Chapter 138
The others didn’t react as dramatically as Bai Qi, but their thoughts were similar—saying something like that in front of Lang Qi was practically a death wish.
No one really cared if Bao Ren died—someone like him deserved it—but what worried them was Lang Qi’s reaction. If he got angry and took Bai Tu away because of this, what would they do? They had just captured the Black Forest Tribe’s beastmen and were waiting for Bai Tu to organize everything.
It wasn’t that the others were incapable, but Bai Tu always considered more factors when making arrangements. By now, everyone had gotten used to relying on him—without him, things would take several times longer to sort out.
Still, they were certain that Bai Tu would reject the offer. Thinking this, they relaxed.
But they had celebrated too soon—because Bai Tu spoke.
“Alright.” Bai Tu nodded.
The moment he said that, Lang Qi’s expression darkened, and the expressions of everyone present changed as well.
What?! What’s going on?!
“Tu, you—???” Bai Qi, being straightforward, couldn’t hold back his thoughts. What was happening? Was Bai Tu really considering taking another mate?
And not just one—twenty?! That was a lot. But was Bai Tu really going to abandon Lang Qi just for twenty beauties?!
Despite their usual frustration over Lang Qi stealing away their tribe’s beastmen—especially Bai Tu—at least Lang Qi was someone they knew. But who were these twenty that Bao Ren was offering? Which tribe were they from? What species?
Were they even normal? Male or female?
They had no idea! How could Bai Tu agree so easily?!
The other beastmen weren’t as expressive as Bai Qi, but they were deeply worried. If this situation wasn’t handled properly, it could cause a major problem. Even the tribes unfamiliar with Bai Tu and Lang Qi had noticed how close they were—if their relationship ended because of Bao Ren’s words, it would be a real shame.
In the end, everyone blamed Bao Ren. Outside of the two directly involved, every single person thought it was all his fault.
Lang Qi stared at Bai Tu, his gaze practically screaming “Say one more word, and I’ll kill Bao Ren.”
Bao Ren was the only one who was genuinely overjoyed. His grin was almost uncontrollable—he had expected to haggle for a long time before Bai Tu agreed, but this had been so easy!
Typical ignorant sub-beastman, Bao Ren thought. He knew exactly what position sub-beastmen held in the beast continent. This one in front of him was young—he didn’t know how Bai Tu had managed to gather so many followers, but Bao Ren was confident he could deal with him.
No wonder Bai Tu had gone looking for female beastmen and sub-beastmen first. Bao Ren gave Bai Tu a knowing look, thinking he had figured it all out. Those “beauties” were his trump card—he had originally planned to use them against the shamans, but now he’d have to offer them to Bai Tu instead.
The more unattainable something is, the more people want it. Many tribes outside had only one mate, but Bai Tu, a sub-beastman, had likely been jealous of their lifestyle for a long time. Otherwise, why would he agree so quickly?
Ignorant sub-beastman, Bao Ren sneered internally.
“Where are the beauties?” Bai Tu asked, genuinely curious. He glanced at Lang Qi, signaling him to watch over the cubs.
The cubs were still here—where could he possibly run off to?
Lang Qi understood Bai Tu’s meaning but still felt uneasy. However, to avoid delaying Bai Tu’s plan, he suppressed his emotions.
The others, however, misunderstood the look entirely.
Bai Qi’s eyes grew even wider. Was Bai Tu planning to split the cubs up? One for each? That wasn’t fair—there was an extra one! Did he get to keep it?
Bai An and the others immediately thought, “This is bad. Bai Tu is saying ‘You already have the cubs, what more do you want?’ Is he planning to leave the cubs with Lang Qi and find a new mate?!”
Bao Ren, on the other hand, assumed Bai Tu was simply excited to see so many beautiful beastmen.
Seeing the crowd around them, Bao Ren hesitated and said, “There are too many people here right now…”
Bai Tu immediately waved his hand, telling the others to rest, taking only Lang Qi with him to follow Bao Ren.
Though he couldn’t tell what tribe Lang Qi was from, he could tell he was a male beastman—and Bao Ren was very confident that he could deal with him. When the time came, he’d just give Bai Tu two of the “beauties” to appease him.
With this unwavering confidence, Bao Ren led the two of them toward another part of the tribe’s territory.
In the shadows, countless beastmen followed stealthily, but Bao Ren, caught up in his excitement, was completely unaware.
Bai Tu had noticed a common trait among the beastmen of the Black Forest Tribe—they were arrogant, believing themselves to be invincible, convinced that everything was under their control.
Ever since encountering the Black Forest Tribe, he had met multiple beastmen with this exact mindset. Of course, he had seen people like this before, but among the familiar tribes he had interacted with, such attitudes were rare.
As he walked, Bai Tu pondered over it and eventually concluded that the problem lay in the structure of the tribe itself.
The Black Forest Tribe was simply too big—with over 7,000 members, including those who had been tricked into joining. A tribe of this size was unprecedented, not just in the Eastern Continent but across the entire Beast God’s domain. Their overwhelming dominance had led them to develop an inflated sense of superiority, believing they could deceive and manipulate anyone at will.
And Bai Tu’s guess was correct. Holding the largest territory on the Eastern Continent and boasting the largest population, the Black Forest Tribe’s beastmen were naturally arrogant to the extreme. Both Wu Jiu and Bao Ren believed that the tribe’s success was entirely due to their own leadership and that they held the highest decision-making power.
In reality, the two had equal authority, but neither of them saw it that way. Each wanted to seize full control from the other.
- Bao Ren resented Wu Jiu for monopolizing the shamans and medicine apprentices, refusing to let him interfere.
- Wu Jiu, on the other hand, was frustrated with Bao Ren for hiding certain beastmen’ whereabouts from him.
On the surface, they appeared cooperative and even displayed mutual respect when making tribe-wide decisions. But behind closed doors, they were constantly sabotaging each other.
And the beastmen that Bai Tu was about to meet? Some of them had originally been meant for Wu Jiu—Bao Ren had just never gotten the chance to deliver them.
After leading Bai Tu and Lang Qi through a maze of turns, Bao Ren finally brought them to an extremely secluded location—a completely unremarkable small hill.
He walked up to a certain spot and began digging with his bare hands.
This was a place he had carefully selected. Aside from a few beastmen who would rather die than reveal the truth, no one else knew about it.
As Bao Ren moved the stones, Bai Tu suddenly felt a chill down the back of his neck. He instinctively took a small step back, moving closer to Lang Qi.
Bai Tu frowned. Logically, no matter what happened, as long as Lang Qi was here, he should have felt safe. So why did he suddenly feel so cold just now?
That question vanished the moment Bao Ren opened the cave.
When Bai Tu saw what was inside, he immediately understood the source of his unease.
He only had one thought.
He only wanted to grab Bao Ren and ask him one question.
Whose so-called “beauties” come with a long, scaly tail?!
This was beyond shocking—who could possibly remain calm in this situation?
Bai Tu ultimately decided not to say anything. He needed to go back and get some proper rest.
This was clearly punishment for not maintaining a proper sleep schedule. What had he done in his past life to deserve this?
Did he really come all the way here just to look at a bunch of pythons?!
If it had been just one, he could have dealt with it. When he first saw Wu Lai, he had been surprised but not this shaken.
But this? This was an entire cave full of giant pythons—each a different color.
Sure, they were beautiful, but they were also terrifying.
Most adult beastmen could control their transformations, only shifting into beast form for hunting or in extreme circumstances such as illness, severe injury, or childbirth. Bai Tu didn’t know if any of the groups at the market included snake beastmen, but he had never seen one before.
As long as he didn’t have to face their beast forms directly, he could accept the idea that some beastmen had terrifying true forms.
But this? This was way too much.
Bao Ren himself was also taken aback when he saw the cave, though not nearly as much as Bai Tu.
He had always known that these beastmen were from the Snake Tribe. He quickly ordered them to shift back into human form while continuing to invite Bai Tu inside.
Bai Tu: “……”
“These are the ‘beauties’ you were talking about?” Bai Tu asked.
Bao Ren nodded confidently. “Don’t judge them by how they look now. Once they shift back, you’ll like them.”
He knew that many beastmen disliked the Snake Tribe, but the moment they saw their human forms, none of them could resist.
Sure, the sub-beastman in front of him was pretty, but the beastmen in his own tribe weren’t particularly attractive.
Bao Ren was certain that these Snake Tribe beauties would capture Bai Tu’s heart.
And once that happened, their entire operation would collapse—without Bai Tu organizing everything, the beastmen who had captured the Black Forest Tribe would soon fall into chaos.
“Are there any more?” Bai Tu asked, glancing into the cave.
Once in human form, the snake beastmen were stunning—whether male or female, their beauty was among the best on the Eastern Continent.
But Bai Tu had just seen all of them in their serpent forms. No matter how beautiful they were now, he couldn’t shake the thought that they might just swallow him whole at any moment.
More importantly, Bai Tu wanted to know if Bao Ren was hiding any more prisoners.
Bao Ren, assuming Bai Tu was trying to negotiate for more, felt a little annoyed but still answered honestly—these were the only beastmen he had.
He had gone to great lengths to keep these Snake Tribe members hidden from the shamans. Even without Wu Jiu, the other two shamans had far too many responsibilities to notice everything. Raising a secret group of snake beastmen wasn’t something that could be done in total silence.
Bao Ren had seized a rare opportunity to do so. Finding another group of beautiful, non-escaping beastmen would be extremely difficult.
Bai Tu: “Forget it.”
Since there were no other captives, Bai Tu lost all interest in pretending to negotiate.
Without another word, he signaled the hidden beastmen to come out and rescue the prisoners.
Now that they knew where Bao Ren’s last captives were, there was no need to keep up the act.
Bao Ren was stunned when he saw them emerge.
He had been so sure that he could control the beastmen inside the cave.
But these rescuers outnumbered them by more than half.
Bao Ren’s face darkened as he turned to Bai Tu.
“You tricked me!”
His tone was almost identical to Bai Meng’s when she had said the same words.
Bai Tu mused that perhaps this was why Wu Jiu had entrusted the cubs to Bao Ren.
With their personalities, Bai Meng’s future cubs would probably turn out exactly the same.
With this, Bai Tu had completely dismantled Bao Ren’s final trump card.
Nearly 99% of the Black Forest Tribe’s beastmen had now been captured.
The only exceptions were a few who had hidden too deeply when the battle started—ones that would take more time to dig out.
Among the captured beastmen, there were various strategies at play:
- Some pretended to comply while secretly looking for escape opportunities.
- Some played dead, hoping to slip through unnoticed.
- Some hid in the chaos while being transferred to another location.
With so many different species in the Black Forest Tribe, each beastman tried to leverage their own unique abilities to escape.
But they had all overlooked one crucial fact—this wasn’t just one tribe attacking them.
Not three or four tribes.
This was dozens of tribes working together to capture them.
If the Black Forest beastmen had racial advantages, didn’t the other tribes have their own?
Among those captured, the Snake Tribe members, particularly those Bao Ren had hidden, were still restless even after being tied up.
The Snake Tribe was known for its stunning beauty—whether male or female, they were far more attractive than most beastmen.
Because of this, many of the captors had subconsciously tied their ropes looser than on other prisoners.
This gave the Snake Tribe an opening.
Unlike other species, they had no claws when they shifted into beast form—just a long, sinuous body.
Which actually made escaping easier.
Those who had been separately confined quickly transformed into serpents, slithering toward the back of the cave, searching for an exit.
Many caves have back exits, and they actually managed to find one. Near the ground, there was a movable stone—once they moved it aside, they could follow a narrow path out. This path was so tight that even if someone saw it, they wouldn’t think much of it. beastmen were generally large in their beast forms, and aside from the rarely seen sub-beastmen, only the snake tribe could use this exit.
The snake tribe had only joined the Black Forest Tribe later on, but unlike other tribes, they leveraged their attractive appearance. When their leader entered the tribe, he didn’t become a low-ranking beastman. Instead, he allied with the leopards and imprisoned the tribe’s frail yet beautiful members, trading them for the freedom of another group of powerful beastmen.
After regaining their freedom, these beastmen didn’t consider leaving or resisting the Black Forest Tribe’s rule. Instead, they flattered and pleased the leopards, promising that all their future beautiful offspring would be sent to the leopards to raise.
The leopards indeed needed people to serve them, and attractive individuals had a higher chance of success in their tasks. Without much thought, they agreed to the snake tribe’s proposal. At that time, the snake tribe wasn’t closely connected with Wu Jiu and his people, so they would follow any order given.
Obedient and useful, the leopards benefited from them and didn’t treat them unfairly.
The snake tribe, under the leadership of the leopards, began oppressing the low-ranking beastmen. With their ability to please and their connections within the tribe, many snakes engaged in acts of murder and arson. Though they weren’t as bad as the rogue beastmen, once the other tribes caught on, they wouldn’t be spared.
Now that they had been captured, the snake tribe was just as terrified as the beastmen of the Black Forest Tribe, which led them to decide on an escape. If they managed to flee, they could start over in a small tribe—staying here, however, meant punishment.
Desperate to escape revenge and punishment, the snake tribe followed the narrow path behind the cave. But the path was surprisingly long, and the entire group had to crawl for a long time before they finally emerged.
However, the moment they saw the light, they froze.
Why were there so many eagles???
Ying Quan hadn’t expected to make such an unexpected discovery while searching the mountains according to Bai Tu’s orders.
Unlike the wolf tribe’s long and continuous stretch of mountains, the Black Forest Tribe’s terrain consisted of peaks surrounding other peaks. Some mountains were encircled on all four sides, creating isolated valleys.
Traversing the mountains wasn’t as easy as walking on flat land—some paths twisted unpredictably, leaving gaps in the beastmen’ search efforts. To account for this, Bai Tu instructed Ying Quan to lead the Black Hawk tribe in conducting a thorough aerial survey. The method was simple: they would fly up and down each mountain peak to check for areas that Lu Hui and the others hadn’t searched.
Before the Hawk Tribe even began searching the central valley, they spotted the snake tribe.
Catching snakes was practically a game for eagles. Their natural advantage was something many beastmen simply couldn’t counter. The moment the hawk tribe saw the snake tribe, they shifted into their beast forms, soaring into the air before swooping down. With their powerful talons, they effortlessly snatched up the snakes—some of the stronger eagles could even grab two at once.
In their human forms, the snake tribe didn’t seem particularly disadvantaged. But once they transformed into snakes, they had a fatal flaw—poor eyesight. By the time they realized the eagles were upon them, it was already too late. They couldn’t dodge the attacks, and one by one, they were lifted into the air, utterly resigned to their fate.
The snake tribe’s escape plan failed before it even started. By the time Bai Tu received the news, the hawk tribe had already returned all the captives to a cave—not the same one they had escaped from.
However, Bai Tu found it unusual that there was a hidden path inside the cave. After all, Ying Quan had observed it, and the passage was only slightly wider than a hand. It had originally been sealed with a rock, disguised as part of the cave wall. If the snake tribe hadn’t crawled through and noticed something was off, they might never have discovered it.
Moreover, the passage was quite long—it even took the snake tribe a while to get through.
It was obvious that this passage had been deliberately dug. Bai Tu instructed Ying Quan to search the area thoroughly, sensing that something was amiss. However, after an entire night of searching, the hawk tribe found nothing unusual.
The next morning, Bai Tu decided to investigate himself. He kept this from Lang Qi—if Lang Qi knew, he would definitely object. Since Bai Tu’s beast form was small, he could squeeze through the passage with ease. Crawling forward, he was just about to reach the exit when he suddenly sensed something was off.
There was another path above him.
This was something Bai Tu hadn’t expected. No wonder the hawk tribe couldn’t find anything—the hidden passage wasn’t at the back of the mountain! And since no one else could fit in here, only someone with Bai Tu’s body size could enter. Even the snake tribe hadn’t noticed it—or perhaps they had, but their heads were too large to fit through.
Using the faint light from the outside, Bai Tu barely made out that this golden path seemed to extend quite deep. After hesitating for a moment, he decided not to enter alone. Instead, he called on the rabbit tribe to help dig the passage open.
The rabbit tribe’s digging abilities were well-known across all the tribes. Once Bai Tu confirmed the location, a group of them immediately started digging.
First, they opened up the narrow path on the ground, then dug upward along the overhead passage. The small path twisted and turned, with larger spaces appearing at intervals that seemed like resting spots. Eventually, it led to another hidden location. As Bai Tu approached, he heard faint cries—so soft that they could easily be overlooked.
Bai Tu, of course, didn’t ignore these sounds. He quickly moved toward the source and, upon getting a closer look, saw a nest of cubs.
The cubs were incredibly small, only two-thirds the size of a normal cub—smaller than his own cubs had been at birth. Having never encountered outsiders, the cubs huddled together upon hearing unfamiliar noises. One lion cub, summoning its courage, bared its tiny teeth at Bai Tu. But it was far too small—even with its fur bristling in an attempt to look fierce, it only appeared fluffier, making its sparse fur look even thinner.
Bai Tu examined the surroundings but saw no signs that a beastman had come through another route. This raised a troubling suspicion—were these cubs being secretly cared for by the imprisoned sub-beastmen?
Bai Tu hadn’t told Lang Qi about today’s discovery, and to keep it a secret, he hadn’t brought the cubs with him. He did, however, have a spare cloth wrap. Taking it out, he carefully placed the cubs inside.
There were thirteen in total, each one extremely frail. The same cloth wrap that normally held five cubs still had room left even after fitting in all these cubs. Carrying the bundle, Bai Tu returned, only to run straight into Lang Qi, who had been looking for him after realizing he had been gone for too long.
Lang Qi glanced at the cubs in Bai Tu’s arms, then at the ones in his own, saying nothing.
Nearby, a passing wolf tribe member quietly asked another, “Does Lord Bai Tu think there aren’t enough cubs?” No wonder the chief couldn’t find him—he must have thought the cubs were too few and went out to bring back more.
It was rumored that just yesterday, Bai Tu had agreed to take in the twenty beauties that the leopard tribe had offered him. And yet, he still felt there weren’t enough cubs?
The two beastmen shook their heads, marveling at the situation. They had never imagined the chief could experience a day of being “not enough.” It seemed even in the search for a mate, the chief lacked an advantage—he had to work harder.
Bai Tu: “…” He would never stop being shocked by the way beastmen thought.
Seeing that he wasn’t explaining, Lang Qi’s expression darkened. Bai Tu quickly spoke up, “No, no, five are already plenty.”
Lang Qi immediately countered, “You think it’s too many?”
Bai Tu: “…”
Bai Tu: “Not too many, not too many—five is just right. These were found outside. I suspect the path behind the cave was dug by sub-beastmen, and these cubs were hidden by them.”
Hearing that the cubs had been found rather than deliberately taken from the cave, Lang Qi relaxed.
He had heard from Bai An and Bai Qi that Bai Tu had nearly adopted cubs from another tribe before. If Bai Tu had taken these cubs from the imprisoned beastmen of the Black Forest Tribe, it was likely because he wanted to raise them himself. Lang Qi didn’t oppose Bai Tu raising cubs, but if he already had his own and was still taking in others…
At least things weren’t as bad as he had feared. Lang Qi glanced at the cubs and carefully secured the ones in his arms before asking another question, “How did you know there was another route?”
“I went ins—” Bai Tu started but stopped mid-sentence, realizing he had just exposed himself. He swiftly changed the topic. “Let’s go check on those people first.”
If the cubs had indeed been hidden by the imprisoned sub-beasts, it meant that at least some of the beastmen in the first cave were still conscious—and not just one or two of them.
Although they had already learned about the Black Forest Tribe’s atrocities from the captured beastmen in the other caves, Bai Tu felt that something crucial was still missing. For one, the Black Forest Tribe had an abnormally large number of sub-beasts compared to other tribes. Yet, most of the sub-beastmen they had found were either unresponsive or completely mad, unwilling or unable to provide any useful information. Bai Tu wanted to try using the cubs to see if any of the sub-beastmen would be willing to speak the truth.
But before that, they needed to find something for the cubs to eat.
Lang Qi watched him but ultimately didn’t object.
Sub-beastmen were a taboo subject across the entire Beast God Continent. The rumors about them hadn’t just involved the Black Forest Tribe—several major tribes across the continent had been implicated as well. Though Lang Qi’s tribe and a few others found the belief that sub-beastmen had brought disaster to be absurd, they had chosen not to bring up the topic recently.
Because once the subject was raised, no matter what stance you took, someone would oppose it. And in the middle of a major operation to overthrow the Black Forest Tribe, minimizing unnecessary conflicts was crucial.
Even now, many of the beastmen from other tribes following them hadn’t realized that Bai Tu was a sub-beastman. One reason was that the rabbit tribe’s beastmen were generally slimmer than those of other tribes. Since Bai Tu still appeared to be in his growth phase, many assumed he hadn’t matured yet and believed he was younger than Bai Qi. This explained why no one found his physique particularly strange.
Another reason was that sub-beastmen had not openly appeared for many years. Any tribe that still had sub-beastmen would go to great lengths to hide them, fearing that extreme factions might use their existence as an excuse for attacks.
Many tribes had tacitly accepted this approach, which was why no one ever considered the possibility that Bai Tu might be anything other than a male beastman, just like Bai Qi and the others.
As for Bai Tu and Lang Qi being mates, that wasn’t anything unusual on the Beast God Continent. Not only were male beastmen often together, but there were also plenty of cases where two sub-beastmen or two females became mates. So, no one found their relationship particularly strange.
Moreover, the fact that they were raising cubs further reinforced this assumption. After all, the two wolf cubs that called Bai Tu “Dad” had already reached the stage where they could shift into human form. What did that mean? It meant they were at least three years old.
Even though Bai Tu looked young, he had already passed his growth phase. But no matter how young he appeared, he couldn’t have been out of his growth phase for that long. This explained why they had so many cubs—because none of them were actually their biological children!
No one had ever directly asked them about it, as everyone had already filled in the blanks on their own. In reality, their assumptions were miles away from the truth.
Lang Qi had more or less guessed what these beastmen were thinking, and even Bai An had noticed that the other beastmen had misunderstood something. However, no one took the time to explain.
Most of the tribes that had gathered to attack the Black Forest Tribe were unfamiliar ones, with only a few familiar ones mixed in.
They weren’t sure how the others would react if they found out Bai Tu was actually a sub-beastman. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, they all silently chose to ignore the topic. Plus, with everything that had happened along the way, and the chaos of infiltrating the Black Forest Tribe, there had never been a good moment to clarify the matter. No one had ever questioned Bai Tu’s identity, so the misunderstanding had persisted until now.
Now that Bai Tu was actively seeking out the sub-beastmen, it wouldn’t take long for the other beastmen to put the pieces together. If someone decided to stir up trouble over it, the alliance of tribes that had come to attack the Black Forest Tribe might end up fracturing into smaller factions.
Lang Qi understood the potential consequences of Bai Tu’s actions, but he didn’t stop him. He trusted that Bai Tu would be able to handle the situation.
If they didn’t take this opportunity—having just found the cubs—to approach the sub-beastmen and gather information, it would be much harder to get another chance once everyone had rested and dispersed. If that happened, it would be nearly impossible to piece together what had really happened over the years.
Bai Tu wasn’t aware of Lang Qi’s thoughts. He was simply following his instincts, which told him that he needed to act quickly.
After making sure the wolf cubs were fed, Bai Tu found a large bamboo basket, placed the cubs inside, and carried them to find the sub-beastmen.
Sub-beastmen had low combat abilities, but there were more than just one or two of them in that cave. Besides, Bai Tu himself was a sub-beastman with little fighting power. Naturally, Lang Qi wasn’t about to let him go alone. He had originally planned to leave some of the cubs with Lang Ya, but just as he handed them over, something crossed his mind. He immediately took them back and decided to bring both the cubs and Bai Tu with him.
Upon reaching the entrance of the cave where the sub-beastmen lived, Lang Qi instructed Lang Yang to stand guard and ensure that no beastmen from any tribe entered without permission.
Lang Yang had been assigned guard duty before and took the order seriously, keeping a watchful eye at the cave entrance.
Bai Tu and Lang Qi carried the cubs inside. The condition of the sub-beastmen was slightly better than when they had first been found. Many of them still stared blankly into space, but at least their animal hide clothing was clean, and they no longer appeared as filthy as before.
Each cub stayed close to their respective guardian. After tidying up the cave, the beastmen separated the sub-beastmen, placing the pregnant ones in a cave by themselves. The ones remaining were those who had cubs with them.
Seeing how the cubs clung to the sub-beastmen, Bai Tu couldn’t shake the feeling that they were putting on an act. If they were truly as dazed and unresponsive as they seemed, would the cubs really be so attached to them?
Cubs—regardless of their tribe—needed responses from their guardians. If a cub approached someone and was continuously ignored, it would eventually give up. A cub would only keep seeking someone out if they received a response in return.
Bai Tu didn’t say anything extra. He simply placed the bamboo basket on the ground and lifted the lid.
In an instant, Bai Tu felt at least a dozen gazes fall upon him. He glanced around and noticed that a few of the sub-beasts’ expressions had changed.
Some others gave him a brief look before shifting their eyes away, as if they had only glanced over by chance.
“I found these cubs outside the tribe,” Bai Tu explained, clarifying their origin. “Are any of them yours?”
As he spoke, he scanned the group. Two sub-beastmen had already pulled their cubs close, holding them tightly. A few others who had been watching Bai Tu discreetly glanced at Lang Qi.
Bai Tu exchanged a look with Lang Qi, who then brought out the wolf cubs he was carrying.
The sub-beastmen, who had been relatively indifferent until now, were suddenly stunned.
Sub-beastmen. Wolf cubs. Unlike those who had rarely or never encountered sub-beastmen before, sub-beastmen shared a unique sense of recognition among themselves. The moment they saw Bai Tu, they realized he was a sub-beastman, though that alone didn’t mean much—after all, even in the Black Forest Tribe, some sub-beastmen were allowed to move around freely.
Seeing the cubs Bai Tu had brought, they were undoubtedly anxious, but they didn’t dare to act recklessly. If they exposed what they had done, it could put others at risk.
Some of them even wondered whether this sub-beastman in front of them had been deliberately chosen by the Black Forest Tribe to deceive them. Perhaps the beastmen attacking the tribe outside were also part of some elaborate scheme, just to manipulate them into compliance.
However, those suspicions disappeared the moment Lang Qi revealed the cubs he was carrying. These two had cubs of their own—and they weren’t even trying to hide it? They had just openly brought them here?
Even if a beastman from the Black Forest Tribe was involved with a sub-beastman, they would always be secretive about it. They feared others would use it against them.
Self-interest dictated that whenever a beastman found out a sub-beastman was pregnant with their child, their first instinct was to send the sub-beastman back into hiding and deny any connection to the cub.
This was exactly the weakness that Wu Jiu exploited—he killed the sub-beastmen’ cubs without hesitation. And when the beastmen outside learned what he was doing, some of them even felt relieved. As long as the cubs lived, there was always a risk of exposure, a potential threat to their status. But if the cubs were dead, that threat disappeared.
If even the lower-ranking beastmen acted this way, let alone the tribe leaders. Bao Ren treated sub-beastmen as tools, as rewards or punishments to be given to beastmen in the tribe.
The sub-beastmen had been confined in these caves for so long that they had nearly forgotten—forgotten that their cubs had the right to live openly. Like those lively, fearless little wolf cubs, they too could see the world. They didn’t have to be born only to face death at any moment.
Staring at the cubs, a flicker of light finally appeared in the sub-beastmen’ eyes. Some of them even dared to dream—could their own cubs one day live like this?
But that thought only lasted a moment. They knew the truth. From the moment they were born as sub-beastmen, their fate was sealed. And their cubs shared that fate—an even crueler one. Many didn’t even get a chance to see much of the world before being slaughtered.
“These are my cubs. If none of you want the others, I’ll take them and raise them myself,” Bai Tu said.
One of the sub-beastmen who had been secretly watching them suddenly looked delighted. Bai Tu was certain—he hadn’t mistaken that expression. It was joy.
Handing over their own cubs to someone else and feeling happy about it…
Bai Tu observed the sub-beastmen again, and suddenly, a thought struck him. He looked at them and asked, “Our tribe has plenty of resources. Raising a few more cubs isn’t an issue. Not just these—even if there were dozens more, we could manage. But I’ve been searching for a relative. If you can answer a few questions, I can take in more cubs and care for them.”
The sub-beastmen’ arms tightened around their cubs—not out of reluctance, but from excitement and doubt.
They wanted their cubs to have the life those little wolf cubs had. But at the same time, they were afraid. Was this just another deception, like Wu Jiu’s tricks? Would this person use their cubs for some dark purpose, luring them in with false promises?
Bai Tu didn’t ignore the doubt in their eyes. But it was understandable. If they had immediately trusted him and handed over their cubs without hesitation, that would have been more concerning.
He lowered his gaze to the cubs, then looked back up seriously.
“Do you know Bai Luo?” he asked.
In the corner, a disheveled beastman’s body trembled slightly. But their position was too hidden, and the movement was too small—no one but themselves noticed.
On the other side, a sub-beastman suddenly lifted their head, staring at Bai Tu in disbelief.
“You know Bai Luo? Bai Luo is alive, isn’t he? He made it out—he really made it out!”
The sub-beast’s excitement was almost unnatural.
Bai Tu hesitated for a long moment but ultimately chose not to reveal the truth. Instead, he simply stated, “I am Bai Luo’s child.”
At those words, not only did the excited sub-beastman freeze, but many of the others turned to look at him as well.
All traces of wariness in their eyes disappeared—replaced by sheer, uncontained emotion.
In the corner, the beastman who had been lowering his head suddenly stood up and rushed to Bai Tu: “Are you Bai Luo’s child? Are you Bai Luo’s child?”
Bai Tu was not intimidated by the beastman’s frantic demeanor and simply nodded. “I am.”
The beastman cupped Bai Tu’s face and studied him carefully. Finally, as if confirming something, he smiled and said, “He made it. He will definitely succeed. Bai Luo has succeeded…”
Bai Tu didn’t know what had happened between them, but he could tell from the beastman’s tone that this was something he had been anticipating for a long time. Even without more details, Bai Tu could piece together some clues from the scattered words.
As Bai Tu looked at him, an older sub-beastman beside him stood up and examined him carefully. After a while, he nodded, “You look a lot like Bai Luo.”
Bai Tu had heard the same words from Bai Meng before, so he wasn’t surprised. Seeing that this sub-beastman was calmer than the frantic beastman, he asked, “Why did my father leave?”
The sub-beastman looked at him, then glanced at Lang Qi beside him. Finally, he decided that now was the time to tell the truth.
“Bai Luo was the only one among us who managed to escape.”
Bai Tu understood immediately. Out of so many people, only one had escaped—it was unlikely he had done so purely by his own ability. More likely, everyone had worked together to send one person out.
The sub-beastman continued, confirming Bai Tu’s thoughts, “My name is Chi. I’m a few years younger than Bai Luo. Back then, all the sub-beastmen were captured and guarded by the beastmen of the Black Forest Tribe, with no chance of escape. In the end, we came up with a plan—we would distract the beastmen so that one person could get away.”
Sub-beastmen had lower combat abilities and couldn’t defeat the beastmen outside. But precisely because they were weaker, they were more skilled at working together. Since they couldn’t all escape, they chose to cooperate. As long as one person made it out, there would be a chance to return and rescue the others.
For those trapped under the beastmen’ watch, there was no freedom. If they stayed in the tribe, they might never find a way to save everyone. Only by sending someone outside could they seek help from other tribes and beastmen beyond these borders.
But their resources were limited. In the end, they resorted to sowing discord, provoking a conflict between the tribe’s leader and several younger beastmen who, while not yet chiefs, were strong candidates for the next leadership position.
The leader feared others would covet his position. Meanwhile, the young, powerful beastmen were eager for the chief to die so they could take his place. At the same time, they had rivalries among themselves. The sub-beastmen exploited these tensions, fanning the flames of conflict.
As they had predicted, the beastmen turned on each other.
When lower-ranked individuals fought, it was often just a personal brawl or a small-scale family dispute, with a few siblings or close relatives getting involved. But when the tribe’s leader and future successors clashed, it wasn’t just a simple fight—it plunged the entire tribe into chaos.
The sub-beastmen seized this opportunity, giving Bai Luo enough time to escape successfully.
However, the consequences were severe. After Bai Luo’s escape, the beastmen tightened their surveillance. Before, the captives were allowed out of their cave once a day, but after the escape, they could only leave if permitted by the chief or the tribe’s shaman. Otherwise, they had to remain locked inside.
Even so, none of the sub-beastmen who had taken part in the plan regretted their decision. Later, when the female beastmen learned the truth, they didn’t blame them either. Everyone placed their hopes on Bai Luo.
But that hope had stretched across twenty long years.
Thank you for the update!