Chapter 62
Hei Yan was particularly displeased with the number of wolves near the Snow Rabbit Tribe.
Hei Xiao, having no familial ties to him, was never one to indulge his complaints. As usual, Hei Yan was grumbling to himself, especially after discovering that Bai Tu and Hei Xiao had returned reeking of wolf scent. He had assumed they had gone out to inspect something important, only to find this!
Hei Xiao hadn’t expected Hei Yan to notice the scent even before they had brought anything back.
Helplessly, he explained, “We didn’t go looking for the Wolf Clan. It’s from touching wolf fur while inspecting wool yarn and blankets. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see for yourself tomorrow.”
Hei Yan cast Hei Xiao a skeptical glance but reluctantly accepted the explanation. Still, he repeatedly emphasized, “Stay away from the Wolf Clan! They’re not good people.”
“Alright, alright,” Hei Xiao said, pushing him aside. “Go eat. Get some rest early tonight.”
To ensure the next batch of iron ore could be delivered quickly, they couldn’t stay at the Snow Rabbit Tribe for long. Hei Xiao wasn’t comfortable leaving Hei Du to lead the team alone, so he would definitely be joining them.
Somehow, Lang Ze got wind of Hei Yan forbidding Hei Xiao from using the wolf-fur blankets.
He deliberately got up during their rest period to mock Hei Yan, nearly causing another fight between the two. Bai Tu and Hei Xiao had to step in and forcefully put an end to the scuffle.
Bai Tu was increasingly beginning to understand Lang Qi’s struggles. However, instead of resorting to physical discipline, Bai Tu preferred using tools to deal with such incidents.
Punishment had to be decisive and impactful. In this case, Bai Tu mercilessly deducted ten points from Lang Ze’s tally and informed him that if he caused trouble again, his name would be prominently displayed on the Penalty Board.
The Penalty Board was specifically established to keep the beastmen—particularly the Wolf Clan—in check.
Recently, the wolves had developed an attitude of indifference, treating penalties as trivial. If they lost points, they would simply make up for it by catching more prey, which they could do easily enough.
To curb this destructive mindset, Bai Tu introduced the Reward and Penalty Board.
Every point deduction or reward would be recorded and displayed at the base of the mountain where the tribe lived. The more deductions or rewards a person accumulated, the higher they ranked on the board.
Ten points weren’t a lot—when the hunting team captured a cow, the whole team earned at least fifty points, with Lang Ze, often the lead hunter, earning an even greater share. But this wasn’t about points; it was about pride.
For an adolescent wolf, pride was everything.
Losing points was tolerable, but having his name listed on the Penalty Board would be a social disaster.
Faced with this threat, Lang Ze immediately stopped provoking Hei Yan. If his name were to appear on the board, he’d never hear the end of it from the other beastmen—or Hei Yan!
Thanks to Lang Ze’s antics, Hei Yan grew to loathe the wolf-fur blankets even more. No matter how soft or warm they were, he refused to have anything to do with them.
To maintain peace in Hei Xiao’s household, Bai Tu decisively abandoned the idea of giving Hei Xiao any wolf-fur blankets. However, silk products were still on the table.
No matter how domineering Hei Yan was, there was no way he could take issue with insects. Still, silk quilts wouldn’t be ready until next year or the year after.
The next morning, the Hawk Clan departed with their provisions, planning to travel day and night to complete a round trip in about half a month.
Until iron ore could be mined nearby, the Hawk Clan would have to endure the additional effort. For now, though, both sides were very satisfied with their cooperation.
What Bai Tu hadn’t expected was that when Hei Yan returned to the Snow Rabbit Tribe, he not only brought a large batch of iron ore but also two entire baskets of feathers.
The feathers had been secretly sent along by other Hawk Clan members. Late at night, after most of the tribe had gone to sleep, Hei Yan sought out Bai Tu and placed the feather-filled baskets in front of him.
“Is this enough to make blankets?” Hei Yan asked.
Bai Tu: “???”
Nearby, two little wolf cubs detected the presence of a stranger and uneasily opened their eyes.
The black-furred cub, being the braver older sibling, barked twice in Hei Yan’s direction. Meanwhile, the gray-furred younger cub curled up in Bai Tu’s arms, sniffling pitifully.
Bai Tu quickly comforted the little wolves, soothing them while turning to Hei Yan with a puzzled expression.
“These are all my feathers!” Hei Yan huffed. “If Xiao is going to use a blanket, it can only be made from my feathers!”
Hei Yan might dislike the Wolf Clan, but even he couldn’t deny that the blankets made by the Snow Rabbit Tribe were extremely comfortable.
Of course, he refused to acknowledge that this was due to the wolf fur. Instead, he convinced himself that it was the Rabbit Tribe’s craftsmanship that made the blankets so good.
If wolf fur could be used to make blankets, then feathers—better than wolf fur in every way—should work just as well!
To avoid arousing Hei Xiao’s suspicion, Hei Yan carefully smuggled out the two baskets of feathers.
These were feathers he had shed since the year Hei Xiao found him.
Like the Wolf Clan and Rabbit Clan beastmen, the Hawk Clan also shed during the summer, but instead of fur, they shed feathers. However, the Hawk Clan cherished their feathers greatly.
Even after shedding, they wouldn’t casually discard them, let alone scatter them everywhere like the Wolf Clan. Instead, they meticulously collected them.
Hei Yan had never thought about what these feathers could be used for—until now.
He had a plan: he could ask the Rabbit Tribe to make blankets out of them. Then, Hei Xiao would be able to use a blanket made from his feathers, which would undoubtedly be more comfortable! And, better yet, Hei Xiao would be wrapped in his scent from head to toe.
Bai Tu: “…”
Bai Tu looked at Hei Yan’s serious expression and explained, “Wolf fur is much longer. Feathers aren’t long enough.”
To illustrate, he compared the two types of material.
The difference between the downy undercoat of a wolf and an eagle’s feathers was significant—the only similarity was that both were made of protein.
Making blankets from feathers was much more difficult. Even though Hei Yan didn’t have a tail, Bai Tu could almost imagine it drooping sadly to the ground.
Bai Tu had a soft spot for people who looked dejected. He couldn’t bear to see Hei Yan’s crestfallen expression. With a shift in tone, he offered, “We can’t make a blanket, but we can make something else.”
“What kind of something?” Hei Yan’s eyes lit up with anticipation, though there was still a trace of caution.
A long time ago, feathers in the Hawk Clan had been used to make nests. However, over time, they realized that feather nests were too small and not as warm as caves, so the tradition was abandoned.
Despite this, the Hawk Clan still valued their feathers immensely. Even if they no longer made nests, they would carefully preserve the feathers, especially for laying eggs—they would use them to cushion the eggs, which showed their importance.
Hei Yan had brought out his feathers to have the Rabbit Tribe make a blanket specifically for Hei Xiao. But now, hearing Bai Tu suggest using them for something else, he felt uneasy.
These feathers had been accumulated over more than a decade, and it would take years to gather this much again. If the feathers were wasted and he happened to lay an egg someday, he would have to pluck himself bald just to line the nest.
Bai Tu explained the concept of a down comforter. “The outer layer is made from silk fabric, and the inside is filled with this soft down. It’s even warmer than a blanket.”
Hei Yan’s feathers included a significant amount of soft down—about a third of the total, weighing around 5 kilos. That was enough to make two double-sized comforters.
“What’s silk fabric?” Hei Yan asked warily at the mention of something unfamiliar, immediately recalling the wool yarn made by the Rabbit Tribe. That had reeked of wolves.
“I’ll show you,” Bai Tu replied, not bothering to explain further.
He led Hei Yan to a nearby cave where the silkworms were being raised. With more silkworms now, Bai Tu no longer had to personally care for them. Beastmen were assigned to feed them several times a day and collect mulberry leaves, with three people rotating shifts to ensure proper care.
When the on-duty beastman saw Bai Tu approach, he thought it was an inspection and immediately reported, “Some of the silkworms have started spinning cocoons. Tonight is their final feeding of mulberry leaves.”
Bai Tu nodded and gestured for Hei Yan to look inside the cave. “Go take a look.”
The cave was even darker than outside, with no moonlight at all.
It took Hei Yan a moment to adjust before he could see what was on the ground—and when he did, he nearly jumped in fright. His reaction was even more dramatic than Lang Ze’s had been the first time.
“It’s the threads these things spit out,” Bai Tu explained. “It’s even softer than blankets.”
The rarity and value of silk fabric went without saying. For anyone else, Bai Tu wouldn’t even consider offering it. Two double comforters would require extensive weaving and might take several days just for the fabric.
Hei Yan scratched his arm nervously, feeling a bit weak.
After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Just make one for Xiao. That’ll be enough.”
If it was that comfortable, then Hei Xiao definitely deserved it. But Hei Yan had no intention of using fabric made from insect spit.
“Alright,” Bai Tu agreed, secretly relieved.
He had been worrying about how much work two double comforters would require anyway.
After agreeing to make a down comforter for Hei Xiao, Bai Tu kept the two baskets of feathers and decided to recruit a beastman to help sort through them early the next morning.
The feathers came from birds of all ages, and only the down feathers had strong insulating properties, so they needed to be carefully selected.
The two little wolf cubs clung to Bai Tu’s arm, poking their heads out and sniffing at the unfamiliar scent in the air. Restless and uneasy, they kept wriggling against Bai Tu and refused to settle down to sleep.
Helpless, Bai Tu lightly tapped their heads with a smile in his eyes. “Whose noses did you inherit, huh? Most cubs only guard their food, but you two are guarding your den now. Fine, this cave is just for you—how about that?”
The feathers had been placed inside the cave near the entrance, far from the sleeping area.
Bai Tu couldn’t smell anything, but the little wolves were extraordinarily sensitive to unfamiliar scents.
Whenever someone entered the cave in the past, one cub would bark fiercely in warning while the other would whine pitifully, looking for Bai Tu to comfort them. And now, it seemed, they couldn’t even tolerate someone else’s belongings.
Whether or not they understood, the little gray wolf, looking pitiful, rubbed its head against Bai Tu’s neck and then lifted its head to plant a kiss on his cheek. Amused, Bai Tu immediately scooped it up and nuzzled its head.
Fluffy wolf cubs were undoubtedly the cutest creatures in the world. How could anything be this adorable?
Hearing the commotion, the little black wolf turned away from the cave entrance and stumbled over to Bai Tu’s side, also demanding a kiss.
Bai Tu was never one to play favorites, so he gave the little black wolf the same treatment, nuzzling its head and wrapping both cubs protectively in his arms, shielding them from the scent of the feathers.
Only after they smelled Bai Tu’s familiar scent did the two cubs finally calm down and drift off to sleep. Even in their dreams, they clung tightly to Bai Tu’s arm.
Early the next morning, Lang Qi returned from the Blood Wolf Tribe. As usual, he stepped into the cave, but the moment he caught a whiff of an unfamiliar scent, his footsteps halted abruptly, and his expression shifted.
Since he was taking care of the wolf cubs, Bai Tu had developed the habit of going to bed early and waking up early.
He was currently washing the cubs’ faces and heard the sound of footsteps outside. Noticing that the two cubs hadn’t reacted, he immediately knew it was Lang Qi.
By the time Bai Tu had dried the now-soaked cubs and stepped outside, quite some time had passed. Lang Qi was still standing at the cave entrance, prompting Bai Tu to ask curiously, “What’s outside that’s so interesting you can’t bring yourself to come in?”
The wolf cubs had become increasingly clingy lately, and Bai Tu didn’t dare take them with him while cooking.
Mornings were usually the time Lang Qi would take over watching them, so until Lang Qi came in, Bai Tu couldn’t get anything done.
Lang Qi quickly regained his calm demeanor and shook his head. “Nothing. I was just wondering when the Hawk Clan will deliver the second batch of iron ore. The market is approaching.”
“This afternoon,” Bai Tu replied.
The Hawk Clan had arrived yesterday afternoon. After resting for a night and the morning, they would eat lunch and head back to deliver the final batch of iron ore.
By the time they returned, it would be the Rabbit Tribe’s turn to leave for the market.
“I see,” Lang Qi said, stepping into the cave.
He scooped up the wolf cubs, but as soon as they landed in his arms, they began to squirm and struggle, clearly wanting to return to Bai Tu. Holding them firmly, Lang Qi remarked, “Tu, the cubs don’t seem to like the scent of the Hawk Clan. Should I return the feathers?”
