Chapter 100
Not only Bai Tu, but even Bai Qi and the others immediately sensed that something was off.
They all came to the same conclusion: Someone was deliberately trying to stir up conflict.
“Who started this rumor?” Bai Tu frowned. Their top priority now was to track down the source of these false claims.
“My brother is already looking into it,” Bai Qi explained.
Because of the situation last night, Bai An and Bai Chen had begun conducting a headcount early in the morning, planning to increase the number of patrols.
Since it was winter and there was no need for hunting, finding extra patrol members wasn’t difficult—they had simply reassigned some of the less critical workers.
However, before they had even finished assembling the patrol teams, they overheard someone spreading rumors about the cubs.
To prevent exactly this kind of situation, Bai An had specifically ordered that last night’s discussion remain confidential.
Yet now, the rumors had escalated far beyond reality—what had originally been a dispute between two tribes had been twisted into claims that the Black Lion Tribe was about to launch a full-scale attack on their settlement.
Their fears from the night before were coming true.
Hearing that a battle might break out at any moment, many beastmen had already stopped working and were trying to find places to hide.
Bai An wasn’t against preparing for safety, but the problem was that it wasn’t time to run yet.
If everyone dropped everything and hid now, what would happen to the work that needed to be done?
They couldn’t all just stay in hiding indefinitely, waiting for an attack that might not even happen.
And even if war did break out, immediately fleeing wasn’t the best choice either.
In the past, when the tribe had fewer resources, their first instinct in times of crisis had been to hide, minimizing losses as much as possible.
But now?
Their tribe wasn’t the same anymore.
The settlement was filled with valuable supplies and resources—hundreds of livestock alone were being raised in the animal pens.
If they simply ran and hid, it would be the same as handing everything over to the enemy without a fight.
And once the Black Lion Tribe left, what would be left for them?
Only hunger and the freezing cold.
Winter was more terrifying than war. Every year, far more beastmen died from starvation than from tribal conflicts.
Months of relentless ice and snow meant that those without food often perished in despair.
Bai An had personally watched their tribe accumulate supplies little by little. The thought of simply giving it all up was unbearable—it would be worse than death.
More importantly, if they lost their resources, the tribe’s standard of living could become worse than before.
Once people experienced stability and plenty, they would never want to go back to the days of uncertainty and hunger.
But the panicked beastmen didn’t think that far ahead.
All they knew was how to protect themselves.
The Black Lion Tribe was made up of lions—apex predators.
And at the end of the day, weaker species would always carry a deep-rooted fear of the strong.
Bai Chen was in charge of investigating the source of the rumors, Bai An was responsible for persuading the frightened beastmen, and the task of organizing the wolf tribe’s response with Lang Ze was assigned to Bai Tu.
Bai Qi had rushed over for this very reason as well.
Bai An, Bai Chen, and the others were seething with anger at the instigators of the rumors while also worrying that the Black Lion Tribe might actually come.
The sooner the wolf tribe members arrived, the better. Given the urgency of the situation, Bai Tu skipped breakfast and immediately checked the roster, mobilizing all the available wolf tribe members. Unlike the Snow Rabbit Tribe, which was slightly tense, Lang Ze was excited upon hearing the news.
“Are we really going to fight?” Lang Ze rubbed his hands together eagerly and asked Bai Tu with great enthusiasm, “When do we start?”
Ever since they returned from the market, they hadn’t gone out hunting.
The only bit of activity they had was patrolling, and the young wolves were already itching for action.
Now, at last, they had a legitimate excuse to fight. If not for Bai Tu and Lang Qi being present, Lang Ze would have already charged straight to the Black Lion Tribe to ask if they were going to fight or not—if they were, then they should hurry up! What was the point of dawdling?
Bai Tu: “…”
Although Lang Ze hadn’t explicitly said anything, Bai Tu could already guess his thoughts from his excited demeanor.
Handing over the roster, Bai Tu reminded him, “Avoid fighting if possible. Remember to listen to Chief Bai An.”
The combined numbers of their allied tribes far exceeded the Black Lion Tribe, so they wouldn’t lose. However, no matter how many times conflicts arose, Bai Tu still wasn’t used to this constant readiness for battle.
Fortunately, compared to the hot-blooded younger members of the wolf tribe, Bai An was steadier and could rein things in somewhat.
Lang Ze agreed readily, took the roster, and immediately ran off.
Bai Tu rubbed his slightly sore wrist. Writing on bamboo slips was still inconvenient, especially with all the recent mobilizations. After a full day of work, his fingers were trembling slightly.
By midday, Bai An and Bai Chen arrived, their expressions somewhat grim.
Having served as chief for so many years, Bai An’s authority in the tribe was unquestionable.
Bai Chen had grown up in the tribe since childhood, and with father and son working together, they quickly uncovered the source of the rumors. However, when they found out who had started them, both felt reluctant to face Bai Tu.
Because the one spreading falsehoods was none other than Tu Bing’s younger brother, Tu Lei. His reason? He felt that Bai Chen’s status was being threatened.
The tribe functioned as a collective, but even within it, there were varying degrees of closeness.
In Tu Lei’s mind, Bai Chen, as his sister’s mate, should naturally be closer to him than Bai Tu.
However, since the rainy season, Bai Tu’s standing in the tribe had been rising steadily. Particularly when he took in the cat tribe, Bai An not only listened to Bai Tu’s advice but even declared in front of both the cat and wolf tribes that Bai Tu was another leader of the tribe.
Tu Lei had taken those words to heart.
In his view, once Bai An stepped down, Bai Chen should succeed him as chief. That way, Tu Lei, as the chief’s mate’s younger brother, would gain more status and people would naturally try to curry favor with him.
But now, with Bai Tu ranked higher than Bai Chen, Bai Chen’s position was pushed back, and by extension, Tu Lei’s own status was diminished. That was when he began scheming.
However, Bai Tu continued to contribute to the tribe in countless ways, earning widespread respect.
There was hardly a single beastman who opposed him, leaving Tu Lei with no real opportunities to act.
The only time he had tried, by encouraging a few beastmen to slack off, Bai Tu quickly saw through it. And when the point-based system was implemented, the beastmen he had tempted into idleness no longer dared to be lazy. Ever since then, Tu Lei had been searching for another opportunity.
When Bai Tu brought back the Red Eagle Tribe’s young cubs, Tu Lei saw the perfect excuse to stir trouble.
Given the Black Lion Tribe’s hostility, he deliberately exaggerated the issue.
His initial plan was to claim that Bai Tu bringing back the cubs had burdened the tribe and wasted resources. However, in the past two days, the Yellow Lion Tribe and White Lion Tribe had both sent food, making that argument invalid. The only angle left was to blame Bai Tu for offending the Black Lion Tribe by bringing in the cubs.
Tu Lei was cautious—he didn’t directly point fingers at Bai Tu, fearing that the beastmen might turn on him instead. Instead, he framed the situation in a way that would inevitably place the responsibility for handling the cubs on Bai Tu.
If Bai Tu refused to abandon them, he would be criticized for burdening the tribe. If he agreed to discard them, Tu Lei would spread rumors that Bai Tu was heartless. Either way, his goal was to ruin Bai Tu’s reputation.
If most of the tribe stopped supporting Bai Tu, Bai Chen’s status would be restored to what it was before.
As the younger brother of the chief’s son’s mate, Tu Lei would still have people trying to curry favor with him. And once Bai An stepped down, his own status would rise even further.
After hearing this, Bai Tu just felt emotionally detached.
Seeing the awkward expressions on Bai An and Bai Chen’s faces, he quickly reassured them, “As long as we’ve found the person responsible, it’s easier to deal with. Just have everyone continue working. Lang Ze has already taken people over to the Black Lion Tribe.”
Currently, the Black Lion Tribe and the Snow Rabbit Tribe shared a connected border. Until this issue was fully resolved, the wolf tribe would need to station most of their forces there.
As for how to handle Tu Lei, Bai Tu decided to leave it to Bai An. From what he knew of Bai An, he was confident that the chief would come up with a solution that would satisfy everyone.
After Bai An and Bai Chen left, Bai Tu sighed and rubbed his temples.
Tu Lei’s reaction was exactly the kind of thing he worried about the most. A tribe’s rise or fall depended heavily on its internal stability.
It was like a tug-of-war—only when everyone pulled in the same direction would they move forward properly. If some people pulled in different directions, the effort would be wasted. And if someone pulled in the opposite direction, it could be disastrous.
“This is too difficult…” Bai Tu sighed again. No matter what he did, it was impossible to make everyone happy.
Lang Qi reached out and smoothed the frown on Bai Tu’s forehead, his voice calm and unwavering. “Let’s go back to the wolf tribe.” He seemed to think that, as the wolf tribe’s leader, no one there would have anything to say about Bai Tu.
Bai Tu: “???” Just like that, he wanted to switch tribes?
“…Forget it, I’m fine here.” Bai Tu grabbed Lang Qi’s hand and absentmindedly played with it.
Lang Qi’s body temperature was higher than his, and even in winter, his palms were warm—comfortably so.
As for switching tribes, Bai Tu had no such intention. Lang Qi might not care now, but if he regretted it when he was fully clear-headed, things would get awkward.
Besides, Bai Tu was quite comfortable in the Snow Rabbit Tribe. There were some minor issues at the moment, but once they were handled, everything would be fine. If he changed tribes over something this small, no number of tribes would be enough to switch to.
The tribe was something he had put his heart and soul into, and Bai Tu wanted to see it grow stronger. Besides, if he were to switch tribes, his first choice would be to follow Hei Xiao back to the Black Hawk Tribe.
A flicker of disappointment flashed through Lang Qi’s eyes, but in the end, he simply lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to Bai Tu’s forehead. “Mm.”
Just then, the soft whimpering of the cubs came from inside. Bai Tu immediately said, “I’ll go check on them.” It was already noon, and it was time for their feeding.
With the cold weather setting in, Bai Tu had remodeled his cave once again.
To fully enter the cave, one had to lift two thick animal hide curtains. For better lighting, both curtains had small gaps, but since the openings were staggered, the cold wind couldn’t blow straight through.
The interior had undergone even more changes.
There were now two bedrooms—the outer one for the two cubs and the inner one for Bai Tu and Lang Qi.
Lang Qi wasn’t too happy that the two rooms were separated by only a single wall and had tried to move the cubs further out, but after much persuasion, Bai Tu barely managed to make him accept the setup.
Outside the bedrooms was a space that functioned as both a living room and dining area, furnished with a dining table and a desk.
A small heated kang bed had been added next to the original stove. Bai Tu usually worked in this room—it wasn’t as warm as the bedroom, but it was much better than being outside.
On the opposite side of the living room, mirroring the bedrooms, was the medicine room, where various herbs and prepared medicines were stored.
It was the coldest place in the entire cave, perfect for preserving medicine. However, unless necessary, Bai Tu rarely went in—it was simply too cold.
Only recently did Bai Tu realize just how sensitive he was to the cold.
It was one thing to wear a few extra layers of fur, but even walking from the mountain to the kitchen left his hands and feet freezing like ice blocks, and he had to sit in the dining hall for ages to warm up.
Every night, he would go to bed feeling comfortably warm, yet by the time he woke up, he had somehow burrowed under Lang Qi’s belly, clearly having crawled in there for warmth in the middle of the night.
However, this wasn’t even the coldest part of winter yet. Just thinking about the snow-covered landscapes everyone had described, Bai Tu was already starting to worry about how they would make it through.
Pondering over how bitterly cold winter could get, Bai Tu sighed as he walked toward the bedroom. Lang Qi watched his back thoughtfully.
With the cold weather and their young age, the wolf cubs still spent most of their time sleeping.
Apart from mealtimes, they were only awake for two or three hours a day at most, and whenever they woke up, it was either because they were hungry or needed to relieve themselves.
Seizing the moment before Lang Qi could follow him, Bai Tu scooped up the two little wolves into his arms and rubbed them one by one.
Having not been held by Bai Tu for a while, the little gray wolf whimpered pitifully and clung tightly to the fur on Bai Tu’s clothes. The little black wolf didn’t make a sound but also latched onto Bai Tu.
Just as Bai Tu was about to carry the two cubs to the bathroom, Lang Qi reached out and effortlessly lifted them from his arms.
The cubs tried to hold onto Bai Tu’s fur, but their strength was no match for Lang Qi’s. With barely any effort, he plucked them up.
Lang Qi strode over to set the cubs down in the right spot, then looked at Bai Tu disapprovingly. “You spoil them too much.” At this age, the little wolves shouldn’t still be acting so clingy.
Bai Tu: “…They’re not even three years old!”
Many tribes preferred to have their young in the spring since summer was the season with the most abundant resources, ensuring a higher survival rate for newborns.
Among all seasons, winter was the hardest for young cubs. For those under three years old, every winter was a major hurdle in their lives—getting through it safely was no easy feat.
These two cubs wouldn’t turn three until next spring and still required careful attention. Even though this winter would be their last before reaching three years old, Bai Tu didn’t dare be careless.
Lang Qi didn’t argue with Bai Tu’s reasoning. Instead, he simply stroked Bai Tu’s hand twice and asked, “What do you want to eat?” He was willing to go get it.
Food.
“I’ll go down in a bit,” Bai Tu said, guessing that Lang Qi intended to bring the food back up for him. He shook his head. The weather was cold, and even though part of the path back was inside the cave, food brought up from the base of the mountain would cool down quickly.
Reheating it wouldn’t taste as good as eating it fresh out of the pot. Besides, he already didn’t have many chances to go out in the winter. If he skipped going down even for meals, he might as well not leave the cave all season.
Lang Qi frowned but ultimately relented. However, before they left, he spent a good while preparing—he wrapped Bai Tu up in an oversized animal hide and added an extra pair of shoes to his feet.
“All set.”
Bai Tu couldn’t help but laugh. He was already wearing plenty, and now, with another layer on top, he was practically turning into a walking ball.
It wasn’t until Bai Tu refused for the third time to wear any more layers that Lang Qi finally stopped.
He washed the cubs’ paws, put them back on the bed, secured the railing around it, and then led Bai Tu down the mountain.
Watching Lang Qi move through these tasks so smoothly, Bai Tu couldn’t help but marvel at how proficient he had become at taking care of the cubs.
It was mealtime, and the dining hall was bustling. When some of the people saw Bai Tu, a few awkwardly lowered their heads.
But Bai Tu’s mind was entirely on lunch. He had only managed to grab a quick bite in the morning due to the unexpected situation, and now, the sight of food made his stomach grumble.
He instinctively placed a hand over his stomach. Fortunately, everyone around him was hungry as well, and given that they were in the dining hall, the sound of a growling stomach was nothing unusual—no one paid it any mind.
Lunch was typically the most substantial meal of the day.
After scanning the dishes available, Bai Tu picked out three bowls of meat, a serving of soup, and two flatbreads. Before he could carry them, Lang Qi took over, balancing a tray in each hand and carrying their meals to an empty table.
Bai Tu stared at the food he had chosen and fell silent for a moment. Forget about the portion sizes—the type of food had changed significantly compared to before.
Back in summer, meals were usually balanced between greens and meat, and sometimes they were even limited to half portions of certain vegetables. But now, three out of the four dishes were purely meat-based, and even the only soup dish contained barely any greens, mostly just sliced meat.
The alarming part was that this had become the norm over the past few days. Bai Tu wasn’t worried about the tribe running out of food, but a new concern arose—if this continued, wouldn’t he gain dozens of pounds by the end of winter?
Even as he worried, his hands didn’t stop moving.
The flatbread wasn’t the soft kind but a crispy, baked variety.
Made by kneading scalded and warm water dough together, it was then coated with shortening, rolled out into small discs, and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
One bite filled the mouth with a fragrant, flaky texture—so flavorful that even the meat-loving wolf tribe members enjoyed them. However, since making them was time-consuming, Tu Mu had to limit them to two per person; otherwise, the later diners wouldn’t get any.
The combination of the crisp, aromatic flatbread and the slow-braised meat was incredibly satisfying. The more Bai Tu ate, the more he enjoyed it. By the time he finished his meal, he had even broken into a slight sweat.
Lang Qi took their trays away and, on his way back, grabbed two portions of food for the cubs.
Most of the cubs’ meals were liquid-based and stored in specially designed clay pots.
To make it easier for people to bring food back for the young, Bai Tu had even designed a double-layered pot. A larger and a smaller clay pot were nested together, with hot water filling the space in between. This way, when the food was carried up to the cave, it would still be warm.
However, since carrying hot water up the mountain was risky, these containers were made small, only suitable for holding meals for two or three cubs at a time.
Lang Qi carried the pots, leaving Bai Tu free to focus on watching the road. The two walked out of the dining hall and headed back toward the cave.
Just as they reached the base of the mountain and were about to climb up, they heard movement coming from inside one of the caves at the foot of the mountain.
Bai Tu stopped in his tracks, deciding to go take a look.
While most of the beastmen in the tribe were simple and kind-hearted, conflicts were inevitable when so many people lived together.
Bai Tu absolutely would not tolerate bullying in any form. The moment he noticed any signs of it, he would put a stop to it immediately. Even if it was just children picking on other children, it still wasn’t acceptable.
Lang Qi stayed close by, protectively guarding Bai Tu’s side as he glanced toward the cave.
Bai Tu walked forward for about ten meters, reaching the cave entrance just as Tu Bing stopped what she was doing inside.
Inside the cave, Tu Lei was completely bound, wearing only a single layer of the poorest-quality animal hide.
The temperature at the base of the mountain was much lower than that of the caves higher up, and unlike those, this one had no heated kang bed. The cold wind blew in from outside, making Tu Lei shiver violently. But more terrifying than the cold was the vine whip in Tu Bing’s hands.
Tu Bing was taller than most rabbit tribe women.
Though she looked slender, her strength was in no way inferior to others.
Before her pregnancy, she had led the gathering team, tirelessly searching for food. Back then, the cat tribe hadn’t arrived yet, and Tu Bing was the only one daring enough to climb trees that other rabbit tribespeople wouldn’t even attempt. She had earned her position as the gathering team leader through sheer effort.
Because of that, she found Tu Lei’s behavior especially intolerable—she wished she could beat him to death right then and there. Naturally, she wasn’t holding back in the slightest.
“I was wrong! Sis, I know I was wrong…” Tu Lei felt pain radiating from every part of his body.
He had feared Tu Bing ever since he was a child—no matter how much bravado he showed in front of others, the moment he saw her, he was like a helpless chick caught in someone’s grasp, wishing he could disappear.
This was the worst beating he had ever received in his life.
Tu Bing had no intention of letting anyone plead for mercy on his behalf.
She had chosen the most secluded cave on purpose and waited until most of the tribe was eating in the dining hall before doing this, ensuring that no one would come to intervene. She wanted Tu Lei to remember this lesson well.
“If I ever catch you pulling these kinds of stunts again, you can leave the tribe for good,” Tu Bing said, dropping the vine whip and touching her belly.
Before Bai Tu saved Bai Chen, she had nearly lost her mate, and their child had almost been born fatherless.
The gratitude she and Bai Chen felt toward Bai Tu couldn’t be put into mere words. So when she heard from Bai Chen that the morning’s rumors had been spread by Tu Lei—simply because he felt Bai Tu threatened Bai Chen’s future position as chief—Tu Bing had nearly fainted from anger.
Anyone with half a brain could see how vastly different the Snow Rabbit Tribe was now compared to before.
Tu Bing would rather be an ordinary beastman in this thriving tribe than go back to the days when every morning was a struggle just to find food.
Now, even war captives in their tribe could eat their fill—something that no other tribe provided. And all of these changes had happened because of Bai Tu.
Let alone the fact that Bai Chen wasn’t even the chief yet—even if Bai An were to hand over the position directly to Bai Tu, Tu Bing wouldn’t have any complaints.
But Tu Lei, just for the sake of a little bit of power, not only disregarded the safety of the tribe and deliberately spread fear, but also attempted to ruin Bai Tu’s reputation. Either one of these offenses alone was unacceptable to Tu Bing.
After she finished speaking, Tu Lei, who had been howling in pain moments ago, was so shocked that he momentarily forgot his agony. “Sis?”
Being expelled from the tribe was the most severe punishment aside from execution. Especially in winter, getting banished was almost a death sentence.
The surrounding tribes either had good relations with the Snow Rabbit Tribe or, like the Black Lion Tribe, were hostile toward them—none of them would take in a beastman who had been cast out. Tu Lei had thought that the worst consequence of getting caught would be a harsh beating.
Seeing Tu Lei frozen in fear from her words, Tu Bing’s eyes remained icy cold, but inside, she felt a wave of dread.
Bai Tu had left the decision of punishment to Bai An. However, Bai An found himself in a dilemma.
Normally, he wouldn’t have considered Tu Bing’s feelings in particular, but she was currently pregnant, and an unborn cub’s safety was always a priority.
He was worried that this situation might affect her child. At the same time, Tu Lei’s attempt to frame Bai Tu couldn’t simply be overlooked.
Just as Bai An and Bai Chen were discussing secretly sending Tu Lei to the mines to avoid upsetting Tu Bing, she overheard their conversation.
Her first instinct was to find Bai Tu and apologize.
Tu Lei was her last remaining blood relative, but right was right, and wrong was wrong. However, just as she arrived outside Bai Tu’s cave, the first thing she heard was—Lang Qi inviting Bai Tu to join the wolf tribe!
Everyone in the tribe already recognized the relationship between Lang Qi and Bai Tu.
The two were officially mates, but they had never publicly stated which tribe they would settle in.
Right now, Lang Qi was living in the Snow Rabbit Tribe, which, at the end of the day, was an advantage for them—he didn’t have to worry about safety, and his presence kept the lion tribe and vulture tribe in check.
If Bai Tu were to leave, there would be no reason for the other wolf tribe members to stay.
That one sentence from Lang Qi sent a cold sweat running down Tu Bing’s back.
Luckily, Bai Tu didn’t agree in the end. Otherwise, even if she killed Tu Lei right then and there, it wouldn’t have been enough to make up for the loss. Tu Bing couldn’t even begin to imagine what would become of the rabbit tribe if Bai Tu and the wolf tribe left.
For a small tribe, having an abundance of resources wasn’t always a good thing—especially in a season when food was scarce. A well-stocked small tribe was no different from a juicy piece of meat left out in the open desert—everyone would want a bite.
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