Chapter 48

Big Tooth couldn’t believe they had actually found salt. After the initial shock wore off, he bent down to take another bite of the mud—salty! Glancing at A-Yin, he dashed over to another spot and tried more mud; it was salty there too! He couldn’t help but continue tasting, each sample confirming what they had discovered—this was no ordinary dirt.

The two leopards traversed the area like plowmen, munching their way from the lake’s edge to the far side of the gentle slope. It was a constant rhythm of saltiness, with each mouthful tasting even saltier the further they ventured. In the distance, the barren landscape seemed to glimmer under the moonlight, the soil there hinting at a faint white hue.

“Awwoo,” Big Tooth exclaimed. “It’s salt, but it’s still mud! I can’t just slather mud on my meat, can I?” The excitement faded slightly as he contemplated the absurdity of their find, yet his determination didn’t waver. He pondered hard for a solution but couldn’t think of anything else. Worst case, he figured, they’d have to eat the salty mud.

A-Yin, on the other hand, was brimming with confidence. His spirits were lifted, and he let out a joyful, “Awwoo!”

“My brother must know how to use this! He’s the smartest!”

If only the flower leopard had been as open-minded on their journey here, instead of dismissing A-Yin’s words without a second thought. But now—now it was different. With a determined nod, the flower leopard replied, “Awwooo. You’re right! If your brother knew there was salt here, he must have a way to use it.”

Big Tooth’s words thrilled A-Yin even more than praise would have. He spat out the mud in his mouth; if this weren’t the territory of the mammoths, he would have wanted to let out a triumphant roar right then and there.

How to turn this mud into salt was a question for later. For now, they faced a more pressing issue: how to transport the mud back home.

This was a minor problem.

Big Tooth suggested, “We can go hunting! Once we’re full, we can skin our catch and use the hides to carry the mud back.”

A-Yin frowned. “But won’t that take too long? I’m worried my brother will be anxious about me.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Big Tooth countered. “If we dawdle any longer, we’ll get back even later. Besides, the mammoths will come here during the day, and we’ll have to wait until nightfall to dig again.”

The thought of spending another day and night away from his tribe weighed heavily on A-Yin. He felt a mix of joy and apprehension—not because he feared his brother’s anger, but because he didn’t want to worry him.

However, there was no better option at the moment.

Resolute, A-Yin nodded and followed Big Tooth as they made their way around the lake and into the forest. Big Tooth was keen to familiarize himself with the terrain. He didn’t discover much at first, but then he spotted a bitter tree dripping sap.

Seeing the tree reminded Big Tooth of how eagerly A-Yin would consume its sap, prompting him to quietly sidestep the tree.

That night, the two leopards ventured out of the mammoth territory and soon encountered a herd of horses. A-Yin shook his head, but Big Tooth said, “I didn’t suggest we hunt those.” He looked off into the distance, catching a whiff of something. “Over there—elk.”

A-Yin trailed behind, curious about how Big Tooth knew.

Without losing speed, Big Tooth replied, “You can smell them in the air. Even though the rutting season has passed, the scent of the elk, especially the males,carries a distinct fragrance—a kind of spiciness.”

A-Yin concentrated on the aroma wafting through the night.

As the moon hung high above, the two leopards finally located the elk’s territory. A robust buck stood at the outer circle, surrounded by does and their fawns. Big Tooth and A-Yin crouched in the trees, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Throughout the hunting process, A-Yin remained silent, patiently focused. Every so often, Big Tooth glanced at him, pleased to see the young leopard had learned to minimize his presence.

The first rays of dawn light broke over the land.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Yan had hardly slept the night before. Each time he closed his eyes, he slipped in and out of dreams—dreams that felt unnervingly real. In one dream, he saw A-Yin hunting outside, capturing a rhinoceros, and wagging his tail like an excited puppy. Without needing to hear the words, Zhuo Yan knew A-Yin was beaming, wanting to tell him, Brother, I caught a rhino!

But in the next moment, blood splattered across his face.

A-Yin’s blood. The rhinoceros’s blood.

Or perhaps he had transformed into A-Yin, dying beneath the feet of a mammoth, gasping out blood.

The jarring imagery jolted Zhuo Yan awake. He instinctively turned toward the door, only to find darkness outside—nothing but shadows. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead. A-Yin was missing. He was reluctant to replay the dream in his mind, but the haunting images lingered, as if they had truly happened.

…It might have been when A-Yin was trampled by a rhinoceros; Xiao Xian had mentioned seeing A-Yin gasping for breath, back when he was still called White-Haired Boy.

Lost in his chaotic thoughts, Zhuo Yan got up for a drink of water. A-Yin was clever; he wouldn’t be that reckless. All he needed to do was stay calm and wait for A-Yin to return, then—

He would tug on A-Yin’s ear and remind him to tell him everything from now on.

However, he soon found himself restless. The night had been unnaturally quiet, but in the latter half of the night, Zhuo Yan sensed something was off. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was until he approached the door and heard rustling sounds outside, followed by the distressed wails of his pig.

Oooooh! Oooooh!

Zhuo Yan stepped back, too afraid to open the door. He even propped the door closed with a heavy stick, thinking, Pig, you’re on your own. If it’s too dangerous, just run!

The commotion outside grew louder, accompanied by the roars of leopards—likely the patrol team responding to whatever had breached the tribe’s defenses.

Soon, the noise fell silent. The leopards roared a few more times.

Zhuo Yan remained cautious, knowing he wouldn’t open the door until the first ray of sunlight broke through. Once it did, he ventured outside. His first stop was the chicken coop, where two hens huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

Fortunately, they were unharmed.

But the pig was missing. The piglets had grown quickly, and with the weather getting hotter, they no longer stayed in the coop; they roamed freely, foraging for food on their own. Zhuo Yan had even dug a temporary hole down the slope to create a makeshift pigpen—close enough to a rabbit hole.

He hurried down the slope, relief washing over him when he didn’t see any blood. But as he drew closer, he found the pigpen empty, the pig nowhere in sight, while a rabbit crouched in its hole, peeking out cautiously.

“If it’s gone, it’s gone,” he muttered. “Running away is better than being eaten.”

After all this time, he had developed a bit of affection for them.

As the light brightened, a rhythmic thumping echoed through the village. Zhuo Yan recognized the sounds now; light thumps meant meat was being distributed, while urgent thumps signaled a serious matter.

Everyone had gathered in the square.

Asen and several injured beastmen were present, including one with a wounded shoulder.

Only then did Zhuo Yan learn what had happened the previous night. A few hyenas had snuck in, drawn by the scent of rotting meat. His home was closest to the tribe’s perimeter, and not just his dwelling—some meat had also been nibbled at several of the nearby burrows.

Yesterday, there had been too much rhinoceros meat. Some sub-beastmen had carried back far more than they could eat, and to avoid wasting it, they tried drying the meat, leaving traces of the smell around the entrances of their burrows. Unfortunately, some of the rotten meat had been left near the entrances, unguarded.

…Fortunately, there had been no casualties.

The meat of the hyenas was not worth consuming; they would eat anything, including rotten flesh, serving as the scavengers of the plains. Unless they were starving, beastmen would never resort to eating hyenas—some would rather starve than take a bite of one.

“From today on, we’ll increase the patrols around the tribe,” Asen declared. “Take all the spoiled meat and toss it far away.”

The sub-beasts hurried home to grab meat; they had received a bounty of rhino meat just yesterday, but now a large portion had spoiled, making it inedible. This not only caused unrest within the tribe but also left everyone feeling anxious, especially since the number of beastmen was dwindling and it would be quite a while before the chief returned.

What would they do next?

After finishing his explanation, Ah Sen sought out Electric and Ma Ha, determined to assess their injuries. The tribe needed every available beastman.

As dawn broke, Ah Sen quickly dealt with the rotten meat. His face darkened as he emerged from Ma Ha’s den. Duo Yu and another beastman followed him, their expressions heavy with guilt. Duo Yu suggested they venture outside to hunt smaller prey.

“The previous meat should last us a couple of days; let’s stay vigilant for now,” Ah Sen replied.

Duo Yu nodded and set off with his partner to patrol outside the tribe, both regretting their earlier recklessness. “I thought it was just a competition between Ma Ha and Electric; I never imagined it would end up like this.” “Who knew both Electric and Ma Ha would end up injured?”

“Honestly, we hunted too many rhinos; the chief warned us about it…”

But back then, who could have convinced Ma Ha to back down? Besides, both wanted to prove themselves as the fiercest beastmen in the tribe. The more prey they brought back, the more the other sub-beasts would look up to and admire them.

And that’s why…

Shi Tou was currently lugging his little sister around, forbidding Da Yun from running amok or climbing out of his sight. Da Yun yowled out of boredom but had no choice but to obey her brother.

“My big brother and second brother went out to patrol too,” she said.

“My dad went to find Ah Sen,” Aman added, bringing his little brother along.

The group chatted in Zhuo Yan’s den, primarily checking in on him. Upon hearing about the hyena incident from the night before, Aman’s elementary school-age brother flailed his arms dramatically, exclaiming, “If they’d run into me—”

Aman swiftly clamped a hand over his brother’s head.

The little boy whined, “You underestimate me, big brother! One day I’ll be the strongest beastman in the tribe! Those hyenas don’t scare me! I could take one down with just one paw!”

In his furious outburst, the little boy transformed uncontrollably into beast form, becoming a small leopard, though clearly still retaining some childish innocence. He let out a yowl and made a break for the exit.

Aman quickly grabbed him by the scruff, and the little leopard went into a frenzy, dragging Aman forward. Unable to hold back any longer, Aman spanked the little leopard’s fluffy behind right in front of everyone.

Zhuo Yan just stared, bemused.

The antics of this little middle-schooler were something Aman had once mentioned before.

Now, Zhuo Yan understood why Aman’s beast father wasn’t joining the salt exchange team. With his brother becoming more unruly and rebellious, someone had to keep him in check.

Shi Tou shot a glance at Da Yun, “If you act like him, I’ll give you a beating too.”

Da Yun immediately covered his backside.

The den was a cacophony of noise. Zhuo Yan’s thoughts had shifted since hearing the news yesterday. The dreams he’d had faded like mist under the afternoon sun.

“Zhuo Yan, don’t worry,” Little Xian piped up, looking at Zhuo Yan with concern.

“I’m still worried, but I think A-Yin is safer with Da Ya than if he were alone,” Zhuo Yan mused, recalling Da Ya’s partner, Cong Lv, saying, “He wouldn’t do anything foolish if he couldn’t bear to part from me.”

They’d either find salt or not, but the salt exchange team would eventually return. It was only a matter of time before they would have salt again.

After all, A-Yin wasn’t an idiot.

“I think Da Ya is a pretty good guy,” A-Yin thought as he split off from the group, Da Ya tagging along.

Meanwhile, Aman continued to spank his brother, exclaiming, “Da Ya is a fierce hunter in the tribe! He may not be the friendliest, but he’s tough! And his student, A Lei, is even stronger than Ah Da!”

Shi Tou nodded in agreement; A Lei was indeed one of the strongest among the younger generation.

“Then why would he risk it all hunting mammoths?” Zhuo Yan questioned.

Everyone shook their heads, clueless about the reasoning. They spent the day chatting with Zhuo Yan, and as night fell, Shi Tou, Aman, and Little Xian set off together.

Zhuo Yan braced the wooden door, deciding not to venture outside that night.

He slept a little better than the previous night, even dreaming of A-Yin returning, covered in mud, looking sheepishly at him while wagging his tail. Just as Zhuo Yan approached, he grabbed A-Yin’s scruff and playfully smacked his bottom, much like Aman had done.

Unlike Aman’s brother, who struggled and howled, in the dream, A-Yin’s tail wagged like a helicopter rotor, appearing utterly…joyous and excited.

Zhuo Yan: …This dream also startled him awake.

Outside, he heard rustling noises, but they soon quieted down, and he didn’t hear any growls. It wasn’t until the next morning, when sunlight streamed into the cave and Little Xian knocked on the door, that Zhuo Yan finally opened it.

“Did you see anything outside?”

“Zhuo Yan, why didn’t you open the door? You scared me to death!”

“Zhuo Yan, why did you sleep in so late? We thought something happened to you.”

The three spoke simultaneously, and after a moment, Zhuo Yan recounted the previous night’s rustling. Shi Tou went to check around and said, “There’s nothing; there aren’t any bloodstains or footprints at your door.”

Zhuo Yan stepped outside, and when he reached the empty pigpen, he was shocked to find his pet pig snoring soundly. Zhuo Yan: ??

It had returned!

So, the noises last night must have been caused by his pig.

No harm done, then.

That day, everyone went to the river to cool off. Zhuo Yan felt the temperature rise several degrees, and when Aman mentioned summer had arrived, Zhuo Yan thought, “Finally, summer is here. This is what summer feels like.”

“Zhuo Yan, hasn’t A-Yin returned yet?” Ah Bai inquired.

The other sub-beasts gathered around the riverbank. Little Xian was trying desperately to signal Ah Bai with his eyes, but Ah Bai didn’t understand and asked if Little Xian had something in his eye. Finally giving up, Little Xian said, “Zhuo Yan has been doing much better these past few days; let’s not dwell on that.”

“Oh, is that so?” Ah Bai finally understood, but still added, “Zhuo Yan, don’t worry too much. Remember how you found A-Yin even after he was so badly hurt? He’ll be fine this time too.”

“That’s right,” one of the other beastmen chimed in.

“I heard A-Yin went to look for salt at the mammoth,” another beastman directed his gaze at Zhuo Yan. “But there won’t be any there. Salt is only available at the Featherfolk market. Mammoths are dangerous.”

“You need to tell A-Yin that,” someone urged.

“It seems like it was Zhuo Yan who told A-Yin there was salt,” another added.

The two beastmen behind him were chatting casually, not intending to blame Zhuo Yan, but their comments left Ah Bai and the others at a loss for words. They looked at Zhuo Yan, struggling to understand how he could mislead A-Yin into thinking there was salt at the mammoth’s location.

If it were the old Zhuo Yan, they wouldn’t have bothered asking. But now they knew Zhuo Yan was a good guy—smart, generous, and helpful. Yet, the idea of mammoths having salt?

Nobody believed that.

After an awkward pause, Zhuo Yan nodded, saying A-Yin should be back soon. The others eagerly agreed. Soon, everyone dispersed, and Zhuo Yan and his friends took to swimming in the river, which felt almost like a hot spring.

“You guys don’t believe me either, do you?” Zhuo Yan asked.

Little Xian, Aman, and Shi-Tou looked conflicted. “We don’t believe it, but we trust you,” said one. “Zhuo Yan, I think there’s none, but since you said there is, I can’t really say,” another added. “Same here,” chimed in the third.

“Whether there’s salt or not doesn’t matter. When A-Yin returns, we can always rely on the salt exchange team,” Zhuo Yan assured them, and the three nodded in agreement. He had heard Cong Lu mention that the mammoths were at least a day and a half away from the tribe. Given the travel time, A-Yin should be returning soon…

That night, Zhuo Yan stood at the cave entrance for quite some time. In the distance, he spotted what he thought was A-Yin, but as he moved closer, he realized it was just two leopards. One of them transformed into a humanoid figure, standing below and calling out, “Zhuo Yan, get back inside and close the door!”

It was his uncle, A-Sen, and the other was Aman’s beast father.

The two had been on patrol all night.

“Got it,” Zhuo Yan replied, retreating to the cave’s interior, glancing back at the distant hillside, silently wishing for A-Yin’s safe return.

No one in the tribe believed that mammoths had salt. Even his friends hesitated to trust him, ultimately believing him out of friendship. Yet, A-Yin, who believed him without hesitation, acted on it, even at great risk.

That night, Zhuo Yan found it hard to sleep. He had a headache but no dreams—just the persistent inability to doze off.

In the late night, or perhaps close to dawn, he suddenly heard a howl and shot upright, rushing to the cave entrance. “A-Yin? Is that you? Have you returned, A-Yin?”

Silence filled the entrance, and he realized the howl had been a figment of his headache.

Just before dawn, he heard another howl.

Zhuo Yan, feeling drowsy, thought about closing his eyes for a moment. But then he heard another howl—this wasn’t a dream; it felt like A-Yin was truly back!

As he flung open the cave door, A-Yin stood there, covered in dirt and blood, wagging his tail excitedly, tongue lolling out like an eager puppy.

Zhuo Yan was overjoyed, rushing forward to embrace A-Yin’s head and ruffle his fur.

“You’re really back! Let me check if you’re hurt. You’re filthy like a little puppy,” he remarked with a teasing tone, his eyes sparkling as he affectionately rubbed A-Yin’s ears and neck.

“No injuries, no injuries, brother!” A-Yin panted, wagging his tail like a spinning propeller, as if asking for more attention.

Then Zhuo Yan playfully squeezed A-Yin’s ears before giving his rear a playful smack, scolding him in a mock-serious tone, “You’ve got some explaining to do! How could you run off so far without telling anyone? You have to communicate in the future!”

Did my brother just scold me? A-Yin tilted his head, nudging Zhuo Yan’s palm and licking it, as if saying, “Go ahead, scold me!”

Zhuo Yan stared at A-Yin’s tail, which was wagging like a propeller—he had already scolded him!

In that moment, it was just like the scene from his dream.

Not far down the slope, Da Ya watched the scene unfold, seeing A-Yin acting like a playful dog, licking and rubbing against the beastmen while wagging his tail. One of them even gave A-Yin a playful smack on the behind.

…Da Ya decided he didn’t want to watch anymore and quickly trotted home, carrying a heavy load of skins.

The sun was already fierce, even though it was barely past seven in the morning.

Zhuo Yan and A-Yin just returned from a refreshing swim in the river. A-Yin shook off the water, his fur fluffing up in the sunlight. He nudged Zhuo Yan’s leg, eager to say, “Brother, let me carry you back!”

“Hmph,” Zhuo Yan pretended to be stern, but his body betrayed him as he climbed onto A-Yin’s back. A-Yin eagerly crossed the river, speeding along playfully.

As their speed picked up, it didn’t feel so hot with a cool breeze sweeping over them.

“Zhuo Yan! Zhuo Yan! A-Yin is back!” Little Xian waved excitedly from a distance.

Shi-Tou and Aman joined in, their faces lighting up with joy for Zhuo Yan.

Zhuo Yan leaned down to pat A-Yin’s neck, and A-Yin turned around to dash towards his friends. Little Xian jumped in place, exclaiming, “A-Yin, you’re finally back! Zhuo Yan has been worried sick these past few days!”

“Woo!” I know! And brother even scolded me. So happy!

The others couldn’t understand the exchange, but as more beastmen gathered by the river, they all learned about A-Yin and Da Ya’s morning return, reassuring Zhuo Yan that everything was alright.

Today’s patrol team consisted of the younger ones: Ah Hui, Ah Ri, and the two brothers Ah Tou and Ah Hei. Aman’s beast father and A-Sen had kept watch all night since it was riskier after dark, allowing the younger beastmen to patrol during the day.

“A-Yin, you finally made it back!” Ah Hui was the first to rush over.

Ah Tou hesitated, standing back but then cleared his throat loudly. A-Yin looked his way, and Ah Tou glanced at his elder brother. “Let’s patrol. Ah Hui, you’re up.”

“Just a bit longer. A-Yin’s back!” Ah Hui protested, not wanting to leave.

“I see that,” Ah Tou said, then added, “If you don’t go, we will.”

“Hey, don’t rush, Ah Tou.”

Little Xian quietly said, “My second brother was worried about A-Yin before. Now he’s pretending to be mad, but he’s a little angry too.”

Zhuo Yan gently stroked A-Yin’s ears, signaling him to come down. “You broke Ah Tou’s heart by choosing the Ma Ha team. A-Yin, you need to go talk to Ah Tou and clear things up; you’re partners.”

“I didn’t even care that much!” Ah Tou exclaimed loudly.

Beside him, Ah Ri couldn’t hold back any longer. “Shut up!”

A-Yin trotted over, barking a few times. He didn’t like Ma Ha and wasn’t competing with them; he just wanted to find salt in the gray elephant territory, which ended up leading him to the land of the mammoths.

“There’s no salt there,” Ah Tou said. “How many times do I have to say it? Only the Featherfolk market has salt. Your brother—fine, fine, you chose poorly, but thankfully nothing happened.”

If Ah Tou started criticizing Zhuo Yan, A-Yin would definitely ignore him.

The sun was shining brightly, and A-Yin’s eyes were a pale, pale blue with small pupils. He squinted and let out a bark.

I found salt!

Ah Tou was still grumbling, “…Forget it this time. If you do this again, I won’t play with you anymore—” Suddenly, he froze, staring at A-Yin.

Not just Ah Tou, but even Ah Ri and Ah Hui were dumbfounded.

A-Yin repeated, “I found salt, and I brought it back!”

Ah Ri, usually composed, started stuttering. “Ah Tou, what did A-Yin just say? Did he say—salt? And that he brought it back?”

“Salt? Big Brother, Second Brother, A-Yin said he brought back salt?!!!” Xiao Xian exclaimed urgently.

Shi Tou and Aman exchanged glances, turning to Zhuo Yan. Zhuo Yan hesitated before responding, “I was just so happy A-Yin is back, I didn’t pay attention to what he had. We just went to the river to bathe.” He looked at A-Yin.

A-Yin nodded eagerly, barking as he encouraged Ah Tou to “translate.”

“He, he said he brought back salt. A big bag of it! Da Ya carried a big bag too. Brother, I mean Zhuo Yan, he said it when you were smacking his bottom,” Ah Tou stammered.

Zhuo Yan: ??? He had been too busy admiring A-Yin’s fluffy tail.

The others were still in shock, eager to check the salt at Zhuo Yan’s home. Zhuo Yan believed A-Yin but couldn’t help wondering how everything went so smoothly. Did he really find it right away?

When they reached the cave entrance, A-Yin proudly presented a bloody, filthy deer hide.

Zhuo Yan unwrapped it, and as the group gathered around, Ah Hui exclaimed, “This is mud! Not salt!”

“Yeah, A-Yin, are you being tricked? This is definitely mud; there’s plenty of that in the tribe,” Ah Tou added.

Ah Ri felt a bit disappointed but didn’t say much.

Xiao Xian, Shi Tou, and Aman remained silent as Zhuo Yan scooped a bit of the mud and tasted it. The trio stared in disbelief. “Zhuo Yan, are you really eating mud—”

A-Yin snuggled against his brother, wagging his tail. Brother is the smartest; he knows everything!

“It’s salt,” Zhuo Yan confirmed, having tasted the salty yet earthy flavor. He spat out a bit of the mud, rubbed A-Yin’s ears, and confidently declared, “A-Yin found salt.”

Awoo! It’s the salt A-Yin and brother found together!

Everyone looked back at Zhuo Yan and then at the large bag of mud. This clearly looks like… mud.

“It’s salt.”

The voice behind them belonged to Da Ya, who had unexpectedly appeared with his partner, Cong Lv. He carried another hide, and as he stepped through the crowd, he tossed it to the ground, revealing it was also filled with mud.

“That kid said you’re smart enough not to eat mud to cook meat,” Da Ya chuckled.

Zhuo Yan laughed. A-Yin was quite the flatterer. “It’s simple. We can boil the mud in water, filter it several times, and get clean salt water. When we boil it, we can dry the salt in the sun, just like how I dried the bitter sap before.”

“If we’re in a hurry, we can boil the salt.”

Da Ya’s eyes lit up; he hadn’t expected this beastman to really know what he was doing. “Then I’ll leave this bag with you. If you get it right, I’ll split it with you.”

“No need to share,” Zhuo Yan declined. “A-Yin went to the mammoth territory for this. We should thank you for going with him.”

“I just wanted to see him get kicked by a mammoth—forget it,” Da Ya replied.

The agreement at the cave entrance was quick and simple. Zhuo Yan noticed Ah Tou and the others still doubted that A-Yin’s muddy find was actually salt. They didn’t waste any time; they were determined to make salt today.

After all, this was the salt A-Yin had brought back after facing dangers and challenges.

The news spread quickly through the tribe—because Ah Hui, Ah Ri, and Ah Tou had to patrol, their minds were filled with thoughts of how mud could become salt, chattering all the way.

“Can mud really turn into salt?”

“Do you really think A-Yin brought back salt?”

“I don’t believe it, but Zhuo Yan sounded so certain. Xiao Xian said mud could be shaped into stone pots, and I didn’t believe that either; now we have ceramic pots for soup at home.”

“I don’t want to patrol anymore; I want to see them boil mud.”

The two brothers ignored Ah Hui, who kept talking. “Let’s just hurry up and run a lap so we can return early.” “Right, it’s too hot at noon, let’s skip patrol and continue this afternoon.” “Agreed.”

At the cave entrance, Shi Tou, Aman, and Xiao Xian wanted to help Zhuo Yan, while Cong Lv lent a hand. Da Ya returned to the tribe; even though he was curious about how it was done, he had heard that Dian and Ma Ha had gotten into a fight, and Ma Ha’s leg was broken.

Now, let’s talk about the tribe’s hunting matters.

After A Lei’s death, Da Ya had lost interest in the tribe’s hunting affairs, and in his heart, he felt some resentment. When A-Yin came to ask about the mammoth territory, he had wanted that shapeshifting brat to go and get trampled by a mammoth. Why should his son die, while that useless kid was still alive and heading into the mammoth territory to seek death?

Later, when the tribe hunted a short-legged beast, the chief brought the wings back to him.

Da Ya remained silent for a long time. The chief had said nothing, dropped the wings, and left without mentioning A Lei’s death or the salt team that had left the tribe.

He had heard Dian’s orders: patrol when it’s time to patrol, hunt when it’s time to hunt. Seeing A-Yin standing with the Ma Ha team during the selection, Da Ya realized the kid was heading to the mammoth territory. With the tribe’s dwindling numbers, and considering A-Yin was still an adolescent beastman who had previously received half a sheep from him, which had died—this was not good, especially not for Da Ya when it came time to report to the chief.

That’s why Da Ya decided to follow.

Previously, both the chief’s and A-Yin’s actions had led Da Ya to this critical decision.

At the cave entrance of Zhuo Yan’s home, the weather was hot, but everyone was brimming with energy. Shi Tou and Aman dashed off quickly to grab water buckets, while A-Yin clamped his teeth around a wooden bucket, hauling it to fetch water.

Zhuo Yan cleared a flat area next to the entrance and pulled out the stone pots and wooden buckets from his home. He mixed the dried mud with water to dilute it—Xiao Xian and Cong Lv were handling this part, which was straightforward.

Zhuo Yan began to make a “filter.” First, he used a rough straw mat to sift out the larger stones, mud, and coarse particles. For the second filtering, he folded the mat, spreading clean small stones in the middle, packing them tightly with bits of grass, creating a solid base. He then stretched this “filter” over the ceramic pot, forming a slight downward curve.

The water from the first filtering could be poured above.

“Slowly, don’t spill over. Let the water seep down before you add more,” he instructed.

“Got it, Zhuo Yan,” Aman replied, using a wooden spoon to scoop up the thick, murky water and pour it in. The dripping was painfully slow this time; patience was key.

“If you’re tired, I can take over,” Zhuo Yan offered.

Aman shook his head. “I’m not tired; it’s just too slow.”

“Slow is good. If it filters too fast, it’ll still be muddy water. If I hadn’t been so anxious today—”

Shi Tou chimed in, “I can tell you want to produce salt today.”

“A-Yin and Da Ya have probably brought back salt by now, and everyone will know they only returned with two bags of mud. I don’t want anyone thinking A-Yin foolishly ventured into the mammoth territory, which is so dangerous, only to return with mud.”

“I want everyone to see that A-Yin is brave and clever, bringing back salt.”

“Our Leopard Tribe will no longer be at the mercy of the Featherfolk market. They can ask for whatever they want, however much they want, and we can trade for salt. We’ve found salt ourselves, thanks to A-Yin and Da Ya.”

Zhuo Yan’s words held some personal ambition.

A-Yin had not fully transformed, his fur color was different, and he was mixed-breed; he had always been looked down upon in the tribe. The beastmen were generally kind-hearted and, perhaps because of the pottery, treated A-Yin like a child. Except for Ah Tou and Ah Hui, Ah Ri only considered the two younger brothers’ opinions and didn’t look down on A-Yin too much.

Zhuo Yan wanted A-Yin to earn a bit of respect in the tribe.