Chapter 179

Even Lang Ze, stationed far away, couldn’t stand the smoke from the burning straw—and that was nothing compared to how unbearable it was for the sub‑beastfolk who had stayed nearby.

Luckily, there wasn’t much dry or wild grass left in the field. Most of the visible flames had died down by now, though thick smoke still lingered.

Qi Bai had just wrapped a hide around his head and was gasping for air in the gaps when he sensed something unusual.

At first, he thought he felt an earthquake.

He tore off the hide and was about to shout for everyone to hit the dirt—but then he saw it through the swirling smoke:

A giant… running toward them.

The first thought in Qi Bai’s mind:

Am I traveling through worlds again? Why are giants charging at us???!

While Qi Bai was still processing this, the sub‑beastfolk outside the canal also saw the sudden emergence of giants—and everyone ran straight toward the tribe.

Somebody nudged him in the chaos, and Qi Bai stumbled and fell to his knees in the field.

Then—a wolf howl rang out from the nearby forest, followed by a thunderous roar from yak‑form beastfolk. Though only a few, their combined might sounded like an army advancing.

On the mountainside, horned beastfolk began emerging from the tribe’s great gate, spearheaded by the four‑footed brown bear warrior, Xiong Feng.

The three forces—wolves, yaks, bears—advanced toward the field like converging arrows.

At that moment, a fierce wind whipped up across the plains.

Black ash‑stained smoke was blown away instantly, snapping everyone’s vision into clarity.

Qi Bai, still crouched on the ground, could now clearly see the newcomers’ figures.

These can’t be attacking giants.

Besides their great height, they looked like normal humanoid beastfolk.

Qi Bai could see them—clearly. And they saw the tribefolk too…

But they didn’t seem concerned with being watched. Instead, their eyes were locked on the burning field.

The lead giant raised a tree trunk and hammered it into the ground with such force—sand and stones flew up around him.

He gripped the trunk with both hands, braced his legs in a side‑arched stance, and halted his motion in a blink.

“Roar!” The giant bellowed like distant thunder, arms wide, and single‑handedly blocked other giants from racing forward.

They were now less than two kilometers from the field. At that speed, minutes, not hours, would bring them to the tribe.

Then, from the chaos, Rabbit Ya found Qi Bai, face down and covered in dust. She yanked him up:

“Run, what are you doing just standing here?”

Qi Bai’s mouth parted, too stunned to reply. Then something even more shocking happened.

Thud thud thud.

The dozen or so giants dropped everything they were carrying and ran—back the way they came, faster than before.

Rabbit Ya swallowed and asked,

“Are we not supposed to run?”

Qi Bai, still slack‑jawed, responded,

“Ah…”

What on earth was happening?

By now, the horned beastfolk charging from the tribe had reached them. The brown bear growled twice at Qi Bai, looking to check if he was okay.

Qi Bai replied quickly,

“We’re fine. Xiong Feng, go help Lang Ze!”

Lang Ze and the yak warriors were already pursuing the retreating giants.

Xiong Feng seemed to be waiting for that cue. He planted his stance, waved forward, and charged off first.

Meanwhile, sub‑beastfolk gathered around Qi Bai.

“Bao Bai, what do we do now?”

Qi Bai pointed at the items dropped by the giants.

“Let’s go check them out.”

Within minutes, the field was calm again, leaving only wisps of smoke and scattered debris.

Estimating from afar, the giants stood some 7–8 meters tall—about a three‑story building. It felt unbelievable.

Looking up at the huge trunk embedded in the ground and the cracked earth around it, Qi Bai fully grasped their staggering size difference.

Panic had been quick to rise—and just as quick to fade. Now everyone was calmer. Mouse Lin and Quan Nan sat before a log, examining it intently.

Quan Nan asked, puzzled,

“What weapon is this? Why hollow out the middle of a log?”

Mouse Lin climbed inside the hollow trunk and, with a child’s innocence, said,

“Maybe they wanted to carry us inside the log!”

Quan Nan’s eyes widened.

“They’re man‑eating beasts! They want to catch and eat us!”

Qi Bai stepped back, then rolled up his sleeve and scaled the log’s trunk easily.

The group gazed up at him.

“Bao Bai, what do you see?”

Qi Bai peered into the hollow.

“Empty.”

He jumped down and checked each trunk. Some were hollowed out intentionally; others were natural cavities.

Seeing oil‑dark wood from the oil tree, Qi Bai frowned. If that stuff is dropped into fire…

Quan Qiu asked,

“Should we bring these weapons back?”

Qi Bai shook his head.

“They’re useless to us. Leave them. But gather the oil‑trees carefully, and clean up the spilled oil too.”

They picked up oilwood trunks, checked that the field’s embers had truly died down, and finally returned to the tribe.

Meanwhile, Lang Ze had followed the giants deep into the forest—but suddenly lost their trail.

Niu Shuo furrowed his brow.

“They’re huge creatures—they shouldn’t disappear without a trace. If they ran in the forest, we’d still see something.”

The yaks with him nodded. Even in beast form, if they ran too fast through trees, they’d crash into trunks. Now imagine creatures even larger.

Xiong Feng scratched the back of his head.

“Lang Ze, isn’t this strange?”

Lang Ze inspected the leaves and ground carefully, eyes fixed on the dark forest trail.

He wasn’t surprised. He and Qi Bai had once lost sight of a creature in a forest beside the Crimson Mountains—the same kind of sudden vanishing.

Now he was nearly certain: this was the same group.

“Let’s return,” he said firmly.

Niu Shuo couldn’t believe it.

“Just like that? If we spread out, we might find them!”

But Lang Ze remained resolute.

These giants were massive. Beastfolk alone might not win a fight—and it might be a trap.

Yet such a powerful unknown tribe living near Black Mountain was undeniable threat. Now that they’d been spotted, Lang Ze didn’t believe they’d vanish again.

They arrived back at the tribe late at night. Qi Bai and Yang Luo waited at the entrance.

Yang Luo climbed the wall. Seeing them return, he shouted,

“Any injuries? Were they ape‑men?”

Tribe members on patrol saw the giants’ movement first. Xiong Feng and the horned beastfolk had been renovating the new kitchen near the nearest houses when they responded.

But the farming fields were too far away. They only saw tall humanoid beasts approaching—no one knew how big they really were. Hence Yang Luo’s wildly inaccurate guess.

Qi Bai shook his head internally. Losing tracking didn’t mean they were apes.

Lang Ze walked inside.

“They weren’t ape‑men.”

There were many tribe members around, and Lang Ze didn’t want to cause unnecessary panic—so he simply stated that and stopped.

Qi Bai nodded and said to Hu Xue and She Li,

“Bring out the food we left warming.”

He had prepared food for Lang Ze separately and invited him inside, quietly reminding him not to rush or eat while standing. He set up the kang table and encouraged Lang Ze to sit and take his time.

Yang Luo looked at the four cups on the tray and asked,

“Hou Su’s not in the tribe. Why prepare four cups?”

At that moment, Diao Lan’s voice came from outside:

“Bao Bai, may I come in?”

Qi Bai shot Yang Luo a knowing smile, lifted the hide curtain, and invited her into the inner room.

Since seeing the giants this afternoon, Qi Bai had sensed something off about Diao Lan. Unlike others who still looked shocked, she seemed distant—distracted even while returning.

Qi Bai paused when passing through the crowd and nodded at her.

He’d anticipated Diao Lan might follow, so when preparing tea, he had set out an extra cup just for her.

Now she sat on a stool, clutching a bamboo cup, eyes locked on Lang Ze and Yang Luo, clearly conflicted.

Qi Bai saw such inner struggle in her for the first time. He leaned close and whispered, soft enough only she could hear:

“If you don’t want to say anything—then don’t. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice.”

Diao Lan nodded.

Lang Ze, always a fast eater, put down his chopsticks. Diao Lan, still gathering her thoughts, stayed quiet.

Finally, with no one else around, Lang Ze recounted both encounters with the giants.

Qi Bai added,

“I also saw their huge footprints today—just like what we saw near the Scarlet Mountains.”

Yang Luo now looked properly frightened. He couldn’t drink his tea.

“How could any beastman be that tall? Are you sure you saw them right?”

Lang Ze shook his head firmly.

“We didn’t mistake it. They live near us.”

Both Lang Ze and Qi Bai had hoped Yang Luo might provide a clue—now it was clear he knew nothing.

Diao Lan then quietly muttered,

“The Giant Wind Tribe.”

“What?” Yang Luo took a sharp breath, nearly choking.

Diao Lan repeated softly,

“Not giants… the Gale Tribe.”