Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Prey were very sensitive to the presence of beastmen. Within territories where beastmen lived, there usually weren't large herds of prey.

Therefore, when Lang Ze said the hunting season was starting early, he didn't mean taking tribespeople on routine hunts nearby as usual. Instead, he meant gathering most of the tribe's combat strength to hunt at prey gathering grounds.

Such large-scale hunts typically happened only twice a year.

Once was the first spring hunt after spring began. Prey that had been hiding somewhere for winter would reappear after plants started sprouting. More importantly, after a comfortable winter, many prey hadn't fully regained their vigilance, making it perfect hunting time for beastmen.

The other time was the autumn hunt in fall, when the continent had the most prey. Beastmen needed to seize every moment to prepare winter food.

But regardless of which hunt, one thing was crucial: timing.

Prey on the Beastmen Continent weren't docile animals waiting to be slaughtered. Every large-scale hunt was fraught with danger, and now clearly wasn't the right time.

Qi Bai said anxiously, "Let's hold on a while longer. The snow might melt soon, making it much easier to find prey then."

Having mined outside during winter, Qi Bai knew how dangerous it was.

This wasn't early winter anymore—heavy snow had changed the entire world. Sometimes even around the tribe, Qi Bai felt unfamiliar with his surroundings, let alone hunting grounds days or even weeks away.

Blizzards would not only bury prey traces but also greatly affect beastmen's sense of direction. Going out now—whether the hunting team could find prey was secondary; whether they could return safely was the main problem.

Unexpectedly, Lang Ze shook his head and continued, "Give the hunting team five days' worth of food. Leave the rest for the younglings and beastmen."

Lang Ze didn't just want to find prey; he also wanted to solve food distribution. Since remaining food couldn't supply all tribespeople, he'd take half out to ease the tribe's food pressure.

"That won't do!" Qi Bai said stubbornly. "Don't we still have Four-Eared Sheep? When we truly have no food left, the sheep in the pen can feed us for over twenty days."

Hearing this, Lang Ze nodded approvingly—he'd almost forgotten these reserves. "If the hunting team returns later than expected, take people to slaughter the Four-Eared Sheep. It's fine even if we eat them all—we can catch more later."

Lang Ze had been somewhat worried, but hearing Qi Bai mention the sheep strengthened his resolve to hunt outside.

Raising Four-Eared Sheep wasn't easy. Keeping them was best, but only if beastmen didn't starve.

Lang Ze looked at the white world outside. "The land we live on has changed too much. Beastmen can't wait. If the world becomes all ice and snow, we must adapt to hunting on snow and ice as soon as possible."

Qi Bai took a deep breath. Lang Ze was right. Although he saw signs of thinning ice, no one could guarantee spring would definitely come. They couldn't just wait passively.

Lang Ze withdrew his gaze and turned to Yang Luo. "Your matter will be decided after the hunting team returns."

After Qi Bai and Lang Ze left, Hou Yan patted Yang Luo's shoulder. "Stop worrying. Stay安心 in the tribe. Just be more careful in the future."

Yang Luo wasn't as carefree as Hou Yan. He stood up and paced anxiously around the room. Lang Ze leaving things half-said made him even more restless. What did it mean? There was no definite answer.

Meanwhile, Qi Bai and Lang Ze had returned to Lang Ze's house. Niu Shuo, Ma Song, and Lang Kuang, who had been summoned, were looking curiously at the map Qi Bai unfolded.

It was a large bamboo scroll over two meters long. Most areas remained blank, while the marked regions varied in detail.

The more detailed parts were routes Qi Bai had personally traveled, like the direction to the Xushan trading day or some topography around the tribe.

The simpler parts were based on Lang Ze's descriptions, mostly areas one or two days from the tribe that Lang Ze had seen during usual hunts.

Ma Song looked at the map, utterly astonished. With some explanation from Qi Bai, he could actually understand these patterns!

Upon closer inspection, he marveled—these were patterns they'd learned in drawing class! So this was their purpose!

Qi Bai pointed at a long river on the map. "This is the Shui River."

The Xiaoniu Tribe and Shui Tribe both lived close to the Shui River. Finding the river meant finding their original territories.

This was why Lang Ze and Qi Bai had summoned these three.

Since they decided on a spring hunt, they needed thorough preparation.

Unlike daily tribe hunts where finding prey relied on luck, collective spring hunts had to target prey gathering grounds.

Here, hunting teams competed in combat strength—harvesting the most prey with minimal casualties.

Otherwise, with so many big-eating horned beastmen in the hunting team, just feeding them would be insufficient, let alone bringing prey back to the tribe.

The three summoned individuals now played crucial roles.

Niu Shuo came from the Xiaoniu Tribe, Ma Song was the young chief of the Shui Tribe, and Lang Kuang was from the Silver Moon Tribe.

Among them, Niu Shuo and Ma Song's opinions were especially important. Since their tribes had long lived in the north, compared to the newly established Black Mountain Tribe, they knew more about local prey habits and where to find more prey.

Niu Shuo moistened his dry throat with saliva. Although they'd followed behind the Black Mountain trade team on their return from the Northern Wastelands, they hadn't dared follow too closely and had never witnessed Qi Bai and Lang Ze mapping. Now, Niu Shuo felt immensely impacted.

He'd never imagined a single map could show him paths he'd never walked! The map had some writing too—he seemed to see characters for iron and limestone. Were iron and limestone found in those locations?

Before Niu Shuo finished marveling, his wandering thoughts were interrupted by Ma Song's voice.

Ma Song scratched his neck somewhat ashamed. "The Shui Tribe didn't have such spring hunts. We only hunted around the tribe."

Recalling the scene when the Shui River flooded, Ma Song lowered his head. "The Shui Tribe has been submerged. I think there probably isn't much prey there anymore."

As Ma Song finished, everyone's eyes fell on Niu Shuo.

Niu Shuo felt nervous, palms sweating slightly. After listening awhile, he understood his upcoming words were important. But the more he realized this, the less he knew how to begin.

Although the Xiaoniu Tribe did conduct spring hunts, and he'd participated many times as a strong horned beastman warrior, pointing it out on a map was somewhat difficult.

Only now did Niu Shuo understand Qi Bai's remarkable ability. Mapping sounded easy, but actually doing it wasn't something just anyone could manage.

Qi Bai comforted, "Don't rush. Just describe where there's lots of prey, and I'll help find it on the map."

Niu Shuo calmed somewhat, slowly recalling and describing the plains where the Xiaoniu Tribe had previously hunted.

The Shui Tribe was located ten days southeast of the Black Mountain Tribe, while the Xiaoniu Tribe was seven days southwest of the Shui Tribe.

According to Niu Shuo's description, starting from the Black Mountain Tribe, reaching those plains would take about fifteen days.

Lang Ze carefully inquired about the original territory conditions of the Xiaoniu Tribe.

The Xiaoniu Tribe's original territory had been submerged in the great flood, which was why they'd migrated to the Northern Wastelands. Those hunting grounds weren't far from the Xiaoniu Tribe—Lang Ze needed to determine whether they'd been affected.

Lang Kuang沉思半晌 before finally pointing between Black Mountain and the destination. "When we returned from the trading day to Black Mountain, we passed the edge of a large plain. Many prey should live there too. We could detour to check it out."

The five discussed in Lang Ze's house until complete darkness fell, finally roughly determining the specific route for Black Mountain Tribe's spring hunt—or rather, winter hunt.

Meanwhile, Hou Yan and Yang Luo had announced the hunting team's imminent departure in the afternoon. Now every household was busy preparing.

Next door to Lang Ze's house, in Quan Liu's home, Quan Liu fed his and Tu Ruo's youngling goat milk from a small pottery bowl while Tu Ruo packed Quan Liu's luggage into a vine basket.

Although Hou Yan and Yang Luo hadn't said when the hunting team would depart, beastmen were accustomed to leaving anytime—they had to prepare in advance.

"I'll pack two hide cloaks. When you sleep, use these as blankets and bedding."

Seeing Tu Ruo about to stuff dried meat between the cloaks, Quan Liu quickly stopped her. "I don't need these. The hunting team can hunt prey outside. Keep this dried meat for you and the youngling."

Tu Ruo slapped his hand away and continued packing. "I just gave birth—I can get an extra large bamboo tube of goat milk daily. Don't worry about us."

There really wasn't much dried meat anyway. The food distributed every ten days wasn't plentiful—just enough to barely avoid starvation.

This dried meat was what Tu Ruo had desperately saved. Having been a slave too long without ever having her own food, only by hoarding more dried meat at home—even if not eaten—could she feel somewhat secure.

Now all this dried meat was stuffed into Quan Liu's vine basket.

Tu Ruo turned, reaching to touch the slave mark on Quan Liu's forehead. "You must come back alive. Don't die outside."

Though Tu Ruo spoke of life and death, her expression wasn't沉重.

A little gray puppy, seeing its parents close together, squeezed between them and barked twice.

Quan Liu's heart warmed at the sound. He rubbed his forehead against Tu Ruo's palm. "I'll come back alive."

During days of hunger, beatings, and hard labor, he'd once thought death might be better.

But now, building a family with Tu Ruo at Black Mountain Tribe, living such good days, Quan Liu felt life passed too quickly—like it wasn't enough. He must survive—he still wanted to watch his youngling grow up.

In another distant house, several people sat on the heated bed.

Beastman Ma Liang held her youngling, looking worriedly at her mother. "Are all horned beastmen going out this time?"