Chapter 28

Chapter 28

For several consecutive days, the sky remained overcast, and the rain never ceased. Ye Cong occasionally glanced outside, observing the changes in the rainfall. Having just arrived, he was met with continuous rain, leaving him with little opportunity to get more work done.

Since everyone found the caves higher up inconvenient, the larger caves often housed more than one family. For instance, the central cave accommodated Ye Cong, the newly arrived beastmen, and some of the tribe's communal resources.

With many newcomers here, Shi Hu and Yun Lu came by daily to check on them, while Feng Yan and Rong Shan looked after the others.

"High Priest, is this the right way to arrange these herbs?" During the rain, some herbs and jerky hanging at the cave entrance had gotten slightly damp, and a beastman asked Yun Lu how to dry them properly.

Yun Lu: "Yes, just do as I said…"

Ye Cong had been sticking close to Yun Lu these past few days and was now helping out nearby.

"High Priest, the chief is at the entrance waiting for you," a beastman reported.

"Just me?"

"Yes."

Yun Lu: "Alright, I'm coming. Ye Cong, please help them."

Feng Yan and Rong Shan were waiting at the cave entrance and soon saw Yun Lu approaching them.

After getting to know him over this time, the two had come to understand Yun Lu's character. Usually quiet and reserved, he was meticulous in his instructions, down to the smallest detail, and always had the tribe's best interests at heart.

Feng Yan and Rong Shan decided to tell Yun Lu the full story of their southward migration and to ask a favor of him.

Yun Lu: "You're saying that your tribe's Priest once predicted that Xue Tuan wouldn’t make it past seven? But now he has not only survived but is growing increasingly intelligent?"

Yun Lu had, of course, noticed something special about Xue Tuan early on. From the first day they arrived in the tribe, he had taken note.

That little cub had bright, clear eyes—unlike other cubs who looked around out of boredom, he was intentionally observing everyone! Yun Lu had quickly looked away back then, unwilling to meet the little cub's gaze.

Later, he gradually heard about Xue Tuan's deeds from Sha Hu and other cubs. But he hadn’t expected that the adorable, clever little one had such a past.

"Yes." Both Feng Yan and Rong Shan nodded, their hearts aching at the memory of the past but grateful that things had improved now.

They hadn’t believed in the Beast God before, but after this experience, perhaps there really was a Beast God looking out for their Xue Tuan.

"I understand what you mean. Don’t worry, let me mull it over," Yun Lu said finally.

Feng Yan and Rong Shan bowed to Yun Lu: "Thank you for your understanding."

Yun Lu returned the bow and watched as the two walked away.

Yun Lu looked up at the sky, where another flash of lightning streaked across the distance, followed by a faint rumble of thunder.

"What is it?" Shi Hu, who had just taken Sha Hu back into the cave, approached now that their discussion was over.

Yun Lu’s gaze remained fixed in the distance as he replied, "They want me to take Xue Tuan as my disciple."

Shi Hu laughed at this: "Well, it seems you’ve both had the same idea." He knew Yun Lu had been paying attention to that little cub for a long time—perhaps that little one was the person his partner had always wanted to find.

Yun Lu’s lips curved into a smile, the fatigue of the past few days melting away as a gentle warmth spread across his face. "Indeed," he replied.

A few more days passed, and the rain finally stopped.

Before dawn, only a smoldering firepit remained at the tribe's cave entrance, its embers crackling softly.

The air felt exceptionally fresh after the rain, and the snow on the ground had been washed clean.

The cubs, cooped up in the cave for days, couldn’t wait to head out with the adults.

After several days of rest, Little Black Lion’s injuries had healed, and Hui Hui eagerly dashed out first.

This time, not only the hunting and gathering teams but also nearly all the beastmen came out together—clearly, staying in the cave day after day had everyone feeling cooped up.

Xue Tuan lolled on Little White Fox’s back, holding the "puyo puyo" HundredHerb Beast, tagging along leisurely with the adults toward the jungle.

Hui Hui soared overhead, occasionally landing back on Xue Tuan’s shoulder as if to play with the cub.

It was indeed time to replenish fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. The adults split up into the nearby jungle, not worried about the cubs' safety.

The cubs weren’t the main workforce anyway—they were basically there to have fun. Although they scattered to forage on their own, they naturally clustered around Xue Tuan.

"Xue Tuan, give a shout if you spot something good!" the cubs clamored, not forgetting to remind him.

"Okay," Xue Tuan agreed readily—he would definitely keep his little friends in mind.

Once inside the jungle, Xue Tuan hopped off his brother’s back.

Little Black Lion stuck by Xue Tuan, carrying several small bags. As usual, Xue Tuan handed whatever he gathered to Little Black Lion.

Bing Qiu glanced at the in-sync Xue Tuan and Little Black Lion, then at Feng Yan, who was preparing to hunt nearby, and said hesitantly, "Xue Tuan, I want to go with Father, I..."

Bing Qiu’s explanation was cut short as Xue Tuan waved his hand casually. "Go for it, go for it."

Xue Tuan gave a shrug and added, "Let Hui Hui go with you."

He knew his brother wanted to learn hunting and replied airily, "Don’t worry about me, Little Black Lion is here with me."

With his younger brother saying that, what was there to hesitate about? Bing Qiu glanced at Little Black Lion, who returned his gaze with firm determination.

"Alright, I’ll be back by lunchtime." Then a Little White Fox appeared and dashed swiftly toward the hunting team’s direction.

Watching his brother leave, Xue Tuan continued to happily weave his way through the thick undergrowth. A gentle breeze blew by, carrying a unique fragrance.

What was this scent?

Xue Tuan sniffed around like a little animal, following the direction of the fragrance, and soon discovered dark brown soap pods.

Strangely, soapberry trees were usually over ten meters tall, but these were as low as shrubs, making them easy to pick. Typically, soap pods didn’t have such a strong scent, but those in the beastman continent carried a fresh, fragrant aroma.

Just as Xue Tuan reached out to pick them, Little Black Lion urgently pressed his paw down to stop him.

Xue Tuan looked down at the paws, withdrew his hand, and instead hugged Little Black Lion’s paw.

Little Black Lion: "It’s poisonous! Tuan Tuan, don’t pick it!"

Little Black Lion pulled out one paw and, afraid that Xue Tuan wouldn’t believe him, fed the soap pod to the HundredHerb Beast.

Sure enough, before it could even chew twice, the HundredHerb Beast angrily spat the soap pod out with a "pfft, pfft."

This confirmed that the thing was indeed toxic. Not satisfied with just spitting it out, the HundredHerb Beast hopped up and butted Xue Tuan’s leg with its head, warning the cub never to eat this thing.

If consumed directly, soap pods could cause stomach discomfort or even vomiting.

"I'm not eating it." Xue Tuan had no intention of eating it anyway; this was great for cleaning, and he could let the other cubs take it back to try.

"That's good." Little Black Lion nodded, trying to withdraw his other paw, but found he couldn’t pull it free; Xue Tuan was still holding it.

Xue Tuan gave the soft paw pad a few squeezes before letting go and said, "See, you won't hurt me."

From now on, he wouldn't have to worry about controlling his strength and being afraid to touch him with his claws.

Little Black Lion then realized that he had indeed touched Little Dumpling with his claw, and Little Dumpling was really fine—his hand wasn't bruised at all!

Little Black Lion was thrilled; it seemed he had truly mastered controlling his immense strength.

At that moment, that small, pale hand appeared before him again, and Xue Tuan looked at him with expectant eyes.

This time, Little Black Lion didn't hesitate. He raised his paw and gently placed it on Xue Tuan's palm, then felt the soft, warm grasp of the small hand.

Xue Tuan smiled, gave Little Black Lion's paw a little shake, and said, "Let's keep going."

Their small bags weren't full yet, so they needed to hurry and find more stuff to bring back.

As lunchtime approached, Xue Tuan and he gradually headed back toward the more populated area. Around them, sounds of chopping wood and the gathering teams chatting filled the air as everyone spontaneously started preparing to make a fire and cook.

Xue Tuan said, "Zhong Yan, you should eat with our family." Since Elder Grandpa was back in the tribe, Xue Tuan naturally assumed Little Black Lion would join their family.

"Okay." Little Black Lion followed closely behind Xue Tuan, accompanying him to gather some small twigs.

Xue Tuan originally intended to help his family collect some tinder, but as he walked, he caught a faint, lingering smell of burning in the air.

Strange, the fire hadn't even been lit yet, so how had something already gotten burnt?

"What's burning?" Xue Tuan wondered.

Little Black Lion smelled it too and led Xue Tuan toward the source of the scent. There, they discovered a patch of trees struck down by lightning.

The once-tall trees were now split into several sections, their trunks charred black, with evergreen leaves and branches scattered all over the ground.

Xue Tuan approached the pile of trees, bent down, and gently poked the black debris on the ground with a small hoe. He then picked up a solid chunk and clearly smelled the smell of charcoal.

Was this naturally formed charcoal? Charcoal requires a burning process in a low-oxygen environment to form. Xue Tuan thought of the frequent thunderstorms from not long ago.

The lightning-struck trees had caused small-scale fires, and the fallen trees and layers of foliage acted as cover, extinguishing most of the flames and reducing oxygen supply, leaving only small embers burning the underlying wood.

The conditions for charcoal to form in the wild are very rare, yet they managed to find some—proof that the Beast God truly favored them.

Xue Tuan scooped up a few pieces of charcoal with his hands and carried them over to his family's fire pit.

Bing Qiu had already started the fire and, upon seeing Xue Tuan, said, "You're back."

"Yeah!" Xue Tuan walked straight over and threw the pieces of charcoal into the fire.

Bing Qiu, holding a piece of wood, paused and stared at the chunks of what looked like badly charred wood? But maybe they’d still work?

When Feng Yan and Rong Shan returned, they found their family's fire pit burning some kind of blackened stuff.

Rong Shan was puzzled. He gently poked the charcoal pieces with a branch and noticed that some were glowing with a warm red light.

If these worked, they wouldn’t need firewood anymore, and it seemed quite effective?

So Rong Shan didn't ask further, assuming the cubs had picked up some random burnable things.

By the time they finished lunch, the black substance had barely burned down, and the fire was still going strong, requiring no additional firewood.

This surprised Feng Yan as well. He picked up one of the unused black chunks nearby—it was lighter than regular wood, yet it burned hotter and longer!

After hearing the cubs' conversation, he found out this stuff was called charcoal.

"Bing Qiu, go..." Feng Yan was about to tell Bing Qiu to quickly go get Shi Hu, but Shi Hu arrived first.

Shi Hu came with his subordinates, probably just passing through, and said to Feng Yan, smiling: "Feng Yan, I've seen your little one. He's quite clever. How about letting him follow me and learn a thing or two?"

Feng Yan was taken aback, then replied, "Okay, thank you."

By saying this, Shi Hu was granting Xue Tuan significant freedom.

Of course, Feng Yan and Rong Shan weren't surprised this had worked out. Their cub was so smart and cute—who wouldn't want him as a disciple?

Meanwhile, Xue Tuan, who had just eaten and was lounging against Little Black Lion enjoying himself, was now pretty confused.

A disciple? Me?!

I’m going to be a priest?!

Author's Note:

On Wednesday, it will be going paid, and there will be a big update then.

On that day, I’ll be dropping red envelopes in the comment section. Thanks for your support, everyone! [kiss]

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There are several upcoming works in the column; interested readers can add them to your collection~

"Accidentally Entering the Furry Deserted Island Survival Activity"

"After Handing Over the Ocean Ranch"

"Opening a Cafeteria in an Ancient Academy"

"Little Penguin Doing Infrastructure in the Ice and Snow Beast World"