Salt was an essential commodity for the beastmen that was extremely rare and hard to come by. A tribe typically had to save up a considerable amount of salt by scrimping and saving, and a long time had passed since their last discovery so they desperately needed to replenish their supplies.
Shi Hu tasted the white granules Rong Shan offered him, his finger dabbing at them. “It really is salt! Excellent!” he exclaimed excitedly.
Shi Hu’s mind was completely focused on the salt. He readily agreed to let Ye Cong and the other young beastmen join them.
Rong Shan didn’t hide this from Ye Cong when discussing it.
Ye Cong was overjoyed that the tribe had found salt so soon after they joined. It was definitely good news. He was even more convinced that his decision was right. They needed to come and help build up the tribe as soon as possible, not just take their salt for nothing.
Shi Hu pushed the group out, saying, “Hurry, let’s take more people. Let’s go dig up the salt mine now, don’t delay.”
Halfway there, Shi Hu remembered something and turned back, saying, “Hey, Ye Cong, right? Why don’t you bring your companions to the tribe tonight?”
Ye Cong readily agreed, “Okay, okay, that’s what I was thinking too.”
That very night, Ye Cong indeed readily led dozens of companions to join the newly formed tribe.
The beastmen who came with Shi Hu and his group were all generous and enthusiastic, and they weren’t opposed to the newcomers. Besides, the new tribe had just been established, and everyone secretly hoped for as many people as possible so they wouldn’t be looked down upon or bullied by other tribes.
Although the houses hadn’t even been built yet, to welcome the newcomers, everyone held a bonfire party in the central open space.
“From tonight onward, we are one, united in protecting the tribe!”
“Welcome to join us!”
“Once you’re here, you’re a friend!”
Ye Cong was deeply moved that the new tribe had accepted them so quickly. He had been worried about integrating, but now he was relieved.
The tribe’s growth was also something Xue Tuan was happy to see. The beastmen of this world were far more powerful than he had imagined, and strength in numbers was no joke in this beast world.
The bonfire party continued, and Xue Tuan, nestled on his brother’s back, was dozing off. He had been active all day, and his body was very sleep-deprived. While the adults were still excited, Xue Tuan was already sleepy.
Feng Yan and Rong Shan, as the new leaders of the tribe, were very popular and surrounded by the crowd, while Xue Tuan and Bing Qiu stayed with a group of cubs.
Seeing that Xue Tuan was getting sleepy, Bing Qiu transformed into his beast form and became Xue Tuan’s blanket and cushion.
“Hmm?” Xue Tuan vaguely heard his brother say something, but he was too sleepy to keep his eyes open, only subconsciously responding to Bing Qiu.
The other cubs, seeing Xue Tuan asleep, consciously kept their distance, not wanting to disturb the younger ones.
A gentle evening breeze blew, the fire crackled, and the tribe’s night was filled with laughter and joy.
When Xue Tuan awoke again, he was lying on the dry grass in the cave, the night had passed.
The morning light filtered through the gaps in the vines at the cave entrance, softly scattering across the ground. Before their new home was built, the cave was their temporary shelter.
Bing Qiu stood guard at the cave entrance, trying to weave a fish basket based on Xue Tuan’s description. Hearing the movement inside, Bing Qiu put down his work and went in to check on Xue Tuan.
“Father and mother have gone to dig for salt,” Bing Qiu naturally told Xue Tuan where his parents had gone.
Yesterday, after hearing the report, Shi Hu led a group to dig, and they continued today. It seems they’ve had a good harvest.
As for how to handle the salt mine, Xue Tuan isn’t too worried. The salt his parents brought is clearly more refined than the salt they traded with from the tribe, so their previous tribe must have already mastered some salt-making methods.
As long as he doesn’t eat salt to the point of being covered in grit, Xue Tuan isn’t picky and can accept anything.
“Brother, let’s go see Little Black Lion today.”
After Little Black Lion was injured, his legs aren’t very mobile, and he didn’t even attend last night’s party.
Since it was because of him that he fell into the trap, Xue Tuan felt he needed to comfort Little Black Lion, and not just to pet his furry friend.
Xue Tuan packed his little backpack, deciding to share his special treats with Little Black Lion.
Bing Qiu, carrying his unfinished fish basket, led Xue Tuan towards Elder Mu Shi’s cave. However, Elder Grandpa wasn’t home, and only Little Black Lion was there.
“Brother’s right at the cave entrance. Come find me if you need anything, okay?” They’d been confined to the tribe for the past few days, and only allowed to play within the village.
Bing Qiu was “rushed with time and had a heavy workload.” He wanted to finish the fish basket weaving task his mother had given him that day. As long as Xue Tuan didn’t wander too far, he’d let him play freely within the tribe.
“Chong Yan~”
Little Black Lion’s eyes lit up when he saw Xue Tuan enter. He hadn’t expected anyone to come looking for him. He had no friends before, but now with Little Xue Tuan, he understood what it meant to have friends.
“You’re here.”
Xue Tuan watched as the little black lion stood up dragging his injured leg. His leg, which hadn’t been seriously injured before, seemed even more wobbly, and he limped towards Xue Tuan.
“Wait, don’t move! Be careful not to reopen the wound!” Xue Tuan ran over, pressed down on the fluffy little lion, and knelt to check his leg.
Finding the herbal poultice still intact, Xue Tuan gave the little black lion a good rub on the head: “Thank goodness you’re alright.”
The little black lion rubbed his head against Xue Tuan, then nuzzled himself onto the pile of hay where he slept, making Xue Tuan laugh, tickling him: “Hahaha, so happy?”
Xue Tuan could sense the little black lion’s joy and jumped for joy too, reaching out to hug his neck. He noticed that even though the little black lion had regained his speech, he still preferred to express himself with gestures and didn’t like to speak much.
“Look, I brought you some food.” Xue Tuan took out his small backpack, pulled out a thin slice of dried meat, and handed it to the little black lion.
The little black lion noticed the jerky in Xue Tuan’s hand was very thin and immediately guessed that his mother had cut it specially to make it easier for the little one to digest. The little one was too small to eat his food.
So the little black lion raised his paw and pushed the jerky Xue Tuan offered back into Xue Tuan’s arms: “You eat it.”
Xue Tuan looked at the jerky pushed back with a look of confusion in his eyes. Normally, cubs love jerky, didn’t the little black lion like it?
He took a piece, popped it into his mouth, chewed it, and said, “Look, it’s delicious.” Then Xue Tuan took out another piece and offered it to the little black lion.
The little black lion pushed the jerky back again, then lay down on his stomach with both paws on the ground, and watched Xue Tuan chew the jerky.
Seeing this, Xue Tuan readily leaned against the little black lion, but he hadn’t given up yet and pulled out another piece of jerky.
“It tastes really good!” Xue Tuan enthusiastically promoted his mother’s jerky. “You should try it, you won’t regret it.”
Seeing Xue Tuan insisting on eating it even though he wasn’t eating any himself, the little black lion had no choice but to lower his head and eat the jerky from Xue Tuan’s hand.
The little black lion chewed for a moment, and the taste was indeed just as fragrant as he had smelled—the best jerky he had ever eaten.
Seeing the fluffy creature obediently eating it, Xue Tuan’s eyes crinkled, and the corners of his mouth turned up.
Just as Xue Tuan was about to say something more, a lot of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Before the people arrived, the voices came first: “Xue Tuan, are you there?”
It was several cubs who had found their way here.
Their cave was only surrounded by a wooden fence, and the cubs easily pushed it open together.
All their heads popped out, and sure enough, they found Xue Tuan there, and immediately became happy. There were no adults inside, so the group immediately swarmed in, heading straight for Xue Tuan.
They were all grounded, so naturally they came to find Xue Tuan to play with.
“Xue Tuan, what are you playing here?”
“Let’s go play in the back mountain.”
Sha Hu and Xiao Shu chattered amongst themselves, creating a buzzing sound like mosquitoes.
“Why didn’t you call us when you came out to play?” They were now somewhat inseparable from Xue Tuan, and wanted to find him as soon as they woke up every morning.
“What are you eating?” Sha Hu reached for the jerky Xue Tuan had brought, but the little black lion beside him immediately pressed his paw down on him.
The little black lion didn’t want to give the jerky that Xue Tuan’s mother had worked so hard to make to the cubs. Xue Tuan was so thin and small so he should eat more.
Sha Hu pouted when the little black lion stopped him from eating. They all knew that Xue Tuan and the little black lion were the best of friends, and they also knew how powerful the little black lion was so they absolutely dared not provoke him.
“Fine, fine, I won’t take it…” Sha Hu was a man of principle. If they wouldn’t give him any, he couldn’t very well ask for it even though his mouth was watering.
Xue Tuan, on the other hand, didn’t mind and readily shared his jerky with the cubs.
The little cubs, looking like they thought, “Xue Tuan’s the best!” happily accepted the jerky Xue Tuan offered them.
“This is so delicious!”
Xue Tuan had given them a slightly peppery flavor, and unsurprisingly, everyone loved it.
Xiao Shu: “Xue Tuan, is everything from your family this delicious?” Unfortunately, the jerky was thin and small, barely enough to fill a tooth gap but just enough to satisfy a craving.
Qing Miao: “I swear, it’s true!”
The cubs couldn’t help but swallow hard as they looked at Xue Tuan’s bag of jerky, but they didn’t intend to ask for any more.
They still hoped Xue Tuan would grow up plump and healthy so he could play with them forever.
Xiao Shu licked the jerky it had been reluctant to finish and asked Xue Tuan, “Shall we go play in the jungle again today?”
Before Xiao Shu could finish speaking, Sha Hu gave it a disdainful look: “Have you forgotten that Uncle Feng Yan forbade us to go out?”
“Oh right, I almost forgot.” Xiao Shu’s memory was almost like a goldfish’s, it had just remembered Uncle Feng Yan’s warning.
Besides, once the adults finished their work, they would be taken away to learn hunting skills. Just thinking about it made their faces turn into sour gourds.
“If we don’t go out, we don’t go out. It’s better than not being allowed to do anything,” Sha Hu said.
Everyone, at a loss, habitually looked to Xue Tuan, waiting for him to come up with a solution.
Xue Tuan was clearly the youngest among them, but surprisingly, they all listened to him.
Xiao Shu glanced at the injured black lion cub: “Chong Yan’s leg is injured, so we probably can’t go anywhere else, right?”
They all knew Chong Yan’s leg was injured because of Xue Tuan. Out of consideration for Chong Yan protecting Xue Tuan, they decided to unilaterally include the most fearsome Chong Yan as one of them.
“Oh right.” Sha Hu scratched the back of his head. He wasn’t much better than Xiao Shu, only then remembering that Chong Yan’s leg had been cut yesterday, and he probably couldn’t travel far now.
Qing Miao: “Why don’t we go find Elder Grandpa? I wonder if Grandpa has made anything fun.”
“Make something?” Xue Tuan asked, unaware that Elder Mu Shi was a craftsman.
“I’ll take you! It’s just next door.” Sha Hu, being strong, stood up with an air of authority and led the group of little ones off.
The cubs walked together towards the other cave where Elder Grandpa was. It wasn’t far, but it was still a few dozen meters further on.
Sha Hu was a mischievous boy, he would walk backwards while talking to them, and as soon as he turned around, he tripped and fell.
The fall was quite hard, causing Sha Hu to take a slight tumble, which knocked out his already slightly loose front tooth.
“Waaaaah—”
The tooth was already a bit loose, and now, due to the force, it had broken off, and his mouth was full of blood. Sha Hu cried out in pain.
Everyone rushed over to comfort him.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Everyone loses teeth eventually.”
“You’ll grow a new tooth soon.”
“I’ll get revenge for you!”
Everyone looked at the culprit that had tripped Sha Hu—
A vine.
The vine was blooming with pale purple flowers. This was the first time Xue Tuan had seen this plant since arriving in this world, and it looked very familiar.
Out of curiosity, Xue Tuan squatted down, took out his old tool, a small hoe, and began to dig away the vines and surrounding soil. He continued digging, and gradually a brown tuber emerged from the ground.
This is…?
Isn’t this taro?