Chapter 61
Just as Hei Xiao was about to take action, Hei Yan finally realized that if he didn’t back down, he might end up getting beaten. Reluctantly, he obediently led the Hawk Clan to land. The moment they touched the ground, they ran right into an unfamiliar beastman.
Hei Yan: “!!!”
Unfamiliar Beastman: “!!!”
Protecting Hei Xiao, Hei Yan sharply questioned the stranger, “Who are you? Where is this?”
Unfamiliar Beastman: “???” If he wasn’t mistaken, this was their territory. What was wrong with this guy?
Hei Xiao, exasperated, pushed Hei Yan’s head aside, examined the other beastman’s attire and appearance, and asked, “This is the Snow Rabbit Tribe, right?”
Members of the same tribe often had similar features. Hei Xiao, being more adept at distinguishing beastmen, confirmed that this person was most likely from the Wolf Clan.
The unfamiliar beastman nodded.
Hei Xiao asked, “Do you know Bai Tu?”
Hearing this, the beastman became very cautious. “What business do you have with Tu?”
“I’m Bai Tu’s friend, Hei Xiao. I’m here to see him. Could you call for him?” Hei Xiao explained, though he found it strange.
Back then, they had met all the rabbit tribe members, including the newcomers from the Lion and Cat Clans, but he didn’t recognize this beastman. After Hei Xiao spoke, the beastman suddenly shouted in a particular direction, “Qi! Qi! Someone here says he’s called Hei Xiao!”
Before long, a familiar figure appeared.
“Bai Qi.” Seeing someone he recognized, Hei Xiao was relieved. At least the location was correct.
Hei Yan, who had been loudly insisting they were in the wrong place, silently rubbed his nose and muttered under his breath, “It is different, though!”
“Tu’s been waiting for you!” Bai Qi said happily upon seeing Hei Xiao and the others. “Tu said the iron refining started earlier than planned, so he needs more iron ore. We’ll need to deliver several more batches before the snow season.”
“No problem,” Hei Xiao agreed without hesitation. Then he asked about the changes in the tribe. The last time they landed here, the area wasn’t far from this spot. Why had it changed so much?
This question seemed to resonate deeply with Hei Yan.
If it weren’t for several patches of blackened trees in the area, he would have completely failed to recognize it. And what was going on with the Rabbit Tribe? In just a few days, they’d added new members, making him think they’d stumbled into a completely unfamiliar tribe.
“Tu’s orders,” Bai Qi explained, scratching his head.
He wasn’t entirely sure why either, but Bai Tu had instructed everyone to burn some damp wood and leftover coal fragments in certain areas to produce blackened patches.
Everyone was curious about the reasoning, but Bai Tu hadn’t explained. Now, hearing Hei Xiao’s question, Bai Qi could only shake his head.
Hei Xiao had only asked casually. When he saw that Bai Qi didn’t know either, he dropped the topic and asked Bai Qi to lead them back to the tribe.
The Snow Rabbit Tribe had undergone significant changes.
Several new paths had appeared, leaving Hei Yan and the others nearly dizzy from the turns.
Even though they’d located the general area, they couldn’t be sure it was the right place. If it weren’t for Hei Xiao’s insistence, Hei Yan would have likely led the group in circles around the Wolf Clan and Rabbit Clan territories.
As Bai Qi guided Hei Xiao and the others toward the tribe, Hei Xiao noticed that the newly created path was much easier to traverse. However, after walking for a while, the path abruptly ended.
Instead, Bai Qi led them through a peculiar corner, squeezing through a narrow opening. The next section of the path wasn’t as spacious as before but was still relatively smooth.
“Did Tu have you make this path as well?” Hei Xiao glanced back.
The spot they had just passed through was a dense bamboo grove. Without Bai Qi leading the way, they might have ended up wandering in circles.
“Yes, Tu directed us to make it,” Bai Qi confirmed.
Since the tribe had built their new brick kiln, they’d also started constructing roads.
On a few commonly traveled routes, Bai Tu deliberately left sections of forest intact.
While some found it inconvenient, others appreciated the improvement over the previous state. After walking the paths enough times, the beastmen memorized the routes, and no one minded the preserved patches of forest anymore.
Recently, Bai Tu had arranged for more road construction, including paths encircling the blackened areas.
He even assigned Bai Qi to oversee the work personally, ensuring everything was done to his specifications. Though the beastmen remained clueless about the purpose of these changes, they trusted that Bai Tu had his reasons and focused on following his instructions.
While Bai Tu was experimenting with iron refining, Bai Qi managed to complete several paths.
As soon as they entered the Snow Rabbit Tribe’s mountain settlement, Hei Yan started complaining, “What kind of roads are these?!” Without those patches of road and the blackened areas, he would have found the correct location ages ago.
“It’s to make hunting easier,” Bai Qi replied.
With so many people in the tribe, the beastmen were straightforward and found it hard to keep secrets.
Bai Tu had never explained the reason for the roads in public. Since Bai An, Lang Qi, and the others didn’t ask, he didn’t elaborate either.
In his view, those who understood would naturally get it, and those who didn’t could remain confused—it didn’t matter as long as the roads matched his vision.
Hei Yan pursed his lips, wanting to retort but stopped when he noticed Hei Xiao’s disapproving gaze.
Quietly, he swallowed his words. After their last return to the tribe, Hei Xiao had scolded him for days. This time, he decided it was better to stay silent.
Hei Xiao glanced at Bai Tu but didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, he shifted to discussing iron ore.
This time, the Hawk Clan had brought twelve baskets of ore. Due to some delays caused by tribal matters, they arrived half a month later than planned.
The next batch would take less time. After resting for a day, they would depart early the next morning, return to their tribe, and prepare for the next shipment. Before the market opened, they would still have time to deliver two more batches.
Bai Tu calculated the totals. Last time, they delivered around 350 kilos. This time, it was about 650 kilos. Combined, that was roughly one ton. The next two deliveries would amount to at least another ton, making it two tons of ore in total. If one ton of ore could produce half a ton of iron, they would end up with about one ton of iron—enough to craft all the tools needed for both tribes.
Hei Xiao’s timing couldn’t have been better. Bai Tu handed him a piece of sponge iron, saying, “There are still a few more steps, but we’re already halfway there.”
Hei Xiao picked up a handful of the sponge iron. Even without knowing the specific steps of iron refining, he could tell that it was different from the raw iron ore they had seen before. At the very least, its color resembled the iron tools they commonly used.
Once there were no outsiders around, Hei Xiao leaned close to Bai Tu’s ear and spoke about the fallen beastman. “The medicine you gave worked perfectly. It passed out not long after taking it, and we delivered it back to the Iron Elephant Tribe.”
It had been quite the coincidence. Only after drugging the fallen beastman did they realize it bore the totem of the Iron Elephant Tribe.
Most tribes didn’t have their own totems.
Generally, beastmen regarded the Beast God as their protector, praying to it in times of trouble. But larger tribes like the Iron Elephant Tribe were different—they had their own totems.
Members of such tribes bore totem marks that varied in size depending on their status within the tribe.
For instance, the Iron Elephant Tribe’s totem was an elephant.
The higher one’s status, the longer the tusks on the totem. Among the Elephant Clan, long tusks symbolized greater strength, and they were also essential weapons in battle.
Upon discovering that the fallen beastman belonged to the Iron Elephant Tribe, the Hawk Clan immediately decided to return them.
The Elephant Clan was known for two things: fiercely protecting their own and holding grudges.
Their internal bonds were exceptionally strong.
If the fallen beastman had been from a mixed tribe, it might have been a different matter. But since they were from the Iron Elephant Tribe, killing one of their own would provoke relentless revenge. After all, fallen beastmen could only be identified as such while alive; after death, they were indistinguishable from regular beastmen.
Thus, the Hawk Clan decided to let the Iron Elephant Tribe handle their own troubles.
They left the unconscious fallen beastman with them and washed their hands of the matter. Fortunately, perhaps due to the effects of the drug, the fallen beastman had reverted to human form, making things much easier to manage.
Even after returning the individual, the Black Hawk Tribe remained cautious. The number of fallen beastmen appearing lately was higher than before, and they couldn’t rule out the possibility of a connection to the Iron Elephant Tribe.
However, things turned out to be quite different from what they’d expected.
The day after receiving the fallen beastman, the Iron Elephant Tribe sent the Black Hawk Tribe several iron knives that were long out of production. Their unexpectedly generous gesture left the Black Hawk Tribe second-guessing their earlier suspicions.
Initially, they had suspected the Iron Elephant Tribe of deliberately releasing fallen beastmen. But with such a cooperative response, they began to wonder if they’d misjudged them.
Still, given the stakes for tribal safety, Hei Xiao chose to stay in the tribe for half a month, observing and ensuring that the Iron Elephant Tribe had no hostile intentions before finally leaving. This was also why their journey had been delayed. Until the Iron Elephant Tribe’s stance was clear, Hei Yan, as the tribe leader, couldn’t leave.
Bai Tu waved dismissively. “A few days’ delay is no issue. The tribe is just starting out.”
According to his original plan, iron refining wasn’t supposed to begin until winter, when any disturbances in the area would be easier to detect.
Right now, they hadn’t even finished digging the trenches. It was only because they’d discovered the coal mine and needed better tools for farming that he had decided to start earlier.
The advantage of starting iron refining early was that they could begin using sharper, more efficient tools sooner.
The downside was that the lush vegetation in the area made it necessary to employ deceptive measures to conceal the tribe’s activities. Bai Tu was always cautious when it came to the tribe’s safety.
Once Hei Xiao had rested, Bai Tu took him to see the tribe’s newly made silk fabrics and woolen textiles. In particular, the wool products, while not especially remarkable at the moment, would be invaluable for warmth in winter.
“I’ll have a few items made for you once they’re ready,” Bai Tu promised.
Currently, the number of finished products was limited because the all-wooden weaving machines broke down too quickly. However, this problem would soon be resolved.
“What’s this made of?” Hei Xiao asked, running his hand over a small wool blanket.
He liked the texture and imagined Bai Tu’s description—a blanket larger than a person, spread out in a cave. It would definitely be incredibly comfortable to lie on.
“Wolf fur,” Bai Tu replied honestly.
The first batch of woolen blankets and yarn had been made almost entirely from wolf fur, which was cleaned, sorted, and spun into thread. When Hei Xiao had last left, they hadn’t yet started producing woolen goods, so this was his first time seeing them.
Hearing this, Hei Xiao silently set the blanket he was holding back down. “Never mind. Things are fine as they are now. Winter isn’t that cold, after all.” After all, laying out a wolf-fur blanket might lead to problems far worse than the cold.
“Hm?” Bai Tu glanced at him. He had seemed to like it just moments ago.
Hei Xiao sighed quietly, imagining the scenario if he brought a wolf-fur blanket back to his tribe.
Since Hei Xiao didn’t want to explain, Bai Tu didn’t press the matter.
When the two returned to the area near their lodgings and encountered Hei Yan, Hei Yan’s actions quickly clarified Bai Tu’s earlier doubts.
The moment Hei Yan saw Hei Xiao, a trace of suspicion flashed in his eyes. Without saying a word, he walked over to Hei Xiao, circled Hei Xiao, grabbed his hand, and brought it to his nose for a sniff. Suspicion turned to rage.
“Have you been with the Wolf Clan?!?!” Hei Yan roared.
Bai Tu: “…” He understood now.
Those blankets were definitely a bad idea—too likely to cause domestic disputes. And not small ones, either.
