Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Bing Qiu was walking along the road, chatting with the little snow fox about the various uses of those sesame seeds. When he heard they could also be pressed for oil, everyone there was startled.

The little black lion, being in his Beast Form more often and used to eating animal fat, had never heard of other types of oil.

Big Tiger suddenly felt the large bundle of food on his back feel heavier.

To him, oil referred to animal fat. When consumed in Beast Form, it gave him a hard-to-describe satisfaction. In human form, animal fat only tasted good mixed with other foods.

Now, according to the Little Priest, many plants could also be pressed to extract oil? If they didn't know the Little Priest was the "Beast God Messenger," anyone hearing that would probably call it "nonsense."

The little snow fox, perched with his paws on the little black lion's head, said to Bing Qiu, "No rush. Elder Grandpa is so busy over there; it probably won't be quick to get people organized."

Bing Qiu had already been asking about how to press oil—his brother was always curious about new things.

"That's true. Next time, I'll think about helping Grandpa out more," Bing Qiu said. Many hands make light work. As for Brother Ye Cong's side, he'd just have to figure out more on his own.

Bing Qiu seemed to forget how long he'd been "learning the ropes" from Ye Cong. He was already "tired of the old and keen on the new" so fast, turning his attention to the workshop group.

The group wandered casually through the trading territory, striking up a conversation whenever they saw something new.

However, they found that besides stalls, there were also sheds just for chatting and shooting the breeze. From the clothes of the beastmen sitting inside, most were probably from medium-sized tribes. This made sense, as smaller tribes wouldn't have the leisure for such pastimes.

The ones gathered around them were probably traveling beastmen, which explained why they had so much to talk about.

As the little snow fox and his group passed by, he pricked up his ears, hoping to catch something. Instead, he heard a traveling beastman loudly bragging about himself.

"...Back in the day, I encountered the 'White Disaster Cold Season' in Snow Ridge. Thanks to this tough hide of mine, I lasted ten days! That Blue Moon... even now, thinking about it gives me nightmares!"

"...Wait, I remember the White Disaster Cold Season happened several decades ago. How old are you now?"

"Uh... well, I look young for my age! That's not the point. You should hear how I survived those perilous days..."

Bing Qiu snorted a laugh. "This guy got exposed but still has the nerve to keep going? I've got to hand it to him, that's some thick skin."

Big Tiger said, "He must have heard it from some old beastman. He doesn't seem like someone who could survive a natural disaster alone."

"A natural disaster from decades ago? That hasn't happened for a long time, right?" As soon as the little snow fox finished speaking, Bing Qiu covered his mouth.

"Shh! Don't jinx it, Tuanzai!"

But Bing Qiu's hand was quickly swatted away by the little snow fox's paw. The little snow fox said discontentedly, "What's to be afraid of? What's the big taboo?"

He wasn't some "spirit of prophecy"; he was just a fox who loved to eat and drink and was a bit clever!

"Tuan Tuan, look over there." While Bing Qiu and the little snow fox were play-fighting, the little black lion pointed to a corner.

In the corner was a crooked-neck tree. Under it was a stall with... stones?

The stones were of various sizes, mostly in chunks, with colors like reddish-brown, yellowish-brown, and black—quite a variety.

The stall owner sat on a big rock, lips pressed together, saying nothing. Unlike other stall owners who actively called out to customers, he only glanced up briefly when passersby walked by.

The little black lion, carrying the little snow fox, approached. The stall owner had dark skin, cold eyes, and an expression as if everyone owed him something. His fur clothing looked worn, washed repeatedly over a long time.

The stalls next to his were not closely packed like others'; they kept a considerable distance from him.

"Hey, hey, don't go over there! That guy's a swindler!"

Before the little snow fox and his group could get close, several stall owners from the other side called out to stop them.

Big Tiger turned around, puzzled. "A swindler?" Could a swindler enter the gathering?

Another person immediately said, "Well, not exactly that, but... you definitely shouldn't buy his stones!"

"Knives made from those stones are completely unusable! Putting them out for trade—isn't that cheating people?"

"But the Sun Moon Tribe let him in. Can we really call him a swindler?"

"What do you know! The Sun Moon Tribe is just too kind-hearted, letting anyone in!"

...

Big Tiger and the others couldn't get a word in. The stall owners, now busy arguing among themselves, had no time to pay attention to the little snow fox's group.

Bing Qiu looked exasperated. "Tuanzai, should we still go take a look?"

"Let's go!" the little snow fox said excitedly. If he wasn't mistaken, those stones were the iron ore they had been searching for!

It was no wonder those stall owners tried to stop them. In the beast world where smelting technology wasn't yet widespread, natural iron ore contained many impurities. Tools made directly from it would indeed be too brittle to use!

Such natural ore, unpurified, was full of flaws—brittle and lacking toughness. Tools made from it were less durable than ordinary stones.

Only after multiple smelting and processing steps could the ore be turned into the various iron tools they truly desired.

"Hello, may I ask how much more of this stone you have? We'd like to trade," Bing Qiu asked politely.

Seeing the stall owner's unapproachable demeanor and knowing how much Tuanzai wanted these stones, he knew he had to be courteous.

The stall owner's name was Li Xing. He had naturally heard the comments from the stall owners several meters away. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Usually, passersby would leave after hearing their warnings, and he didn't mind much.

Because it precisely proved that these stones were useless to those people; they wouldn't trade anything for them.

Li Xing subtly clenched his fist, looking up at Bing Qiu. A flicker of excitement, barely noticeable, flashed in his eyes. "You recognize this stone?"

Bing Qiu nodded, thinking to himself whether their fathers might happen to pass by—this transaction really needed an adult to handle.

"Zhong Yan, did we bring our water-floating compass?" the little snow fox lowered his head, whispering into the little black lion's ear.

The little black lion nodded. "Yes, we brought it."

Reassured, the little snow fox said to Bing Qiu, "Brother, take out the magnetic needle from the bamboo tube."

"Ah, I remember now!" Bing Qiu took out the magnetic needle from the water-floating compass. He recalled when the red fox cub gave Tuanzai that magical little stone, which Elder Grandpa eventually made into this tiny "little magnetic needle."

That little stone was fascinating; it could attract many fine black particles. At the time, Tuanzai said those were called "iron"!

But these stones didn't look like those black particles. Bing Qiu scratched his head and asked, "Tuanzai, are you telling me to test those stones?" he guessed.

Since they were looking for iron ore, and both were called "iron," they should be the same thing?

"Mhm!" The little snow fox didn't explain further. Once the tribe smelted the iron ore into iron, everyone would naturally understand.

Li Xing didn't clearly hear what the cubs were murmuring about. Hearing they recognized the stone, he wanted to discuss the trade with the only adult present. To his surprise, the beastman directly said he would listen to the cubs.

Li Xing's eyes widened in disbelief. Was the trade he had waited so long for actually just some cubs playing around? Did they not genuinely intend to trade?

While Li Xing was somewhat dazed, Bing Qiu had already taken the little magnetic needle and began testing each stone on the stall.

Bing Qiu discovered that the reddish-brown and yellowish-brown stones seemed to have no reaction, but the black ones indeed showed a slight magnetic pull! It felt quite similar to how that magical little stone had attracted the black substance before.

The little snow fox didn’t need Bing Qiu to report the results aloud—from Bing Qiu’s repeated winks and expressions, he already got the answer he wanted.

Hematite and limonite aren’t magnetic, so it was normal for the small magnetic needle to show no reaction. The black ones were most likely magnetite, which would indeed respond.

"Uncle."

A childish voice finally snapped Li Xing back to his senses. Li Xing looked at the snow fox cub who had spoken, only to hear him continue, "Uncle, you still haven’t said how many of these stones you have. We want to trade."

"You really want to trade? You’re not teasing me?" Li Xing asked urgently again, "Can you little ones actually make the decision?"

The little snow fox blinked, puffed out his chest, and answered confidently, "We sure can!" Absolutely—their fathers already knew they were looking for iron ore and would surely be willing to trade!

Besides, if they missed this chance, who knew when they’d get another opportunity like this? This ore was just too hard to find.

window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: '6909b82653c30418d8ca4f40', id: 'pf-17365-1'})

"Little ones, what are you up to?"

"Dad!" The little snow fox happily turned around—their fathers had arrived just in time!

They seemed to have reached a bit of an impasse here. This uncle had initially been happy about their arrival but had since grown distrustful, repeatedly questioning whether they were genuinely going to trade.

Li Xing saw several adult beastmen approaching from behind the cubs. Their attire was "lavish," forming a stark contrast to his own tattered fur clothing. The two leading figures looked upright and exceptionally powerful.

Finally seeing a few reliable adult beastmen, Li Xing found it hard to trust just the cubs alone.

"Greetings, everyone. I’m Li Xing. We have plenty more of this kind of stone." Li Xing finally returned to normal, as if his nervous, repetitive questioning earlier had been an exception. He began speaking rapidly as he introduced himself.

Feng Yan and Rong Shan listened in silence without interrupting. Looking at Li Xing’s stall, they understood why their little ones had lingered here for so long.

The little snow fox also understood Li Xing’s self-introduction. He was the leader of a small tribe, located about a day’s journey from here. Their territory had a mountain of ore; if they wanted it, they’d have to go with Li Xing.

"So, what would you like in exchange? Salt coins?" Feng Yan asked.

In an instant, Li Xing’s expression seemed to turn almost "frenzied." His eyes fixed intently on Feng Yan, as if he were his last lifeline.

"No!" Li Xing’s voice grew rough and hoarse as he struggled to utter a few words.

"Food—I need enough food!"