Chapter 192

Little Deer Xia and Li Li were chasing bugs with their friends along the ridges when the sky suddenly dimmed.

Li Li bit her finger and looked up—only to come face-to-face with a huge giant looming over her.

Upon being discovered, the Jufeng giants straightened and took a nervous step back.

But the next moment, the fields erupted with shrieks and laughter from the cubs:

“Giants!”

“Such huge giants!”

“The giants are coming to play with us again!”

The twelve Jufeng giants hadn’t even reached the shelter yet before they were completely surrounded by the little cubs.

Those towering seven-to-eight-meters tall figures stood frozen, as if immobilized by a spell.

The cubs were so small that the giants were terrified to move—fearing each step might crush one of the running children. So they stood stiffly, trying to follow the cubs with nothing but their swaying heads.

Li Li hid behind a giant’s heel and shouted to her friends, “You can’t see me—and I can’t see you either!”

Little Deer Xia craned her neck to see the giant’s face—but her tiny stature made it impossible. She tilted so far back she nearly fell over.

But she didn’t. Instead, she landed softly on something warm. Her gaze slowly lifted.

She hugged a finger-sized object tightly—realizing it wasn’t earth beneath her but the palm of a Jufeng giant.

The other cubs faded into the distance. The shelter’s bamboo roof became clear. The wild grasses swayed beyond the clearing. And above her, the giant holding her revealed a bashful, gentle smile.

This little girl always acted like a mini-adult, but now she could no longer contain her excitement.

“I can fly!” she cried, looking over at the adults laughing in the field. “I can really fly!”

By the time Qi Bai had finished fetching supplies from the cart, he walked back to the shelter and discovered the cubs and the Jufeng giants had already become fast friends.

The giants had shifted into human form, but even then they towered over the Heishan tribesmen. They sat on the ground, good-naturedly letting the cubs scamper all over them.

The cubs had an innate radar that instantly recognized who posed a threat and who didn’t—like the goofy giants before them.

Qi Bai didn’t worry for a second about the cubs—they were safe. The adults around them likely felt the same. Not because they were careless, but because Heishan trusted its horned beastmen implicitly.

The thirty horned beastmen returning from the mines were still outside. Even if something happened, they were strong enough to intervene.

Some Jufeng had already been welcomed in by adults, freeing the others to return to their tasks.

Qi Bai unloaded two large clay pots and a long stone trough for grilling from the cart.

Outside the shelter was a simple stove—typically used for boiling water. With no pot on it now, they placed the clay pots directly on it. A chopping board was laid on the bamboo table. Their makeshift kitchen was ready.

Niu Xi and Tu Ya, working in the field earlier, began cutting meat chunks and skewering them. Qi Bai prepared a broth in a pot beside them.

Dried seaweed and mushrooms soaked in water. While they softened, Qi Bai walked over to the vegetable patch.

In less than two months, radishes had sprouted. From a distance, you could already glimpse their broad green leaves and white roots.

Although they were edible, most hadn’t matured. Last year’s biggest radish was larger than could be grasped in two hands.

Qi Bai didn’t expect the new batch to grow that big, but he still hesitated to harvest all that looked big enough.

He bent along the ridge, searching carefully, and finally pulled up ten of the largest roots. He brushed off soil, tucking them beneath his arm, and returned to the shelter.

He washed the radishes, halved them with a cross-cut in the center, and tossed them into the broth with the soaking seaweed and mushrooms. Fresh berries went in too. Covered and simmering, the broth turned into something reminiscent of oden.

Whenever the tribe gathered to eat, hot pot or barbecue was usually easiest.

But Qi Bai hadn’t found any suitable dipping sauce herbs—or peppers. If the broth was just plain, it’d be bland—hence he chose oden. The seaweed, mushrooms, and berries created a subtle, flavorful base.

Whether you ate the radish soaked in broth or simply sipped the soup, it balanced the richness of grilled meat, offering refreshment on a warm evening.

Suddenly, shouts rose from outside the shelter.

Hu Qiao threw off her fur coat and yelled, “I’ve been dying to race you! Show me your real skills!”

“Roar, roar!”

Niu Xi, hearing the commotion, set down the wooden bowl of meat and sat at the gate. Though she meant to place the table closer to the fire—a practical placement—it just looked like she was in Qi Bai’s line of sight.

Laughter echoed as she smiled, low chuckles drifting out.

But her smile seemed slightly odd. Qi Bai followed her gaze and spotted someone in the crowd.

“Niu Cheng.”

“Hmm?” Niu Xi heard her name and turned, meeting Qi Bai’s curious eyes.

Blushing a little, she said, “Uh—don’t look at me like that…”

To form partnerships among young beastmen was completely normal. But Qi Bai’s gaze made Niu Xi feel sheepishly aware.

Leaning over the bamboo table, Qi Bai craned his neck. “You two are finally a pair! Congratulations. I owe you a big red envelope.”

At once, Niu Xi’s shyness faded. Curiously she asked, “What’s a red envelope?”

Tilting his head, Qi Bai replied, “It’s a gift—something to congratulate you on.”

Qi Bai was genuinely happy for them.

He remembered last winter when Niu Cheng and Niu Xin fell into the ice hole. Niu Cheng did it just to get pine nuts for Niu Xi.

But the breeding season had passed. Niu Xi had feelings for Niu Cheng but hadn’t paired with him then.

“It’s different this time,” Niu Xi said, pondering how to explain. “As long as he’s alive, it just feels… I want to be with him every day.”

Before she finished, Niu Cheng turned and gave her a goofy smile.

Niu Xi smiled back at Qi Bai: “Thanks for helping me reach this decision.”

Qi Bai asked, “Me?”

Niu Xi nodded seriously, pointing to the lush fields: “Now that the tribe has all this food, I don’t have to worry about feeding a baby.”

Tu Ya playfully tapped Niu Xi’s head. “Even without these fields, the tribe would make sure your baby was fed. Don’t make excuses.”

Outside, the horned beastmen cheered. Inside, the sub-beastmen tumbled in laughter. Peace and contentment filled the gathering.

As sunset painted the sky, the rest of the tribe filtered back in.

First came the herding team.

A unicorn-patterned leopard poked its head into the shelter. Sniffing the air around the roasting stall, it slithered toward it in quick, graceful steps.

Tu Ya gave the leopard gentle scritches. Though nobody else understood its growls, she answered anyway: “Yes! Dinner is being served down below. Herd those sheep home quickly, then come down to eat. Those pots are still full of fresh food Baibai made.”

The leopard nodded, whipped its tail like a flag, and raced back to the team—clearly pleading with them to hurry.

Those cubs needed doing something with energy. Herding sheep was perfect.

Now they had structure—not just filling gaps with random tasks, but real work they could own and thrive in.

Every dawn, the cubs got up on their own and accompanied Quan Liu to herd sheep. At midday, they ate lunch and attended class. Afterwards, straight back to the fields, herding the sheep home again.

Looking at it all, the cubs had become the busiest members of the tribe.

Qi Bai scratched his nose. He’d been the one who started this herding activity—but now he was the one taking frequent “days off.”

But nobody in Heishan faulted that. If shirking work meant getting honey for the tribe, they wouldn’t punish him—they’d reward him.

And just look at the roasting stand… meat smeared with fresh honey, glistening in the glow. The smoke-warmed aroma was making everyone’s mouth water.

But for the Jufeng, the sight was even more unbelievable.

Wei’s jaw dropped. She slapped her cheeks hard. In that moment, she felt as baffled as if she’d eaten some forbidden fungus—how could she be seeing real tribespeople controlling wild creatures?

Yes, that realization hit her harder than ever: the Heishan tribespeople could tame wild beasts.

It was more shocking than the day she witnessed their sturdy wooden carts from up close.

Wei swallowed hard. Looking at Lang Ze and Niu Cheng again, she thought—these people must be blessed by the Beast God.

Soon after the herding team, the gathering and hunting parties returned too.

Monkey Yan lit up with joy, especially when she heard the Jufeng clan had voluntarily helped the miners extract red ore. She waved her hand grandly:

“This little roast just won’t do! Tun Quan, bring down the sheep we hunted today, light a fire, and let’s butcher them right here.”

Peng scratched his head, nerves flaring. “N-no… there’s enough already.”

He didn’t know how to explain — they had simply been so curious about what the Heishan tribe did. They’d watched them scale mountains in deep snow, chipping stones under avalanche rubble. Why would they chisel rocks at the foot of a pile of boulders? And only those red stones? Then painstakingly separate them? It was utterly baffling.

After the Heishan tribe departed, the Jufeng had come to the Crimson Mountains and chipped a few of those stones themselves—only none of them understood their purpose.

When they heard the tribe hammering stone during the hunt, Peng and Wei dared to assist this time—only because they recognized Niu Cheng.

But helping with the mining required little effort; they didn’t need that much meat.

Maybe because they rarely mingled with outsiders, the Jufeng had limited language skills. Though they wanted to express something, they struggled to say it fully.

Before long, Peng’s worry vanished. Because halfway up the slope, two carts appeared and Hu Xue jumped down from one of them, shouting:

“Dinner’s ready!”