Chapter 484

A small, timid voice sounded outside the cave; everyone inside shuddered, and Gan, who was holding his partner, incredulously bolted out of the cave.

Behind him, the people at the gathering also came out.

They stared in disbelief at the familiar small figure standing not far away; beside the little one stood several males holding spears, their bodies quite stalwart.

However, those males merely gave them an indifferent glance, lowered their heads to say something to the little youngster, then turned and left.

But the little youngster A You tightly held the thing in his arms and walked toward the crowd, his small face full of a delighted smile: 'Father, chief, I've brought food back.'

His voice was full of joy; immersed in happiness, he didn't notice the odd atmosphere.

Knowing that his thin little butt had been slapped hard several times, pain spread through his body, and his dark eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

"Father~"

The little one called out aggrievedly at the male who had hit him before him, his big eyes full of doubt and resentment.

He didn't understand why he had brought back food, yet still got beaten by his father.

"Who let you leave the cave? Do you know how worried A Mu is?"

A scolding from his father made the little youngster, who had just been wearing a face of grievance, instantly lower his head; he timidly poked out his little head to look toward the cave behind his father: 'A Mu...'

The little one's round eyes were full of worry.

The chief walked over and patted A You's head: 'Next time you mustn't just run out like that, understand?'

The little one nodded seriously: 'Mm-hmm, I understand, chief.'

Next time I go out, I'll definitely tell A Mu.

If the chief and the males knew what the little one was thinking, they'd definitely give him a good spanking.

Seeing his father's expression ease, A You's mood brightened a bit; he carefully handed over the thing he had been tightly holding in his arms to his father: 'Father, this is the food I earned by working today.'

"Food earned in exchange?"

The people at the gathering were stunned, looking at the little one in front of them who barely reached their chests, then at the not-so-small bundle in his arms, and they felt doubtful.

Is this really food? It couldn't be just dry leaves the little one brought back from outside, could it?

No wonder they doubted; all things had just revived, food was still scarce, and although the forest now had many wild beasts, for people who lived by gathering, hunting was utterly impossible at this time.

Even the mid-sized tribes were only slightly better off; at this time they mostly gathered wild vegetables.

But because they had their own territory, they were far better off than the wanderers.

Seeing his father and the tribespeople frozen there, lacking the usual joy and excitement at seeing food, A You felt a bit disheartened, wondering if obtaining food meant nobody was happy.

Thinking of the taste of the food in his arms, the little one gulped hard, and his dark little claws slowly opened the dry leaves wrapping the food.

But because the corn cake had cooled, it didn't give off the imagined sweet aroma; the little one pouted, broke off a piece, and held it to his father's mouth: 'Father, try it; this is the food the tribe's grandma gave me, and it's delicious.'

His little claws were dirty with dirt, but Gan had no qualms; he opened his mouth and ate the food.

The next moment, his eyes widened; the extraordinarily sweet taste in his mouth captivated him, and he swore to the Beast God that he had never eaten anything so delicious.

As it turned out, meat wasn't the most delicious food after all!

Gan, immersed in the deliciousness, was suddenly jolted awake by his child's wailing cries; looking down, he saw the little one being grabbed by the arm and spanked by his partner, who had somehow woken up.

A thin little face was covered in tears, extremely aggrieved.

"The Beastman Sir and the Shaman said the corn cakes are edible; I and the Snow Moon Tribe's people have eaten them, they're non-toxic, they're edible!"

The little one's wailing was pure agony, and he kept glancing with his eyes at the immobile father.

Gan, having come to, met his child's aggrieved little gaze, flashed a guilty grin with his big white teeth, and said: 'I'm fine; it's just that A You's brought-back food was too delicious, so I was a bit stunned, hehe.'

As soon as he finished speaking, he received from the gathering tribe members a series of reproachful yet expectant looks.

A You's A Mu realized he had wrongly blamed the youngster, feeling a bit embarrassed, but adults' thick skins aren't something the little ones can understand; just a moment ago the father and A Mu were fierce, the next moment they were smiling, leading the teary-eyed youngster toward the cave.

The golden corn cakes were placed near the fire; as the flames baked them, they gradually gave off a tempting aroma, but nobody dared let the scent drift; they immediately took the cakes down and placed them on the dry leaves before the chief.

"Who knows what beasts the scent might attract; we might as well just eat them right away."

The chief gave a wry smile.

Everyone certainly knew their situation, nodding eagerly, but their gaze fixed intently on the pile of corn cakes before him.

The chief smiled, broke a few corn cakes into even pieces, and distributed them to the tribe members.

As the sweet corn cakes entered their mouths, everyone finally understood why Gan had been stunned earlier; this food was truly delicious, sweeter than the best meat they had ever eaten.

Although A You had brought back many corn cakes, each person's share was only about half a palm's size; this was still because the Snow Moon Tribe had ample food and had given extra.

"A You, are the pure humans who came with you today from the tribe you worked for?"

The chief swallowed the bite of cake and asked.

A You listened to the elder's question, obediently nodded his little head, and said: 'Yes, they saw me going alone to work, and since it was too late and unsafe, they escorted me here.'

He said, puffing out his little chest proudly: 'There was also a Half-Beast Warrior who came along, but he didn't come to our cave.'

Everyone's eyes widened in shock: 'There's a Half-Beast Warrior!'

The wanderers often went to various tribes to work, but they usually saw only some squad leaders or the like, and those were pure humans; as for Half-Beast Warriors?

Hehe...

They indicated they had no intention of meeting any wandering pure humans.

A You wrinkled his nose, a flush even appearing on his thin cheeks: 'Today at the Snow Moon Tribe, I not only saw a Half-Beast Warrior, but also several Beastman Warriors and a noble Shaman.'

I was able to stay and work in the tribe only because that noble Shaman agreed.

At this moment, describing the wanderers' gathering crowd's feelings as 'one wave not yet settled, another rising' could not be more fitting.

One by one, they breathed heavily while looking at the smug little one: 'Have you seen Beastman Warriors and the noble... Shaman?'

No wonder they were surprised; even for tribes living in this forest, shamans are extremely mysterious and noble figures.

Seeing the tribespeople's incredulous looks, A You excitedly leapt from his A Mu's embrace and began to gesticulate animatedly as he recounted what had happened today in the Snow Moon Tribe.

"You say the food we just ate is made from dried fruit seeds!"

The white-haired chief's eyes instantly lit up.

Xiao Ayou nodded, and immediately said with eyes full of envy: "The Snow Moon Tribe's fruit-gathering team that collected the most fruit today got half a big-antler deer meat."

In the cave, everyone's breathing grew a bit heavier again.

After all, he was young; after Xiao Ayou's excitement subsided, he, like the other youngsters, drooped his head and began to drift off.

Seeing this, Gan, feeling both pity and amused, held the little one and went to the dry grass nest that his mate had already prepared earlier, and laid him down.

Seeing him rub against the dry grass and fall asleep, he then got up and went back to the fire.

The silent leader over there, seeing him return, then spoke again: "I think the fruit Xiao Ayou mentioned is an opportunity for our tribe; we've seen plenty of this fruit when gathering food in the forest, but because we can't bite into it, no one has eaten it."

Now this powerful Snow Moon Tribe needs such fruit, and besides, hearing what Xiao Ayou said, the Snow Moon Tribe will not casually kill us wanderers.

So we can gather some fruit and go trade it for food with the Snow Moon Tribe.

The female sitting beside the leader suddenly spoke: "Since grinding that fruit into powder can make delicious food, why don't we just go gather it ourselves and make the food?"

To gather it with great effort and then go trade for it, we still don't know how much food the Snow Moon Tribe would give us.

The female said somewhat unwillingly.

Gathering that yellow fruit is extremely difficult for us pure humans, because the fruit's thorns are truly too many; a little carelessness will cause injury, and it is very painful.

"Yes, Chief, after we gather it, can't we stay in the tribe and grind it ourselves into that food called corn flour? Anyway, Xiao Ayou already told us how to make it."

Not only did a few females think this way, but even the ordinary males around the fire showed signs of being moved.

The preciousness of this new food is known to anyone living in the forest.

The white-haired leader gave several people a cold look: "If you all think this way, this gathering place probably won't last long."

We wanderers are not accepted by any tribe in the forest to begin with, but now the Snow Moon Tribe kindly gave Xiao Ayou work and let him bring back so much food, showing that the tribe's shaman and chief are kind people.

We should feel grateful.

The female and male who had just spoken involuntarily lowered their heads, although they knew in their hearts this was wrong, but they did it for the survival of the people in the gathering place.

Seeing that they still seemed somewhat dissatisfied, the leader's expression grew even colder.

"If we do this just because the Snow Moon Tribe is kind, and grind corn flour to make food without the Snow Moon Tribe's permission, no tribe will forgive such behavior, and we might even be hunted down by the powerful Snow Moon Tribe."

"A tribe that possesses shamans and Beastman Warriors has nothing waiting for us but a dead end; do you want to bring disaster to the gathering place?"

As soon as those words were spoken, the few people who had just spoken turned deathly pale and lowered their heads; this time they truly understood the seriousness and dared not suggest any more bad ideas.

Gan beside them also secretly let out a breath, for the method of making this corn flour food was after all brought back to the tribe by his own child; if the leader agreed to their approach, the Snow Moon Tribe would certainly not let Xiao Ayou off.

But thinking of the leader's earlier words about going to exchange food, Gan hesitated a bit, then still said: "Leader, the matter of this fruit was told to us by Xiao Ayou; will the Snow Moon Tribe..."

He still worried that the Snow Moon Tribe would be displeased because Xiao Ayou told the gathering place that the fruit could make delicious food.

The leader frowned slightly, then after a moment shook his head: "It shouldn't be; if the matter of this fruit couldn't be told to others, Xiao Ayou wouldn't have returned to the tribe today."

Gan's heart tightened; he looked back at the spot where his own young one lay, and a feeling of relief welled up: truly, the Beast God's protection, this little one has encountered the Snow Moon Tribe.

"We haven't eaten the food we brought back today, so tomorrow we'll all go together into the forest to gather this fruit, then go to the Snow Moon Tribe to see if we can exchange it for food."

Although everyone harbored worries, the thought of being able to exchange for more food made their hearts burn a bit hotter.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ayou, who was having a sweet dream, did not know that because of him, the tribe had made such an important decision.

The next day, a familiar group arrived at the Snow Moon Tribe.

The original small tribe's members who were on patrol looked at the people before them, somewhat dazed.

"What's going on? This Half-Beast Warrior from the East Mulberry Tribe is back again?"

"Reporting to the several Beastman Warriors and the esteemed Shaman, I come by order of the chief to invite the Snow Moon Tribe."

The East Mulberry Tribe's Half-Beast Warrior looked at the Snow Moon Tribe, which had greatly changed; indeed, a tribe possessing Beastman Warriors and Shamans had developed to this size in such a short time.

"Captain, the Shamans and Beastman Sirs have allowed the East Mulberry Tribe's people to enter."

The few pure-human males on patrol made way for the entrance, and the pure-human male who had just come to report turned around and led the way ahead.

The East Mulberry Tribe's Half-Beast Warrior walked all the way in shock toward the not-so-distant, unfamiliar yet familiar mountain wall, seeing the many 'houses' that had sprung up around, his eyes almost popping out.

"Goodness, how long has it been since we last saw each other? You even have 'houses' now!"

Moreover, looking at the people entering and leaving the houses, those living inside turned out to be pure humans as well!

The Half-Beast's heart instantly felt sour and envious: when did these houses become objects of everyone's scramble, and even the dwellings that only powerful Beastman Warriors and esteemed Shamans could inhabit are now everywhere?

－－－－－－Aside－－－－－－

Folks, the content that had been repeating from chapter 477 onward has all been replaced with new chapters.

And starting today, we officially resume updates; due to the hiatus, I, one by one, apologize to dear folks.

But I still thank those who have persistently waited for the return; actually I see your votes and comments every day, and I feel guilty; I will surely update well to repay you, thank you for your waiting and support, thank you for not giving up, I love you!

If you can't see chapter 488, don't worry; it was blocked due to content reasons, I have already applied to unblock it, and once normal it will be viewable, all new content.