Xue Tuan sat down sullenly next to his mother, Rong Shan. Before he could even speak, Rong Shan placed a large bowl of meat in Xue Tuan’s hands.
“Eat more, then you’ll be able to carry him next time.”
The adults suppressed their laughter, clearly having noticed Xue Tuan’s adorable behavior even while chatting.
Xue Tuan remained silent, and simply stuffed meat into his mouth.
His mother, as always, carefully cut the meat in his bowl into small pieces so he could eat on his own. Although the family was eager, even vying to feed Xue Tuan, he firmly refused. Eating by himself was his bottom line.
Using a spoon to scoop meat wasn’t so convenient. The adults preferred to use clean bone knives and forks, but ordinary knives were longer than Xue Tuan’s face, and too large for him.
So, his father shaved a small knife for him about the size of Xue Tuan’s palm. Xue Tuan felt that soon, under his mother’s unintentional influence, he would soon have a fork and chopsticks to use.
“Uncle, come on, try this. It’s made by my family’s Xue Tuan.” Bing Qiu, like a parent enthusiastically promoting the great achievement of their young child, recommended the sweet and sour sauce to the neighbors.
Qing Miao’s family had never tasted this kind of dipping sauce before. They were a little surprised that eating meat involved so many steps. However, they accepted it quickly and loved it.
“This way of eating is quite unique…” Qing Miao’s father, An Tu, ate several pieces of meat in quick succession. “Delicious! Shu Yi, you should try some too.”
Then, everyone received some ground pepper, something Qing Miao’s family had never seen before.
The meat grilled by Feng Yan was tender and smooth, and the spiciness of the ground pepper perfectly enhanced its flavor.
“Mother, the meat really tastes different with ground pepper!” Qing Miao, still with meat in his mouth, eagerly recommended it to his mother, Shu Yi.
The whole family praised the unique taste of the ground pepper, wondering how they had never discovered such a wonderful thing before. Who doesn’t like something that enhances the flavor of food? Qing Miao’s mother, Shu Yi, quickly asked Rong Shan how to make it.
Qing Miao’s family was very friendly, and Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan didn’t mind telling them the method. Bing Qiu had participated in the entire process, so he volunteered to explain it to them.
The pepper in this world seemed to be spicier, but seeing that everyone accepted the new flavor well, Xue Tuan was also satisfied.
This way, no matter what new things he tried in the future, everyone would get used to it, right?
While the adults were still chatting, Xue Tuan learned that Qing Guo wasn’t Qing Miao’s biological brother.
Qing Guo was an adopted cub of their kind, similar to how Elder Mu Shi adopted the little black lion Chong Yan. Xue Tuan looked at Qing Miao’s thin body and then at Qing Guo’s sturdy beast form, and understood. Qing Miao’s family were all very kind people.
Xue Tuan shifted his position, forked a slice of grilled meat, and put it into Qing Miao’s bowl, saying, “We both need to eat more!”
Qing Miao saw the little cub feeding him, and nodded excitedly, his heart warming, “Okay!”
Xue Tuan wished there was some lettuce which he could use to wrap the grilled meat slices.
He didn’t like eating raw wild vegetables here, they were a bit harsh on his throat. Rong Shan usually blanched some for him when making soup.
While Xue Tuan was busy eating, he overheard Qing Miao’s father, An Tu, saying, “Recently, the relationship between the elder and the deputy leader seems to have become very tense…”
Hmm? The elder was the little black lion’s family, wasn’t he?
Xue Tuan pricked up his ears, wanting to hear what had happened.
Feng Yan and Rong Shan immediately remembered the argument that had come from the elder’s room that day.
“What’s wrong with Grandpa Elder?” Qing Miao, who was enjoying his meat nearby, asked.
“It’s said that the High Priest wants the Chief and the others to agree to relocate the entire tribe.” An Tu and Shi Hu were close and had heard about this before.
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped, clearly surprised.
Feng Yan and Rong Shan, however, simultaneously recalled another detail. On the day they arrived, Priest Yun Lu was among those who objected.
Now, thinking back, when the Priest told them not to come, perhaps it wasn’t because he didn’t welcome them, but because the tribe was planning to relocate.
However, at that time, the matter hadn’t been formally decided, so it was probably inconvenient for him to say much to outsiders.
“I don’t know the specifics either, but the High Priest is very insistent, the Chief and Elder are hesitant, and the Deputy Chief’s family is strongly opposed.”
Feng Yan and Rong Shan exchanged a glance. While they were somewhat surprised by the situation, they weren’t actually under too much pressure.
After all, their original plan was to stay here temporarily. The tribe’s relocation wasn’t unacceptable to them, it was just that their plans were being moved forward.
Shu Yi: “I wonder what happened that made the whole tribe have to move.” He distributed the vegetable soup from another pot to everyone to cleanse their palates.
“It’s probably still about the food,” An Tu replied, taking the bowl from his mate.
The resources in this area have been almost completely depleted, so it’s understandable that the priest wants to move.
The topic had become a bit heavy, so An Tu changed the subject, telling everyone about other things happening in the tribe.
Both An Tu and Shu Yi were talkative and kind, making them easy to get along with. The two families enjoyed a pleasant dinner.
After dinner, Qing Miao’s family helped the Snow Foxes with the cleanup. If it weren’t so late, they probably could have continued chatting. The two families reluctantly parted with Xue Tuan and the Sun Bear cub, promising to meet again next time, and that was the end of it.
The next day, half of the indigo sky was gradually tinged with a faint golden light, and dawn was breaking.
The Snow Fox family slept soundly. Each beastman’s constitution is different. The minor injuries sustained by Rong Shan and Feng Yan have only left light marks, they’ll heal in a few days.
At this moment, Xue Tuan had gotten up to help his father start a fire. He had just squatted by the fire pit when he noticed a long swarm of ants, seemingly moving house.
He hadn’t noticed them before, why were there suddenly so many ants?
Bing Qiu, who had just brought a wooden chair out of the house, paused.
“Did you… hear anything?” Bing Qiu shuddered inexplicably, feeling extremely uncomfortable. “Is there something underground?” Why did it sound like there was a rumbling sound?
As soon as he finished speaking, Bing Qiu suddenly and unconsciously transformed into his beast form, roaring a few times at the ground.
At this moment, the others also sensed something was wrong. They were beastmen, and very sensitive to unusual atmospheres in nature.
On the rooftop, Gray became restless. It flapped its wings violently and suddenly let out a sharp cry.
Priest Yun Lu and Chief Shi Hu were helping Elder Mu Shi prepare breakfast. Just as Yun Lu was about to put down the stone pot, he stumbled and was caught by Shi Hu. Yun Lu’s pupils widened instantly, the thatched hut opposite them was suddenly shedding its straw.
Dozens of kilometers away from the tribe, the ground trembled slightly. Initially, it was barely noticeable, but quickly the tremor turned into a noticeable shaking!
The firewood in the bonfire collapsed, the cubs screamed in terror, and the beastmen rushed out of the thatched huts in panic. Just as they emerged, half of one hut collapsed.
“What’s happening?! What’s going on?”
“It’s an earthquake!!”
“Run! Run!”
Then the shaking stopped abruptly.
Everyone stood frozen in place.
Elder Mu Shi immediately made a decision, shouting, “Quick! Everyone go back and pack your things!” An earthquake might not be a one-off, they had to get out of there as soon as possible.
Shi Hu, regaining his composure, immediately commanded, “Don’t waste time! Don’t bring too much stuff, and assemble at the entrance right now!”
Shi Hu’s words were immediately received by the Howling Monkey beastmen, who shouted at the top of their lungs to ensure the other beastmen could hear.
The Howling Monkeys were the loudest beastmen, and they were responsible for relaying their leader’s words.
The group moved hastily and haphazardly, quickly and simply packing their belongings, preparing to temporarily leave the tribe for an open area.
Meanwhile, Rong Shan quickly gathered the cubs’ belongings: “Was that an earthquake?”
“Yes.” Feng Yan spread out a huge animal hide, his large hands sweeping up everything on the stone table and placing it on it.
Feng Yan’s calm voice calmed the others down slightly.
Xue Tuan, afraid of causing trouble, still stuffed his small bundle to the brim. He couldn’t fit all the pepper, so he just grabbed a few handfuls.
Fortunately, the family had only stayed for a few days, and they were already quite used to suddenly packing their bags and running away.
All the beastmen gathered together and left the tribe, heading south. Even as they ran, they could occasionally feel the ground trembling, and the mountains seemed to shake.
Gray flew slowly above the herd, following Xue Tuan’s family.
In ancient China, there was the experience of “not rushing out during earthquakes, but lying in wait,” but the stability of the thatched huts here was questionable, and staying inside might actually be dangerous.
Moving away from the earthquake’s epicenter to an open area was a good choice.
Now, everyone was filled with anxiety. Xue Tuan also abandoned his previous carefree attitude during the migration, letting Feng Yan “pack him up and take him away.”
Xue Tuan was wrapped in the bundle with only his large, watery eyes showing. Fortunately, he was used to this and didn’t feel uncomfortable.