Chapter 31
When beastmen hunted, they leaned more toward using beast form. However, just like all animals living in the wild, hunting consumed a great deal of strength and made injuries easy.
For a tribe like the Snow Wolf Tribe, even though they would ambush prey according to the terrain, casualties still could not be avoided. They could only ensure that their casualties were lower than other beastmen’s.
This was unavoidable. After beastmen transformed into beast form, their strongest weapons were their teeth and claws, and prey could not possibly surrender without resistance. The force of large prey fighting desperately was not to be underestimated.
If they had tools to cooperate with them, even if those tools only restricted the prey’s movements, they could still reduce the hunting party’s pressure. Moreover, it was not necessarily the hunting party who needed to use the tools. Some members who had not joined the hunting party could use tools to assist from the side.
In fact, the first tool Lang Shuo thought of was the bow and arrow. However, he quickly realized a problem. Most tribes did not have the materials needed to make bows and arrows, and slowly preparing them would take too long. Even if they started now, they would have to wait until harvest season at the earliest before they could make them.
In comparison, a sling was much simpler. The materials needed were only rope and stone. After being swung out, aside from being able to injure prey, it also had a chance of tangling around the prey’s legs and limiting its movements. The only shortcoming was that its accuracy was not high enough and would require practice in advance.
The sling was also the predecessor of the meteor hammer. Its killing power could be imagined.
Once he thought of it, he started working. Rope and stone were both readily available. Lang Shuo chose a long rope, wove it tightly around a stone, swung it a few times, then handed it to Lang Yu. “Brother, try this.”
There was another method where a stone was tied to each end. That would make it easier to trip prey, but the difficulty of operating it would also be greater. It was better to first practice with the simple one before upgrading.
Aside from the sling, rope and stones could also be combined into a sling pouch. The middle section of the rope could be knotted into a net-like pocket, with a stone placed on it. After gripping both ends of the rope and spinning it a few times, one end of the rope would be released, and the stone would quickly fly out, striking the object ahead.
However, a sling pouch required a certain amount of skill to ensure the stone did not fall midway. It was more difficult than the sling that directly tied rope around stone.
As Lang Shuo pondered these methods, on the other side, Lang Yu and Lang Shi stood apart and threw the sling back and forth at each other.
The stone Lang Shuo used was not very large and did not have enough destructive power, so the two were not afraid of being injured. They tossed it back and forth for several rounds and actually figured out a little trick to it, forcibly working up a sweat in this snowy season.
When Lang Yu rested, Lang Shuo told him the other two methods. After hearing them, Lang Yu had the same thought as him. “We’ll use this one first.” Clearly, he was also uneasy about the more difficult operations.
Lang Shi on the other side was still unsatisfied. Seeing that the chief and Lang Shuo were discussing something, he called other members over.
For beastmen who spent long periods outside, being confined inside the cave during the later part of snow season was also a kind of torment. In the past, everyone had tried to stay inside the cave to conserve strength. Now things were different. After the temperature inside the cave rose, their hunger came noticeably slower than before, and the extra strength was enough for them to exercise moderately.
Thus, very quickly, someone went over to cooperate with Lang Shi. The sub-adults also came out. They arrived late, and the adult wolves would not play with them, so the group of sub-adults watched with itchy hands and begged Lang Shuo to help make a few more.
Lang Shuo felt they had taken this as a toy. However, practicing more would raise their accuracy, so he agreed without hesitation. Members who were impatient and unwilling to wait began doing it themselves. Even if what they made was not as sturdy as Lang Shuo’s, it still looked seventy to eighty percent similar. It was just that the stone inside shook slightly.
One look, and Lang Shuo thought this would not do. What if it fell out while spinning and hit someone? He turned and called Lang Rong. “Rong, call a few people over to weave rope.”
As soon as she heard it was related to weaving, without Lang Shuo needing to emphasize it, Lang Rong knew she had to choose people with good craftsmanship.
With the help of these few members, finished products were supplied very quickly. At first, they were throwing one-on-one. Later, it practically became a chaotic free-for-all. The two sides threw at each other, not caring who had thrown what on the ground. If they picked it up, they immediately started throwing. While throwing, they also had to pay attention not to be hit by stones from the opposite side. The scene was extremely chaotic.
Lang Shuo: “…”
Generally speaking, there was no problem, but he always felt something was not quite right.
Lang Yu was the calmest. He glanced at the messy members and said, “It’s cold outside. You go back first.”
“Mm, okay.” Lang Shuo nodded in agreement. It was not especially cold, since this position was close to the stove, but he was afraid that the stones flying around outside would accidentally injure him. His legs and feet were still not as agile as the members outside.
After returning to the cave, Lang Shuo discovered that he was still holding a bundle of hemp rope.
At first, the rope had been twisted from plants brought back by the gathering team. It had barely been enough to use. Later, after the Black Wolf Tribe learned what the rope’s raw materials were, they sent over a pile of plants for Lang Shuo to choose from. The raw material for hemp rope was a plant very similar to hemp stalks, and a layer of fiber could be easily peeled off its surface. From then on, the tribe no longer lacked rope.
Lang Shuo had also asked Lang Yong to help bring back some seeds. After snow season ended, they could plant some nearby for future use.
The rope in his hands came in different thicknesses. Lang Shuo originally wanted to put it back, but when he saw the cubs in the large basket raising their heads at the noise, he suddenly changed his mind.
Lang Shuo placed the hemp rope on the ground, took one out, wrapped it three times around his fingers, then changed direction and wrapped it again. He kept winding it back and forth like this, and the rope in his hand quickly turned into a round ball.
He had learned this from an upperclassman downstairs in the teaching building back then. The litter of kittens downstairs did not like all sorts of flashy and complicated toys. They liked simple ones the most, especially round balls made from materials like hemp rope and vines.
Before long, the round ball in his hand became the size of a fist. Lang Shuo tied a knot and placed it inside the large basket.
The group of cubs immediately chased the ball, you chasing, me chasing. There were too many cubs, and soon, they became a tangled mess.
Lang Shuo looked at this familiar scene and finally understood why he had felt something was off. This scene was like dogs pouncing on frisbees. The group outside was the same, just with different objects.
Lang Shuo fell silent for a moment and worked hard to forget this association. However, at this moment, his mind was not very obedient. The more he wanted to forget, the more clearly he remembered.
A moment later, Lang Shuo gave up struggling. Forget it. They were all canines. Some similarities were normal.
As Lang Shuo thought this, his attention was quickly drawn by the cubs in the large basket. More than twenty cubs were playing with one hemp rope ball. Most of the cubs could not reach it at all and could only whine anxiously at the edge.
It was more important to make more toys for the cubs.
However, the solid ball from just now was a little heavy. After all, the cubs were only a few circles larger than the ball. Lang Shuo thought for a moment, then went to ask the members making tools for bamboo strips.
Bamboo strips were also one of the commonly used materials in weaving. They could be split into different thicknesses according to need and had even more uses than vines. At this moment, there were many split bamboo strips inside the cave, some long and some short. Lang Shuo selected some and wove a hollow ball with the bamboo strips, then used a rough-surfaced stone to polish the places with splinters smooth.
The hollow ball was especially light. The cubs could easily push it and could also lift it with their heads. Seeing that they liked it, Lang Shuo made several more.
As he wove, he sensed gazes staring at him. He looked up and saw the young wolves who had only changed into human form a few days ago. Not far away, Lang Hui and the others were also secretly looking over.
The cubs in beast form had toys now, and the sub-adults were outside throwing stones. Only the two age groups in between had nothing. Lang Shuo immediately corrected this. “Wait. I’ll make some for you.”
These young wolves were a bit bigger than the cubs in the large basket, so there was no need to make them this small. Lang Shuo wove two about the size of soccer balls and let them take them away to play.
For the entire day, the whole tribe played with “balls” of different materials and sizes.
However, Lang Shuo did not forget his proper business. After the sub-adults had played enough, he took the axe over and had the sub-adults help him make tools. He used split bamboo to make bamboo rakes, making it convenient to loosen soil.
After being roasted for a period of time, bamboo strips and wooden slats could be bent easily. As long as they were handled properly, they could be made into many tools. Lang Shuo paired them with stone flakes and made a simple hoe. Using tools was easier than digging soil bare-handed.
After teaching them the method, Lang Shuo instructed, “Make more. After snow season, we’ll open up wasteland.”
After snow season, many plants would sprout at the same time, including the plants they could eat, and naturally, also some weeds. If they prepared the tools now, after snow season, they could transplant the potatoes out earlier.
There were also pumpkins, yams, and other crops. These were all high-yield plants and definitely had to be planted. Lang Shuo went over the planting methods in his mind and discovered that these few could basically all be raised as seedlings in advance. The seedling methods were only slightly different.
Lang Shuo arranged the time. Pumpkins and yams would start being raised as seedlings in a few days, staggered from the potatoes. This way, once snow season ended, they would not suddenly become too busy all at once. After all, opening up land also took time. It was impossible to plant all the plants at the same time.
Aside from the few kinds they were currently eating, the Black Wolf Tribe had also given them other plant fruits. Most of the fruits had been made into dried fruit by Lang Shuo. There were still some smaller fruits and nuts left, including some grains. Perhaps because they had no patience or were used to putting what they picked together, the categorization was rather messy. In any case, there was nothing urgent to do for the moment. Lang Shuo thought about it and called the young wolves over to help. No matter how fun bamboo balls were, they could not play forever.
The young wolves had been playing happily, but they were willing to help when called to work. They put the balls away, wiped off their sweat, and ran over to wait for Lang Shuo’s arrangements.
Lang Shuo opened the grains given by the Black Wolf Tribe and poured a portion from each back basket into large baskets. In total, he poured out four baskets. Then he gave each young wolf a bowl. He placed one type of plant in each bamboo bowl. That cub only needed to pick out this one kind. Once a bowl was full, they would pour it into the empty back basket behind them. The same plants were poured together.
As Lang Shuo placed them, he explained how to distinguish them. Although he suspected the Black Wolf Tribe had been slacking off, he could not deny that some grains did indeed look somewhat similar. For example, oats and wheat. To an unfamiliar person, they looked about the same. Looking carefully, one would discover that oats had slender ends, while wheat was rounder.
“Can you tell them apart?” After introducing all the grains, Lang Shuo asked.
The young wolves nodded. Lang Shuo had them only remember the one in their bowl and the ones easily confused with it, so it was very easy to remember.
“Then start picking. No hurry. Take your time.” There were several back baskets. If they picked slowly, they could always finish before snow season ended.
Lang Shuo looked carefully through them once. These nuts and grains did not all ripen at the same time. In the era he had lived in during his previous life, some of them were not even grown in the same regions. It was rather strange. How had the Black Wolf Tribe gathered so many foods and mixed them together?
If one said they valued them, casually mixing them together like this really did not look like a way to handle important supplies. After all, some fruits and grains would spoil faster if placed together.
If one said they did not value them, there were truly many varieties, and some were even wrapped in animal hide. In the Beast World, animal hides had significant value. Being willing to wrap them in animal hide made it seem like they cherished them no matter how one looked at it.
Lang Shuo shook his head. He truly could not understand the Black Wolf Tribe’s contradictory operation.
…
“Where are the things that were in the corner?”
The Black Wolf Tribe member in charge of supplies was suddenly woken. Opening his eyes, he looked blankly at the furious priest Hu Yun before him, completely confused. What was the priest talking about? What corner?
Hu Yun repeated, “The things that were in the corner before?” Hu Yun pointed at a corner inside the cave.
The black wolf managing the cave looked over and scratched his head. “Were there things over there?”
The Black Wolf Tribe had too many things. Food alone occupied several caves. This cave of his stored unimportant supplies, all things everyone disliked eating. Aside from the gathering team bringing supplies over during harvest season, the most people came every year only when they threw garbage away. After all, they had to throw away food they disliked eating, and everyone was happy about that.
What puzzled them was that the more of these foods they threw out each year, the more of these foods they would harvest the next harvest season. If not for the gathering team not wanting to sit idle, they would not even want these foods.
Because the things were difficult to eat, other caves had at least two to three members guarding them. This cave only had one member, and he was often not present. When he had things to do and could not watch the cave, he would go find the chief. Lang Yan did not even bother assigning a new person and only told him to block it with a stone. In any case, no one in the tribe would come over out of boredom.
Over time, his supervision of the cave became rather casual. Whether the weather was cold or hot, he liked to find a place to curl up and sleep. When the weather was suitable, he slept at the cave entrance. In short, he enjoyed himself very much.
Now it was snow season, and the temperature was low. He had specifically chosen a corner to sleep in. He had not expected that just as he was sleeping soundly, he would be woken by the tribe’s priest.
The member named Lang Kai felt somewhat flattered and truly had no idea why the priest had come over.
As for the things in the corner nearby, Lang Kai tried hard to recall, but truly could not remember what had been here before. The food inside the cave was changed once every year. It was transported over by the gathering team during harvest season and thrown out after snow season. It was the same every year.
At first, he had specifically looked through what there was so that he could take things when members needed them. After several years, he discovered that no one wanted them at all. If there truly was no food to eat, everyone would not carefully distinguish between things either. Who would spend half a day choosing between bad food and worse food? They simply grabbed whatever was convenient. So he saved himself the effort of specifically remembering locations.
He remembered that nothing had been placed here last year. As for this year… he truly did not remember.
Hu Yun had not expected that after asking for so long, the other party was even less familiar with the cave than him. For a moment, he grew furious. “Think carefully! There were things here before. Who came to this cave?!”
After saying this, Hu Yun looked around. If he did not look, he would not know, but after looking carefully, he discovered that it was not only this corner—the entire cave was almost empty.
This was completely different from the last time he came. Hu Yun threatened, “So many things are missing from the cave. Did you secretly give them to someone? Speak quickly. If you don’t explain clearly, I’ll tell the chief!”
“Don’t! Don’t tell the chief!” Lang Kai’s first reaction was that he had caused a huge disaster. Immediately afterward, he realized something was wrong. The things in the cave had been taken out on the chief’s order. If the chief was told, what was there for him to fear?
After reacting, Lang Kai suddenly relaxed. “The supplies in the cave were moved away by the chief’s order. If you don’t believe me, go ask the chief.”
“What?” Hu Yun froze in place.
Usually, he spent most of his time in his cave and rarely came out. He understood nothing about what happened outside. In addition, after snow season began, there were fewer injured people in the hunting party than before. Without those talkative wounded members, he knew even less. He had no idea when Lang Yan had ordered the cave emptied.
“When was it moved? Where did the things go?” Hu Yun hurriedly asked. He did not care who had moved them, nor whether Lang Kai would be punished. He only wanted to know where the things were. Where were the things in the corner? Where were the medicines he had gone to such difficulty to hide?
The tribe’s sub-adults had repeatedly gone to his cave to rummage for food. Hu Yun was miserable, but if he did not let the sub-adults enter, Lang Yan would absolutely think of another method. Hu Yun could only think of other ways to hide his supplies.
This cave was one of the places he had chosen. Most of the things inside the cave were unpopular foods that the wolves disliked eating. But because they had gone hungry in the past, they would pick them and store them in the cave every year. According to his observations, this cave remained very deserted year-round.
Thus, Hu Yun thought of a good method. He wrapped some supplies he had exchanged for at high prices in animal hide and hid them among these foods. After snow season, he would find time to take them out. When new food was transported in during growing season, he would hide them inside again. That way, no one would discover them.
He had used this method for two years, and there had never been a problem. He was still using it this year. Originally, during snow season, he had not planned to come over. After all, during snow season, wolves liked sleeping in caves, and Lang Kai almost never left this cave.
However, recently, the sub-adults had been eating until stuffed at every turn. Seeing that the medicine he had specially used to treat overeating was about to run out, Hu Yun wanted to come over and get things to fry up some new medicine. Who would have thought that as soon as he entered the cave, he would find that the corner where he had buried the animal hides was empty? Forget the supplies he had hidden, even the foods the black wolves disliked were gone.
Hu Yun was so anxious he spun in circles, repeatedly questioning Lang Kai where the things had gone.
The supplies he used to fry medicine were somewhat similar to the things wolves disliked eating. He felt that the things had been thrown away. If they had been thrown away, that was fine. He could go find them. In any case, black wolves were very picky. If there was meat to eat, they absolutely would not touch those things of his.
In truth, Hu Yun understood that the sub-adult black wolves would not eat his supplies, but he was worried the sub-adults would take the things out and let Lang Yan see them. To maintain his status, from the time he entered the Black Wolf Tribe, he had never let anyone see him make medicine. When he usually needed herbs, he would also mention several unusable ones, half true and half false, ensuring that no one could guess the true prescription.
Among the hidden medicines, some were usable and some were not. He had deliberately mixed them together. Even if someone opened them, they would not be able to guess what to do. But now, he truly panicked. Both the real medicines and fake medicines were gone. If he could not even handle a small illness like sub-adults eating too much, would the black wolves in the tribe think he, the priest, was useless?
Lang Kai did not understand Hu Yun’s nervousness and anxiety, but under repeated questioning, he finally found a chance to speak. “The sub-adults moved them. They seemed to have moved them to the Snow Wolf Tribe. Their tribe’s cooking is especially delicious.”
Thinking of the food he had received recently, Lang Kai could not help touching the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, fortunately, he was not drooling.
The food brought back from the Snow Wolf Tribe was too delicious. When heated over fire, it was even more incomparably tasty. He could not hold back at all and had eaten an entire day’s food in one breath. The reason he had slept so deeply just now was not only because snow season in the cave was boring, but also because he had eaten too much and did not want to move.
Lang Kai was still recalling the deliciousness of the food, while Hu Yun seemed to have been struck by lightning and petrified on the spot. If they had been thrown away, he could still find a chance to pick them back up. If his luck was good, he could even take the opportunity to act miserable. But they had been taken to another tribe. How was he supposed to get them back?
At this moment, Hu Yun had no time to think about whether anyone who saw the things would guess they were medicinal ingredients. He only thought about how to handle the sub-adults in the cave who were crying about overeating and stomach discomfort.
…
“You ate too much? Rub your stomachs. Lang Hui and the others picked out quite a few grains. I’ll see if I can fry some scorched grain…”
Hearing the sub-adults led by Lang Nuo say that their stomachs felt stuffed, Lang Shuo was somewhat sympathetic.
Yesterday, the young wolves had eaten too many pumpkin seeds, causing stomachaches. Although it had not caused any bad consequences, this afternoon, Lang Yu had said that from now on, aside from tasting food while cooking, no member was allowed to eat undistributed food.
This kind of thing was only done by the underage young wolves. Before, everyone turned a blind eye. After all, as long as they had not reached adulthood, they were all cubs in the adult members’ eyes and needed the whole tribe’s protection. No one cared if they ate a bite more or less. Besides, in the past, food tasted average. Everyone only took things to eat when they were very hungry. Casually eating food could be considered a privilege of underage young wolves.
But this year was different. Those tempting jerkies and dried fruits, forget the greedy young wolves, even adult wolves were sometimes tempted. A little here and there did not matter much, but over time, it definitely would not do. Lang Yu simply took this opportunity to issue a ban. From now on, no one could secretly eat.
The young wolves most affected felt guilty because of what had happened yesterday and did not dare argue. They only threw a small tantrum at the food in their bowls during dinner, turning grief and indignation into appetite and eating a tiny bit more.
Tonight’s food was jerky and fried potatoes, with no soup. The sub-adults did not pay attention and ate themselves stuffed in one breath. After eating, they drank water, directly giving themselves indigestion. Even half the night after dinner, they still had not recovered and could not sleep, rolling around in place. Lang Shuo, who was a light sleeper, heard them.
Seeing that they were truly uncomfortable, Lang Shuo only said two sentences and could not bear to scold them too much. He remembered an old folk method taught by the elders in his village when he was young: frying several types of grain until scorched, then boiling them into water to drink. Made into scorched grain tea, it could ease indigestion and food stagnation, and also had a certain soothing effect on stomach discomfort.
He did not know whether scorched grain tea would work on beastmen. In any case, trying it did not cost money. Before, they had not had the ingredients, so forget it. Now they had grains. How could he watch the young wolves suffer?
After Lang Shuo finished speaking, he went to find usable grains. They were all common grains. Missing one or two kinds did not matter. Being able to gather five or six kinds was already an unexpected joy.
He washed the chosen grains and placed them in the stone pot, repeatedly stir-frying them. After the moisture evaporated and he smelled a scorched aroma, he used a ladle to scoop out most of it and place it into a bamboo tube.
When he was young, the neighbor’s family had a full jar of this. The grandmother who fried it had said it could be stored for a long time. However, Lang Shuo felt that with the young wolves’ eating momentum, it would not be stored for long.
A layer remained in the pot. He added water and boiled it. Very quickly, the sub-adults smelled a long-lost scent.
At that instant, it was as if they saw the old priest.
This time, there was no kind old priest. There was only Lang Shuo, who had made all kinds of delicious food for them since waking up. At this moment, Lang Shuo held bamboo bowls and handed them to them, one bowl per person, perfectly fair, with only one word.
“Drink.”
The sub-adults looked at the black medicinal water in their bowls, then at Lang Shuo, and swallowed.
What should they do? They already felt the bitterness before drinking it.
