Before setting out, it is customary to perform a ritual to pray for a successful hunt and a safe return.
This was a major event for the clan, and everyone, young and old, took it very seriously. Each family brought out some items and placed them on the stone platform. Led by the clan chief, they raised their spears and raised them to the sky to make a declaration, followed by the worship ceremony.
After the sacrifice, a portion of the food was set aside for the warriors who went out to enjoy. Of course, they used only the best. The others stood around, eating a few bites symbolically, but most of the time they were looking for opportunities to whisper sweet nothings to their own males, their eyes red-rimmed.
Xiang Wan was also in the crowd, standing with Bai Da and the others. Seeing the middle-aged couple embracing each other, Bai Da and the others tactfully walked away.
By this time, fire had been discovered, so most of the food was cooked, and only warriors going into battle would eat raw meat.
Xiang Wan wandered around the stone slabs with the others, and whenever she saw a piece of slightly better-looking cooked meat, she would reach out and tear it off and put it in her mouth.
Having gotten used to salty food, it's really hard to swallow bland meat unless you're very hungry.
Xiang Wan had searched for natural salt rocks, but the place was very far from the mountainous region inhabited by the fox clan, and the route involved passing through other tribes. In this era, there was no such thing as friendly exchange. Anyone who encountered a different tribe was best killed; the worst outcome was becoming a slave, mostly treated as a means of venting their frustrations and labor, less than animals.
Therefore, the fact that the original owner was rescued by Shi Cong and even raised in his home was purely a matter of probability; he encountered the only beastman who wasn't as bloodthirsty as the others. How could the original owner not remember this life-saving grace and the act of keeping him alive, and never want to repay it?
Within the Fox Clan, it seems there are no other enslaved beastmen. According to Xiao Qi, the Fox Clan is too busy creating humans to have time to take in other beastmen. They are friendly to their own people but cunning to outsiders; often, enemies are scared away before they even discover the Fox Clan's beastmen.
Xiang Wan was deeply skeptical of this: from Bai Niu to Bai Ba, from Bai Yu Hu to the newborn fox beastmen, she couldn't see any cunning in them. On the contrary, the beastmen who were about to come of age or had just come of age were quite good at playing tricks.
Ever since they learned that Bai Yuhu liked to roar wildly in the forest every time it snowed, Bai Da and the other beastmen of similar age would use stone knives to cut off half of the branches on the trees before the cold arrived. When the snow fell heavily, any loud noise in the forest would cause the snow supported by the branches to fall and bury Bai Yuhu.
This seemed to have become a tradition among newly adult orcs, and following in the footsteps of Bai Da and his group, later generations enjoyed it immensely. With so many juniors in the clan, Bai Yuhu couldn't pinpoint exactly who it was, so he'd shout once, get buried, and then shout again in another spot. Neither the onlookers nor the onlookers seemed inclined to expose him, so Xiang Wan became one of them as well.
The males of Bai Da's litter later tricked Bai Niu, and after being thoroughly beaten, they became obedient and dared not speak easily in front of their father. Bai Niu, being fiercely protective of her offspring, also kept the private conversations between father and son a secret from her, forming an unspoken understanding.
Looking at Bai Niu's sturdy figure, and wondering if he would return safely, Bai Da and the others had red eyes, but they pretended to cover them up with food.
In the expeditionary force, Xiang Wan saw young orcs who were also recently adults, but all of them had exceptionally well-developed muscles. Bai Da and the others were already so envious that their eyes were practically popping out of their sockets, wishing they could immediately grab their weapons and follow them, but they gave up after a glare from Bai Niu.
Xiang Wan quietly made a gesture to them, and the group nodded, pretending nothing had happened, and continued to weave through the crowd.
As the sunlight shone over the mountaintop onto the stone platform, a group of males, led by the white bear, the mate of the white jade pot, set off into the forest.
Those who remained cleaned up the mess. Xiang Wan and the others returned to their room, intending to leave a piece of the drawn parchment scroll for Bai Niu, but unexpectedly found wrapped cooked food on their respective bedside tables. It seemed that Bai Niu had prepared it, as the meat she cooked always had a piece that was charred.
The group exchanged glances, silently shouldered the food, and set off along a small path.
After walking for a long time, Bai Da sighed and said, "I didn't expect that Mother had found out so early. I thought she would lock me up."
Bai Da is simple-minded, and you can always be fooled by his appearance at first glance. At least, Xiang Wan never dares to judge a book by its cover; she still remembers the trouble she suffered at Bai Da's hands.
"Hey, how do you know Mother isn't trying to stop us from going out? Look at this meat, eating it will give us diarrhea for days. Maybe Mother has been wanting to see us make a fool of ourselves."
This is Bai Er, who usually has an arrogant and unruly demeanor, but he listens to Bai Da the most.
“He started saying discouraging things as soon as he stepped out the door. Look at our youngest brother, he doesn’t say a word and he’s so calm. We should learn from him.”
Ever since Bai San was tricked by Xiang Wan, he has harbored resentment and often uses her as an excuse. As a result, Bai Da and Bai Er have also gradually shifted their focus to Xiang Wan.
Xiang Wan hadn't spoken, but she was actually communicating with the system to see where the hunting teams were.
After leaving the previous world, she discovered that the system had an additional function: it could draw a map of a three-mile radius around her, just like in the single-player game Assassin's Creed.
Xiang Wan was naturally very satisfied with this result, even if it meant exchanging her mission rewards. Since she didn't know exactly how much she had earned, exchanging it for a walking map was definitely worth it.
They are now ten miles away from the fox clan's settlement, and the rest of the map shows a gray expanse.
After many twists and turns, the four of them finally found the tracks left by the hunting team and made marks on the trees along the way.
As fox-like beastmen, their sense of smell is no less than that of dogs; they rely on markings and scents to confirm that they are on the right track.
Bai Da and the other two stopped and stared at Xiang Wan for a long time. When she didn't reply, their expressions grew increasingly strange: Could it be that the youngest sister is in heat? There are no females here. Should they just grab a random female to make do?
Xiang Wan didn't have time to guess what the three of them were thinking. Seeing that they were all looking at her, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Hungry?"
I thought to myself, we've only walked a short distance and I already want to eat. What if we run out of food before we even meet anyone? Do we really have to catch something alive to eat?
Xiang Wan's expression betrayed her true feelings. Bai Er laughed: "Third brother, you really should learn from the youngest brother. He's so composed, and his focus is always on the essentials, hahaha."
Whether it tastes good or not, whether it will give you diarrhea or not, as long as it keeps you full, that's the most important thing.
Bai Da and Bai Er shared the same thought and found Xiang Wan increasingly pleasing to the eye.
Seeing that the two hadn't been swayed and that Xiang Wan looked completely bewildered, Bai San felt a sense of unease, touched his nose sheepishly, and continued walking forward in silence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
