Chapter 49: When in Doubt, Consult the Beast God

Chapter 49: When in Doubt, Consult the Beast God

"When in doubt, consult the Beast God."

This was the tradition of the Sand Cat Tribe.

Faced with a matter concerning the tribe's very survival, the Sand Cat Tribe decided to hold the second ritual since Wen Ran's arrival. Everyone busily and hurriedly set up the ritual ground, and a bonfire was lit at the center of the tribal square. Hu Ya went to invite Hu Xiu Shaman, and everyone's faces were etched with gravity.

Wen Ran twitched his lips. These furry inhabitants of the beast world truly trusted that legendary, elusive Beast God!

Hu Xiu Shaman's old eyes, bleary from sleep, were still half-closed. Knowing the gravity of the situation, she instinctively began dancing around the bonfire, waving her skull cane and performing the ritual dance while communicating with the Beast God, seeking its guidance.

The key to the Beast God's revelation lay in the bonfire.

Hu Xiu Shaman chanted ancient ritual phrases while asking, "Oh, great Beast God, please guide your beloved people of the Sand Cat Tribe! With this bonfire as witness, may the great Beast God bestow divine guidance!"

As her words fell, she pointed the skull cane sharply at the bonfire. With a whoosh, the flames were instantly extinguished.

At that moment, the extinguishing of the flame signaled ill omens for the Sand Cat Tribe's beastmen. Panic swept through the tribe, and fearful expressions appeared on everyone's faces.

"Why did the flame go out?!"

"How could the flame go out at a time like this?!"

"Oh heavens, has the Beast God abandoned us?!"

"Has the Beast God forsaken the Sand Cat Tribe?!"

......

Wen Ran saw the visible panic among the Sand Cat Tribe's beastmen. Even when the elephant beast herd approached earlier, they hadn't been this frantic—it was as if doom had descended upon them.

Wen Ran didn't understand the significance of the bonfire extinguishing in the Sand Cat Tribe. Although Mao Fei also looked uneasy, he explained in a low voice, "The flame must not go out. If it does, it means the tribe seeking the Beast God's guidance has been abandoned! That is, the Sand Cat Tribe has been forsaken by the Beast God! We've been abandoned by the Beast God!"

"Our flame was sought from the City of Ten Thousand Elephants, traded using animal pelts and meat. Without fire, the tribe's young, females, and Lesser Females will freeze to death in winter, and prey will attack a tribe without fire! Even the Beast God has abandoned us! What should we do?!"

"Are we really going to die?!"

"Could it be that this early dry season came early just to wipe out our Sand Cat Tribe?!"

"Wailing, why has the Beast God abandoned us? What did we do wrong?!"

......

Mao Yue stepped forward and said, "Chieftain! Are you still refusing to see the truth? Look, even the Beast God can't stand it and has abandoned us! It's all because you trusted Wen Ran, this outsider beast!"

Hu Xiu Shaman also stared in disbelief at her skull cane, unable to comprehend what had happened. She had previously received the Beast God's guidance and learned that Wen Ran was the Beast God's Messenger, which was why she made an exception to accept an outsider as the tribe's Sage. She was certain Wen Ran was no problem, so why had the flame gone out now?

Mao Zhi also murmured with a pale face, "It was just a gentle tap with the cane—how could it so easily extinguish a blazing bonfire? Could it truly be that the Beast God has abandoned us?!"

Wen Ran said, "The bonfire can be relit if it goes out! I can teach you how to make fire! It's not difficult! This isn't the Beast God's will—it's just a coincidence!"

But after this ritual, few were listening to Wen Ran's words. After all, the Beast God was the lifelong faith of the beastmen. As an outsider Lesser Female, Wen Ran simply couldn't shake the Beast God's place in their hearts.

Just as Wen Ran was about to say more, he felt a warmth on his wrist. Looking down, he saw Lang Zhi gently grip his wrist a few times, shaking his head and whispering, "Wen Ran, you can't decide for everyone."

Wen Ran finally sighed and could only accept it. Letting others choose their own fate—whether they lived or died was no longer his concern. He had done his best.

In the end, only the elderly, infirm, and injured decided to stay. Even Chieftain Mao Ke and Hu Ya, under Mao Yue's pressure citing "ancestral traditions" and "the Beast God's wrath," had no choice but to lead the tribe members in migration.

Hu Xiu Shaman, however, stayed behind, claiming she was too old and weak to travel, continuing to manage tribal affairs.

Cat Tooth was injured and couldn't leave. Hu Lai chose to stay to care for Cat Tooth.

Mao Yue was displeased that Hu Xiu Shaman stayed behind. What if they fell ill during the migration without a Ritual Shaman to treat them?

But seeing Hu Xiu Shaman's firm stance, she had no way to persuade her. It had already taken great effort to get Chieftain Mao Ke and his mate Hu Ya to leave.

She glared hatefully at Wen Ran. It was all because of this outsider Lesser Female! If he hadn't insisted on staying, Hu Xiu Shaman would surely have migrated with them!

Mao Yue gritted her teeth and muttered, "Wen Ran, just you wait!"

......

In the vibrant watermelon field, lush green vines sprawled, dotted with plump, round watermelons. Several tall male orcs stood by the field, their hair deliberately disheveled and partially covering their faces, making them unrecognizable in the moonlight.

These were Mao Yue, her mate Mao Hu, and her other male orcs.

Mao Hu carried a leather pack and turned to look at Mao Yue, who was a head shorter than him, asking with obvious internal conflict, "Matriarch, are we really going to do this?"

These sandy plots were where the tribe had experimentally planted potatoes, watermelons, and white radishes after Wen Ran taught them farming. Now that they had borne fruit, if they were destroyed like this, the tribespeople staying behind would lose a large portion of their food!

"Why not?! We won't get to eat these anyway—should we leave them for that wretched Lesser Female Wen Ran?!" Mao Yue's eyes flashed with malice and madness. She glared at Mao Hu and reminded him, "Don't forget who caused your elder brother Mao Lu's suffering! If not for Wen Ran and Lang Zhi, would Mao Lu have been crippled? Would he have been driven out of the tribe by the chieftain?"

At the mention of Mao Lu, pain and hatred flashed in Mao Hu's eyes.

Mao Yue shot Mao Hu a fierce look and pointed at the male orcs behind her. "You, you, you, all of you—get to work! Whoever causes the most damage, I'll bear their cubs in my next litter after the dry season!"

As soon as she spoke, the dozen or so male orcs behind her swung their thick arms, claws snapping out from their fingertips. Their keen, sharp claws gleamed coldly in the moonlight as they mercilessly slashed at the nearly ripe watermelons.

The watermelons split open under the sharp claws, instantly cracking in half. Crimson flesh and juice spilled everywhere, leaving puddles on the yellow sandy soil.

Some male orcs charged recklessly through the field, seemingly intent on not only ruining the melons but also destroying the vines.

Under the night sky, the once-neat watermelon field became an instant scene of devastation. Shattered melons littered the ground, trampled vines tangled together, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of watermelon and the desolation of destruction.

Wen Ran had just arrived at the field carrying a hoe when he saw this scene. His eyes burned with fury.

Seeing the dark figures still destroying the field ahead, Wen Ran roared and lunged forward with his hoe raised, looking as if he wanted to fight them to the death!

The moment Wen Ran shouted, Lang Zhi transformed into his beast form and sprang toward the group like the wind. He bit and swiped at them wildly with his large paws, quickly subduing the male orcs vandalizing the field until they couldn't get up!

Wen Ran ran over and saw Mao Yue and Mao Hu's faces. Blind with rage, he swung his hoe and struck them several times. He swung until he was panting with exhaustion, but without stopping to rest, he had Lang Zhi keep watch over them while he hurried to assess the damage to the field.

Fortunately, they hadn't arrived too early, and he and Lang Zhi hadn't arrived too late either. Only a small portion of the field was destroyed, with most of it still intact. They hadn't had time to ruin the white radish and potato plots either.

Wen Ran returned and, looking expressionlessly at the bruised Mao Yue and her mates, pulled out his stun baton. This was only the second time he had taken out the electrified rod since arriving at the Sand Cat Tribe.

Last time, it was because of that fellow Hu Di, who was stunned unconscious for a night. But this time, Wen Ran didn't want to let Mao Yue and her mates off so easily. He turned up the current, electrocuting them until they collapsed, then furiously beat them with the hoe to make them feel the pain. After they were covered in wounds, he banished them from the tribe that very night!

These fields weren't only watched by them; other beastmen in the tribe checked on them daily. After all, during the dry season, beastmen tended to become desperate. To prevent any further accidents, Wen Ran entered the mall and bought some rapid-ripening solutions from the interstellar dimension.

He planned to accelerate ripening, speed up maturity, and harvest as soon as they were ready!

......

The twenty-two cubs in the den were definitely not in condition to migrate with the chieftain now. Worried that the cubs might feel abandoned by the tribe, and concerned that Mao Ke might actually take them along when leaving, Wen Ran hurried to the cub den.

He also wanted to check if they had any food left, and if there was water and dry firewood in the den. But he didn't expect to run into Hu Ya here.

Even more unexpectedly, the usually aloof Hu Ya was there with Hu Lai, spreading leather over the cubs' sleeping area in the den.

Seeing Wen Ran arrive, Hu Ya's gaze paused on the large wooden bucket he carried, detecting the savory aroma. Suddenly, a faint smile curved her lips as she stepped forward to take the wooden bowl from Wen Ran's hands. "Wen Ran, I finally understand now why Mother thinks so highly of you."

After removing the wooden bowl, Wen Ran set the bucket of minced meat and mashed potatoes on the ground. Behind him followed the three little Round Cats, each proudly dragging their small wooden bowls. These bowls were made by Lang Zhi at Wen Ran's request, for the cubs to eat from. Previously, they had used turtle shells, which varied in size and thus portion distribution. These similarly sized wooden bowls were much better.

He filled each wooden bowl with minced meat and mashed potatoes for the cubs. The cubs were still young, their teeth too delicate to chew larger meat chunks. They could only eat soft foods like mashed potatoes, fish soup, minced meat, and egg pudding.

After handing out the food, Wen Ran clapped his hands and asked Hu Ya, "Have you prepared everything needed for the migration?"

What Wen Ran really wanted to ask was: since you’re about to migrate and leave soon, why aren’t you busy packing? Instead, you have time to come to the cubs' den—are you actually thinking of bringing the cubs along on the migration?

Hu Ya immediately understood what Wen Ran was thinking. She said, "If it were like previous years, I'd definitely ask the chief to bring the cubs along on the migration. After all, the cubs are the future of the tribe."

"But not this time. We don’t even know if we’ll make it there safely ourselves. These cubs have no mothers or fathers—if they follow us on the migration, they’d just end up dying. It’s better for them to stay in the den and follow you, Wen Ran. That way, I can rest assured."

Hu Ya said solemnly, "The lives of these twenty-two cubs are now in your hands, Wen Ran. I hope you can take good care of them for me. Thanks in advance."

Hearing this, Hu Lai put down the animal hide in her hands and said, "Elder sister, I’m not leaving. Cat Tooth is badly injured—if we migrate, he’ll only die along the way! You and the chieftain go ahead with peace of mind. I’ll also take care of these cubs!"

Hu Ya gently touched her fox ears and said, "A Lai, you’ve matured a lot since Cat Tooth was injured."

Wen Ran also nodded in agreement. Ever since he saved Cat Tooth, Hu Lai’s attitude toward him had still been somewhat awkward or displeased, but she kept her word and rarely spoke sharply to him anymore. When it came to matters of tribal importance or the well-being of the clan, she could still tell what's important—this made her countless times better than Mao Yue.

However, as Wen Ran reflected on Hu Ya’s earlier words, he sensed a tone of a deathbed plea to care for orphans, which left him feeling somewhat unsettled.