For several days, the beastmen worked diligently to transform the cave into a home.
While the adults were busy, Xue Tuan was also busy befriending the tribe’s cubs, and coaxing the younger ones into their animal forms so he could pet them.
“Sigh…” Bing Qiu watched his younger brother’s antics over the past few days, and couldn’t help but sigh, realizing he had underestimated Xue Tuan. Although Xue Tuan was the youngest among the cubs (besides Qing Guo), he had them all completely under his thumb.
His little Xue Tuan’s adorable appearance was already endearing, and he often came up with tricks they’d never seen before, captivating the cubs for a long time.
The cubs were incredibly clingy, and the first thing they did every morning was to go play with the Snow Fox’s cub.
However, some of the cubs were a little afraid of the little black lion who followed Xue Tuan.
“Chong Yan is also our friend,” Xue Tuan repeated every day.
The name of the little black lion wasn’t just known to adults, even the young cubs had heard of him to some extent. However, the cubs who liked to bully the little black lion had already gone back with their former deputy leader.
The cubs who remained were re-educated by their families: they couldn’t isolate the little black lion, Chong Yan, and had to treat him as a friend.
Therefore, under this double “brainwashing,” these cubs, aside from finding the little black lion’s appearance a bit frightening, didn’t reject him.
But why did that little black lion have two faces? When facing Xue Tuan, he was clearly very friendly and obedient, but when other cubs tried to approach Xue Tuan, the little black lion always remained expressionless, intentionally or unintentionally preventing them from touching him.
After a while, the little cubs only dared to whisper among themselves:
“Why does Chong Yan always get ‘massaged’ by Xue Tuan?”
“Why is his face so dark when I’m behind him?”
“Isn’t his face always dark?”
…
Normally, Chong Yan wouldn’t fight with them for other things, but the cubs are forgetful, and next time they’d still vie for Xue Tuan’s massages.
Bing Qiu also had his complaints: What’s wrong with Chong Yan? He’s always sticking close to Xue Tuan, anyone who didn’t know better would think Xue Tuan was his younger brother!
Despite his dislike, Bing Qiu sometimes had to help his parents and couldn’t keep an eye on Xue Tuan all the time. He’d witnessed the little black lion’s strength, so he was actually quite comfortable leaving him with him.
Xue Tuan, of course, didn’t know his brother had so many thoughts, he simply felt happy that so many furry creatures liked him.
Especially the little black lion who really loved playing with him. He was like a walking, fluffy cushion, and Xue Tuan could pet him anytime.
One day, the cubs were taking a nap at the entrance of one of the newly dug caves. The other beast-shaped cubs surrounded Xue Tuan, making him very comfortable.
Not only that, but Xue Tuan, a restless sleeper, could turn his head in all directions, making sure each of the fluffy creatures surrounding him got their share of his “spray,” a sight that commanded respect from everyone who saw it.
The adults, seeing that the leader of this group of cubs was actually a tiny little dumpling, were both amused and exasperated. But seeing Xue Tuan’s usual leader-like demeanor, they found it quite amusing. As a result, Xue Tuan had become quite “famous” among the adults.
Xue Tuan leisurely slept for a while, only to be woken up by a patch of sunlight. Lately, he had been particularly happy, not only because of his fluffy friends, but also because he could subtly influence the other cubs.
For example, he described flossing in a particularly amusing way, and the little ones, upon returning home, would pester their adults to imitate him, insisting on flossing their teeth before going to sleep. Indeed, many things need to be taught from a young age.
Today, his older brother took Gray and a group of cubs fishing while Xue Tuan took a few others on an “adventure.”
The word “adventure” always piqued the cubs’ interest, but Xue Tuan’s real purpose, of course, was to lead them in finding supplies.
Xue Tuan had a natural attraction for these little ones, even drawing in the tribe’s Hundred-Herb Beast.
The Hundred-Herb Beast looked like a small pink pig, made a “poof-poof” sound, and was a spirit beast that could identify whether food was poisonous. It was only the size of an adult’s palm. The Hundred-Herb Beast was an indispensable and important spirit beast in the tribe usually kept by the priest.
Having borrowed the Hundred-Herb Beast from the priest Yun Lu, the adults could now safely let the cubs forage for food freely.
The older cubs carried wicker baskets, while the others, like Xue Tuan, carried small animal-skin bundles. The cubs’ mothers had specifically consulted Rong Shan on how to sew these small, shoulder-mounted bundles.
Of course, these bundles were modified by Rong Shan specifically for Xue Tuan.
Xue Tuan sat on the back of the little black lion with the other cubs following behind.
Only a small portion of the pepper they had brought out last time was dry, while the majority was still drying. Given the circumstances, it wasn’t possible to spend time sorting and taking it all.
Therefore, Xue Tuan wanted to find some more pepper and see if there was anything else useful.
After entering the forest, Xue Tuan slid off the little black lion. First, it took out its special little hoe, then placed the Hundred Herbs Beast on the ground. The beast would then follow Xue Tuan.
When the cubs were searching, they would spontaneously transform into human form, clearly understanding that this was more agile and convenient.
This small group, besides Xue Tuan and the little black lion, included Qing Miao, Sha Hu, and Xiao Shu. Sha Hu was the chief’s and priest’s cub, and Xiao Shu was an adorable chipmunk.
The jungle of this beast world was like a giant blind box forest, and anything that should or shouldn’t appear could be found, purely by chance.
“Xue Tuan, what are we looking for today?” Although Sha Hu was the chief’s and priest’s child, he didn’t display any of their composure, instead, he was unusually lively.
This wasn’t their first time out with Xue Tuan. Last time, Xue Tuan had taken them to pick some herbs, which their mothers particularly liked, so this time Sha Hu wanted to bring some back for them. “Let’s just find whatever we can,” Xue Tuan said nonchalantly.
Their motto was to not miss any ripe, edible food. This place hadn’t been “explored” by other beastmen, so there was no shortage of things.
Xue Tuan casually dug up some mushrooms with a small hoe: “Dig whatever you want, but remember to bring them over so I can see them.”
The little cubs cheered and went off to play. No matter what they dug, Xue Tuan would always pick and choose for them, selecting the good stuff.
Only the little black lion was always by Xue Tuan’s side.
The little black lion couldn’t transform into human form and currently served as Xue Tuan’s “mobile storage container.” He carried several small bundles, and Xue Tuan would put anything that didn’t fit on his body there.
The little black lion was happy to do this, even when he didn’t have enough space on his body, he would carry it in his mouth for Xue Tuan.
Xue Tuan broke off some of the mushrooms he had just dug and fed them to the Hundred Herbs Beast, wanting to see its reaction.
“Pfft!” The Hundred-Grass Beast munched away, chewing the mushroom.
After making a sound, the mushroom was gone, indicating that the Hundred-Grass Beast thought the food wasn’t poisonous.
Xue Tuan patted its head, and rewarded it with the whole mushroom. Then, the sharp-eyed Xue Tuan spotted some peppercorns. His steps quickened as he hurried over. He picked some and put them in the little black lion’s pouch, then casually picked a few to feed the Hundred-Grass Beast.
The Hundred-Grass Beast chewed, then suddenly looked pained: “Pfft…ouch…” It then swallowed the peppercorns with difficulty.
It seems that even if it doesn’t like something, as long as it’s non-poisonous, the Hundred-Grass Beast will eat it. If it encountered something poisonous, the Hundred-Grass Beast would probably spit it out with a “pfft, pfft,” right?
“Thank you for your hard work,” Xue Tuan patted the Hundred-Grass Beast to comfort it. Despite being fed something unpalatable, the Hundred-Grass Beast didn’t hold a grudge and obediently followed behind Xue Tuan.
Suddenly, Xue Tuan’s eyes lit up, he seemed to see radish leaves.
Xue Tuan walked towards them, then turned back to call the little black lion.
“I… eh…?”
However, Xue Tuan had barely opened his mouth when he suddenly felt his foot slip, a sense of weightlessness washed over him, and he plummeted downwards.
The little black lion reacted incredibly quickly, lunging forward in an instant and biting Xue Tuan’s collar. But the event was so sudden that he couldn’t regain his footing in time, and he fell with Xue Tuan.
“Tuan Tuan!”
Just before they hit the ground, the little black lion used both paws to forcefully twist Xue Tuan’s position, making him land on top of him.
With a “thud,” dust billowed from the bottom of the cave.
Xue Tuan lay half-crouched in the little black lion’s arms, his mouth still making a very light, intimate contact with the ground.
“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!”
Xue Tuan coughed as he scrambled to his feet from the little black lion. Aside from a mouthful of mud, he was unharmed. He anxiously patted the little black lion: “Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?”
The little black lion, on the other hand, anxiously examined Xue Tuan. Only after confirming that Xue Tuan was truly unharmed did he breathe a sigh of relief. He carefully licked the dust off Xue Tuan’s face, indicating that he was alright.
The Hundred Herbs Beast, having been startled by the sudden disappearance of the Xue Tuan beside it, jumped up and froze, thus escaping unscathed.
At this moment, the Hundred Herbs Beast stood at the cave entrance, jumping and loudly calling out, “Puyo—Puyo—!”
Xue Tuan patted the little black lion’s head. It seemed they were both tough. But just a moment ago, in the instant of the fall, he thought he heard a strange voice calling him, “Tuan Tuan”? Had he misheard?
Xue Tuan was about to speak, then smacked his lips a few times. Hmm? Why does this soil smell so strange?
“Xue Tuan—!”
Qing Miao’s shout came from the cave ceiling. The commotion from their fall had drawn the attention of the other cubs.
Xue Tuan immediately responded, “We fell into a trap—”
The sensation on his foot was already strange, but it was too late to react. Luckily, the trap seemed to be half-finished, and there weren’t any sharp splinters at the bottom, or they would have been doomed.
Who dug this hole and didn’t fill it in?!