Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH108

Chapter 108

The reason Bai Tu even entertained the thought of pregnancy was largely because of the black wolf cub. Apart from their difference in age, the cub bore an uncanny resemblance to Lang Qi—at least an 80% similarity.

However, Bai Tu felt completely different looking at the cub compared to looking at Lang Qi, so he was certain they weren’t the same.

He reached out and touched his still-flat stomach, wondering if he had just been thinking about cubs too much and had dreamed about them multiple times as a result.

Still, the dream had been too vivid.

He had been wearing the exact same animal hide from earlier that day, down to the buttons. The only thing that had changed was his stomach.

That sealed door in his dream—who knew when it would open? Since he had nothing better to do, Bai Tu simply sat with the cubs in his arms, finding joy in just watching them.

Each of the three cubs had a distinct sleeping posture.

The white wolf cub, timid as ever, liked sleeping between the other two.

The gray cub was the most restless in its sleep—its little paws twitched as if dreaming of something fun, occasionally flipping over. The more it moved, the further it drifted from the center.

The black wolf cub, the most well-behaved, barely moved at all. Perhaps because it was slightly older, it was far more composed, much like Lang Qi.

Bai Tu gently ran his fingers through their soft fur. These three were younger than the cubs outside—so soft that he didn’t even dare to use any force.

Their reactions to his touch varied as well.

The black cub’s nose twitched as if recognizing his scent. After confirming it was Bai Tu, it scooted even closer to him.

The white cub, on the other hand, whimpered even more pitifully after being comforted, rubbing against his hand.

As for the gray cub—it rolled over, sprawling out completely on Bai Tu’s hand, belly up, limbs wide open.

Bai Tu worried it would get cold and gently tucked it back under the animal hide.

The cubs hadn’t slept for long before waking up.

The black cub, realizing it had fallen asleep in Bai Tu’s arms, subtly turned its head away—only the slight wag of its tail betraying its happiness.

The gray cub, now reenergized, immediately started making noise, as if it had a lot to tell him.

The white cub clung tightly to Bai Tu’s animal hide, all four paws gripping onto it.

Having been through this dream before, Bai Tu knew he was about to wake up soon. He reluctantly leaned down and rubbed his face against each cub.

“I’ll come see you again next time, okay?”

As if understanding his words, the white cub let out a few reluctant whimpers. The black cub remained silent, while the gray cub protested urgently.

“I’ll be back soon,” Bai Tu reassured them, kissing each cub in turn.

He had no control over whether he stayed or woke up—it happened naturally. If not, he wouldn’t have suddenly woken up both times before.

Gently stroking the cubs one last time, he placed the animal hide on the ground beside them.

He didn’t know if his dream self would vanish the moment he woke up, but if it did, the cubs would suddenly drop from his arms.

A fall of over a meter might not be much for an adult, but for these tiny cubs, it would definitely hurt.

Just the thought of it made Bai Tu’s heart ache.

The cubs seemed to sense he was leaving and instinctively grabbed onto the hide.

With the last moments he had, Bai Tu lightly petted them.

Then, a warm breeze blew in from nowhere, making him drowsy.

Just as his eyes drifted shut, it felt like he had stepped off a stair into thin air— And when he opened his eyes again, he was staring straight at Lang Qi.

Bai Tu sighed. As expected—he had woken up.

“Did you have a dream?” Lang Qi asked in a low voice.

“Yeah.” Bai Tu shifted back into his human form and nodded. Without thinking, he reached down and touched his stomach. “I dreamed of some cubs.”

A flicker of excitement flashed through Lang Qi’s eyes, but seeing that Bai Tu didn’t seem particularly thrilled, he quickly suppressed it and didn’t show his emotions. Instead, he lowered his head and nuzzled against him. “What do you want to eat?”

At the mention of food, Bai Tu suddenly realized how hungry he was. He glanced down at his arms and stomach before deciding to just go with the flow.

“Everything.”

Lately, along with his increased appetite, his cravings had also been stronger. There wasn’t anything he didn’t feel like eating. Plus, given the tribe’s limited food options, there was no point in being picky—he would just eat whatever was made.

“Okay.” Lang Qi pressed a light kiss to the corner of his lips before getting up to dress and prepare breakfast.

Bai Tu sat on the bed, watching Lang Qi change and leave the bedroom.

Then, he glanced down at his stomach again.

Finally, he sighed and picked out a looser outfit to wear.

For the time being, Bai Tu shifted all his work to the cave, avoiding going outside unless necessary. The cold weather already made most people reluctant to go out, so his change in routine didn’t draw any suspicion.

Winter days passed more quickly than summer—the daylight hours were only about a third of the entire day. 

People tried to finish their tasks while the sun was up, but even with the ability to see at night, the low temperatures made it unbearable.

The thermometers they had made were only accurate for above-freezing temperatures, but judging from the ice outside, Bai Tu estimated that it had dropped to around -20°C. 

Even beastmen, who were naturally resistant to the cold, disliked going out in such weather. It wasn’t just the cold itself—the snow and ice made walking difficult. 

The ground was uneven, sometimes sinking deep, sometimes staying firm, often soaking shoes and the animal hides wrapped around their legs. Roads that hadn’t been walked on became as hard as stone, freezing their feet stiff after just a short distance.

Bai Tu didn’t go out often, but after watching how difficult it was for others, he had an idea. He had the woodworkers craft some wooden boards and sturdy bamboo poles to make snow sleds. 

For long-distance travel, especially in areas with fewer people, they could simply slide across the ice, covering large distances in minutes with just a single push.

The new transportation method quickly caught on. 

The only downside was that the sleds were too fast—using them near the tribe’s living area was risky. A single miscalculated stop could send someone crashing into a person or a house, leading to anything from bruises to broken limbs. Even with beastmen’s fast recovery, no one wanted to suffer from that kind of injury.

Initially, many beastmen had been content to stay in their warm caves all winter. But after learning how to use the sleds, they suddenly didn’t want to stay inside anymore. Boredom led to sledding for fun, and soon, groups of beastmen were taking their sleds outside just to race and play in the snow.

With this new method of travel, Lang Ze, who had previously claimed that his last visit would be his last, showed up again on his sled the very next day.

One of the main reasons people had avoided traveling in winter was the deep snow, which made movement difficult and exhausting. But sleds eliminated that problem. The cold alone was easier to tolerate.

Bai Tu hadn’t expected them to brave the freezing winds just to come over. When he saw them enter, their eyelashes covered in frost, he could only laugh helplessly and usher them into a warmer room.

The room originally belonged to the two wolf cubs, but as the weather grew colder, Bai Tu had started keeping them in the main bedroom for safety. 

He had placed a small bed on the heated kang bed for them to sleep on. The now-empty room was mainly used for storing clothes and supplies, so it only took a little tidying up to make it livable again—just in time for Lang Ze and the others to warm up.

Lang Ze was still grinning in excitement—until he caught sight of Lang Qi’s expression.

A sudden shiver ran down his spine, making him feel colder than he had outside.

When he looked again, Lang Qi’s expression seemed normal.

Did I imagine that just now?

Lang Qi simply said, “Let them handle it themselves.” He didn’t let Bai Tu do any of the work, merely gathering up some animal hides while leaving the rest for Langze and his group to sort out.

The young wolves were quick to pick up on the mood and immediately got to work.

Of course, Lang Ze hadn’t just come for fun—he had a serious issue to discuss with Bai Tu.

The wolves had hunted a lot over the summer. The captured prey were housed in warm enclosures, so food shortage wasn’t a problem—but their appetites had grown enormous.

Now, the tribe was running low on dry grass.

Bai Tu thought it over.

The wolf tribe had caught more prey than his own tribe, but the amount of dry grass was roughly the same. Many of the animals that had been tiny in summer had grown rapidly in the past few months, their weight and appetite increasing sharply. Naturally, dry grass was being consumed much faster than expected.

After a brief moment of consideration, Bai Tu gave his suggestion:

“Keep the largest male bulls and rams for breeding. But for the rest—slaughter them for meat. Keep the female animals to breed more young. As for the smaller animals, continue raising them. If the dry grass isn’t enough, we’ll send some over from here.”

The Snow Rabbit Tribe had just enough dry grass to last through the winter, but not much extra. 

By redistributing supplies, they could avoid running out—but it also meant some livestock had to be culled. Those that ate too much while growing too little were better off being used for food.

Bai Tu explained his reasoning to the group, telling them this was the best long-term approach for the future as well.

As he finished, the wolves—including Lang Ze—shuddered in unison.

“Eats a lot but doesn’t grow much…”

That… kind of described them too.

Because of that one statement, lunchtime was unusually quiet.

The young wolves, usually big eaters, noticeably cut back on their portions.

Despite eyeing the feast longingly, they didn’t dare eat too much, afraid Bai Tu would think they were the kind that “ate too much and didn’t grow enough.”

There weren’t many visitors this time—only Lang Ze, Lang Zuo, and Lang You. Since they hadn’t seen Lang Qi in over a month, they all stayed to eat together instead of going to the dining hall.

The young wolves were known for their huge appetites, so when Bai Tu saw them staring at their food without moving, he was puzzled.

“Why aren’t you eating? Is the food not to your liking?”

That didn’t seem right—half of the dishes were made by Lang Qi.

Hearing this, Lang Qi cast a glance at the young wolves.

Lang Ze immediately grabbed his chopsticks. “I’ll eat right now.”

Not eating was not an option—being stared at by his older brother was far worse.

“Eat some vegetables.” Bai Tu used the communal chopsticks to place some greens on everyone’s plates, including Lang Qi’s.

The vegetables had been harvested and stored in cold storage before winter. Since beastmen primarily relied on meat for energy, vegetables weren’t particularly popular. In most cases, they were only used as side ingredients rather than eaten alone.

But with the cold weather and the heated floors constantly burning, the young wolves were all a bit overheated. Their body heat and energy levels were naturally high, so eating more vegetables would help balance things out.

Since the vegetables were given by Bai Tu—and Lang Qi was watching—Lang Ze had no choice but to suffer through them.

With the new sleds, traveling between the two tribes had become effortless. Since roads had been cleared beforehand, collisions were rare, making sliding between locations even faster.

After visiting frequently, Lang Ze eventually noticed something strange.

“Tu, why don’t you ever come out to play?” he asked, looking confused.

The new sleds were practically perfect—aside from their fragility and the occasional face-first crash from stopping too late, there were no downsides. Even when they weren’t patrolling, they still went out sledding for fun. But Bai Tu? He had never used one.

Anytime they invented something new, Bai Tu would always test it at least once, whether he liked it or not. But this time, he hadn’t tried it at all.

Hearing the question, Bai Tu adjusted his animal hide and calmly explained, “It’s too cold. I don’t really feel like going outside.”

In reality, he was avoiding people—worried that someone might notice something unusual.

Bai Tu still didn’t fully understand what was happening to him.

The idea that he was carrying a cub was too shocking.

Having already experienced something as absurd as traveling to another world, he could force himself to accept it. He still had trouble believing it, but if it were true, he’d actually be happy—after all, it was his cub, no matter what.

But others might not react the same way.

His lower stomach had grown even more noticeable recently. With thinner clothing, it was getting harder to hide. To avoid suspicion, Bai Tu reduced contact with others.

He planned to wait until winter ended before asking Hei Xiao.

For something this strange, he trusted Hei Xiao more than anyone else.

Hearing Bai Tu say he was afraid of the cold, Lang Ze was disappointed that he wouldn’t be joining them. After warming up in the cave for a bit, he couldn’t sit still any longer and grabbed his sled, heading off to find a place to ski.

They couldn’t sled freely in the village because of the buildings, but there were plenty of open areas further out. The beastmen, eager to play, had even cleared a large area just for sledding.

Bai Tu watched Lang Ze’s cheerful figure disappear, especially when he found running too slow and shifted into beast form instead.

The sight reminded him of another, much smaller wolf cub.

He turned back just in time to see Lang Qi emerging from the inner room, holding a thick animal hide.

Without a word, Lang Qi spread it out and draped it over Bai Tu’s shoulders.

“It’s cold outside,” he murmured.

The winter sun seemed to provide light but no warmth.

Then, Bai Tu suddenly asked, “When are you going back?”

Lang Qi blinked. “What?”

He leaned down, rubbing his forehead lightly against Bai Tu’s, fastening the buttons on his coat.

Bai Tu looked up at him, his voice soft but clear:

“You’ve recovered. Aren’t you going back to the wolf tribe?”

Lang Qi’s hands paused mid-movement.

His gaze met Bai Tu’s.

For a moment, he was at a loss for words.