Chapter 499
As he spoke, his hopeful little gaze turned to Wu Yue and the others: "Shaman Wu Yue, will you be living in the cave?"
Wu Yue smiled faintly and nodded: "Of course."
With that, the group walked toward the cliff wall.
The caves were spaced apart, so only a few scattered caves dotted the cliff wall.
"Let's stay in this cave."
Burt clicked his tongue at the cave before him; though not large, it was among the caves with the best sunlight.
Since the large caves were already claimed by the major tribes, these medium-sized caves were occupied by powerful sub-tribes under the four great tribes.
This cave that Shaman Wu Yue had taken a liking to was one of them.
But considering the strength of the Snow Moon Tribe, Burt said nothing, merely waiting in the shadows to see the show.
Among the tribes already arrived, someone naturally noticed this strange tribe daring to settle directly in a cave; though curious, they dared not approach to speak.
Of course, they weren't afraid of the Snow Moon Tribe; they worried about retaliation from the tribe that had previously occupied this cave.
Though scattered tribes cared, those living off the mountain in edge caves did not; just as Wu Yue's group was tidying the cave, two half-beasts approached.
"Which tribe are you from?"
The speaking half-beast warrior looked young, his face still very childish, and kept glancing at Wu Yue as he spoke, seemingly curious why this tribe attending the gathering brought a female.
"We are members of the Snow Moon Tribe, invited by the Dongsaang Tribe to attend the gathering."
Teng Qian pointed at Burt, who was squatting at his cave entrance idly counting ants.
Upon hearing his tribe mentioned, Burt slowly rose to his feet, gave the two half-beast warriors an arrogant nod, and said, "You guys came pretty early this year."
The two half-beast warriors bowed respectfully: "Captain Burt, we just saw an unfamiliar tribe and came to say hello."
Remembering the chief's orders, the two half-beast warriors breathed a sigh of relief, glad they hadn't said anything inappropriate just now.
This new tribe was actually under the protection of the Dongsaang Tribe.
"The Snow Moon Tribe's people are very strong, so the chief had us invite them; perhaps a fifth great tribe will appear in this forest someday."
A voice with a hint of smile came from beside, causing the two half-beast warriors, whose attitudes had just shifted, to freeze in place.
Yingfei walked over slowly, patted the older half-beast's shoulder, and asked, "You came to say hello?"
The two half-beasts then came to their senses, nodding repeatedly: "Lord Yingfei, the chief saw a tribe moving into the cave and sent us to get acquainted."
Actually, they were here to find out if this new tribe had any backing, so they could adjust their attitude later.
Earlier, hearing their words, I had thought this new tribe was under Dongsaang protection, but now it seems the Snow Moon Tribe does not belong to any of the four great tribes.
At that moment, his feelings shifted somewhat.
"Lord Yingfei, Captain Burt, we'll go back to report to the chief first."
After saying that, they gave a simple salute and turned to leave.
Wu Yue gave Yingfei a bland glance, pursed her lips, and turned to enter the cave.
His little trick was obvious to all; although under Dongsaang protection it saved much trouble, it offered no advantage in future competition, and all she had ever wanted was a chance at the totem pole.
"Um, Teng Qian, you guys tidy up first; we're heading back too."
The awkward atmosphere made Burt want to dig his toes in; he reached out and grabbed Yingfei's animal-skin skirt, then walked toward their cave.
"Yingfei, why did you say those things? Without our tribe's protection, the Snow Moon Tribe will have a hard time at this gathering."
Burt now felt increasingly dissatisfied with the tribe's sole flying beastman; since they brought back stolen herbs, Yingfei's attitude had grown strange, as if he disliked the Snow Moon Tribe.
Yingfei gave Burt a cold glance: "Burt, this is the last time I'll say this to you—remember which tribe you belong to."
He then jerked his animal-skin skirt free from Burt's grasp, snorted coldly, and returned to his cave.
Only Burt remained, his face grim, doubting himself, for clearly the chief's earlier words had meant to befriend this Snow Moon Tribe.
Moreover, the old chief's poison still required Shaman Wu Yue's treatment—what on earth was Yingfei thinking?
As more and more tribes arrived, those who saw Wu Yue's group grew increasingly curious, even tinged with awe.
For some unknown reason, the temperature at the gathering site was much higher than where the Snow Moon Tribe was stationed; if the tribe was still in early spring, here it was already midsummer.
Especially during the day, wearing thick animal pelts would even cause sweating.
The Dongsaang Tribe's people had already gathered vines and leaves around to replace their animal-skin skirts.
"Are Shaman Wu Yue and them still wearing animal-skin skirts and clothes?"
"Who knows? We haven't seen them yet today; this weather is really hot, and when the tribespeople arrive they'll be able to take off these butt-exposing vine skirts sooner."
"Shaman Wu Yue probably won't wear such a vine skirt."
Whoever said that, the whole cave instantly fell a bit silent.
Burt twitched the corner of his mouth, really admiring his tribe's kids—they dare to think of anything, even speaking up to Shaman Wu Yue.
"Winter!"
The next moment, the speaking human male felt as if something had smashed his head, pain bringing tears to his eyes.
He clutched his head and wailed for a long while.
"What... what happened!"
Everyone in the cave was stunned by the sight; Yingfei also jumped up in shock from his grass nest.
As a beastman warrior, he knew clearly that no one had just entered, so this tribesman must have been struck by something.
"Could it be that the Beast God punished him?"
Such miraculous ability to be attacked out of nowhere made everyone think of what that tribesman had just said.
"He must have said 'shaman,' and that's why he was punished."
Though the punished male felt fearful, a hint of pride mingled in, and he even began to wonder whether the swollen spot where he'd been hit had been touched by the Beast God.
In the Snow Moon Tribe's cave, things instantly became lively.
Meanwhile, Tongzi, lounging with legs crossed on his beach chair sucking on an ice pop, let out a big hum: "You all dare to twist the dog host; if I don't give you a lesson, you'll really think I'm just a little kitten."
Wu Yue didn't know that a heated discussion had been sparked because of her; she stroked the cotton clothes on her body and couldn't help sighing: "I don't know when our tribe will be able to produce so much soft fabric like this."
The Snow Tiger Tribe still had too few people; even if all the females and males went to weave cloth, the annual output was only enough for their own use, and wanting to use it for trade would probably require waiting a while.
"Yue, are we going out wearing all-white clothes?"
Teng Qian and Yuan Lang both looked a little strange.
Wu Yue looked at the two; they were tall and sturdy, natural clothes horses, and this outfit looked extremely good on them.
"What's wrong? It's really handsome!"
She glanced at Yuan Lang, who had his hair tied up high, revealing his handsome features, and Wu Yue couldn't help but have starry eyes: "He's damn handsome!"
Teng Qian's face flushed, and after a moment of moving his lips, he whispered softly: "Yue, you don't know that underpants have an open crotch, do you?"
Yuan Lang beside him twitched the corner of his mouth, watching Teng Qian stand with legs tightly clenched and wrapped in an animal-skin skirt, secretly glad he himself was trying on an animal-skin skirt.
Wu Yue blinked, then realized what the term 'underclothes' meant, and seeing Teng Qian's awkward stance, she finally recalled the description of ancient people's underpants in the book.
Damn it, Tongzi led me astray.
With a whoosh, she jumped into the cave: "Dog System, I told you to find cooler clothes—why did you give me two sets of underwear?"
Tongzi, who was sucking on an ice pop, was startled by her shout and almost choked.
He nervously put away the ice pop and gave a dry laugh: "I wasn't thinking of using your remaining points to do something proper, host; clothes just need to be wearable, otherwise they could find some thread and sew them up themselves."
"You know, the long-sleeve clothes in the shop are cheapest with this set."
Thinking that she had exchanged a set of underwear for the two tall beastman warriors, she felt embarrassed and wanted to bury her head in the ground.
In an instant she puffed up her little face, opened the system store to browse, and immediately spotted an equally nice, spirited, and comfortable training outfit.
After walking out of the cave, she saw the two had already taken off their previous clothes and were sitting in the grass nest, not knowing what they were saying.
Hearing her footsteps, they both looked up at once.
Wu Yue chuckled: "What color do you like?"
Teng Qian thought of the frightening white underclothes and underpants just now, and quickly said: "Black."
Yuan Lang beside him also nodded: "Black."
"Black absorbs heat, bro!"
Wu Yue muttered in her heart, but she didn't interfere with their thoughts; she returned to the cave, exchanged two training outfits, and handed them over: "These are training clothes—try them on."
Having said that, she herself returned to the small cave.
After a rustling, the big cave echoed with Teng Qian's excited shout: "Although this clothing doesn't have the domineering aura of our forest garb, it looks quite nice, and it's been a long time since I've worn something this comfortable."
When the weather is hot, beastman warriors wear only animal-skin skirts, bare-chested.
"I'd like to see which tribe dares to occupy our tribe's cave!"
The three were standing in the cave, stretching their arms and legs to feel the comfort of the new clothes, when a muffled shout came from outside the cave.
"Oh dear, finally something to do—I've been about to grow mushrooms on my body these days."
Teng Qian pretended to be nonchalant as he flicked his long hair tied with a hairband, then smirked and raised his eyebrows: "Yue, boss, watch me go out and deal with that loudmouth."
Yuan Lang's eyes were deep; in this world, if you can act, there's no need to talk.
Seeing both of them full of fighting spirit, Wu Yue laughed and rubbed her forehead: "Let's go out and take a look first."
Having said that, she led the way outward.
The loud-voiced male all the way shouted as he came to the cave where Wu Yue and the others lived, already drawing many tribespeople eager to watch the spectacle.
Even on the first day, the two half-beast warriors who came to greet them had already sent the news that the Snow Moon Tribe had no tribal protection back to their own clan chief.
In the following days, many tribes at the gathering place gradually learned that this new tribe lacked protection from a major tribe, and they were all waiting to see their spectacle.
But no one expected these major tribes and their subordinate tribes to arrive so late; only now did the tribe that previously lived here finally show up.
This tribe wasn't stupid either; knowing their former cave had been taken by other tribes, they naturally sent people right away to gather news about the Snow Moon Tribe.
Upon learning that the Snow Moon Tribe was a new tribe and had received no protection from any major tribe, they gathered their people, full of vigor, and came to the door.
"Puny thing— a newly sprouted little tribe dares to jump on his head; who knows how hard his fists are?"
The half-beast with a beard-covered face took a step without pause to walk into the cave, but suddenly heard footsteps coming from inside.
His flesh-covered face twitched, revealing a savage grin; regardless of who came out, he raised his fist and smashed it forward.
"Ay, this punch might just take the lives of those few inside."
"Who let them occupy someone else's cave? They've been here so long without trading with other tribes—they must be a poor little tribe with nothing good."
"Just give them a beating, and next time they'll live outside like us."
Some people were making sour remarks, some watched indifferently, and some shouted excitedly in encouragement.
"Whoa!"
But the next second, a scene that astonished everyone occurred: the half-beast who had just been wearing a smug expression bellowed and was flung backward.
His whole body seemed to fold together, flying ten or so meters before snapping a large tree and coming to a stop.
"Ugh!"
He vomited several mouthfuls of fresh blood in succession; the abdominal pain made his face look savage.
"Chief!"
"Chief, how are you!"
The few males who had followed the half-beast over saw their clan chief attacked and flung that far; their calves twitched, and they rushed toward their chief.
"This... he was blown out?"
Everyone stared at the scene before them, quite unable to believe it.
Inside the cave, Yuan Lang retracted his leg wrapped in the black training outfit, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "Courting death!"
Just now Wu Yue had been walking in front; that half-beast, lacking any martial decency, launched an attack right outside the cave, instantly infuriating Yuan Lang.
"If the tiger doesn't show its might, you treat us like a sick cat."
The footsteps inside the cave paused for only a few breaths, then sounded again.
At this moment, no one paid attention to the big-bearded half-beast warrior and his kin anymore, for the three who had walked out of the cave had already drawn all eyes.
"Those... those two males are really handsome!"
------Aside------
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End of Chapter
