Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The morning light broke, and the thin mist was about to disperse. Inside the cave, the charcoal in the fire pit had burned out, leaving only a few wisps of smoke curling upward, yet the residual warmth still brought a cozy feeling to the cavern.

The little cub was curled up in a thick fur blanket, his cheek nuzzling against the fluffy fur beside him, breathing softly and evenly. In his sleep, he instinctively snuggled closer to the warmth, his small hand gripping the soft fur nearby; the tip of his nose was gently brushed by the fur, making it itch. He wrinkled his nose and let out a tiny sneeze, "Achoo!"

Beside him, Bing Qiu was startled awake by the sound. He struggled to open his eyes and found the "culprit" with fluttering eyelashes, halfway between sleep and wakefulness. Bing Qiu, the little white fox, lifted a paw to hug Xue Tuan, his fluffy tail also reaching behind Xue Tuan to gently pat and soothe him.

Bing Qiu yawned, tears starting to form in his eyes. Little cubs need lots of sleep, otherwise they’ll start complaining again, "Why haven’t I grown taller yet?"

Xue Tuan drowsily opened his eyes. He had slept well, and the bed was so warm and cozy that he didn’t want to get up.

Bing Qiu: "Come have breakfast. Brother Ye Cong is taking us out to play later."

"Okay!" Xue Tuan stretched his limbs and lazily rolled over.

"Where’s little black lion?" He had been sleeping beside me last night. Why is the fluffy little lion gone when I wake up?

"After Father and Dad came back, he went to stay with Elder Grandpa." Bing Qiu walked over and pinched Xue Tuan’s rosy cheek. "And you have the nerve to ask? You wouldn’t let go of him, huh?"

"So what?" Xue Tuan said defiantly. There was no way he was letting go of the fluffy lion, not even in his sleep!

Feng Yan and Rong Shan heard their two cubs bickering early in the morning and said helplessly, "Still dawdling? If you take too long, Ye Cong and the others will leave without you."

"I’m up, I’m up." Xue Tuan quickly scrambled out of the bedding. He couldn’t afford to delay going out to play.

With Bing Qiu’s help, Xue Tuan got himself ready remarkably quickly. Munching on a freshly baked potato, he saw his father watering his "reckless" taro sprout.

The taro sprout was planted in a small bamboo pot, crafted by Ye Cong. Xue Tuan walked over, looked at the motionless little plant, and let out a soft sigh: "Sigh." Would it really not grow?

Rong Shan and Feng Yan exchanged a glance, understanding each other’s thoughts. Rong Shan cleared his throat and said, "Well, sweetie, don’t worry. Maybe it’ll sprout one day."

"Yeah, let’s not lose heart." Feng Yan’s large hand rested on Xue Tuan’s small head, giving it a gentle rub.

"Oh." The fathers who had previously advised him not to plant it were now comforting him. Xue Tuan felt a bit touched.

Feng Yan and Rong Shan were also preparing to head out. Today, they might be able to open the kiln.

After saying goodbye to their fathers, Xue Tuan took a small piece of itchy taro he had "hidden" and walked outside the cave. He hadn’t given up yet—if the environment inside the cave wasn’t suitable, what about outside?

Xue Tuan used a small hoe to dig a little hole at the cave entrance and planted the itchy taro. The soil didn’t look too black or too yellow, its texture was just right—not too loose or too hard, and the acidity and alkalinity seemed fine. If it were too black and soft, it would be acidic and could be improved with lime, but he’d have to think about other issues later.

"Xue Tuan, Bing Qiu—" Ye Cong called out the cubs’ names from a distance. Today, he was taking the cubs out.

Though it was called "playing," it was also a quiet way to teach the cubs survival skills in the wild. Ye Cong was now one of the Priests of the Mountain Water Tribe, and he was more than happy to guide the cubs.

Each tribe could have multiple Priests, but their responsibilities differed. For example, Yun Lu focused on rituals and various tasks, while Ye Cong specialized in healing and craftsmanship.

A few days ago, Yun Lu had come to see him and brought up the topic of his exile from the tribe. Then, somewhat nervously, he asked, "I don’t know how you feel about this, or if you’d be willing to share your knowledge…"

Yun Lu’s idea was that it would be best for a tribe’s Priests to be unified. If Ye Cong adhered to past beliefs and was unwilling to share his knowledge with non-Priests, it would be better to clarify things early.

But Ye Cong laughed and said, "Brother Yun Lu, to be honest, I stopped following those rules long ago." From the day he left his clan and became a wandering beastman, from the day he gathered like-minded beastmen, he had never intended to keep his knowledge to himself.

Later, Yun Lu excitedly chatted with him for a long time, regretting not having met earlier. If Deputy Chief hadn’t come looking for them, they might have talked all night.

"Brother Ye Cong, are we going to the bamboo forest?" Sha Hu, in Beast Form, asked cheerfully as he ran through the woods. Although Ye Cong was a Priest, he was so approachable that many people unintentionally forgot his status.

Ye Cong: "Yes, you all know the way, right?"

"We know—"

Not knowing would be bad; they'd get a spanking when they got back. From a young age, the cubs had to be familiar with the surroundings of their tribe, building their memory through frequent trips.

They knew the location of the bamboo forest but hadn't ventured deep into it yet.

Even before arriving, they could already catch the faint, fresh scent of bamboo.

Xue Tuan was being carried by Bing Qiu, with little black lion walking beside them. Hui hui had flown off somewhere, while the Hundred-Herb Beast in his arms chirped happily with "puyo puyo" sounds, seemingly having forgotten that every time they went out, the cubs would feed it all kinds of strange things.

Xue Tuan looked up and noticed Hui hui returning with something clutched in its beak again—this time, blueberries that looked like blueberries but tasted of strawberries. Both were delicious, though.

Seeing the little cub eat the food it brought back, Hui hui lifted its small head proudly. Then it took off again to find more food, ready to continue feeding the cubs.

Inside the bamboo forest, Ye Cong and a few beastmen companions didn't need to exchange many words. They held sharp stone knives and expertly cut down thick bamboo. The bamboo snapped with crisp "crack" sounds, sending splinters flying. The beastmen stacked bamboo of different lengths neatly on the ground, sorting them by intended use.

The cubs followed behind, their eyes full of curiosity. They gathered around Ye Cong's feet, chattering eagerly, "What can these bamboos be used for?"

Ye Cong smiled gently. "With bamboo, we can make many things. Like water carriers, baskets, and even cups for drinking and bowls for eating."

One beastman grinned and patted the bamboo basket on his back, gesturing for the cubs to see.

Another wolf beastman, who was usually quiet, directly demonstrated. He took a freshly split bamboo, his hand holding the knife steady and strong. Each downward swing precisely split the bamboo cleanly, and then he carefully shaved off the rough outer bark. The bamboo fibers split softly under the blade, emitting faint "crack" sounds.

Ye Cong said, "See, he's already doing the initial processing."

The cubs nodded, not fully understanding. It was still too difficult for them to precisely split bamboo at this stage. Little black lion, however, watched with rapt attention, as if trying to memorize every step.

Seeing the objects that looked like chopsticks in Ye Cong's hand, Xue Tuan's first reaction was to glance at his brother Bing Qiu.

Ye Cong said, "In a bit, each of you will have to make chopsticks for your family."

Sure enough, it was just as he thought. Xue Tuan had always used two twigs to pick things up and had indeed mentioned the word "chopsticks" before. It turned out his brother had quietly remembered and worked with Brother Ye Cong to come up with a solution.

"Hehe, Brother Ye Cong is really easy to talk to. He agreed as soon as I mentioned it," Bing Qiu explained, noticing Xue Tuan's gaze.

His brother was truly the best. Xue Tuan silently offered all the berries Hui hui had given him to Bing Qiu. "Brother, eat."

"Good boy." Bing Qiu glanced at little black lion, ignored his stare, and promptly ate the berries.

Ye Cong and the others had actually mostly processed the bamboo chopsticks. The cubs only needed to do a bit of casual polishing to participate—it wasn’t about making them handle anything too complicated.

"Give some to me! Give some to me!" The cubs swarmed around Ye Cong, reaching for the chopsticks. It was their first time encountering such utensils, and they were still curious.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Feng Yan and the other beastmen were preparing to open the kiln.

Feng Yan waved his hand to signal, and Da Hu and the others stepped forward with tools, carefully opening the kiln's covering.

The other beastmen held their breath, their eyes fixed on the kiln. The flames had long died out, leaving only a faint smell of smoke and charred wood in the air. They were now carefully extracting the cooled charcoal, bit by bit.

"Slowly, don’t break it," Feng Yan’s deep voice carried authority and caution.

The tribe members gathered around, watching breathlessly as Da Hu carefully peeled away layer after layer of soil.

Finally, Feng Yan crouched down and gently used a wooden stick to brush away the last layer of soil, revealing the charcoal inside.

When the first piece of jet-black charcoal was fully exposed, everyone let out soft gasps of awe. The charcoal was hard yet lightweight, its surface marked with the delicate pattern from charring.

Under the sunlight, Feng Yan and Yun Lu began carefully inspecting each piece of charcoal. According to Xue Tuan's instructions, they observed the hardness and color, memorizing them for future comparison.

After examining for a while, Feng Yan noticed that the charcoal they had produced themselves looked quite different from the charcoal they had gathered in the forest. Still, he believed their own batch was of higher quality and would burn longer.

However, not all of the charcoal had turned out successfully; an estimated thirty to forty percent of it was unusable.

Even so, it was a decent result for their first attempt. In the end, Feng Yan nodded with satisfaction and said to the crowd, "Success." His voice was calm but carried unmistakable, uncontrollable joy.

After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted in cheers! Several beastmen clapped excitedly, leaping and hooting; the older ones remained more reserved, but broad smiles spread across their faces, their eyes filled with contentment.

Yuan Tu and An Tu patted each other's shoulders excitedly, wrapping their arms tightly around one another: "Wonderful! Wonderful!"

"We have charcoal now!" Big Tiger shouted loudly.

Others joined in, yelling, "We finally have charcoal!"

Back in the bamboo grove, the young cubs suddenly heard some faint commotion in the distance.

Xue Tuan turned to look in that direction… they wondered, could it be that the charcoal was ready?

Just earlier, they had caught a fat goose beast—looks like we'll have something delicious to eat soon?