Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH67

Chapter 67

The Mad Lion Tribe’s persistent meddling wasn’t new. 

Bai Tu’s usual approach was to avoid direct confrontation whenever possible because a fight—no matter the outcome—always resulted in injuries. 

Even the strongest beastmen couldn’t escape unscathed, and the lions’ natural advantage in size made them particularly formidable. However, their recent petty provocations were becoming tiresome, like an annoying toad stubbornly squatting on one’s foot—not biting, but irritating enough to make people uncomfortable.

Tu Cheng’s plight might have been pitiful, but Bai Tu felt no sympathy. 

Every consequence he faced was the result of his own choices. Rather than wasting energy on him, Bai Tu preferred to focus on building up the tribe.

The small meeting was brief and informal. Bai An didn’t even sit down. Within moments, the group had reached a decision on how to handle Tu Cheng.

Tu Cheng quickly received his answer: he would be allowed to stay in the Snow Rabbit Tribe, but he wouldn’t be permitted to rejoin the hunting team. Instead, he would be assigned to work in the coal mines, just like the lions.

Though he didn’t understand what working in the coal mines entailed, Tu Cheng was overjoyed at being allowed to stay in the tribe. 

Ecstatic, he kept expressing his gratitude to Bai Qi. After a while, Bai Qi grew tired of listening and, before leaving, warned Tu Cheng not to touch anything in the cave. He also informed him that he would be taken to the coal mine at dawn.

Tu Cheng didn’t fully grasp the specifics but obediently nodded along. 

He showed no outward dissatisfaction, only timidly asking as Bai Qi reached the entrance, “Can I have some medicine for my injuries? They hurt so much…”

“The tribe has no medicine left,” Bai Qi replied bluntly, not even bothering to check with Bai Tu. “All the medicine was traded for supplies. Don’t you know the tribe is short on resources? If the Mad Lion Tribe can’t catch prey, where do you think we’re getting ours?”

“The tribe isn’t—” Tu Cheng started but stopped abruptly, changing the topic. “Everyone looks healthier now.”

Indeed, they did. 

When Tu Cheng left, many of the children in the tribe were malnourished, often scavenging for wild plants with Bai Tu just to survive. Now, those same children had grown taller and stronger. In just half a year, they already looked healthier than many of the children in the Mad Lion Tribe.

Lowering his head, Tu Cheng spoke in a subdued tone, “I won’t cause any trouble or betray the tribe again. You don’t need to be so guarded around me.”

“Who’s being guarded?” Bai Qi rolled his eyes. “All the food is what Bai Tu exchanged for medicine. That’s why there’s no medicine left—don’t you understand?”

Realizing Bai Qi wasn’t lying, a fleeting look of disdain crossed Tu Cheng’s face before he quickly masked it with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. My injuries hurt so much that I misspoke. I didn’t know about the tribe’s situation, but it won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Bai Qi nodded curtly, barely acknowledging Tu Cheng’s apology. “Stay in this cave. Don’t touch anything, don’t leave the cave, and if you need anything, knock on the rock outside. Someone will come.”

“Understood. Thank you,” Tu Cheng replied meekly, not even daring to ask for food.

Late at night, as Tu Cheng tried to suppress his hunger and fall asleep, a knock echoed from the stone outside the cave entrance. 

The sound, transmitted clearly into the depths of the cave, startled him awake. 

His expression darkened with irritation as he muttered a curse under his breath before getting up to check. At the entrance, he recognized a familiar figure. “Mu?”

Tu Mu stood there holding a tray of food. He gave Tu Cheng a once-over before handing the tray over. “This is your food.”

The tribe’s dining hall, designed entirely under Bai Tu’s guidance, had a unique setup. 

Everything from the decorations to the tools was crafted based on Bai Tu’s instructions. 

The tray Tu Mu held was made of wooden planks divided into three compartments—for a bowl, a plate, and chopsticks. 

Meals were portioned out in the dining hall, and beastmen would collect their trays to eat. 

If they needed seconds, they could return for more. However, because food was portioned based on each person’s appetite, second servings were rare. This system saved time and minimized waste, as beastmen rarely left food uneaten.

Since Tu Cheng had just returned, there was no food allocated to him in the dining hall. 

The meal Tu Mu brought him consisted of scraps leftover from the day, something Tu Mu had reluctantly prepared. Truthfully, Tu Mu would have preferred to give the scraps to the lions rather than to someone who had once betrayed the tribe.

Tu Cheng was dissatisfied with the portion of food he’d been given—it was barely half of what he used to receive. While he hadn’t eaten well in the Mad Lion Tribe, he was still young and needed more food to sustain himself. 

“Mu, this isn’t enough,” he complained to Tu Mu.

“You didn’t do any work today. Be glad you’re getting anything at all,” Tu Mu shot back irritably. 

Bai Tu had always said that the most detestable people were those who contributed nothing but still expected to enjoy the fruits of others’ labor. 

In Tu Mu’s eyes, Tu Cheng fit this description perfectly. When the tribe had been struggling, Tu Cheng defected to the Mad Lion Tribe, and now that life had improved, he had the nerve to return.

As for Tu Cheng’s tales of suffering, Tu Mu felt no sympathy. 

Tu Cheng had been raised by the tribe’s chief, Bai An, yet had turned around and betrayed him—a crime Tu Mu found unforgivable. Worse still, Tu Cheng had tried to poison Bai Tu and Bai Chen with toxic herbs.

Placing the food on the ground, Tu Mu said, “Eat it yourself. I’ll come by tomorrow to collect the dishes.” 

He didn’t want to watch Tu Cheng eat food made by his own hands—it might tempt him to lash out. Sigh, Bai Tu is good in every way, but banning fights isn’t one of his better rules. Well, not entirely banning… we can fight as long as we don’t hurt the other person. But if I got into it with Tu Cheng, there’s no way I could hold back.

Tu Cheng had expected that his sob story would at least earn him some sympathy or soften others’ attitudes toward him. Yet it was clear the beastmen of the Snow Rabbit Tribe held grudges—and for good reason. 

They all understood who had made their current lives possible. 

Bai Tu had led the tribe in producing jerky to trade for salt, forged an alliance with the Blood Wolf Tribe, and guided them to a better standard of living. 

Tu Cheng, on the other hand, had tried to use Bai Chen to kill Bai Tu. That alone was unforgivable.

What Tu Cheng didn’t realize was that if Bai Tu hadn’t advocated for him, Bai An and the others had already decided to expel him again, regardless of how pitiful his experiences had been. 

His past actions, nearly costing the lives of his fellow tribesmen, were not something they could overlook.

*

The next morning, Bai Qi arrived to take Tu Cheng to his new worksite. 

Though Tu Cheng was still upset about the size of last night’s meal, at least he hadn’t gone hungry. Hoping to avoid being famished on the job, he decided to eat breakfast before leaving.

“Why are you making things so complicated?” Bai Qi said with visible annoyance. 

Taking Tu Cheng’s tray, Bai Qi went to the food line and indiscriminately ladled a spoonful of whatever was available onto it. “Eat quickly!”

Tu Cheng stared at the unfamiliar yellow mush on the tray and hesitated. “What is this?”

“Corn porridge. Take it or leave it. This is all there is. If you don’t eat, you’ll go hungry,” Bai Qi snapped. 

He couldn’t stand how Tu Cheng fussed over every little thing. 

Even Hei Yan, when first visiting the tribe, hadn’t asked so many questions about unfamiliar food. 

Tu Cheng’s endless inquiries were grating, and Bai Qi couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied with his father and Bai Tu’s decision to let him stay. Why keep him here? Wouldn’t it be easier to just kick him out?

Though Bai Qi’s tone was harsh, Tu Cheng didn’t argue back as he might have in the past. He simply lowered his head, muttered an apology, and ate his meal in silence, hiding his expression.

Bai Qi didn’t care whether Tu Cheng was upset or not. 

He still remembered everything Tu Cheng had done, especially how he had initially refused to help Bai Tu treat his brother. If not for Bai Tu’s insistence, his brother might not have survived.

Once Tu Cheng had finished eating, Bai Qi took him to the coal mine. 

Mining coal was considered one of the most grueling jobs in the tribe. 

Workers didn’t just dig coal—they also had to transport it to other locations. However, Tu Cheng wouldn’t be allowed to help with transport; his sole responsibility would be digging.

When they arrived at the coal mine, Tu Cheng saw a group of filthy beastmen clawing at the ground, most of them in beast form. 

He immediately recoiled in disgust. Even the lowest-ranked beastmen in the Mad Lion Tribe didn’t have to do such degrading work.

As Tu Cheng stood there, trying to mask his revulsion, a beastman wearing something strange on his face approached him. It took a moment for Tu Cheng to recognize him as Tu Guang. Before he could say anything, Tu Guang handed him an item identical to what he was wearing on his face.

“New here, huh? Put on this mask before you shift into your beast form. Once you’re in the mining area, the mask stays on—no exceptions. If this one gets damaged, come find me to get a replacement. And don’t even think about breaking it on purpose; these things are expensive.” Tu Guang couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache as he mentally calculated the cost of the masks—each one worth dozens of points. 

If Bai Tu hadn’t insisted they were mandatory, Guang would’ve preferred to trade them for other supplies. But Bai Tu had made it clear: masks were non-negotiable in both the coal and stone mining areas. Anyone caught violating the rule would lose their monthly points—a penalty so severe that not even Lang Ze had faced it before.

Tu Cheng was stunned that Tu Guang didn’t seem to recognize him. “Guang, it’s me—Cheng!” he said, incredulous. “We used to hunt together.”

“I know,” Tu Guang replied with a wave of his hand. “Now hurry up and put it on. Get to work.”

Mining coal or stone was grueling work, but it earned a lot of points each day, along with additional subsidies. For beastmen who volunteered, Bai Qi would deliver a bamboo slip personally written by Bai Tu, detailing the beastman’s ID and points earned. This made it easier to keep accurate records.

However, in cases like today—where no slip was provided—it meant the person was being sent as punishment. 

These individuals wouldn’t receive any subsidies, and their points would be recorded alongside other offenders. Only after completing their assigned penalty period would they return to normal treatment.

As for Tu Cheng, Tu Guang didn’t care much. 

The coal mine was perpetually short-staffed. Even if someone from the Mad Lion Tribe showed up, Guang would accept them. More workers means more work gets done, so why not keep them? But once they were here, slacking off was not an option.

Volunteers had the freedom to work at their own pace, earning points proportional to their efforts. Punished workers, however, had daily quotas. Fail to meet them, and you’d be working overtime.

After just one day in the coal mines, Tu Cheng finally understood what true hardship was. The work here was nothing like what he had imagined. Shi Peng had said that life in the Snow Rabbit Tribe was filled with good food and light labor. Light labor? Tu Cheng thought bitterly, his aching arms reminding him of the grueling day.

At dinnertime, as he massaged his sore arms, Tu Cheng glanced over at Tu Guang and waited for an opportunity. Spotting a lion beastman nearby, Tu Cheng sidled over and whispered, “What’s been going on in the Snow Rabbit Tribe lately?”

The lion glanced at him briefly before walking away with his food to eat somewhere else.

Tu Cheng was taken aback. We’re both from the Mad Lion Tribe. After being sent here and doing such backbreaking work, how could he have no loyalty to the Mad Lion Tribe? Doesn’t he fear Shi Hong or Hu Bu being angry when he returns?

Finding this approach unfruitful, Tu Cheng tried again, but none of the beastmen in the coal mine were willing to speak with him. 

The few who came from outside were unfamiliar to him. After two exhausting days of digging coal and getting nowhere, Tu Cheng began brainstorming other methods.

Finally, on the third day at noon, the perfect opportunity presented itself—Lang Ze from the Blood Wolf Tribe arrived!

Tu Cheng only vaguely knew Lang Ze but had heard stories from Shi Peng. 

Lang Ze, according to rumors, was gullible and easy to manipulate, though a bit stubborn at times. If you took the time to flatter and coax him, he would go along with your plans. However, rejecting him outright would make him angry, and he’d go running to Lang Qi.

Lang Qi reportedly disliked his younger brother, but for the sake of maintaining peace in the tribe, he never refused Lang Ze outright. 

He might begrudgingly go along with Lang Ze’s whims, but his displeasure was evident. If Lang Ze annoyed him too often, it could lead to internal strife within the wolves.

With this in mind, Tu Cheng found an opportunity to lure Lang Ze into a secluded spot. In a low voice, he said, “I know where the Mad Lion Tribe’s camp is. Ze, want to attack it?”

Tu Cheng could barely contain his excitement. He knew Lang Ze was always eager for a fight, and he hoped that angering Lang Qi by getting the wolves involved would sow discord among them.

“Sure!” Lang Ze agreed enthusiastically. After hearing the location, he nodded. “Wait here. I’ll go ask my brother for some reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements?!” Tu Cheng froze, completely dumbfounded. Wasn’t Lang Ze supposed to charge in recklessly with just a little coaxing?

Lang Ze continued matter-of-factly, “My brother and Bai Tu said we can’t take risks if we’re short on people. For something like attacking the Mad Lion Tribe, we definitely have to report it to Bai Tu and my brother first. Bai Tu calls it ‘pre-battle briefing.’” He sighed. “So troublesome…”

Tu Cheng’s jaw dropped. What happened to the easy-to-manipulate Lang Ze? Was Shi Peng lying, or had something changed?