Chapter 24

Early in the morning, after a night of heavy snowfall, the snow stopped. Song Xu placed durable hardwood roots in the bonfire, tightly wrapped her hands and legs with small pieces of fur, hung small items on a homemade leather belt around her waist, and finally draped a small bear fur coat over herself. She pushed open the wooden door and walked out of the stone cave.

This forest was Wu Mu’s territory. He occasionally patrolled its edges, and Song Xu, following him, had roughly figured out the boundaries of his territory.

Since autumn, the snake had hardly left the vicinity of the stone cave and hadn’t been to the territory’s edge for a long time.

Today, Song Xu planned to check the territory’s edge. The snake’s concern for her was like a parent’s overprotectiveness for their child. While touching, it wasn’t necessary to always obey him.

Song Xu remembered Wu Mu mentioning that the Fierce Beast tribe would pass through here, hunting primitive beasts nearby. This was not only Wu Mu’s territory but also her home now. Knowing that many strangers would come to her home, she couldn’t just hide in the stone cave and wait for them to leave. To feel at ease, she needed to know how many people came, when they arrived, and where they hunted.

The snake wouldn’t wake up in winter, making him vulnerable. While the snake believed the Fierce Beast tribe wouldn’t harm him, Song Xu, recalling the scout she had seen before, wasn’t so sure.
She had to check it out. Living here, she had her ways of exploring and judging the world.

Of course, part of it was also her curiosity. People have always loved excitement.

Wrapped in thick bear fur, Song Xu looked like a bear walking in the forest, scaring away small animals. She would stop to play in the snow every now and then. The forest’s snowy landscape was too beautiful, with thick, untouched snow everywhere, just waiting for her to step on and play with. Her frequent stops slowed her down, and it took her three days to patrol the territory’s edge, finding no traces of beastmen. She also visited the riverside twice but saw no primitive beasts. Everything was peaceful. Each time, she returned shivering from the cold, warming up by the fire for a long time. The bear fur coat hanging nearby dripped water as it dried.

Rubbing her hands, Song Xu couldn’t help but wonder if Wu Mu had exaggerated to keep her from wandering in winter. But looking at Wu Mu’s innocent and honest appearance, she doubted he could have such deception.

Rubbing her red hands and cheeks, Song Xu resigned herself to checking the area periodically. She maintained a routine of going out once and resting for a few days. She stayed near the stone cave during her rest days, playing in the snow. She built a large snow snake, its body encircling the stone cave, its head facing the entrance, and its tail held. The snake’s body was a meter high, meticulously decorated with scales by Song Xu. If snow covered the scales, she would redraw them. It’s a pity that Wu Mu couldn’t see her awe-inspiring work.

As more than two months passed without incident, Song Xu no longer had the enthusiasm to explore as she did at the beginning of winter. She spent her days roasting nuts by the fire. While she was roasting nuts, a group of heavily armed beastmen from the Fierce Tribe left their settlement and headed towards the Dark Forest.

Two months into winter marks the migration period of a certain primitive beast. In previous years, this migrating beast’s resting point was the Xiangyuan Forest, closer to the tribe. However, after a forest fire in the Xiangyuan Forest, the resting point changed to the riverbank in the Dark Forest.

The Fierce Tribe has grown strong by hunting these primitive beasts annually, so they must follow the beasts’ tracks. Leading this hunting team was Wei Shan, whose beast form was a tiger, the largest male tiger in the tribe. He was no longer young and had a steady personality. The twenty or so beast warriors walking behind him were all trained by him and were his well-coordinated companions. However, at the back of the team were a dozen or so young warriors who had just come of age. These young beastmen, though called warriors and known for their bravery in regular hunts, had never participated in hunting primitive beasts. Wei Shan always felt they were too inexperienced. Only by surviving this hunt would they become true warriors.

“Primitive beasts are nothing to fear. This time, I will hunt one alone,” said Shi You, walking at the back of the team, boasting to his companions. His hair was like a lion’s mane, majestic and imposing.

“Shi You, you really talk big. Even the captain can’t hunt a primitive beast alone, and you think you can?”

Angered by his companion’s doubt, Shi You shouted, “Just wait and see!”

The young beastmen, unwilling to be outdone, challenged, “We’ll be watching!”

To join the primitive beast hunting team, one must prove themselves. Each of the dozen young beastmen had defeated several opponents to be selected. Because of this, they were full of pride and competitive spirit, often arguing over a few words. The older beastmen at the front, hearing the young ones’ boasting and arguing, smiled in anticipation. They were eager to see these naive youngsters suffer a setback from the primitive beasts.

Some older beastmen couldn’t help but recall their own youth, saying, “Hunting a primitive beast alone, I once thought the same. But it’s too difficult. I remember the last one who could do it was Hei Sen.”

Speaking of Hei Sen, the older beastmen were all familiar. She was once the most formidable female warrior in their tribe, with a tiger form. Many young men had tried to pursue her, only to have their teeth knocked out. She was a fierce warrior, admired and respected by all the tribe members. Unfortunately, she left the tribe a few years ago and never returned.

Mentioning Hei Sen reminded the beastmen of her only child, Wu Mu, who lived in the Dark Forest. Wu Mu might have inherited his father’s bloodline, as he grew stronger than his mother after reaching adulthood, but unfortunately, he was a half-beastman.
A half-beastman destined to lose his sanity would not bring benefits to the tribe, only threats.

For the past few years, they deliberately avoided Wu Mu’s territory whenever they passed through the Dark Forest. If a snake beastman hibernates in winter, feels threatened, and wakes up, its aggression would be extreme. It would be bad for both sides if they woke him up. On their way, the beastmen hastily caught a few hungry wild beasts that came out to forage and ate them raw, believing that drinking the hot blood would make them braver in the upcoming battle.

Two days later, the group of beastmen entered the Dark Forest.
As usual, Song Xu, patrolling the edge, saw the messy footprints in the snow. Her expression brightened, and she quickly ran to the tracks to examine them closely, sniffing the lingering scent of beastmen in the air. The scent was chaotic and faint, indicating they probably passed through here last night.

Song Xu took off her shoes and gloves, hung them on her waist, stretched her limbs, and nimbly climbed a tree to observe the direction they had left. She quickly followed the tracks. She would stop occasionally to ensure she maintained a safe distance, not too close to be discovered. Simply put, she just wanted to observe them secretly.

As a beastman with a weak beast form, she had advantages that fierce beastmen didn’t. Her scent was not as strong and was harmless, generally not attracting attention.

When she was about to approach the group of beastmen, Song Xu took off her bear fur coat and transformed into a squirrel, climbing high onto a branch to observe. She silently counted the number of beastmen, surprisingly finding seventy-three of them, which was the size of a medium-sized tribe. The fact that the Fierce Tribe sent so many people for a hunt indicated a large population.

Curiously observing each beastman, she unexpectedly recognized one with lion-like mane hair and beard. Wasn’t he the lion beastman who had chased her when she first arrived, forcing her to flee for her life?

After observing them, Song Xu quietly left without attracting any attention. She noticed their route was towards the northern part of the forest, which she rarely visited, far from Wu Mu’s cave. This relieved her, but she kept an eye on their movements for the next two days. Being alone and bored, she spent much time observing the beastmen. Inevitably, some sharp beastmen noticed her.

The leader, Wei Shan, and a few experienced older beastmen sensed her presence but said nothing.

When Song Xu saw them moving further away from the cave, following the river she swam in during summer, she finally felt completely at ease and stopped following them. An older beastman couldn’t help but say to Wei Shan, “That little female beastman didn’t come to watch us today.”

Wei Shan’s rough face broke into a smile, his laughter coarse, “Probably because we went too far, and she got lazy.”

“Is she really Wu Mu’s mate?”

“Seems like it, she has Wumu’s scent.”

“Didn’t expect that kid to have a mate,” an older beastman sighed, recalling Wu Mu’s childhood. While other young beastmen played together, he rarely spoke and clung to Hei Sen’s doorpost, biting anyone who tried to tease him.

Wei Shan didn’t expect it either. When Xuan Jiao mentioned Wu Mu had found a mate, he thought she was lying. He had secretly observed the squirrel beastman over the past two days and saw Wu Mu’s shed snake skin tied around her waist.

Wei Shan felt a bit relieved. Since Wu Mu found a mate, it meant he hadn’t completely lost his sanity. Perhaps his condition was better than he had imagined. He was relieved because he and Hei Sen were siblings, tiger cubs who grew up together.