him and called out several members’ names. The members who were called looked utterly hopeless.
Regardless of whether they had led this group of sub-adults before, they all knew how difficult this team was. They would rather hunt three days in a row without rest than watch the sub-adults.
However, these thoughts could only remain in their heads. They could only obey the arrangement. Their only comfort was that they had eaten quite a bit of food just now, so they could treat it as compensation for tomorrow’s task.
The next day, when the sub-adult black wolves set off, three adult wolves followed behind them. Although the three were not chiefs, their status in the tribe was only slightly lower than Lang Yan’s.
When only Lang Qi was watching them, the sub-adults would mutter to one another or lose focus in places Lang Qi could not see. Now, with three people watching them, even slacking off was impossible.
Because he had led this group of sub-adults before, Lang Qi had the most experience. He said to the two adult wolves beside him, “When they chase prey later, don’t follow. We’ll wait here for them to come back.”
It was not that Lang Qi did not want to chase them. It was that experience told him that even if they chased, it would be impossible to catch up. The routes sub-adult wolves took while running had no pattern whatsoever. Where they ended up depended entirely on luck. Every time they turned, it was inexplicable. Even if Lang Yan came, he might not be able to catch up. What use was being fast? They did not run according to everyone’s habits.
In this regard, the other two members did not have as much experience as Lang Qi and decided to listen to him. It was just that they had one concern. “What if they run out of the tribe again today?”
It felt like the sub-adults were completely capable of doing that.
“Don’t worry. They won’t today,” Lang Qi said with certainty.
The other two had not heard his conversation with Lang Yan and were doubtful.
Near noon, the sub-adult black wolves caught a long-horned beast in the outer area of the territory. After catching the prey, they were not in a hurry to go back. Instead, they looked at one another.
Lang Yong suggested, “How about doing what we did yesterday?”
Go again. Last night, they had not gotten to eat the last portion of food. Even in their dreams, the smell of food had lingered. On top of that, they had eaten little in the morning, and now their stomachs were hungry again.
“No!” The two members who had helped run errands yesterday refused in unison. The other sub-adults had eaten food from the Snow Wolf Tribe, but the two of them had not. This time, no matter what, they would not agree, unless they were the ones going to eat while others delivered the message.
The two of them were unwilling, so Lang Yong looked toward the others in the team.
The young wolves collectively shook their heads. None of them were willing to be the one delivering messages. Whoever delivered the message would miss one meal. Of course they would not agree.
Lang Yong said, “This time, we’ll secretly bring food back and hide it halfway, so the chief won’t discover it.”
After saying this, even he became uncertain. Could they really hide it from the chief?
In the end, because they could not choose a person to deliver the message, today’s plan to freeload a meal was terminated. The young wolves brought the prey back.
Without someone delivering a message, the chief and the other members of the tribe would not know their situation and would treat it according to the most serious possibility: that they had been ambushed. They would gather the entire tribe’s members immediately.
At that point, the problem would become huge. The sub-adults’ courage had not grown to that extent.
Not far away, Lang Qi watched the returning sub-adults and said to the other two, “See? They came back, didn’t they?”
The two adult wolves beside Lang Qi nodded. They had to admire Lang Qi on this point.
Lang Qi chuckled and quietly told them the truth.
After hearing the whole process, the adult wolves had never expected that there was also this reason behind the food distributed to them yesterday.
Looking at the group of sub-adults again, although they had clearly caught prey, the expressions on their faces were even sadder than if the prey they had chased for half a day had escaped. At one glance, it was obvious they had an idea but no way to carry it out.
When they were unhappy, the adult wolves became happy. Looking at the prey caught by the sub-adult wolves, they suddenly understood why the young wolves were so good at running, yet the chief had never restricted their hunting.
This group of sub-adults’ hunting ability was not inferior to theirs at that age. When this group of sub-adults grew up, they would absolutely become one of the strongest groups of warriors in the tribe.
However, these future warriors were still at an age that made anyone frown when they looked at them. The three adults brought the sub-adults back to the tribe, feeling more exhausted than if they had been surrounded by curved-horned beasts. This group of sub-adult wolves was truly too easy to lose.
After returning to the tribe without any real danger, Lang Qi and the others informed Lang Yan of the situation.
Lang Yan nodded. “No need to watch them tomorrow.”
With the sub-adults’ brains, before they thought of a suitable solution, they definitely had no chance to go disturb the Snow Wolf Tribe’s members again.
The sub-adults weakly placed the prey down and sprawled across the open space to rest. After seeing Lang Yan’s figure, they deliberately sighed loudly.
Sure enough, Lang Yan stopped and looked down at the sprawled sub-adults from above. “What do you want to do?”
The sub-adults answered in unison, “We want Lang Shuo to distribute food.”
When Lang Shuo distributed food, they did not have to fight over it, and the food they received was delicious. Why were they not members of the Snow Wolf Tribe?
Lang Yan asked, “Who is Lang Shuo?”
“The Snow Wolf Tribe chief’s younger brother.”
“The snow wolf who makes delicious food.”
“The snow wolf who gives us snacks.”
“Lang Nuo said Lang Shuo’s leg is injured. Otherwise, he would prepare even more food.”
Lang Yan originally had not taken their words to heart. Hearing the last sentence, however, he suddenly remembered who they were talking about, and his expression became extremely poor. “You made an injured wolf help you cook?”
This group of sub-adults was indeed lawless. They were almost climbing to the sky.
Thinking this, Lang Yan instructed, “Starting tomorrow, after hunting, go pick up branches. During rest time, roast the meat chunks you’ll eat next month.”
Since they had so much energy, they could do more work.
“What?” The sub-adults, who were immersed in longing, were collectively shocked.
But the chief who had given the order had already left. Clearly, there was no room for negotiation.
The young wolves looked at one another, not knowing which sentence had made Lang Yan unhappy.
Lang Yong recalled for a moment. “It seemed to be when we said Lang Shuo helped us cook.”
They had missed one detail. Lang Shuo was only responsible for distributing it. The ones who moved their hands were other people.
However, none of that mattered anymore. For the next few days, not only would they be unable to eat the Snow Wolf Tribe’s food, their workload had also increased. Just thinking about it made them miserable.
…
Lang Shuo still did not know the trouble the sub-adult black wolves had encountered. When preparing food today, he deliberately had everyone prepare a little more.
Only when the hunting party returned and there were still no black wolves outside did Lang Shuo let out a breath of relief. He had been shocked by the Black Wolf Race’s appetite last night. If the sub-adult black wolves continued coming over, they might have no way to stockpile cooked food. One meal from them was equal to half the tribe’s food intake.
During the last month of snow season, everyone basically hid inside the cave and did not come out. Food had to be prepared in advance. Even though they now planned to build a heated earthen bed, the food still needed to be processed once.
The young wolves in their teens were busy running around. Every day, the first thing they did after waking was go nearby to pick up branches. The branches close by had all been picked clean by them. Lang Nuo and the others would climb up the trees and chop down some of the denser branches, throwing them down for the young wolves to pick up and bring back to the tribe.
After confirming that the mud bricks could be used and could support the stone pot, Lang Shuo had the sub-adults continue making mud bricks whenever they had spare time.
At this time, Lang Shuo suddenly felt a little envious of the Black Wolf Tribe. Although that group of sub-adults looked especially unreliable, they had many people. If they worked, they would definitely be fast.
Far away in the Black Wolf Tribe, the young wolves sneezed.
Lang Yan came out with food. Seeing that they still looked the same as before, his head hurt. “Go put on your animal hides.”
When beastmen transformed into beast form, the animal hide on their bodies was the same color as their fur, and it could not be washed separately. They could only wash by bathing. Therefore, most members paid great attention and would not dirty them.
The young wolves clearly did not care about this. Or perhaps because they were originally black, they did not mind. But Lang Yan could not stand seeing them so filthy. Had they also looked like this in the Snow Wolf Tribe? No wonder the Snow Wolf Tribe’s chief and members had all seemed eager to send them back immediately.
The disliked young wolves could only get up and put on their animal hides. After dressing, they went to receive today’s food and placed it over the fire to roast. Looking at the meat that gave people absolutely no appetite, the sub-adults collectively sighed.
Lang Yan paid them no attention. He first went into the cave to count the amount of food, then called several members over to discuss something.
“Exchange food with the Snow Wolf Tribe?”
Lang Yan nodded calmly. “Mm. Exchange for a portion to use as rewards for members.”
Hearing this, the group of wolves hesitated. The Snow Wolf Tribe’s food was delicious, but if they exchanged, it definitely could not be a one-to-one trade. Their tribe would have to give a little more.
But thinking of the food they had eaten yesterday, the same ingredients really did become fragrant when made by the Snow Wolf Tribe. For example, dried snow fruit. Usually, they only ate that thing when they had no choice. Yesterday, they had unknowingly eaten quite a lot.
If they could truly exchange for food, that seemed pretty good.
Thus, while the Snow Wolf Tribe had confirmed that the sub-adult black wolves would no longer get lost and were leisurely eating, they welcomed adult wolves from the Black Wolf Tribe.
Lang Yu, who had returned late from hunting and had only just started eating, looked at the black wolves who had suddenly appeared and had only one thought.
Black wolves were indeed the most unwelcome wolves.
Was your tribe ever going to stop?
Compared with Lang Yu, who was suppressing his anger and was about to get angry, Lang Yan’s attitude was unusually sincere. He stated the purpose of his visit. “We want to exchange for some prepared food.”
Lang Shuo had originally also been somewhat dissatisfied. In order to prepare enough food, the hunting party, gathering team, and even the sub-adults had to go out into the heavy snow to search for prey, working far harder than usual. Because the snow was too deep and made running difficult, they only returned after dark every day. Yet now, even eating was being disturbed.
However, when he heard the words “exchange for food,” his dissatisfaction immediately vanished.
Thinking of the sub-adults’ shady little workshop before, while it had indeed been rather shady, it had earned profit in the end. The Snow Wolf Tribe’s territory did not have much prey to begin with. The later it got, the harder it would be to catch prey. The plants had also been swept clean by the gathering team. According to this trend, they could probably stockpile enough food for next month by the end of the month, but by then, the temperature would be much lower than it was now.
If conditions allowed, Lang Shuo still hoped to stockpile enough food earlier and rest earlier. Lang Yan’s words were somewhat tempting.
However, this was his personal thought. The final choice still depended on Lang Yu’s decision. Lang Shuo looked at Lang Yu beside him and asked softly, “Brother, should we agree?”
The Snow Wolf Tribe had only just arrived, but before settling down, they had also learned information about the surrounding tribes. The Black Wolf Race had a large territory, and it was the most fertile nearby. Prey herds appeared in their territory year-round. They were different from the Snow Wolf Tribe, whose winter hunting depended entirely on luck.
If they could exchange for part of their food, their tribe could stockpile enough food earlier and rest in advance.
There were too few things that could be done during snow season. Lang Shuo had quite a bit of knowledge in his mind, but in this cold snow season, with few tools, he had no way to put it to use.
Lang Yu was also thinking about this matter. His younger brother’s worries were also his worries. The weather was getting colder and colder. He could endure it, but not all members could. Because of differences in constitution, age, and other conditions, beastmen’s tolerance for cold was not the same. For safety, from now on, the number of members going out to gather and hunt would grow smaller and smaller. The fewer members there were in a team, the lower the hunting success rate.
After thinking for a moment, Lang Yu asked Lang Shuo beside him, “What exchange rate is suitable?”
“Three for two.” Lang Shuo gave a more conscientious ratio. The Black Wolf Tribe was a major client, and they could not scare them away. A shady little workshop like the sub-adults’ previous fifty-percent processing fee would not do.
Lang Yu told Lang Yan this ratio.
From the moment Lang Yan appeared in the Snow Wolf Tribe, he had been observing. Seeing the whole process of the brothers’ exchange, he did not interrupt and waited for their answer.
“Three for two. You provide the meat, salt, and branches,” Lang Yu said after discussing it with his younger brother.
“All right,” Lang Yan agreed. “Today, we only brought meat and salt. The branches will be delivered tomorrow.”
“That’s fine.” For the sake of the other side being able to provide part of the tribe’s food, Lang Yu’s prejudice toward the Black Wolf Race lessened a little.
Lang Shuo suddenly asked, “Can the sub-adults of your tribe come over to help? We can help process their recent meals for free.”
The Black Wolf Tribe had brought over quite a lot of food. Their tribe’s workload was already not low, and adding this food would only make them more tired. If they invited people to help, the most suitable ones were naturally the simple-minded and easy-to-coax sub-adults.
As Lang Shuo spoke, he saw Lang Nuo and the others not far away finish gnawing their bones. He pointed at the jerky beside them, indicating that this was their little snack for tonight.
Seeing this action, Lang Yan could not help frowning again.
Lang Shuo looked up and saw his dissatisfaction. He immediately withdrew what he had just said. “No need for the sub-adults to help. We’ll do it ourselves.”
It seemed this labor force could not be used.
Lang Yan: “…”
Lang Yan said, “If you want them, I’ll have them come over tomorrow.”
With this sudden turn, Lang Shuo’s eyes brightened.
Looking at the young wolf who had started to become happy, Lang Yan quietly let out a breath of relief and instructed, “If they don’t behave, tell me.”
This was tacit permission for Lang Shuo to manage them.
“Mm-hm.” Lang Shuo had already thought of a solution when he spoke. Yesterday, those sub-adults had come all the way here just for a meal. He decided to first try the method he used to manage Lang Nuo and the others. If they were hard to manage, he would have the Black Wolf Tribe’s members take them back.
Lang Yan handed the food to the Snow Wolf Tribe members and said, “There’s no rush for the food. You can prepare it slowly.”
According to the information he had asked about, everything related to food was decided by Lang Shuo. To prevent the other side from rushing and delaying his injury recovery, Lang Yan specially added this sentence.
Hearing this, Lang Yu blocked Lang Yan’s line of sight. “Our tribe will arrange these things. Chief Lang Yan should return and rest early. You know the road, so we won’t see you off.”
Although cooperation was also beneficial to their tribe, the Black Wolf Tribe’s behavior of coming whenever they wanted still made Lang Yu dissatisfied. He made up his mind that once snow season passed, he would place stones along the border between their territories to eliminate the possibility of the Black Wolf Race casually coming over.
Lang Yan withdrew his gaze. “I’ll bring the young wolves over tomorrow.”
“No need. They can find the road themselves,” Lang Yu refused.
