Chapter 43 The Cave of the Elderly

The Elder Cave

Mao Bu glanced at Wen Ran, cautiously asking, "Wen Ran, wise one, could you teach me how to make this fish soup? I'd like to prepare some for my old comrades."

Wen Ran looked at him curiously. "Old comrades?"

"Yes," Mao Bu sighed, his expression tinged with sadness. "They were once members of the hunting team. After being injured during hunts, they became disabled beastmen and chose to move to the Elder Cave, where some other aged beastmen also reside."

"Their lives are incredibly difficult, even more so than those in the nursery cave. The young ones are raised by the tribe and have the hope of eventually hunting and contributing back. But these disabled and frail beastmen in the Elder Cave have no hope; they are simply nearing their end. The tribe provides them with food only once every three or four days, and the meat isn't enough to satisfy each beastman. They live quite miserably."

"After my duty guarding the nursery ends today, I plan to go fishing in the river and make them some of this fish soup. Even if it doesn't completely fill them, at least a belly full of warm broth is better than an empty stomach."

Wen Ran said, "Mao Bu, I'll go with you to the Elder Cave. Let me see if there's anything I can do to help them."

"You want to go to the Elder Cave, Wen Ran, wise one? Oh, that's wonderful! But..." Mao Bu glanced at Wen Ran, scratching the back of his head hesitantly.

Noticing Mao Bu's hesitation, Wen Ran asked, "Is there something inconvenient about it?"

"No, no, it's just that the conditions in the Elder Cave are quite poor. I'm afraid you might not be able to bear it."

Wen Ran shook his head. "It's fine. Lead the way."

He recalled a time when he could calmly slice edible parts off rotting mutant beasts, eating his share while white maggots wriggled nearby. If that didn't faze him, no matter how dire the Elder Cave's conditions, they couldn't be worse than that.

Mao Bu called his son, Mao Ye, to help guard the nursery. Wen Ran watched as Mao Ye arrived with Mao Run in tow and couldn't resist teasing Mao Bu, "You've raised your cubs well—a 'buy one, get one free' deal."

Mao Bu laughed heartily, seemingly accustomed to Mao Run constantly clinging to his son. As they walked out, he briefly explained the situation in the Elder Cave to Wen Ran. "The beastmen living there lack the ability to repair it, so the cave is dilapidated. There are several holes in the roof and walls where sand blows in. It's merely a shelter for them, utterly incapable of withstanding the harsh desert weather. In winter, it's bone-chillingly cold; in summer, it's hot and humid. Surviving in such conditions is pure torment."

"Moreover, due to their age, various disabilities, wounds, and illnesses, they endure constant pain. Fox Xiu, the shaman, has no way to treat these ailments, so they suffer alone. Some have even lost the will to live."

Looking at the elderly and disabled beastmen before him, the first thought that entered Wen Ran's mind was: "waiting for the body to decay, the spirit to fade."

Most of the cave's inhabitants were physically disabled. Their impaired limbs severely restricted their movement—they couldn't walk, run, or jump normally. Even in beast form, their limbs remained incomplete, plunging their daily lives into immense hardship.

For example, the first male beastman Wen Ran noticed had lost both legs and could only drag himself forward with his hands. Years of using his palms to move had formed thick calluses on them.

When he saw Wen Ran and the others, he was visibly startled, as if unable to believe that anyone, especially a sub-female, would visit their Elder Cave. The proud females usually kept their distance, never setting foot there, with the sole exception of Fox Shadow, the female companion of Mao De, the Elder Cave's leader.

Over the years, Fox Shadow had been the only exception.

The legless disabled beastman asked softly, "Who are you looking for?" clearly on guard.

Only when Mao Bu entered behind Wen Ran did the disabled beastman visibly relax, smiling at Mao Bu. "It's you, Brother Mao Bu. Are you here to see the boss? He's not in the cave right now."

Wen Ran raised an eyebrow. Every small group had its leader—it was an inevitable outcome when intelligent beings gathered. Even animals, through competition, would choose the strongest to lead their pack.

He wasn't surprised. Just as Cat King was the cornerstone of the nursery cubs, the Elder Cave's cornerstone was likely the "boss" this disabled beastman referred to.

"Where did Mao Shuang go?"

Mao Shuang smiled bitterly. "You know how it is—the boss's female companion came again, trying to persuade him to return to her cave."

Hearing this, Mao Bu couldn't help but curse. "That stubborn old fool, Mao De! Fox Shadow, a noble female, has come to see him so many times, but he absolutely refuses to go back to her cave. He insists on living here in the Elder Cave. Is it really that comfortable here?!"

Mao Shuang forced a smile. "Brother Mao Bu, you are whole-bodied—you don't understand our suffering. The boss refuses to return precisely for his female's sake."

Wen Ran frowned. It seemed their physical disabilities not only brought them inconvenience in life but also caused severe psychological trauma.

He had encountered similar people back on ancient Earth. During the apocalypse, to survive mutant beasts, humans gradually formed scavenger teams, venturing out from bases to find food and supplies.

During these expeditions, they often encountered mutant beasts. If someone was bitten and infected, to prevent themselves from turning into a mutant, they would amputate the bitten part to stop the virus from spreading. There were many such cases.

Though they saved their lives by sacrificing a limb, they lived a life worse than death. Because of their physical disabilities, they were discriminated against by their scavenger teammates, seen as weak, useless burdens who would hinder the team's progress. However, the base did not permit harming comrades, so they couldn't simply be killed.

To force them to leave voluntarily, teammates would mock, insult, and even beat them. Their dignity was wantonly trampled. Even if they endured the humiliation and stayed, when food and supplies were found, these disabled individuals were often last in line for resource distribution, receiving very little or sometimes nothing at all, unable to even fill their basic hunger.

Under these circumstances, these disabled individuals constantly felt inferior, depressed, and hopeless, losing faith in life. Living in this state for extended periods, their mental health deteriorated, with many developing tendencies towards depression, self-harm, and suicide.

Was the Elder Cave's boss, as Mao Shuang mentioned, refusing to return to his female due to similar psychological issues?

Wen Ran and Mao Bu waited a long time, but the Elder Cave's boss, Mao De, never returned. Wen Ran also had other tasks to attend to later. After personally observing the living conditions of the beastmen in the Elder Cave, he had a general understanding. He then told Mao Bu, "Let's go back for now. We can come another time, and I'll teach you how to make the fish soup."

"Alright!" Mao Bu's large eyes gleamed with excitement. "That's our Wen Ran, wise one—never keeps secrets! Any other beastman would keep a method like making fish soup—turning unpalatable food into something tasty and safe to eat—to themselves, afraid others would compete for fish beasts!"