Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH167

Chapter 167

Newborn merfolk younglings were spherical in shape and had to live in water for a full year before successfully hatching.

Even after hatching, a merbaby needed another three years before they could transform into human form.

In the water, merfolk had a human upper body and a fishtail, but once they came ashore and made contact with land, they would take on the same appearance as other humanoid species.

During their early years, merfolk younglings could not fully transform and had to remain in the water at all times.

The merfolk tribe had been resting on a bird island when they noticed large predator fish approaching.

They had quickly relocated their younglings to a safe zone where the large fish couldn’t reach them and then escorted one of the adult merfolk away with the newly spawned eggs.

Only after ensuring the safety of their younglings did they depart to drive away the predators.

However, driving away the large fish was no easy task.

First of all, the predators were several times larger than them.

Not only did the merfolk have to fight them off, but they also had to avoid being swallowed in the process.

Additionally, the ocean was filled with more than just one type of danger—while fending off the large predators, they could also be attacked by smaller, aggressive fish.

To protect their younglings, the merfolk had lured the predators far away before engaging them in battle.

Even after defeating the large fish, they hadn’t returned immediately—instead, they ate first and let the ocean currents wash away the scent of blood from their bodies before heading back.

Between traveling, fighting, and cleaning off their scent, several days had passed.

Merfolk had an extremely strong ability to endure hunger.

They could go not just days, but even months without food and still survive.

Because of this, the adult merfolk were confident that the younglings wouldn’t have wandered off.

But it was precisely because of this overconfidence that they were so utterly shocked to find their nesting ground completely empty.

Where were the younglings they had left behind?

Just as the Merfolk Chief and the others were still processing their disbelief, another group returned with the newly spawned eggs.

These eggs wouldn’t hatch until next year.

“Where are the younglings?” the returning merfolk asked in shock.

The only response they received was a collective sigh from the tribe.

The ocean was full of dangers, and raising younglings was an incredibly difficult task.

They had gone through so much effort to nurture these younglings, yet in one careless moment, they had all vanished.

The fear of losing their younglings completely overshadowed the excitement they had just felt from driving away the predators.

What was the point of defeating the large fish if their younglings were now missing?

Suddenly, the male merfolk who had been hiding with the newborn eggs spoke up:

“After you left, I saw a lot of birds in the sky.”

At the time, he had been focused on caring for the newborns.

Going out to investigate would have risked attracting the predators or the birds to their location, so he had chosen to endure it.

Because he had been hiding with the youngest ones, he had only been able to see the birds flying away—he hadn’t witnessed what had actually happened.

“Birds?” The Merfolk Chief’s expression sharpened.

“What kind of birds?”

The male merfolk gestured with his hands, indicating their size.

“About this big… Chief, could our younglings have been taken by the birds?”

Taken by birds…

At that moment, everyone fell silent.

They had spent days fighting the large fish only to return and find that their younglings had been snatched away by birds instead?

The Merfolk Chief’s grip tightened on her weapon.

Her expression turned ice cold.

“I’m going ashore.”

“Chief!” The other merfolk were shocked.

The coastal tribes had far greater numbers than them, and once merfolk set foot on land, they were at a disadvantage.

They had spent their entire lives underwater—on land, they were no match for the other species.

If they were captured…

“We have to go regardless,” the Merfolk Chief declared, ignoring her people’s protests.

“Prepare the food. I’m going to bring offerings and visit the tribes.”

The coastal tribes never had as much food as the merfolk, who lived year-round in the ocean.

The sea was dangerous, but it was also abundant with food, so merfolk never worried about starvation.

However, they had always chosen to stay far from other species, preferring to live in isolated waters far from land.

Even when they had to leave the water, they would only settle on small islands away from human activity.

But now, a type of giant bird they had never seen before had appeared above the ocean—they had to question the coastal tribes about it.

The merfolk spent three days searching their own territory again, but after confirming there were no traces of their younglings, they decided to prepare their offering.

On the fourth day, they caught dozens of fish, some as large as an adult human, while the smaller ones were still half the size of a person.

These fish were more than enough to feed some coastal tribes for half a month.

With their offering ready, the merfolk swam toward the shore.

The journey from their home to the coast took two days, as the waters were filled with aggressive fish.

Although merfolk weren’t afraid of them, engaging in unnecessary fights would only waste time, so they chose to take a detour.

Most land tribes were some distance away from the shore, and with winter in full force, a thick layer of ice had already formed over the water.

The salt-drying fields along the coast were now empty.

The Merfolk Chief led two of her kin ashore, leaving the rest to guard the offering while she searched for the nearest tribe.

But just as they stepped onto land, the male merfolk behind her suddenly cried out:

“Chief! Those are the giant birds!”

The Merfolk Chief and another merfolk immediately followed his gaze, their expressions turning grim.

Even from a distance, it was clear that these birds were much larger than the ones that usually flew over the sea.

Looking at the birds, then thinking about the size of their missing younglings, a terrifying possibility crept into their minds.

Had their younglings been eaten by these birds?

If the younglings had been taken back to a nest, there was still a chance they were alive.

But if they had been eaten on the spot, then there was no hope of survival.

While the merfolk stood frozen in shock, high above the sky, Ying Quan spotted them.

Like the merfolk younglings, adult merfolk also had exceptionally long hair, reaching past their waists.

Among land beastmen and the Feathered Tribe, very few people kept their hair this long, as it was too difficult to maintain.

Only merfolk, who lived in water, didn’t have to worry about such things.

After confirming that the figures below were indeed merfolk, Ying Quan increased his speed.

A group of eagle warriors swooped down toward the shore.

“Chief! They’re attacking us!”

The two merfolk behind the Chief tensed up.

If they were in the water, they wouldn’t have been afraid at all—but here, on land, they were completely unaccustomed to the terrain.

Because they had spent their entire lives underwater, even walking on land was difficult, let alone fighting.

The Merfolk Chief’s expression darkened.

She tightened her grip on her weapon, preparing to strike back the moment the eagles attacked.

From the waters, the remaining merfolk watched anxiously.

Why wasn’t the Chief calling for reinforcements?

Just as the merfolk were starting to panic, the eagle warriors reached the ground.

But instead of attacking the merfolk, they landed beside them and quickly changed into their clothes.

“Greetings,” Ying Quan introduced himself.

“We are members of the Black Hawk Tribe. My name is Ying Quan.”

He then asked, “Are you from the Merfolk Tribe?”

The Merfolk Chief studied them, her guard still raised, but she didn’t attack.

After a moment, she gave a small nod.

“I am Yu Ying, Chief of the Merfolk Tribe.”

Unlike land-dwelling tribes, the merfolk were not widely spread out—this entire ocean only had their single community.

Because of this, they had never needed a separate tribe name.

This was Yu Ying’s first time actively seeking out contact with another species.

After stating her name, she fixed her gaze on Ying Quan, watching his every move.

The female merfolk standing behind Yu Ying looked toward Ying Quan and asked cautiously:

“Have you seen a few small fish about this big?”

As she spoke, she gestured to indicate the size of the younglings.

“I am Yu Qiao, the Chief’s younger sister.”

Although she was wary of the Feathered Tribe, who were much stronger than her kind on land, she noticed that the Black Hawk Tribe members had no intention of attacking them.

So, Yu Qiao decided to ask politely first.

The moment she brought up the younglings, Ying Quan’s expression became awkward.

He raised his hand and gestured a size slightly larger than hers:

“Would they be about this big after transforming into human form? Each one had a different tail color.”

Hearing this, Yu Qiao’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! That’s exactly the size! You’ve seen them, haven’t you?”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how big they were in human form.

If these people had actually seen them, then that meant the younglings were still alive!

But then, Yu Qiao suddenly remembered some unsettling rumors.

Her heart tightened.

Could it be that someone actually believed the myth and had eaten the younglings?

Yu Ying had been watching Ying Quan and his people closely the entire time, staying on guard in case they made a move.

Ying Quan rubbed his stiff face, sore from long hours of flying, and quickly explained:

“We took them with us. There were a few large fish chasing them, and we thought they were just ordinary fish, so we brought them back to our tribe.”

“You… ate them?”

The male merfolk behind Yu Ying froze in shock.

Meanwhile, Yu Ying’s grip tightened around her weapon, ready to attack.

“No, no, no!”

Fearing a misunderstanding, Ying Quan quickly clarified:

“The younglings are still in our tribe. They’re being cared for properly. We actually came here to find you and ask what happened. The ocean seemed too dangerous, so we didn’t dare send them back right away.”

Hearing this, Yu Ying and the others finally relaxed a little.

Ying Quan continued, “Did your tribe encounter some kind of danger? The fish chasing the younglings that day were huge—they nearly ate them!”

Yu Ying forced herself to calm down, her brows furrowing as she stared at the size Ying Quan was indicating.

“How could there still be large fish?”

They had carefully counted all the large predators before leading them away—how could they have missed any?

Suddenly, Yu Qiao broke into a cold sweat.

“Chief… the large fish had younglings this year.”

They had counted the adult predators and even tallied their offspring, but they had completely overlooked the newly hatched ones from this year!

Some of the predator fish younglings had stayed behind!

Even though they were just younglings, these large fish hatchlings were still bigger than an adult merfolk—swallowing a merfolk youngling would have been effortless.

The hiding spot they had chosen was inaccessible to adult predator fish, but the young ones could easily slip inside.

Realizing this, the expressions of the merfolk darkened.

They had been so close—just a little more, and all their younglings would have been devoured by the predator fish hatchlings.

Seeing that the merfolk had understood the situation, Ying Quan finally let out a breath of relief and relayed Bai Tu’s message:

“Our tribe will take good care of the younglings. However, this isn’t the right season to return them to the sea, so they’ll need to stay with us for another two months. If you’re worried, you can come back with us to see them for yourselves.”

During winter, younglings shouldn’t be moved around carelessly—though merfolk were probably fine, Ying Quan thought.

“I’ll go.” Yu Ying responded immediately.

She wouldn’t be at ease until she saw the younglings with her own eyes.

“Of course. When we head back, we’ll take you with us.” Ying Quan agreed.

Taking the merfolk back to the tribe would definitely make Bai Tu happy—after all, he always got excited whenever a new species appeared.

With everything cleared up, Ying Quan told Yu Ying where the Hundred Beasts Tribe was located.

Yu Ying was shocked.

“That far?”

She had assumed that whoever took the younglings would have been from a nearby tribe—she hadn’t expected them to be taken so far away.

Ying Quan felt even more awkward but decided not to hide anything else.

After all, even if he didn’t explain now, the merfolk would learn the truth from Bai Tu when they arrived at the tribe.

“We were looking for new edible fish in the sea,” he admitted.

Originally, he had wanted to catch some unknown fish to bring back—maybe try out a few different species at once.

He never expected to accidentally take merfolk younglings.

If he had known earlier, he would have waited a few more days on the island to return them to their parents.

“Edible fish? How much do you need?” Yu Ying asked.

Then, using a unique vocal technique, she sent a message to the merfolk in the water below.

Almost instantly, several merfolk emerged from the sea, raising up the fish they had caught, making their intentions perfectly clear—

As long as they could see their younglings, food would not be an issue. They could provide as much as needed.

Ying Quan: “……”

So if they had just waited a little longer that day, they could have brought back this many fish?

That was far more efficient than flying around for an entire day, only finding two or three new fish species—and one of them had turned out to be merfolk younglings.

If they could invite the merfolk to join Bai Tu’s fish-farming project…

Ying Quan’s eyes lit up with excitement.

As he adopted Bai Tu’s usual negotiation approach to discuss cooperation with Yu Ying, Bai Tu was still busy managing the tribe and assisting struggling communities.

Apart from the first few tribes that arrived, small groups of beastmen had continued to trickle in over the past few days.

Although not many arrived at once, their situation was similar to the earlier tribes.

The younglings were immediately enrolled in the school, while the adult beastmen were sent to live in the caves.

The tribe also provided them with food.

Back when they harvested crops, they had thought that there was plenty of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn.

But now that they were distributing supplies, Bai Tu found himself wishing they had even more.

Even though the warehouse was nearly full, he had been careful not to give out too much at once.

Bai Tu knew beastmen well, and even the Feathered Tribe had similar habits—

If there was plenty of food, their appetites would increase dramatically.

They had no limit to how much they could eat.

Bai Tu planned to save as much food as possible, only distributing it when absolutely necessary.

That way, they could help as many struggling tribes as possible.

If he gave everything away too soon, then what would they eat later?

Most tribes had prepared their own food before winter, so what Bai Tu provided was mainly grains, helping them gradually adjust their eating habits.

For example, if they previously ate one jin (500g) of meat per meal, they were now eating two-thirds meat and one-third grains instead.

The tribes staying in the mountain caves had no objections to this.

After all, they had been traveling since early winter and had rushed their journey to get here.

To maintain their strength, they had consumed more food than usual for this time of year, so Bai Tu’s food distribution helped make up for the shortage.

Now, with their own supplies, the grain from the Hundred Beasts Tribe, and the occasional deliveries of eggs and other food, they felt that this winter was even better than previous years.

Once Bai Tu saw that these tribes were adapting well, he began focusing on another matter—

The plan to have the Feathered Tribe transport goods.

At the start of winter, Bai Tu had discussed this idea with Hei Xiao—providing the Feathered Tribe with proper winter gear so they could transport materials that the Black Hawk Tribe couldn’t produce on their own.

This way, once winter ended, they could immediately start building houses.

Now, it was time to put the plan into action.

The Feathered Tribe’s winter clothing was similar to what Ying Quan and his group wore—essentially cotton garments, but designed in a way that wouldn’t hinder flying.

The front was covered with beast hide to block the wind, making flight much warmer than before.

The downside, however, was that it created more air resistance, meaning that the lead eagle in the formation couldn’t carry cargo and had to focus on guiding the group.

Bai Tu consulted Hei Xiao to determine the most urgent materials to transport.

The top priority was iron tools.

With coal-powered smelting, iron could be produced much faster.

If the Hundred Beasts Tribe smelted it first, then the Black Hawk Tribe could use it directly without needing to refine it themselves.

The second priority was cement.

The Black Hawk Tribe had previously tried making their own cement, but it wasn’t as high quality as what the Hundred Beasts Tribe produced.

Since it would be used for building houses, they preferred to go through the trouble of transporting it to ensure the structures would be more durable.

As for other materials, like ceramics that the Black Hawk Tribe struggled to produce, they needed them as well, but those could wait for later.

With everything decided, Bai Tu began organizing the tribe’s work.

For the Black Hawk Tribe and the surrounding communities, the various production tasks involving raw materials would not pause for winter.

The beastmen didn’t want a break anyway—after all, there was a huge difference between working and doing nothing.

As they watched their accumulated contribution points increase, they were already planning what to exchange them for—

Different flavored snacks, all kinds of clothes, a variety of toys…

There was nothing the tribe didn’t have, only things they hadn’t thought of yet.

Besides, in previous winters, they would have just stayed in their caves sleeping, sometimes freezing in the cold.

At least now, they were warm and comfortable.

During summer, everyone disliked working in the kilns, but in winter, kiln work was the most sought-after job—people fought for it.

Since the tribe already had some cement stockpiled, Bai Tu arranged for the first shipment to be sent out.

He distributed it according to each tribe’s actual needs, ensuring fair allocation.

For the tribal leaders who were familiar with Bai Tu, this was no surprise.

They knew that once Bai Tu promised something, he would always follow through—and it was usually even better than originally planned.

Just like when they had searched for their lost younglings, Bai Tu had asked them for a portion of their food in return, but in the end, he had found a way to repay them in another form.

Even when the tribes had borrowed food from the Snow Rabbit Tribe, Bai Tu hadn’t increased the repayment amount—

He had simply let them return exactly what they had borrowed.

In short, as long as they followed Bai Tu’s lead, nothing would ever go wrong.

For those tribal leaders unfamiliar with Bai Tu, this was a complete surprise.

They had assumed that Bai Tu would prioritize distributing resources to the tribes he was closest with, but to their shock, their own tribes had received allocations just as early.

Even though the amount was small, it still proved that Bai Tu had not forgotten them!

The thought of being able to construct breeding farms after winter left almost every tribe buzzing with excitement.

The only ones who reacted differently were the battle-hungry deer warriors from the Brown Deer Tribe.

Back when they were digging the underground tunnels, Lu Ming had been acting strangely—constantly adjusting the excavation plans, making them dig here, then there, until the entire group was completely disoriented, unable to tell where they had even ended up.

Then, just when they hadn’t even reached the Hundred Beasts Tribe’s territory yet, Lu Ming suddenly ordered them to stop digging.

Not only did he halt the project, but he also took away all their tools.

And as if that wasn’t enough, when they went back two days later to check on their progress, they discovered that Lu Ming had sealed off the entrance completely!

Lu Ming’s explanation was simple—this method wouldn’t work, and he was thinking of another approach.

The battle-hungry deer warriors couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, but they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

Now that the entrance was completely blocked, and they had no tools to reopen it, they had no way to check what had happened inside.

After toiling for an entire month only to have their efforts wasted, the battle-hungry deer warriors were furious.

But there was nothing they could do—Lu Ming was their Chief, and more and more of the tribe’s members were listening to him.

This hadn’t always been the case, but lately, trust in Lu Ming had grown significantly.

It was no surprise that the tribe was siding with him—after all, Lu Ming had painted a vivid picture of life in the Hundred Beasts Tribe and described the peaceful and prosperous lives of their allied tribes—the Spotted Deer Tribe, the White Bear Tribe, and the Yellow Lion Tribe.

Most of the Brown Deer Tribe’s members weren’t like their aggressive warriors, who were constantly itching for battle.

All they truly wanted was to fill their stomachs and raise their younglings.

As for how much land their tribe controlled, they didn’t really care.

Small tribes could still thrive, just like the Snow Rabbit Tribe—a once struggling community that was now far better off than the Brown Deer Tribe.

A large territory didn’t guarantee successful hunting.

This year, many tribes had suffered because prey had been scarce.

As long as their tribe could meet their expectations, they naturally preferred to avoid war.

No matter which tribe they fought, war always meant injuries and casualties.

And when a tribe didn’t have enough warriors, even those who didn’t want to fight would end up being forced onto the battlefield.

The previous Chief had led the tribe into constant battles, yet many still went hungry.

Now, their current Chief had never once led them into war, yet this winter, they had more food than ever before.

Comparing the two, it was obvious who they should trust and who they should follow.

As for the battle-hungry deer warriors, their attempts to sow discord were completely ignored.

In this freezing cold, wouldn’t it be better to just stay in the caves and enjoy roasted sweet potatoes?

Why go to war against the tribe that had lent them food?

Their own tribe wasn’t even as large as the Hundred Beasts Tribe—if they lost, they wouldn’t even have sweet potatoes left to eat.

As for the battle-hungry warriors’ argument that they could seize land and food if they won, the rest of the tribe ignored them completely.

Yes, in theory, victory meant claiming food and territory.

But the real issue was—they wouldn’t win.

How could a few hundred warriors possibly defeat a tribe of several thousand?

Not to mention, the Hundred Beasts Tribe had plenty of allies who would come to their aid.

Not only did no one believe in their plan, but many even tried to persuade the battle-hungry warriors:

“Why not just hunt for food yourselves? Why are you always thinking about attacking others?”

Of course, if the battle-hungry warriors were willing to listen, they wouldn’t be called battle-hungry in the first place.

When they failed to convince the rest of the tribe, and when Lu Ming refused to support them, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

Numbers? Weapons? None of that mattered.

As long as they captured the Hundred Beasts Tribe’s Chief, they wouldn’t need to fight a full-scale battle.

With hostages, the tribe would be forced to surrender their food.

The thought of seizing the Hundred Beasts Tribe’s supplies made them impatient.

That very night, while Lu Ming and most of the tribe were asleep, dozens of battle-hungry warriors snuck out of the caves and gathered at the base of the mountain.

Meanwhile…

Inside an underground tunnel of the Brown Deer Tribe, two young deer warriors watched their every move.

The younger one turned to his companion and asked, “Brother, should we tell the Chief?”

The older deer warrior shook his head.

“No need. The Chief said that if they don’t learn their lesson, they’ll never give up.”

“What lesson?” The younger one looked confused.

His brother ruffled his hair, chuckling:

“You don’t need to understand. Just focus on your work like the Chief ordered.”

“Oh, okay.”

The young deer nodded and continued watching.

The older one silently counted the numbers below.

Sure enough, every single one of the tribe’s troublemakers was present.

With a quiet sigh, he turned to watch the direction they were heading.

Elsewhere…

Countless watchpoints lay along their path.

Yet, the battle-hungry deer warriors remained oblivious—they had no idea that every step they took was being watched.

After leaving the tribe’s territory, they broke into a sprint.

“There’s no way they’ll notice we’re gone!” the leading warrior declared with confidence.

Not far away, on a small hill, a beastman twitched his ears upon hearing those words.

The battle-hungry deer warriors felt everything was going smoothly.

From the moment they left their tribe to the moment they reached the outskirts of the Hundred Beasts Tribe, they hadn’t encountered a single soul!

But one timid warrior hesitated, sensing that something felt off.

Nervously, he asked, “Could it be that they already know we’re here?”

The leader immediately smacked him on the head.

“Nonsense! They’ve just let their guard down because it’s winter!”

The Hundred Beasts Tribe was too confident, assuming that no nearby tribes would dare attack such a powerful force in winter.

Tonight, he would prove them wrong—he would take advantage of their carelessness and strike while they were unprepared.

Lu Ming was an idiot, getting excited over a few handouts from the Hundred Beasts Tribe.

That tribe was huge, packed with countless supplies—there was definitely a massive stockpile of food inside!

He had no delusions of defeating them completely—the Hundred Beasts Tribe had far more people than they could handle.

But his plan was simple:

Capture their Chief, then ransom food in exchange.

Once the food ran out, they could kidnap him again.

Much easier than hunting!

It was far smarter than Lu Ming’s approach, wasting time on raising livestock.

Why wait for food to grow when you could just take it?

After slapping the nervous warrior into silence, the leader pressed forward.

Ahead of them, the Hundred Beasts Tribe’s settlement stretched out in neat rows of houses—the layout was easy to navigate.

To their delight, there were no guards in sight.

“Unbelievable! They actually left this place unguarded? How foolish!”

The group of battle-hungry deer warriors slipped through the residential district’s gates, heading straight for the central building—

In their minds, the Chief was bound to live in the center.

*

Meanwhile…

The younglings had gone to bed early, so Bai Tu only lay down to sleep around midnight.

He had just fallen asleep when he heard voices outside.

At first, he thought someone had come looking for him, so he tried to open his eyes.

But as soon as he saw that the sky was still dark, he realized— It’s the middle of the night. What could be happening?

Still exhausted, Bai Tu didn’t want to get up but felt uneasy about what was going on outside.

He reached out to grab his clothes— Just as he stretched out an arm, Lang Qi opened the door and walked in.

Since only this room had a heated bed, the other room was freezing.

The moment Lang Qi opened the door, a gust of cold air rushed in, making Bai Tu shiver.

Lang Qi strode over to the bed, his gaze pausing briefly on Bai Tu’s exposed shoulder before he grabbed Bai Tu’s hand and tucked it back under the covers.

“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

Bai Tu was truly exhausted.

He knew that if Lang Qi said it was nothing, then the situation was already handled— It was probably not important.

Without struggling, Bai Tu wrapped himself in the blanket and continued sleeping.

Lang Qi removed his coat, got into bed, and went back to sleep as well.

Bai Tu slept straight through to noon.

By then, the younglings had finished both breakfast and lunch and were excitedly crawling all over the bed, using the blanket as a hiding game.

Their playful commotion successfully woke Bai Tu up.

He opened his eyes and grabbed the little gray wolf cub climbing onto his arm, pulling it into his arms.

“Where’s your father?” he asked.

The cub ignored the question, too busy playing with him.

Bai Tu yawned, glanced out the window, and immediately knew— It was already late in the day.

He sat up and started getting dressed.

Earlier that morning, when he had been half-asleep, Lang Qi had already dressed him in his inner layers, so now he only needed to put on an outer coat before heading out.

Just as Bai Tu finished dressing, Lang Qi entered the room.

“Come eat.”

As he spoke, he began picking up the younglings one by one and moving them aside.

The cubs had already mastered the art of escaping their enclosure.

They had two main escape methods:

When Lang Sui or Lang Ying was around, one of them would shift into human form and act as a ladder, allowing the other cubs to climb up the railings and jump down. When they were alone, they would stack their pillows and blankets against the railing and climb up that way.

After discovering their escape methods, Bai Tu completely gave up on raising the height of the enclosure.

Unless he made it an entire person’s height, it was pointless—

The cubs had already learned how to form a human ladder.

If he raised it, they’d just climb on top of each other to get out.

Rather than waste effort, it was better to let them play freely— After all, they only played on the heated bed.

The wardrobe near the bed had already been moved away at Bai Tu’s insistence, so now, three sides of the bed were against the walls, leaving only one open side.

If the cubs jumped down from there, they’d land on the cold floor—and they didn’t like cold feet.

So, the cubs only tried to escape when Lang Qi wasn’t in the room, always sneaking over to Bai Tu’s bed.

Bai Tu had already gotten used to waking up to one to five cubs cuddled against him.

Today, since Lang Sui and Lang Ying weren’t around, only three cubs had snuck in.

As Lang Qi picked up the cubs and returned them to their enclosure, the little ones protested with a few yips.

Lang Qi, however, ignored them completely—after all, even all three of them together couldn’t take on one of his fingers.

Over lunch, Bai Tu finally remembered what happened that morning.

“What was that about earlier?” he asked.

Lang Qi was ladling soup into a bowl, his hands steady as ever.

Without hesitation, he answered:

“Those people Lu Ming mentioned broke into the meeting hall. Lang Ze and his team caught them.”

“The meeting hall? What were they doing there?”

The battle-hungry warriors from the Brown Deer Tribe had been a constant headache for Lu Ming.

They were obsessed with fighting, always pestering Lu Ming to start wars.

If it wasn’t this tribe they wanted to attack, then it was that one— There wasn’t a single neighboring tribe they hadn’t set their sights on.

With such a group in his tribe, trouble was inevitable.

Not all Chiefs were as soft-hearted as Lu Ming.

If these warriors caused trouble and offended a stronger tribe, the Brown Deer Tribe could be wiped out.

Even if they were strong enough to fight back, war was something Lu Ming wanted to avoid altogether.

To stall them, Lu Ming had tricked them into digging tunnels, making them move dirt for weeks.

For a while, they had quieted down, but as soon as the digging ended, they started coming up with new ideas.

Lu Ming, feeling helpless, had consulted Lu Hui for advice.

Lu Hui immediately understood— Lu Ming was indirectly seeking Bai Tu’s help.

On one hand, he wanted to see if Bai Tu had a solution.

On the other hand, he wanted to inform Bai Tu in advance— To make it clear that these battle-hungry warriors did not represent the rest of the Brown Deer Tribe.

It was as if he had “Don’t let these troublemakers drag our whole tribe down” written all over his face.

Bai Tu had come up with a plan:

Since they refused to settle down, let’s see exactly what they plan to do.

Lu Ming was to arrange for some tribe members to persuade them— If they listened, great.

If they didn’t, then let them make their move—and capture them the moment they acted out.

After all, the Spotted Deer Tribe and the Yellow Lion Tribe still hadn’t settled scores with them yet.

And sure enough, these fools ignored all the warnings.

They dismissed their own tribe members’ advice, calling them cowards.

The members of the Brown Deer Tribe had long expected that their militant factions would return to the tribe. They had even predicted that once these people entered the residential area, they would likely head for the cafeteria or the warehouse—after all, those were the places with the most food.

Even Bai Tu hadn’t expected them to go into the conference room.

What was so special about the conference room? The surrounding area was all part of the administrative sector—just buildings, occupied during the day but completely deserted at night.

Lang Qi served up some soup and placed a spoon in front of Bai Tu. “They wanted to capture a leader and use them to blackmail our tribe into giving them food.”

Bai Tu raised an eyebrow. “…So they went there?” What an interesting choice of location.

Lang Qi nodded. “And then they got caught.”

The patrols in the residential area were assigned by street, with one or two people patrolling every few rows of houses. The militant deer had chosen to enter through the middle, meaning they would be spotted by every patrol team along the way. They had been watched the entire time as they moved forward.

If they had been missing even one person from their inside contacts, the militant deer wouldn’t have made it in.

Yet, despite being noticed by so many people, the group had no sense of anything amiss. They boldly marched straight into the conference room—only to be locked inside.

Sixty-one in total, matching exactly the number reported from Lu Ming’s side—not a single one missing.

“Send them all to dig limestone,” Bai Tu said. 

They had previously excavated an underground tunnel, so these people were already familiar with the tools, saving them the trouble of training. Several tribes were currently in need of cement, increasing the demand for limestone. That area was also far from everywhere else, so even if this group wanted to stir up trouble, they wouldn’t be able to find anyone to target.

With all the militant deer captured, Lu Ming finally felt at ease taking out the bricks and other supplies they had hidden. He then informed the deer in the tribe that they, too, would be expanding their facilities, building breeding areas and cafeterias similar to those in the White Bear Tribe.

Hearing this, the deer cheered in excitement.

Some people noticed that a few tribe members were missing and had just started asking questions when someone who knew the situation quickly interrupted, “They probably went off to raid another tribe again. Why even think about them? Hopefully, they never come back.”

That group had always loved stealing food, yet they never did any work after returning to the tribe. The others had to give up part of their harvests and hunting spoils to them. Otherwise, those militants would start boasting about how the tribe only grew strong because of them. But in reality, very few people had ever actually eaten anything those militants brought back.

All that talk about “fighting for the tribe” was pure nonsense. The fights were just an excuse to satisfy their own greed for plunder.

Thinking about the past and then looking at the present, it was clear that no one wanted a group of freeloaders dragging the tribe down again.

As the Brown Deer Tribe gradually transformed into something resembling the Spotted Deer Tribe, Bai Tu was busy welcoming Ying Quan.

The team that had gone to the seaside had returned, bringing along several members of the Merfolk.

This was Bai Qi’s first time seeing a Merfolk, and as soon as he got a good look at them, he immediately called for Bai Tu.

Seven Merfolk had come in total, including the young one’s relatives and their chief. There was also the chief’s younger sister.

Although the Merfolk didn’t look particularly strong—in fact, some of them even seemed somewhat frail—Bai Tu hadn’t forgotten how Lang Ze had nearly gotten bitten the other day.

Even merfolk infants had such strong bite force—let alone adult merfolk. If nothing else, their bite strength alone would be formidable.

Because of this, Bai Tu decided against sending them to the sub-beastmen’s area. After some thought, he arranged for them to stay in the room next to the conference room, the one normally used for midday rest. There were two rooms in total, more than enough to accommodate seven merfolk.

Since all the newcomers were female merfolk, there was no issue of mixed-gender accommodations.

The leader of the group, Yu Ying, brightened the moment she saw Bai Tu. Without saying much, she obediently followed his arrangements.

With their leader cooperating, the other merfolk naturally had no objections. They followed Bai Tu and the others to their assigned rooms, waiting for the young one to arrive.

Meanwhile, Bai Qi went to fetch the infant, and Bai Tu took the opportunity to ask Yu Ying about their journey.

Yu Ying glanced at Bai Tu, her attitude much better than when speaking to Ying Quan. “We were driving away some large fish in the water. When we returned, we found the infant missing. We went ashore to search and ran into them.” She gestured toward Ying Quan before smiling. “Lord Ying Quan, aren’t you going to rest? With Lord Bai Tu here, there’s no need for you to stay.”

“I’m not tired,” Ying Quan replied expressionlessly, though internally, he was complaining like crazy. That’s exactly why I have to stay here and keep watch! The merfolk were all undeniably more attractive than the beastmen of their tribe or the Hundred Beasts Tribe. If Bai Tu took a liking to one of them… I’m still young. I don’t want to die under Lang Qi’s fangs.

“Not tired?” Yu Ying seemed a little surprised, then added, “Even if you’re not tired, you should still rest. We wouldn’t have made it here safely without you, Lord Ying Quan.”

“I’ll leave after the infant arrives,” Ying Quan said firmly. 

Behind him, the eagle beastmen stood even more alert than before. Earlier, he had secretly warned them—once they got back to the tribe, they had to keep a close eye on Bai Tu. If Bai Tu took a liking to any of the merfolk, Lang Qi would definitely not let off the ones responsible for bringing them here.

Ying Quan couldn’t understand it either—on the way here, the merfolk had just looked slightly more attractive than usual, nothing extraordinary. But once they stepped into the tribe, it was as if they had suddenly become several times more beautiful. The Hundred Beasts Tribe and Black Eagle Tribe had their share of good-looking beastmen, and even the snake tribe members captured from the Black Forest Tribe were quite stunning. But the merfolk were different.

The moment they entered the tribe, his heart was in his throat. He was so unnerved that he had already secretly sent someone to fetch Lang Qi.

Bai Tu ignored the exchange between Ying Quan and Yu Ying. After Yu Ying finished her pleasantries, he continued with his questions. “Are there a lot of fish near your territory? How is the yield?”

Yu Ying finally shifted her gaze from Ying Quan back to Bai Tu, her eyes gleaming with an unreadable light. “Lord Bai Tu is interested in our territory?”

“I’m not interested in the territory itself. I just want to raise fish,” Bai Tu replied. As Ying Quan had guessed, he was indeed considering whether he could cooperate with the merfolk to start fish farming.

Yu Ying chuckled. “Our territory has an endless supply of fish. No need to raise them.” Then, after another glance at Bai Tu, she added, “Even if more people came, there would still be plenty of food.”

Bai Tu wasn’t surprised by this answer. After all, it was the sea—not just a coastal area. Of course, there would be plenty of fish.

As they spoke, Bai Qi arrived with Bai Chi and the others.

The weather was cold, so Bai Chi had dressed the merfolk infant in warm clothes and wrapped them in a thick blanket before carrying them over.

The clothes and blanket matched the color of their tail, allowing the adult merfolk to immediately recognize which infant was theirs.

A blue-tailed merfolk infant looked at their long-lost mother, then at Bai Tu, their delicate brows furrowing as if they were struggling to decide whom to hug.

Bai Tu gently rubbed the infant’s head. Perhaps because he had been the one to feed them their first meal after arriving in the tribe, the little one was particularly attached to him.

Seeing this, Yu Ying beamed. “Lord Bai Tu seems to like merfolk infants?”

“I like all infants,” Bai Tu replied, his gaze still on the child. It was the truth—nearly every species’ young were adorable.

“Then… would you like to have one?” Yu Ying asked, her smile widening.

The room fell silent in an instant.

Some were stunned by Yu Ying’s words, while others had just noticed the figure standing outside the door.

Only Yu Ying remained focused entirely on Bai Tu. “Lord Bai Tu’s offspring would surely be the most beautiful.”

The moment she first saw Bai Tu, she had recognized him as an ideal partner to bear her offspring.

“Grrrk—!”

Ying Quan, who had been facing the doorway, had just opened his mouth to speak when he accidentally bit his own tongue. The pain was so intense that sweat instantly formed on his forehead, leaving him unable to say a single word.

He knew it!

The very thing he feared most had happened!