Chapter 70: The Iridescent Serpent Tribe

Chapter 70: The Iridescent Serpent Tribe

Days after the birth, Mao Fei's recovery progressed well; she was now strong enough to hold her cubs.

Wen Ran and Mao Fei were still doting on the two newborns, pondering suitable names for them.

Wen Ran suggested a humble name for good fortune, proposing "Iron Egg" for the male cub. For the female, he thought a less rustic name like "An’an," signifying peace and safety, would be more fitting.

Mao Fei repeated "An’an" a couple of times, nodding excitedly. "An’an sounds lovely, and the meaning is wonderful. Wen Ran, I'll go with your suggestion!"

As for the little male cub nestled in Mao Fei's arms, stretching out tiny paws in protest against the name Iron Egg, his objections went unnoticed by everyone.

Mao Fei gently kissed An’an and Iron Egg, saying, "From today, you both have names. You will be Mao Iron Egg, and you will be Mao An’an."

Wen Ran's eye twitched. "Mao Iron Egg? What on earth? The cub would surely resent him when he grew up." He quickly clarified, "Iron Egg is a pet name, a childhood nickname. You need to give the male cub a formal name too. As for the female, Mao An’an can be her formal name, or you can choose another formal name for her."

Mao Fei was stumped. After much deliberation with no success, he called over the busy Mao Shi to help brainstorm.

In their tribe, names were typically derived from observations or distinct fur characteristics. For instance, Round Cat was named for a round spot on his chin in beast form, and Mao Yin for his silver-white fur. Surnames were based on their beast form.

His cubs were born amidst blood, cave walls, bone knives, and bows and arrows. Should they be named Mao Blood, Mao Cave, Mao Knife, or Mao Arrow? Mao Fei looked at Mao Shi, seeking his opinion.

Mao Shi affectionately replied, "Mao Meat, Mao Wall, or Mao Bone would also work, my dear. Whatever you say."

Wen Ran listened to the two white cats' discussion with a dark expression. Indeed, beyond their impressive leaping ability and muscular physiques, these two white cats were utterly uncultured. He couldn't let his godson suffer from such a cultural deficit, so he quickly offered several names for them to choose from.

"Mao Hui, shining like the sun and moon, radiating brilliant light; Mao Chi, swift as the wind like his father and mother, fast as lightning; Mao Dun, solid as a rock shield, destined for great strength, a reliable guardian protecting all he holds dear."

"Mao Dun! Let's call him Mao Dundun! His formal name will be Mao Dundun, and his pet name, Iron Egg!" Mao Fei decided on the spot. "Beastmen value combat prowess. Those with great strength and hunting skills won't starve and can provide for cubs and females! I also hope our little male cub can be a solid shield for An’an!" Mao Fei gazed tenderly at his two cubs.

Mao Shi embraced his mate and cubs, his face beaming with happiness. "Yes, I'll teach Mao Dundun to hunt, so he grows up to be as powerful a male orc as Lang Zhi!"

Wen Ran silently gritted his teeth. "Damn, another mouthful of dog food."

Yet, this was a helping of "dog food" he gladly consumed. He hoped An’an and Dundun would grow up healthy in this harsh beast world. These were the first two cubs he had personally delivered, his goddaughter and godson—a truly significant event.

And so, the names for Mao Fei’s two children were settled: the son’s formal name was Mao Dundun, with the pet name Iron Egg; the daughter’s formal and pet name were both Mao An’an.

Everyone played with the two cubs, calling them Dundun, An’an, and Iron Egg repeatedly. Wen Ran even bought milk powder for the little ones, preparing and feeding it to them himself.

By now, they were accustomed to Wen Ran suddenly producing strange, never-before-seen items. After all, even something as peculiar as an air-conditioning iron box had appeared—a can of milky-white sweet powder was nothing remarkable.

The two little ones clearly loved the milk powder; it was sweet and tasted even better than mother's milk.

Especially Iron Egg, who was already a bit impatient with being fed by a wooden spoon. He simply rolled over, lay on the animal hide, buried his head in the wooden bowl, and began lapping it up with his tiny tongue. Wen Ran found it incredibly endearing, his fingers itching to pinch those cute little cheeks.

Suddenly, rustling sounds came from outside. Mao Shi frowned and called out, "Who's there?"

"Chieftain, it's me, Hu Di."

What did Hu Di want with him?

Mao Shi found it a bit odd but still allowed Hu Di into the cave.

Hu Di had initially been somewhat embarrassed, but upon seeing Wen Ran present, that embarrassment morphed into a mix of surprise, fear, and ingratiation, playing out across his young fox face like a theatrical performance, which amused Wen Ran.

This newly adult male fox, who, along with Hu Lai, had raided Wen Ran’s cave in the middle of the night, been caught and threatened, and then sternly reprimanded twice by Wen Ran during the beast hunt, still harbored lingering fear.

"Mao Shi, I-I-I've come of age and want to dig my own cave."

In the Sand Cat Tribe, male orcs who reached adulthood could choose a non-sandy cliff to dig a cave if they didn't plan to join a female's cave.

Ideally, being closer to the tribe center was better, but aside from the caves of Chieftain Mao Ke and Shaman Hu Xiu, the best spot was Hu Lai’s cave. Hu Di, still traumatized from being tricked by Hu Lai last time, decided to keep his distance from her.

However, the remote areas of the tribe only had Lang Zhi and the three little ones' two spots. But he also felt uneasy around Wen Ran, always sensing that this lesser female sage disliked him and wanted to eat him.

After some thought, he went to the tribe’s orphan cub cave, looked around, and decided that digging a cave there was a good option—after all, cubs weren't as intimidating, especially these parentless orphan cubs.

Moreover, he didn't want to be in the noisy tribe center. The quiet edge suited him better, where no one would bother him.

Mao Shi readily approved, and Hu Di scampered off happily.

However, Hu Di’s visit reminded Mao Shi of recent worries. He shared his concerns with Wen Ran and Lang Zhi, "This year’s dry season has been prolonged. In previous years, autumn would arrive after two months at most, but it’s been almost three and a half months now, and the dry season still hasn’t ended. Our water cistern is running low. Luckily, we stored some rainwater before the dry season, but even with that, I’m afraid we won’t last until the dry season is over."

Wen Ran also felt they needed to plan ahead. Fortunately, perhaps because the dry season was nearing its end, the temperature had dropped significantly compared to half a month ago. Even so, Wen Ran estimated it was still around forty degrees Celsius—though tolerable.

He planned to lead an expedition into the desert to try their luck, searching for a tree from ancient Earth called the baobab tree. He had heard that each baobab tree stored a large amount of water. To survive in the desert, if thirsty, one only needed to carve a hole in the trunk of a readily available baobab tree, and fresh water would gush out, allowing them to drink their fill.

He didn't know if such trees existed here, but regardless, he had to search. What if he found them? It could alleviate their urgent needs.

......

The Zebra Tribe.

In the beast world, the place where beastmen sheltered from the dry season was called the underground seawater lake. Its entrance was a naturally formed cave opening amidst strangely shaped mountain rocks.

Just standing at the entrance, one could feel the dampness emanating from the bottomless cave, misty and hazy as if veiled in a faint gauze. The surrounding stone walls were wet, covered in moss and colorful ferns. Water droplets occasionally slid down the stone walls, dripping onto milky-white rocks with crisp sounds.

Massive, interconnected caves formed a vast network spread across the ground. The deeper one ventured, the heavier the moisture became, until a dark green lake gradually appeared before their eyes.

The lake was dark and still, its surface motionless like stagnant water, without any ripples, resembling a massive dark green mirror. Just a glance sent shivers down one's spine.

The still water perfectly reflected the cave’s magnificent scenery—a deep underground cave with its own lake, completely devoid of sunlight. If Wen Ran were there, he would immediately recognize it as similar to limestone caves from ancient Earth.

According to the beastmen, the Zebra Tribe’s underground seawater lake was discovered when subterranean beasts rolled over, causing the cave roof to collapse. Because the moisture here gathered year-round without dispersing, over time, beastmen began using it as a shelter during the dry season.

But now, it was surrounded by uninvited guests.

The Iridescent Serpent Tribe.

Iridescent Serpents, as their name suggested, had glossy scales that shimmered with electric blue, gem green, blood red, purple-red, and copper hues under sunlight. Their heads and eyes were relatively small, giving them a sinister appearance.

Serpent tribes reproduced rapidly and were numerous. Multitudes of colorful serpent-beasts, their scales gleaming with eerie, sharp cold light, bodies coiling and twisting, all raised their heads, hissing and flicking their tongues as they crawled on the ground, watching the beastmen inside the cave, exuding terrifying malice.

The sight made the beastmen’s scalps crawl. Other tribal beastmen originally sheltering here squeezed into their assigned caves, too afraid to come out, only peeking with cautious eyes.

The atmosphere was extremely tense. The Zebra Tribe’s old chieftain, Ban Yan, stepped forward under pressure and said with calm authority, "Noble guests from the Iridescent Serpent Tribe, have you also come to our tribe’s underground lake to escape the dry season?"

"Your tribe?"

From the serpent crowd, a half-human, half-serpent male serpent-beastman emerged.

The man was nearly two meters tall, with a half-human, half-serpent form—his upper body was entirely human, but his lower body was a thick serpent tail. His purple-red scales, under the glow of the cave’s fluorescence, gave off a bloodthirsty, eerie feeling.

His narrow serpent eyes, like poisoned blades, gleamed with cruelty and cunning. His red lips curved, his forked serpent tongue occasionally flicking out, revealing two sharp fangs gleaming with sinister venom—clearly the venomous fangs unique to poisonous serpents.

This person was Zi Yao, the newly appointed chieftain of the Iridescent Serpent Tribe. His purple-red scales symbolized the serpent king’s status within the tribe. Every serpent king of the Iridescent Serpent Tribe had purple-red scales, and all serpent-beastmen revered the purple-red scales as supreme.