Chapter 217
Bai Tu had asked Lang Ze to capture a cow or a ewe so that the cubs could have milk to drink. Not only would it benefit the little wolf cub, but the young rabbit cubs in the tribe could also use the extra nutrition.
However, he never expected that Lang Ze would bring back a bull instead.
Since it was the middle of the night when he was called down, Bai Tu didn’t put the cub in a basket but carried it in his arms. At that moment, the little wolf cub caught sight of Lang Ze in the crowd and locked its gaze onto him.
Lang Ze, who had been enjoying the praises of the onlookers, suddenly sensed something and looked down the mountain. When he saw the little wolf cub in Bai Tu’s arms, he let out a sigh of relief. That scared him—he thought his older brother had come back!
A wolf cub wasn’t scary at all. Lang Ze patted the bull beside him and grinned. “Tu, look at the prey I caught for you!” He stood there, clearly waiting for praise.
Bai Tu: “……”
Bai Tu sighed helplessly. “Do you remember what kind of prey I asked for?”
“Of course I do.” Lang Ze nodded. “A cow with a calf—” Before he could finish, he glanced at the bull he had caught and instantly fell silent.
Bai Tu had asked for a cow with a calf. And what had he brought? Not that!
But this wasn’t a problem for Lang Ze. With a casual wave of his hand, he declared, “I’ll go catch another one!” It was just a cow—he could grab another one easily!
With that, Lang Ze called to the nearby wolf tribe members and headed back to their territory to capture a proper cow.
As for the wrong one? Nobody cared about it. Bai Tu called out to stop him, but Lang Ze was too fast and disappeared before he could argue.
The rabbit tribe members watched the wolves leave, then turned their gaze toward the abandoned bull. Looking at Bai Tu, they asked, “Tu, what should we do?”
Bai Tu thought for a moment before responding, “Tie it up and keep it in the cave.” Such a large prey couldn’t be allowed to escape. Since the wolves weren’t around, they would keep it for now and hand it back once Lang Ze returned.
However, when Lang Ze finally came back with a properly captured cow, he took one look at the previous bull and was utterly disgusted.
“I don’t want it,” Lang Ze said, refusing to take the bull back. If he brought it back, everyone in his tribe would remember that he had messed up.
The stubborn pride of a teenage boy—he didn’t want more people knowing he had made a mistake.
Bai Tu fell silent for a moment. Wasn’t there a possibility that even if he didn’t take it back, people already knew?
Lang Ze didn’t stay in the Snow Rabbit Tribe for long. After delivering the cow, he hurriedly left for the wolf tribe. The way the little wolf cub kept staring at him reminded him too much of his brother.
“This won’t do,” Lang Ze muttered after leaving. The cub needs to learn the difference between an uncle and a nephew!
Lang Ze left behind three cows—one adult cow with a calf and the abandoned bull—and departed. Bai An, however, was left with a dilemma.
The cow with the calf was what Bai Tu had originally asked for, but what about the other two? Lang Ze refused to take back the bull he had mistakenly captured, and he also refused to take back the calf that had come along with the mother cow.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Tu said, “Keep the cow and calf together. Everyone should collect more grass to feed them. As for the bull, put it in a separate cave and raise it for now—we’ll decide after the rainy season.”
From what he had learned, the tribe often ran out of food toward the end of the rainy season. If that really happened, they could use the bull for emergency food. One bull could feed the entire tribe for a few days. If it truly came down to it, they could eat the bull and simply catch another one later to repay the wolves. But if a person starved to death, they wouldn’t come back.
While the rain hadn’t started pouring yet, Bai Tu brought up another matter with Bai An.
“Chief, can we capture some chickens? Preferably with eggs.”
He planned to hatch chicks.
The rainy season would last a month, which was just the right amount of time to hatch them. Afterward, they could be fed with the abundant grass around the tribe. There were also plenty of idle cubs in the tribe who could gather grass, making poultry farming a guaranteed success.
Bai An, who had been worrying about the one prey they still owed the wolf tribe, immediately agreed.
Based on today’s events, Bai Tu and Lang Ze seemed to have a good relationship. If the wolf tribe did come asking for the prey, they could ask Bai Tu to plead for an extension—perhaps two months.
It wasn’t that Bai An was unwilling to give up the prey, but hunting in this weather was dangerous. The harsher the weather, the riskier it was to hunt, and he couldn’t guarantee they would succeed.
Bai Tu listened to Bai An’s concerns and remained silent for a moment. He suspected that Lang Ze had completely forgotten about the prey their tribe owed the wolves.
But even if the wolves had forgotten, they couldn’t take advantage of it. Bai Tu suggested, “How about we make some food and send it to the wolf tribe for them to try?”
From their interactions on the road, Bai Tu had noticed that Lang Ze really enjoyed good food. The current conditions were limited, but if he could make something delicious and easy to store before the heavy rains started, they could deliver it to the wolf tribe. That way, the wolves would understand that they weren’t trying to avoid repayment—they were simply struggling at the moment.
Hearing Bai Tu’s idea, Bai An had no reason to refuse. The tribe’s food supply wasn’t abundant, but there was still enough to send some as a gesture of goodwill.
During their journey, Hei Xiao had always picked out the best food for Bai Tu. Now that they were preparing food for the wolves, Bai Tu had even more options to choose from. He could take anything from the entire cave’s stockpile.
After a few days of recovery, Bai Tu’s wounds had healed, so he headed to the market. This was his first time visiting the tribe’s food storage area. As soon as he stepped inside, he noticed the temperature was noticeably different from the outside. The further in he went, the colder it got. At the center, he could even see ice blocks, and the food stored at the back was frozen solid.
With this natural refrigerator, the tribe’s food lasted much longer than that of others.
No wonder they hadn’t eaten those half-roasted meat chunks since returning to the tribe. Bai Tu had originally thought it was because all their food was freshly hunted, but now he understood the real reason.
Most of the food had been exchanged for salt, leaving limited supplies in the tribe. Bai Tu picked out some beef, planning to make beef bites. Compared to the food owned by the wolf tribe, theirs was practically nothing, so he decided to make snacks instead.
While the rain was still light, part of the tribe went out to gather grass, while the rest helped Bai Tu prepare food for the wolves.
With so many hands at work, the first batch of beef bites was ready by the next morning. Bai Tu left a bowl for the little wolf cub and packed the rest into a back basket, arranging for it to be delivered.
Even though the two tribes were neighbors, they were still entering another tribe’s territory. To ensure safety, Bai An sent six beastmen to escort the food and warned them: if anything felt wrong, they should run back immediately.
After all, they only knew Lang Ze, and there was no guarantee that other wolves in the Blood Wolf Tribe wouldn’t attack them.
However, neither Bai An, Bai Tu, nor anyone else in the tribe expected that when the rabbit tribe members returned, they would bring several wolves back with them.
Not only did the wolves come in person, but they were all carrying back baskets.
“The boss said he’s busy, so he sent us to deliver some meat,” said one of the wolves, Lang Zuo.
Lang Zuo often followed Lang Ze around. He explained that Lang Ze had originally planned to come himself, but there were matters in the tribe that needed his attention. Since their leader was absent, Lang Ze and his sister had to stay behind to handle tribal affairs.
After all, they weren’t the leader, so their words didn’t carry the same weight. They needed to remain in the tribe to keep certain wolves in check—those who were itching to cause trouble in the leader’s absence.
Even though he was busy, everyone knew Lang Ze loved good food. After tasting the beef bites, he immediately ordered Lang Zuo to deliver ten back baskets of meat to the Snow Rabbit Tribe.
“Eight of these are for making beef bites, and the other two are for you,” Lang Zuo explained.
Bai Tu understood—eight baskets were raw materials, and the other two were payment for processing.
The seasonings for the beef bites were all things he had gathered on the road. The amount of salt required was minimal, and the wolves had even brought extra salt with them this time.
In other words, making the beef bites cost the rabbit tribe nothing but time, yet they gained two entire back baskets of beef in return.
And they shouldn’t underestimate those two baskets—the wolves’ back baskets were much larger than theirs. The first batch of beef bites that Bai Tu had made had used about the same amount.
Now, with this processing fee, they had basically made a profit without investing anything.
Not to mention, they had also left a good impression on the Blood Wolf Tribe.
This was a win-win deal, no matter how one looked at it.
Since the rainy season meant plenty of free time, Bai Tu avoided making dried beef or other foods that required sun-drying. Instead, he made stir-fried beef bites, which could be prepared inside the caves, unaffected by the weather.
The only minor inconvenience was that frying beef bites required a lot of firewood, but that wasn’t a big problem. The tribe had stockpiled branches and firewood from previous years. If they ran out, they could collect more once the rain stopped.
After teaching the beastmen how to make beef bites, Bai Tu stepped back and focused on something else—figuring out how to cook milk for the cubs.
The cow had been startled when it was first captured, so Bai Tu let it adjust for a few days in the cave.
Strangely enough, it had been exceptionally quiet.
Whether it had been beaten by Lang Ze or exchanged information with the bull next door, Bai Tu didn’t know. But for the past few days, it had simply eaten the grass provided by the rabbit tribe alongside its calf, and the tribe’s concerns hadn’t come true.
There was plenty of milk, so Bai Tu slowly heated it in a pot.
If there was one thing he was dissatisfied with in the tribe, it was definitely the tools.
Things like back baskets and woven baskets were still acceptable—even if some were uncomfortable to carry due to material limitations, they were functional.
But when it came to pots, bowls, and kitchen knives, it was another story.
Especially the pots and knives.
Everything was made of stone.
Due to the crudeness of the tools, Bai Tu left all the meat-cutting to the beastmen in the tribe. He simply couldn’t do it himself—the stone knives were far duller than the iron knives he had used in his past life.
Fortunately, the others were already accustomed to using such tools, wielding them with ease. Bai Tu even saw some of them chopping down trees with stone knives. If he hadn’t looked closely, he would have never guessed they were using stone—their efficiency was almost on par with using iron blades.
While he could delegate meat-cutting to others, he couldn’t do the same for boiling milk—after all, this was for the wolf cub.
However, the stone pots in the tribe were thick and heavy—so heavy that Bai Tu couldn’t even lift them alone. And since milk was a liquid, it posed an additional challenge. Due to the tribe’s lifestyle, they didn’t even have spoons—their usual tools for scooping meat resembled shovels. While these worked fine for solid food, they were too inefficient for scooping milk, especially since Bai Tu had prepared an entire pot of it.
Unlike cooking for just two people, where he could take his time serving, trying to scoop out a whole pot of milk with a shovel would take forever.
To improve efficiency, Bai Tu had some wooden spoons made by selecting suitable wood and asking others to craft them. Once completed, serving milk became much easier.
When Bai Tu placed the bowl of milk in front of the wolf cub, it hesitated and refused to drink.
“You don’t want it?” Bai Tu was surprised by this reaction. From what he knew about young animals, they were supposed to love milk—especially wolf or sheep’s milk. Yet, the little wolf cub showed zero excitement.
The cub glanced at the milk but still refused to drink.
Something felt off…
Even the cub itself couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong—it just felt like this was food meant for infants, something it shouldn’t be drinking.
“Are you just being picky?” Bai Tu could only assume this was the case. But if that were true, it was quite an unusual case of pickiness—after all, refusing to drink milk wasn’t common.
Still, Bai Tu was a little relieved. Luckily, he had found the cub when it was already a month old, meaning it could eat meat. Otherwise, things would’ve been much trickier.
To test the milk’s taste, Bai Tu scooped up a small spoonful and took a sip.
The flavor wasn’t great, but it was nowhere near bad enough to warrant rejection.
So, Bai Tu scooped up another spoonful and brought it closer to the cub’s nose.
“If you don’t drink it, I’ll give it to the other cubs in the tribe.”
If the wolf cub refused, Bai Tu would just distribute all the milk to the other young ones.
Despite the small number of beastmen in the tribe, there were quite a few children—nearly twenty under the age of three.
While the amount of milk seemed like a lot, once divided among all the cubs, it wouldn’t be much per child. Plus, with their fast digestion, none of it would go to waste.
The wolf cub, who had been visibly conflicted, suddenly froze when it heard Bai Tu’s words.
It glanced at the milk, its mouth twitching slightly.
Seeing no reaction, Bai Tu put down the spoon and reached for the bowl, preparing to pour the milk back into the pot.
But just as he touched it, the wolf cub clung onto his hand.
It was as if it had finally made up its mind—it scooted closer to the bowl.
“Huh?” Bai Tu was surprised. He had assumed the cub would completely refuse, but now it was drinking.
This was the best outcome, of course. With limited food sources available, every extra type of food meant an additional nutrient source.
Bai Tu gently ruffled the cub’s fur as it buried its head in the bowl, drinking rapidly.
It finished half the bowl in one go before looking up and letting out a tiny burp.
Logically, half a bowl wasn’t enough to satisfy the cub, but it had been drinking in such a hurry that it felt full for now.
Bai Tu quickly rubbed the little wolf cub’s belly to soothe it before carrying it along to deliver milk to the other young ones.
By now, the milk had cooled down from when it was first boiled, so it was no longer too hot to hold.
Of course, Bai Tu used a wooden basin to carry it—stone pots were far too heavy for him to lift alone. Even if he somehow managed, walking all the way to the cubs’ living area would still be a huge struggle.
The rabbit cubs had none of the wolf cub’s hesitation when it came to drinking milk. The moment they caught the scent of food, they swarmed over eagerly.
The little wolf cub, still nestled in Bai Tu’s arms, immediately reacted by trying to push all the other cubs away.
But just as it extended a paw, Bai Tu stopped it.
Grabbing the cub’s paw, he brought it to his lips and kissed it. “Be good. No fighting.”
Even though they were all young, the wolf cub was noticeably bigger than the rabbit cubs. Whether it was due to better nutrition, Bai Tu wasn’t sure, but the wolf cub definitely looked much more fierce than the others. He suspected that if it really swiped at them, it might injure a few.
Since Bai Tu had come here to deliver food, he couldn’t allow any of the cubs to get hurt. Not only adult beastmen feared injuries—so did young ones. With the hot and humid weather, and their cave-dwelling lifestyle, even a small wound could easily get infected.
Worried that the cubs might hurt each other, Bai Tu held onto all of the wolf cub’s paws, ensuring it couldn’t start a fight.
Though the wolf cub was small, it was incredibly agile. However, having taken care of it for some time now, Bai Tu knew exactly how to hold it securely.
The moment Bai Tu kissed its paw, the little wolf froze completely, as if petrified, letting Bai Tu wrap up all its paws without any resistance.
The entire rainy season passed with Bai Tu helping the wolf tribe process food.
At first, he had thought that by the latter half of the rainy season, food supplies might run low, and they’d have to slaughter the cow for meat. However, to his surprise, by the end of the season, the tribe had even more food than before.
The reason? He had underestimated the wolf tribe’s love for food.
The rainy season didn’t mean constant rain—it occasionally paused for short periods. Normally, during these breaks, people would do simple tasks like fetching water or cleaning tools. But the wolves were far bolder—even with the briefest rain stops, they would go out to hunt.
In past years, they wouldn’t have been this eager, but this year was different—the rabbit tribe was helping them process food.
Although Bai Tu and the others never explicitly demanded a processing fee, the wolf tribe always set aside one-quarter to one-third of the food as compensation.
Since the rabbit tribe’s population was much smaller than the wolf tribe’s, even receiving just a quarter of their total food was enough to sustain them comfortably.
By the time the rainy season ended, the tribe’s food stores had not diminished—they had actually grown by several baskets’ worth.
In past years, everyone in the tribe would come out of the rainy season thinner, especially the young cubs.
With food shortages, the effects on cubs were even more obvious than on adults. By the latter half of the season, cubs would often look pitifully small, crying from morning till night. Even the adult beastmen who heard them cry couldn’t do much—there simply wasn’t enough food.
But this year was completely different.
Not only was the tribe well-fed, but Bai Tu had also specifically prepared milk as an extra supplement for the young ones.
One or two extra meals didn’t show immediate results, but after an entire month, the cubs had visibly grown rounder compared to before the rainy season.
After checking on the rabbit cubs, Bai Tu turned to look at the wolf cub—only to feel that it hadn’t grown much at all.
Its appetite was clearly increasing by the day, yet its size remained exactly the same as when he first picked it up.
Bai Tu knew that cubs between one month and three years old didn’t show obvious size changes, but after eating so much food, it should have gained at least a little weight, right?
Yet, it hadn’t.
The wolf cub still looked exactly the same.
A sudden thought struck Bai Tu—what if it had parasites?
It was eating so much, yet not gaining any weight—that could be a sign of worms.
But while Bai Tu had some knowledge of herbs, he had zero experience in deworming treatments.
He also couldn’t randomly feed it deworming medicine—not only was he uncertain about the dosage, but he also didn’t have any on hand.
Letting out a sigh, Bai Tu gently rubbed the cub, hoping he was just overthinking it.
After more than a month, the little wolf cub had completely adapted to Bai Tu’s constant touching and rubbing.
At first, whenever Bai Tu patted or rubbed it, its ears would turn red. But now?
Now, it simply felt happy.
Sitting on Bai Tu’s lap, the wolf cub could feel changes within itself. It looked up at Bai Tu, feeling only joy.
Bai Tu, however, had no idea what the cub was thinking.
Seeing the cub staring at him, he couldn’t resist—he picked it up and gave it another kiss.
“What are you thinking about?”
Having raised the cub for this long, Bai Tu had come to understand it quite well.
Though it was still young, every time it thought deeply about something, its expression resembled that of an adult beastman.
But instead of making it look serious, its tiny, focused face only made it seem even cuter.
Every time Bai Tu saw it like this, he couldn’t help but want to hold it, kiss it, and rub it all over.
At first, the wolf cub would resist a little—but over time, it simply gave up and let Bai Tu do whatever he wanted.
However, seeing the little wolf cub being so obedient, Bai Tu suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. He cleared his throat, placed the cub back on his lap, and asked, “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”
Ever since he picked up the cub, he had wanted to give it a name, but Hei Xiao had told him that on Beast God Continent, cubs aren’t named until they turn three years old.
At first, Bai Tu found this rule a bit strange, but after looking at the little wolf cub beside him, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow the local custom. After all, he only had one cub with him, so even without a name, he always knew exactly who he was referring to.
Bai Tu patted the cub’s head—its fur felt amazing to the touch. Of course, it would be even better if it grew a little bigger.
Once the rainy season ended, the tribe became much busier, and Bai Tu’s rest period came to an end.
However, since the entire rainy season had been relatively relaxed, even though things were getting hectic now, he didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable.
That day, Bai Tu took the little wolf cub out to watch the tribe’s beastmen process beef.
Perhaps because the first batch of meat they delivered had been cut into small beef cubes, Lang Ze had since started bringing over more beef every few days.
Now that the rainy season was over and hunting had become easier, Lang Ze didn’t hold back—he directly sent over an entire freshly caught cow.
This cow was a bit smaller than the one they had caught previously, but not by much. Half the tribe was busy working on it.
There was so much beef that turning it all into beef cubes would be too much—after all, the wolf tribe had already spent the entire rainy season eating beef cubes.
Bai Tu wanted to try making something different with the meat.
The easiest option was beef jerky—it only needed to be cut into strips or slices, which was much less work than dicing it into cubes, and it would also be more convenient to eat.
Lang Ze knew that whenever they delivered food, the rabbit tribe would process it and send back snacks shortly after.
However, this time, they had sent over an entire cow, yet two or three days had passed, and there was no sign of food being delivered.
Lang Ze was getting anxious.
During the rainy season, every batch of snacks Bai Tu made had been eaten within a day or two.
Now, the only food left in the tribe was their basic rations—not a single snack remained.
If they had never eaten snacks before, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.
But after tasting them, suddenly going without was unbearable.
Lang Ze didn’t hesitate for even a second.
That night, he led the wolf tribe straight to the Snow Rabbit Tribe’s camp.
When they arrived, Bai Tu was in the middle of steaming beef jerky with the others.
After being marinated and sun-dried, the jerky needed to be steamed before it could be eaten. They were currently at this final step, and the entire tribe was filled with the rich aroma of beef.
As Lang Ze walked closer, the delicious smell became stronger, making him even more furious.
The rabbit tribe was secretly making delicious food and didn’t even tell him?!
Unforgivable!
Lang Ze had never been this angry before.
Bai An, one of the rabbit tribe members, heard someone say that Lang Ze had arrived, so he quickly went down the mountain to greet them.
However, when he saw that the wolf tribe members looked furious, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
The last time they came to deliver beef, they had been very friendly—what had changed?
Bai An racked his brain, trying to figure out what they had done wrong.
After thinking it over, he could only come up with one possible reason—they still hadn’t returned the hunting debt.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to repay it sooner—it was just that they hadn’t been able to catch any large prey recently.
If it weren’t for the fact that their food stores still had some of the wolf tribe’s rations, their tribe would already be struggling to eat.
Thinking of this, Bai An quickly explained to Lang Ze:
“Lord Lang Ze, our tribe is doing our best to hunt as quickly as possible. We’ll return what we owe you as soon as we can.”
For the past few days, Bai An had been leading hunting teams out before dawn and returning only after nightfall.
Although they hadn’t caught any large prey yet, their efforts hadn’t been in vain—just today, they had finally found some tracks.
Now that the rainy season had just ended, the land was covered in lush wild grass, which herbivorous animals loved.
Since the prey wouldn’t leave quickly, the hunting team planned to track them at sunrise, and there was a high chance of catching something.
Lang Ze misunderstood these words, thinking that Bai An meant to return the cow they had sent over a few days ago.
Already a bit annoyed from not getting any food, he became even angrier upon hearing this: “Who wants your prey?!”
What they wanted was the ready-made snacks!
Just as Lang Ze was about to lose his temper, he caught sight of Bai Tu coming down from the mountain out of the corner of his eye and instantly deflated.
He had no choice. No matter how many times he came here, every time he saw that little cub, he would inexplicably feel guilty.
At first, Lang Ze thought that this feeling was just due to unfamiliarity and that he would get used to it after seeing the cub a few more times. But no matter how many times he saw it, the feeling remained the same. After an entire rainy season, his reaction upon seeing the little wolf cub was even stronger than before.
Lang Ze had an illusion that the cub looked even more like his brother than it had before the rainy season. Could it be that eating well during this time had made the resemblance stronger?
Thinking of this, Lang Ze turned to Bai Tu and said, “Tu, don’t feed the cub so much food!” Eating so much and looking more and more like his brother? No way, absolutely not. A little food was fine, but the extra should be given to him instead.
Hearing this, Bai Tu hadn’t responded yet, but the little wolf cub glanced at Lang Ze.
Oh no, that familiar feeling came again. Lang Ze instinctively took a step back, but then he suddenly snapped out of it.
Even if they looked alike, this was just a cub, not his brother—what was there to be afraid of?
With that in mind, Lang Ze became more assertive. He stepped forward, reached out, and poked the little wolf cub on the head. “Be polite, call me uncle!”
He was an uncle, an elder. This little cub should listen to him in the future!
But as soon as he said it, he met the cub’s gaze and felt even more guilty, quickly retracting his hand.
He definitely wasn’t afraid that the cub would suddenly bite him—he was just worried that the tiny cub might break its teeth biting him. If that happened, Bai Tu would definitely feel bad for the cub and might forget to prepare their food.
Lang Ze thought it through in his head and then nodded to himself. Yes, that must be it. He wasn’t afraid of the cub—he was just worried it might get hurt. He was a good uncle, after all.
Bai Tu hadn’t expected Lang Ze to act so quickly. He wanted to dodge with the cub but was too late. Fortunately, Lang Ze only poked lightly and didn’t use much force.
However, the little wolf cub was noticeably quieter than before.
Holding the cub in his arms, Bai Tu explained to Lang Ze, “The dried beef takes a bit longer to make, so the snacks will be ready by tomorrow or the day after.”
Unlike Bai An, who, as the leader, had too many responsibilities and wasn’t familiar with Lang Ze’s personality, Bai Tu knew him well. Bai An had a bit of a preconceived notion about the wolf tribe, so his first reaction upon seeing them was to assume they had come to settle a score.
But Bai Tu understood that Lang Ze was likely here to ask about the snacks, so he explained before the other could even speak.
“Dried beef takes time, and we’re making a large batch this time, so it’s slower than usual.”
It wasn’t that the tribe’s people were slacking off. Except for the necessary hunting teams, most of them had stayed behind in the tribe. Even the gathering teams had fewer members out than usual. But even so, there was still a limit to how fast they could make dried beef.
Hearing this explanation, Lang Ze’s attitude changed instantly. “No rush, no rush.”
If it was just a matter of waiting a day or two, that was fine. He rubbed his hands together eagerly—more delicious snacks were on the way!
The little wolf cub looked at his excited expression, deep in thought.
Since the wolf tribe had come over on their own, they must have been quite impatient. Bai Tu decided to give them some of the already steamed beef jerky to take back. It was edible, though the taste wouldn’t be as good as the fully dried version. He also promised to have the rest delivered in two days.
Lang Ze, holding the still-warm beef jerky, waved his hand. “No need to send it over. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Why wait around in the tribe when coming over himself meant he could get it half a day earlier?
“Alright.” If the other was willing to make the trip, Bai Tu had no objections.
After the wolf tribe left, Bai Tu took some dried beef inside. This was perfect for chewing on while thinking or when bored, and he could also give some to the cub for teething.
But he had planned to eat it tomorrow—tonight was already late, and it wasn’t good to eat too much before bed.
Returning to his quarters, Bai Tu casually placed the dried beef on the table and took the little wolf cub into the inner room to rest.
In the middle of the night, the little wolf cub on the bed suddenly disappeared, replaced by a young man whose stature rivaled Lang Ze’s.
The young man looked down at Bai Tu, who was sleeping soundly beside him, and reached out to rub his head.
He had wanted to do this for a long time.
But ever since he had suddenly transformed into a cub, he had lost all his memories—only feeling a strange impulse deep inside himself without understanding why.
In his sleep, Bai Tu felt uneasy. He didn’t know what he was dreaming about, but he reached out beside him. Seeing this, the young man frowned and immediately transformed back into his cub form.
Feeling the small wolf cub next to him, Bai Tu finally relaxed in his sleep, a faint smile appearing on his face.
The cub silently watched Bai Tu like this until he was completely asleep again. Then, he replaced himself with his tail, transformed back into his human form, and lay still.
Bai Tu didn’t notice the change in his hands at all.
Now in human form, the young man glanced at the sky outside. It was already too late—if he left now, he wouldn’t make it in time. The most likely outcome was that he’d transform back into a cub halfway through his journey.
Actively turning into a cub and being forced to transform were completely different. In the former case, he was aware of what was happening and knew how to handle it. In the latter, he was no different from a real cub, even in thought and behavior. Given his current condition, he could remain in human form for a little longer as long as he didn’t eat anything…
The young man glanced at Bai Tu again and decisively chose to spend his limited clear-headed time with him.
When Bai Tu woke up, he felt a little tired. He had a strange dream—he dreamed that the little wolf cub had gone missing. Fortunately, he found it in the end. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have slept well all night.
There was water stored in the cave, so Bai Tu used it to wash up, yawned, and walked toward the outer room. As he passed the table, he suddenly stopped.
He distinctly remembered placing the dried beef there last night when he returned—but now, it was gone. Not only the beef jerky but even the bowl that had held it was missing.
Although this was the outer room, it wasn’t visible from outside the cave entrance. Plus, when he had brought the beef jerky in, it had been quite late—there was no way someone from the tribe had gotten hungry and taken it.
Where had the beef jerky gone?
Puzzled, Bai Tu shook his head and decided that next time, he would bring food directly into the inner room.
He hadn’t liked keeping food inside before because many types of food had strong smells. The cave wasn’t well-ventilated, and once the scent lingered, it would take days to dissipate.
But losing so much dried meat at once was too much of a waste. So next time, he would just bring it into the bedroom. At worst, he’d wrap it in more layers and store it inside at night, then bring it out during the day to eat.
As Bai Tu contemplated this, he didn’t notice that the cub in his arms had ears that were now completely red.
The little wolf cub had no memory of what happened last night, but seeing the empty table and hearing Bai Tu’s words, he had a strong feeling that it might have something to do with him.
With the food gone, Bai Tu had no choice but to take the cub down the mountain for breakfast.
It was too hot to light a fire at the cave entrance, so after the rainy season ended, he had moved his fire pit down the mountain.
He woke up early, but some in the tribe were up even earlier. Since they were making a large amount of beef jerky, the steaming process ran in shifts—even at night, someone was working.
Bai Tu walked over to a fire where the jerky was being steamed, took two burning logs, returned to light his own fire, and then brought the logs back to the original fire pit.
“Tu, you’re up so early?” Bai Qi yawned as he walked over and was surprised to see Bai Tu already preparing breakfast. “You were busy so late last night—I thought you’d sleep in.”
Bai Tu assumed he was referring to Lang Ze’s visit and smiled. “It wasn’t that late.”
Although Lang Ze had come by in the middle of the night, he hadn’t stayed long. Bai Tu had only needed to go down the mountain, explain a few things, and Lang Ze had eagerly taken the freshly steamed beef jerky and left.
There was no way to tell time precisely, but Bai Tu estimated that the whole thing had taken about an hour at most—basically just the time to go up and down the mountain. After that, he had fallen asleep right away. Losing that bit of time wasn’t enough of a reason to sleep in.
Bai Qi was shocked. “Almost dawn doesn’t count as late?”
He had always thought Bai Tu slept longer than he did, but now he realized Bai Tu actually slept much less! He himself hadn’t even slept enough yet. If it weren’t for the fact that he had to go hunting today, he definitely would have slept longer.
“Almost dawn?” Bai Tu frowned. “It wasn’t that late, was it? Lang Ze left pretty early.”
Never underestimate the wolf tribe’s obsession with snacks. Bai Tu strongly suspected that Lang Ze had set out before nightfall. Otherwise, there was no way he would have arrived just as Bai Tu was about to sleep.
He had gone to bed earlier than most of the beastmen last night. When Lang Ze arrived, he had just fallen asleep, and many people in the tribe were still awake. After the wolf tribe left, he returned to the cave, only slightly later than the usual bedtime for the tribe. There was still a long time before dawn.
Bai Qi retorted, “Who says so? When you were eating in the middle of the night, the sky was already about to brighten.”
“Wait… what did you just say?” Bai Tu’s hairs almost stood on end. Someone was eating?
This was scarier than a ghost story!
Hearing their conversation, the little wolf cub froze, feeling incredibly guilty. He lifted his head and rubbed against Bai Tu.
Bai Tu had been frightened, but as soon as the cub nuzzled him, he slowly relaxed. The idea that someone had entered the cave last night was unsettling, but with the little cub beside him, it didn’t seem quite as scary anymore.
“Good boy. Luckily, you were here.” Bai Tu gently patted the cub and decided that today, he would discuss with Bai An about having two beastmen help seal off the cave entrance, leaving only a small opening for entry.
Hearing Bai Tu’s words, the little cub felt even more guilty. After a moment of hesitation, he tilted his head up and gently kissed Bai Tu’s hand. Normally, whenever Bai Tu did this to him, he would become very happy.
Sure enough, after the little cub’s kiss, Bai Tu instantly forgot his earlier fear. In the end, it was just because the cave entrance wasn’t sealed properly. Tomorrow, once it was secured, everything would be fine.
