Chapter 182

Housu stormed in, lifting the animal hide curtain with fury, rummaged through the pile of tools and equipment in the corner, and pulled out a large beast-hide bag. He began shoving things into it.

Ciyi followed his teacher into the room and slowly started tidying up the dining table on the heated kang bed.

Housu waited and waited. He had nearly packed up most of the tools on the ground, yet Ciyi was still silently cleaning up. “I’m already getting ready to leave. You, as my student, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Ciyi looked up slightly. “Then let me help you pack.”

“You see this? Isn’t this just bullying?” Housu said, throwing the beast-hide bag aside when he saw Ciyi trying to help. “I’m telling you, I can’t stay in this place any longer.”

Ciyi stood blocked from helping, thinking: Teacher, if you don’t move, how can I help you pack?

From Ciyi’s expression, Housu could tell what he was thinking, and a small flicker of reluctance rose in his heart. A little deflated, he shifted slightly to give Ciyi space.

In weapon-making, Ciyi truly was a decent student. While not a prodigy, he made up for it with his dedication and willingness to think things through.

When Housu had first taken him as a student, he hadn’t wanted to teach him too much. Housu wasn’t stupid — he knew that if Ciyi mastered everything, he himself would become useless. So, most of the time, he only gave Ciyi repetitive manual tasks.

Yet even so, Ciyi never once complained. Maybe it was just his nature — no matter what Housu asked of him, he could quietly work all day without a word. He wasn’t bored or tired, and he’d do even the most mundane tasks with precision and care.

Take the smooth wooden finish on the latest ballista, for example — everyone thought Housu had done it, but it was actually Ciyi’s work.

Housu didn’t know that future generations would call this “craftsman spirit,” but even he sometimes reflected on whether he could have done it that well himself.

Over time, Housu’s attitude toward Ciyi changed. He gradually began teaching him actual methods for weapon crafting.

Maybe even Housu himself hadn’t noticed — Ciyi was no longer just a student. He was a true assistant. A collaborator.

Of course, what made it hardest for Housu to let go was that Ciyi, despite being quiet, was incredibly attentive.

Ever since Housu had moved into Ciyi’s cave, he never had to think about anything outside of weapon-making. Ciyi had everything taken care of.

There was always someone to tend the fire when it got cold, food ready when he was hungry… The thought of not being cared for like this anymore made Housu reluctant to leave his little apprentice behind.

With rare sentimentality, Housu said, “I’ll go talk to the priest and the chieftain. I’ll get you exchanged out of the tribe. Come with me.”

Ciyi refused without hesitation, shaking his head. “I won’t go. And I’m not a slave — you can’t exchange me.”

Housu choked up and jabbed his finger at Ciyi. “I’ve never treated you like a slave! If you come with me, I’ll make sure you never go hungry!”

But Ciyi still shook his head. “Only here in the Black Mountain Tribe am I considered an ordinary beastman. If I leave, I go back to being a slave.”

Many young horned beastmen wanted to join the hunting or trading teams to see the world, but Ciyi wasn’t like them. If he had the choice, he’d rather stay in Black Mountain forever and never leave.

In a way, these two — master and student — were both natural homebodies.

Housu sighed and waved him off. “Forget it.”

After a moment, Ciyi said, “Teacher… isn’t staying in the tribe a good thing?”

Housu’s ears twitched.

Ciyi continued slowly, “Teacher, don’t forget the wood glue. Only Black Mountain Tribe has it. And Baobai knows a lot — if you leave, you lose access to all that.”

Housu turned his head away. Eventually, he said a little awkwardly, “It’s not that I want to leave. They’re the ones driving me out. Fifteen days to make a ballista? That’s impossible.”

Ciyi set down the hide bag and stood up immediately. “I’ll go talk to Langze. I’ll ask him to extend it to twenty days. In twenty days, we can definitely build a ballista.”

In a flash, he was out the door. Housu had never seen him move so fast.

Housu picked up the hide bag and realized that despite all the time Ciyi had been “helping,” he had barely packed anything into it.

A faint smile appeared on Housu’s face. Well, I guess that makes unpacking easier.

When Ciyi arrived at Langze’s house, he found Langze and Qibai squatting by the outer wall, stirring the fermented soy mash in a clay jar with large wooden spoons.

It had been nearly six months since Qibai first started the soy sauce fermentation. Every so often, he had to mix the mash. Now the soy sauce was almost ready.

Langze was finally starting to believe this stuff might be edible. The salty smell coming from the jars was weird — but oddly appetizing after a while.

Langze wasn’t surprised to see Ciyi and led him inside.

The window of Langze’s room wasn’t sealed, so Qibai, standing outside, could hear everything clearly.

Ciyi proposed extending the time for each ballista to twenty days. Langze didn’t object. He knew this wasn’t an easy task. He’d initially proposed fifteen days at the kiln site only after careful thought, already extending it beyond usual expectations.

But what Ciyi said next made Langze raise an eyebrow. “You want Housu to become a member of the Black Mountain Tribe? Did you even ask him? Did he agree?”

Ciyi shook his head. This was his own idea. He offered to deduct 100 contribution points from his own total to buy Housu’s tribal membership.

Ciyi didn’t have many points. Because he was constantly learning from Housu and couldn’t participate in hunts or other tribal labor, he only earned one fixed contribution point per day, while others earned two or three.

This arrangement had been Qibai’s idea — Ciyi’s work was like an outsourced tribal role. It wasn’t fair for him to contribute labor without any recognition from the tribe.

Langze asked, “All the other tribe members use their points to earn the right to join Black Mountain. Why should I change the rules for you?”

Faced with this question, Ciyi could only remain silent.

Negotiation wasn’t his strength. Just making this request had taken all his courage.

But Langze’s next words gave him hope: “One ballista every twenty days — that’s your required task. But if Housu can make more weapons for the tribe, we’ll convert them into points. As long as he earns 100, I’ll approve his membership.”

Ciyi’s eyes lit up. He nodded firmly. “We will definitely make more weapons for the tribe.”

Watching Ciyi’s unusually light steps as he left, Qibai rested his chin on the windowsill, shamelessly eavesdropping. “Housu’s a suspicious man. Do you really think he’ll agree to join us?”

Langze looked at the half of Qibai’s face sticking in and felt a surge of tenderness. “Whether he agrees or not, now that he’s in Black Mountain, he can’t just leave whenever he pleases like a wandering beastman.”

Black Mountain Tribe had become one of a kind on the beastman continent — a good thing, but also a dangerous one.

Protecting the tribe was Langze’s duty. And if that meant sacrificing one or two beastmen, he didn’t mind. Of course, there was no need to tell Qibai that. He already had enough on his plate trying to ensure everyone had enough food and clothes.

Three days later, Houyan returned with the hunting team.

By then, the main tribe kitchen had been completely remodeled.

Inside the entryway, several large wooden shelves had been set up to hold daily ingredients.

In the inner kitchen, near the window wall, three large clay pots had been fixed into place with yellow clay, and four big stoves took up the opposite wall.

In the center of each room stood a large wooden worktable — the chefs’ prep stations.

But the renovation of the main kitchen didn’t mean Xiongfeng and Huhuo could relax. The house next door had to be quickly converted into a dairy processing workshop.

At that moment, Qibai and Huhuo were confirming the furniture designs for the workshop.

Huhuo had a charcoal pencil tucked behind his ear and a planer under his arm — he looked every bit the seasoned carpenter.

After hearing Qibai’s instructions, Huhuo calculated mentally. “Got it. We’ll start making the racks and molds now. Once Xiongfeng finishes the stove, we can put everything to use.”

Just then, Humen jumped down from the perimeter wall, opened the main gate, and the hunting party slowly pulled their carts inside.

Huxue, holding a bunch of bitter greens, was the first to run out of the kitchen. She waved her arms and shouted, “Houyan, no need to drag the carts in! Just stop them near the outer wall. We’ll slaughter the prey in front of the kitchen. I’ll get some buckets for the blood and organs — we’ll handle the rest inside.”

A bamboo rain canopy had been set up over the kitchen eaves, with three large wooden racks underneath. The changes were hard to miss. Houyan had noticed them the moment he entered, so he wasn’t surprised by Huxue’s call.

He waved to the horned beastmen behind him. “You heard her! Turn aside!”

They had brought back two full carts of prey. The horned beastmen transformed into human form and unloaded the animals one by one. The sub-beastmen inside the kitchen came out with buckets and bone knives, ready to work immediately.

With these fresh kills, along with the previously preserved spring hunt meat, the tribe wouldn’t have to worry about food shortages for a while. Everyone was thrilled.

Houyan shared Qibai’s and Langze’s concern about the Jufeng Tribe.

As he gulped down skimmed goat milk — flavorless, but somehow addicting after a few days without it — he said, “We’re not hunting far anymore. Starting tomorrow, I’ll lead the horned beastmen on patrol hunts within a one-day range.”

In the early days of the Black Mountain Tribe, their small population meant that food needs were low. Hunting within half a day’s range had been enough.

But now that the Jufeng Tribe had seen their fires and come swiftly, it meant they were nearby.

So they would slowly expand their patrol range — little by little — until they found them.