Hearing Xue Tuan’s voice, the cubs looked over.
They saw the little black lion, Chong Yan, breathing steadily with his amber eyes fixed on the hard rock wall before him. Then his gaze lowered, searching left and right before settling on a huge boulder.
Just now, beside the little ball of fur, Chong Yan had heard Xue Tuan say that it would be great if they could carve out more caves so everyone could live in them.
So he decided to try.
The little black lion’s paws brushed against the rough sand as he walked to the boulder. He slightly pushed back his shoulders, and placed his paws on the rock.
Then, with a sudden burst of strength from his forelimbs, he lifted the boulder over his head!
The boulder was heavy enough to crush an old tree, but in the little black lion’s hands, it was as easy as lifting a piece of firewood.
Xue Tuan realized what the little black lion was about to do. The other cubs just stared blankly at him, and was even a little afraid that the boulder might fall on them.
Chong Yan took a deep breath, his pent-up power finally erupting as he swung his forelimbs forward violently.
“Boom—!”
The boulder went whistling through the air, and slammed into the mountainside.
The deafening roar drew the attention of the other beastmen who had just transformed back into human form to rest.
“This…” Da Hu’s words were cut short by the deafening crash.
Dust billowed, the rock face trembled, and rubble shattered with cracks appearing at the point of impact.
“Thump, thump—!”
Chong Yan didn’t stop. He grabbed the boulder again and slammed it down repeatedly!
Each impact created a deeper crack. After several heavy blows, “crack!” a semi-circular opening appeared in the rock face, scattering broken rocks everywhere.
Even the adults were speechless. Everyone recognized the little black lion. They’d only heard of him before, calling him a “jinx” and a “monster,” but seeing him now, the “jinx” might not be true, but the “monster” label certainly seemed real.
“My God…” Several beastmen who witnessed everything stared wide-eyed, their eyes filled with shock.
San Hu’s mouth gaped open, unaware that the berries in his hand had fallen to the ground with a thud. He’d never imagined a cub could possess such astonishing strength. He even suspected that this little black lion could punch three of him at once.
After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted in a clamor.
“He’s just a cub, and he smashed a hole in it himself?!”
“Incredible! What kind of monstrous strength is that?”
“Wow, when he gets bigger, I might not even be able to beat him.”
Xue Tuan was the first to reach the little black lion, and hugged his furry neck tightly: “You’re so strong!” Xue Tuan buried himself in the soft, fluffy fur.
Even though he’d already witnessed it once before during the ice-breaking, Xue Tuan was still astonished by the little black lion’s unparalleled strength.
Hearing the little ball’s exclamation of surprise, the little black lion felt inexplicably pleased.
Panting heavily, the little black lion ignored what the crowd was saying, his eyes only on the little ball. He raised his paw, hesitated for a moment, then lowered it, simply nuzzling Xue Tuan with his fluffy head.
“Don’t smash the cave anymore.” You can rest for a bit, you’ve already tried your best.
Xue Tuan didn’t know if the little black lion had heard him, which was why he ran over and started smashing the cave. He was both touched and heartbroken.
Even with the little black lion’s great strength, he was still just a cub, and still growing like all other cubs. Cubs are still at the age of playing, they only need to help with small tasks.
Rong Shan also came over, squatted down, and gently stroked Chong Yan’s head, saying, “You just play with Xue Tuan and the others. Leave the cave-breaking to the adults.”
“That’s right, if you do everything, what are we adults supposed to do?”
“The adults’ problems can wait until you little brats are older, hahaha.”
Many of them used to remember Chong Yan only from the gossip circulating in the tribe after his parents disappeared. After Chong Yan was adopted by the elder, there were rarely any bad stories about him.
As for the “monster” rumors, they hadn’t heard of Chong Yan injuring anyone again. Perhaps it was because he was too young to control his strength then?
Often, strength represents power. Seeing Chong Yan now, it’s clear he’ll be a pillar of their tribe in the future, so who would believe those rumors anymore?
San Hu turned his head and whispered to Da Hu, “However, if there’s something I really can’t move, I can still ask Chong Yan for help, right…” Before he finished speaking, he was elbowed by Da Hu.
Da Hu glared at San Hu, then tugged at his cheek with both hands: “Let me see how thick it is.”
The little black lion nodded to Rong Shan. In front of the little dumpling’s mother, Chong Yan seemed exceptionally obedient. He only went to smash the cave to help Xue Tuan, and now that everyone was letting him go play with Xue Tuan, he was naturally even happier.
“Mother—, the ginger water is ready!” Bing Qiu shouted at the top of his lungs. Besides him, only Qing Miao could help out in the cub group. He had to watch several pots by himself, and after all that work, he wasn’t cold at all.
“Everyone, take a break and have some hot water!” Rong Shan called to the beastmen who had been smashing the cave, and everyone responded.
An Tu was the first to receive a bowl of steaming ginger water. Looking at the ginger slices inside, he asked uncertainly, “What is this? Can I drink it?”
He gently blew on the steam, took a sip, and frowned slightly—the spicy taste spread across his tongue.
Seeing An Tu’s furrowed brow, the others hesitated to move. “What’s wrong? Doesn’t it taste good?”
“Well, you guys try it yourselves.” An Tu’s lips twitched slightly, his expression unreadable.
“Making it so difficult to drink water? Let me do it.” The leopard beastman grabbed the bowl, intending to gulp it down.
The moment the hot soup entered his mouth… “Cough, cough.”
“What is this? Take it away, take it away.” The leopard beastman waved his hands repeatedly, indicating he didn’t like it, and went to get another pot of ordinary hot water.
The remaining people looked at each other, then began to politely decline:
“You go first, you go first.”
“No, no, you go first, you go first.”
The Snow Fox family, influenced by Xue Tuan, had long been accustomed to the taste of ginger water, so they found the other tribe members’ troubled expressions quite amusing.
Xue Tuan, however, had prepared for the worst. Knowing some people wouldn’t like the taste of ginger water, he had his brother make a sweet juice using red berry leaves. Adding this to the ginger water will make the taste less unpleasant.
Bing Qiu proudly pulled out his bowl of greenish-sweet juice: “Here, add some of this and it’ll taste better.”
Xue Tuan glanced at the ginger water with the added sweet juice, its yellowish-green color made it look even more like a culinary disaster. Xue Tuan picked up the bowl Bing Qiu had prepared, held it above his head, and handed it to the nearest Tiger Weasel brother: “Brother San Hu, drink this to warm yourself up.”
The others, seeing this bowl of soup, would probably suspect they could be poisoned. But seeing the little cub’s earnest eyes, San Hu resolutely chose to believe.
“Okay… thank you, Xue Tuan.”
Better a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one. San Hu closed his eyes, pinched his nose, took a deep breath, and shoved the bowl of “poison” into his mouth.
A moment of spiciness filled his mouth, but it was quickly replaced by a sweet taste. A warm current slid from his throat into his stomach, immediately giving him a feeling of being enveloped in warmth from the inside out.
After drinking it, he felt warmer. It was amazing! And…it tasted pretty good too? San Hu scratched his head: “Another bowl, please.”
Bing Qiu chuckled and offered a small bowl to Gray, but Gray wasn’t fooled. Seeing this wasn’t his usual water, he completely ignored Bing Qiu.
Elder Mu Shi casually found a large rock to sit on, and sipped the ginger water slowly. Each sip seemed to dispel a bit of the chill in his body. He exhaled a warm breath, and felt much better.
He was one of the few who had gotten used to the taste of ginger water after just one sip. Since leaving his original tribe, the elder no longer looked so worried, and seemed much younger.
Feng Yan: “Would you like some more?”
“Yes, thank you.” Mu Shi handed over the bowl, and Feng Yan helped him get another one.
Feng Yan sat down next to the elder, holding a bowl of ginger water his son had prepared for him. He casually chatted with the elder, “Why did you choose Rong Shan and me as leaders?”
He and Rong Shan hadn’t been in this tribe long, yet the original chief, priest, and elder had simply handed over the most important positions in the tribe to strangers.
Mu Shi, holding his bowl, smiled at this. The Snow Fox family was undoubtedly powerful. A responsible leader already surpassed many others. But in the Snow Fox family, Mu Shi felt he saw even more admirable qualities.
They didn’t abandon their young who were unlikely to survive, they kept their promises to a tribe that was unfamiliar and didn’t even welcome them, and those three young men who participated in the hunt for the ferocious beast—Mu Shi had initially thought they would be rejected, but the Snow Fox family still accepted them.
He shared his observations without reservation with Shi Hu and Yun Lu, and their thoughts coincided perfectly, leading to the decision that day.
But the elder wouldn’t say these words aloud. In the end, Mu Shi simply smiled and said:
“Because you are the most suitable candidates.”