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Yin He was instantly curious and kept asking what it was.
Wen Ze teased him, “You’ll know when we get there. Hurry up, or it will be too late.”
The Southern Mountain Tribe, as the name suggests, is built to the south of the mountains.
Behind them is the continuous Qingfeng Mountain range.
The tribe has more than 800 people and over 400 households. For over a thousand years, their ancestors have dug countless caves in the Qingfeng Mountains, though most of them have been abandoned.
Because it’s the tribe’s territory, all the dangerous animals in the entire mountain were driven away.
In addition to sending people to search the mountains, remove poisonous plants, and drive away the venomous insects from time to time, the tribe also has patrols within the territory every day, so there’s no need to worry about danger inside the tribe.
The place that he wants to go is a long distance away from the Yang family in the east. Wen Ze cannot change into a beast form, so he must rely on his legs and needs to hurry.
As he walked quickly, Yin He caught up from behind. “Brother, let me carry you!”
Wen Ze stopped, “Hmm? That might not be a good idea…”
He’s only eight years old. How could he carry an eighteen-year-old man on his back?
But suddenly, Yin He growled and transformed into his beast form.
With black ears, a white head, and dark circles around his eyes… it was a real giant panda!
But this giant panda was much bigger than the ones he had seen in the zoo before. It was about two meters tall when it stood up, like a small tower.
Yin He lowered his panda head, and his clear, round eyes widened. Even his dark circles were cute.
“It’s fine! Except for mates, beastmen can carry their family members! Brother, hurry up and get on!”
That’s true.
Besides… he really couldn’t treat a two-meter-tall panda as a cub.
Stepping on the panda’s shoulders, Wen Ze used his hands and feet to climb onto his back.
“Hold on tight!” As he said that, Yin He bent his body slightly, spread out his bear feet, and ran towards the east.
Wen Ze fell backward due to momentum, but fortunately, his quick reflexes allowed him to grab onto Yin He’s fur.
His beast form was wide, and Wen Ze took up very little space.
Worried about falling, Wen Ze leaned against the back of his neck.
Yin He’s running speed wasn’t as fast as an adult beastman, but it was still very quick. One step of Yin He is equivalent to more than ten steps of his own.
He broke through the fog, and the scenery on both sides quickly retreated.
When running, in addition to making a “clang clang clang” sound with his paws, the fur on his body fluttered in the wind.
And his two round, thick black bear ears were shaking like waves.
The more Wen Ze looked at him, the more excited he became. Finally, he couldn’t hold back any longer and grabbed his ears with both hands!
It’s warm! The fur is soft and fluffy, and it has a nice elasticity when he squeezes it!
After rubbing a few times, he was totally overwhelmed with excitement!
A giant panda! He was sitting on and touching a real giant panda!
Yin He had depended on his brother for many years. Not only did he not resist his brother grabbing his ears, but he also said caringly, “Brother, are you afraid of falling? Then you must hold on tight!”
When he transformed into his beast form, his voice was more powerful. Wen Ze sat on his back and could feel the vibration of his chest.
The feeling was so wonderful that he couldn’t help but smile.
“I know! Thank you for your hard work, Yin He!”
“Roar! This is nothing!” After receiving the compliment, Yin He became more enthusiastic and charged forward with his bear head.
Wen Ze was shaken all over by him and laughed as he thought that if he were standing behind Yin He and watching him at this moment, he would definitely find him even more adorable running around in his chubby appearance.
After rushing for a while, the two brothers finally reached the easternmost side of the mountain when the morning glow and golden light appeared in the sky.
A lot of people had gathered on the empty land, including beastmen and half-beastmen who had come to help.
Wen Ze slid down from Yin He’s back to the ground, tightened the vine strap of his basket, and walked forward.
Yin He transformed back into his human form and followed behind him.
“Wen Ze, Yin He, you’re here.”
“How’s your injury?”
The people from the tribe greeted them warmly.
Although Wen Ze had received the original owner’s memories and knew that the beastmen were all good-looking, he was still secretly amazed when he saw it with his own eyes.
All of them were over 1.8 meters tall, each with their own distinctive features. They also stood together in their grass skirts or animal hide skirts, and the visual impact was just too much.
Years of hard work had made their bodies very fit, with perfect V-shaped torsos, abs, and well-defined lines.
Compared to beastmen, half-beastmen are thinner, but they each have long arms and legs, with well-defined features and a balanced look.
If each of them were placed in modern society in his previous world, they would be considered top male models, with a wild, healthy, and sharp aura.
The original owner had a good figure, but compared to the other half-beastmen, he actually looked a little malnourished.
…
During his adolescence, Wen Ze realized that he was actually attracted to men.
However, since his family had a history of heart disease, he didn’t want to hold anyone back, so he had never been in a relationship.
After entering university, he spent all his time in the fields, and over time, became socially anxious.
He found it overwhelming to handle so many people talking to him.
“Mm, my brother and I came to help.”
“The injury has healed a lot.”
Fortunately, the original owner was also a reserved person, so his awkwardness didn’t raise any suspicions.
The tribe leader, Yi Yan, also came today. Like his son Wu Ye, his beast form was also a grizzly bear.
Because of his age, his hair was gray, and his face had wrinkles left by time.
His back was slightly bent, and he was leaning on a cane.
He had already assigned the tasks: some beastmen were tasked with transporting sand and soil, while others carried wood.
As for the half-beastmen, they just did some simple work like removing stones from the sand, pouring water, moving small objects, and others.
Wen Ze watched as they transformed into their beast forms, a group of black bears, gray bears, and white bears, mixed with a few felines and canines.
As for the white giant python… it’s only Zhuo Mu.
He didn’t have sharp claws, so he led the group to transport the wood.
The beastmen who were transporting sand and soil had already started waving their claws and digging on the mountain ground, and the soil quickly piled up.
Wen Ze: “Yin He, come quickly.”
They stopped beside the pile of earth. Wen Ze bent down, and, with a slight movement, found a round object.
“Found it!” He grabbed the thing out, shook off the dirt, and looked at it.
Seeing this, Yin He asked, “Brother, is this the thing you’re looking for, the ‘delicate whiskers’?”
“That’s right.”
The “delicate whiskers” he referred to was round and about the size of a fist.
He put the scent to the tip of his nose and smelled it. It had a strong smell of green onions.
However, unlike the green onions, which only had small clusters of roots at the base, the rhizome of the scallion was covered with fine roots.
Yesterday, Wu Ye mentioned that they would start the cave repair from the east side, which made Wen Ze think of the scallions growing on this slope.
Digging it all up alone would take three days.
Fortunately, the beastmen needed the soil, so he quickly made a basket and came to collect the scallions.
Wen Ze put the scallion in his hand into the basket, squatted down, and while picking out the large stones, he collected the scallions at the same time.
“You come and help too,” he said to Yin He.
Yin He frowned subconsciously and said, “Brother, you’re not planning to eat this, right? This thing is terrible to eat. Not only does it sting your mouth, but it also stinks. The smell lingers for a long time.”
Wen Ze: “If eaten raw, they’re spicy, and the taste is strong. I’ll try a different method when we get back and see if I can make it taste better.”
He spoke without stopping what he was doing.
While the beastmen were digging, he was picking up below. Soon, he filled a basket.
Although Yin He didn’t like the smell, since Wen Ze asked, he sighed and reluctantly helped.
When the other half-beastmen saw what the two brothers were doing, they all asked in confusion, “What are you planning on doing with these delicate whiskers?”
Wen Ze: “It’s for cooking.”
The half-beastmen shook their heads, “Can you actually eat what’s made from these… I can’t even imagine what it would taste like.”
Wen Ze smiled and didn’t explain much, “Well, I might as well try. Does anyone else want to take some home?”
“No, no, my family doesn’t like it. Since you want it, I have collected a bunch of them here. I’ll give them all to you.”
Wen Ze’s eyes lit up: “That’s great! Thank you!”
Seeing this, other half-beastmen also said, “I have this too.”
“And here’s mine!”
Seeing Wen Ze and his brother struggling to put the delicate whiskers into the basket, not only the half-beastmen but the other beastmen felt complicated.
He rarely communicated with the others in the tribe before, and now, he might have fallen and damaged his head…
Soon, Wen Ze filled the five large baskets he brought. He looked at his harvest with satisfaction, and the joy of a good harvest appeared on his face.
Sang Hui, the leader of the half-beastmen in the tribe and older than Wen Ze by one generation, walked up to Wen Ze and warned him, “Don’t eat too much of this, otherwise your stomach will burn and hurt.”
Wen Ze noticed his good intentions and nodded, “Okay, I understand.”
Sang Hui added, “There is plenty of food in the summer. When the rain stops, I will lead the team, and we will go out to collect food.”
—Just don’t feed your brother too much of this stuff.
Wen Ze didn’t understand the hidden meaning of his words and thought to himself, “People from the Beast World are really simple and honest; they even want to take me out to find food.”
“Alright! Thank you, Uncle Sang Hui!” Wen Ze happily agreed.
Sang Hui: “…”
Forget it. They were currently staying at Zhuo Mu’s place, and this person was a warrior from the South Mountain Tribe, so they wouldn’t be lacking in food.
Usually, when people went out hunting or gathering, they’d have two meals a day.
If they got hungry at noon, just eat something simple.
The South Mountain Tribe organized a collective effort, reinforcing the cave for most of the day, and managed to finish the work before the rain began to fall.
Wen Ze was injured, so Zhuo Mu had given the order for him not to do too much work.
So at noon, he and Yin He were driven back home.
On the way, he turned to find Zhuo Mu and asked him, “Can I cook dinner tonight?”
Zhuo Mu didn’t say anything polite this time: “Mm.”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “You can use both the tools and the ingredients.”
Wen Ze was about to ask this and agreed with a smile: “Okay! You go ahead, I’ll go back and cook.”
After saying that, he sat on Yin He’s back, while carrying a large basket of scallions, and walked away with full anticipation.
The other scallions had already been sent back by Yin He earlier.
Zhuo Mu thought about the taste of the delicate whiskers and pressed his lips.
Wen Ze was a half-beastman, but his cooking should be better than his own… right?
At worst, he would just grill some meat to fill his stomach.
After finishing his work, he turned into a pure white giant python, washed himself in the river first, before slowly making his way home.
He didn’t have much hope for dinner.
However, when he was still some distance away from the cave, an overwhelmingly strong aroma of food rushed into his nose!
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