Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Hearing Xue Tuan's voice, the other young cubs also looked over.

They saw the little black lion, Zhong Yan, his breathing steady, his amber eyes fixed on the hard rock face before him. Then he lowered his gaze, scanning left and right before settling on a massive boulder.

Earlier, while near Little Dumpling, Zhong Yan had overheard Xue Tuan say it would be great if they could smash out a few more caves for everyone to live in.

So he decided to try.

The little black lion's paws scraped over the rough gravel as he approached the boulder. He squared his shoulders, placing both paws on the massive stone.

Then, with a sudden surge of power from his forelimbs, he actually lifted the boulder clean over his head!

The stone's weight was enough to crush an old tree, yet in the little black lion's paws, it was as light as lifting a piece of firewood.

Xue Tuan realized what the little black lion was about to do, while the other cubs merely stared, some even fearing the boulder might fall on them.

Zhong Yan took a deep breath, and the strength he had been gathering finally erupted—his forelimbs swung forward violently.

"Boom—!"

With a whistling sound that cut through the air, the boulder slammed hard into the rock wall.

Amid the deafening roar, even the beastmen who had just reverted to human form to rest were drawn by the commotion.

"This…" Before Da Hu could finish his sentence, his words were swallowed by another loud crash.

Dust flew, the rock wall trembled, and debris scattered everywhere as cracks appeared at the point of impact.

"Thud, thud—!"

Zhong Yan didn’t stop. He grabbed the boulder again and smashed it down repeatedly!

Each impact deepened the cracks. After several heavy blows, "Crack!"—a semicircular opening appeared in the rock wall, shattered stones scattering across the ground.

Even the adults were left speechless. Everyone knew this little black lion. Before, they had only heard titles like "jinx" or "monster" associated with him. Now, seeing him in action, the "jinx" part might be untrue, but "monster" seemed all too real.

"Oh my god…" Several beastmen who witnessed the scene widened their eyes, their expressions full of shock.

San Hu’s jaw dropped so wide that the berry in his hand fell to the ground unnoticed. He had never imagined that a cub could possess such astonishing strength. He even wondered if this little black lion could take down three of him with a single punch.

After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted into an uproar.

"He smashed a cave all by himself, and he’s just a cub?!"

"That's unbelievable! What kind of monstrous strength is that?"

"Wow, by the time he grows up, I probably won’t be able to match him."

Xue Tuan was the first to rush to the little black lion’s side, wrapping his arms around his furry neck. "Your strength is incredible!" Xue Tuan buried his face in the soft fur, reveling in its fluffiness.

Even though he had witnessed it once before when breaking ice, Xue Tuan was still stunned by the little black lion’s unparalleled power.

Hearing Little Dumpling’s exclamation of amazement, the little black lion felt inexplicably happy.

Panting heavily, the little black lion ignored the crowd, his eyes only on Little Dumpling. He raised a paw, hesitated for a moment, then lowered it again, simply nuzzling Xue Tuan with his furry head.

"Don’t smash any more caves. You can rest now, you’ve worked hard enough."

Xue Tuan didn’t know if the little black lion had heard what he said earlier and came to smash the cave because of it. He felt both touched and concerned.

No matter how strong the little black lion was, he was still just a cub, still growing like all the other cubs. Cubs are supposed to be playing at this age—they only need to help out a little.

Rong Shan also walked over, crouching down to gently pat Zhong Yan’s head. "Just go play with Xue Tuan and the others. Leave the cave-smashing to the adults."

"Exactly, if you do all the work, what are we adults here for?"

"Adult matters can wait until you little ones grow up a bit more. Hahaha."

For a long time, many people’s impression of Zhong Yan had been shaped by the gossip that spread through the tribe after his fathers disappeared. Later, after Zhong Yan was adopted by the elder, fewer negative stories circulated.

As for the "monster" rumors, no one had heard of Zhong Yan hurting anyone since then. Perhaps back then, he was just too young to control his strength?

In many ways, strength represented power. Now, seeing Zhong Yan like this, it was clear that, barring any accidents, he would become a pillar of their tribe in the future. Who would still believe those rumors?

Da Hu glared at San Hu, pulling at his cheeks with both hands. "Let me see how thick your skin is."

The little black lion nodded at Rong Shan. In front of Little Dumpling’s father, Zhong Yan appeared especially obedient. He had only smashed the cave to help Xue Tuan. Now that everyone was telling him to go play with Xue Tuan, he was even happier.

"Dad—the ginger water is ready." Bing Qiu shouted at the top of his lungs. Among the cubs, aside from him, only Qing Miao could help a little. He had to watch over several pots by himself, and after all the work, he didn’t feel cold at all.

"Everyone, take a break and have something warm to drink!" Rong Shan called out to the beastmen who were smashing the cave, and everyone responded.

An Tu was the first to receive a steaming bowl of ginger water. Staring at the ginger slices inside, he asked uncertainly, "What is this? Is it drinkable?"

He gently blew away the steam, took a small sip, and frowned slightly—the spicy taste spread across his tongue.

Seeing An Tu’s expression, the others hesitated. "What’s wrong? Does it taste bad?"

"Um, well… you should try it yourselves." An Tu’s lips twitched slightly, his expression indescribable.

"Drinking water shouldn’t be this troublesome. Let me try." The leopard beastman grabbed the bowl, intending to down it in one go.

As soon as the hot liquid touched his mouth… "Cough, cough."

"What is this? Take it away, take it away." The leopard beastman waved his hands repeatedly, indicating he couldn’t get used to the taste, and went to get plain hot water from another pot instead.

The remaining people glanced at each other and began politely offering the drink to one another:

"You go first."

"No, no, you should go first. After you."

Under Xue Tuan’s influence, the arctic fox family had long grown accustomed to the taste of ginger water. Seeing the troubled expressions of the other tribe members, they found it quite amusing.

Xue Tuan had already prepared a backup plan. Knowing that some people might not be used to the taste of ginger water, he had asked his brother to make a sweet syrup from red fruit leaves. Adding this to the ginger water made it much more palatable.

Bing Qiu proudly brought out his bowl of greenish syrup. "Come, come, add some of this, and it’ll taste much better."

Xue Tuan glanced at the ginger water after the syrup was added—its yellowish-green color made it look even more like a dubious concoction. Xue Tuan picked up the bowl Bing Qiu had prepared and, holding it with both hands over his head, offered it to the nearest marbled polecat brother. "Brother San Hu, drink this to warm up."

Anyone else seeing this bowl might suspect they could be poisoned by it. But faced with the little cub’s sincere gaze, San Hu resolutely chose to believe.

"Okay… thank you, Xue Tuan."

Better to endure short pain than long suffering. San Hu closed his eyes, pinched his nose, took a deep breath, and sent the "poisonous concoction" into his mouth.

A burst of spiciness instantly filled his mouth, but was soon replaced by a sweet taste. A warm current slid down his throat into his stomach, immediately giving him a cozy, wrapped-up feeling from the inside out.

After drinking it, his body indeed felt much warmer—truly amazing, he thought. And… it was actually quite tasty? San Hu scratched his head and said, "Another bowl, please."

Bing Qiu, meanwhile, brought a small bowl over with a sly grin to offer Hui hui. Unfortunately, Hui hui wasn’t fooled; seeing it wasn’t the usual water, he completely ignored Bing Qiu.

Elder Mushi plopped down on a large rock and sipped the ginger water slowly. With each sip, it seemed to drive away a bit more of the internal chill. He exhaled a warm breath, feeling much more comfortable.

He was one of those people who had grown accustomed to the taste of ginger water after just one sip. Ever since leaving his original tribe, the elder no longer wore a worried expression; he seemed to have grown years younger.

Feng Yan asked, "Would you like a little more?"

"Sure, thank you," Mu Shi replied, handing over his bowl. Feng Yan filled it up for him.

Feng Yan sat down beside the elder, holding a bowl of ginger water his kid had poured for him, and casually chatted with the elder: "So, why did you choose Rong Shan and me to be leaders?"

He and Rong Shan hadn’t been in the tribe for long, yet the former leader, priest, and elder had just handed the tribe’s most important positions to complete strangers like them.

Holding his bowl, Mu Shi smiled at the question. The arctic fox family were obviously strong—no question about that. A responsible leader already surpassed many, but in the arctic fox family, Mu Shi felt he saw even more admirable qualities.

They never abandoned or gave up on cubs that were having trouble surviving; they kept their promises to a tribe that was initially unwelcoming and unfamiliar; and then there were those three youngsters who joined the hunt for the vicious beast—Mu Shi had actually expected them to be turned away, but the arctic fox family accepted them nonetheless.

He shared these observations openly with Shi Hu and Yun Lu, and it turned out their thoughts aligned perfectly. Thus, the decision was made that day.

But the elder wouldn’t spell all that out. In the end, Mu Shi simply said with a smile:

"Because you are the most suitable candidates."

Author's Note:

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Thank you all for the nutrient solutions~

Thanks for reading~ ❤️