Chapter 25
While everyone else remained frozen in place, Lang Ze suddenly pounced onto Lang Qi.
Lang Qi: “…” This younger brother is simply beyond saving.
Bai Tu: “???” What kind of drama is this?
Lang Qi said, “Don’t mind them, just go about your business.” With that, he stood up and dragged Lang Ze off to the back.
Before Bai Tu could say anything, the brothers had already disappeared from view. He watched them disappear into a shadowy corner before turning back to Bao Duo. “How big is the wound? Where are you guys staying? Is it far from here?”
Bao Duo, still processing the scene, took a moment before finally finding his voice. “Bai Tu, do you have medicine?”
“I do. If you’re staying nearby, bring him over here. I’ll take a look, and it’ll be easier to apply the medicine.”
After all, all Bai Tu knew at the moment was that it was an injury from a fall. Whether it was just a scrape or a fracture was unclear. A scrape would be manageable, but a fracture would require much more care.
For beastmen who relied heavily on their speed to hunt, a poorly healed fracture could affect their ability to hunt, which was directly tied to their survival.
One of the young beastmen standing near Bao Duo immediately shot up. “It’s not far! I’ll bring him here right away!” Without another word, he shifted into his beast form and dashed off.
Bao Duo quickly explained, “That’s Fei. He got injured protecting Tong.”
The medicine Bai Tu had prepared in advance included painkillers, hemostatic agents, and anti-inflammatory ointments.
When Fei returned with Tong in tow, Bai Tu first inspected the wound. The situation wasn’t too bad—no bones were injured—but the wound on the elbow looked rather gruesome.
After cleaning the wound and applying medicine, Bai Tu handed the entire bag of supplies to them. “Change the dressing every other day and avoid getting it wet in between.”
While Bai Tu was helping apply the medicine, the expressions on the wolf clan members were extraordinarily colorful.
Initially, they had been deeply worried that Lang Qi might suddenly lash out. Stopping a wolf king from attacking was undoubtedly one of the hardest tasks in a wolf’s life!
But when they realized Lang Qi didn’t intend to make a move and had merely given Lang Ze a lecture, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Lang Ze: “???”
Bai Tu was oblivious to the mental drama the wolves were going through. He noticed Bao Tong and the other two seemed to want to say something, so he interrupted them. “There’s something I’d like to ask you. Consider it as the medical fee.”
Not to mention Bao Duo’s earlier look of gratitude and awkwardness when he brought up repaying him—Bai Tu had already noticed how easily tempted they were when the middle-aged beastman from the brown monkey tribe mentioned trading for salt.
It was obvious that food was in short supply for the Leopard Clan and nearby tribes. Bai Tu wasn’t in desperate need of their gratitude; he was more interested in gathering some useful information.
“Ask away.” Bao Duo sat up straight with a serious expression, determined to answer whatever question Bai Tu asked.
“The ‘divine grain’ you brought over this afternoon—did you grow it yourselves, or did you find it growing outside and pick it?” Bai Tu suspected that the Leopard Clan likely hadn’t started farming yet.
If they had, the quantity they offered wouldn’t have been so small. After all, corn has an incredible yield; even a small patch would produce far more than just a little bit.
“Divine grain” was the Leopard Clan’s name for corn. Bai Tu wasn’t used to calling it that, but when speaking with the Leopard Clan members, he had to use their terminology.
Bao Duo replied, “It all grows on the mountain behind our tribe. It comes out in the summer, and by winter, it produces big fruits. The ones in the middle don’t taste good, so we only eat the small ones.”
Bai Tu nodded. At this stage, most beastmen still lacked the concept of farming or large-scale animal domestication, relying almost entirely on foraging and hunting for food. This constant reliance on nature was why food scarcity was a persistent worry for most tribes—they were completely at the mercy of the elements.
Depending on nature was clearly not a sustainable approach.
Bai Tu repeated the farming instructions he had given to Lang Qi and his brother, explaining them to the trio. “When you return to your tribe, you can try planting some. These are the seeds—make sure they’re full and undamaged. Remember to plant them in places that won’t flood. When they grow, they’ll bear fruit, just like the ones you picked. One seed will grow into a plant that produces an entire fruit. This way, you won’t have to worry about food during the winter.”
Even if beastmen could only eat corn as a supplement to other foods, it would still make the winters much easier to get through.
Bao Fei muttered hesitantly, “But the healer said the divine grain is a gift from the Beast God. That’s why it doesn’t grow in other places. If we plant it ourselves, won’t the Beast God get angry?”
Bai Tu dismissed such notions without hesitation. “How could that be? If the Beast God really exists, he’d definitely want all the lands to be filled with food, and for his people to eat their fill every day. Why would he get angry?”
As for whether the Beast God actually existed, Bai Tu wasn’t sure and didn’t care. It was more likely someone had made it up to manipulate them. Of course, out of respect for their beliefs, Bai Tu refrained from saying this out loud.
Hearing Bai Tu’s explanation, Bao Duo seemed deep in thought. So planting the divine grain wouldn’t anger the Beast God?
Bao Fei, however, was still worried. “But will the healer agree? The healer has been part of the tribe for so long, and his authority is absolute. It’s hard to go against him.”
Although Bai Tu had helped them, treated Bao Fei’s injuries, and was also a healer in his own right, the Leopard Clan’s healer had accumulated long-standing influence, making it difficult to act against him.
In their tribe, the healer was not exclusive to just one tribe but was revered collectively by several tribes. The healer’s status was even higher than that of the tribal chiefs. If any tribe showed disrespect toward the healer, they would be ostracized by the other tribes.
Within these tribes, the healer held absolute authority, completely above everyone else. No one dared to question the healer’s words. If the healer declared that the “divine grain” only grew on their mountain, the other tribes could only look on with envy, at most trading other food in exchange for it.
While Bao Fei and the others trusted Bai Tu’s abilities and believed that his method might succeed, the same couldn’t be said for everyone else. Even within their own tribe, no one would dare to risk offending the healer by agreeing to plant the divine grain elsewhere.
Realizing this, Bao Fei fell silent. While they believed in Bai Tu because he had helped them, defying the healer’s decree was no trivial matter. They might not even be able to plant the grain without being caught and punished.
Bai Tu frowned. Corn was such an incredible resource—it would be a huge waste not to grow and eat it. To him, the Leopard Clan’s healer was a complete fraud, likely someone who had risen to their position through deceit and manipulation. However, the Beast God Continent’s culture placed great reverence on healers and their teachings about the Beast God. Changing this deeply ingrained mindset was not something that could be accomplished overnight.
As Lang Qi passed by behind Bai Tu, he overheard their conversation and sneered at Bao Fei’s concerns. “If he doesn’t believe you, can’t you just plant it in secret?”
The three Leopard Clan members, who had been wracking their brains over how to avoid angering the healer, suddenly saw the light. They could plant it in secret, without letting the healer or anyone else know! This way, the tribe’s healer wouldn’t get upset, and they could still verify if Bai Tu’s method worked.
With this realization, the trio’s expressions brightened, especially Bao Duo’s.
Over the past few winters, many of the older beastmen from the nearby tribes had not survived the harsh snow seasons. This year’s food stores were no better than last year’s—in fact, they were even smaller. While the rainy season offered a brief respite, allowing for hunting in the rain despite the low success rate, the winter was nothing short of catastrophic.
Winters on the Beast God Continent were bitterly cold, with everything blanketed in snow and ice. Just walking in such conditions was a challenge, let alone hunting.
The Leopard Clan’s situation was even worse than some smaller tribes, as their larger population meant a greater demand for food.
When game became scarce in their territory, the likelihood of hunger grew significantly. A single prey animal might last a small tribe a few days, but for a large tribe like theirs, it would be gone in a single day.
The neighboring tribes faced similar challenges. The region had once been rich in game, which had attracted many beastmen to settle there. But as the wildlife dwindled, the impact spread across the entire area.
The healer, dissatisfied with the decreasing tributes from each tribe, had made no secret of his frustration. Yet every tribe was barely scraping by.
Bao Duo, in truth, didn’t trust their healer all that much but was deeply wary of his influence across the tribes. His own father had been driven to his death by the healer, all because of food.
Last year, the Leopard Clan hadn’t stored enough food for the winter. When the healer brought over the chiefs of two other tribes to demand tributes, they threatened to drive the Leopard Clan out of their territory if they couldn’t provide enough food.
In the midst of a snowstorm, leaving the tribe was a death sentence. To avoid exile, Bao Duo’s father had given up half of the remaining food in their stores. While this averted their expulsion, it left the entire tribe hungry. Bao Duo’s father and the elderly members of the tribe took a small portion of food and moved to another cave, instructing the younger members not to disturb them and to conserve food by staying in the main cave. They said to only seek them out if they were desperate.
As winter was coming to an end, Bao Duo and the others, on the brink of starvation, went to the elder’s cave to ask for guidance.
When they opened the cave, they discovered that the elders hadn’t eaten the food they had taken with them. The so-called separation was just a way to ensure the food lasted longer.
The elders, knowing that starving beastmen couldn’t resist the urge to eat all the food at once, had sacrificed themselves to ensure the youth of the tribe could survive through the late winter.
Meanwhile, the beastmen who were close to the shaman lived comfortably throughout the winter, thanks to the tributes from other tribes.
Recalling this, Bao Duo’s resolve to plant the divine grain grew even stronger. Planting it would at least give them a chance to survive.
As Bao Duo fell into deep thought, Bai Tu quietly praised Lang Qi. “You really know how to think outside the box.”
Bai Tu had been too focused on trying to change everyone’s mindset, forgetting that there was always the option of working in secret. As long as the healer didn’t find out, once Bao Duo and the others successfully grew the crops, the tribe members would naturally realize the healer’s words were false.
Lang Qi snorted, “They’ve been utterly brainwashed by those stupid and malicious healers.” He paused for a moment, then added, “I don’t mean you, of course.”
“I understand.” Bai Tu wasn’t meeting Lang Qi for the first time—of course, he understood what the other meant. Besides, from another perspective, Bai Tu felt that Lang Qi wasn’t wrong at all.
Bai Tu picked up a tree branch and casually drew three circles on the ground. He had often thought that some healers on the Beast God Continent were quite strange, but after hearing Bao Fei’s words, this impression became even clearer.
It was one thing for healers to act mysterious when healing people—after all, even if their methods weren’t entirely scientific, at least they were saving lives, which was ultimately a good thing. But brainwashing beastmen into believing that food couldn’t be cultivated elsewhere? That was outright harmful.
The transition from foraging and hunting to farming and animal domestication naturally required time. The key turning point lay in whether there was enough food to sustain the population.
In the beginning, when the beastmen were few in number, gathering and hunting could provide enough food for everyone. Under those circumstances, no one would go out of their way to take up farming or animal domestication.
But as their population grew and resources dwindled, the plants and game that had once sufficed were no longer enough to feed everyone. At that point, beastmen would begin to explore farming and animal domestication as alternatives.
For instance, some tribes had already started keeping live animals, which was a clear shift. Over time, they would discover the advantages of animal domestication. Even if it couldn’t completely replace hunting in the short term, it would still serve as an additional source of food.
The same principle applied to farming. As gathering became increasingly difficult and the yields insufficient to support the tribe, it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to cultivate crops.
In fact, some beastmen had already started to realize this. However, due to factors like climate and failed attempts, the success rate of farming was far lower than the failure rate. Still, the fact that Bao Duo and the others weren’t resistant to the idea of planting corn indicated that they already understood the benefits of farming.
But the Leopard Clan’s healer’s words had effectively cut off this progress at the root. At least in that region, beastmen wouldn’t dare to try farming casually. Even if they recognized the advantages of farming, their reverence and fear of the healer would make them swallow those thoughts and abandon the idea entirely.
