Chapter 33: Shaya of the Bear Tribe
After a busy day, Chu Feng lay on the bed. He glanced at the person next to him and let his mind wander for a bit before quickly falling asleep.
Early the next morning, when Chu Feng woke up, the space beside him was already empty.
He walked into the living room—and was startled.
The living room was packed with about ten kids. Several of the ones who came yesterday were there again, and a few new faces had joined.
Chu Feng looked at the roomful of little ones and began to wonder if Illya was planning to open a daycare.
“You’re awake?” Gray called out to him.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Gray lifted his chin and said proudly, “I told them not to wake you.”
Chu Feng: “…” So this whole group of kids had just been waiting around for the adult to wake up? That was kind of embarrassing.
“There sure are a lot of you.”
Gray nodded. “They all came to see you.”
Chu Feng: “…” But he was a human! Wasn’t Crescent Village supposed to hate humans? Letting all these kids hang around him—weren’t they worried he’d corrupt them?
“They’re looking for me? What for?”
“They brought things for you.”
One by one, the children handed him wood carvings. Many of them were oddly shaped and clearly rushed—very rough work. While he was collecting carvings, he wasn’t about to accept just anything.
Chu Feng noticed a little wolf pup struggling to push a large wolf-shaped wood carving toward him. The sculpture was even bigger than the pup itself—and honestly, it wasn’t very good.
He guessed the villagers must have heard about his deal with Duvean, and now they were trying to copy it.
These carvings probably weren’t made by the kids themselves. More likely, adults had sent them as messengers—an indirect way of expressing interest in trading with him. That was actually a good sign.
Hands on his hips, Chu Feng asked, “Have you all eaten breakfast?”
“We have!” a chubby little kid replied.
But right after saying that, he got elbowed by someone nearby and quickly corrected himself, “No, no, I haven’t eaten anything! I’m starving!”
Chu Feng stared at the kid for a moment.
Red-faced, the chubby boy admitted, “I did eat breakfast… but I’m still really hungry. I can eat a lot more.”
Chu Feng: “…” Well, at least the kid was honest.
He dragged over the blue suitcase, opened it, and pulled out a bag of fried bread. He handed out one piece per person. Then he opened a pack of lollipops and gave each kid two.
“Go ahead and eat. After that, go outside and play.”
The kids’ eyes lit up as they hugged their bread and started munching.
“Duoduo, is this cake?” Raul asked.
Duoduo shook his head. “Not really.”
Raul kept chewing and said, “It’s not? But it’s just like what you said cake tastes like. So good!”
“Duoduo, is this better, or is cake better?”
Duoduo looked conflicted. “They’re both good.”
“You’re so lucky, Duoduo! If I had known, I would’ve snuck out with Big Bro Illya and gone on an adventure too!” Raul said.
The stuff Duoduo and Gray brought back before had already made the other village kids green with envy.
“Yeah! Me too!” Raul’s words stirred up a wave of agreement from the others.
Chu Feng listened to their chatter and thought: These village kids seem pretty carefree. If he really wanted to kidnap one, it probably wouldn’t even be hard…
*
At Duvean’s house
“You’re carving again?” Sterling asked.
Duvean nodded. “Yeah.”
“I heard that human came by. He’s got a suspicious background. Don’t let him fool you,” Sterling said.
Duvean replied indifferently, “I’ve got nothing worth scamming anyway.”
Sterling frowned. “Don’t say that.” Duvean was good-looking. Even with a limp, there were plenty of noble types who would still…
“Want some candy?” Duvean asked.
Sterling sighed. “The village kids are going crazy over that stuff. A bunch of dumb brats.”
Duvean nodded and casually responded, “Oh.”
“You’re not worried?”
Duvean tilted his head. “Gray said that guy’s afraid of snakes, heights, bugs, and has weak stamina. If he had to cross the forest alone, he’d definitely die. He’s not a threat.”
Sterling nodded. “Good point. Humans may be sly, but most are cowards.”
With not much going on in Crescent Village, Chu Feng had become the hottest topic.
“So, do you want candy or not?” Duvean took out a tiger-shaped lollipop and showed it to Sterling. “Doesn’t this look like you? I saved it just for you. Someone even offered silver for it earlier, but I turned them down.”
Sterling looked at the lollipop and frowned. “How does that look like me? I’m a tiger—this looks like a big dumb cat.” Not intimidating at all.
“You don’t want it?”
“I do!” Sterling snatched it and bit off a big chunk. “These human nobles are so ridiculous! Spending all that effort to shape sugar like this—when it’s all going to get eaten anyway. What’s the point?”
Duvean shrugged. “Who knows.”
“What are you carving?” Sterling asked.
Duvean tilted his head. “Some animals—requested by that human.”
“What kind of animals?”
Duvean took out eleven pieces of candy and said, “These ones, plus the one you just ate. According to him, they’re called the Twelve Zodiac Animals.”
Sterling looked a bit awkward. “That was a model? And you let me eat it?”
Duvean shook his head. “It’s fine. I already memorized them.”
“What kind of beast is this?” Sterling picked up a candy and asked.
Duvean shook his head. “Not sure. Looks like a snake. But then again, so does this one. Whatever.” Anyway, that human said he’d trade salt, sugar, clothes, backpacks… all for the carvings.
The backpacks Illya and Gray brought back had made everyone in the village green with envy. Duvean really liked them too.
A lot of villagers wanted one. Duvean had wanted one as well but hadn’t held out hope. But now that Chu Feng seemed to really value his carvings, that hope was rekindled.
Duvean had always seen carving as just a hobby—but now that it was actually useful, he was quietly thrilled.
“What are you eating?” Sterling asked.
Duvean raised his hand, showing a bag of chips. “Potato chips. I heard they make you gain weight easily.”
Sterling nodded. “You’re so skinny—putting on some weight would be a good thing.”
Duvean crunched loudly as he ate the chips, clearly enjoying himself.
“Oh right—you said earlier someone tried to trade silver for candy. Who was it? One of the village kids?” Sterling asked.
He thought: Ever since that outsider arrived, the village kids have been living the high life. Normally, they wouldn’t get even one piece of candy in a month—now everyone’s carrying two pieces in their pockets.
Duvean shook his head. “No. It was Shaya.”
“What? Shaya!” Sterling snorted. “That spineless guy.”
Shaya was a half-beastman from the Bear Tribe. The Bear Tribe was known for their fiery tempers. Back when he was outside, Shaya had been tricked by humans into working two years of forced labor, and he’d hated humans ever since. In fact, when he heard a human was coming, he had even sworn he’d secretly kick the guy out without the shaman knowing. Now it looked like… he had fallen too.
“Bears have no resistance to sweets,” Duvean murmured. Shaya probably didn’t have the nerve to approach Chu Feng directly, so he ended up pestering Duvean for a while until Duvean gave him a bag of candy in exchange.
*
Illya sat outside, cooking a pot of millet porridge. “So you’re just going to have porridge and roasted meat?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Illya looked at him with sympathy. “The food over there must’ve been much better than here, right?”
“It’s not as great as you think.” Over in the modern world, if you were willing to work, you wouldn’t starve—but as for what you ate, that was another matter. Who knew how much pesticide was sprayed on those vegetables? And who knew how many hormones were pumped into the pork?
Back when he was busy delivering packages, sometimes all he had time for was gnawing on two buns.
Here, even though the crops were fewer, they were all organic. The occasional treat really did taste better.
Illya looked confused. “With so much good stuff, how could it not be better?”
Chu Feng: “…”
That was a hard thing to explain. Human desires are endless—once you’re not starving, you start worrying about all sorts of other things.
Illya used a clay pot to cook the porridge. Many of the half-elves in the village were good at pottery, and most of what they made was quite exquisite.
Soon the pot of porridge was done. Illya tasted it and said with surprise, “It’s really good!”
Chu Feng smiled. “As long as you like it.”
*
After breakfast, Illya went out to take care of something. Chu Feng sat lazily on the doorstep, basking in the sun.
He noticed that many villagers had the same habit—sitting outside their houses to soak up some sunshine after eating. He had picked it up too.
As he relaxed, he suddenly felt like someone was watching him—sneakily.
“Gray.”
Gray heard his call and came running. “What’s up?”
Chu Feng tilted his chin in the direction of a wall. “Someone’s peeking around that corner. Who is it?”
Gray followed his gaze and saw the person. His expression grew serious. “It’s Shaya.”
Chu Feng noticed his change in tone and asked, “Is there a problem with that guy?”
Gray looked at Chu Feng with a mix of pity and seriousness. “Shaya’s from the Bear Tribe. He’s super strong. One punch from him and someone like you would be dead meat.”
Chu Feng: “…” Okay, yes, he was weak. No need to keep rubbing it in.
“If you see him, just avoid him,” Gray advised.
Chu Feng frowned. “It’s not that serious, is it?” He didn’t think the guy would just randomly attack people for no reason.
“Before you came, he kept going on about how he was going to drive you out. But don’t worry—he’s scared of my brother. He may be strong, but my brother is fast. He could cut his throat in one move.” Gray said proudly.
Chu Feng: “…” Illya was indeed fast. If only he had a Desert Eagle, his combat power would skyrocket even more. Unfortunately, gun trafficking was illegal.
“But since my brother’s not around right now, you should still be careful,” Gray said.
Chu Feng thought to himself: Gray’s really making this guy sound like a monster. But looking at him now—lurking in the shadows and sneaking glances—he didn’t seem so scary. Honestly, he looked more… awkward.
This guy probably just wanted to trade for food but was too embarrassed to ask.
The more Chu Feng thought about it, the more convinced he became.
“Food is truly the bridge that connects people’s hearts! There’s nothing in this world that junk food can’t solve—and if one kind isn’t enough, just bring more.”
