Chapter 58 Cat Tooth’s Gratitude

Chapter 58 Cat Tooth's Gratitude

After dinner, Wen Ran, Lang Zhi, and Mao Shi set out to find birch trees.

As night deepened, Wen Ran decided against letting Mao Fei return to his own cave. Instead, he had Mao Fei stay with them and the three cubs, ensuring they could look out for each other. They worried about leaving Mao Fei, heavily pregnant, alone in the cave while Mao Shi was out with them, with no clear idea of when they'd return.

The desert moon in the dry season was bright and full, a luminous white jade disc suspended in the inky sky. Its cool, silvery light cascaded like a sheer veil over the endless, undulating sand dunes.

Wen Ran gazed at the silvery sand sea, a sight unique to the desert, and couldn't help but marvel at its peculiar beauty. Wiping sweat from his brow, he noted that while dry season nights were hot, they were considerably cooler than the scorching days. They were fortunate to be out at night; daytime would have been unbearable.

The group headed towards the lightning-struck tree. By now, the burning birch had completely extinguished, leaving only charred remnants of its trunk lying forlornly on the yellow sand.

Wen Ran and the others glanced at it but didn't linger. Led by Mao Shi, they continued their search for birch trees. Mao Shi, guiding the way, explained, "I remember this direction. There's a birch forest ahead. Let's hurry. Stick close to me so you don't get lost!"

Wen Ran nodded, then belatedly realized that Mao Shi, in his beast form, was charging forward with his head down and couldn't see him nodding from atop Big Black Wolf's back. So, he loudly grunted in acknowledgment, his voice cutting through the wind and sand.

Lang Zhi remained silent, his swift, galloping limbs serving as his reply to Mao Shi.

After two hours of relentless charging, the Great White Cat and the Big Black Wolf abruptly halted, nearly flinging Wen Ran off. Fortunately, Lang Zhi used his thick wolf tail to steady him, and once Wen Ran regained his balance, he was gently set down on the ground.

Mao Shi raised a paw, pointing at a vast shadow ahead. "This is it, Wen Ran. See if these are the birch trees you mentioned."

The birch forest was profoundly quiet at night. Occasional gusts of wind rustled the dry branches and leaves. The straight, slender, grayish-white trunks of the birch trees shimmered with mottled silver under the moonlight, resembling rows of tall guardians clad in silver armor.

Yes, this was indeed a birch forest.

Wen Ran was thrilled. With this birch forest, they wouldn't have to worry about kindling during the snow and rainy seasons.

After a brief rest, the three rushed back to the tribe to summon the Beastmen to help collect birch bark, as their own efforts would be limited.

The Beastmen moved through the birch forest. Most birch bark was white and relatively smooth, but the trees had knotholes that, from a distance, looked like countless eyes.

This sight unsettled the Beastmen, who had initially trusted Wen Ran's words. They began to wonder if this wasn't some punishment from the Beast God, with so many eyes seemingly watching them!

Some Beastmen even trembled, their legs shaking, their bone knives wobbling in their hands. Hu Shui, shaking the most violently, received a kick from Mao Shi. He scrambled up, about to curse, but upon seeing it was Mao Shi, his anger instantly deflated. He pursed his lips and silently picked up his bone knife.

Mao Shi grumbled gruffly, "With Cat Tooth injured, your cave only sent you, one male Beastman. We already have few Beastmen here, and you're slacking off! If you keep slacking, I'll have Hu Lai send someone else!"

Hu Shui's fur bristled with fear. Hu Lai already disliked him; if he were replaced, she would surely dislike him even more.

This absolutely couldn't happen. Hu Shui snatched up his bone knife and swiftly moved to a birch tree, carefully stripping the bark while nervously glancing at Mao Shi.

Some male Beastmen found bone knives too cumbersome for stripping bark and simply used their sharp claws to carefully peel it from the trunk. Birch bark was relatively flexible and easy to remove. Each piece of bark was then wrapped in animal hides.

The desert had one advantage: the bark was dry, not damp, so dry that it would snap off easily.

Even these clumsy-clawed male Beastmen managed to keep most of the bark intact.

However, birch trees were scarce in the desert. Once the bark within reach was collected, the Beastmen had to climb higher to strip more, throwing it down to those on the ground, who then gathered and stacked it.

Mao Shi first instructed some Beastmen to carry several hide-sacks full of bark back to the cave. They made trip after trip, ensuring that by the time the Beastmen in the trees descended, there would be no need for further transport, saving precious time. After all, the weather was hot, and everyone wanted to finish collecting the bark quickly and return.

The entire process was busy yet remarkably orderly.

Wen Ran reflected that this was one good thing about the beast world—the Beastmen were mostly simple and honest, especially the males, who worked with incredible diligence. The firewood cave next to the tribe's food cave was already packed to the brim with birch bark, with much more still needing a place.

Later, at Mao Shi's suggestion, since the tribal square was spacious, the remaining birch bark was stacked there. The pile of birch bark resembled a small mountain, layers of varying sizes stacked together. Even standing a short distance from the stack, the unique woody fragrance of birch filled the air.

Wen Ran returned to the cave he shared with Lang Zhi and the three cubs. The cave had four small chambers, and one was already completely filled with birch bark. The sense of satisfaction and security it brought was irreplaceable.

...

After several days of recovery, Cat Tooth's wounds had formed a thin membrane, and he could finally get out of bed, though he limped and needed support.

Hu Lai was wrapped tightly in animal hides, only her eyes visible, terrified of even a hint of sunlight. Otherwise, her exposed skin would immediately turn red and itchy, soon blistering with excruciating pain.

As she wrapped Cat Tooth in hides, she said angrily, "Why do you have to thank Wen Ran now? Can't you wait until you're fully recovered, after the dry season?"

"No."

Hu Lai rolled her eyes and smacked his wounded shoulder irritably. "Is Wen Ran going to run away after the dry season?!"

"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts! Be gentle! There are several wounds on this shoulder!" Cat Tooth's face paled from the pain.

Hu Lai scolded him, a mix of worry and anger in her voice. "Now you know it hurts! Serves you right! I hope it hurts you to death!"

Hu Shui also muttered softly nearby, "Serves you right, serves you right!"

Cat Tooth bared his teeth and glared at Hu Shui. "You shut up!"

Hu Shui immediately clamped his mouth shut. Everyone in their cave knew that after the incident with the man-eating vine nearly killing Cat Tooth, his status as Alpha Male was now firmly established, unshakable by any other male Beastman. Hu Shui had once foolishly dreamed of becoming Hu Lai's Alpha Male, but now that seemed utterly unrealistic.

When Cat Tooth and Hu Lai arrived, Wen Ran had just finished eating watermelon, his mouth still stained with juice. He extended his soft little tongue and licked the juice clean from his lips, not wasting a single drop.

This scene caught Cat Tooth's eye, making his throat inexplicably tighten. He swallowed several times.

Seeing his foolish expression, Lang Zhi's face suddenly darkened.

Afraid that this unreasonable Wolf Beastman might, in a fit of displeasure, toss him out of the cave, Cat Tooth hurriedly said, "Hey! You unreasonable Wolf Beastman, I'm not here to fight you this time! I'm here to see Wen Ran!"

Hu Lai stood with her hands on her hips. "You savage Wolf Beastman, stay away from my Alpha Male! He's still sick. If you scare him and make things worse, I won't let you off!"

Wen Ran twitched his lips. Hu Lai was actually daring to scold Big Black Wolf now. Before, she would follow Big Black Wolf around, never daring to utter a harsh word. It seemed that after this injury, Cat Tooth had finally turned a corner and become Hu Lai's cherished treasure.

Cat Tooth stepped forward, coughed, and said to Wen Ran with deep emotion, "Wen Ran, when I thought I was about to meet the Beast God, your appearance saved me. You are my dazzling light! The great benefactor who gave me a second life! My rebirth father and mother! Ah, Wen Ran! I am grateful to you!"

Wen Ran felt goosebumps rising. He rubbed his arms and glanced around—everyone else was also grimacing and frantically rubbing their arms. It seemed he wasn't the only one disgusted.

Originally, ever since Wen Ran had put aside past grievances and saved Cat Tooth, Hu Lai, that vain, narcissistic little red fox, had warmed up to him a bit. But now, seeing Cat Tooth showering Wen Ran with such attention, Hu Lai began to dislike Wen Ran again, her small face tight with displeasure.

Wen Ran smiled. "Shoo, shoo. Once you're healed, go play somewhere else. I don't want to be part of your drama."

With that, regardless of whether they understood what "drama" meant, he had Big Black Wolf chase these two "brilliant" individuals out.

Receiving Wen Ran's command, Big Black Wolf was delighted. He wished he could knock them out with one swipe each, eager to kick these annoying people out immediately!

Cat Tooth quickly reached out and grabbed the Wolf Beastman, urgently saying, "Wait! Don't push me! I can leave on my own! I still have beast meat to give Wen Ran! I'll leave after I give it to him!"

Hearing there was beast meat—food, after all—Wen Ran raised his hand to stop Lang Zhi.

Cat Tooth adjusted his disheveled animal hides. In front of Wen Ran, he still cared about appearing clean and tidy.

After straightening his hides, Cat Tooth awkwardly pulled out a pile of dead gerbils from the bag behind him. Pointing at the dead gerbils, he said proudly, "Wen Ran, these are gerbil meat, the favorite food of us Sand Cat Beastmen. I had the male Beastmen from my cave catch so many to thank you for saving me! How about it? You like them, right?"

Wen Ran looked at the pile of dead gerbils, their lifeless eyes wide open, and frowned in disgust.

Round Cat couldn't stand it and pointed at Cat Tooth, scolding, "You ungrateful male Beastman! You really are ill-intentioned! You know Wen Ran hates eating gerbil meat—he won't even touch it—yet you bring so much gerbil meat to disgust him!"

"Exactly! Since our cave found out Wen Ran doesn't eat gerbil meat, we've stopped hunting gerbils altogether! And you bring so much gerbil meat to disgust Wen Ran! You really deserve a beating!" Mao Yin also jumped up and down, yelling.

Big Black Wolf, who already disliked Cat Tooth, now looked even darker. He said grimly, "Just as I thought, I shouldn't have kindly stopped earlier. I should have sent you flying with one paw!"

With that, he swatted Cat Tooth out of the cave like a shooting star disappearing from sight, followed by the shrieking Hu Lai and her group of male Beastmen.

Wen Ran waved at their retreating figures. With the amusement gone, boredom set in again. He couldn't go out, couldn't sleep, and had nothing to do. Every day was just eating and waiting to die, and being inactive made Wen Ran feel like his brain was rusting.