The little bird immediately turned and rubbed against Xue Tuan’s fingers, trying its best to please him.
Xue Tuan’s eyes crinkled, and he reached out to stroke the bird’s downy feathers: “No roasting.”
“Alright.” Xue Tuan always went along with what he said. Since he didn’t want to eat it, Bing Qiu wouldn’t force him.
The little bird’s eyes darted left and right. Realizing the danger was over, it focused on eating its small jerky again.
While the two of them were playing with the bird, Feng Yan returned with enough firewood.
Seeing his cubs surrounding a bird, not only not skinning or skewering it, but also feeding it, Feng Yan’s expression was a little subtle as if he’d seen something unusual. However, they weren’t short of food at home, so he didn’t say anything.
After piling up the firewood, Feng Yan took out a flint and another piece of dark gray stone from his animal skin bundle, preparing to start a fire.
Rong Shan used a bone knife to whittle two small twigs and began to rub them together to start a fire.
Currently, it’s hard to say which of these two methods of starting a fire is faster or slower. Starting a fire by friction is more laborious, while striking flint to produce sparks is somewhat luck-based.
The grayish-black stone in Feng Yan’s hand didn’t have enough iron content, so the sparks it produced when rubbed against the flint would take some time to reach a level sufficient to ignite a haystack.
For a moment, the temporary camp was filled with the sound of stones clattering.
Hu Li, who was watching the birds munching on their food, suddenly smelled firewood. Before he could even turn around, he was already off the ground.
“Time to eat,” Hu Li was lifted up by his father, Rong Shan.
Hu Li didn’t move, he was already used to this sudden airborne experience.
Rong Shan placed him on a piece of animal hide that had been laid out, and then placed his special little ceramic bowl and a miniature seashell spoon in Xue Tuan’s hands.
Hu Li had many such personal items. The only one in his home, this small ceramic bowl, was a gift brought back by his grandfather, a wandering beastman he had never met. This showed the disparity in development levels between different tribes.
Wandering beastmen were forced to roam, while traveling beastmen were free travelers who loved adventure.
“Thank you, Mother.”
Hu Li held a bowl of steaming, tender meat soup in his hands. His palms instantly warmed, and he sipped it carefully.
For survival, beastmen in their animal forms generally ate raw meat in the wild. But when they lived in human form, they preferred cooked food.
Hu Li could feel the many changes his family had made for him. Initially, his stomach was very weak. Beastmen could drink cold water freely, but one time Hu Li drank some and suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. From then on, the water his family gave him was always boiled.
To care for the frail Hu Li, the snow fox family would cook his food even softer.
Two triangular fires were set up in the wind. One had a small stone pot on it used for cooking wild vegetables due to its slow heat conduction, and the other used the stomachs of wild animals to cook meat.
Food cooked in the stomachs cooked faster, eventually charring the stomachs, which were then eaten by Bing Qiu as he loved the charred bits.
Several tubers resembling potatoes were also slowly roasting around the fire. They weren’t originally called that, they were probably a local specialty of this world, but Bing Qiu had heard Xue Tuan mention them once and started calling them potatoes.
“Eat more,” Rong Shan said, scooping the cooked wild vegetables into Hu Li’s bowl.
Bing Qiu also put the leafy greens from his shell bowl into his younger brother’s bowl: “Don’t look, even the little birds eat more than you.”
Although his brother teased him about his small appetite, Xue Tuan still buried his head in the mountain of food and began to eat. He still had a long way to go before he could “carry heavy loads on his shoulders,” so for now, he’d obediently let his family feed him.
Thankfully, the food was a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, so they didn’t just eat meat all the time.
Before, their family’s cooking style was to throw everything into a pot and stew it all together. Xue Tuan had previously looked utterly disgusted by a pot full of scallions and cilantro stew.
Once, when he and his brother went to gather fruit, Hu Li noticed his brother disdainfully looked down on ginger, saying it didn’t taste good.
Hu Li didn’t argue, but silently picked up the ginger. He only pretended to playfully toss slices of ginger into the pot to remove the gamey smell when his father and mother were processing the meat.
Now, Hu Li held the bowl of what could be described as a “sumptuous” meat soup. He sat around the campfire with his family, and watched them busy at work, his heart filled with boundless gratitude.
He knew the snow fox family would migrate in the winter all because of him. In this world, not all beastmen cherish their cubs as it’s survival of the fittest.
Given his physical condition, if he had been placed in someone else’s care, he would probably have been abandoned long ago.
Let alone the fact that his entire family would travel thousands of miles south to a warmer place for a cub whose survival was uncertain.
It would be a lie to say that Hu Li wasn’t moved. He could only eat voraciously, try his best to survive, and repay his family.
Seeing Xue Tuan enjoying the meat soup so much, the family’s fatigue seemed to vanish. The long-standing gloom that had hung over them finally showed signs of fading, and joy filled everyone’s eyes.
Even the usually serious Feng Yan showed a long-lost tenderness on his face.
Now, Xue Tuan could eat and sleep well unlike before when each time he woke up, it seemed as if his vitality was decreasing, and he slept for longer and longer periods.
It wasn’t until Xue Tuan started burping from his meal that the adults finally finished their dinner in a whirlwind.
Xue Tuan was now a classic case of “eat, sleep, sleep, eat.” He called it conserving his energy, but in reality, he was living the life of a parasite.
Feeling a little sleepy after eating, Xue Tuan raised his hand and rubbed his eyes.
Rong Shan saw this, picked up Xue Tuan and let him rest on his shoulder, gently patting his back to lull him to sleep. Bing Qiu transformed into its beast form and snuggled up in front of them, serving as a warm blanket for Xue Tuan.
Feng Yan spoke in a low voice, and whispered something to Rong Shan.
Xue Tuan nestled in his mother’s arms. The flickering firelight reflected in his sleepy eyes, and the quiet conversation of his family was the most soothing lullaby.
As every day before, Xue Tuan drifted off to sleep in his mother’s warm embrace.
As dawn broke, Hu Li blinked a few times, waking up to a series of rhythmic bounces.
Hu Li could only see fluffy white fur. He reached out and scratched it, then grabbed his beast-like father’s neck.
Sensing the slight movement, Feng Yan knew his cub had woken up. He didn’t stop running, his cub was obedient and weak so there’s no need to worry about him mischievously escaping from the bundle.
After discussing it with Rong Shan that night, they decided to find a place to temporarily settle, preferably a tribe for safety.
They had been running for far too long, it was time to stop and adapt to their new environment.
So they traveled for several more days and finally discovered a frozen river.
Where there is a river, there is a high probability of a beastman tribe.
The snow foxes slowed their pace. Feng Yan gave Rong Shan two soft growls, signaling that they could stop and prepare to search for signs of beastman life.
Feng Yan transformed into human form first. He held Xue Tuan in one arm and grabbed his pack with the other.
He pulled a small gourd from his luggage containing clean snow water that he and Rong Shan had boiled before setting off. Although the temperature wasn’t very high, it was still boiled water, which could be given to the cubs to drink.
They had no problem drinking the cold water in their beast forms, but their youngest son was weak and needed the water heated beforehand. Later, this evolved into his son demanding that his family drink boiled water whenever they were in human form, otherwise he would become unhappy.
Thinking of his increasingly lively youngest son, Feng Yan’s heart softened.
Feng Yan surveyed his surroundings. There was a water source, trees, and a hill not far away so other beastmen likely lived nearby.
Seeing his little one drink a few sips from the gourd and then stop, Feng Yan packed up his things and carried Xue Tuan into the forest.
Rong Shan and Bing Qiu also transformed into human form, following behind Feng Yan.
“Father, let me hold little brother!” As soon as he transformed into human form, Bing Qiu couldn’t resist running to Feng Yan, raising his hands to hold Xue Tuan and play with him.
“No, the path in the forest is difficult to walk on.” Feng Yan dodged his hands, continuing to hold Xue Tuan steadily. He wasn’t about to hand over his little cub clinging to his neck.
“No! I’ll be very careful!” Bing Qiu cried anxiously, his eyes fixed on his younger brother in his father’s arms. He reached out to grab Xue Tuan with a resolute attitude.
Bing Qiu’s left hand gripped his father’s fur coat, preventing him from leaving, while his right hand stubbornly reached for the Xue Tuan in Feng Yan’s arms.
Feng Yan, of course, wouldn’t give his eldest son a chance. He simply lifted Xue Tuan high, and refused to let him touch it.
Rong Shan, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, suddenly stepped forward. He took Xue Tuan in one hand and shoved the bundle into Bing Qiu’s hands with the other: “I’ll hold him.” Now that his hands were free, it was perfect for holding his little one.
Seeing his brother snatched away by his mother, Bing Qiu could only pout, and clutch his bag tightly in silence. Feng Yan smiled seeing his mate’s unusually relaxed expression, and smiling as he held his child.
Hu Li, the person involved, looked back and forth, unable to offer any opinion since he was fine with either of them holding him.
A small bird flew down and landed on Hu Li’s shoulder. He thought the bird would leave after eating, but it followed them the whole way. Hu Li reached out and petted the bird, he didn’t mind having another playmate.
The family walked deeper into the forest. Hu Li followed the adults, and searched for signs of life. He had never seen other beastmen before and was full of curiosity about this world.
He also thought that his family could find a place to rest first and then make plans later.
They followed a path worn by people, and vaguely saw wisps of smoke rising in the distance.
After walking for a while, they indeed found a small beastman tribe.
Carried by his father, Hu Li had a high vantage point and could see the tribe’s layout as they walked.
The tribe had various sizes and levels of completion of thatched huts. The basic structure was built from thick tree trunks and covered with thatch. Some huts had animal hides or woven straw curtains hanging at their entrances, offering only a meager shield from the cold wind.
The tribe’s territory was sparsely surrounded by dilapidated wooden stakes. By the time the snow fox family reached the tribe’s “gate,” a crowd of beastmen had already gathered to watch. The “gate” was really just a few tree trunks stuck together—a token gesture.
Seeing outsiders arrive, the tribe members were somewhat incredulous.
This was during the cold season when food was scarce, how could beastmen dare to wander outside?
Many stopped what they were doing and rushed to the tribe’s gate while those who were slower could only watch from behind.
They “secretly” peeked at the snow fox family, each with a look of astonishment: this family was all handsome, fair-skinned, and possessed an imposing presence. Their animal hide clothing was clean and tidy, and they wore ivory ornaments.
They looked at the family opposite them, then at their own rough, one-piece animal hide clothing. They couldn’t help but think: What kind of family is this? Are all beastmen from the north like this?
A small path quickly branched off from the bustling entrance, and the group of people at the head of the group emerged surrounded by another.
Hu Li gripped his mother’s shoulders and turned to look at the group with curiosity.
An elderly man with gray hair emerged, leaning on a wooden cane. Two middle-aged men stood on either side of him, the one on the right supporting the old man wore a cloak made of bird feathers and animal hide.
The chief of this small tribe had gone hunting with a group of beastmen, and the deputy chief, priest, and elders were currently in charge of the tribe’s affairs.
The elder’s cloudy eyes scanned the snow fox family, guessed they were perhaps traveling beastmen, and spoke first: “Do you wish to join our tribe?”
Elder Mu Shi observed the two men’s superior physiques, and assumed they were skilled hunters. Seeing that these people were cleanly dressed, and their animal hides meticulously mended, it seemed their original tribe was quite good.
In a short moment, Mu Shi considered keeping them but…
Even the most skilled hunter was useless without prey.
Hearing the question, Feng Yan hesitated for a moment, briefly explaining where they came from and that they were looking for a place to stay without mentioning whether he wanted to join them.
“You should go somewhere else,” said the sub-beastman standing to the elder’s right, the only one dressed differently.