Younger Brother
It caught sight of Lang Zhan’s stiff, drooping arm, and Bai Lou’s eyes lit up. It quickly turned to the priest following behind and meowed, “Meow meow meow!”
“Priest, you can tie Lang Zhan’s arm with a vine and hang it around his neck. That way he won’t move around and you won’t have to keep an eye on him.” Bai Lou raised its front paw and gestured.
Lang Zhan and the priest stopped. Lang Zhan imagined the scene based on the priest’s description. The priest exclaimed with delight, “Sounds good, seems like we could give it a try.”
When the two of them and the cat stepped out of the house again, Lang Zhan’s arm was slinged across his chest. Although his injury seemed inexplicably severe, he was definitely feeling much better.
The sky outside was beginning to darken. Several bonfires were lit in the tribe’s square, and many people were busy chatting and laughing around them.
Although the priest looked quite old, he walked briskly, though not quickly. As he walked, he cheerfully explained the tribe’s layout and customs to Bai Lou.
“You’ve come at the right time. Lang Zhan has brought a dinosaur. Its blood will be used for medicinal baths for the tribe’s cubs, and some of the meat will be shared with the tribe. Today, almost everyone is gathered in the square. Usually, we don’t eat like this and most people eat at their own homes.”
Bai Lou nodded, looking at Lang Zhan ahead. Perhaps to accommodate the priest’s pace, Lang Zhan walked slowly, his long legs moving at a leisurely pace, exuding a sense of ease.
“Meow?” Does the prey need to be shared with the tribe?
The priest’s eyes softened as he smiled and said, “One-fifth needs to be given to the tribe. This is to support those tribespeople who are too old or injured to hunt, as well as females and cubs who have lost their mates or parents, and beastmen who cannot hunt during the day due to night patrols. The tribe will subsidize them all.”
Lang Zhan walked through the crowd and stopped near a campfire close to the center. There was another beastman and a beast-eared man there. The beastman was the one who had spoken to Lang Zhan during the day. Bai Lou remembered his name was Kai.
The beast-eared man was holding two wolf cubs in his arms, one chubby black cub, the other…
Bai Lou’s gaze darted quickly between the somewhat thin white wolf cub and Lang Zhan. Was this Lang Zhan’s son?
“Woof woof,” Brother!
The little white wolf cub struggled to jump down from the beast-eared man’s arms and ran to Lang Zhan, its wet little eyes filled with worry.
“Woof~” You’re hurt.
Bai Lou suddenly realized, so it wasn’t his son.
Lang Zhan sat on a nearby rock, gently lifting the wolf cub by the scruff of its neck and stroking it soothingly on his lap. “I’m fine.”
The wolf cub seemed used to being lifted like this, its limbs hanging loosely at its sides. Feeling the comforting hand above its head, it nestled peacefully against Lang Zhan’s lap, looking more energetic than before.
Lang Kai looked at Lang Zhan’s arm, his eyes filled with worry, and anxiously asked, “What happened? Is it badly injured?”
Lang Zhan took a skewer of roasted meat from the beast-eared man, took a bite, and then offered the skewer to the white wolf cub, replying, “It’s nothing serious, I’ll be fine after a few days of rest.”
Lang Kai relaxed, then picked up his chubby son from his partner’s arms, feeding him meat while curiously looking at Bai Lou with a questioning expression. “What’s this?”
Lang Zhan said, “This is a new beastman who joined the tribe, named Bai Lou, from the White Cat Tribe. I’ll provide him with meat from my ration tonight.”
A beastman? So small?
The two didn’t ask aloud, introduced themselves, and the beast-eared man smiled and offered them a skewer of meat. Bai Lou raised his paw, unsure how to take it, his mouth watering, and could only look to Lang Zhan for help.