Chapter 110
“The land between the two tribes…” Bai Tu pondered for a moment.
He hadn’t given much thought to that area before. When he had surveyed the terrain, he had consulted Bai Qi, who was most familiar with the central territory. Since Bai Tu had initially leaned toward building in the center, that was the area he had considered.
However, now that Lang Ze had mentioned it, Bai Tu realized it was worth considering.
The two tribes had many areas where they needed to communicate and exchange resources. For instance, in the beginning, it was the wolf tribe that helped catch the young prey animals, and when the wolf tribe was short on food, they could rely on the Snow Rabbit tribe for help.
Exchanging resources and working together was far easier than a single tribe trying to figure out everything on their own.
If the Snow Rabbit tribe’s new settlement was placed at the border of their territory, then the Blood Wolf tribe wouldn’t need to search for a separate location. They could simply divide a large enough piece of land into two sections—the Snow Rabbits settling in the north and the Wolves in the south.
However, Bai Tu hesitated about the terrain. “Is there a large enough flat area that can be cleared easily?”
There were quite a few flat lands between the two territories, but to free up an entire area, they would have to cut down at least seventy to eighty percent of the trees, leaving only those along the paths. Otherwise, not only would it interfere with construction, but the houses themselves wouldn’t be stable. Clearing trees was no small task—even with iron tools, chopping down large trees was still difficult.
When it came to terrain, Lang Ze was an expert. He immediately picked up a wooden board and a brush, sketching out a rough map. He even marked the approximate number of trees in each area.
Bai Tu was a little surprised—remembering the locations of trees in such detail was impressive. But the more Lang Ze knew, the easier it was for Bai Tu to plan.
Bai Tu circled a spot on the map and then asked, “What about the trees further out? Are there many?”
Lang Ze hesitated for a moment, then suddenly declared with certainty, “Not many!”
Bai Tu frowned. “If there aren’t many, that’s not ideal…”
A dense cluster of trees around the houses could provide shade and make the settlement more concealed. But if there weren’t enough trees, it wasn’t necessarily a problem—they could just space out the houses more instead of clustering them too closely.
As Bai Tu was still thinking, Lang Ze suddenly let out a loud howl: “I remembered wrong! There ARE trees!”
The sudden outburst startled Bai Tu, making him jolt in surprise. He gave Lang Ze a helpless look. “So what if you remembered wrong? Why the dramatic reaction?”
Getting startled was fine, but the shout was so loud that even his stomach twitched a little in response.
Using the table as cover, Bai Tu discreetly rubbed his belly.
He heard Lang Ze suck in a sharp breath, then looked up at him before glancing at Lang Qi beside him.
In that moment, something suddenly clicked in Bai Tu’s mind. Moving the wooden board aside, he asked Lang Ze, “You went back to the tribe this morning. Must’ve been tiring, right?”
Lang Ze immediately shook his head. “Not tired, not tired—” Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly realized something and abruptly shut up.
But it was already too late. Bai Tu had heard enough. He cast a meaningful glance at Lang Qi before turning back to Lang Ze. “It’s fine. I’ll handle the rest. You should eat something first and rest before heading back to the tribe.”
“I already ate—” Lang Ze glanced at Lang Qi, then at Bai Tu, and decided to keep quiet.
“You still have time. Go get something from the canteen,” Bai Tu urged.
No one could say no to food, especially young wolves still in their growth phase. Lang Ze left with a few younger wolves, leaving only Bai Tu and Lang Qi in the cave.
Bai Tu glanced at Lang Qi. “Did you bully Ze again?”
Lang Qi noticed the faint smile on Bai Tu’s face and knew he wasn’t actually angry. Feeling bold, he leaned down and kissed the corner of Bai Tu’s lips. “I didn’t bully him.”
This was the first time he had kissed him so directly after everything had been resolved. Seeing that Bai Tu didn’t resist, Lang Qi shifted slightly closer. One hand lifted, gently caressing Bai Tu’s belly. With their cubs soon to be born, his heart was overflowing with joy.
But Bai Tu didn’t give him the chance to continue messing around. He pointed toward the room. “The cubs need to eat.”
Lately, their cubs’ appetites had increased again.
Feeding them every four to five hours wasn’t enough anymore—it was more like every two to three hours now. Bai Tu understood how crucial this stage was for them, so he didn’t dare be careless. He always had food prepared in advance.
Lang Qi paused for a moment before reluctantly pulling back his hand. Looking at Bai Tu, he muttered in a low voice, “You only care about them.”
“And not about you?” Bai Tu shot him a glance.
Even though Lang Qi had recovered and their situation was now clear, he seemed different from before. The old Lang Qi would never have said something like that.
Lang Qi naturally wouldn’t tell Bai Tu that the reason he acted this way was because he had discovered it made Bai Tu soften up more easily. Instead, he nuzzled against Bai Tu’s shoulder and coaxed, “Why don’t you shift into your beast form?”
In his beast form, he could take Bai Tu with him wherever he went—just like on the way to the market before, or like this morning, carrying Bai Tu wrapped in soft furs and keeping him by his side at all times.
“Shift into beast form at this time of day? Seriously?” Bai Tu wanted to roll his eyes. “Fine, I’ll just go with you, okay?”
“Okay.” He didn’t get exactly what he wanted, but having Bai Tu by his side was just as good.
Once the cubs finished eating, they immediately went to sleep. Bai Tu had never seen them be this easy to handle before—normally, they would at least play for a while after eating, but now, the moment they closed their mouths, they dozed off instantly.
As he stroked the two little wolf cubs, Bai Tu suddenly asked, “What colors are Lang Yu and Lang Zhu?”
Lang Qi wasn’t expecting the question and was momentarily stunned before answering, “Yu is black, and Zhu is gray.”
Bai Tu nodded. One took after their father, the other after their mother—one black, one gray.
The sleeping wolf cubs lay sprawled in his hands, visibly bigger than before, especially when compared to the three cubs he had seen in his dreams.
Bai Tu recalled the first time he had seen them and bent down to kiss their tiny heads.
Before, when Lang Qi was healthy, he would have simply watched in silence. While he was sick, he absolutely would not have allowed this to happen. But now, Lang Qi handled it in an entirely new way—he shifted into his beast form, mimicked Bai Tu’s gesture, and kissed Bai Tu’s head twice before casually looking away, as if nothing had happened.
Bai Tu: “…”
So Lang Qi had recently figured out a new way to interact with him, huh?
Bai Tu pushed the big black wolf’s head away. “Go make dinner.”
*
Lang Ze and the others were eating at the communal dining hall, but Bai Tu and Lang Qi still needed to have dinner. There were also plenty of matters to deal with.
Even though Bai Tu now knew that the idea of building houses in the middle of the two tribes’ territories had originally been Lang Qi’s suggestion, he wasn’t going to outright reject it.
Ultimately, the decision needed careful thought—wherever the settlement was built, it should be in the most convenient location for the tribe.
Building in the middle of their own territory would be better for internal hunting, since no matter which direction they went, it would be close by. However, it would make communication with the Blood Wolf Tribe less convenient—just like now, a round trip took half a day.
On the other hand, placing the settlement near the border of both tribes would make exchanges easier but would complicate patrols, as they would have to cross the entire territory to reach the northernmost boundary.
Both options had their pros and cons, and this wasn’t a decision Bai Tu could make alone. He needed Bai An and the others to join in the discussion.
Since Lang Ze had already stayed longer than expected, they might as well take the opportunity to let him stay another day and finalize the discussion.
Bai An and the others still didn’t know that Lang Qi had fully recovered. Lang Qi didn’t intend to announce it, and Bai Tu wasn’t sure how to bring it up.
When Bai Tu sent word for them to come to the cave for a discussion, Bai An hesitated for a moment. In the end, he decided that if Lang Qi suddenly started a fight, he would immediately bolt.
Fortunately, Lang Qi was calmer than Bai An had expected. He barely spoke throughout the entire meeting. However, every time someone suggested that the center of their own territory was the best location, the room seemed to get noticeably colder.
Bai An wasn’t sure what Lang Qi was thinking. At first, he assumed that Lang Qi simply didn’t want them getting too close to the Blood Wolf Tribe’s land. After all, most tribes disliked having other tribes frequently appearing near their borders, even if they were on good terms.
For example, their relationship with the Deer Tribe was fairly good, but unless necessary, they didn’t interact too often.
Their current dealings with the Wolf Tribe had become much more frequent, but the Snow Rabbit Tribe still understood the importance of moderation. They avoided troubling them too much and were wary of the risk of being swallowed up if they settled too close.
No one dared to outright suggest building their settlement near the Wolf Tribe’s territory.
However, as the discussion continued, Bai An gradually realized something was off. Why was the conversation slowly but surely leaning toward placing their settlement inside the Wolf Tribe’s territory?
He looked at the map, noticing that their proposed living area was creeping further and further into the Blood Wolf Tribe’s land.
Frowning, Bai An looked at Bai Tu, then at Lang Qi, and finally turned to Lang Ze. “Uh… we’re talking about our tribe’s settlement, right?”
He was genuinely confused. How did more than half of the proposed land end up inside the Wolf Tribe’s territory?
“Of course!” Lang Ze responded immediately. “Our tribe’s residential area is right here!” He marked another blank area on Bai Tu’s drawing. There was no way they would take this opportunity to encroach on the Snow Rabbit Tribe’s land!
“That’s good.” Bai An let out a sigh of relief.
As long as they were discussing their own territory, there was no problem. Still, regardless of the discussion, they definitely couldn’t build on another tribe’s land. Bai An adjusted Lang Ze’s marked area slightly northward. “From here to here—this belongs to our tribe.”
Lang Ze wanted to pull the boundary a little closer to the Wolf Tribe’s territory, but Bai Tu stopped him. “This is fine. We’ll form two enclosed areas and then expand outward.”
The plan was similar to ancient towns, where expansion happened outward from the center of the residential district. Each tribe would have a square-shaped living area, and the edges would connect with one another.
Lang Qi glanced at the map and then pointed at the space separating the two settlements. “Make this the center and expand outward from here.”
“Huh?” Not only Bai Tu and Bai An, but even Lang Ze—who already knew Lang Qi’s plans—was shocked. Was he seriously proposing to merge the two tribes into one?
Lang Ze secretly observed the reactions of the Snow Rabbit Tribe members, wondering if they would get angry.
If things got tense, would they be able to leave safely? They definitely wouldn’t back down from a fight, but given the relationship between the tribes—and out of consideration for Bai Tu—they couldn’t afford to start one. If the Snow Rabbits attacked, they would have to retreat instead.
Lang Ze sighed internally. His brother really dared to say anything.
But as it turned out, Lang Qi wasn’t just talking casually. Under everyone’s stunned gazes, he continued, “We’ll place food and salt in the central area and have people live around it.”
Bai An had originally planned to reject the proposal outright, but when he heard that the central area would house food and salt, he hesitated.
Food and salt were among the most valuable resources in a tribe and needed to be well protected. Normally, they were stored at the heart of a settlement. However, one tribe guarding their own stores was not as secure as two tribes protecting a shared stockpile.
If they stored resources separately, and someone tried to steal from the Snow Rabbit Tribe, the Wolf Tribe wouldn’t be able to respond immediately. Even at their fastest, they would still need time to receive the message and arrive.
Additionally, if the population increased and the settlements expanded, the distance between the two tribe centers would grow, making immediate support even harder.
Lang Qi’s suggestion—placing all the food in a shared center under joint protection—actually sounded much safer.
The only lingering concern was the Wolf Tribe itself. Bai An glanced at Bai Tu and suddenly felt there was nothing to worry about.
With the preliminary plan settled, they would start construction as soon as the snow melted.
They needed to clear the land before the trees sprouted new leaves, then begin building. The goal was to complete the main structures before the rainy season, so that by the time the rains ended, everything would be ready for habitation.
Choosing the location was just the first step.
Bai Tu then began calculating the population of each species, trying to ensure that members of the same tribe lived close together while still keeping different groups near enough for easy communication and tribal unity.
Once the layout was finalized, Bai Tu moved on to designing the houses.
The first two concerns were warmth and drainage—one crucial for winter, the other for summer. If these issues weren’t solved, they might as well stay in their caves.
Fortunately, they had enough materials. When they had dug defensive trenches earlier, they had unearthed a lot of sand. Unfortunately, all that effort had gone to waste since the trenches weren’t needed anymore.
But Bai Tu found another use for them. Looking at the terrain, he decided they could be turned into fish ponds.
By filling the trenches with water, adding fish fry, and planting lotus roots, they could repurpose the space without needing to dig separate ponds. Plus, since the trenches were far from the new residential area, there was no risk of young cubs wandering too close and falling in.
With that settled, Bai Tu turned his attention to the patrol system. Even though Bai Qi and the others assured him that patrols wouldn’t be an issue after the move, Bai Tu still wanted to explore new solutions.
After considering several options, he concluded that building tall watchtowers was the best approach.
Guards stationed on these towers could spot potential threats from a distance and alert the tribe. The downside was that they couldn’t be placed in areas with too many trees, as the foliage would obstruct their view.
While Bai Tu was deep in thought, Lang Qi, who had been observing him, spoke up. “The Wolf Tribe can help with patrols.”
The wolves were used to covering vast distances—they could run all day without tiring. In fact, some wolves had too much energy and needed an outlet. Assigning them to patrol duty would be beneficial; otherwise, they might wander aimlessly and end up somewhere they shouldn’t.
The wolves had incredible stamina and could go an entire day and night without eating, making them ideal for long patrol shifts. Plus, their howls carried over great distances. If anything happened, a single howl could quickly summon nearby wolves, who would relay the message until the entire patrol team was mobilized. At full speed, they could reach any incident site within half an hour.
Since the Wolf Tribe was strong and highly united, their presence alone deterred trouble. Many smaller tribes would actively avoid conflict with them, reducing the risk of outside threats.
For example, during the early winter incident involving the young cubs, if the Wolf Tribe had been in charge of protecting them, the Black Lion Tribe wouldn’t have dared to make a move. The only reason they had attacked was because they assumed the Snow Rabbit Tribe had no backup.
Bai Tu put down his pen and looked at Lang Qi. “Are you making people work for nothing again?”
“It’s not unpaid labor.” Seeing that Bai Tu had finished his work, Lang Qi simply carried him to the bath, adjusted the water temperature, and only then continued speaking. “They’re very happy with it.”
The young wolves were eager to work in the Snow Rabbit Tribe—they would come to help even if they weren’t getting paid. In fact, they would probably be excited even if it truly was unpaid labor. Lang Qi didn’t always understand their enthusiasm, but he knew these young wolves well.
“Letting them patrol is fine, too.” The warm water, slightly higher than body temperature, made Bai Tu drowsy. He closed his eyes and murmured, “We’ll reorganize the work assignments later.”
If things really were going to be as Lang Qi suggested—with no clear separation between the two tribes—then functionally, they would be one large tribe.
Even if they remained separate in name, they wouldn’t be able to divide their labor. In that case, it would be better to fully integrate their workforce and let people do what they were best at, which would not only keep them satisfied but also greatly improve efficiency.
Once spring arrived, there would be far too many things to do. Paper-making and the production of various sauces needed to be prioritized. The seasonings they currently had weren’t satisfying Bai Tu’s palate anymore—he needed a wider variety of flavors.
As he mumbled his thoughts, the warmth of the bath made him so comfortable that his voice grew softer and softer, eventually fading into silence.
Lang Qi never interrupted him, nor did he ask questions even when Bai Tu mentioned things he didn’t understand. He simply listened quietly, committing everything to memory while occasionally adding more hot water.
Once Bai Tu fell asleep, Lang Qi stopped adding water, placed the basin aside, and waited for the bathwater to cool slightly before lifting Bai Tu out. He wrapped him in a fur pelt and carried him back to the bedroom.
*
In his dreams, Bai Tu once again found the three wolf cubs. Unlike before, this time they were lying on a thin layer of fluff. It wasn’t particularly warm, but it was much better than before.
Bai Tu looked down and realized he was wearing an oversized bathrobe. Without hesitation, he tucked the three cubs into his arms, using his body heat and the fur around him to keep them warm.
The cubs’ little bodies were still a bit cold. The white cub, without even opening its eyes, instinctively recognized Bai Tu’s scent and immediately snuggled into his embrace, settling into a comfortable position before drifting back to sleep.
The gray cub was much livelier today than it had been yesterday, gripping the fur covering them and trying to climb up. Meanwhile, the black cub remained alert, eyes locked on a spot in front of Bai Tu as if guarding against an unseen threat.
“There’s no one here. Go to sleep.” Bai Tu pulled the fur tighter around himself.
In all his dreams, no sudden danger had appeared, so he knew they were safe. The cubs’ vigilance was instinctive, but with him around, he could definitely protect them.
The black cub looked up at him, let out a soft whimper, then grabbed the gray cub and nestled beside the white cub before falling asleep.
With the cubs settled, Bai Tu looked down at the fluff on the ground. It seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen it before.
Since he was sure he would return to this place, Bai Tu didn’t disturb the fluff. Instead, he used some twigs to mark off the little nest.
*
When Bai Tu woke up, all he could see was fluff.
So much fluff! It would be a waste not to gather it up to make a proper nest for the cubs.
With that thought, Bai Tu once again entered fur-plucking mode.
Every so often, he would pause to check whether Lang Qi had woken up. The good news was that Lang Qi’s sleep was just as deep as it had been the previous night—he showed no signs of waking up. Even after Bai Tu had pulled together three fluffy bundles, Lang Qi remained fast asleep.
Just as Bai Tu was about to gather a fourth bundle, Lang Qi suddenly stirred.
Bai Tu immediately froze.
But then he noticed something—the fur on the side Lang Qi had rolled over onto looked even thicker and denser.
His eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, he continued plucking, stopping only when both his jaws and paws were too sore to continue.
He stuffed all the collected fluff under the pillow—what didn’t fit, he tucked under the blankets. He wouldn’t feel at ease until everything was properly hidden.
*
By the time Lang Qi woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
He didn’t seem to notice anything amiss with himself. Instead, he simply kissed Bai Tu’s forehead and little paws before shifting into his human form and tucking the small rabbit into his arms. His steps were noticeably lighter.
Bai Tu was exhausted. After Lang Qi woke up, he fell asleep again almost instantly.
Maybe it was because he had been eating too much in recent days, but his appetite had started to decrease. Now, even eating just two meals a day didn’t leave him feeling hungry.
By the time Bai Tu woke up, it was already noon. Lang Ze and the others had left, and Bai Tu began adjusting the residential plans according to Lang Qi’s suggestion of having the Wolf Tribe patrol.
Since the food storage would now be centralized, there was no need to strictly stick to the original settlement layout. Instead, they could arrange things in the most convenient way possible.
*
Over the Next Few Days, Bai Tu’s sleep schedule changed significantly. His sleeping hours were much longer than before.
Every morning, he would wake up, take care of things for half the day, then go back for a midday nap—which lasted until noon. After lunch, he would rest briefly before planning the residential area, occasionally discussing it with others. By evening, it was time for dinner, and after that, he wouldn’t stay busy for too long before heading to bed. The next morning, the cycle would repeat.
The first two days were especially tiring—his paws were sore from all the plucking, yet he still hadn’t gathered much. However, from the third day onward, Lang Qi’s fur suddenly became much easier to pull out. It hardly took any effort at all. But even with the easier plucking, it still took Bai Tu half a day—because he had to hide the fur in what he considered a safe place.
Not only did he hide everything, but he also had to make sure no one disturbed it in the meantime.
When Lang Qi adjusted his pillow while changing fur pelts, Bai Tu noticed it was slightly out of place.
Even though Lang Qi had tried to restore it to its original position, Bai Tu still moved all the fur hidden under the pillow somewhere else the next morning.
A tiny rabbit, no bigger than a palm, struggled to drag fur bundles larger than itself across the heated kang bed, hopping around in search of a safer hiding spot. Finally, after finding a satisfactory corner, Bai Tu transferred all the fur there, then went back to sleep.
Just as he closed his eyes, something felt off.
He woke up again, hopped back to where he had hidden the fur, retrieved it all, and moved it somewhere else.
After finally feeling satisfied, the snow-white rabbit flopped onto Lang Qi’s chest, stretched out all four paws, and fell into a deep sleep—exhausted.
Not long after Bai Tu dozed off, Lang Qi slowly opened his eyes. He gently kissed the rabbit’s soft ears, his gaze sweeping over several spots in the room.
Even though Bai Tu had tried to conceal everything, and even though he had hardly left the cave since noticing something was wrong, someone still figured it out.
*
Tu Cai was the first to realize something was off.
She knew Bai Tu well—he always visited the cubs at least every other day, even if they were perfectly fine. He would also find people to make toys for them. Even after Lang Qi sent over the two wolf cubs, this habit hadn’t changed. In fact, because of the extra mouths to feed, Bai Tu had been preparing food for the cubs even more frequently.
When Lang Qi was sick, he had forcibly kept Bai Tu by his side, not letting him go outside or talk to others. So, it made sense that Bai Tu’s visits had decreased during that time.
But now?
Lang Qi was clearly better. He no longer stopped Bai Tu from talking to others. Though his gaze was still a bit sharp, he wasn’t as possessive as before.
So why wasn’t Bai Tu visiting the cubs anymore?
Some of them had even started waiting at the entrance, looking around for Bai Tu, but he never showed up.
If it had been anyone else, Tu Cai wouldn’t have thought much of it. But she knew how much Bai Tu loved cubs, which made this situation even stranger.
At first, she didn’t give it too much thought. But then, something happened—a newborn cub was born in the tribe, and she needed to ask Bai Tu some questions.
So, she went to visit him.
The Rabbit Tribe had an easier time having cubs compared to other beast tribes.
For most species, it was normal to go three to four years without a single birth. Some tribes could go over a decade without new cubs, which showed just how rare and precious offspring were.
By contrast, the Rabbit Tribe typically had a litter every year. Some even had back-to-back births in consecutive years.
However, luck didn’t always favor the same species.
Although the Rabbit Tribe had more frequent births, their cubs were small and fragile, and their hunting abilities were weaker than other beast tribes.
As a result, very few of their young actually survived to adulthood.
There are many effects of having multiple offspring, one of which is that the body becomes weaker, and the newborns tend to be frailer.
The newborns are similar to rabbit cubs when they are just born—barely breathing at birth.
Last time, Tu Cai learned some methods from Bai Tu and used them to gently press on the newborns after removing the amniotic fluid, ultimately saving them. However, such weak offspring are still difficult to raise, and the mothers are extremely weak after giving birth. Tu Cai wanted to ask Bai Tu for some walnuts.
Ever since Bai Tu mentioned that walnuts are nutritious, the ones brought by the horse tribe were quickly exchanged and consumed. Now, only three baskets of walnuts remained in the tribe’s storage—half a basket belonged to Hei Xiao, while the other two baskets were Bai Tu’s.
“My walnuts?” Bai Tu was stunned after hearing this. He didn’t recall keeping any walnuts.
At the time, some of the walnuts from the horse tribe were reserved to nourish the newborns, while the rest were left for people to exchange.
Hei Yan had taken a large portion with a wave of his hand, and Bai Tu hadn’t paid much attention to the remainder. By the end of the month, when he checked again, they were all gone. Tu Cai glanced at Lang Qi beside Bai Tu, hesitated for a moment, and then admitted the truth: “Qi exchanged two baskets.”
Bai Tu: “……”
After a moment of silence, Bai Tu looked at Lang Qi, who nodded, “I was the one who exchanged them.”
Bai Tu pondered—back then, it wasn’t even winter yet, and he hadn’t regained his memories. He was still sick, and yet even in his unclear state, he had the sense to exchange for walnuts? For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
“Take them all,” Bai Tu said.
A weak body indeed needed proper nourishment, and walnuts and peanuts were good choices.
“No,” Lang Qi frowned and was about to refuse, but upon seeing Bai Tu’s disapproving gaze, he changed his words, “Take only half.”
“That’s more than enough. Even half of that would be enough,” Tu Cai dared not argue against Lang Qi’s decision.
Regardless of whether he had recovered, he was still the leader of the wolf tribe. He was only easy to talk to in front of Bai Tu—anywhere else, she wouldn’t even dare bring up such a request.
Worried that the two might argue over this, Tu Cai quickly reassured them that just half a basket would be sufficient.
“Take half, then,” Bai Tu said.
He was just one person—there was no way he could eat walnuts every day. Half a basket was dozens of pounds, enough to last until the next batch arrived. Keeping too much was unnecessary; fresh ones were always better.
Tu Cai agreed but then recalled Bai Tu’s recent odd behavior and asked with concern, “Are you feeling unwell, Tu? You haven’t gone to check on the newborns.”
“It’s too cold, and I don’t want to go out. I’ll go later,” Bai Tu replied.
Lately, he had been using this excuse so often that it came out without thinking.
It was a perfect reason—so far, no one had suspected anything. Plus, whenever someone needed to be called for a discussion, it was always Lang Qi who went to fetch them, or he would have other beastmen deliver messages. Even Bai An, who had visited several times recently, hadn’t noticed anything.
Maybe beastmen naturally lacked attentiveness, but as long as he could keep hiding it, that was fine.
Bai Tu raised a hand and lightly rubbed his abdomen. Feeling a bit cramped, he shifted slightly backward while continuing, “I’ll go out once the snow has completely melted.”
In reality, although it had stopped snowing, the snow was far from melting. The temperature was still too low for that. Thinking about the freezing weather outside, Bai Tu instinctively wrapped his fur cloak tighter around himself.
Tu Cai, noticing how much thinner Bai Tu was compared to others, found the explanation reasonable and accepted it. However, as she stood up, she suddenly realized something was off.
Even with the table between them, she could tell that Bai Tu’s stomach had gotten significantly larger.
“Tu, did you gain weight?”
On the entire Beast God Continent, gaining weight was something to be envied and proud of—it symbolized that the tribe had enough food and no one was starving.
Many people had put on weight after an entire winter, but Bai Tu’s drastic change was the most noticeable.
Tu Cai had just asked the question and was about to praise the tribe for its abundance of food when she suddenly noticed something odd—Bai Tu had only gained weight in his belly, while the rest of his body remained unchanged! His face was just paler than it was before winter, but he hadn’t gained any weight there at all.
Bai Tu was momentarily stunned when he heard the question. Then, noticing Tu Cai’s gaze fixed on his stomach, he immediately realized what was going on. But it was already too late to hide it—trying to cover up with another animal skin now would only make things more suspicious.
Tu Cai thought for a moment, considered a possibility, then hesitantly asked after glancing at Bai Tu’s belly again, “Tu, are you pregnant?”
“No!” Bai Tu instantly refuted the moment he heard those words. “I just gained weight, it’s just my belly!”
“Only your belly?” Tu Cai was skeptical. She had been in the tribe for many years and had never seen a beastmen who only gained weight in their belly.
“It’s true,” Bai Tu insisted, biting down on his words. “How could I be pregnant? Cai, you should go home.”
Despite his words, he didn’t dare to move, knowing that standing up would only expose him further.
Bai Tu gripped Lang Qi’s hand tightly, trying to keep his voice steady. Lang Qi, who had initially wanted to stand up, sensed Bai Tu’s unease and instead used his free hand to gently pat Bai Tu’s back. Then, he glanced at Tu Cai.
Tu Cai quickly stood up and took her leave, but halfway out, she still felt something wasn’t right. Bai Tu’s condition… didn’t seem like someone who had simply gained weight.
Beastmen carrying young needed proper care.
Tu Cai felt troubled but was somewhat reassured by Lang Qi’s attitude. He had been staying in the cave the whole time, so even if Bai Tu really was pregnant, Lang Qi would take good care of him.
Still, there were things that needed to be addressed. Many beastmen who had never raised cubs before often made mistakes. She decided she would talk to Lang Qi tomorrow morning to remind him.
Inside the cave, Bai Tu took a while to calm down. He lowered his head to look at his belly and let out a sigh of relief. From this angle, it could still be explained as just gaining a little weight. He resolved to be even more careful next time to avoid getting caught.
“Don’t be afraid.” Lang Qi kissed the top of Bai Tu’s head. He didn’t understand why Bai Tu was so afraid, but no matter what, he would always protect him.
“Mm.” Bai Tu thought about it—Tu Cai wasn’t someone who talked too much. Even if she had noticed something off, she wouldn’t go around spreading it. That thought finally put his mind at ease.
That night, Bai Tu went to bed earlier than usual. In his dreams, three little cubs were sleeping soundly in a large, warm nest. Bai Tu carefully draped his animal skin over them.
Sensing the familiar scent, the gray and white wolf cubs let out soft whimpers at the same time. The white cub, nestled snugly between the other two, continued to sleep deeply.
The black wolf cub, however, lifted its head to look at Bai Tu, rubbing against his hand affectionately with a mix of reluctance and happiness.
The other two quickly woke up as well, all snuggling up to his hand. The gray cub, eager and impatient, climbed directly up his arm and let out a few tiny barks.
Bai Tu could tell they were happy but couldn’t figure out why. He could only rub them each in turn.
Compared to a few days ago, the white cub had changed the most. Thinking back to that day’s events, Bai Tu still felt a lingering fear. Thankfully, all three cubs were safe and sound.
After playing with them for a while, Bai Tu suddenly had the urge to shift into his beast form.
Since it was just him and the cubs, he quickly made up his mind. Transforming into his animal form, he burrowed into the nest, and soon, the four fluffy creatures were cuddled together in a warm pile.
When he woke up again, the cave was dimly lit, and he was alone.
The little rabbit looked around, confirming that no one else was there before finally relaxing. He hopped a few times over to where he had hidden his fur yesterday and began digging.
Thank you for the chapterrrrrr