Chapter 278

“Is it good?”

“Mhm, it’s delicious! Later, I’ll teach you how to smash fish. Our Da Ze has tons of fish…” Dou was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly froze. Then, he slowly raised his head from the roasted rabbit leg, “Captain…”

The burly beastman's face was as dark as ink, practically dripping with fury. But now wasn’t the time to discipline the cubs. Once he confirmed that the two were safe—and even being treated to food and drink—the beastman stepped in front of Dou and Wu. “Thank you both for looking after our young ones. The forest is dangerous. Let us escort you out.”

This small squad had over ten people, all tense and alert, their muscular frames radiating strength. Just from their presence alone, they weren’t inferior to Heiyao warriors in the slightest.

The horned beastman at the front spoke words of gratitude, but his attitude toward driving Qi Bai and Lang Ze away was firm—unyielding, even.

Qi Bai was pondering how to break the deadlock when Lang Ze’s slightly raised voice came from his side.

“Zhan?” (Battle?)

The burly man froze for a moment, then began scrutinizing the two figures in the dark more carefully.

At that moment, the moon slowly rose, gradually illuminating Lang Ze’s deep and striking features.

The burly man’s pupils suddenly widened. A “Zuzhang” (tribal chief) almost escaped his lips—but he quickly regained composure.

The tribal chief had long since died in battle, and the person in front of him didn’t match the age—he was far too young. But still… young…

The beastman stared closely at the man who resembled the tribal chief by seven parts and exclaimed in shock, “You are…”

Lang Ze didn’t waste words. He took several steps forward, then pulled off his beast-hide clothing and leapt ahead. With his movement, a massive white wolf appeared out of thin air, landing gracefully on the icy surface.

The full moon ascended, illuminating the frozen lake and revealing the form of the giant wolf.

He was tall and lean, his fur as white as snow, cascading like a waterfall. Beneath his deep blue eyes, silver patterns shimmered like moonlight.

The giant wolf slightly nodded, gazing at the beastmen onshore. His presence radiated an undeniable aura of dominance and kingship.

Among the group, the horned beastman Lang Sheng first took a step back in disbelief—then suddenly burst out laughing, “Lang Ze isn’t dead! By the Beast God—Lang Shun’s son is alive, hahahaha!” But as he laughed, Lang Sheng lowered his head, hands trembling as he covered his face.

Lang Zhan, eyes reddened, gazed at the familiar form of the wolf king. The next moment, a single-horned gray wolf appeared on the spot.

Following behind Lang Zhan, the remaining dozen horned beastman warriors also transformed into their beast forms.

Wu and Dou, the two adolescent cubs, were so astonished at Lang Ze’s beast form that they completely forgot about the food in their hands. They followed the adults and transformed into two little gray wolves, each less than half a meter tall.

“Awoo~”

The massive white wolf raised its head high and howled into the sky.

“Awoo~” “Awoo~” “Awoo~”

Gray wolves surrounded their wolf king, like pilgrims returning to their guiding light in the darkness—their faith incarnate.

“Awoo~” “Awoo~”

Even the two young wolf cubs tried their hardest to stretch their necks, using all their strength to join the howl of the wolf king.

Howls thundered through the forest, startling wild animals into fleeing.

Qi Bai took a deep breath, stunned silent by the sight before him.

He never would’ve imagined that the beastman tribe hidden within the Misty Forest was actually a part of Silver Moon—having traveled thousands of miles from the grasslands into Manghuang, hiding deep within this vast forest.

After returning to human form, the beastmen were still visibly excited.

Lang Ze introduced Qi Bai to Lang Zhan and the others. When they heard that Qi Bai was Lang Ze’s mate, a few of the younger horned beastmen couldn’t help howling again in delight.

Lang Zhan no longer wore the hard, guarded expression from before. He pointed in a direction with his large hand. “Our people are in the territory. Everyone will be thrilled to see you.”

Qi Bai, meanwhile, was being clung to by the two adolescent cubs.

Now that they knew this gege (older brother) was one of their own, Dou and Wu were more excited than anyone.

“Gege, let’s go back to the territory—make us more roasted rabbit meat, please!”

“Gege, and for Yuan and the others too! Make them some barbecue too!”

Qi Bai smiled at the two shameless little rascals. Still thinking about roasted meat, huh? You think Lang Zhan really forgot about you?

Following the group, just before entering the forest, Qi Bai turned back to glance one last time in the direction of the lake.

But that single glance left him frozen in place.

Earlier that day, Qi Bai had already noticed that the Mana Mountain Range up ahead was no longer a continuous stretch—a narrow canyon had split it in two.

He had discussed with Lang Ze that the entrance guarded by the Sacred Antelope must be nearby.

But now, under the dual moons shining in the sky, the cold white moonlight streamed through the canyon and formed a beam over the forest canopy.

The forest outside the beam looked even darker. The mist that had been faintly visible during the day now resembled curling threads of black smoke.

“Gege, let’s go!” Dou urged. The roasted rabbit leg earlier hadn’t satisfied him—if anything, it made him hungrier. His mind was full of the aroma of barbecue. Seeing Qi Bai stop, he quickly called out, “That’s the territory of the strange beastman. He doesn’t welcome us. Captain told us not to go there.”

Qi Bai pointed to the place where the light beam landed. “You mean someone lives where that light’s shining?”

Dou looked in the direction Qi Bai pointed and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, he lives there.”

Then he scratched his head. Although… was there always light over there? He didn’t remember.

Twin mountains, twin moons—black mist concealing the “key” of their journey…

Qi Bai blinked hard. What Hu Xiao said… was actually true!

The path between Lang Zhan’s territory and the lake wasn’t straight. Every so often, Lang Zhan would lead them around large trees, changing directions.

Clearly, these beastmen had become very familiar with the complex forest paths.

Lang Ze asked, “The Sacred Antelope tribe said the white mist here is poisonous. Did you find a way to neutralize it?”

Though the tribe seemed healthy and energetic, Lang Ze still worried about the mist affecting them.

“When we entered the forest, all we knew was that it was hard to navigate. Beastmen entering the forest had trouble finding their way out. So no one lived here. But we needed a place to hide, so I led our people in, despite the risks,” Lang Zhan said, shaking his head.

“We didn’t know the mist was dangerous. A few days in, everyone began feeling dizzy and nauseous. Two cubs didn’t make it and returned to the Beast God,” Lang Sheng added, lowering his head. “Fortunately, we stumbled upon Da Ze and its fresh water. Everyone gradually recovered.”

At first, they had to live close to Da Ze where the mist wasn’t as thick. But over time, the tribe gradually adapted and could move freely to hunt throughout the forest.

“So we left the obvious area and found a more hidden and suitable place deep in the woods.”

They must have developed a resistance to the toxic mist, Qi Bai thought. Still, just to be safe, he figured he should stock up on more detox water from the Sacred Antelope tribe. At least he and Lang Ze had shown no symptoms after so long in the forest—proof that the detox water worked well.

As he was thinking this, the group arrived at the territory.

The dwellings here weren’t simple cone-shaped tents. The beastmen had selected large trees at proper intervals to serve as beams, attaching pieces of hide to the upright trunks. The square tents wove between the trees—looking like little treehouses from afar.

In the middle of the camp, trees had been chopped down to leave stumps as stools.

It was dinner time, but most beastmen had gone out looking for Wu and Dou. Only a dozen or so remained, preparing food.

“Captain!” “Captain!”

Seeing Lang Zhan return, everyone stopped what they were doing.

A beastwoman around fifty ran over and first inspected the two cubs thoroughly. Then she grabbed them by the ears. “Wu! Dou! Where on earth did you two run off to?!”

Only then did she notice Qi Bai and Lang Ze. She shoved the cubs behind her and asked, “Zhan, why did you bring outsiders into our territory?”

Lang Zhan smiled. “Take another look.”

The beastwoman glanced at them warily—then her mouth dropped open in disbelief.

Lang Zhan laughed heartily. “Huai, go prepare some food for Ze and Bai. And get a clean tent ready for them.”

“Alright.” Lang Huai responded, but it took her a moment to react and move. “Ah—ah! Okay, I’ll go get it ready now!”

Seeing Lang Zhan let Qi Bai and Lang Ze follow him, Wu anxiously tried to grab Qi

Bai’s arm—but Lang Huai quickly pulled him back.

Even after walking far away, Lang Huai kept turning her head to look.

“Huai, why are you crying?” Dou saw Lang Huai secretly wiping her eyes.

“So many years have passed… Ze’s grown up—and he even has a mate.” Lang Huai smiled through tears. “Do you two remember Brother Lang Ze?”

Wu and Dou shook their heads.

“Well, of course not. You two were only three or four back then. What would you remember? Even I barely recognized him.”

Wiping away tears, Lang Huai flicked the two on the forehead. “Go bring me some firewood. I’ll go fetch one of the animals Zhan and the others just hunted. I’m cooking a big feast tonight!”

Wu pouted. No matter how fancy it was, he bet it wouldn’t beat today’s roasted rabbit leg.

At that moment, another group returned from searching outside the territory.

“Go on, stop dawdling.” Lang Huai urged the boys before heading over to the team. She had to tell them to inform the others out searching that Wu and Dou were back—so everyone could return quickly.

More importantly, she had to spread the word—

Lang Ze has returned!

---

Meanwhile, just as Qi Bai, Lang Ze, and Lang Zhan entered a tent, Lang Zhan suddenly turned around.

He thumped his chest and knelt on one knee, solemnly declaring:

“Vice-captain of the hunting team, Lang Zhan, leading three squads of warriors and ten young sub-beastmen of the wolf tribe—Wolf King, I ask you to lead your people once more to reclaim the grasslands!”

A hundred warriors made up one unit in the Silver Moon Tribe. Which meant—there were 390 Silver Moon people in the Misty Forest.

This number completely stunned Qi Bai. After all, across the whole Northern Wasteland and Dongyi, they had only found 72 tribe members. Lang Zhan had more than five times that.

Lang Ze, who seemed to have anticipated this, helped Lang Zhan up and asked in a deep voice:

“Where is Lang Shuo?”

Lang Zhan, the vice-captain, had been managing things here—so where was Lang Shuo, the captain of the hunting team?