Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Lele nearby also wanted to speak up and join them, but his dad held him back. Lele had no choice but to keep quiet—better not to cause trouble for his father by tagging along to the quarry...

"Have all the little mulberry trees you brought back been planted?" Rong Shan asked again, still thinking about the silk his good kid had mentioned.

"They've all been planted on the hillside behind," Guang Sha replied. "We plan to build the silkworm shed there too."

Yun Lu added, "Silkworms are delicate—they're sensitive to dampness, heat, and wind. The shed needs to be built in a place that's sheltered, dry, and well-ventilated."

The little snow fox nodded in agreement, thinking that Uncle Yun Lu really remembered everything clearly and arranged things methodically, working well with his dad.

Yuan Yi said, "We checked the eastern part of the hillside—the terrain is flat, the sunlight is just right, so it seems quite suitable."

The little snow fox added, "Also, remember to build the silkworm shed with thick adobe walls and a tightly sealed roof to prevent leaks."

"Inside, set up wooden racks with bamboo trays for raising the silkworms. Leave enough space between each layer for feeding and cleaning."

After discussing the details of raising silkworms for a while, the conversation shifted to beekeeping.

Guang Sha said, "On our way back, we actually came across several beehives. Luckily, Yuan Tu brought over the bramble barrels later, so we could cut down the hives and store them inside to bring back."

The bramble barrels were cylindrical hives woven from yellow chaste tree branches, sealed with mud on both sides and left with small openings for the bees to come and go. This structure provided insulation in summer and warmth in winter, perfectly suited to the bees' living habits.

Perched on Rong Shan's shoulder, the little snow fox chimed in, "Then let's set up the bramble barrel hives in the low-lying area near the icy river, close to the water source. Find a spot that's sheltered and sunny, and plant some flowers that produce plenty of nectar."

"During the flower season, there's milk vetch; in the hot season, yellow chaste trees; during the fruit season, we can rely on wild chrysanthemums and buckwheat; and when it gets cold, wild osmanthus can supplement the nectar source."

Lele listened excitedly nearby, "Does that mean we'll have honey to eat anytime we want from now on?" In the past, having honey was entirely up to chance, and each cub could only get a tiny share. Now their tribe could raise bees themselves?

Yuan Yi laughed and mussed up Lele's hair, "Always thinking about honey—then you'll have to help out."

"Okay, I'm not afraid of bees at all!" Lele clenched his fist, declaring confidently. The cubs all thought it was an easy task, but later, when Lele and the others got stung all over their heads, they didn't dare boast so loudly again.

The adults chatted a bit more, and Uncle A Li and a few brown-eared leopard beastmen also joined in.

Rong Shan asked Bing Qiu to take his well-behaved child back first. Bing Qiu then carried the little snow fox and, after agreeing on a meeting spot with Zhong Yan for the next day, they each returned to their caves to rest.

The night blurred the outlines of the cave entrance. Deep inside, the flame of the stone bowl lamp flickered silently, casting Zhong Yan's shadow against the rough cave wall in a yellowish glow.

As he did every day, Zhong Yan took out the little snow fox's "record book" to transcribe after returning home, ensuring his progress matched the little snow fox's.

Without realizing it, they had already completed more than half of it. Zhong Yan didn't know how much more the Little Dumpling had to record, but there was likely still plenty.

His grandfather hadn't returned yet; if he got too absorbed in his work, he might just rest at the workshop instead.

The cave was silent. Zhong Yan held a brush in one hand and pressed down on the paper with the other, carefully copying the text. He wrote slowly, often looking up to check the little snow fox's "original draft" before continuing.

After some time, Zhong Yan rubbed his eyes. For some reason, he felt unusually drowsy tonight—too tired? But he still had one page left to copy, so he needed to speed up.

The stone bowl lamp on the table burned quietly. In its dim light, Zhong Yan eventually gave in to sleepiness and fell asleep with his head on the table.

The next morning, the cave entrance was bathed in the faint light of dawn. Zhong Yan jolted awake from the table but lost his balance and fell backward.

Zhong Yan: ? Why does my body feel strange?

With a "thud," a little black lion landed clumsily on the ground.

The little black lion slowly raised a paw, his eyes filled with confusion: Have I reverted to my Beast Form?

He closed his eyes, trying to shift back to human form. He needed to take the Little Dumpling to the quarry today, and human form would be more convenient.

When he opened his eyes again, he still saw his paw—the transformation had failed.

The little black lion sighed inwardly. Just as Uncle A Li had said, he couldn't control his transformations freely yet. With their "issue," only after fully recovering could they shift forms at will like normal beastmen.

So when the little black lion arrived dejectedly at the riverbank, he was met with Bing Qiu's loud laughter.

"Hahaha, can't you change back again?" Bing Qiu laughed uproariously. "Your condition is really rare."

When Bing Qiu said this, he completely forgot that Xue Tuan was the same. But in his eyes, it didn't matter if Xue Tuan never transformed again, so in his subconscious, he had long since taken it for granted that Xue Tuan was a normal cub.

"Ouch, my stomach hurts from laughing," Bing Qiu said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. "Just think—you're always talking about protecting my Tuanzai, but you can't even control your transformation."

Hearing this, the little black lion grew even more dejected, lowering his head until it nearly touched the ground.

The little snow fox, however, was delighted. He jumped out of Bing Qiu's arms and approached the little black lion.

Two figures, one tall and one short, met—a pair of sparkling ice-blue eyes gazing into the little black lion's bright amber ones.

"Lower yourself a bit."

The little black lion looked listlessly at the little snow fox but obediently crouched down.

The little snow fox quickly climbed onto the little black lion's back, happily patting his furry head and tugging at his ears:

"Long time no see, Beast Form! I missed it!" Another "little black lion brand" fluffy cushion—how delightful!

Hearing the little snow fox's words, the little black lion felt a bit better. It seemed the Little Dumpling still liked his beast form?

Seeing the little snow fox perched on the black lion's back, unwilling to get down, Bing Qiu finally remembered that his Tuanzai had no resistance to fluffy things...

Darn it! Empty-handed and without his adorable little snow fox, Bing Qiu gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Hey, you kids, are we going or not?" Big Tiger called from a small bamboo raft, waiting for the cubs.

Several large rafts had already crossed the river ahead. The small raft Big Tiger was steering was reserved for the cubs, and he would accompany them today.

"Coming, coming, we're on our way," Bing Qiu replied. "Hurry up, black lion, no dawdling."

The cubs quickly boarded the small raft. The little snow fox sat steadily on the little black lion's back, the black-and-white pair quite striking.

Big Tiger pushed off with the pole, grinning at the little snow fox and the little black lion. "You two look like you belong together." No sooner had he spoken than Bing Qiu landed a few playful punches on him.

"Ouch, ouch, I was just joking," Big Tiger dodged, exaggerating his cries and making the little snow fox laugh heartily.

"My Tuanzai only has one brother, and that's me!" Bing Qiu declared with rare childishness, hands on his hips.

"Right, right," Big Tiger agreed with a grin. This Bing Qiu might be young, but he packed quite a punch.

The icy river was only a few dozen meters wide. Even with a large raft, it wouldn't take many pole pushes to reach the other side.

But for beastmen who couldn't swim, it was still quite dangerous. Having rafts made things much safer.

Today, the wind was calm, and the raft moved steadily. The little snow fox tilted his head and looked down—the raft wasn't single-layered, so no water seeped through. It was safe.

They soon reached the opposite bank, where several rafts of various sizes were already docked. Big Tiger still had to find a spot to moor. It seemed many beastmen had come for this trip—some to quarry stones, some to move them, others to transport them. They'd likely be busy all day.

Currently, the beastmen mainly engaged in open-pit mining, clearing trees and rocks to see if any exposed ore was available.

When the arctic fox arrived today, he heard many beastmen chanting under their breath, practicing the rhymes Yun Lu had taught them—which were actually the ones he had told Uncle Yun Lu.

Without any modern tools, everyone could only rely on observation and experience for mining. The rhymes mainly taught the beastmen to look for plants with unusual colors, as such plants often indicated the presence of ore nearby. For example, "copper grass flowers" were associated with copper ore, and "carnations" with gold ore.

Once the beastmen became more familiar with these methods, they might even attempt underground mining in the future. After all, if the surface deposits were exhausted, they would have to dig deeper. However, underground mining involved more complexities and required extreme caution.

With dull "thud—thud—" echoes reverberating across the hillside, the beastmen began their work. Ordinary stones were chipped away, some rolling down the slope, while others were carried by beastmen to flat ground, waiting to be relayed onto bamboo rafts.

Once a raft reached its maximum load capacity, it would be the first to be sent back to the tribe.

If large stone blocks needed moving, the beastmen would gather materials right there, cutting down thick, straight trees to make "wooden sleds." They would secure the large stones to these sleds with hemp ropes, with one person pulling the rope and another pushing from behind, slowly moving the stones downhill.

Big Tiger scratched his head, hesitating a little. In truth, the quarry was quite safe. The Mountain Water Tribe had always stationed beastmen here on rotation for guard duty. You hardly ever saw wild beasts, let alone foreign beastmen.

"Alright then, don’t wander too far. Call me if anything happens," Big Tiger said before running off to check in with Guang Sha.

There was no need for the cubs to go where the beastmen were currently mining. Instead, they headed toward the less crowded side, hoping to discover something.

As he walked, Bing Qiu also began muttering the "ore rhymes" Xue Tuan had taught. The arctic fox, meanwhile, was lazily draped over the little black lion’s back. It was indeed more comfortable than Zhongyan’s human form—nothing beat fluffy fur.

The cubs cautiously climbed up a small hillside. Under the slanting rays of the bright sun, an unusual glint of light reflected from a crack in a grayish-white rock amidst the dappled shadows.

The light flashed in the arctic fox’s peripheral vision, and he immediately called out to the little black lion, "Stop for a moment."

The arctic fox narrowed his eyes, scanning the rocks for a moment before saying, "Is that a rock over there reflecting light?"

They gathered around and saw semi-transparent crystal fragments with a faint purple glow peeking through the crevice.

Bing Qiu took a stone chisel from his bag and chiseled away at the rock a few times, exposing more of the crystals. Under the sunlight, their edges looked as clear and translucent as thin ice.

The arctic fox murmured, "This is... could it be amethyst?"