"How can I blame you? There are so many things to do at Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, you've already worked hard enough." Su Tang shook her head.

She suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up.

"The snow is starting to melt, does that mean we can go to the human realm soon?"

If we can get back the Salt Sand from the human race as soon as possible, we can solve the major problem of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain sooner.

She had been waiting for this day to come.

"Yes, I have already had Niu Li count the orcs going to the human race. Once the snow melts and the weather warms up a bit, we can set off." Hu Shen nodded and said gently.

Thinking about how far away the human race was, Su Tang couldn't help but worry again.

"Then you'll have to leave again. We've only spent one snow season together. If you go to the human realm and stay there, it will probably take at least a month to get back."

She hadn't felt it when they separated before, but now that she thought about Hu Shen leaving her so far away, she felt a little unaccustomed to it.

She had become accustomed to seeing Hu Shen's face every time she closed her eyes and opened them again.

Hu Shen helped Su Tang sit down, saying, "I'm not going to the human race."

"You're not going? Is that alright...?" Su Tang asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"Going to the human race doesn't require me to go personally. I'll have Niu Li take a few hundred orcs, that'll be enough." Hu Shen's tone was nonchalant, showing little concern for the human race.

Seeing that Hu Shen was confident, Su Tang felt relieved and stopped worrying.

Since Hu Shen has said so, he certainly won't let his people take the risk.

Even the powerful Griffin tribe did not fare well against the Beast Mountain, let alone the humans, who were considered weak by the orcs.

Once the snow season is over, the ice and snow melt.

The temperature on the mountain was colder than when it snowed.

While the charcoal fire in the stone house was still burning, Su Tang gave the five cubs a bath and then dried them out.

After rolling in the mud, many of the kittens' fur became matted, and Su Tang couldn't comb it out, so she trimmed some of it.

Seeing their fur shaved off like a dog chewed it, the kittens became withdrawn and behaved themselves for the next few days, no longer going out to play.

Five days later.

The heavy snow melted completely into meltwater and seeped into the ground, and the temperature gradually began to warm up. The earth, which had been covered in white, gradually began to be painted with various colors.

Wild beasts in the forest came out to forage, and the orcs of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain also began to descend the mountain to hunt.

Niu Li led a group of orcs to prepare to set off for the human race.

"Shanyue, are you really going to stay here and not come back to the human race with us?"

Beside the group, Lin Jiang, carrying a bundle on his back, and several other humans looked at Lin Shanyue with worried expressions.

"Shanyue, you should come back with us. This place is so far from the human race, we're worried about leaving you here alone."

"Yes, the chief sent us to protect you, how can we leave you alone to go back..."

Looking at the concerned faces of the group, Lin Shanyue smiled.

"It is precisely because the human race is in a remote and difficult place that I must stay here. Only in this way can the beastmen feel at ease helping us."

She patted Lin Jiang's shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, you've seen it these past few days. The beastmen aren't inherently evil. They won't hurt me. I'm actually quite safe here."

The group understood what she meant.

Shan Yue is essentially using herself as a hostage here.

Lin Jiang immediately said, "Why don't I stay? Shan Yue, you go back!"

"No way." Lin Shanyue refused without even thinking.

She had been negotiating with Su Shiwei for days before finally persuading him to let his entire clan return to the human race, leaving only herself here.

Her goal was to send her people back home, and regardless of the final outcome, at least she ensured their safety.

“Then…then let Uncle Shi stay and take care of you. We’re really worried about you being alone,” Lin Jiang said, his face wrinkled.

"Cough cough cough..." Uncle Shi brushed away Lin Jiang's hand that was supporting him and nodded, "Lin Jiang is right. I'll stay and take care of you. My old bones are no use going back to the human race."

It's better to be safe than sorry. If the beastmen suddenly change their minds, he can risk his life to protect Shan Yue one more time. It's better than being alone and helpless.

"Really, there's no need. You all go back to the human race and help me reclaim the Shenmu Tribe. Make sure to appease the tribe members. As long as the Shenmu Tribe exists, I'll be perfectly safe."

Lin Shanyue showed no sign of wavering.

"But……"

"Stop with the 'buts'! Hurry up and get to the team. If you delay, the orcs might back out and you'll be done for."

Lin Shanyue threatened.

Upon hearing this, the group turned to look at the orcish troops behind them who were already fully prepared and ready to go, and quickly shut their mouths, not daring to say another word.

"Shanyue, you must take good care of yourself. Once I've avenged you, I'll come and take you back to the tribe, the Shenmu tribe, where no one can bully you," Lin Jiang said, his eyes red, turning back every few steps.

He knew perfectly well that Shan Yue was just bluffing them; the beastmen needed the salty sand, so how could they possibly back out now?

Since Shan Yue wanted them to return, they would listen to Shan Yue.

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come and pick me up." Lin Shanyue smiled and waved from where she stood.

Although reluctant, I didn't take another step forward.

Under the bare branches.

Su Tang looked at Lin Shanyue's retreating figure with a puzzled expression.

“Strange, I think Shan Yue is very reluctant to part with her people, so why doesn’t she go back? She even asked to stay.”

Su Shiwei, standing to the side, coughed lightly, looking somewhat awkward.

"Cough... Perhaps it's because of the long journey. She knows her body is weak and she can't withstand another trip, so she wants to rest for a while."

“That’s true. The weather is still cold now, and the chilblains on her hands haven’t healed yet, let alone the cold during the snowy season. Her body definitely can’t take it.” Su Tang nodded.

Humans have much more delicate skin than orcs, and their body's self-healing ability is also not as strong.

Lin Shanyue was pursued by enemies when she arrived, and she gritted her teeth and held her breath to get here. Now her body is weak, and even if an orc takes her back to the human race, the journey will be so bumpy that her skin will be worn raw.

What is a minor injury that doesn't hurt or itch for an orc is a great pain for a human.

Thinking of this, Su Tang said, "Brother, you should boil some Tai Sui water and send it to Shan Yue later. If things continue like this, I'm afraid that by the time Niu Li returns, her health will not be fully recovered, and she will suffer on the way back to the human race."

Su Shiwei had a sudden thought: if she didn't go back, she wouldn't have to suffer, right?

He responded with a simple "okay."

At the front of the line, Niu Li confidently pounded his chest in assurance.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely defeat the human race!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he received a slap on the back of the head.

"What do you mean, take down the human race? It's not like I'm asking you to slaughter the entire race." Ying Jie glared at him angrily, not noticing that the faces of the humans behind him turned pale upon hearing this.

"Oh, right, I'm so used to attacking tribes with the king, I almost forgot that this time we're going to help the Shenmu tribe." Niu Li realized belatedly, and scratched his head sheepishly.