Chapter 99
The chief of the Yellow Lion Tribe was named Shi Su. He was around the same age as Lang Qi and had brought only five people with him on this trip.
At first, Bai Tu was puzzled about why the Yellow Lion Tribe had come looking for him. But as he stepped out of the cave and saw the people standing behind Shi Su, he quickly pieced together the reason.
“Tu, Shi Su says their tribe lost six cubs last year,” Shi Zhen explained.
The Yellow Lion Tribe’s territory didn’t border the Snow Rabbit Tribe. Previously, they had been separated by the Wild Lion Clan, and later by the Black Lion Tribe. This time, they had come specifically to search for their missing cubs.
Bai Tu couldn’t help but find the timing a bit too convenient. After all, they had only brought the cubs back a few days ago, and the lions in their own tribe had just finished confirming their own children. And now, the Yellow Lion Tribe had shown up—had someone in the settlement tipped them off?
Due to the nature of beastmen society, it was rare for tribes to plant spies or buy people off.
Bai Tu carefully observed the young leader of the Yellow Lion Tribe, his instincts warning him to stay cautious. No one liked the feeling of being watched.
As if sensing Bai Tu’s suspicion, Shi Su proactively explained how he had learned about the cubs: “Our tribe returned from the market later than usual this year. On our way back, we saw your group traveling.”
Though the various tribes had once cooperated in the attack on the Wild Lion Clan, they didn’t have particularly close relationships with each other. The main reason? Territory disputes.
The Wild Lion Clan had controlled a vast expanse of land, and every tribe wanted a piece of it. The division of this land had caused a great deal of tension—each tribe wanted to claim as much as possible.
Some tribes, whose lands didn’t originally border the Wild Lion Clan’s territory, had to undergo territory reshuffling to make management more convenient. This only led to more conflicts.
Since the rainy season, the tribes had been negotiating the division of land. It wasn’t until half a month ago that they finally reached an agreement.
The long-drawn-out discussions had even disrupted hunting activities, delaying the Yellow Lion Tribe’s first trade trip of the season.
Fortunately, their tribe was strong, and with their newly expanded territory, they were able to hunt enough to compensate. Additionally, with food prices soaring this year, even though they arrived late at the market, they still managed to trade for enough salt.
On their way back, they had originally planned to take the northern route past the Wolf Tribe’s lands. However, due to the cold weather, they didn’t want to cross two rivers, so they altered their route. That change led them straight to the returning convoy of the Wolf Tribe, Rabbit Tribe, and Leopard Tribe.
With such a large group—including captured members of the Red Eagle Tribe—the procession was impossible to miss.
The Yellow Lion Tribe’s scouts not only heard the commotion from a distance but also caught sight of Bai Tu and his people feeding the cubs.
At that time, most of the Yellow Lion Tribe members traveling together were from their hunting team.
Even though they had just returned from the market, they still carried a strong battle-ready presence. Seeing that Bai An’s group included members of the former Wild Lion Clan, Shi Su worried that a conflict might break out. So instead of greeting them, he chose to leave quietly.
Upon returning to his tribe, Shi Su immediately started gathering information. First, he sent people to find an opportunity to get close to Bai An and casually inquire about the cubs, even taking the initiative to mention that their tribe had lost young ones in the past.
Since Bai An knew Bai Tu was searching for the cubs’ families, he didn’t hide too much when he encountered the Yellow Lion Tribe’s beastmen. After clarifying their situation, he revealed some details and even told them that the cubs were being reunited with the lions in the past few days.
Once Shi Su confirmed this, he quickly gathered a few beastmen who had lost cubs and brought food and salt with them as a gesture of goodwill.
The lionesses following Shi Su were all mothers who had lost their cubs. Even though they weren’t allowed inside the cave, just hearing the sounds of lion cubs from within was enough to make them emotional.
Since Bai An had already allowed them into the settlement, it meant that these lions didn’t pose much of a threat. Bai Tu glanced at Lang Qi, pondered for a moment, then decided to let them in one by one to search for their cubs.
Including Shi Su, there were six members of the Yellow Lion Tribe. Bai Tu was certain that they wouldn’t dare to cause trouble within the Snow Rabbit Tribe’s territory—especially not in the heart of the settlement.
Their chances of fighting their way out and successfully escaping were practically zero unless they somehow managed to incapacitate everyone at once.
“Go in separately to search. There are still fourteen cubs left inside. Whether you find yours or not, both outcomes are possible—just don’t scare them,” Bai Tu instructed, also mentioning how many cubs the Wild Lion Clan had successfully identified.
The lionesses behind Shi Su nodded in understanding. They shifted into their beast forms and cautiously entered the cave.
The Yellow Lion Tribe’s success rate was even lower than the Wild Lion Clan’s. Out of five lionesses who had lost a total of six cubs, only two were found. The remaining three mothers exited the cave with disappointed expressions.
Still, finding even one cub was good news for their tribe.
Shi Su looked at the two lionesses cradling their children and expressed his gratitude to Bai Tu and the others. He also promised to send another batch of food as thanks when they returned.
The Yellow Lion Tribe’s population had grown from just over two hundred to around three hundred. Despite this, they had only about twenty cubs in total. Recovering two missing cubs was significant enough for them to willingly offer supplies in gratitude.
Bai Tu didn’t refuse the compensation.
The tribe had dedicated people to care for the cubs, and providing food, animal pelts, and other resources for them wasn’t cheap.
If all of this came out of the tribe’s own stock, it was inevitable that some people would start complaining.
These “thank-you gifts” could be used for the remaining cubs, which would help prevent discontent among the beastmen. Bai Tu preferred to prepare for potential issues before they arose—waiting until complaints started would be too late.
With the rest of the matters now in Shi Zhen and Bai An’s hands, Bai Tu turned his attention to the twelve cubs still left. He decided to separate them into smaller groups.
“We’re not keeping them together anymore?” one of the caretakers asked, momentarily stunned. They had just finished setting up the bedding and were about to move the cubs back into the inner chamber when Bai Tu made this unexpected decision.
The rescued cubs were still not as active as the cubs raised in the tribe. Most of them preferred to stay in one spot, with only a few of the bolder ones venturing out to play. Keeping them together or apart wouldn’t affect them too much.
Previously, all the cubs had been housed in the same cave for convenience, and they had gotten used to this arrangement. Today, they had been temporarily separated for the recognition process. Now, hearing Bai Tu say that they would remain separated from now on left the caretakers somewhat puzzled.
“Once Shi Su returns, the news will spread to other lion tribes as well,” Bai Tu explained briefly.
While tribes competed fiercely for territory, they never completely cut off communication with each other.
Just like how Bai An hadn’t outright rejected Shi Su when he revealed his intentions—maintaining good relations with neighboring tribes was far more beneficial than making enemies.
The lion tribes would undoubtedly share information among themselves, and the news that there were still a dozen unclaimed lion cubs would soon reach other tribes.
The eastern continent had the highest concentration of lion tribes, with more than half of all lion beastmen living in this region. Bai Tu was certain that at least a few of these remaining cubs belonged to other tribes.
To make identification easier, the cubs had already been separated from the others early that morning.
If they were to mix them back in now, it would take extra time to separate them again when the next lion tribe came looking. Instead, it made more sense to keep them apart for now and wait until all the lion tribes had their turn to search before reintegrating them with the other cubs.
Hearing Bai Tu’s reasoning, the caretakers immediately understood. No one brought up putting the cubs back together again. Though the arrangement was a bit more troublesome, it also meant twenty fewer cubs to look after at once, which lightened their workload considerably.
Bai Tu’s prediction was spot on.
The next day, Shi Su returned with two full baskets of food, accompanied by three beastmen from the White Lion Tribe.
White lion cubs were even easier to identify than other lions. The moment Bai Tu saw their pale fur, he immediately picked out the three white cubs from the group.
Perhaps because white-furred cubs were rare, these three had received slightly better treatment than the others—though the only difference was that they had been given a little more food.
After confirming their identities, the White Lion Tribe beastmen verified that all three cubs belonged to them. Their tribe had lost four cubs in total, and though three had survived, the fourth—one of a pair of twins—had been too weak and hadn’t made it.
The White Lion Tribe wasted no time. By midday, they had already taken the cubs home, and by that evening, they returned with food as a token of gratitude.
Their offering was based on what the Yellow Lion Tribe had given, but they added half again as much on top of that.
Knowing that the White Lion Tribe was the smallest among the lion clans, Bai Tu declined two-thirds of the food and only kept a small portion. Winter had only just begun—there was no need for another tribe to starve just to show their thanks.
While Bai Tu was handling the White Lion Tribe’s visit, Bai An was busy blocking the Black Lion Tribe from entering the settlement.
The chief of the Black Lion Tribe was about the same age as Shi Zhen and had been in power for over a decade.
Upon hearing that their missing cubs might be in the small Snow Rabbit Tribe, he didn’t hesitate—he immediately brought two full hunting teams and marched over.
Unlike Shi Su, who first gathered information before approaching, or the White Lion Tribe, who had asked Shi Su to speak on their behalf, the Black Lion Tribe’s approach was nothing short of an invasion.
They hadn’t even bothered to bring any of the beastmen who had lost cubs.
Seeing their aggressive arrival, Bai An intercepted them outside the settlement’s borders and flatly refused to let them in.
“Chief Shi Wu, you should turn back,” Bai An said, his expression dark. “You’re clearly not here to search for your cubs.”
After all, Bai Tu and the others had risked their lives to rescue these cubs and had spent days carefully nursing them back to health. Yet now, the Black Lion Tribe had simply shown up expecting to take them by force. No one in Bai An’s position would tolerate that.
“Bai An, do you not fear war?” Shi Wu glared at him, clearly displeased at being denied entry. “Do you think that just because the Blood Wolf Tribe absorbed the Wild Lion Clan, you can speak to my tribe this way?”
As one of the main forces in the attack against the Wild Lion Clan, the Black Lion Tribe had long considered itself superior to the other lion tribes.
Hearing Bai An’s firm tone, Shi Wu immediately felt slighted—clearly, Bai An wasn’t treating his tribe with the respect they believed they deserved.
Bai An caught the underlying meaning in Shi Wu’s words but showed no sign of backing down. “Our two tribes are equals,” he stated firmly.
Even in the face of Shi Wu’s growing anger, he couldn’t afford to show fear.
As the leader of the Snow Rabbit Tribe, if he showed even a hint of weakness now, it would be the same as admitting that their tribe was beneath the Black Lion Tribe.
That would mean that from now on, whenever their people encountered the Black Lion beastmen, they would have to bow their heads. And once that kind of power imbalance was established, it would only continue to worsen. Bai An would never allow that to happen.
If this had been the Snow Rabbit Tribe of the past—weaker, constantly struggling for food—perhaps he might have softened his stance, careful not to offend the Black Lion Tribe.
Back then, a food shortage meant they could need help from other tribes at any time, making it unwise to create enemies. Even if other tribes treated them poorly, they had no choice but to endure it.
But now? Now, their tribe had enough to eat, enough supplies to sustain everyone. They no longer had to rely on others for survival. There was no need to lower themselves before stronger tribes—doing so would only invite exploitation.
With their resources secure, there was even less reason to back down against the Black Lion Tribe’s blatant aggression.
As for war? Bai An’s stance was the same as Bai Tu’s—they didn’t want to start unnecessary conflicts, but they also wouldn’t cower if pushed.
Bai An’s gaze swept over the warriors behind Shi Wu—two full hunting teams, nearly sixty members in total. Meanwhile, their side had only half that number.
His refusal to submit seemed almost laughable to Shi Wu. “How could lions ever be equals to rabbits?” he sneered. “How many people does your little tribe even have? Hand over all the lion cubs, or don’t blame us for what happens next.”
Even when faced with such open contempt, Bai An refused to budge. “The hunting teams will not be allowed in. Only those who have lost cubs may enter.”
As Bai An and Shi Wu remained locked in their standoff, Bai Chen arrived with reinforcements.
“Chief Shi Wu, you should head back,” Bai Chen said, his tone calm but firm. “It’s freezing out here—no need to waste everyone’s time calling for more people.”
Bai Chen had brought two full teams—over twenty from the Rabbit Tribe and another twenty from the Wolf Tribe.
The Black Lion Tribe’s attitude was outright hostile, and a clash seemed inevitable.
Bai Tu had repeatedly emphasized that whenever dealing with aggressive tribes, they should bring as many people as possible to minimize casualties. Those words had stuck with them. So the moment Bai Chen saw Shi Wu, his first reaction was to turn back and gather reinforcements.
Now, with Bai An’s twenty-something rabbits and a few lions, plus the additional forty from Bai Chen’s group, their numbers had grown to over seventy—though still slightly outnumbered, they were no longer at a clear disadvantage.
Shi Wu weighed his options. Forcing their way in was no longer a guaranteed success.
He scoffed coldly. “You’ll regret this.”
With that, he turned and led his men away.
If the Snow Rabbit Tribe refused to obey, then they had no one to blame but themselves for what was coming.
“Father, he’s planning to use force.”
Having been injured once before, Bai Chen had become more cautious than ever. Seeing Shi Wu’s attitude, he felt uneasy. “Should we inform Tu and have the Wolf Tribe send another team over to guard the area?”
The wolves he had brought along were permanent residents of the Snow Rabbit Tribe—about thirty to forty of them.
In total, their settlement had just over three hundred people, but only a little over a hundred were capable fighters.
The Black Lion Tribe had been slightly weaker than the Wild Lion Clan in the past, but after absorbing many of its members, their strength now rivaled the Blood Wolf Tribe. Their current forces were still not enough.
Bai An thought for a moment before nodding. “Tell Tu first.”
A potential conflict like this had to be reported immediately. If a fight broke out, all ongoing work would have to be put on hold.
But Bai An was worried about something else. Unlike Bai Chen, who was concerned about their lack of manpower, he was thinking about the Vulture Tribe and the remaining rebellious lions.
If a battle did happen, would those restless Vultures and the lions with their own agendas use the chaos to escape?
With heavy hearts, the two hurried back to the settlement and reported everything to Bai Tu that very night.
They also made sure to keep the situation quiet—after all, this was all happening because of the cubs. If word spread and someone blamed Bai Tu for provoking the Black Lion Tribe, it would only cause more unnecessary problems.
“Two hunting teams…”
Bai Tu had barely fallen asleep when Bai An’s voice called him out of bed. After listening to the full report, he quickly came to a conclusion.
“The cubs are just an excuse. They want to get inside and take a look.”
Even if the Black Lion Tribe was searching for missing cubs, there was no reason to bring so many people.
Their numbers made it clear—this was a test. They wanted to see how much they could push before the Snow Rabbit Tribe resisted.
If allowed inside, there was no way to keep an eye on all of them at once. They would wander freely, poking around and getting a good look at the settlement. Some might even break things on purpose or try to take whatever caught their eye, pushing boundaries little by little.
If the Snow Rabbit Tribe were still a small, weak settlement with just a few dozen people, this would have been an outright invasion—a blatant attempt to seize territory.
The cubs were just an excuse to step in. Even if there were no cubs, they would’ve found another reason.
“Exactly.” Bai An’s thoughts aligned perfectly with Bai Tu’s.
The Black Lion Tribe wasn’t truly here for the cubs—their attitude alone made that clear. They weren’t desperate to reunite families; they were testing boundaries.
“We absolutely cannot let them in.” Bai Tu sighed, rubbing his temples. Being woken up before he had even gotten into a deep sleep gave him a mild headache.
Lang Qi silently reached out and began massaging Bai Tu’s head.
“Right here,” Bai Tu muttered, pointing to a higher spot. Then he added, “When Ze returns, have him bring some men from the Wolf Tribe.”
While the Rabbit Tribe and the Lion Tribe could fight, there was no denying that the Wolf Tribe had the strongest deterrent effect.
Ever since the Wolf Tribe had single-handedly captured the entire Wild Lion Clan, the surrounding lion tribes had been noticeably cautious around them.
Even the Yellow Lion Tribe and White Lion Tribe, who had sent food as thanks, weren’t just being polite. Part of their generosity was genuine gratitude, but another part was out of concern— that if they didn’t offer enough, the Wolf Tribe might not be satisfied.
Of course, they were overthinking it.
The Wolf Tribe had no interest in randomly invading other territories, especially now that food was plentiful. If anything, the wolves—especially the younger ones—were more interested in experimenting with new ways to cook.
A piece of land far away, difficult to manage, and bordering other tribes? That wasn’t nearly as attractive as a good meal.
But this was something only they knew.
Bai Tu figured he might as well use the Wolf Tribe’s reputation to intimidate the Black Lion Tribe.
At the same time, a suspicion crept into his mind.
“Chief, get in touch with the Yellow Lion Tribe and White Lion Tribe. See if they’ve noticed any unusual movement in the Black Lion Tribe lately.”
The Black Lion Tribe currently had the largest population among the lion tribes. But their territory was already more than enough.
After all, they had just absorbed a massive chunk of land from the Wild Lion Clan.
So why weren’t they staying put to secure it?
Why, in the dead of winter, were they finding excuses to wander into other territories?
Something wasn’t right.
Bai Tu had a gut feeling that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Bai An agreed, and after discussing the situation further, they decided to keep the matter confidential for now.
If they told the entire tribe, even those whose work shouldn’t be affected would likely become too anxious to focus, leading to unnecessary panic. Instead of causing widespread fear, it was better to say nothing at all.
With the current patrol teams in place and Lang Ze bringing reinforcements from the Blood Wolf Tribe, even if the Black Lion Tribe really was foolish enough to attack, they would be more than capable of handling it.
As long as they could guarantee the safety of their own tribe, there was no need to alarm everyone.
After finalizing their strategy, Bai An and Bai Chen left. Meanwhile, Bai Tu yawned and headed back inside to continue resting.
Sinking into the warm, soft blanket, Bai Tu let out a satisfied sigh.
“The blanket Cai sent over is really nice,” Bai Tu murmured.
Most of the blankets made in the tribe had been distributed among their own people, leaving no opportunity to trade them at the market. Originally, Bai Tu had planned to use his contribution points to exchange for one, but to his surprise, the night he returned to the tribe, he found a new blanket waiting for him on his bed.
Of course, Bai Tu deducted the points from his account.
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this blanket was somehow even better than the sample ones they had received before.
It wasn’t just thicker and softer, but it also had exceptional heat retention.
Bai Tu had checked out other blankets in the tribe—even the one meant for the two cubs wasn’t as comfortable as his. He had originally planned to swap his blanket with theirs, but Lang Qi had flatly refused.
Bai Tu rubbed his cheek against the blanket. Lang Qi was incredibly caring at times, but when he got stubborn, he was impossible to argue with.
No matter how many times Bai Tu brought it up, Lang Qi would not agree to give the blanket to the cubs.
Sighing, Bai Tu glanced at him. Would Lang Qi look back on his behavior after recovering and realize he had been acting like a child fighting over a toy?
Lang Qi watched as Bai Tu burrowed into the blanket, saying nothing. Instead, he simply lifted the blanket, wrapped Bai Tu up completely, and held him tightly.
“Goodnight,” Bai Tu murmured before closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep.
*
Concerned about the tribe’s safety, Bai Tu woke up at first light the next morning.
Just as he stepped out of the cave, ready to grab breakfast and discuss reinforcement plans with Lang Ze, he almost collided with Bai Qi, who was rushing up the path.
Luckily, Lang Qi pulled him back just in time.
Bai Qi also jumped in surprise. “Tu, are you okay?”
Bai Tu shook his head. But seeing Bai Qi’s urgency, he instinctively glanced northward and asked, “What happened?”
Did the Black Lion Tribe actually lose their minds and decide to start a fight in the middle of winter?
Bai Qi took a deep breath before blurting out anxiously, “Someone is spreading rumors that we angered the Black Lion Tribe by bringing the cubs back—and that we’re planning to throw all the cubs away!”
