Chapter 494

The two shrank their necks, timidly nodding and hurrying forward to lead the way.

But in their hearts they hoped the people of the gathering place would leave quickly; after the previous incident with the corn fruit, these wanderers had completely lost trust in the Snow Moon tribe.

Ying Yan had been to the gathering place's cave before, so the two didn't think of taking a detour; they were quite honest.

"Chief, Father!"

A childish voice with a crying tone rang out in the forest ahead; the chief and Gan felt as if struck by a huge stone, painfully—hadn't the tribe members left?

The originally weak, drooping head suddenly lifted toward the direction the sound came from; the rustling forest swayed, and a small head poked out.

It was little A You.

The little guy saw the chief and his own father excitedly waving their small arms, but when his gaze shifted and he saw those few familiar tall figures, he puckered his little butt, wanting to burrow back, only to be pricked by the small twig, making him grit his teeth.

Bun found it amusing and prepared to go forward to rescue him, but Gan ahead, disregarding the thorns of the shrubs, pushed aside the branches and hugged the little guy out.

By the way, he also gave two slaps: "Why did you run out on your own? Do you know how worried A Mu would be if he found you missing?"

The little guy covered his dry, flat buttocks, eyes brimming with tears: "I miss my father and the chief."

Meeting the little guy's worried gaze, Gan found he couldn't utter his reproachful words, though his heart felt deeply sorrowful.

He and the chief are old; as long as the people of the gathering place can escape, even if they are killed, it doesn't matter.

But A You is still young, just a cub—must he also suffer the same fate as them?

The chief and he locked eyes, and both of their eyes filled with deep sorrow.

Though not far away, when the group arrived at the cave, there wasn't a single wanderer at the gathering place.

"Where did your people go?"

Wu Yue turned her head to look at the wanderer chief, questioning.

Could they have gone out to look for that little cub named A You?

"Honorable Shaman, since A You returned with news, we had already planned to leave here; we just didn't expect that we two would be captured in the end, and the remaining tribe members should have already left."

The chief lowered his head, speaking respectfully.

His hands at his sides were tightly clenched into fists; he dared not lift his head to look at the imposing Shaman, fearing to reveal any trace.

Wu Yue's indifferent gaze lingered on him for a moment, then she smiled and said: "It's fine; just the three of you will do."

As the weakest in strength among the team, Bun voluntarily took charge of tidying up the cave.

Since teaming up with Wu Yue's group to steal herbs, he has come to understand some of their habits; although their dwelling cave doesn't need to be exceptionally good or smooth, the inside must be clean and free of strange odors.

He hummed and hawed, breaking off some twigs and bundling them together, then cleared out of the cave the unknown bones covered in tooth marks, gnawed thin beyond one round, some wilted wild vegetables, dry grass scraps, and stone fragments.

He rubbed his slightly sore waist; it seemed that upon returning to the tribe he would need to find a female to live with, and after spending time with this squad, he began to dislike his former self.

Thinking of his cave full of meaning and food scraps, he involuntarily shivered.

But looking down at the branch in his hand, he would still rather go out hunting than this.

He licked his face and rubbed up against Wu Yue: "Honorable Shaman Wu Yue, the smell in that cave is somewhat unpleasant; could you give me a few stalks of your nicely scented herbs so I can fumigate the cave?"

It's for fumigation, he recalled that Honorable Shaman Wu Yue had said the same last time.

Since the cave was to be his future dwelling, Wu Yue naturally wouldn't be stingy; she readily produced a bundle of dried mugwort and handed it to him: "Fumigate thoroughly."

Bun he-he laughed, his eyes narrowed into slits, and with cheerful little steps he picked up a burning piece of firewood and walked toward the cave.

"Hehe, this herb smells wonderful; I'll tuck two stalks away to bring back for when I find a mate—when my partner asks about this scent... hehe... hehe..."

A lewd laugh drifted out from the cave, wavering; the few by the fire exchanged glances: "Just stealing a few herb stalks, and you're this happy?"

Wu Yue he-he laughed: "Hearing that lewd laugh, they're surely thinking of something lewd."

After getting along with those people for so long, Ying Yan gradually understood some of the words that occasionally popped up between them; naturally knowing the meaning of lewd, he shot a disdainful glance toward the cave.

What they didn't know was that in a small hollow not far from the wanderers' gathering place, a group of thin wanderers were huddling together for warmth, after all, in this season the nights are still somewhat cold.

"A Mu, will Father and Elder Brother come back?"

A soft, childish voice sounded in the female's embrace; she raised her hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks, stroked the little cub's head in her arms, and said: "Yes, sleep obediently, and Father and Elder Brother will return."

Upon hearing that, the little guy's eyes brightened as he glanced at A Mu a few times, then obediently closed his eyes, though he didn't tell A Mu that his tiny stomach was already growling with hunger.

After spending a night at the wanderers' gathering place, Wu Yue and her companions didn't delay; they immediately took the wanderer chief, Gan, and little A You and hurried toward the Snow Moon tribe.

At this moment, the Snow Moon tribe was somewhat awkward, with some tribe members even facing not having enough to eat.

Teng Qian and Teng Kun, the two brothers, stood on the open ground looking down at several members of the gathering teams: "I sent you out to gather corn fruit, but the gathering of wild vegetables and other food must not be relaxed."

You all went to gather corn fruit, leaving no wild vegetables or other food—what are we supposed to eat now?

There's only one hunting team in the tribe; do you still want to eat meat every meal?

Teng Qian snorted and poked at the gathering team captains from afar: "I already told you to allocate properly—are you all trying to starve?"

The faces of everyone on the open ground simultaneously darkened; several gathering team captains glanced at each other.

"Why aren't you gathering wild vegetables?"

"Hehe, how dare you say that about us, as if you had gathered any!"

"Hehe..."

The three's gazes engaged in a fierce clash.

Immediately, three big slaps landed on several heads: "What are you looking at? Hurry up and set out—if today's food isn't enough, you'll stand outside the tribe drinking wind and farting."

The three, resentful, rubbed the backs of their heads and retreated, then began assigning gathering duties.

"Captain, I just want to gather corn fruit; please assign me to the corn fruit gathering team."

"As if nobody wanted to."

The gathering assignment again ended in a new round of argument.

The small tribe's chieftain walked along the corn fruit gathering route, flanked by his two former confidants, full of vigor.

"Captain, the corn fruit we gather from the place we found this time will surely be far more than what those two gathering teams collect, hehe."

"That's right; we've had our eyes on this spot for a long time."

"It's just a pity, the last time those wanderers brought corn fruit once and never came again; if they came a few more times, we would definitely be the team with the most corn fruit in the tribe each time."

"Hehe, if I had known earlier, I would have caught them and made them specially gather corn fruit for us."

"The group walked away chatting and laughing, unaware that Wu Yue and the others were actually bringing the wanderers they spoke of toward the tribe."

"Ah, we're finally back to familiar ground."

"Bu Lun stretched lazily, thinking of the comfortable house in Snow Moon Tribe, his steps quickened a bit, eager to go back and get some sleep."

"The patrolling males had already seen their silhouettes from far away, but due to their eyesight, they only managed to make out the faces when the few drew near, and immediately raised their weapons and cheered."

"The shaman is back!"

The Beastman Sirs have returned!

Oh oh oh!

Cheers rang out across the camp, drawing over the tribespeople who had stayed behind, and a tall figure appeared before them in a few leaps.

Yue, boss, you've finally come back—I'm about to go crazy!

Good grief, even managing a squad before wasn't this troublesome.

Several people glanced disdainfully at the weeping Teng Qian, then scattered around him and headed into the tribe.

The tribespeople looked at them eagerly, overjoyed.

Because the Shaman and two Beastman Warriors left, life in the tribe these past days has hardly been happy.

Wu Yue, back in the cave, didn't wrong herself; she had truly been missing the taste of cornbread for a long time.

She immediately washed her hands and started making the cakes; soon the familiar sweet aroma of cornbread spread throughout the tribe.

Little A Yu stared blankly at the stack of golden cornbread in the hay basket, feeling his whole small body light as if floating.

He couldn't help recalling the last time he received cornbread, when the tribespeople of the Snow Moon Tribe looked at him with envious eyes.

The little one pursed his lips, his big eyes blinking, and spoke somewhat timidly: 'Honored Shaman, was the cornbread you gave me last time also made by you?'

Because this taste is really too familiar.

Wu Yue glanced at the still‑somewhat‑afraid little one, smiled and nodded: 'Of course I made it; now I'm the only one in the tribe who can make cornbread.'

As her words fell, the wandering chief and Gan beside her were stunned.

Stiffly turning his neck, he looked at the beautiful Shaman, then at his own scrawny foolish child.

So the food they ate last time was actually made personally by a Shaman—that was the Shaman's blessing!

In an instant, their fear of Wu Yue vanished, their eyes full of reverence.

Thank you for the Shaman's blessing!

The two knelt on the ground, their expressions full of excitement.

Gan stretched out a big hand to press down on his little cub A Yu's head; A Yu was very clever and obediently imitated his father and the chief's movements.

'It's just some food; A Yu works for me, giving him food is only right—you don't need to do this, get up quickly.'

For some reason, in A Yu's eyes the honored Shaman was no longer scary at all, but rather very kind, as if she were glowing.

He licked his dry lips, carefully lifted his little head: 'Honored Shaman, would you really punish our own tribe just because our food was taken?'

Wu Yue blinked, then laughed, taking a cornbread from the hay basket and handing it to him, raising her hand to signal the three of them to rise.

She then smiled at Little A Yu, not answering but asking instead: 'Little A Yu, do your father and A Mu spank your little bottom?'

This question made Little A Yu, who had already been spanked several times recently, turn his little black face even darker; he fidgeted embarrassedly a few times before pouting his lips and whispering: 'Yes, I've been spanked many times.'

That pitiful little appearance was simply adorable enough to melt anyone.

Wu Yue couldn't resist ruffling the little fellow's head, although the feel of it really wasn't great.

'Then do you know why your father and A Mu spank you?'

The little fellow's cheeks flushed slightly: 'It's because A Yu went to work in the Snow Moon Tribe without telling A Mu and his father, making them worry.'

Wu Yue's task had been taken over by the big tiger that returned from washing up; Yuan Lang's technique was still a bit unskilled, but as long as the cornbread is cooked through, it's fine.

Wu Yue looked seriously at Little A Yu: 'To me it's the same; the tribespeople are just like you—when they do something wrong, I also have to spank them. If they don't know where they went wrong, they'll repeat the same mistake next time, right?'

Little A Yu scratched his head embarrassedly; indeed, if it weren't for A Mu and his father spanking his bottom, he'd still be happy about bringing back that food.

This time, not only Little A Yu, but even the wandering chief and Gan beside him knew that this Shaman truly intended to punish the Snow Moon Tribe members who had stolen their hard‑gathered corncobs.

Instantly their eyes reddened with emotion, and they thumped down to kneel: 'Thank you, honored Shaman; may the Beast God forever protect you!'

'Alright, rise and eat; the hunting and gathering squads will be back soon.'

Free of his worries, Little A Yu, after all just a young cub, didn't have many thoughts; his dark little paws clutched the cornbread Wu Yue gave him and nibbled it sweetly.

The chief and Gan looked at their own dirty hands, then at the golden cornbread, and embarrassedly slipped them behind their backs.

'Shaman, let's go wash our hands before we eat.'

Both were a bit flushed; back at the gathering place, everyone's hands were the same color, and as long as food filled their stomachs, nobody cared whether their hands were clean.

But facing this Shaman and those Beastman Warriors, they unconsciously blushed.

Eagle Eye beside them chuckled and pointed to the stone basin outside the cave: 'That's where the washing water is.'

The two nodded gratefully, rose, and went to wash.

Wu Yue watched their retreating figures, and some other thoughts arose in her mind.

'Yuan Lang, what do you think of these wanderers?'

The Beastman tossed the cornbread from the wooden shovel into the basket, smiling at her: 'They're far more useful than the folks of that little tribe.'

Wu Yue glanced at him, amused; though the little tribe's people had many flaws and bad habits, in a world where strength reigns supreme they could not overturn the heavens.

-------Side Note-------

It'll be done quickly, fourteen minutes to finish! All kinds of requests—votes, subscriptions, come on! Where are you little partners?