Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH28

Chapter 28

Lang Ze and his group were strong advocates of their “convenient and hide-saving” method of hunting. Unfortunately, they were the only ones present who thought it was a good idea.

Bai Tu noticed the increasingly dangerous look in Lang Qi’s eyes. Over the time they had spent together, Bai Tu had come to understand the personalities of the wolves quite well. He could now predict what was about to happen based on their expressions and body language.

In an effort to save these fearless, oblivious young wolves from impending doom, Bai Tu quickly changed the subject. “Let’s go check over there—we haven’t been to that section yet.” 

After all, today was the last day of the market, and they needed to make sure they didn’t miss out on any supplies. If they did, they’d have to wait another six months for the next market.

Fortunately, Lang Qi didn’t intend to punish the young wolves in front of everyone. Hearing Bai Tu’s suggestion, he withdrew his gaze from the group of troublemakers. 

The group then headed to the northernmost section of the market. This area was a bit far from where they were resting and was at the very end of the market. They hadn’t made it this far during the previous two days.

After walking a short distance, Bai Tu spotted the hawk-raising young man he had noticed when they first arrived. For some reason, Bai Tu always felt a strange sense of familiarity whenever he saw him. This time, the young man wasn’t carrying his hawk, but there was now a teenager at his side.

On the Beast God Continent, beastmen generally didn’t live very long. During times of food shortages, the elderly and weak were often the first to be sacrificed, so there was a higher proportion of young people. 

Markets, which required long journeys, were dominated by teenagers and young adults, making up seventy to eighty percent of the crowd. It was common for groups to gain or lose members of this age.

What stood out to Bai Tu wasn’t the teenager’s presence but rather his behavior.

The young man held an apple, a common sight at the market, and the beastman behind him carried a large bundle of them. However, the teenager showed no interest in the apples. Instead, he kept grabbing the young man’s hand and taking bites out of it. 

The sight reminded Bai Tu of the hawk perched on the young man’s shoulder the first time he saw him. The teenager and the hawk didn’t just share similar personalities—they were exactly alike.

The road here was narrow, so when two groups approached from opposite directions, it was almost impossible not to notice each other. As the young man swatted away the teenager’s wandering hands and looked up to watch the path, his gaze landed on Bai Tu and his group. His eyes briefly swept over Bai Tu and the wolves behind him.

When the two groups passed each other, the young man suddenly spoke up, “Wait a moment.”

Bai Tu turned back, looking at him with curiosity.

“You…” The young man glanced at Lang Qi, who stood beside Bai Tu, before returning his gaze to Bai Tu. “I’m Hei Jian of the Black Hawk Tribe. Can I ask you a few questions?”

Under normal circumstances, Bai Tu would have been wary of a stranger approaching him. However, he couldn’t shake the inexplicable sense of goodwill he felt toward the young man. After hesitating for a moment, he quietly asked Lang Qi a couple of questions, then nodded. “Alright.”

The young man motioned for the teenager to step aside, then grabbed Bai Tu and led him to a quieter area.

Lang Qi hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t follow. Instead, he kept a watchful eye on the remaining beastmen, occasionally glancing at Bai Tu and the young man as they walked away. 

The Black Hawk Tribe was generally trustworthy, but not entirely so. The only reason Lang Qi hadn’t insisted on following was that Hei Jian looked clearly incapable of fighting. If he had been a threat, Lang Qi would have followed without hesitation.

The teenager let out a strange, ambiguous hum. It was unclear whether he was mocking them for being overly cautious or irritated about something else entirely.

Lang Ze, who had been planning to sneak over and eavesdrop on Bai Tu’s conversation, immediately bristled when he heard the teenager’s sound. He puffed up indignantly and let out an even louder, defiant hum in response.

Who doesn’t know how to hum?

The teenager gave a soft, mocking laugh in response.

Lang Qi paused and looked away, realizing he was overthinking things. These two added together barely had the maturity of a three-year-old.

Bai Tu followed Hei Jian to a small clearing a few steps away. Just as Bai Tu was introducing himself, Hei Jian lowered his voice and asked, “Were you captured by them?”

“Huh?” Bai Tu froze, completely taken aback by the odd question. Captured? What is he talking about?

Seeing Bai Tu’s confused reaction, Hei Jian glanced back at the group of beastmen standing behind him—clearly a different species from Bai Tu’s—and then looked at Bai Tu again, concern written all over his face. “You’re really not someone they brought back to their tribe by force?”

From the two sentences and the look in Hei Jian’s eyes, Bai Tu suddenly realized what the young man was thinking. He couldn’t help but laugh. “No, we’re two tribes traveling together to trade salt.”

The beastmen of the Snow Rabbit Tribe were a head taller and bulkier than Bai Tu, and the wolves were even more physically imposing compared to the rabbits. 

Bai Tu, who usually required some care when with the Snow Rabbit Tribe, looked even more fragile in the company of the wolf clan. Though his height wasn’t much shorter than theirs, his slimmer build made it seem as if he might be bullied at any moment.

Understanding this, Bai Tu fell silent for a moment. His height was almost the same as in his previous life—nearly 1.8 meters—but compared to the beastmen around him, he was still half a head shorter and much thinner. 

Standing with them, he gave off the impression of someone who needed constant protection. No wonder Hei Jian thought he had been captured.

After hearing Bai Tu’s explanation, Hei Jian let out a sigh of relief, though there was a hint of disappointment in his expression. When it was time to leave, Hei Jian introduced himself once more, saying, “If you ever find yourself in danger, you can come to me.”

Even as he said this, Hei Jian knew how unlikely it was. The two tribes were so far apart that they might never meet again. This thought left him feeling strangely regretful.

Lang Qi leaned over and quietly told Bai Tu something. “The Black Hawk Tribe is on the Southern Continent.”

Bai Tu, surprised, turned to Hei Jian and asked, “You’re from the Southern Continent??”

Hearing this, a spark of hope flickered in Hei Jian’s eyes. But before he could say anything, Bai Tu continued, “Does your tribe sell iron tools?”

With that, Hei Jian’s fleeting hope disappeared again. He shook his head and replied, “Our tribe only has iron ore, not finished iron tools. You’d need to go to the Iron Elephant Tribe to buy those.”

Bai Tu’s excitement was immediate. “Iron ore? Ore that can be refined into iron??”

On the Beast God Continent, names were often simple and literal. Anything with “iron” in its name usually had something to do with iron, and adding “ore” made it easy to guess. There was a high chance that “iron ore” referred to iron deposits.

Sure enough, Hei Jian nodded after a brief moment of surprise. “Iron ore can be smelted into iron, but only the Iron Elephant Tribe knows how to do it. The other tribes can’t make it.”

Although Hei Jian didn’t know why this beastman he had only met twice was asking about iron ore, he inexplicably wanted to talk more with him. 

Hei Jian chalked it up to the fact that it had been a long time since he had encountered someone who felt similar to him. Even though they weren’t from the same tribe or of the same beast form, he wanted to spend more time with Bai Tu.

“Does your tribe sell iron ore?” Bai Tu asked.

The most important aspect of smelting iron was the temperature—ordinary fires couldn’t reach the required heat. Bai Tu hadn’t yet figured out how to solve this problem, but transporting iron from the Southern Continent would take time. In the meantime, he could research the process.

Bai Tu wasn’t sure about the exact size of the Beast God Continent, but even the distances between different tribes on the same continent were vast. Crossing to another continent would take even longer. 

Traveling in a straight line might take ten days to a month, and beastmen didn’t travel during the snowy or rainy seasons. With only spring and autumn for trade and travel, missing this opportunity meant waiting another six months. 

Transporting iron or iron ore to the Snow Rabbit Tribe would take another half a year after that. At this rate, it might be two to three years before they could start using iron tools.

Iron could be used to make so many things—not just knives but also tools like hoes, which were far superior to stone tools. The sooner they could get iron, the better.

Seeing that Bai Tu was serious about wanting iron ore, Hei Jian tried to dissuade him. “Iron ore is useless on its own. You’d have to find beastmen from the Iron Elephant Tribe to turn it into tools. But the Iron Elephant Tribe hasn’t traveled to other tribes in years.” 

In other words, most tribes had no chance of smelting iron. If they wanted iron tools, their only option was to buy them directly from the Iron Elephant Tribe.

“I need iron ore for other purposes,” Bai Tu explained. 

He couldn’t exactly say he planned to smelt the ore himself—no one would believe him, especially since he hadn’t even seen a piece of iron ore before. So, he came up with an alternative explanation. “I know a traveling healer who needs iron ore for medicine-making.”

Although Bai Tu had always denied the title of “healer,” others clearly didn’t share his opinion. Now that he was using the label as a shield, he figured it didn’t really matter. After all, Hei Jian was from the Southern Continent, far from the Snow Rabbit Tribe. Even if Bai Tu mentioned using iron ore for medicine, there was no risk of him being exposed—surely no one would cross half the Beast God Continent just to verify whether or not he was actually making medicine with iron ore.

Healers were known to use a wide variety of materials in their medicines. Hearing Bai Tu mention it, Hei Jian didn’t doubt him. However, since their tribes were so far apart, they would need to discuss how to trade the iron ore.

Hei Jian said, “Our tribe can help deliver it to you, but we can only transport small amounts at a time.” A hawk could only carry about half a basket in one trip—any more, and it wouldn’t be able to fly.

It was then that Bai Tu suddenly remembered something he had overlooked: Black Hawk Tribe. 

Hawks. He fell silent for a moment, and realization dawned. 

He finally understood why the temperamental teenager by Hei Jian’s side earlier had seemed so similar to the hawk he had seen on their first meeting—it was because they were the same. 

Most beastmen didn’t cling to others when in beast form, so Bai Tu had naturally assumed the hawk was a pet. He’d even thought to himself how obedient it was. Thankfully, he’d never said that out loud.

Thinking about transportation, Bai Tu was reminded of Ma Xin and his family. 

The Horse Clan’s speed was exceptional, and using it solely to transport fruit seemed like a waste. Their natural talent was perfect for long-distance deliveries. However, since his initial needs for iron ore would be small, it was better to rely on the Black Hawk Tribe for now.

“How much iron ore do you need?” Hei Jian asked. He had come to the Eastern Continent looking to trade, but apart from salt, there wasn’t much here that his tribe needed. 

He had resigned himself to treating this trip as a casual outing. While Bai Tu’s request for iron ore was unusual, Hei Jian decided to agree, even before Bai Tu mentioned what he wanted to trade for it.

This question required some thought. Bai Tu didn’t yet know the exact ratio of ore to usable iron. 

Since the area around them was crowded, the two of them found a quieter, more secluded spot. 

They eventually agreed that the Snow Rabbit Tribe would trade medicine for the Black Hawk Tribe’s iron ore: one basket of medicine for ten baskets of iron ore. The Black Hawk Tribe would deliver it directly to the Snow Rabbit Tribe.

Perhaps out of trust in Bai Tu or for some other reason, Hei Jian even proposed delivering the iron ore first and collecting the medicine later. This meant the Snow Rabbit Tribe would take on almost no risk. 

Such sincerity left Bai Tu feeling a little embarrassed, so he didn’t try to haggle over the trade ratio.

Once the delivery process was settled, there was only one thing left to confirm: the location of the Snow Rabbit Tribe.

This wasn’t an issue for the Black Hawk Tribe. Hei Jian explained, “Just tell us the general direction. Once we’re in the area, we can find it within a day.” 

Unlike beastmen, who had to rely on their legs to traverse mountains and valleys, bird beastmen could fly. As long as they had a rough idea of the location, they could find it quickly from above.

Hearing this, Bai Tu couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration. 

He drew a simple map on the ground, marking the locations of the Snow Rabbit Tribe and the Blood Wolf Tribe. 

The Snow Rabbit Tribe only had one mountain, making it harder to find. The Blood Wolf Tribe, however, had mountain ranges connected one after another. It would be easy to locate, even from the ground, let alone from the sky.

Hei Jian memorized the location and nodded, agreeing on a time for their next meeting.

After Hei Jian left, Bai Tu sighed with admiration. “Wings really are faster.” Hei Jian had said it would only take six or seven days for the Black Hawk Tribe to deliver the iron ore to the Snow Rabbit Tribe. 

That speed was faster than ninety percent of beastmen. For comparison, other beastmen would need nearly a month to cover the same distance.

“Flying fast is useless if you’re weak and can’t fight!” Lang Ze interjected, his impression of the Black Hawk Tribe still tainted by the earlier humming incident.

He spared no effort in belittling them. “Don’t envy them, Tu! My brother runs faster than them and he can fight!” He puffed up his chest, feeling that his brother was much stronger than any Black Hawk or Gray Hawk. As for himself… well, he was only slightly behind his brother.

Thinking about it, Lang Ze added, “I’m really strong too. Give me two more years, and I’ll definitely be able to defeat my brother!”

Bai Tu: “???” 

He had only complimented their flying speed, and now this kid was determined to compete. Was this how competitive kids were these days? 

They weren’t even the same species, and he still wanted to challenge them. Now Lang Ze was even dragging his own brother into it—bold, to say the least.

Lang Qi took a deep breath and turned to Lang Ze. “Go back.” If this continued, it would be hard for him to hold back from making a move.

“I won’t!” Lang Ze howled. “What if Tu takes a liking to someone from the Hawk Tribe? What if Tu wants to bring someone from the Hawk Tribe back to the Snow Rabbit Tribe? You’re useless—you wouldn’t even stop him!”

Lang Qi: “…”