Chapter 6

This continent is vast and rich with life, home to numerous orc tribes, both large and small, as well as countless animals. With winter fast approaching, many warm-loving animals have already completed their migrations.

However, there are exceptions; some have been delayed.

For instance, there is a herd of over ten white-horned cattle.

Despite the seemingly gentle name of the white-horned cattle, they can be quite formidable. These herbivorous creatures typically graze on grass and other vegetation, but under certain circumstances, they can become carnivorous. In times of cold or when their young are threatened, adult white-horned cattle can become frenzied and aggressive.

A herd of over ten of these cattle is enough to make even lions think twice before approaching. Normally, this would be the case, but today is different. The migrating herd of white-horned cattle is being closely followed by three hungry male lions, their bellies growling with hunger. The lions are fixated on the herd, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Oblivious to the danger, the adult white-horned cattle protectively surround their young, gradually continuing their migration.

At this moment, the white-furred cub is gnawing on a pearl chicken under a tree. He is extremely hungry, and no one has taught him the skills of hunting, such as dragging prey to a safe territory for consumption—ideally, up in the trees. However, the white-furred cub is too weak and hungry to climb at this point.

A small pearl chicken isn’t considered a delicacy on this vast grassland.

Larger animals typically wouldn’t regard it as worthwhile prey.

The cub devours the pearl chicken, sucking out the last drop of blood and eating the meat along with the entrails completely, relishing his first meal after days of hunger. Yet, the burning sensation in his stomach does not dissipate with just one pearl chicken; instead, he feels even hungrier.

He wants to eat more.

Licking his paws, the cub indulges in the lingering taste of the pearl chicken, lost in thought.

Completely unaware, just dozens of meters away, a frenzied herd of white-horned cattle is charging in his direction, with two ferocious lions leading the way…

Inside the leopard tribe.

The five “thin trees” have had their surfaces processed and after being stripped of their bark and roasted, the entire trunks now appear white. They are neatly laid out on the dry ground by the riverbank.

Zhuo Yan has brought some mud beans and dudu fruits from home. As noon approaches, everyone helps him with his work, and he wants to treat them to lunch—though it will only be vegetarian, as there’s no meat at home.

When they see the mud beans and dudu fruits, Aman and the others decide to stay for the meal, though they feel indifferent about the simple lunch. After all, they eat this every day at home, and occasionally adding some meat makes it better. Instead, everyone is more curious about the “door.”

“Is this door just made of wood?” Aman squats down on one of the logs and mutters, “So it’s just roasted a bit and it becomes a door.”

Zhuo Yan first buries the mud beans next to the fire pit. He has also brought down his family’s large stone pot, which is now filled with river water and placed in the middle of the fire to cook. At the same time, he roasts the dudu fruits, removing the shells and the top stems, making it easier to squeeze out the fruit.

No one among the sub-beastmen knows how to do these two things better than he does!

Little Zhuo Yan and his mother eat this nearly every day of the year.

“Wait, right now it’s just wood. The door needs to be installed at the cave entrance,” Zhuo Yan says, expertly rolling the dudu fruit branches over the fire, watching for the right moment. When the shells turn slightly black, he takes them off to prepare them.

“Install?” Stone asks, intrigued.

Xiao Xian, feeling a bit hungry, runs over to see what Zhuo Yan is cooking.

“Your cooking is just like my mom’s.”

Zhuo Yan thinks to himself that this must surely be a compliment.

“It’s a pity we don’t have any salt at home,” he adds, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“What is salt?”

Zhuo Yan suddenly remembers and glances at Xiao Xian. “It’s just your name.”

“You mean salty stone,” Xiao Xian replies, and upon looking at today’s lunch, it feels even less appetizing.

In the tribe, salt isn’t called salt but “salty stone.” It is considered a precious commodity that must be traded at the Featherfolk market because the Featherfolk can fly to the seaside, where they exchange goods with the Sea People for items like pearl shells, salt, and seafood. In return, they bring fur and skins, as the Featherfolk have a much more prosperous trade.

Zhuo Yan currently knows about three major categories in this world:

Fur-bearing species, such as the Leopard Tribe, Lion Tribe, Wolf Tribe, and Tiger Tribe.

Feathered species, which are flying birds, though Zhuo Yan isn’t clear on the specifics.

Sea folk, which are mermaids from the ocean, but he knows little else about them.

From Xiao Xian’s name, it’s clear that his parents must have really liked the name “Xian.”

Zhuo Yan takes a moment to answer the question Stone asked earlier. He turns to Stone and Aman, who are studying the wood, and explains, “It’s not about piling the wood at the entrance. It’s somewhat similar, but it needs to be convenient. I can open the boards by myself and come and go freely without needing anyone’s help.”

If the cave entrance is blocked by a large stone, only a strong beast from the family could manage it.

“Oh, I see.” Stone still can’t figure out how to “install” it. Right now, even moving the five pieces of wood would take him quite a while.

“How did he know I was thinking about piling the wood at the entrance?” Aman whispers to Stone and adds, “This annoying guy has gotten smarter.”

Stone replies, “Maybe Zhuo Yan was always smart; he just didn’t play with us, so we didn’t know.”

“That makes sense.”

Zhuo Yan overhears their conversation, his hearing is quite good these days, and a smile forms on his lips. He uses a stone knife to push the roasted Dudu fruit against the wall of the stone pot, squeezing it in like one would with jelly. The flesh inside is creamy white, and when cooked, it has a chewy texture and a subtle sweetness.

If only there were milk and brown sugar, he thinks. Oh, wait, he still has taro at home.

“Xiao Xian, keep an eye on this for me. I’m going to find a few taro roots,” Zhuo Yan says as he hands a wooden spoon to Xiao Xian.

The stone pot heats slowly, so there’s no worry about burning anything.

Xiao Xian takes the spoon, but when he opens his mouth to ask something, he sees Zhuo Yan already running toward the cave and can’t help but look over at the wood. “What’s taro?” he asks.

Stone and Aman exchange confused glances.

“I don’t know,” Stone admits.

“This annoying guy always says things we don’t understand,” Aman adds with a frown.

Zhuo Yan picks some taro roots and, just as he turns around, he spots Sister Qiao returning, accompanied by a tall, sturdy man. The people in the tribe aren’t short—except for the cubs—since adult sub-beasts, regardless of gender, average nearly 1.8 meters tall. This man, however, appears even taller than Sister Qiao, with a broader build that clearly marks him as a beastman.

“Sister Qiao, just in time for lunch,” Zhuo Yan greets her, holding up the taro roots.

Qiao replies, “Ada said he has time today and can help us build the door.”

Zhuo Yan was also a bit curious about the power of the beastmen. Did they have to transform to demonstrate their strength? Did they bite through the tree with their teeth? He thought the tree was quite thick, and he was concerned they might end up damaging their teeth. However, he then witnessed Ada making a gesture. Ada marked the center of the tree and then drew out a bone knife from his waist, lightly scratching the surface.

Zhuo Yan watched as Ada effortlessly made a deep mark in the tree trunk with just a gentle stroke.

After that, Ada put the knife away and effortlessly lifted the long piece of wood with both hands, as if it were weightless. With a little extra force, there was a sharp cracking sound, and the tree snapped!

Huh?

It broke just like that?

Splitting the wood was even simpler. Ada used the sharp tip of the bone knife to jab into the trunk, making three precise strikes—top, middle, and bottom. Then, with both hands, he easily pried the pieces apart, creating perfectly even thickness.

Throughout the entire process, Zhuo Yan was amazed: Wow, how impressive! This is absolutely incredible!

He had previously thought that the tools in this world were a bit outdated and cumbersome, making work feel laborious. Now, however, it seemed that beastmen were the best working tools for the sub-beastmen. Optimization of tools was still necessary, but he wasn’t at the point of seeking out a beastman just to make dumplings with a little vinegar.

Shitou and the others seemed completely unfazed, as if they were used to this kind of thing, but Aman made a comment: “Ada did a really good job splitting it.” He was complimenting the uniform thickness of the split.

After all, it required skill to split it evenly by marking three points first; otherwise, the tree could easily break unpredictably in the middle.

Zhuo Yan thought to himself, “Sister Qiao’s boyfriend really knows how to work smart!”

“Thank you, Sister Qiao and Ada, for helping me,” Zhuo Yan said, following Aman’s lead by calling Ada by name. “Lunch is almost ready; let’s eat first.”

Ada glanced at Qiao, and when she nodded, he decided to stay. He casually grabbed a roasted ni dou (mud bean) and sat down with Qiao to eat slowly.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Yan and the other four gathered around the fire, eating and chatting.

“I thought it would take a few days to get the wood planks ready, but it got done so quickly! After lunch, I can move on to the next step: weaving vines and embedding the joints,” Zhuo Yan said, only to meet Aman’s strange expression. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Do you want my ni dou?” Zhuo Yan asked, wondering why Aman kept staring at him.

Aman scoffed, “Who would want yours? I’ve got my own ni dou. It’s not like they’re anything special.”

Xiao Xian chimed in, “Aman-ge, Zhuo Yan’s roasted ni dou is really delicious!” He was happily munching away, thinking how Zhuo Yan’s ni dou, though the same as what he had at home, somehow tasted better.

Aman, who had just been called out: “…”

“I thought you’d bring up Ada,” Aman mumbled while lowering his head to eat, a satisfied smile creeping onto his face as he added, “Ada and Qiao should be getting together as mates soon. You’d better not get any ideas, or I’ll side with Qiao and stop hanging out with you.”

It was like kids dividing themselves into teams. But Zhuo Yan wasn’t upset. After all, the original Zhuo Yan had indeed done something similar before—trying to cozy up to other beastmen who already had partners.

Aman had always been loyal, and compared to Zhuo Yan, who had only been playing with him for a few days, it was natural that he was closer to Qiao.

Zhuo Yan, unsure how to explain himself—how could he say he wasn’t interested in forming a bond with any beastman? The others clearly wouldn’t believe him, thinking he was just being stubborn. So, instead, he casually blurted out, “Didn’t you say I liked the white-haired cub?”

“Huh?!” Aman was so shocked that he dropped his mud beans on the ground.

Zhuo Yan found this very amusing, feeling a wave of satisfaction as he chuckled, “Feeling relieved now?”

Relieved? Not at all. The expressions on the other three’s faces only grew more complicated, especially Aman’s.

The food in the stone pot had cooled down to a pleasant temperature, and everyone used clean, large leaves to scoop it up. Zhuo Yan took one sip of the dudu fruit soup and immediately fell in love with it, exclaiming, “This is so good! The chunks taste so different from the mud beans!”

“They really are different,” Qiao agreed, clearly enjoying it too.

Zhuo Yan carefully alternated between bites of the dudu fruit and the mud beans, analyzing the flavors. “Zhuo Yan was right, this fruit really isn’t like mud beans. It’s—”

“Taro,” Zhuo Yan added.

“Yeah, it’s taro! And it tastes even better when cooked together with dudu fruit, all sweet and yummy!”

Zhuo Yan began teaching Zhuo Yan and Qiao how to tell the difference between taro and potatoes. It was actually quite easy to distinguish between them. As they were chatting, a sudden knocking sound echoed through the air. Ada, who had been sitting next to Qiao, abruptly stood up.

Around the riverbank, all the nearby sub-beastmen who were picking and working stopped talking. Their faces turned solemn and guarded. Some began calling the children back to the caves.

Shitou moved to protect his younger sister, Da Yun, along with her companion, keeping them close to him.

Then, three more loud thuds sounded. Everyone’s expressions relaxed just a bit. Ada transformed into his beast form, and his fur skirt and clothes dropped to the ground. Qiao quickly gathered them up, saying, “I’ll take these back for you.”

Ada let out a roar, and in a flash, he was sprinting away from the riverbank at incredible speed.

“It’s not a beast attack; it’s a call for the beastmen to assemble,” Aman said with a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t until over an hour later that Zhuo Yan learned what the knocking sound had been about. The beastmen of the tribe had encountered a group of white-horned cattle and gotten into a fight with them. They managed to take down thirteen of the cattle.

Two of the cattle had been taken by lions, while two others had been devoured by hyenas and vultures.

Later that evening, Zhuo Yan sat by the riverbank and shared what he knew, “It seems like it was White Fur who led the white-horned cattle to the area.” He glanced at Zhuo Yan and said quietly, “White Fur was trampled several times, Zhuo Yan. Maybe you should find a different beastman.”

“No, wait. White Fur isn’t even a beastman, is he? Liking a beast won’t keep you fed.”

“You might even get eaten instead.”