Chapter 165
For most beastmen and Feathered Tribe members, the arrival of winter meant staying within the tribe’s territory. Leaving during the harsh cold was an incredibly risky endeavor.
There were only two things that could push beastmen to take such a gamble—food and offspring. The former determined the tribe’s present survival, while the latter was tied to its future.
After Bai An’s team set out, they quickly discovered that the claim of “an entire clutch of five eggs successfully hatched” resonated with almost everyone. Even those who weren’t particularly interested at first changed their minds upon hearing that “even the weakest younglings in the tribe had survived the winter.” They immediately understood that this was a powerful method.
This approach made persuading others much easier—rather than wasting time explaining why they were visiting so many tribes, they simply mentioned the survival rate of the young. In fact, they barely needed to say anything at all; people would automatically start asking which tribe they belonged to. The journey had gone smoothly, and once word spread, more beastmen became eager to visit and learn. Bai An hadn’t thought too much about it at the time.
But now, seeing multiple tribes arriving all at once, he realized they had underestimated the impact of their message.
For the Feathered Tribe, even if their young didn’t engage in brutal battles like the Eagle Clan, only about a quarter of the eggs laid would successfully hatch and survive.
For the Beastmen Tribes, it was already considered good fortune if half of their offspring made it past the age of three. So, when word spread that almost all the young of the Snow Rabbit Tribe had survived for an entire year, it created an uproar.
Even the Giant Panda Tribe, which hadn’t seen a single newborn in over a year, had suddenly given birth within the Snow Rabbit Tribe’s territory.
Hearing this, the other tribes couldn’t wait. Snow or no snow, winter or not, they braved the icy winds and rushed over.
There were still three months left before winter ended, but they didn’t want to wait any longer. Once winter passed, food supplies would dwindle, and they would need to hunt—delaying the trip any further would be even more difficult. So, they simply decided to bring their own food and travel to the Snow Rabbit Tribe immediately.
Several tribes had set out around the same time and arrived almost simultaneously. Meanwhile, the Deer Tribe had gotten lost and ended up at the Leopard Tribe’s territory, nearly startling the beastmen keeping watch there.
Bai Tu listened to their explanation in silence. Without commenting, he instructed Bai Qi to lead the visitors to the guest quarters, as it was far too cold to leave them standing outside.
The guest quarters had been built specifically to receive visitors from other tribes. Structurally, they were similar to the tribe’s regular housing, except that the heated Kang beds had been modified to seat more people, making them unsuitable for long-term living but perfect for temporary rest.
The six visiting tribes had brought a total of four to five hundred people. Fortunately, the guest quarters had just enough rooms to accommodate them. Bai Qi led the visitors inside while Bai An arranged for people to light the heated kang beds.
Meanwhile, the core members of the tribe returned to their usual meeting room to discuss the situation. Bai Tu turned to Bai Chen and Lang Qi.
“How do you think we should handle this?”
Since the tribe had adopted a new name, responsibilities had been divided more clearly. Originally, Lang Qi was in charge of security and defense. However, since these visitors had come without hostile intent, they couldn’t simply drive them away.
On the Beast God Continent, there was no saying equivalent to “one does not strike a smiling face”, but since these visitors had arrived with friendly intentions, and had traversed vast territories in such harsh weather just to reach them, sending them back now would be heartless.
The temperature was still dropping, and their journey had already been extremely difficult. Returning was nearly impossible—if the Snow Rabbit Tribe didn’t find a solution, these people would have no choice but to temporarily take shelter on an unclaimed mountain nearby and wait until winter ended before returning to their own tribes.
Bai Tu couldn’t bring himself to turn them away, but the tribe’s housing situation was already stretched thin. The beastmen Bai An had previously brought back only had places to stay because the Eagle Tribe had made room for them.
One option was to let the newcomers stay in the empty rooms of the tribe’s existing beastmen. However, this would make management difficult. Currently, non-tribal members were housed in a separate designated area, making patrolling and daily organization much more convenient.
“It’s up to you,” Lang Qi said as he handed Bai Tu some food.
Having a small appetite came with a major drawback—Bai Tu’s endurance against hunger was far worse than other beastmen. Others could go three days without eating after a single meal, and under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t even need dinner unless there was a direct threat to the tribe. But Bai Tu was different.
Earlier, with the uncertainty of the visitors’ intentions, he hadn’t been in the mood to eat, even though food had been prepared in advance. Now that he knew the situation wasn’t hostile, he finally had an appetite. Taking the food from Lang Qi, he ate while saying, “How about settling them in the cave dwellings?”
These were the same cave dwellings they had previously lived in. They had heated kang beds and a kitchen, and when the Western Continent tribes had visited before, they had stayed there for a period of time. However, the caves were a bit remote, and the tribe would need to assign people to keep watch.
Still, this was the most suitable solution among the available options. Even if it meant living farther away, it was better to send a few people over to oversee them rather than integrating them directly into the homes of tribe members.
Although beastmen didn’t typically have strong reservations about living arrangements, sharing a home with an unfamiliar outsider was still different from living with familiar tribe members. People wouldn’t mind sharing space with beastmen they already knew, but accommodating outsiders from other tribes would be inconvenient, even if arrangements were made.
Lang Qi had no objections to this plan and even mentioned the former Blood Wolf Tribe’s caves, saying, “The wolf tribe’s mountains could also be used for housing.” Since the wolf tribe had more vacant cave dwellings, they had plenty of space.
Bai Tu thought about it for a moment and decided to house them only in the Snow Rabbit Tribe’s caves for now. The more dispersed they were, the harder they would be to manage. Since all of the Snow Rabbit Tribe’s homes were located on the same mountain, they could simply station guards on the lower levels, ensuring that all the visitors were kept within sight.
As for the wolf tribe’s caves, Bai Tu planned to reserve them for later. Once these outsiders had stayed in the tribe long enough and if some of them decided to stay permanently, they could then be moved to the wolf tribe’s mountains, which had more spacious and abundant cave dwellings. Alternatively, if more beastmen arrived in the future, they could be assigned there as well, following the same accommodation structure as before.
Once the discussion was settled, Bai Tu immediately summoned the leaders of the visiting tribes to inform them of the decision.
“Our tribe doesn’t have enough housing. If you want to stay here, you’ll have to live in the caves where we previously stayed. The Feathered Tribe’s eggs and the Beast Tribe’s young can be placed in the residential area—we have people dedicated to taking care of the young and incubating eggs.”
The ones responsible for caring for the young were sub-beastmen, most of whom had a very light aura that wasn’t overwhelming to younglings, even if they were from different species. As for incubating eggs, depending on their size, they could be sent to either the Black Hawk Tribe or the Five Eagle Tribe. If there were only a few eggs, the Snow Rabbit Tribe could take care of them directly.
The tribal leaders exchanged glances. Being separated from their young was something they hadn’t considered before. Even though their primary purpose in coming here was for their young, the idea of being apart from them made them even more anxious.
After all, no one could guarantee how the Hundred Beasts Tribe would treat their offspring.
As they hesitated, one of the leaders looked at Bai Tu and asked, “Lord Bai Tu, I heard that you saved many younglings before?”
Bai Tu met his gaze and asked, “Which time are you referring to?”
He had indeed rescued many younglings, but at different times and from different places. At the previous market gathering, he had saved some from the Red Hawk Tribe, while the last time, the younglings had come from the Black Forest Tribe.
“From the tribe next to ours—the missing younglings you brought back from the Red Eagle Tribe.”
“Ah, that must be it.” Bai Tu nodded. The Red Eagle Tribe had indeed been wiped out by them.
“And not just once,” Bai Qi added. “Right now, our tribe is still housing younglings rescued from the Black Forest Tribe and the West River Tribe. If you don’t believe us, you can go take a look.”
The Hundred Beasts Tribe had a large number of younglings, and Bai Qi found it ridiculous that these outsiders were worried about how they would treat them.
In reality, the reason their tribe was willing to take in and care for younglings and eggs was because Bai Tu liked them. If it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to help. Beastmen naturally prioritized the young of their own tribe, and while they might assist others when possible, it was rare to find someone like Bai Tu who would earnestly care for every youngling, regardless of their origins.
“Then I agree to entrust our younglings to you,” the leader said immediately.
Their tribe had few younglings. It was probably because of this small number that they had luckily avoided the Red Eagle Tribe’s child theft. While their own younglings hadn’t been taken, the neighboring tribe had lost several. In the end, it was the Black Hawk Tribe who had notified them that their missing young had been found.
Since their tribe had fewer members, they didn’t interact frequently with the other tribes, so their knowledge of the event was vague. They only remembered hearing about a sub-beastman who loved children and had helped rescue the missing younglings. His name had been something like “Tu.”
Now, looking at Bai Tu, the leader instinctively recalled that story—something about Bai Tu just matched the description too well. His name was the same, and Bai An and the others had even mentioned that their tribe had many weak younglings who had all been nursed back to health.
This only reinforced his belief that Bai Tu was the one responsible.
Since the Hundred Beasts Tribe had previously rescued so many younglings and even returned them to their tribes, and since they still had so many younglings under their care, there was no need to worry about their own children’s safety.
In their own tribe, younglings didn’t have an easy life. Every winter, many fell sick and coughed constantly. Some younglings would go to sleep and never wake up. Every year, at least a few died this way.
They had come here hoping Bai Tu could help, but they hadn’t expected they wouldn’t be allowed to personally care for their young.
However, when the leader thought about how his own tribe lost younglings every winter, while in the Hundred Beasts Tribe, every single youngling born in the past two years had survived, he felt it was worth the risk.
What if the Hundred Beasts Tribe could take better care of them than his own tribe could?
The beastmen pondered this thought.
Once the first person agreed, the other tribal leaders, who had initially wanted to discuss with their clansmen, hesitated briefly before also agreeing.
They feared that if they delayed too long, Bai Tu might refuse, and after all, their entire tribe had braved the harsh winter winds just to ensure their younglings’ health.
Only the leader of the tribe without any younglings under three years old looked enviously at the others.
Then, Bai Tu added another matter: “Younglings who have nothing to do can also attend classes in the residential area—winter isn’t an excuse to be idle.”
The school environment was almost the same as home, if not even better suited for living. Because adult beastmen were usually too busy during other seasons, attendance in winter was actually higher than usual.
Bai Tu thought this was a great opportunity to have the younglings from these tribes study together.
The previously envious tribal leader immediately agreed. Their tribe might not have infants needing care, but they had older children!
Once the leaders agreed, they returned to their quarters to inform their people. Bai Tu, however, remained in place, looking at those around him. With a tired sigh, he muttered, “We’ll need to start working on scam prevention in the future.”
They had agreed far too easily, showing almost no suspicion at all. At first, they had been slightly hesitant, but as soon as someone agreed, they all followed suit without question.
Bai Tu was now seriously wondering—if he had planted someone to act as a decoy, saying the right things, would he have been able to trick an entire group of younglings away?
These people were way too trusting. Bai Tu would rather they be more skeptical, forcing him to explain things in detail or even prove himself, than have them so readily believe everything he said.
On the other hand, if they weren’t so easily convinced, they wouldn’t have traveled here just based on Bai An’s group’s words either.
Bai Tu assigned the task of spreading scam prevention awareness to Bai Qi, who had long grown accustomed to such responsibilities. After all, he had worked with Ying Quan and others to convince countless tribes in the past.
Meanwhile, Bai Chen went to tally the numbers, Bai Qi began spreading scam prevention knowledge, and Bai Tu sat down with Lang Qi to discuss the tribe’s food situation.
The food brought by these tribes wasn’t much—after consuming part of it on the journey, what remained was barely enough to last half the winter.
Bai Tu considered allocating some grain and eggs, but not for free—they would need to work in exchange.
There were plenty of tasks that didn’t require specific locations, making them perfect for these newcomers.
With four to five hundred people, even after subtracting the younglings, there were still over three hundred capable workers—Bai Tu wasn’t about to waste this workforce.
In exchange for labor, the tribe would provide food, and by the time winter ended, these people could even take some supplies back to their own tribes.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement for both sides.
A win-win situation like this naturally had to be arranged as soon as possible.
“Some of them are from the Feathered Tribe—they can help with transporting supplies,” Bai Tu said. This winter, they weren’t planning to remain idle. In addition to providing food to smaller tribes in need, they also had to deliver supplies to the Black Hawk Tribe. Plus, patrols required the assistance of the Feathered Tribe, so their arrival was perfectly timed.
As for the beastmen from other tribes, Bai Tu made arrangements for them as well. The tribe had a variety of tasks—if someone wasn’t suited for one job, they could do another. There was always something for them to contribute.
Among all the tribes that had sought refuge, the ones who felt the happiest were the former members of the Chiwen Tribe. Originally, they had been outsiders within the tribe. But now, with several other tribes to compare against, they had suddenly become “insiders” of the Hundred Beasts Tribe.
Seeing them so excited over something like this, Bai Tu didn’t know what to say. And to think, these were the same people who had once planned to attack the Black Forest Tribe and the West River Tribe? If they had set out just a little earlier, they would have been completely wiped out before even reaching their destination.
In the past, winter was a season where everyone huddled in their caves or nests to rest, only getting up to find food when hunger forced them to. This year was the first time most of them had ever been this busy during winter.
For the Rabbit Tribe and the Wolf Tribe, it wasn’t too strange—they had already been working through winter since last year. But for the other beastmen, this was completely new. Especially for the newly arrived tribes, who had never imagined that coming to the Hundred Beasts Tribe would mean being able to earn food.
Although work was required, no one refused. After all, labor meant food, and once spring arrived, hunting would be uncertain. There were times when hunters would go out for days and return empty-handed, but here, as long as they worked, they could guarantee a meal.
Everyone understood which way of life was better.
When they thought about the points they would accumulate by the end of winter—and how those points could be exchanged for food—the beastmen worked even harder.
While assigning tasks to the tribal leaders, Bai Tu also gave out some safety instructions. Since they were living in caves, their stoves and sleeping areas were in close proximity, so they needed to be extra cautious to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
Of course, Bai Tu didn’t use those exact words. He simply warned them: “When cooking, don’t seal the cave completely—always leave a small gap in the beast hide covering the entrance. Also, if there’s smoke leaking from the heated beds, report it to Bai Qi or the beastmen at the foot of the mountain immediately.”
“Ignoring this could be deadly,” Bai Tu emphasized.
Carbon monoxide poisoning wasn’t a minor issue—by the time someone realized something was wrong, they might not even have the strength to call for help.
As he spoke, one of the tribal leaders suddenly froze.
“In short, make sure to ventilate properly. Stay warm, but also stay safe,” Bai Tu concluded, scanning the group before finally locking his gaze on the leader whose expression had changed.
“Chief Heyong, is something wrong?” Bai Tu asked.
Hearing his name, Heyong snapped out of his daze and murmured, “In our tribe… many younglings have died in caves before.”
Winter was harsh, and their tribe was closer to the Northern Continent, where temperatures were even lower.
Although they were also part of the Feathered Tribe, their beast forms weren’t as fierce as the Eagle Tribe’s, and they couldn’t fly long distances to the Southern Continent. With few other feathered beastmen nearby, their tribe relied on another Feathered Tribe for support.
To protect their young, they had always built as many fires as possible inside the caves during winter.
The more fires, the warmer the cave—this was something everyone believed to be true.
But despite their efforts, their younglings often became weaker instead of stronger. Many would develop violent coughs throughout winter, only recovering after spring arrived—and some never made it that far.
Now, after hearing Bai Tu’s explanation, Heyong suddenly realized something—the sickness and deaths of their younglings might have been caused by too many fires.
Hearing Heyong’s explanation, Bai Tu was almost certain—the younglings’ deaths were caused by smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Unlike adults, younglings couldn’t simply step outside whenever they felt unwell.
If an adult felt uncomfortable or suffocated, they could immediately leave the cave. But younglings could only endure it. The cave might have been warm, but it was also dangerous.
Bai Tu rubbed his forehead, then directly asked the tribal leaders, “What about the younglings in your tribes? What’s going on with them?”
He explained to them that his tribe wasn’t all-powerful—they just had some experience in incubating eggs and caring for younglings. They couldn’t solve every problem, but they could help identify the causes.
Even this much was enough to excite the group, and they immediately started talking over each other, eager to share the issues in their tribes.
For the two Feathered Tribes, their problems were the easiest to solve. Aside from their low egg hatching rates, the main issue was carbon monoxide poisoning caused by human error, which led to fewer and fewer younglings each year.
This kind of problem would never happen in the Hundred Beasts Tribe because they used heated brick beds. With layers of brick and cement separating the fire, as long as the beds remained intact, there was no risk of poisoning.
The other tribes’ problems, however, were more complicated. Some younglings were stillborn, some tribes had no births at all and some beastmen experienced sudden preterm labor.
At first, Bai Tu had no clue what the cause could be. But then he remembered the food they had brought with them. He also took another look at the tribal leaders’ physical condition before winter and suddenly had a guess.
“Is there not enough food in your tribes?” he asked.
The leaders nodded.
Most of their tribes had barely enough food to survive—they weren’t starving, but they were never truly full either.
“It’s probably malnutrition,” Bai Tu guessed. “Since you’re staying here for the winter, I’ll observe and let you know if I find anything.”
Malnutrition was just his initial assumption, and the real cause still needed further observation.
After all, many beastmen suffered from malnutrition, but it was unusual for an entire tribe to have no newborns at all.
If some beastmen became pregnant while living here, then nutrition deficiency was likely the cause. If not, he could analyze their habits to pinpoint the issue.
After finishing his explanation, Bai Tu was about to leave when he stepped outside and saw someone approaching the tribal leaders.
Judging from their posture and demeanor, they were from the Deer Tribe and likely held a high status within their group.
On the Beast God Continent, both beastmen and the Feathered Tribe enjoyed decorating themselves.
If conditions allowed, they would wear accessories made from beautiful stones or other materials. Generally, the higher a person’s status, the more elaborate their decorations.
Back when Bai Tu had first awakened, the entire tribe had been struggling with food shortages and worried about being annexed by other tribes. At that time, no one had the luxury to adorn themselves, not even Tu Bing, who had a relatively high rank in the tribe.
However, this winter had been different.
As the tribe’s situation improved, and as Bai Tu taught them how to weave cotton cloth and dye fabrics, people began to experiment with different styles of dress.
Now that food was plentiful, they finally had the time and energy to make accessories—dyed hair ribbons, intricate bracelets, necklaces, and more.
The most common materials for these decorations were small stones or seeds from certain plants.
Most of the Hundred Beasts Tribe’s people wore accessories made from these two materials.
But what caught Bai Tu’s attention was that the beastman approaching them was wearing red-colored ornaments.
Red stones were rare on the Beast God Continent, let alone the fact that the one around this beastman’s neck had more than one color. No matter which tribe it came from, such decorations were uncommon.
Bai Tu made a mental note to ask later where they had found them—he might be able to string a few into necklaces for the younglings.
There shouldn’t be any heavy metals, right? he thought. After all, younglings were still growing, and excessive heavy metal exposure could be harmful.
Just as Bai Tu took a few steps forward, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at the beastman speaking with the Deer Tribe leader.
Seeing him pause, Heyong immediately tensed up and asked, “Lord Bai Tu, is there something else?”
“What is that? Let me take a look.” Bai Tu pointed at the necklace around the newly arrived beastman’s neck.
The young beastman didn’t know what was going on. When she heard Bai Tu ask about her hard-earned necklace, she looked toward her tribal leader with reluctance.
She hadn’t interacted with Bai Tu before, but the other tribal leaders had. They knew that Bai Tu was not the kind of beastman who coveted other people’s belongings. Besides, if he had wanted something, he could have asked for it when arranging their accommodations—there was no reason to wait until now.
“Take it off and give it to Lord Bai Tu. When we return to the tribe, I’ll get you a new one.” The Deer Tribe leader instructed.
Hearing that she would get a replacement, the young beastman reluctantly removed the necklace she had only recently acquired.
Bai Tu took it and reassured her, “I just want to check it. I’ll return it in a—”
Before he could finish the last word, he got a clearer look at the necklace’s composition.
His expression changed instantly, and he immediately took back his words.
“How many people in your tribe have necklaces like this? Bring them all out— every single one!”
“Huh?”
A wave of shock swept through the group.
After all, Bai Tu’s previous attitude had shown no interest in such items.
Although confused, they weren’t too concerned—they figured that since they were now settling in the Hundred Beasts Tribe, they would soon receive food in return. If handing over some necklaces helped with that, it wasn’t a big deal. They could always get more when they returned home.
“These stones contain heavy metals! They may look beautiful, but they are poisonous!” Bai Tu sighed.
He had suspected that malnutrition alone couldn’t have caused such severe issues.
If an entire tribe had gone several years without a single successful birth, it was highly likely that the entire population was suffering from heavy metal poisoning.
It was normal for stones to have some variety in color, but several of the ones in this necklace weren’t ordinary minerals—they were heavy metal ores.
Beautiful? Yes.
But if worn for too long, they could be fatal.
Bai Tu had no idea how long the Deer Tribe had been wearing these necklaces, but he strongly suspected that most of their beastmen were suffering from some degree of heavy metal poisoning.
After all, these necklaces weren’t just worn—they were probably frequently handled and admired.
And since beastmen didn’t have the habit of washing their hands before eating, a significant amount of the toxic substance had likely entered their bodies through ingestion.
Beastmen generally had a higher resistance to heavy metals, but younglings did not.
Moreover, pregnant beastmen with weaker constitutions were highly likely to miscarry if they suffered from poisoning.
Upon hearing this, both the Deer Tribe leader and the young beastman who had given Bai Tu the necklace turned pale with shock.
Their tribe’s courtship necklaces were poisonous?
“How many people in your tribe own one of these?” Bai Tu asked.
The Deer Tribe leader, still in disbelief, responded in a daze, “Half of our people…”
Their settlement was far from the marketplace, so when they needed salt, they would travel to a large nearby tribe to trade.
Although the price there was higher than at the main marketplace, they could exchange more than just salt—many other goods were available as well.
That was where they had obtained these necklaces.
They were extremely cheap, requiring only a small amount of food to trade for one.
Even for tribes with food shortages, it was still possible to obtain them if they gritted their teeth and made the trade.
Since the necklaces were beautiful, they gradually became a symbol of courtship—beastmen seeking a mate would exchange one as a gift.
Over time, this evolved into a competition—whoever had the longest necklace, the most colors, or the largest stones was seen as more desirable.
“That’s too many,” Bai Tu muttered.
“Once you’ve collected them, don’t hand them to me,” he added.
Thinking about the younglings at home, Bai Tu decided to let someone else handle this.
“When Captain Bai An arrives, tell him which tribe you got these necklaces from. No one is allowed to keep them— they must all be discarded!”
Since their tribe had now fully merged, the titles had changed—Bai An was no longer referred to as a tribal chief, but rather a captain.
Meanwhile, Lang Qi and Bai Chen had become the new tribal chiefs, holding equal authority and overseeing their respective species.
If they ever disagreed, Bai Tu served as the neutral mediator.
Concerned that some people might be reluctant to part with the necklaces, Bai Tu issued a harsh warning:
“If every single one of these necklaces isn’t thrown away, your tribe can forget about having any new younglings!”
“Also, all mates must be separated—everyone. Live apart until next year.”
They were all going to eat eggs and drink milk until the toxins were purged.
If the poisoning wasn’t fully cleared, any younglings born in this state would likely suffer from severe health issues.
And under current conditions, there was no way to properly treat any unusual illnesses—they would simply have to endure it on their own.
Just thinking about it was heartbreaking.
The Deer Tribe leader nodded frantically, no longer caring whether the mated beastmen in his tribe would agree or not.
This had to be done.
After issuing several more instructions, Bai Tu went to find Bai An and told him to store the collected necklaces separately—no one was to touch them.
He also reminded everyone to wash their hands if they had come into contact with the necklaces.
Only then did Bai Tu finally head home.
*
The Next Morning
Bai Tu had barely gotten a good night’s rest when, early the next morning, a flood of people arrived at his doorstep—all asking the same thing:
“Tu, is my necklace safe?”
“Tu, can I still wear this?”
News about the Gray Deer Tribe and how their entire tribe had been unable to have younglings due to their colorful necklaces had spread like wildfire overnight throughout the Hundred Beasts Tribe.
It wasn’t just the local beastmen who were worried—even the Eagle Tribe members staying in the tribe had begun checking their accessories for anything colorful.
“Ordinary beads are fine,” Bai Tu explained.
Most of the beastmen in the tribe wore colorful plant seeds or fruit beads, and their stones were just regular ones, completely harmless.
After all, the situation with the Gray Deer Tribe—obtaining multiple types of heavy metal ores—was extremely rare.
Even so, if the Gray Deer Tribe was in such bad shape, Bai Tu didn’t even want to imagine what the tribe that had sold them the necklaces must be going through.
Hearing Bai Tu’s reassurance, everyone finally relaxed.
Still, they became more cautious about wearing accessories.
Bai Tu clearly noticed that many people had removed most of their decorations, and some even stopped wearing colorful clothes out of fear.
After all, Bai Tu had warned them that the Gray Deer Tribe’s beastmen weren’t just unable to have younglings—they themselves were also sick, though they hadn’t realized it.
Or rather, they had noticed, but because the symptoms weren’t fatal, they had considered them normal—nausea, weakness, dizziness—things that would occasionally go away on their own, so no one had paid much attention.
If Bai Tu hadn’t pointed it out, they still wouldn’t have connected their health issues to their accessories.
Hearing about the Gray Deer Tribe’s situation, the other tribes panicked.
In just one day, everyone replaced their colorful accessories, swapping them for the plain, natural-colored beast pelts they had once disliked.
Bai Tu personally preferred the days when everyone dressed however they liked—a little decoration could sometimes make someone stand out, far better than seeing a sea of dull, gray outfits everywhere.
But he also knew that right now, everyone was overly paranoid. Even if he told them it was fine, they wouldn’t listen.
So, he didn’t interfere and instead focused on dressing the younglings in their winter clothes ahead of time.
During winter, he would occasionally take the younglings outside for a walk.
After all, staying indoors for too long could make them restless.
Lately, Bai Tu had been busy managing the new tribes, so he hadn’t spent much time with the younglings. Now that he had a moment, he decided to take them out for a stroll.
At the moment, the snowfall wasn’t too heavy, and the beastmen were still able to clear the roads in time.
But in a few days, once the snow piled up to knee height, there would be no point shoveling it anymore, and going outside would be nearly impossible.
Today, both Lang Sui and Lang Ying were at home.
The five younglings were dressed in matching outfits, each in a different color, sitting inside the modified stroller Bai Tu had made for them—they looked absolutely adorable.
The beastmen, who had initially been afraid to even wear colorful clothes, immediately understood Bai Tu’s message when they saw the younglings.
Colorful clothes were fine! It was safe to wear them!
Bai Tu pushed the stroller to Ying Mian’s home.
At that moment, Ying Mian was looking at the strings tied around the younglings’ ankles.
Lately, rumors about colorful items being toxic had been spreading wildly.
Since Ying Mian had been busy taking care of the younglings, he hadn’t gone out much and didn’t know what was happening.
When he heard about the situation, he immediately grew worried.
But when he saw the colorful strings, he felt something didn’t add up.
After all, these were tied by Bai Tu himself—if they were harmful, he wouldn’t have used them on the younglings at all.
The beastman who had come to warn him was still talking, but Ying Mian kept staring at the strings, completely unsure what to do.
To make matters worse, Bai Chi and Bai Nuo had just left to eat, leaving him alone to handle the situation.
Just as he was feeling helpless, he spotted Bai Tu and clung to him like a lifeline.
“Tu, the strings on the younglings’ legs—” Ying Mian started to ask, but as soon as he saw the little wolf cubs, he swallowed his words.
All five younglings were wearing colorful outfits—how could a single colorful string be a problem?
“They’re dyed with natural plant pigments,” Bai Tu explained.
More advanced dyes were difficult to obtain, so there was no risk of harmful chemicals in the clothing or strings.
Only then did Ying Mian fully relax.
After all, he had made quite a few clothes for the younglings himself, and it was Bai Tu who had helped him find the colorful cotton fabric.
If the younglings couldn’t even wear those, that would be far too wasteful.
Nearby, the young eagle hatchlings were sleeping soundly.
By now, they had grown accustomed to each other’s scents, and unlike before, they were no longer overly sensitive to the presence of other younglings.
They could now stay close together without feeling uncomfortable.
To make caregiving easier, all the younglings were now sleeping on the same heated kang bed, with a protective barrier placed between every two of them.
The little wolf cubs saw the younglings on the bed and began struggling to get out of the stroller.
Bai Tu picked them up so they could get a better look.
Once they saw the scene clearly, the wolf cubs looked more and more confused.
When did the number of younglings increase to five?
Meanwhile, Little Ying Wu was sleeping soundly, completely unaware that his “one-day-old brothers” were looking for him.
Still holding the younglings, Bai Tu sighed as he told Ying Mian about the events from the past two days.
“I hope Ying Quan comes back soon,” he muttered.
He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to visit that area this winter, but the longer heavy metal poisoning persisted, the worse it would get.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the very next day after Bai Tu mentioned Ying Quan, the Black Hawk Tribe returned.
As usual, Ying Quan came straight to find Bai Tu and explained, “We flew a bit farther east this time and brought back some fish that the Tata Tribe doesn’t have.”
The Tata Tribe, along with other salt-trading tribes, lived by the sea.
But that didn’t mean the ocean was completely devoid of landing spots.
When Ying Quan arrived at the Tata Tribe’s settlement, he spotted several small islands out in the ocean.
Though these islands looked close, they were actually far from shore.
The salt-trading beastmen never ventured out that far—the underwater currents were extremely dangerous, and many areas weren’t as calm as they seemed.
Even if someone could swim all the way there, they risked being swept away by the currents.
And even if they somehow made it to the island, swimming back without any assistance was an almost impossible challenge for most people.
Just because they lived by the sea and were better swimmers than others didn’t mean they were immune to drowning.
But the Eagle Tribe had a different mindset.
To be fair, a year ago, even they might not have dared to take the risk.
But after a year of flying between the Black Hawk Tribe and the Snow Rabbit Tribe, they had grown accustomed to flying for days without proper rest stops.
Spending two to three days in the air due to bad weather or a lack of landing spots had become normal for them.
So now, those distant islands were well within their reach.
So, Ying Quan made the decision to leave behind a few Eagle Tribe members with weaker endurance and took the stronger ones to continue flying over the ocean.
After a full day of flying, they finally reached the island—and they really did make some discoveries.
They found several types of fish that no one had seen before, including ones that even the Tata Tribe didn’t recognize.
They also found some smooth, white, round stones.
When Bai Tu saw these so-called “stones,” he froze for a moment.
If he wasn’t mistaken, those were pearls.
“You found all of these on the island? No other Feathered Tribe members or beastmen around?”
“All from the island. There wasn’t a single person—not one,” Ying Quan confirmed.
They had checked multiple times, and there was no sign of anyone else—only the heavy scent of fish lingering in the air.
Bai Tu gazed at the smooth pearls, feeling like something was off.
After all, pearls came from clams—what kind of clam would voluntarily crawl onto land just to spit out its pearls?
And not just one or two, but a whole pile together—as if they all had OCD or something.
“What about the fish you caught?” Bai Tu asked.
“In the kitchen,” Ying Quan replied.
Since they weren’t sure how to eat them, they had taken the fish to the kitchen and made sure to wait for Bai Tu to show them how to prepare it.
*
Meanwhile, in the kitchen…
A group of beastmen stood staring in silence at a wailing child.
Tu Mu hesitantly asked, “Tu… have you been wanting to try something different lately?”
