Shan Cang keenly sensed the complex emotions churning within Liang Ye, and after a moment's thought, he understood the reason. He tilted his head and asked softly, "Can you treat it?"
Liang Ye stole a glance at Zhang and answered cautiously, "It depends on the specific situation."
Shan Cang nodded and didn't press further, instead saying to Zhang, "Using the Healing Art is extremely draining. Ye is frail and was just injured—he needs proper rest."
Zhang's already pale face turned even more ashen at these words. He knew the Healing Art was no easy feat—the Witch Doctor was always exhausted afterward, and occasionally even fainted.
If that was the case for the Witch Doctor, a grown adult Demi-Beastman, then how much worse for a three-month-old cub? Perhaps the cub truly was a Divine Envoy with powers greater than the Witch Doctor's, but he was also fragile, his young body unable to withstand such overwhelming force, let alone wield it.
Every use of his abilities was like dancing on the edge of a cliff.
His request might very well cost the cub his life.
"I… I'm sorry." Zhang realized belatedly how presumptuous he'd been.
Because the cub had gifted the tribe the Fireseed and pulled Tong back from death's door, he'd placed all his hopes of saving Gui onto this even younger cub.
The cub couldn't even Shapeshift yet. He wasn't Gui's kin, nor was he the tribe's Witch Doctor. He had no obligation to heal Gui.
The clearer his mind became, the deeper his despair grew.
Zhang could only blame his own incompetence—a father who couldn't save his own child.
He prostrated himself in agony, tears soaking into the cold, hard earth.
"I… I can take a look, but I can't guarantee I can heal him." Liang Ye's maternal grandparents—one a believer in science, the other in the divine—had saved people through vastly different means, yet both paths led to the same end.
He'd never believed in gods or spirits in daily life, but in desperation, he'd begged every deity he could name.
When his grandfather had fallen and been rushed to the ICU, Liang Ye had prayed to every god imaginable outside those doors, but fate hadn't shown him mercy.
The hollow look in Zhang's eyes now mirrored his own from back then.
How Liang Ye had wished back then for a god to descend and say, "I can save your grandfather."
Liang Ye wasn't a god, but if he could become a glimmer of hope for someone else—even just a thread of a chance—why wouldn't he try?
He believed his grandparents were watching over him from above.
Zhang stared blankly at Liang Ye, tears and snot streaming down his face, looking utterly pathetic, his mind like a stuck page in a book that wouldn't turn.
"Let's go." Shan Cang's calm, steady voice was like a hand that unlocked Zhang's paralysis, immediately restoring his ability to move.
Zhang roughly wiped his face and gave a foolish, earnest smile. "Alright, alright, alright. Whether you can heal him or not, we're grateful to you."
The rain had lessened compared to the past few days—now a fine, drizzling mist.
Liang Ye had medicinal herbs wrapped around his leg, and Shan Cang bundled him up in an animal hide blanket like a dumpling, grabbing a large leaf to use as an umbrella.
The ground was slick, and despite Shan Cang's careful attention, mud splattered up his calves and his feet sank into the muck. His brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly.
Going out in the rain meant his bath was wasted.
Liang Ye hid in the man's arms, dry and comfortable. The sound of rain pattering against leaves was pure white noise, lulling him toward sleep.
Rainy days and napping were a perfect match.
As they entered the large cave, a cacophony of noise rushed to meet them, chasing away Liang Ye's drowsiness.
"Gui, wake up, don't scare Mama, wuuu wuuu wuuu…" Cai knelt beside the stone bed, wailing at the top of his lungs.
The people around wore sorrowful expressions. Bo's eyes were red, and Zhu was silently tending the fire.
Liang Ye's heart skipped a beat. Had they arrived too late, and the funeral was already starting?
Zhang's legs nearly gave out beneath him. He stumbled and staggered, collapsing beside Cai.
Cai was startled by the commotion and turned to see his mate. His tears gushed forth like a burst dam.
"Wuuu wuuu… Zhang, I can't wake Gui up no matter what I do."
Liang Ye nudged Shan Cang, urging him to go take a look.
"He's still alive." Shan Cang's eyesight was exceptional, far beyond ordinary people. Even from a distance, he could see Gui's chest rising and falling faintly.
Liang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, but then Shan Cang added, "But he's on his last legs."
Liang Ye's heart seized. He'd clearly sighed too early.
"Don't pause between sentences like that!" The little Ye glared, his small paw smacking Shan Cang's arm and leaving a plum blossom print on the man's forearm.
"Cub!" Cai spotted Liang Ye in Shan Cang's arms—only a pair of black eyes peeking out—and was overjoyed.
Completely forgetting their past friction, his eyes blazed with hope. "Cub, please save my Gui! You can definitely save him, right?"
Cai was like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline, his expression frantic, the same two sentences tumbling from his lips over and over.
"You can definitely save Gui, definitely!"
Zhang noticed his mate's abnormal state and grabbed hold of Cai, who was desperately trying to lunge toward Liang Ye. "Cai, the cub is weak and injured. He might not be able to perform the Healing Art smoothly. It's already more than we could ask for that he came to look at Gui's condition. We need to be grateful."
The long string of words slid smoothly past Cai's mind. He stared at his mate in confusion, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
Cai was acting like a mental patient having an episode. Liang Ye quickly ducked back into the animal hide blanket, leaving only his fluffy head visible.
"The Beast God is calling Gui. It is his honor to return to the Beast God's side. Cai, you must learn to let go." The Witch Doctor's tone was calm and measured, as if it could soothe all the pain in the world.
But to Liang Ye's ears, it sounded unbearably condescending—just one step short of pointing at Cai's nose and telling her not to be ungrateful.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry… but I can't bear to let go of my Gui… He's only five years old!" Cai sobbed, tears streaming through the gaps between her fingers.
Liang Ye told Shan Cang to set him down beside Gui. The Witch Doctor's brow furrowed slightly as he tried to speak up, but held back out of deference to Shan Cang's presence.
Gui's cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg, yet the skin on his neck was cool to the touch. The child murmured deliriously, "Cold… so cold…"
Several layers of beast-hide blankets covered him, and they would have piled on more if not for the fear of crushing the child.
Liang Ye looked around and spotted a basin of water on the ground beside the stone bed, a beast hide floating in it, along with a stone bowl with remnants of medicinal dregs.
The puppy's face suddenly fell, and his eyes shot a fierce glare at the Witch Doctor. "You wiped his body with cold water?"
Faced with the cub's interrogation, the Witch Doctor had no obligation to respond. Yet, for some reason, those dark, gleaming eyes inexplicably made his throat tighten.
His nails dug into his palms as the Witch Doctor forced himself to answer calmly, "My teacher taught me this method long ago. You're not the only one who knows it."
Liang Ye felt as disgusted as if he'd swallowed a bug. This man actually thought he was upset about the Witch Doctor secretly stealing his technique.
Earlier, when Tong's fever wouldn't break, Liang Ye had wiped his neck and armpits with warm water. The Witch Doctor must have seen the method work and made a note of it. Now that Gui had a fever, he simply copied it.
A hopeless fool who couldn't even plagiarize properly.
"I used warm water. Are you using cold water because you think he isn't dying fast enough?" Liang Ye was burning with rage, forgetting that he was just a puppy, and summoned the authority he used to discipline subordinates at work.
As an adult Demi-Beastman, the Witch Doctor was rendered speechless by a cub's scolding. He felt utterly humiliated and furious.
"How dare you insult the tribe's Witch Doctor! The Beast God will bring punishment upon you!" Fei's words were fierce, but his resolve was weak, his gaze cold and sinister.
"Please calm your anger, Beast God. The cub is young and ignorant. He has no intention of offending the Witch Doctor." Bo's face changed dramatically.
In the great cave, a crowd knelt in unison.
Only the Chief, the Witch Doctor, and Liang Ye remained standing.
Liang Ye laughed in anger. His gaze was as sharp as a drawn sword, cutting straight through the Witch Doctor's face. "Anything that doesn't benefit you gets punished by the Beast God. Is the Beast God your father?"
When the Witch Doctor usually said such things, everyone would panic and immediately yield.
Though he didn't understand what "father" meant, the Witch Doctor was fully aware of the contempt in the cub's words.
"Arrogant in attitude, lacking in ability, professional at shifting blame. If being a Witch Doctor is this easy, maybe I should give it a try too?" Liang Ye pressed his advantage, and as his final words fell, the Witch Doctor's face turned as pale as paper, malice seeping from him like venom.
Wow, he'd successfully struck the Witch Doctor's most vulnerable spot.
The cave fell silent. Everyone was dumbfounded, staring at Liang Ye with the intensity of a dog begging for food.
What an explosive statement. Was a three-month-old cub really this aggressive?
To the Beastmen, Liang Ye's words were nothing short of treason.
In the corner, Tong's eyes gleamed with brilliance, admiration written all over his face.
So good to hear. Love it. Say more!
It took the Witch Doctor a long moment to recover. He opened his mouth to snap back, but Liang Ye had already turned his back to him, focusing entirely on treating Gui.
A breath lodged in his chest, unable to rise or fall.
The Witch Doctor's fair face flushed to a liver-red color. His gaze instinctively sought out Cai, who usually charged into battle for him.
Cai barely dared to breathe, hands pressed together with knuckles whitening from the strain, her eyes locked unblinkingly on Liang Ye.
If Liang Ye could cure Gui, it seemed she would do anything for him.
When the dog that circles you every day suddenly goes wagging its tail at someone else, the owner's mood can hardly be pleasant. Old grudges and new grievances combined, and the Witch Doctor nearly ground his molars to dust.
"Is he having a runny nose and sneezing?" Liang Ye tilted his head to ask Zhang and Cai.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. How incredible—they hadn't told the cub anything. How did he know?
"Yes!"
Liang Ye reached a paw into Gui's bedding. So hot. He managed to feel the child's back—despite being wrapped so tightly, he was barely sweating.
"Open his mouth, let me take a look."
Zhang didn't understand why, but obediently did as told. The Witch Doctor's Healing Art had never involved such strange procedures before. Perhaps the White Wolf tribe was just different.
"Thin white coating on the tongue—classic wind-cold." Doctor Ye pushed up his nonexistent glasses.
And he couldn't resist one last jab at the Witch Doctor. "The boy has wind-cold, but you treated it as wind-heat. No wonder his condition got worse."
Wind-cold, wind-heat—the Witch Doctor had never heard his teacher mention any of this. He was certain Liang Ye was spouting nonsense, putting on airs to try and take his position.
The Witch Doctor curled his lips and said with dripping sarcasm, "You're so capable, I'm sure you'll cure Gui in no time."
Liang Ye's expression froze. He did have a way to treat Gui, but even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice.
Seeing him remain silent, the Witch Doctor suppressed the upward twitch of his lips and said with barely concealed glee, "A cub who doesn't know his place. To become a Witch Doctor, you need years of study and refinement, and finally pass the arduous trials before you're qualified to stand before the Beast God. You're still far off."
The Witch Doctor's words were heavy for a cub, but no Beastman would step forward to rebuke him, because what he said was the truth. The Witch Doctor held a special position of great significance, so naturally only one in a hundred could be chosen.
"Oh, so you're pretty mediocre then." Liang Ye's tone was indifferent, not the least bit angered by the Witch Doctor's words, like punching cotton.
The Witch Doctor didn't understand, but his instincts told him it wasn't anything good—most likely an insult.
Liang Ye couldn't be bothered with him. His mind raced at full speed, pondering what to do.
Could he just tell Gui to drink more hot water?
It would help, but not much.
If only there were ginger, he could make a bowl of ginger soup to ward off the chill.
Ginger, ginger…
A flash of white light streaked through his mind, and Liang Ye shot upright.
"That's right!"
"Ginger, it's ginger!"
Liang Ye was ecstatic, hopping toward Shan Cang's arms like a rabbit, only to be firmly pressed down by a large hand. "Your foot."
Liang Ye belatedly remembered his injured dog leg.
"Hehe." He stuck out his tongue, trying to get by on cuteness.
The missing piece of the puzzle in his mind clicked into place, and Liang Ye finally knew why the taste of Serrated Grass was so familiar.
When his grandparents were still alive, Liang Ye often tended the vegetable patch. Even after getting into university, he'd make time to go home and help during the busy farming seasons.
That Serrated Grass that grew like scallions—wasn't it just ginger leaves!
Although its appearance differed from ginger leaves on Earth, the taste was extremely similar—a fresh fragrance mixed with a faint hint of spiciness.
To further confirm his speculation, Liang Ye reached his paw toward his sprained leg, pinched a bit of the mashed Serrated Grass, and put it in his mouth. The texture was slightly astringent, and after chewing for a moment, his throat felt faintly warm.
"Don't eat random things." Shan Cang disdainfully swatted away Liang Ye's paw and handed him a small red fruit.
Liang Ye had no time to taste the small red fruit. His eyes lit up, bright and piercing. "It's ginger leaves!"
He urgently tugged at Shan Cang. "What about the rhizome of the Serrated Grass? Bring it quickly!"
A rare look of confusion surfaced in Shan Cang's eyes. "What rhizome?"
Cai, as the leader of the gathering team, knew edible plants by heart. He too said in confusion, "Serrated Grass easily cuts the skin, so we rarely gather it. The hunting team sometimes picks some to use. What's a rhizome?"
Liang Ye was even more bewildered than they were. Everyone looked at each other, at a loss for words.
Zhu and Bo, the two eldest elder Beastmen of the tribe, pondered for a moment before both shaking their heads to indicate they didn't know.
Shan Cang explained to the wide-eyed cub, "The Serrated Grass you've seen is all there is to it."
His premonition came true. Liang Ye's head spun, and he was steadily caught by Shan Cang.
"No, that's not all there is to it."
Liang Ye suddenly raised his head, speaking with exasperation. "The essence is all underground!"
Everyone's mouths fell open. They looked at each other, then back and forth.
"No… that can't be."
"Serrated Grass is just grass. What good thing could be underneath?"
"Is the cub still not awake? The gathering team never found any usable part under the Serrated Grass. Where would he know that from?"
"What else could be under Serrated Grass besides roots? Hahaha, the cub must be talking in his sleep."
A thick sense of powerlessness enveloped Liang Ye. Everyone chattered away, whispering among themselves, each with their own opinion—not a single person believed him.
Actually, Liang Ye wasn't certain either whether there was really ginger beneath the Serrated Grass.
Maybe they were right. If there were ginger underneath, the gathering team would have found it long ago.
His little ears drooped, his tail tucked beneath his bottom. The whole Liang Ye was dejected, gray and listless.
"Cub… cub, can that rhizome save Gui?" Zhang's Adam's apple bobbed as he clenched his fists, as if awaiting Liang Ye's judgment.
Liang Ye's pupils dilated, and his voice came out hoarse. "Maybe."
Zhang took a deep breath, stiffly pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I'll go find it!"
"Are you insane!?" Cai shrieked, blocking his mate.
Unnoticed by them, the rain outside the cave had intensified. Thick clouds blocked out the light, leaving the entire world damp and dim.
The forest concealed dangers beyond measure.
Even for Beastmen with formidable physical constitutions, searching for something in such pitch-black, torrential conditions was fraught with difficulty. One misstep could spell disaster.
"Cai, don't be afraid. I'll come back safely." Zhang steadied Cai's arm, his gaze resolute.
Cai's shoulders trembled uncontrollably as he shook his head in refusal. "No, you can't go. What if…"
He didn't dare continue, afraid his words might become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"Cai, Gui can't wait. I have to go." Zhang steeled himself, pushed his mate away, and strode out with big steps.
"Zhang!" Cai's strength left him along with his mate. He collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
The Witch Doctor watched from the sidelines, silently cursing Zhang for a fool who believed whatever anyone said.
He had lived twenty-seven years and had never heard of any medicinal rhizome beneath Serrated Grass. If such a miraculous thing truly existed, the Wolf Moon Tribe wouldn't have lost clansmen in the past, and his teacher would never have failed to pass that knowledge down to them.
Could it be some mysterious treasure even his teacher didn't know of?
The moment the thought arose, the Witch Doctor erased it.
An unknown cub, a respected teacher—even a fool knows who to believe.
Time slipped by, second by second. Thunder roared, rain lashed, wild winds howled, and black clouds pressed down from above as if heaven and earth were about to merge into one.
Cai had lost count of how many times he stood up and sat back down. He paced back and forth between the cave entrance and the stone bed, over and over again.
Both sides were as dear to him as the flesh of his palm and the back of his hand—he could not abandon either.
Time stretched endlessly, and his heart felt as if it had been thrown into a boiling cauldron of oil, tormented without respite.
Cai was like a butterfly caught in a spider's web—even if he tore his wings to shreds, he still could not break free.
"Put this in his bedding." Liang Ye borrowed the pretty stones Tong had found by the river, heated them until they were hot, wrapped them tightly in animal hide, and tucked them into Gui's fur blanket to serve as a natural warm compress.
"If he has a fever, remember to wipe his body with warm water. If he has a runny nose, sneezes, or shivers from the cold, never use cold water—it will make his condition worse." Liang Ye explained carefully to everyone.
The beastmen were like elementary school students in class, mulling over what Liang Ye taught them again and again until they had it memorized.
"Cub, this is the healing art of the White Wolf Tribe, isn't it? We're not disciples of the Witch Doctor—can we really learn it?" A lone demi-beastman gathered his courage to ask.
Lone demi-beastmen usually chose to stay in the great cave during the Rainstorm Season and Ice-Snow Season, spending those times together with the tribe's elderly beastmen and cubs.
Even in a stable modern society, living alone carried risks, let alone in the perilous Beast World. However, when living in the tribe, the dangers beastmen faced often came from nature itself.
The Rainstorm Season was manageable—it wasn't as long as the Ice-Snow Season. For safety and reproduction, when the Ice-Snow Season arrived, beastmen would temporarily pair up to withstand the bitter cold together.
The wolf race was different from other species. Wolves were loyal by nature and rarely changed partners. If they didn't find someone who caught their eye, they would rather remain single than settle.
This was, more or less, one of the reasons the Wolf Moon Tribe's population grew so slowly.
Liang Ye's eyes curved into crescent moons. "You can. The more people who learn it, the more lives we can save."
The beastmen had never heard such words before. It was as if something had struck them heavily, a gentle breeze brushing across their hearts, sweeping away old burdens and bringing new life.
The Witch Doctor felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. He had learned in secret, gone to great lengths to cover it up, and now his efforts seemed utterly ridiculous and laughable before Liang Ye's generous gesture.
Why?
Only the Witch Doctor was qualified to learn the healing art. For lowly ordinary beastmen to even glance at it was an act of overstepping.
If Liang Ye taught everything the Witch Doctor knew, wouldn't everyone be able to become a Witch Doctor?
Then how could he maintain his current status?
If everyone was a Witch Doctor, then no one was a Witch Doctor. The Witch Doctor was supposed to be unique, revered by all.
No, no way, absolutely not!
Goosebumps instantly crawled across the Witch Doctor's arms. In that moment, it was as if he and Gui on the stone bed had swapped places—he trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring down his back.
He had to find a way to get rid of that cub!
.
As soon as the heated stones cooled, they were immediately replaced with new ones. Hot water was fed into Gui's mouth without pause. The child had been unconscious from the fever and couldn't take water at first, so they had no choice but to pry his mouth open and force it down.
Cai's hands trembled beyond control, tears streaming down his face like a fountain. Bo tried to take the stone bowl from him to help feed Gui hot water, but Cai sobbed and shook his head, insisting on doing it himself.
Bo sighed and let go. With both methods working in tandem, sweat gradually beaded on Gui's forehead, and he was able to swallow the hot water on his own.
Joy crept onto everyone's brows, and the gazes directed at Liang Ye grew increasingly fervent.
"It's been so long—Zhang should have come back by now," someone muttered quietly.
The hearts that had just begun to settle were hoisted high once more. Cai held his son's little hand, silently praying, begging the Beast God to protect Zhang and keep him safe.
"RUMBLE—" Lightning flashed, illuminating Cai's pallid face.
"BOOM!" A thunderous crash echoed from the distance, stirring a commotion inside the cave.
Shan Cang squinted toward the source of the sound. "It's fine—lightning struck a big tree."
Liang Ye hopped onto Shan Cang's palm and was lifted high into the air. His big grape-like eyes narrowed into slits, but everything was pitch black, like a pile of pixelated static.
Liang Ye instantly felt a surge of respect for Shan Cang. To be able to see the scene of the incident clearly from so far away in such darkness—that wasn't a pair of naked eyes, it was practically a high-definition camera.
"That direction… it looks like… the gathering area." The speaker's voice suddenly dropped, as if afraid Cai might hear.
But Cai was on high alert at that moment—how could he have missed those words?
"CRASH!" The stone bowl in his hand rolled to the ground. Cai's face lost all color, his lips trembled, and his body swayed before toppling backward.
"Cai!" Everyone scrambled to surround him, voices overlapping as they called his name.
"Move, move—give him some fresh air!" Liang Ye darted through the crowd, shooing people away like a shepherd driving off chickens and ducks.
The beastmen couldn't understand the cub's words, and cowed by the chief's authority, they didn't dare approach too closely. They craned their necks like geese, straining to see.
"Pin his philtrum." Liang Ye used the tip of his claw to point at the exact spot, and Shan Cang did as instructed.
"Don't press too hard." Liang Ye remembered how beastmen didn't know their own strength and quickly added the warning.
Shan Cang furrowed his brow and held back his strength as he pressed down. A miraculous thing happened.
Usually, when a beastman fainted, they would have to lie there for a while before opening their eyes. But Shan Cang had only pinched the spot Yeye called the "philtrum" for a moment, and Cai actually began to slowly come to.
"He's awake! Cai's awake!"
"By the gods, that's incredible!"
"The cub's Healing Art is even more powerful than the Witch Doctor's—he is absolutely the Divine Envoy bestowed upon our Wolf Moon Tribe by the Beast God!"
The Beastmen cried out in astonishment, every face flushed red with excitement. They danced and cheered, and in their fervor, they dropped to their knees with a thud, kowtowing to Liang Ye.
Liang Ye, like a startled kitten, darted into Shan Cang's arms to hide.
The young man beside him knelt to him, and Liang Ye barely managed to treat him as a peer. Zhu and Bo, the two elders, also followed suit and kowtowed to him. Liang Ye said he couldn't accept such respect—his lifespan was already short enough, and if they kept discounting it like this, he might as well be reincarnated on the spot.
"Zhang!" Cai's head was groggy, and he didn't understand what was happening. After a moment to recover, his expression shifted drastically.
He scrambled and crawled, running out of the cave.
"Cai! It's too dangerous outside, you can't go!"
"If you leave, what about Gui?"
"Zhang will come back safely, don't run around."
The comforting words of his tribesmen were like sounds from across the water's surface, and Cai was submerged at the bottom, unable to hear them clearly.
Suddenly, a gentle voice pierced his mind like a needle.
"Zhang is a good father—he'd believe even the most fabricated words."
A warm hand rested on Cai's shoulder, and the Witch Doctor gazed at him with pity in his eyes. "Cai, even if you're the only one left, you must stay strong and survive. I'll be with you."
"Boom—"
A thunderbolt from a clear sky. Cai's soul seemed to have been drained by the Witch Doctor's words. His eyes were hollow, his fingertips ice-cold.
Whether or not the Serrated Grass root the cub had mentioned was effective, the fact remained that Zhang had yet to return. His child might not hold on, and his mate might have already met with disaster.
No one could confirm the truth of Liang Ye's words. The so-called Serrated Grass root being able to cure illness was, in itself, an utterly insubstantial matter.
To lose his mate and child over something uncertain—
Cai simply couldn't accept it. In a daze, he caught sight of Liang Ye comfortably leaning against Shan Cang's arms, smiling innocently and harmlessly.
The image twisted and warped. Liang Ye's simple, adorable appearance was utterly loathsome.
Why could Liang Ye be carefree, healthy, and praised by all?
Zhang's fate was unknown, and Gui lay sick in bed.
Scenes from the past flashed before his eyes. Cai felt as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar, his blood running in reverse.
He had once spoken harshly to Liang Ye. Gui had once pointed at Liang Ye's nose and cursed him as an ill omen.
Did Liang Ye truly hold no grudge?
Could all of this be something Liang Ye had calculated?
Deliberately taking revenge on their family?
Chaotic thoughts sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, rapidly crowding out every shred of Cai's rationality.
"Deliberate—you did this deliberately!" Cai lunged at Liang Ye like a madman, looking as if he wished to tear the flesh from his bones and devour it.
"You wanted revenge on us! The Serrated Grass root is all a lie you made up! You never intended to save Gui!"
Cai's voice tore at the seams, his eyes bloodshot. "I'll kill you!"
His actions were utterly illogical, catching everyone off guard. He gave no one time to react—they could only watch helplessly as he transformed into his beast form and lunged with bared fangs at Liang Ye, who was even more bewildered than anyone else.
"Bang!"
Shan Cang's brows were sharp and fierce, his movements so fast they left afterimages. No one saw him kick, but Cai, already transformed into wolf form, was sent flying and slammed into the cave wall.
Looking closely, Cai hadn't just been kicked away—he'd been knocked unconscious as well.
Frost gathered in Shan Cang's eyes as he commanded, "Lock him up."
The large cave had other caverns within it, usually used for storing food or miscellaneous goods—cold and dark, not a place for lingering.
Even if some wanted to plead for Cai, the chief's oppressive aura was more terrifying than the thunder and lightning outside.
No one dared to court the chief's wrath. Two Demi-Beastmen each took one end of the unconscious Cai and carried him deep into the cave.
Cai's words from earlier were still fresh in their minds. They stared at each other, wanting to speak but hesitating.
It must have been Cai's concern clouding his judgment. The cub was only three months old—how could he harbor such vicious, deep-seated schemes? Besides, wasn't it Zhang who had gone to beg the cub to use Healing Art on Gui?
Shan Cang swept a cold gaze across the crowd, his voice low but full of authority. "Yeye is one of our tribesmen. He gifted us the Fireseed, taught us the Healing Art, and saved the tribe's cubs. He is also our benefactor, and we must remember that in our hearts."
Guilt, shame, and regret twisted together in a complex tangle, like rising river water drowning them all.
The cub was so good—a treasure bestowed upon the Wolf Moon Tribe by the Beast God. Even elevating him to a place of reverence wouldn't be excessive. How could they let something like repaying kindness with enmity happen today!?
They truly deserved to die!
Liang Ye's ears were bright red, burning fiercely.
It wasn't that serious. Really, it wasn't. It was just a small favor.
If anything, Shan Cang was the one who should be his benefactor. Without him, Liang Ye would have died eight hundred times over by now.
Shan Cang's gaze was piercing as he swept his eyes across everyone, especially the Witch Doctor. "If anyone dares to disrespect Yeye again, they will be exiled from the tribe."
The Witch Doctor shuddered, his heart turning ice-cold, cold sweat crawling down his back as if he'd been thrown naked into a frozen wasteland.
Shan Cang was warning him.
Voices of assent rose one after another. The Witch Doctor lowered his head, hiding all his viciousness and venom deep within his eyes, and answered along with the others: "Yes."
"Take care of Yeye. He might be frightened." Shan Cang handed Liang Ye to Bo.
Bo received the listless cub with both hands. The cub looked up at the man with a clinging, longing gaze. "You're going out?"
Shan Cang gave a slight nod. "I'm going to find Zhang."
Liang Ye glanced outside—it was like a curtain of water pouring down. "The rain is heavy."
Shan Cang's warm, dry palm stroked his head. "It's fine."
Meeting the man's calm, steady gaze, Liang Ye knew his mind was made up.
If they didn't have a raincoat, even a straw cloak would do.
Unfortunately, he was just a little pup who couldn't do anything.
Shan Cang's night vision was exceptionally sharp, which made finding people much easier—after all, holding a torch in a torrential downpour was no easy feat.
"Be careful."
Warmth spread through Shan Cang's chest. He ruffled the little pup's head, then transformed into the Black Wolf and moved like a gust of wind, vanishing into the night in an instant without a trace.
"Yeye, did the chief give you that name?" Tong edged closer cautiously, instinctively flinching away when Liang Ye's gaze turned toward him.
"Yeah, the chief just called you Yeye—what an adorable name."
The Demi-Beastmen were intensely curious about such things, jostling each other to crowd around Liang Ye.
Liang Ye shook his head and puffed out his small chest proudly. "I picked it myself."
"Wow! Amazing!"
"What a clever cub!"
"Such a smart little one!"
The group of Demi-Beastmen nearly cooed Liang Ye right back into an embryo.
"Yeye, are you the Witch Doctor's child?" a younger Demi-Beastman asked curiously.
Truth be told, they'd wanted to ask for ages but had never found the chance.
"No." Liang Ye blurted out.
Expressions of surprise appeared on every face in unison. "Then are you the Witch Doctor's disciple?"
Liang Ye shook his head. "No."
This time, even the Witch Doctor, who had been lost in his own thoughts, looked up at Liang Ye in shock.
Neither the Witch Doctor's child nor his disciple.
Then where on earth had he learned Divine Arts?
Could Liang Ye truly be a Divine Envoy sent down by the Beast God to spread His will among mortals?
But Divine Envoys had to be carefully selected by the Beast God Temple, then uniformly trained, and after passing layer upon layer of trials, finally earn the Beast God's recognition.
In truth, they were professional clergy—the Beast God Temple called them—Priests.
The Witch Doctor could also communicate with the Beast God and was responsible for presiding over tribal sacrificial rites, but the Witch Doctor's duties were more varied and passed down from generation to generation within the tribe.
Priests belonged to the official organization, while Witch Doctors were folk practitioners—the former were more professional, while the latter were prone to charlatans, like Fei.
Even if Liang Ye were truly that fortunate, hailing from the Beast God Temple, he was far too young.
An age where he couldn't even hold his pee—yet he knew more than Fei had learned in twenty-seven years.
Unless… Liang Ye was a Divine Child.
The moment the thought surfaced, Fei snuffed it out.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible. How could a Divine Child end up in a small tribe like theirs?
And besides…
Fei cast a disdainful sidelong glance at the little white ball of fluff. Daft as a doornail, couldn't even walk properly.
Indeed, Liang Ye still hadn't fully tamed his limbs—every now and then he'd walk with the same arm and leg swinging together, or waddle with his feet turned outward in a comical fashion.
Liang Ye's successive denials made everyone afraid to press further. Heaven's secrets must not be revealed—how would they dare pry into the Beast God's will?
Bo tested Gui's forehead—the temperature had dropped somewhat. More importantly, the cub had stopped constantly complaining about the cold. He swapped in a fresh hot stone beneath the blanket, and Gui, sensing the warmth, unconsciously pressed against it.
"Gurgle—" Liang Ye clutched his flat little belly. He was hungry.
"I've got some fruit here."
"Jump-Jump Beast meat for you."
"Eat mine, eat mine!"
In the blink of an eye, a small mountain of food piled up before Liang Ye. He looked up at the heap of provisions, his triangular ears twitching. "Thank you, but this is too much."
"You can save it for the next meal—cubs get hungry fast."
"Eat up, eat up."
It was hard to refuse such hospitality. Liang Ye reached a paw toward a yellow fruit, but another hand beat him to it. "Let me peel it for you."
"Thanks." Liang Ye's gaze landed on the Milk Fruit.
"Let me wash it for you."
The person grabbed the Milk Fruit, dunked it into a stone bucket to rinse, shook off the water droplets, and pressed it into Liang Ye's hands.
The service was so attentive that Liang Ye felt like he was dining at a high-end restaurant.
"Yeye, you need meat to build strength." Tong scooped a leaf-plate of bite-sized meat chunks and pushed it in front of Liang Ye, selling it hard.
Liang Ye sucked on the Milk Fruit, his paws growing a bit sore.
"Thanks, but I don't eat raw meat." Liang Ye couldn't bring himself to tell Tong directly that raw meat would give him the runs.
Tong's bright, mismatched eyes gradually dimmed, and even his ears drooped.
As a seasoned fluff-lover, Liang Ye couldn't just ignore that. "Could I trouble you to roast it for me?"
The little lightbulb flickered back on. Tong nodded eagerly like a pecking chick. "Sure, no problem!"
Liang Ye had Tong find some branches, wash them clean, and thread the meat onto them.
"Don't put the meat straight into the fire—it'll burn quickly and taste bad." Liang Ye stopped Tong's reckless move and taught him the proper way to roast meat.
"Use the outer flame… yeah, the fire on the very outside."
Under Liang Ye's guidance, the meat sizzled and dripped with oil, its charred aroma wafting through the air as the crimson chunks transformed into a mouthwatering golden brown.
Gone was the usual burnt, bitter taste of their roasting—in its place, a fragrance that made one's mouth water.
"So fragrant! So fragrant!"
"This is the smell!"
"It's the aroma coming from the chief's cave!"
"Drip, drip—"
The Beastmen's saliva betrayed them, pooling on the ground.
Liang Ye found himself stared at by a ring of gleaming green wolf eyes and nearly bristled—there was no way he could eat alone now.
"You… you can roast your own. If you don't know how, just ask me."
"Really? We can learn?"
"Thank you for your generosity."
"Thank you, Yeye—I've dreamed of this taste!"
"Fragrant… so fragrant…" A weak murmur drifted over from the stone bed.
Every head swiveled in unison toward the source of the sound.
"Meat, meat… I want meat!"
Even lying sick in bed, unconscious, Gui would rasp out in a hoarse voice: "Give me meat!"
Liang Ye never expected that Gui, who couldn't be roused no matter what, would be awakened by the smell of roasted meat.
A true pure-blooded carnivore, indeed.
Gui, dazedly opening his eyes, couldn't focus them, but his wolf nose was incredibly sharp, locking precisely onto Tong who was holding up the roasted meat. "So fragrant… want to eat…"
Tong, confused, turned his head toward Liang Ye. After all, it was roasted for him—whether to give it or not was Liang Ye's call.
To be fair, Tong didn't want to give it. Yeye had exhausted himself healing Gui, yet Gui's mother wanted to kill Yeye. Eat roasted meat? Eat shit!
"Give it to him." Liang Ye was, at his core, an adult; he wouldn't fight a child over food.
Gui was still sick, and if a beastman could eat, there was hope.
A skewer of roasted meat with no sauce brushed on it—Gui wolfed it down, still wanting more. After finishing, he stared at Tong with pleading eyes. Tong wanted to punch him.
Everyone witnessing this scene fixed their gazes on Liang Ye with burning intensity. What a special healing method!
Following the roasting technique Liang Ye had taught them, even burnt meat tasted delicious.
For a moment, the cave was filled only with the sounds of chewing. It was too good—everyone was completely focused on eating.
They had tasted such delicious food for the first time. So this was what the chief ate!?
They wanted to steal Yeye and take him home.
Liang Ye turned his head and met several pairs of green-glowing lantern-like eyes. He shot like an arrow into the beast-hide blanket Shan Cang had wrapped him in, leaving only his butt facing them.
Shan Cang, come back quickly! This one dog can't handle it.
Perhaps heaven heard Liang Ye's plea—just as several beastmen were teasing his little white tail, a powerful presence strode into the great cave.
"Chief!"
"Chief, you found Zhang?"
Shan Cang carried a bear-like man on his shoulder, tall and composed, utterly at ease. Rain soaked his handsome, deeply-defined features, his gray-blue eyes like the sea beneath a veil of mist—mysterious and captivating.
"Shan Cang?" Liang Ye heard the commotion and bounded toward the man like a ball.
Shan Cang caught him with one hand. "You'll get wet."
Liang Ye, seeing him return safely, couldn't care less that he was drenched. His little tail spun like a fan as he threw himself at the man, frantically licking his face.
Shan Cang truly couldn't withstand the puppy's enthusiasm. He grabbed Yeye by the scruff of his neck.
The puppy's tail wagged, tongue lolling out, flashing an angelic smile. "Woof!"
The little baby voice was especially excited—how could anyone bear to scold him?
"Wuwuwu, Yeye is so cute! If the chief doesn't like him, you can give him to me to raise." A demi-beastman boldly spoke up.
Before the words even faded, he was hit with the chief's death glare. The demi-beastman's body went rigid, not daring to breathe.
The chief wasn't disgusted with Yeye at all—he was clearly head over heels.
Probably treating him like his own son.
"Zhang is fine, just unconscious." Zhu had checked Zhang's condition, and the weight in his heart finally settled.
As for the scrapes on his arms and legs—for beastmen, that was nothing out of the ordinary. A lick and it'd be fine.
"Is this it?" Shan Cang held out a tuber mixed with dirt in front of Liang Ye.
Liang Ye brushed off the soil, revealing yellow skin. He dug a nail in, and a pungent, spicy scent hit his nose.
The watching beastmen all covered their noses in unison.
This thing could be eaten? And could cure illness?
"Ginger! This is it!" Liang Ye was overjoyed, almost wanting to kiss the ginger.
"Quick, wash it, slice it, and boil it in water." At Liang Ye's command, the cave burst into activity.
"So spicy, so spicy…" The demi-beastman in charge of slicing was nearly in tears.
Thankfully, the one who had to drink this stuff wasn't him.
Gui, full and satisfied, had no idea what was coming, sleeping soundly.
Once the ginger soup boiled, the smell grew even stronger. Adult beastmen could barely tolerate it; the minors fled as far as they could.
"Can it really work?" Zhuo quietly asked Chi.
Chi frowned deeply. He didn't know if it would work, only felt that Liang Ye's healing art was vicious. He'd have to stay far away from Liang Ye in the future.
But…
He snuck a glance at the skewers others had licked clean of meat. There seemed to be lingering meat fragrance on them.
The food he and Zhuo had been allocated today was already in their stomachs. While others roasted meat, the two of them stared with drool pooling.
Want to eat. Really want to eat!
Gui had cursed at Liang Ye before, and Gui's mother had even wanted to kill him—yet Liang Ye still shared roasted meat with Gui.
Liang Ye was so kind. If he asked him for something tasty, he'd surely give it.