Chapter 14
He hadn’t failed, but it wasn’t much better than failure.
Bai Tu was immensely grateful he had chosen to transform when no one else was around. If others had seen him in this state, he would have had no place to hide his embarrassment.
Taking advantage of the solitude, Bai Tu used the spacing between the buttons on his animal hide as a makeshift ruler to compare his size. He was quickly confronted with a brutal reality: based on proportions, his beast form wasn’t much bigger than the cubs in the tribe.
Up to now, the beast forms he had seen most often were those of the hunting team. Even though they were lean, they were far from weak, with bodies easily a meter long. By comparison, his current size wasn’t even as thick as their legs.
The cave didn’t have a water basin, and even if it did, at his current size, he wouldn’t dare look into it. One careless move, and he might fall in. The only part of himself he could see were his paws. Since he rarely transformed, his paws looked fresh and pristine—snow-white without a single speck of discoloration.
His claws were a faint pinkish-white, completely different from the tough, hard claws of other beastfolk. Curious, Bai Tu scratched at the ground experimentally. Not only did he fail to leave a mark, but he didn’t even manage to leave a scratch.
Bai Tu: “…”
Resigned to reality, Bai Tu quickly gave up. Forget it—some things were better left to the professionals. At his current size, it would probably take him decades to dig a fish pond.
He concentrated on returning to his human form. As his vision rose back to its original height, Bai Tu let out a heavy sigh of relief.
He quickly put on his clothes and, pretending nothing had happened, returned to the cave. After calming his nerves, which had been shaken by his own beast form, he headed down the mountain. When the hunting team returned, he explained his idea: he wanted to dig a small fish pond.
Bai Tu’s concerns turned out to be completely unnecessary. After hearing his request, Bai An didn’t even ask about the size of the pond and immediately started assigning people to help.
Bai Qi volunteered first. “I’ll do it!” He hadn’t caught any large prey that day and was itching for something to do.
One by one, six or seven others stepped forward. Seeing even more people getting ready to join, Bai Tu quickly stopped them. “That’s enough, that’s enough. Just a few people will do.” The cave wasn’t that big, and the pond he envisioned would only be about two meters wide and two meters long. If too many people worked on it, there wouldn’t even be room to place their paws.
Leading the small group to the cave, Bai Tu marked out the spot he had chosen and drew an outline for the pond. “Dig along this white line,” he said. “It only needs to be about a meter deep.”
The group got to work immediately. Before Bai Tu could even react, they had all transformed into their beast forms and begun digging. Dirt and rocks flew everywhere.
For a moment, Bai Tu stood there in a daze. Under their claws, soil and rocks didn’t seem to differ much—they tore through both with ease.
Bai Tu took the opportunity to observe the others’ beast forms, something he hadn’t paid much attention to before. It turned out that there were subtle differences between them. For example, Bai Qi had short, white fur, while Tu Xun’s fur was slightly longer and a shade of gray. Bai Zhou’s ears were larger than the others, though they weren’t floppy…
The digging progressed much faster than Bai Tu had expected. He had initially thought it would take at least two or three hours, but before long, the pond’s size and depth were already up to his standards. Meanwhile, some of the slower beastfolk outside hadn’t even finished roasting the meat.
Once they realized the pond was for raising fish, the group didn’t wait for Bai Tu to speak. They quickly transformed back into human form, grabbed buckets, stone pots, and other tools, and began hauling water to fill the pond.
The rubble in the cave was also carried out, and by the end of the evening, the small fish pond Bai Tu had dreamed of was complete. The fish in the bucket now had a proper home, and he no longer had to worry about having nowhere to keep them.
*
During dinner, Bai Tu asked Bai Qi a question that had been on his mind: “Do you need to transform into your beast form on the way to trade for salt?”
From the very beginning, Bai Tu had planned to join the salt-trading team on their next trip, but now he faced a new problem. If they required the use of beast forms, he’d need to figure out a way to conceal his… shortcomings.
The question was a bit unusual, but Bai Qi didn’t seem to think much of it. He only paused to consider his answer before responding: “Usually, no. But if we run into people trying to steal our salt or food, sometimes we’ll transform to fight them off.”
“Transform to fight?” Bai Tu was a bit surprised. After all, the rabbitfolk typically hunted in human form. Why would they need their beast forms for fighting?
Bai Qi nodded firmly. “Exactly.”
Even so, Bai Tu wasn’t willing to give up this rare opportunity. If he didn’t go this time, he’d have to wait another six months. Many plants had seasonal growth cycles, and there weren’t many crops that could be planted in winter. “What if there’s someone who can’t conveniently transform into their beast form? Can they still come along?”
“Of course!” Bai Qi said without hesitation. “We need people to carry things and help look after the salt.”
Bai Tu thought for a moment. That made sense. Just like last time when they dug traps, not everyone needed to transform into their rabbit forms. With that realization, he felt much more at ease.
As long as he didn’t slow the team down, he could go along. With that in mind, he asked a few more questions, such as how much they walked each day and whether they needed to cross mountains.
Bai Qi, who had already figured out that Bai Tu was planning to join the group heading to the market, didn’t pay much attention at first. But as Bai Tu continued asking questions about the journey, Bai Qi suddenly realized something—Bai Tu must be nervous because he’d never left the tribe before!
“Don’t worry, Tu! We’ll make sure to protect you!” Bai Qi promised solemnly, vowing to keep the tribe’s witch doctor safe no matter what.
Though Bai Qi’s tone was a bit overly serious, Bai Tu couldn’t deny that it felt nice to have someone care about him.
Seeing Bai Tu’s concern, Bai Qi reassured him further. “We’ll be traveling behind the Blood Wolf Tribe, so we won’t encounter anyone trying to steal supplies.”
Most tribes relied on their own hunters to trade for supplies, but there were always a few who preferred to take the easy way out—stealing from others. These opportunists typically targeted smaller, weaker tribes.
While the Snow Rabbit Tribe traveling alone would be risky, following another powerful tribe was different. Even the most brazen thieves wouldn’t dare make a move near fierce beastfolk. As long as they stayed close to the tribe ahead of them, safety wouldn’t be an issue.
With his safety guaranteed, Bai Tu felt a bit more reassured. Over the next few days, he spent his free time preparing items to bring on the trip while others worked on making dried meat.
He didn’t need to worry about transporting the dried meat himself. Bai An had already arranged for beastfolk to carry it. All Bai Tu had to do was pack his medical supplies into his backpack.
Bai Tu had prepared two types of medicine. The first was a herbal mix that could be boiled into a medicinal broth for internal use. The second was a powdered medicine made from hemostatic herbs, specifically for treating external injuries. Both were highly sought after by the beastfolk.
Serious injuries were rare in the tribe, but small cuts and scrapes were common—abrasions, scratches, or wounds caused by sharp stones.
With no proper roads nearby, the paths they used were all made by constant foot traffic. Most beastfolk preferred to go barefoot, while the better-off ones wore simple straw sandals or loosely wrapped animal hides. As a result, minor leg and foot injuries were an everyday occurrence.
In the past, Bai Qi said they would simply ignore these small wounds. However, after Bai Tu distributed some of his powdered medicine to Bai An and they saw its effective results, Bai Tu gained the confidence to produce it in bulk.
Beastfolk trusted only what they could see with their own eyes—if the medicine didn’t work or took too long to take effect, no amount of convincing words would sway them.
In addition to medicine, Bai Tu also prepared a few pairs of straw sandals. These sandals were far sturdier than the ones he had initially made. They fit better as well, with the part touching the sole of the foot made of soft, tender grass, a middle layer reinforced with animal hide, and a bottom layer of durable dry grass.
These new sandals could last two or three days. Since they would be walking long distances on the salt route, Bai Tu planned to switch to a new pair every one or two days.
Because starting a fire outdoors was inconvenient, Bai Tu also crafted two simple fire starters using bamboo tubes. The design was similar to traditional fire rolls but used dry grass as the burning material. He packed the dry grass tightly into the bamboo tube, lit it, and then capped the tube, leaving only a small hole for airflow. This allowed the embers inside to smolder without fully burning, lasting up to half a day.
Since the wilderness was different from the safety of the tribe, Bai Tu tried to prepare as much as possible to make life easier for everyone.
It wasn’t just Bai Tu—everyone in the Snow Rabbit Tribe was busy preparing for the salt trade. After the meat jerky was finished, Tu Cai led the others in weaving tools non-stop.
In addition to backpacks, they also made straw mats, straw hats, and more. Bai Tu’s straw sandals were produced in large quantities as well. Any beastfolk who wanted a pair could take one, and any extras could be traded for other goods.
“Many tribes don’t make backpacks, but they need something to carry meat and food,” Tu Cai said while weaving a straw mat. “They’ll definitely like these mats.”
She had been making a lot of mats lately, so much so that the reeds along the riverbank were almost entirely harvested by their tribe. In this scorching heat, straw mats were much more comfortable than animal hides.
Many beastfolk disliked summer because it was so hot, even at night. Lying on a straw mat, which stayed cool to the touch, would be a luxury others would surely want.
In the past, the Snow Rabbit Tribe hadn’t caught much prey, but the backpacks they wove still allowed them to trade for enough salt to survive. Tu Cai firmly believed these tools could once again be exchanged for useful supplies.
*
After several days of hard work, by the second day after the White Bear Tribe set out, the Snow Rabbit Tribe had successfully processed four animals—a cow, a pig, and two antelopes—into jerky, filling over twenty backpacks.
With so much dried meat, even if the last backpack of beef jerky fetched the same amount of salt as before, it would be enough to last the tribe nearly half a year. The salt from this trip was meant to last until the snowy season, by which time the second market of the year would open.
Looking at the cave now filled with supplies, everyone’s exhaustion melted away. Even the usually serious Bai An had a smile on his face.
Having more supplies meant they wouldn’t lack salt this year, nor would they have to pay exorbitant prices to trade for it. During the rainy season, the price of salt skyrocketed until the next market opened.
Sometimes, a single backpack of meat could only be traded for half a bowl of salt, but tribes without salt still had no choice but to trade, as going without salt left them weak and fatigued.
This year, not only did they have more prey, but they had also produced plenty of tools. That night, everyone feasted to prepare for the long journey ahead, which would last over ten days.
*
Elsewhere: Blood Wolf Tribe
While the Snow Rabbit Tribe beastfolk drifted off to sleep, another scene unfolded not far from them.
Under the cover of night, the Blood Wolf Tribe made their move.
Over a hundred adult wolves left the tribe in orderly formation. Leading them was a massive black wolf with no trace of any other color in its fur. Its lean body moved with grace and silence as it leaped into the forest, the rest of the wolves following closely behind.
The wolf pack moved through the rugged terrain of the forest with ease, as if on flat ground. Their destination? The infamous Mad Lion Tribe.
On a moonless, windy night, the roar of enraged lions suddenly shattered the silence, waking countless beastfolk from their dreams.
Thanks for the chapter 🙂