Beastmen truly possessed formidable physiques. Though Tong had seemed at death's door, with daily dressing changes, plenty of food, and adequate rest, he recovered at a visibly rapid pace.
When he first saw the tribe using honey to dress his wounds, Tong was utterly horrified. He scrambled off the bed in a panic and dropped to his knees before Shan Cang.
"No! Chief, a Beastman like me doesn't deserve something as precious as honey."
Liang Ye, who was nearby learning to speak with Bo, stared in astonishment. The young man had just woken up and was already this full of vigor—Beastmen truly were built differently from ordinary humans.
No wonder Shan Cang could kill a black bear with his bare hands.
"Get up." Shan Cang's tone was flat, yet Tong instinctively obeyed.
He curled up obediently like a little chick, allowing Shan Cang to change his dressings.
Before leaving, Shan Cang said, "The Wolf Moon Tribe does not easily abandon any of its members."
Tong's sunken eyes suddenly grew moist, and he nodded rapidly like a chick pecking at rice. "Mm!"
The Chief hadn't cast him out for being a Beastman cursed by the Beast God.
"Pat pat pat." A series of crisp footsteps approached.
Tong looked up through tear-blurred eyes—no one was there. Lowering his gaze, he finally noticed a ball of white fluff at his feet.
His pupils dilated as memories surged.
It wasn't a dream?
The little one met his eyes, and Tong instinctively flinched away, only to see the white puffball flash him a sweet smile.
"Tong, you should be properly grateful to the cub—he's the one who saved you." Bo walked over and set Liang Ye down on the stone bed.
Tong's mouth fell open in shock. This cub before him had saved his life?
He could hardly believe it.
Bo recounted in detail how the cub had treated him—how only the cub's quick thinking and the Chief's magnanimity had snatched his life back from the Beast God's embrace.
"Thank you… thank you!" Tong's voice trembled, his throat tight with emotion.
How long had it been since he'd cried? No matter how he'd been mistreated before, he'd never shed a tear. But now, faced with such pure kindness, he could no longer hold back. Tears fell in large drops, splashing onto the backs of his hands.
Liang Ye raised a little paw and patted him in comfort.
"Pet, pet." Liang Ye took the opportunity to sneak a feel of Tong's wolf tail.
Tong wasn't just heterochromatic-eyed—his fur was also two colors, a black-and-white cow-patterned wolf.
Liang Ye had been coveting his ears and tail for ages. Since the kid was so eager to thank him, he might as well graciously give him the chance.
With a lecherous expression, Liang Ye rubbed his paw pads together and stroked the little wolf tail.
Bliss!
Tong was at a loss. If the one touching his tail weren't a three-month-old cub, he'd swear he was being harassed.
"Ahem!" Bo's face flushed red. Somewhat embarrassed, she tried to explain for Liang Ye: "The cub was abandoned by his tribe at such a young age. Perhaps he misses his mother's embrace, so he's especially fond of Beastmen in their beast forms."
Cubs were born in beast form, and between five to eight months, depending on the individual, the time it took to shift into human form varied. Among Beastmen, there was a saying that the earlier a cub learned to shapeshift, the smarter they were.
When cubs remained in beast form, Demi-Beastmen mostly carried their young in beast form as well—it made it easier for the cubs to familiarize themselves with their scents.
Thus, the excuse Bo had casually made up actually sounded fairly credible to Tong, and it stirred his sympathy.
The cub had it worse than him. His parents had been forced to leave him due to an accident, but the cub had a tribe and was still abandoned.
Whatever Tong had concocted in his own imagination, his eyes glistening with tears, he offered his tail to Liang Ye's hands and choked out, "Pet it as much as you like."
Liang Ye's eyes lit up. He couldn't care less about what Tong was imagining—he grabbed the wolf tail and took a deep inhale.
Tong's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, his tail snapping rigid. No one had told him cubs were this terrifying!
Bo covered her face, unable to watch. If she hadn't personally witnessed the cub cast fire-starting and healing spells, she'd be absolutely certain there was something wrong with his head.
"Tong should rest now. We should get back to our lessons." Unable to bear seeing Tong frozen like a statue, Bo picked up Liang Ye and coaxed him.
Liang Ye's little ears drooped as he reluctantly released the wolf tail, lingering with longing. "Fine."
"What a good cub." Bo praised him repeatedly.
The cub's unprecedented enthusiasm convinced Tong that he truly wasn't disgusted by him.
Even though he hadn't fully recovered from his shock, a warmth had already seeped into his chest like spring rain.
Several days later, once Tong's injuries were no longer serious, Shan Cang gathered the tribe in the great cave for a meeting.
The storm season was approaching. Everyone had gradually prepared some food. If the storm season lasted the same as in previous years, they should be able to weather it safely—but one could never be too careful.
"The hunting and gathering teams will go out one last time. Bring back as much food as possible to prepare for the worst." Shan Cang gave the order.
Immediate responses came from all around: "Yes!"
Liang Ye gazed up at Shan Cang with sparkling eyes. So cool—truly worthy of the Wolf King.
According to Shan Cang, the storm season would arrive tonight at the latest, or by tomorrow morning at the earliest. Liang Ye couldn't detect any noticeable change in the air's humidity at all.
Beastmen really were impressive—their noses were practically weather forecasts.
Liang Ye only remembered the folk rhyme from his childhood: "Don't go out at morning glow, travel a thousand miles at evening glow," and "Dragonflies flying low, wind or rain is sure to blow."
But he hadn't spotted any dragonflies, so he couldn't use that as a reference.
After finishing the important matter of food storage, Shan Cang unexpectedly brought up another topic.
"Regarding the extinguishing of the Fireseed—Chi, Zhuo, Tong—do the three of you have anything to say?" Shan Cang's gaze swept across the three of them.
The three little quails trembled in fear. Tong pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, and mustered the courage to step forward. "Chief, I'm the one who smothered the Fireseed. Punish me."
The tribe members knew about this incident. They'd assumed that punishing Zhu and Bo for dereliction of duty would be the end of it—they never expected the chief to bring it up again.
In their eyes, it was just a cub being mischievous. Someone stepped forward to plead, "Chief, Tong has already been punished by the Beast God. He barely made it back with his life. Just let him off this once."
"That's right, Chief. Tong's wounds have only just healed."
Tong listened in astonishment as the tribe members pleaded for him. He'd thought they couldn't wait to drive him out of the tribe.
Shan Cang narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the other two like a physical weight. They felt like needles pricking their backs, shrinking their necks in fear, trying to escape by making themselves as small as possible.
"Chi, Zhuo—do you two have nothing to say?"
The blade hanging over their heads had finally fallen. Chi and Zhuo's legs trembled, their lips pale, wishing they could bury themselves in the cracks of the earth.
Shan Cang's direct address was no different from stripping them naked and throwing them onto a stage.
Cold sweat poured down like rain, soaking their beast-hide garments. Their throats seemed poisoned and numb—they couldn't make a sound.
Countless eyes stared straight at them, like needles piercing into their skin one by one.
"Ugh… wah!" The younger Zhuo couldn't withstand the interrogation at all. He wet his pants in fright and burst into loud sobs.
"Pfft!" Someone couldn't hold back a laugh and quickly turned their head away to snicker.
The chief hadn't even said anything, and he'd already wet himself in fear. This Zhuo really couldn't amount to anything.
"The kid's only nine—it's normal for him to be scared. Look at the chief's expression—never mind a cub, even I couldn't handle that."
The person beside him nodded in agreement. "Yeah, look at the Demi-Beastmen—which one dares to look the chief in the eye? They're all terrified."
"No wonder the chief can't find a mate."
Another person rolled their eyes at that. "You think the chief is like you? It's not that he can't find one—he clearly doesn't want to."
Zhuo was led away to get cleaned up, leaving only Chi on the scene. He trembled all over, his small hands clenched into fists, tightening and releasing repeatedly before he could finally open his mouth: "S-sorry, Chief. I… I shouldn't have roughhoused with Tong in the Great Cave."
Shan Cang's brow furrowed slightly. The people around him chimed in to smooth things over. "Chief, Chi knows he was wrong. Cubs being active is just their nature. Don't blame him anymore."
"That's right, Chief. The fact that he could stand here and admit it is already pretty impressive. Just let him off."
Everyone was always full of tolerance for cubs. They were innocent and naive, representing the tribe's future.
Compared to cubs who knew nothing, adult Beastmen bore greater responsibility.
Besides, the Fireseed crisis had already been resolved—there was no need to keep hounding the cubs.
Liang Ye sensed something subtle in Shan Cang's attitude. Shan Cang wasn't the type to hold onto one matter and refuse to let go.
There was probably something else going on.
His eyes rolled around, and the Samoyed tilted his little head, asking, "Tong, why were you fighting?"
Tong's body stiffened. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he turned his head slightly to avoid Liang Ye's gaze.
So there really was something more to it.
Liang Ye pawed at Shan Cang. Shan Cang bent down and scooped him up into his palm. Standing tall meant seeing far—the subtle movements of the two cubs were all caught in his view.
One was evading, the other was guilty.
The one evading was Tong. The one feeling guilty was Chi.
Their mutual silence made everyone sense that something wasn't right.
"Why were they fighting? Who was there at the time?"
"Zhuo definitely knows."
Zhuo, who had changed into a new beast-skin skirt and been forced back onto the scene, confessed everything while trembling uncontrollably.
Chi glared at him viciously. Zhuo shrank his neck and dodged the gaze.
It turned out that Chi had discovered Tong stealing the tribe's food. Since the chief wasn't around, Chi had forcibly dragged Tong to the Witch Doctor to report him.
Tong was thirteen and had already entered sub-adulthood, but due to malnutrition, he was thin and scrawny—looking less sturdy than nine-year-old Zhuo, let alone eleven-year-old Chi.
Chi was big and tall for his age. While the people around him often couldn't fill their stomachs, he was actually over-nourished—what you might call fat.
He dragged Tong along like he was carrying a chick, and Tong couldn't resist at all.
When the Witch Doctor heard that Tong had stolen the tribe's food, he was furious. Without even listening to the facts, he moved to punish him.
Tong tried to defend himself in every way possible, but the Witch Doctor remained convinced he was lying.
Stealing and then refusing to admit it—that deserved double punishment!
Tong was sentenced to no food for half a month, and he had to go work for the Witch Doctor to atone. If the Witch Doctor wasn't satisfied with his work, the time would be extended indefinitely.
Neither Shan Cang nor Liang Ye had expected the Witch Doctor to be involved in this.
Why was he everywhere?
After finishing his work at the Witch Doctor's and returning to the Great Cave, Tong was exhausted, his stomach gnawing with hunger. Fortunately, he had hidden some fruit in his nest—but what awaited him was a pile of crushed pulp.
His fruit was dug out and crushed into his bed, and the culprit strutted around, grinning at him triumphantly.
"So you really are a thief, hiding things in your den." Chi circled him, pointing and jeering.
"Thief! Liar! You don't deserve food!" Zhuo mimicked him, jabbing a finger at Tong's nose.
Chi pulled a piece of meat from behind his back and dangled it in front of Tong. "Want it? Get on your knees and beg me, and I'll—"
Before he could finish, he was suddenly shoved.
Caught off guard, Chi was genuinely knocked to the ground by Tong. Furious, he scrambled up and grappled with Tong.
The two were locked in a heated brawl, neither noticing the fire pit behind them, until Chi slammed his head into Tong and sent him sprawling.
"Ugh—" Tong let out a muffled groan. He was used to enduring pain; shouting and screaming would only invite greater humiliation.
The tribespeople, who had heard the whole exchange, were left speechless, unsure what to say. In the end, they simply blamed both parties equally.
"Tong was wrong to steal, and Chi and Zhuo were wrong to rummage through Tong's den."
Liang Ye jumped down from his perch and walked up to Chi. "Did you see with your own eyes that Tong stole something?"
Chi's eyelashes fluttered rapidly. "He—he definitely stole it!"
Liang Ye's face was stern as he repeated: "Did you see it?"
Chi wanted to insist that Tong was a thief, but when he met Liang Ye's clear eyes, which reflected his own pathetic image back at him, his words caught in his throat, making it hard to breathe.
After a long pause, he mumbled, "No… I didn't."
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and all eyes turned to the Witch Doctor, who was pretending to be deaf and mute.
If Chi hadn't actually seen Tong steal, why had the Witch Doctor punished Tong without distinguishing right from wrong?
The Witch Doctor had a belly full of curses with nowhere to vent. Damn brat, it's you again!