Chapter 8 The Primitive Woman’s Hostility

Chapter 8 The Primitive Woman's Hostility

The more Wen Ran thought about it, the more anxious he became. He checked the remaining food in his backpack—the compressed biscuits were gone, leaving only one pack of instant noodles. That would barely be enough for him and the three kitten cubs for one meal tonight. If Lang Zhi didn’t bring back any prey tomorrow, they would all go hungry.

But seeing the three little ones, whose stomachs still rumbled with hunger even in their sleep, and feeling his own stomach ache, Wen Ran placed a stainless steel bowl over the fire and decided to cook the instant noodles.

They'd worry about tomorrow, tomorrow; today, they had to fill their stomachs.

When the noodles were ready, he used two twigs as chopsticks and divided the noodles into four portions. Before he could even wake the three kitten cubs, their eyes still closed, their pink noses twitched at the scent. In the next moment, all three opened their eyes in unison.

"What’s that smell? It’s so fragrant!"

Wen Ran picked up the tortoise shell bowl filled with instant noodles and handed it to Round Cat. "Try it. It’s braised beef flavor. I’m not sure if you’ll like it."

Round Cat extended a claw-tip, hooked a strand of noodle, and tossed it into his mouth.

Wen Ran watched his expression, noticing the surprise in his eyes, followed by an involuntary purr. He knew he liked it.

After handing portions to the other two kitten cubs, Wen Ran took a satisfying sip of the noodle soup.

Once he swallowed the noodles, Round Cat held the bowl up to his eyes, examining both the noodles and the soup. "Wen Ran, what prey does this meat come from? It’s so delicious! How can there be such tasty food?"

Wen Ran looked at Round Cat and smiled. "It’s good, right? This isn’t meat from prey. It’s made from a plant called wheat. Unfortunately, there isn’t any in the desert."

If he ever got the chance to leave this desert, he would have to look for wheat. Maybe this world had it too.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Round Cat’s eyes, but it soon filled with hope. "Then when the dry season comes and we migrate to the Zebra Tribe, we can look for it. The beastmen of the Zebra Tribe all like to eat grass. Maybe they know where to find wheat."

Mao Xuan and Mao Yin nodded vigorously in agreement. The food was so delicious; they really hoped they could eat it every day from now on.

The three kitten cubs’ eyes shone with anticipation, and they looked at Wen Ran with even more admiration. They never thought plants could be so tasty aside from prey meat. They had eaten plants before, but desert plants were either poisonous enough to kill beasts or simply unpalatable.

Wen Ran was truly skilled to make such unpleasant plants smell and taste so good!

Seeing them use their claws to hook the noodles, sometimes burning their pink paw pads, Wen Ran broke the chopsticks and taught them how to use them. "Use chopsticks to eat. It won’t burn your paws."

The kitten cubs struggled to hold the chopsticks with their cat paws. Wen Ran sighed, rubbing his forehead. He always subconsciously treated them like humans since they could talk and work. Alas, he forgot their beast-form paws couldn’t grip chopsticks.

"Just use your claws to hook the noodles. Sorry, I overlooked that your little paws can’t hold chopsticks."

The three kitten cubs put down the chopsticks. Round Cat breathed a sigh of relief. "We’ll turn into half-beasts in the future. Then we’ll be able to use chopsticks."

"Yeah."

They passed an anxious night. When the sun rose on the third day, Lang Zhi still hadn’t returned.

By the time the moon rose that night, the hungry group of one adult and three kitten cubs lay weak and listless on the fur bedding in the cave. Fortunately, the sandstorm and tornado outside had stopped.

Wen Ran couldn’t bear the hunger any longer. He wasn’t from this world and lacked the same tolerance for hunger as Round Cat and the others, who had beast genes in their bodies.

To avoid starving to death, early the next morning, Wen Ran asked Round Cat to lead him around the tribe, hoping to borrow some food to tide them over. He planned to repay them later once they hunted. But instead of borrowing food, he ended up getting scolded and getting into trouble.

This was Wen Ran’s first time venturing deep into the Sand Cat Tribe’s territory. Usually, the three kitten cubs and Lang Zhi’s cave was built on the very edge of the tribe. Aside from Cat Tooth, who had come to deliver gerbil meat that day, he hadn’t interacted with any other beastmen.

As they walked deeper into the tribe with Round Cat, he saw many caves dug into the rock walls, arranged in two rows, upper and lower. The dark cave openings looked eerie under the sunlight. Not far from the cave entrances, there were many shaded areas made of animal hides, where women and children sat or lay resting.

Besides them, a group of fluffy kitten and fox cubs darted around playing in the shaded areas.

Wen Ran looked at these people with various animal ears and tails, his gaze grew distant. It felt unreal, as if he, a human, had stumbled into a cat den and fox hole.

Roughly counting, there were over two hundred caves. The Sand Cat Tribe seemed quite populous. Following Round Cat further in, they arrived at a shaded area built with multicolored stones. It was very low and dilapidated, worse than a rural pigsty or sheepfold.

Round Cat glanced at Wen Ran, a bit uneasy. "Wen Ran, this is the chief’s shaded area."

Wen Ran nodded. "I know."

In the Sand Cat Tribe, aside from the chief, only the shaman’s shaded area was built with multicolored stones. Everyone else’s was made of sand, animal hides, and bones.

The chief was indeed the chief—truly extravagant. His shaded area was several times larger than the three kitten cubs’.

Seeing Round Cat bring an outsider Lesser Female to the chief, the idle women, half-beasts, and cubs watched them. However, they only observed from a distance and didn’t approach to speak or interfere.

The beastmen on duty in the tribe watched Wen Ran warily, especially when his gaze lingered on a chubby kitten clumsily crawling around on the yellow sand. Their eyes almost turned into sharp blades, fearing this outsider might harm their cubs.

Wen Ran withdrew his gaze and inadvertently noticed the beastman guarding the cubs. His hand was already on the bone knife tucked at his waist, his fox ears alert and raised, ready to draw the knife at any moment.

He had only found the plump little kitten somewhat cute and had stared a bit too long, almost provoking a bone knife draw. It seemed the beast world, like Earth, placed great importance on protecting their young.

Round Cat called out to the chief and whispered, "Wen Ran, the one sitting facing you is the chief."

Wen Ran looked up. Sitting in the center was a man around forty years old, with a fierce aura and a stern expression. So this was Chief Mao Ke of the Sand Cat Tribe.

On Mao Ke’s left and right sat two groups. To his right sat two women, and to his left sat several tall young beastmen, including one with an unusually round belly... a young man?!

Wen Ran stared at the belly with surprise and curiosity for a while, then looked at the young man’s very youthful face. Confirming it was indeed a pregnant man, he struggled to keep his expression neutral.

The young man seemed somewhat embarrassed. He nodded at Wen Ran and smiled faintly, pressing his lips together.

"Round Cat, is this the Lesser Female that Lang Zhi picked up?" Chief Mao Ke asked.

Round Cat nodded.

Wen Ran said politely, "Hello, Chief Mao Ke. I’m Wen Ran."

"Outsider beast."

Mao Ke commented expressionlessly.

"..."

Wen Ran pondered the beastman chief’s utterly unfriendly words. His intuition told him that the upcoming conversation with this chief wouldn’t be easy or friendly. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say to ease the tension. Then he remembered that prejudice was like a mountain—when someone looked down on you, nothing you said or did would change their mind. So he decided to be direct. "Chief Mao Ke, Round Cat, Mao Xuan, Mao Yin, and I haven’t eaten for several days. Could you lend us some prey to tide us over? We’ll repay you once Lang Zhi returns from hunting."

Before Mao Ke could respond, Wen Ran felt a wave of hostility. He followed the gaze and saw a young woman wearing an animal hide skirt, with messy hair, glaring daggers at him.

Two men sat behind the woman. One was Cat Tooth, whom he’d seen last time, and the other had a scar on his face and a fox tail—apparently a fox beastman.

Round Cat whispered to Wen Ran, "The one glaring at you with fox eyes is Hu Lai."

Seeing that Wen Ran didn’t recall this person, Round Cat added quietly, "She’s the one who wanted Lang Zhi to go to her cave. The Sand Cat beastman Cat Tooth behind her is the one we teased when he brought the gerbil meat. Remember? He’s Hu Lai’s primary mate!"

Wen Ran: "..." Oh no, trouble.

"Chief, you can’t lend food to an outsider beast! The hunting team hasn’t returned for days, and there’s not much meat left in the storage cave. Besides, our own tribe’s beastmen aren’t even full. How can we spare extra meat for an outsider beast!" Hu Lai glared at Wen Ran as she spoke.

Wen Ran was baffled. Why was this woman glaring at him? As far as he remembered, this was their first meeting. He hadn’t offended her. Last time, he’d only verbally teased her primary mate Cat Tooth—just some playful banter. Surely she wouldn’t hold a grudge over that?

"Moreover, it’s uncertain whether Lang Zhi will even return! If he doesn’t come back, what does this outsider beast’s life or death have to do with our tribe!"

Mao Ke seemed somewhat swayed by Hu Lai’s words. The young man with the round belly frowned slightly and said gently, "Chief, I believe the hunting team and Lang Zhi will return. I have faith in Mao Shi. You should also trust the Hunting Captain you appointed."

Hu Lai shot Mao Fei an annoyed look. "Mao Fei, mind your own business. Even if you're a Lesser Female who can bear young, your status is still a step below us full females. Who are you to speak in the chieftain's cave?!"

Mao Fei pursed his lips, his expression turning grim, yet he offered Wen Ran a reassuring glance. His thin lips then retorted, "But my Alpha Male Mao Shi is the Hunting Captain. When you say the hunting party won't return, aren't you implying my Alpha Male won't come back?!"

"When did I say the hunting party won't return?!" Hu Lai shrieked.

"You said Lang Zhi won't return. Lang Zhi is a wolf beastman, stronger than all the Sand Cat Beastmen and Sand Fox Beastmen in our tribe. Saying he won't return is no different from saying the entire hunting party won't come back!"

"Mao Fei, are you deliberately opposing me?!" Hu Lai's face twisted with rage as she pointed at the youth and yelled furiously.

"I'm not."

"Elder Sister, look at Mao Fei!"

Hu Lai turned to another female, venting her grievances indignantly. "Elder Sister, it's this Lesser Female who's been living in Lang Zhi's cave all along. Because of him, when I sent Cat Tooth last time to ask Lang Zhi to come to my cave, he refused! It must be because of this Lesser Female!"

Wen Ran: "?"

So this primitive woman was targeting him because she saw him as a love rival?

Wen Ran was speechless. Didn't she realize that even before he came to this tribe, Lang Zhi hadn't gone to her cave either!

Author's Note:

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Thanks to the baobei "Want to Raise a Cat" for feeding 12 bottles of nutrient solution—it felt like a heavenly downpour! After drinking it, I feel like I can grind out another hundred thousand words~ [covering face peeking] May everything you receive be what you desire, baobei, and may you find peace in all you lose. May life, career, and love all go as you wish~ With gratitude and blessings from Nongka [heart].