Chapter 126
Bai Tu pondered—Lang Qi hadn’t been upset in quite a while. The last time his mood had shifted like this was when Bai Tu suggested letting the Flower Bear Tribe’s beastmen stay.
But whether Lang Qi was angry or not, most people wouldn’t be able to tell. At first glance, he looked just like he did when they first met—expressionless. Even when he was happy, the most noticeable change was that he became slightly more gentle. Apart from the fearless wolves who dared to approach him, most other beastmen preferred to stay quiet around him, afraid of provoking his displeasure.
However, after spending time with him, Bai Tu realized that Lang Qi wasn’t actually that scary. At least, that was how he felt.
Lang Qi’s emotional shifts were so subtle that unless someone was watching him closely, they wouldn’t notice anything. But after being together for so long, Bai Tu could pick up on the slightest changes—like now. Lang Qi was clearly not in a good mood.
Of course, ignoring his emotions wouldn’t affect anything. Even if he was unhappy, Lang Qi would still do everything he was supposed to.
But Bai Tu didn’t want to see him upset. He went over the day’s events in his mind and couldn’t think of anything that would have made Lang Qi unhappy. So, once the cubs had gone to sleep, he decided to ask directly.
With the cubs around and preparations for the market trip underway, Lang Qi had been busy, sometimes needing to return to the wolf tribe. Their time alone had been limited lately.
Bai Tu reached out and pinched Lang Qi’s cheek. “Are you sulking again today?” Although he phrased it as a question, he already knew the answer.
Lang Qi shook his head. “I’m not upset.”
Like hell Bai Tu was going to believe that. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “Really not upset?”
“No.” Lang Qi’s words denied it, but only he knew what he was actually thinking.
“Liar.” Bai Tu saw right through him. He shifted slightly and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Lang Qi’s lips. “Now tell me, what’s wrong?”
Having a partner who was so hard to read was a challenge. Bai Tu suddenly felt a little envious of Hei Xiao. At least Hei Yan is loud and direct—he speaks his mind the moment something happens. But Lang Qi? He bottles everything up. Being steady was great and all, but this was too steady. He wasn’t always going to notice Lang Qi’s mood shifts. This time, he had caught it, but what if he missed it one day? That would mean Lang Qi would be silently suffering for nothing.
Lang Qi noticed his thoughts drifting elsewhere and spoke up. “What are you thinking about?”
“Thinking about Hei Yan—” Bai Tu stopped abruptly, realizing too late what he had just said.
It was already too late. As soon as Lang Qi heard that Bai Tu was thinking about Hei Yan in front of him, his expression instantly turned ice cold. If his irritation level had been at 1 before, it just gained a zero at the end.
“No, I meant I was thinking about my brother and Hei Yan,” Bai Tu quickly corrected himself.
Whether Lang Qi believed him or not was unclear—his expression didn’t change. Instead, he asked, “Why are you thinking about them?”
Bai Tu let out a breath of relief. Talking is better than complete silence. As long as Lang Qi was responding, there was a chance to fix this. He definitely couldn’t say what he had really been thinking—otherwise, he’d be dealing with a mate whose irritation level would skyrocket into the hundreds.
Wolves had a lot of stamina. Bai Tu wasn’t worried about the bed breaking, but he was worried about his waist.
“I was just thinking that Hei Yan will probably visit again soon, but my brother won’t be able to make it this time. Even if he wanted to fly over, he wouldn’t be able to bring Hei Yan with him…”
Then, Bai Tu suddenly realized something. The timing of Lang Qi’s mood shift was right when I mentioned keeping more live cattle instead of making too much jerky.
At the time, he had thought it was a bit strange, but they had been outside, dealing with other matters, so he hadn’t asked. Now, it all made sense.
The first time they went to the market, they hadn’t known each other well, so Bai Tu had walked the whole way. But last time? He hadn’t touched the ground once.
Bai Tu looked at Lang Qi and finally understood why he was upset.
Laughing, he wrapped his arms around Lang Qi. “When the time comes, how about you carry me?”
“You have cattle, don’t you?” Lang Qi asked, his tone flat. That afternoon, Bai Tu had spent ages praising the cows.
“That was just to convince everyone.” Bai Tu explained. “If I didn’t highlight the benefits of using cattle for transport, do you think they would have agreed?”
Even though Bai Tu knew how useful cattle were for carrying goods, the others didn’t. If he wanted them to follow his lead, he needed solid reasoning.
One of the most important arguments was saving manpower. If they reduced the number of people traveling by half, it would be enough to protect their supplies. Plus, cattle only ate grass along the way, meaning they wouldn’t have to bring as much food for the journey.
Every year when they went to trade goods, the food for the trip was one of the biggest expenses—sometimes even more than the meat they needed to trade for salt.
Not to mention, if they relied solely on beastmen to carry everything, many essential tasks in the tribe would have to pause. With a large number of domesticated prey, stopping the hunting teams wouldn’t be the biggest issue—what mattered more was the impact on patrols, blacksmithing, brick-making, and construction. The tribe was already trying to accelerate construction, aiming to build as many houses as possible before the rainy season, since all construction would have to stop during that time.
If they selected over a hundred people for the market trip like before, several work teams would need to send members, which would either slow down progress or force the remaining workers to work overtime.
Neither option was ideal, and Bai Tu wanted to avoid both. Using cattle to replace some of the manpower was the perfect solution.
Of course, taking cattle wasn’t without drawbacks—the most obvious one being their slow speed. That was why Bai Tu had worked so hard to highlight their benefits. If the advantages of using cattle didn’t outweigh their slow pace, he wouldn’t have agreed to it himself, let alone expected others to support the idea.
These were all factors that needed discussion, so he had laid out both the pros and cons. But clearly, Lang Qi hadn’t paid attention to any of the drawbacks—he had only focused on how much Bai Tu had praised the cattle.
Bai Tu’s explanation seemed to ease Lang Qi’s mood a little. More importantly, Bai Tu was currently in his arms. Lang Qi held him close and said, “The wolf tribe can transport supplies in beast form too.” In human form, they were limited by their body size, but in beast form, they could carry goods on their backs and sides if securely tied down.
“That won’t work.” Bai Tu immediately shook his head. He knew that wolves could shift into beast form for transportation, but doing so meant they would consume far more food. What a beastman ate in human form over an entire day, they could easily devour in a single meal when in beast form. The difference in food consumption was significant.
Not to mention, traveling in beast form wasn’t very safe. Beastmen tended to be more uninhibited in their animal forms, and differences in speed were normal. If someone ran ahead and got separated from the group, they could easily get lost. Searching for them in the vast wilderness would be a nightmare.
Lang Qi considered this and completely agreed. The idea of the wolves traveling in beast form was quickly abandoned.
With cattle replacing part of the manpower, they would need to leave for the market a few days earlier. The journey, which previously took seven or eight days, would now take about ten. Even so, the amount of food saved would be substantial.
Another important consideration was which cattle to bring. The calves they had captured last winter had now grown significantly. While they weren’t quite as strong as fully mature bulls, they were more than capable of carrying supplies. They could have already been used to transport bricks and stones, but since they were going to the market soon, Bai Tu decided to let them rest for another half a month.
Each cow could carry over 100 kilos of food. Since their backs were broad, the tribe needed to quickly weave larger baskets for carrying supplies.
The previous baskets had been designed for beastmen in human form. Even the strongest wolves could only carry about 75 kilos of raw meat, while the weaker rabbit tribes had even smaller baskets.
Moreover, dried meat and other preserved foods only weighed one-third to half the weight of raw meat, meaning larger baskets wouldn’t necessarily be practical to carry. This was one of the reasons why so many people were needed for trading trips each year—each person could only transport a limited amount, no matter how strong they were. In beast form, they could carry more, but the extra weight often wasn’t worth the additional food they’d consume along the way.
Now, this problem was finally solved. Each cow would be fully loaded, while the beastmen would be far less burdened—some wouldn’t have to carry anything at all.
This also meant that their primary responsibility would shift to protecting the supplies. After all, the cattle and their cargo were valuable assets, making them easy targets for other tribes.
Another advantage of placing supplies on the cattle was that if they encountered danger, everyone would be able to fight freely.
Initially, some people had opposed Bai Tu’s idea, believing that carrying goods in human form had worked for years, and suddenly switching methods would be unsafe. But the more they prepared, the more they realized how much easier it would be with the cattle. They couldn’t help but feel grateful that, when Bai Tu first suggested it, no one had dared to argue too much—largely because Lang Qi had looked so intimidating.
Bai Tu only found out just before they were about to depart that Lang Qi had played a major role in convincing everyone to use cattle.
That day, Lang Qi had looked quite fierce, but the real reason wasn’t what everyone thought. Others assumed he was angry because they were opposing Bai Tu’s plan. But in reality, only Bai Tu knew the truth.
By now, the tribe was well-practiced in preparing for the market. This was already their third time organizing supplies and processing goods, so many things no longer needed Bai Tu’s instructions—team leaders could handle everything on their own.
Bai Tu noticed that his workload had decreased significantly. Tasks that had to be explained before were now carried out automatically.
For example, during the wheat harvest, they had run short on scythes, so the blacksmith team had worked overtime to forge more. Afterward, Bai Hui took the initiative to have them produce shovels and hoes during downtime so that they would be ready for digging up crops before and after the rainy season.
However, even though Bai Hui was a team leader, he couldn’t just decide to use iron as he pleased. Iron was a crucial resource for the tribe, and even when it was used for the benefit of the tribe, permission had to be sought from Bai Tu first.
One reason for this was to keep an accurate count of the remaining iron supply. If no one informed him, the inventory might still show plenty of iron on paper, while in reality, it was already used up, disrupting future planning. Another reason was that by reviewing each request, Bai Tu could confirm whether it was truly worth doing, ensuring that the tribe’s resources were not wasted.
When Bai Hui brought up the idea, Bai Tu was both surprised and pleased. In the past, he had to carefully explain everything step by step, but now, the tribe was starting to take initiative. Bai Hui had considered something that Bai Tu himself hadn’t even thought of.
Hearing Bai Tu’s praise, Bai Hui smiled shyly and said, “We can’t rely on you for everything.”
“That’s exactly the right mindset,” Bai Tu encouraged him, patting his shoulder. “If you have similar ideas in the future, don’t hesitate to bring them up. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Even if only one out of many ideas is useful, it’s still worth it.”
One person’s energy was limited, and the tribe was no longer as simple as it had been in the past when hunting and eating were the only concerns. Now, there were five or six major teams, each with smaller divisions. Even if Bai Tu worked nonstop, it would be impossible for him to oversee everything. No matter how much he knew, he couldn’t anticipate every single detail. That was why small team leaders like Bai Hui were essential.
To make sure no good ideas were overlooked due to hesitation, Bai Tu established a suggestion system.
Just like how materials were distributed, beastmen with ideas would report them to their team leader, who would then relay them to Bai Tu. He would review and consolidate the suggestions before discussing them with Bai An and the others to determine whether they were feasible.
Since this was the first time implementing such a system—and perhaps because the most outlandish suggestions were filtered out by the team leaders—Bai Tu received no major proposals before the market trip. It was a bit disappointing, but the trip itself was more important.
The group left a few days earlier than planned. Originally, it was supposed to be just the Snow Rabbit Tribe, Blood Wolf Tribe, and Leopard Tribe traveling together. However, when Shi Su and the others heard about it, they came over early to discuss joining them.
Traveling in larger numbers, even with separate food supplies for each tribe, was far safer than going alone. Plus, Shi Su and the others were willing to follow Bai Tu’s schedule and depart early, so there was no reason to refuse them.
It wasn’t surprising that the Yellow Lion and White Lion Tribes wanted to travel together. They had always departed around the same time in previous years.
What was unexpected was that the Flower Deer Tribe had also decided to join them. They usually left for the market several days later, typically setting off six or seven days after the other tribes.
Traveling six to seven extra days meant consuming six to seven more days of food—a significant cost. The fact that the Flower Deer Tribe was willing to bear that additional expense just to travel with them was a surprise.
Noticing their confusion, Lu Hui took the initiative to explain their reasoning.
“This year, food is scarce in our tribe, and other places are also likely facing a prey shortage. That means we’re more likely to encounter beastmen who steal prey along the way.”
In previous years, no matter how abundant or scarce prey was, most tribes still had enough food. But this year, even with Bai Tu’s help, the Flower Deer Tribe was struggling more than before.
With prey numbers dropping drastically, it was easy to imagine what the situation outside was like. Some beastmen—like those in their group—would reduce their food intake and travel farther to try their luck.
But others—those who couldn’t feed themselves—would turn to raiding. These beastmen would attack weaker tribes, steal their food, and even seize their land. The annual market gathering was always a time when these raiders were most active.
Typically, the more abundant the prey that year, the fewer raiders appeared. Lu Hui, being sharp-minded, had figured this out early. That was why they had chosen to travel with the wolves and rabbits—and now, with two lion tribes joining, it was even more crucial to stay with the stronger group.
Since they were using cattle this time, the three-tribe group was already smaller than it had been during the winter market trip. But with the addition of the three new tribes, their numbers had doubled.
Bai Tu did a final headcount—six tribes, three hundred people, all of them among their tribes’ strongest warriors.
With a force like this, not only could they trade safely at the market, but they could even raid other tribes if they wanted to.
Having a larger group meant better security, but it also required setting clear rules before departure.
As they had done before, Bai An gathered everyone early on the morning of their departure to go over the important guidelines.
The Snow Rabbit and Blood Wolf Tribes were already very familiar with these rules. However, for the lion and deer tribes, this was their first time traveling with them. Even though their combat strength surpassed the rabbits’, they still listened intently.
It didn’t take long for the lion and deer beastmen to realize that this time’s briefing was different from the past.
Of course, it was different.
Bai Tu, Bai An, and the others had spent the entire night finalizing new travel rules. With such a large group, and for the first time involving so many different tribes, adjustments had to be made.
Previously, when it was just the wolves and rabbits, leadership was simple—Bai An and Lang Qi were the key decision-makers. If there were issues, each group just went to their own leader.
The wolf beastmen were either energetic or steady-tempered, while the rabbit beastmen had been too focused on survival at the time to cause trouble. Since they were still recovering from past hardships, they never even considered provoking the wolves.
As a result, there had never been any conflicts within their group from the start.
Now, with six different tribes traveling together, things weren’t as simple as before. While the Snow Rabbit Tribe had helped all of the other tribes in some way, the relationships between the tribes were generally neutral at best.
For example, the Deer Tribe and the Lion Tribe didn’t even share borders, meaning they rarely encountered each other. Even though they were now traveling together, there hadn’t been much interaction between them.
At the moment, since they hadn’t departed yet, everyone remained within their own tribes, forming distinct groups. Naturally, there was no conflict.
However, once the journey began, differences in walking speed, water breaks, and meal times would inevitably lead to friction. Even beastmen from the same tribe sometimes argued over such things—so conflicts between different tribes were even more likely.
With the hot weather making everyone more irritable, even minor disagreements could quickly escalate into group fights.
Most of the beastmen were young and hot-blooded. If they started fighting, injuries would be inevitable. The whole point of traveling together was to ensure safety, not to get hurt over meaningless disputes. That was why certain rules had to be clearly stated in advance.
To completely prevent fights, Bai An made the rules very strict—if any beastmen from different tribes started a fight, both tribes would be immediately expelled from the group, regardless of whether anyone was injured.
This shocked many of the beastmen. Was it really that serious?
Traveling together was mutually beneficial—yet if a fight broke out, their entire tribe would be forced to travel alone? Would such a small incident really lead to the whole tribe being kicked out?
Some beastmen who normally liked to argue suddenly felt uneasy. If this hadn’t been stated beforehand, and they had gotten into a fight along the way, would they have accidentally gotten their entire tribe expelled?
While they were still processing this, their fellow tribesmen had already started surrounding them.
They had lived together for years—everyone knew who was most likely to cause trouble. Instead of taking risks, they kept their hot-headed members in the middle of their group. If they didn’t interact with beastmen from other tribes, no fights could break out.
This was exactly the effect Bai Tu wanted. Seeing that Bai An’s words had successfully made everyone more cautious, he further emphasized the rules to the tribal leaders.
Besides preventing internal conflicts, they also needed to help each other during the journey. If enemies ambushed the back of the group, while the front of the group ignored it, then traveling together served no purpose at all.
Everyone had to understand one thing:
This group was a single unit.
It didn’t matter which tribe the enemy attacked—whether it was wolves, rabbits, lions, or deer—everyone had to stand together and defend their supplies.
With so many people, the group started gathering before midnight and only finished assembling by dawn.
Thanks to Bai An’s strict warnings, the first day of travel went smoothly. Even minor disputes were resolved through discussion rather than conflict.
Unexpectedly, on the second day, they ran into some familiar beastmen—
A bear tribe.
But not the Flower Bear Tribe—this time, it was the White Bear Tribe.
The White Bear Tribe wasn’t far from the other tribes, but they rarely interacted with them. This was because bears had a habit of eating as much as possible before winter, then hibernating.
The length of their hibernation depended on the winter’s duration. If winter lasted longer, so would their sleep.
This year’s winter had lasted around three months, so the White Bear Tribe had also been asleep for three months.
During late winter, food had become scarce for the Flower Deer Tribe and the Lion Tribes. However, the White Bear Tribe had no such issue, which was why they hadn’t needed to contact the Wolf Tribe or Rabbit Tribe for help.
After waking from hibernation, the White Bears relied on hunting in their territory to replenish the fat they lost during winter.
But this year, prey was scarce.
Unlike previous years, when they would have regained their full weight before the rainy season, the White Bear beastmen still looked thinner than usual.
They hadn’t expected to run into other beastmen along the way.
After all, in previous years, different tribes departed at different times—some earlier, some later. The White Bear Tribe had assumed most of the other groups would still be behind them, not traveling ahead.
They had set out early, and by the time other tribes departed, they were usually already one-third of the way to the market. Because of the long distance, even if other tribes traveled faster, they would only catch up near the market, and sometimes, they wouldn’t meet at all.
This year, however, they encountered another group on the second day of their journey—something completely unexpected.
The White Bear Tribe’s chief, Xiong Liao, quickly adapted to the situation. He greeted Lang Qi and Shi Su first, then greeted Shi Lin and Lu Hui, even giving a nod to Bao Duo.
The only person he didn’t acknowledge was Bai An.
It wasn’t that Xiong Liao looked down on the Snow Rabbit Tribe—in fact, he actually had a favorable impression of them, since their fur color was similar to his own tribe’s. However, before winter, the bears had been too busy storing food to pay much attention to external affairs. When they finally woke from hibernation, they were surprised to find that the rabbit and wolf tribes had merged into one.
Since the White Bears had little contact with either group, they made their own assumptions. Based on their experience, they figured the rabbits had run out of food and couldn’t survive on their own, so they had sought protection from the wolves.
This kind of situation wasn’t unusual. Even in the White Bear Tribe, there were a few beastmen from other tribes who had joined them. However, their numbers were small, and before winter, the White Bears would hunt extra prey to feed them in exchange for guarding the tribe during hibernation.
While the bears slept through winter, the non-bear beastmen stayed within the territory, rarely daring to leave. If they got into trouble elsewhere, no one would defend them. As a result, their knowledge of the outside world was extremely limited.
Everything outside their own land was left to imagination.
So, after exchanging greetings with the other tribal leaders, Xiong Liao praised Lang Qi.
“Chief Lang Qi is very kind to the rabbit tribe.”
Beastmen who couldn’t find enough food on their own and were forced to seek refuge in another tribe typically had a low status—only slightly higher than war captives. They were often given the hardest and most exhausting tasks and frequently went hungry.
Xiong Liao recognized several rabbit beastmen and was surprised—they all looked well-fed and strong. Their skin was healthy, and their exposed arms and legs were lean with muscle. He couldn’t help but envy them.
These rabbit beastmen eat better than members of my own tribe!
Bai An, who had initially thought Xiong Liao ignored him on purpose, nodded upon hearing this. Maybe he had been overthinking it. With so many people gathered, it was possible that Xiong Liao had simply overlooked him.
He responded, “Chief Lang Qi is indeed very kind.”
Of course, if he didn’t have plans to take over my tribe, he’d be even better.
Xiong Liao hadn’t expected Bai An to reply.
After all, when an entire tribe merged into another, the biggest change was in leadership.
Some large and territorial tribes simply killed the original chief to eliminate any future threats.
Even those who weren’t that ruthless still wouldn’t treat the former chief well, since their continued presence could weaken the new leader’s authority.
Other new leaders might pretend to be respectful, even allowing the former chief to continue managing their own people. But the moment those beastmen hesitated in following the new leader’s commands over their former chief’s, they would be punished.
This was exactly why Xiong Liao had ignored Bai An.
He didn’t know if Lang Qi kept Bai An around to reinforce his dominance or if it was a sign of his generosity. Either way, he couldn’t risk treating Bai An like a leader—if Lang Qi turned out to be petty, and later took offense, Bai An might suffer because of it.
Xiong Liao thought he was being considerate, so he was completely confused when Bai An voluntarily responded to his comment.
Why would he speak up on his own?
Wasn’t he afraid of offending Lang Qi?
And to make matters worse—his response wasn’t flattering enough!
If Bai An wanted to gain favor in his new tribe, he should have praised Lang Qi more!
Thinking back to the former chiefs who had joined the White Bear Tribe, Xiong Liao suddenly felt frustrated.
I should’ve brought one of them with me!
They could have taught Bai An how to behave properly in his new tribe!
At this rate, Bai An will never get any real status!
Xiong Liao scratched his head anxiously, while the others looked at him in confusion. Why did he suddenly stop talking?
The White Bear Tribe members behind Xiong Liao and the beastmen behind Lang Qi all watched their leaders intently. Their conversation would determine the next step—would they simply greet each other and part ways, or travel together?
Lang Qi glanced at the White Bear Tribe’s numbers and subtly waved his hand behind his back, signaling to his people that there was no need to worry.
The White Bear Tribe was not a small group; they had over 200 members, with more than 80 of them present. As long as Xiong Liao wasn’t planning to destroy his own tribe, there was no way he would pick a fight.
After standing in silent internal conflict for a long while, Xiong Liao finally snapped out of it, realizing that everyone was staring at him. Embarrassed, he scratched his head again and blurted out, “I was thinking about something else. Go on, go on. Wait… what were we talking about just now?”
Everyone: “…”
A younger, leaner bear beastman standing beside Xiong Liao sighed and stepped forward to remind him, “You were saying that Chief Lang Qi treats the Rabbit Tribe well.”
“Oh, right, right! Chief Lang Qi is indeed great,” Xiong Liao quickly nodded. Then, as if just processing his own words, he suddenly added, “I’m surprised the wolves haven’t eaten the rabbits yet.”
Bai Tu: “…”
Here we go again—an even more unreliable bear than the Flower Bear Tribe!
Even though both were bear tribes, they were completely different species—so how could they be this similar?!
Shi Su reminded him sternly, “The Rabbit Tribe hasn’t joined the Wolf Tribe—they are two separate tribes.”
“Oh, oh, so they didn’t join?” Xiong Liao nodded absentmindedly, but a second later, he froze. “Wait… they didn’t join???”
The young bear beside him looked completely exasperated. “Who told you the Rabbit Tribe joined the Wolf Tribe?”
Xiong Liao was even more confused. “Didn’t you guys say the rabbits and wolves were together?”
That was the first thing they heard when they woke up from hibernation!
The young bear sighed even harder. “We said that some wolves and rabbits are together!”
This information had originally come from other tribes since the White Bear Tribe had rarely left their territory after waking up. They had tried their best to relay all the important events from the winter, but Xiong Liao had clearly misinterpreted the message.
Even though there was some distance between them, Bai Tu could physically feel the young bear’s frustration. Instead of wasting any more time on this, he directly suggested,
“It’s really hot. Why don’t we find some shade and talk?”
Standing under the scorching midday sun, discussing the relationship between the Rabbit and Wolf Tribes and the White Bear Tribe’s poor information transmission, felt like a complete waste of energy.
Neither side seemed likely to start a fight, so wouldn’t it be better to just find a cooler spot, eat some food, and talk in comfort? There was no reason to torture themselves under the blazing sun.
“Find a cooler place, find a cooler place!” Xiong Liao immediately agreed, nodding enthusiastically.
The White Bear Tribe hated summer more than other tribes, but since hunting was impossible in winter, they had no choice but to travel in the heat.
As for why they always departed earlier than most tribes, it was because they had to rest during the hottest part of the day, limiting the amount of time they could travel each day.
They had stopped to find a place to rest, just as the orcs behind them caught up. Hearing someone mention the heat, Xiong Liao felt sweat start to form all over his body.
He glanced enviously at the beastman who had spoken and quietly told the young man beside him, “His clothes look so much cooler.”
Hearing this, the young man shifted his gaze to Bai Tu and nodded in response. However, his eyes lingered on Bai Tu, particularly on an unfamiliar item hanging at his waist.
Bai Tu was discussing what to feed the wolf pups at noon with Lang Qi. When he noticed beastmen from another tribe, Lang Qi shifted back into his human form. In beast form, encountering beastmen from an unfamiliar tribe could be seen as a provocation. Lang Qi needed to assess their attitude first, and if a fight broke out, he would be the first to engage. Keeping the wolf pups with him under such circumstances wasn’t ideal.
The weather was hot, and Bai Tu wore only a thin cotton short-sleeved shirt. Unlike in winter, he couldn’t tuck the wolf pups into his clothes. Anticipating the need to carry the pups in human form during the journey, he had sewn several cotton bags beforehand—some rectangular, some square—all designed with individual compartments so each pup had its own pocket.
Normally, they would have started preparing lunch by this time, but the stretch of road they had just traveled lacked large shady areas. The group originally planned to walk a bit further to find a spot where everyone could cool down. They hadn’t expected to encounter the White Bear Tribe.
Apart from these few, no other wolf pups were around, so Bai Tu and Lang Qi had to prepare food for all five pups. While food options on the road were limited, they still did their best to ensure the pups had a varied diet.
Bai Tu was unaware that the wolf pups had already been noticed by the others, but Lang Qi sensed it and stared at them intently.
Seeing the warning in Lang Qi’s eyes, the young man looked away. However, as the group moved toward the shade ahead, he occasionally glanced at Bai Tu.
“He keeps looking at me,” Bai Tu whispered to Lang Qi.
“Yes, thirteen times so far,” Lang Qi replied, shifting his position to block the young man’s view. But after a while, the young man appeared in Bai Tu’s line of sight once again.
Up ahead, Bai An was explaining the relationship between the Rabbit Tribe and the Wolf Tribe to Xiong Liao. Lang Qi had no interest in dealing with the White Bear Tribe’s beastmen. Once he confirmed they had no intention of fighting, he stuck close to Bai Tu. To him, preparing lunch for the wolf pups was far more important than Xiong Liao.
The young man continued following Xiong Liao. Even though Bai Tu and the young man were positioned behind the first group, and Lang Qi blocked his view, the young man could still see Bai Tu by adjusting his pace—either slowing down or speeding up slightly.
Neither side had any intention of fighting. In tribes with strong warriors, whether they had many people or few, a battle would only result in mutual destruction. Especially in summer, wounds were prone to infection, making conflicts between tribes far more dangerous than their previous attack on the Mad Lion Tribe. Letting the other side take a few extra glances wouldn’t cause any harm.
Bai Tu tugged on Lang Qi’s clothes and whispered, “It’s fine, let him look.”
He didn’t sense any hostility from the young man—more like curiosity, as if he had something to say but was hesitating. If it were someone from his own tribe, Bai Tu would have directly told them to speak up. But since they belonged to different tribes, even though the people up front were having a friendly conversation, he wasn’t familiar enough with the young man to ask what he wanted outright.
“I don’t want him looking,” Lang Qi frowned and shifted position again to shield Bai Tu.
“Alright, alright, no looking then.” Bai Tu never argued with Lang Qi over trivial matters—if Lang Qi didn’t want others looking, then so be it.
Not far from them, Lang Ya silently covered her ears. No wonder so many people said Lang Qi was overprotective—he wouldn’t even let someone take a glance. That was indeed excessive. She watched Bai Tu’s back. Though she had only met him a few times, she really liked this beastman who had become her brother’s mate. Honestly, besides Bai Tu, no other beastman would tolerate all of Lang Qi’s unreasonable demands!
Lang Ya regretted coming along. Why had she agreed to follow them and left Lang Ze to watch over the tribe? But it was too late to change her mind now. She turned her attention to the Bear Tribe on the other side, staying on high alert.
Lang Qi wasn’t happy, and after that, Bai Tu stopped paying attention to whether the young man was still looking at him. He only noticed again when a large group of beastmen found a suitable resting spot and began setting up pots to cook. That was when the young man finally approached him.
Lang Qi had gone to fetch ingredients and tools, leaving Bai Tu alone. Bai Tu glanced around and saw that Lang Ya wasn’t far away, so he didn’t bother avoiding the young man and simply waited for him to speak.
“Hello, my name is Ying Mian. Can I trade some salt for that item?”
Bai Tu looked down—Ying Mian was pointing at the pouch on his waist.
“The pouch is fine, but not what’s inside,” Bai Tu replied. His precious wolf pups were in there.
Hearing his agreement, Ying Mian’s eyes lit up instantly. “I only want the outer pouch!”
Since Bai Tu was concerned about the wolf pups’ destructive tendencies, he had made several extra cloth pouches. He told Ying Mian to wait and went over to Lang Ya, bringing back two pouches to show him. “Which one do you want?”
Ying Mian hadn’t expected there to be a square-shaped one as well. He pointed at it and said, “This one. Wait a moment, I’ll go get the salt.” He had mentally prepared for a rejection and was even ready to try again at night, but things had gone much smoother than expected.
Bai Tu simply handed it to him. “Take it, no need for salt.” It was just a cotton pouch—while it seemed valuable now, by autumn, he’d be able to sew plenty more.
Ying Mian was extremely grateful. “Thank you!”
After receiving it, he carefully spread the pouch flat on the ground, then reached into his clothing and started taking out eggs.
One… two… three…
Bai Tu stared. “Xiong Liao’s?”
Ying Mian hushed him with a gesture and nodded. “Yeah, but I’ll be leaving soon.”
Bai Tu: “???” Running away with eggs?!
Thanks for the chapter!