The arrogance and malice on the Witch Doctor's face vanished in an instant. By the time he turned his head, his smile was radiant, like a spring breeze, with a hint of coy shyness in his eyes. "Shan Cang, I heard you brought back a cub, so I came to check on the little one's condition."
Shan Cang's gray-blue eyes were like ten-thousand-foot-deep ice beneath the sky, chilling the Witch Doctor's spine. His fingers curled unconsciously as he forced a composed smile.
"Chieftain, the cub can't speak. The Witch Doctor came out of kindness to check on him." Cai was afraid the chieftain might misunderstand the Witch Doctor. In such a short time, the chieftain had already come to the great cave twice—enough to show how much he valued the cub.
A flicker of surprise passed through the Witch Doctor's eyes at these words. So the brat was mute. Thinking back to what he'd said to the cub earlier, he'd truly wasted his breath.
"Yes, such a young cub—if his throat is injured, he must be treated promptly." The Witch Doctor lowered his lashes, his expression one of pity, and reached out to stroke the cub with tender affection.
But the moment his hand extended, the cub dodged repeatedly, his small body trembling like reeds in the wind, shaking uncontrollably.
The temperature plummeted to freezing. Shan Cang's murderous aura poured through the cave like a flash flood. He strode forward and scooped up the cub, who was trembling like a sieve, in one hand.
Perhaps catching a familiar scent, the cub burrowed into his chest with clinging affection, letting out soft whimpers as if he'd suffered the greatest injustice.
With every whimper, Shan Cang's gaze at the Witch Doctor grew one degree colder.
The Witch Doctor forced a smile and hastily explained, "Shan Cang, how could I possibly harm a cub? He's just not familiar with me yet. Please don't overthink this."
"I am the tribe's Witch Doctor. Every cub is a blessing from the Beast God. I will ask the Beast God to bestow his favor upon him and protect him as he grows up healthy and safe."
Shan Cang's brow relaxed slightly as he patted the cub's back. The Witch Doctor had indeed swayed him. Though the man often pestered him relentlessly, he was still the tribe's Witch Doctor, bearing the same duty as the chieftain to protect the tribe.
The cub wasn't originally a member of the tribe, but he was still of the wolf clan, and since Shan Cang had brought him back, the cub was now one of their new kin. Harming a fellow clan member was taboo among the wolves.
With smooth words and a silver tongue, the Witch Doctor had reversed the situation in just a few sentences. The title of Witch Doctor truly carried weight.
Liang Ye's dark, glossy eyes rolled around as he squeezed out a few tears. His furry little body scrambled frantically from the man's chest up to his neck, then buried itself into the hollow of his shoulder.
Shan Cang felt a patch of warmth and moisture on his skin. He tried to move the little cub's head to check, but the cub stubbornly clung to him like a drowning person clutching driftwood.
A beastman's instinct told him something was wrong.
Shan Cang's broad palm easily grabbed the cub like an eagle snatching a chick. Where the cub had been lying was now wet and glistening. Looking closely, the little one was crying silently, utterly heartbroken.
His heart was suddenly squeezed by an invisible giant hand, and bitterness spread across his tongue. Shan Cang's gaze was like a blade, as if it would cleave the Witch Doctor apart.
As the tribe's most powerful warrior, when he released his pressure, his aura alone was enough to terrify all beasts—let alone a Demi-Beastman like the Witch Doctor, who sat high above, sheltered and rarely facing danger.
The Witch Doctor's beautiful face drained of all color. His teeth chattered, his legs gave way, and he prostrated himself on the ground. "S-Sorry, Chieftain."
Beside him, Cai's limbs went weak. He scrambled on hands and knees to kneel before Shan Cang alongside the Witch Doctor.
He couldn't understand why the chieftain was so furious when the Witch Doctor had done nothing wrong. The merciful Witch Doctor had only come to check on the cub.
Could it be that the cub was actually the chieftain's own offspring? That he wouldn't allow anyone near?
But that kind of behavior only appeared in Demi-Beastmen who had just given birth—their bodies weak, they feared others harming their young, making them especially vigilant and aggressive.
"No food rations for you today." Shan Cang dropped the words with ruthless coldness.
The Witch Doctor's head shot up, eyes red-rimmed, staring at the man in disbelief.
Cai was dumbstruck, stammering as he pleaded for the Witch Doctor, "Ch-Chieftain, why punish the Witch Doctor? He was only being kind…"
The rest of his words were swallowed back down his throat under the man's frost-covered gaze. His tongue went numb and lost all feeling.
Useless!
The Witch Doctor shot Cai a dark glare of frustration.
Licking his dry lips, the Witch Doctor looked up with a pitiful expression, lashes trembling, tears glistening in his eyes. "Chieftain, I truly didn't harm the cub."
Biting his pale pink lower lip, a flush spreading across his cheeks, he gathered his courage and spoke. "I only told him that in the future, when we're together, we'll have new cubs to play with him. He…"
Before he could finish, the man cruelly cut him off: "We will never be together."
The Witch Doctor's pupils shook violently. His breath stopped. His face turned ashen. In an instant, all his vitality was drained away, and his body slumped sideways onto the cold, hard ground.
The man looked down from above, his eyes capable of holding all things in the world—except him.
Why? Shan Cang could be so good to a cub abandoned by its pack, unwanted by anyone, showering him with care and attention, granting his every wish—yet he wouldn't spare him a single glance?
He was the tribe's Witch Doctor. Who didn't grovel and fawn over him?
The two highest-ranking people in the tribe were destined to be together, just like the previous Witch Doctor and Chieftain.
Why wouldn't Shan Cang accept him?
The Witch Doctor turned his gaze toward the cub cradled in Shan Cang's hands.
Could it be that this cub was fathered by Shan Cang with some other demi-beastman?
No! Impossible!
But… apart from that, there was no other explanation that made sense.
Beastmen were extremely sensitive to scents—good, bad, joyful, painful—as long as one didn't deliberately conceal them, they could all be sniffed out.
Shan Cang caught a trace of malice emanating from the Witch Doctor. His eyes darkened as he warned in a stern voice, "Don't do anything unnecessary."
Before the man, the Witch Doctor was practically transparent; the little schemes in his heart couldn't be hidden at all.
The Witch Doctor shrank his neck and nodded like a pestle pounding garlic.
Missing one meal wouldn't kill him, but the chieftain's punishment wasn't merely physical—it was spiritual, grinding his dignity into the dirt and trampling on it.
The Witch Doctor's status in the tribe was second only to the chieftain's. The tribespeople held him in great reverence, and whenever they discovered something good, they would bring it to him first.
Even during times of food shortage and hunger, they would offer him their share before eating themselves—a privilege reserved for cubs.
The Witch Doctor was the Beast God's envoy on earth, the Beast God's spokesperson, and deserved to be treated specially.
He stood high above others, revered and admired, his ears forever filled with words of praise.
The chieftain's actions were no different from slapping him in public, tearing apart the halo around him, and kicking him from the clouds back down to the mortal world.
It was all that cub's fault!
The Witch Doctor gnashed his teeth, desperately suppressing the surging hatred deep in his heart.
"He, when did you arrive?" Cai helped up the Witch Doctor, who looked as frail as a willow swaying in the wind.
The man was tall and imposing, with black hair and golden eyes, his features bearing some resemblance to Shan Cang's. "Just got here."
The words were an answer to Cai, but his gaze remained fixed on the Witch Doctor, not sparing Cai even a glance.
Cai pursed his lips, fully aware of his intentions. "Don't think just because the Witch Doctor and the chieftain had a fight, you have a chance. What couple doesn't argue? Zhang and I fight all the time, and once he cools down, he comes to coax me. The chieftain will surely do the same!"
The Witch Doctor's stifled chest felt a bit better, but He ruthlessly doused him with cold water: "You and Zhang are mates. Fei and Shan Cang aren't."
"You!" Cai hopped in anger, face red and neck swollen.
If this were modern times, Cai would definitely point at He and curse: "The ship I support is the best in the world! Breaking up a ship is like killing someone's parents!"
The Witch Doctor's face turned deathly pale. As he passed by He's side, he kept his eyes straight ahead, not uttering a single word to him.
He grabbed his arm. "Shan Cang rejected you so bluntly. Are you still going to continue?"
This man hadn't just arrived—he'd clearly heard everything.
The Witch Doctor flushed with embarrassment and anger, shot him a sidelong glance, and sneered contemptuously, "If I don't continue, am I supposed to be with you instead?"
Unexpectedly, the shameless man nodded. "Yes."
Cai was left speechless by what he heard. Beastmen pursuing demi-beastmen was already shameless, but someone this shameless was truly rare.
He stared into the Witch Doctor's eyes and asked, "What's wrong with being with me? I'm the strongest warrior in the tribe besides Shan Cang. I'll hunt plenty of food for you and let you bear healthy, strong cubs."
The Witch Doctor broke free from his grip and said airily, "Indeed. You can't compare to Shan Cang."
He's hand, suspended in midair, froze in place, no longer able to stop the Witch Doctor from leaving.
His fist slowly clenched, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
·
Liang Ye, who had been carried away by Shan Cang early on, unfortunately missed a spectacular show.
Yeye wrapped both front paws around the man's neck, refusing to let go. "Whine whine whine—"
"Don't be afraid. I'll instruct Bo to make sure you're never left alone." Shan Cang stroked the puppy's back.
What!?
He was going to send him back?
No way! Absolutely not!
The Witch Doctor's status and position were right there—if he wanted to deal with a little milk Ye like him, he'd have plenty of ways.
Besides, that Witch Doctor was indeed somewhat attractive and skilled at sweet talk. Shan Cang was clearly a straightforward man. If he hadn't put in the effort just now, wouldn't he have been fooled by the Witch Doctor?
His golden thigh absolutely could not find a wife with a vicious heart. If she whispered a few pillow words later and really got him expelled from the tribe, how would a weak, pitiful, and helpless Yeye like him survive?
Liang Ye didn't want to become a bowl of plain rice in the primitive forest.
So, he absolutely had to stay at Shan Cang's place!
He was young and in his prime—this was the time to make his mark, not to talk about romance.
Perhaps because of his status as chieftain, Shan Cang's home was quite spacious, though slightly off to the side, far from the center of the tribe.
Liang Ye suspected that if not for the responsibility of being chieftain, Shan Cang might have lived in complete isolation. Based on several days of interaction, he could clearly sense that Shan Cang was a lone wolf.
Not in the sense of being alone, but in personality—unique, independent, self-reliant.
And lonely.
That was a bit strange. As the chieftain of the tribe and the core of the clan, with so many people around him, he would occasionally exude the solitude of one drinking alone under the moonlight.
Liang Ye didn't know his past and couldn't find the answer for now. Perhaps one day Shan Cang would explain it to him, or perhaps not—who knew.
Shan Cang's cave was extremely simple, practically Syrian style.
A stone bed, a few stone bowls, and a pile of animal hides stacked in the corner—that was all his worldly possessions.
It gave off the feeling that he was ready to pack up and leave at any moment.
Shan Cang picked out a soft, comfortable animal hide and laid it down for the cub.
He usually didn't need beast pelts to sleep—he'd simply shift back into his beast form and flop onto the stone bed, his thick coat keeping him from feeling either the hard surface or the cold.
But a cub had delicate skin, and this one in particular was especially pampered. He needed a beast pelt laid out for him.
Liang Ye's stubby little legs churned uselessly as he failed to climb onto the bed, trotting back and forth anxiously at the edge like a bouncing meatball.
Shan Cang watched from the side, an unconscious smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Taking pity, he reached out and gave the cub's rear a boost.
The little thing barely had two ounces of meat on his bones, yet his tiny butt was surprisingly plump. Shan Cang secretly gave it a squeeze—the feel was excellent.
He set the cub down with all due seriousness, then calmly met the little one's startled, questioning gaze.
Yeye scratched his head. Had he been hallucinating?
"You can't talk—is that something you were born with?" Shan Cang was rather concerned about this. If the Witch Doctor hadn't pulled any tricks, he genuinely would have wanted the Witch Doctor to examine the cub.
Liang Ye shook his head like a wave—Ye can learn!
Shan Cang raised an eyebrow. "So you just never learned?"
The puppy stuck out his tongue in a brilliant grin and nodded vigorously, his triangular ears bouncing like jelly.
Right! The most urgent thing was to learn the Beastmen's language—otherwise, he couldn't even properly file a complaint.
Today's stunt by the Witch Doctor had nearly made the puppy blurt out human speech out of sheer frustration.
During the days of looking after the cub, Shan Cang had vaguely noticed that the little one seemed to understand what he said. Now, with this back-and-forth exchange, it was confirmed—it hadn't been his imagination.
A three-month-old cub couldn't manage very long sentences, but basic conversation was no problem. A little one like this who couldn't speak at all was either simple-minded or possibly a Fallen Beast.
Fortunately, the cub was neither.
Shan Cang patted the little one's head. "I'll teach you."
Liang Ye's eyes lit up, and he launched himself like a tiny cannonball into Shan Cang's solid chest, leaving four plum-blossom paw prints behind.
Good wolf! Ye will definitely find you a beautiful, kind-hearted wife.
Shan Cang caught the little furball's plump rear with one steady hand. What an easily satisfied little thing.
Both the dog and the wolf were very pleased.