4: Chapter 4 Marrow Cleansing Pill

Nina? Isn't she that female in the Tribe with a level six fertility value?

"Why are you unwilling? Isn't Pair Bonding with Nina also very good?" Meng Qi looked at his cub in confusion, not knowing why he was angry.

One should know that Nina was currently one of the most popular females in the Tribe. Although she was several years older than Meng Lai and already had over a dozen mates, her fertility was truly powerful, having birthed cubs for almost every mate.

If Meng Lai could achieve Pair Bonding with Nina, that wouldn't be bad at all.

Meng Lai lowered his head in disappointment, rubbing a small pebble on the ground with his toe, a hint of grievance in his voice, "Father, I don't want to undergo Pair Bonding with Nina."

However, he was currently only a second-rank male with weak strength and no right to choose a mate. If only he were stronger.

Mother had him Pair Bonding with Nina only because she had a good relationship with Nina's Mother, plus Nina was somewhat satisfied with his face. Otherwise, let alone Pair Bonding with Nina, just trying to curry favor with her would likely result in being driven away by her mates.

Meng Qi stroked his cub's head and spoke with some self-reproach, "Meng Lai, I'm sorry. If Father hadn't been injured, I could have caught more wild beasts for you. It's all Father's fault."

Sang Qing stood by and listened, knowing why he said that, but as soon as it was mentioned, she felt very confused.

In the beastman world, females are graded according to their fertility value, while males are graded by strength, from first-rank to tenth-rank. Generally, an adult male is at least first-rank, but they can continue to advance. Long-term training and consuming the meat of powerful wild beasts can strengthen their power. Usually, before a male reaches adulthood, his Father will catch a large number of wild beasts for him to consume. The stronger the beast, the more energy it provides.

Logically, since Meng Qi used to be quite formidable, Meng Lai should now be a warrior of third-rank strength, approaching fourth-rank. However, while Sang Sang's Mother had powerful fertility, she only looked at faces and not strength when choosing mates. As a result, although she had many siblings, the abilities of the other Fathers were very weak, barely able to support their mate and themselves, with no extra food to provide for the Little Cubs.

Her Father was strong but soft-hearted. The beast meat he brought back wasn't just for Meng Lai; it also had to be shared with the other brothers. Consequently, Meng Lai's advancement was slow. Especially after Meng Qi was injured, Meng Lai could only rely on hunting small beasts himself to survive until adulthood. Things only improved slightly after he joined the Tribe's Hunting Team.

But the food brought back by the Hunting Team had to be given to his Mother and sister first, and then to himself and his Father. This was also why he was getting thinner and thinner.

As for Meng Lai's other brothers, they were actually quite a bit stronger than him. But from Sang Sang's memories, Meng Lai and Meng Qi seemed like such suckers, sacrificing themselves for others and getting nothing in return.

On the day she and Meng Qi were kicked out, none of the other Fathers or siblings helped the Father-daughter duo by trying to persuade her Mother. Instead, they acted as if they couldn't wait for them to leave.

Sang Qing sighed. Looking at the worried Father and son, she couldn't help but speak up, "Father, let Brother live with us. I have a way to make Brother strong. Once Brother is strong, he can choose a mate he likes, can't he?"

Let her rescue these two soft-hearted suckers. Oh, wait, she seemed to be one too.

Although Sang Sang was her Mother's biological daughter, she was treated like a stepmother's child at home. Not only did she have no presence, but she was also ordered around by her two older sisters.

Despite having such a powerful Father, her status at home was actually the lowest. It was unclear whether Meng Qi truly didn't know she was being mistreated or was just feigning ignorance.

But it didn't matter. Now that she was here, no one would ever mistreat her again.

Meng Lai looked at his smiling sister, thinking she was just comforting him. He didn't take her big talk to heart, but he was still very happy.

Meng Qi, on the other hand, was a bit conflicted.

"Meng Lai, if you also leave home, what will happen to your Mother?"

"Father, what do you mean what will happen?" Meng Lai clearly didn't understand his Father's concern.

He was supposed to be able to live on his own once he reached adulthood anyway. Was there a problem?

"You're the best at hunting in the family. If you leave, your Mother won't be able to eat fresh food, and she'll get thin." Meng Qi was worried. At the thought of his mate not being well-cared for by the other males, and now even the only cub who was good at hunting was leaving her, wouldn't she suffer?

"..." Hearing this, Sang Qing's eyes widened, and her eyelids twitched frantically.

Look at that, is this even human speech? He's been kicked out by his own mate, yet he's still wholeheartedly worried about her.

Rubbing her temples, Sang Qing felt a bit overwhelmed.

Such a good mate—if this were her previous life, there would probably be plenty of people fighting over him.

Even though she knew males in the beastman world doted on females, it shouldn't be this kind of doting. Meng Qi really needed to open his eyes and see how thin his own cub had become, yet he still wanted him to take care of a Mother who had nearly ten mates.

Unbearable.

Seeing that Meng Lai was about to be swayed, at the critical moment, Sang Qing activated her green tea skills. She pinched her arm hard, then looked at Meng Qi with teary eyes, "Father, don't you care about Brother at all? He's injured. Why won't you let him rest properly?

Besides, Ku Ya and Nan En have been secretly going out to hunt but never share the prey with us. Mother knows about it too.

Mother is bad. She doesn't like us, so I don't want to like Mother anymore."

What? Both Meng Qi and Meng Lai were shocked, looks of disbelief appearing on their faces.

"Sang Sang, how did you know?" Meng Lai was the first to react. Seeing his sister's pitiful appearance, his heart ached terribly.

Sang Qing lowered her head, crystal-clear tears dripping down her rounded chin. "I saw it secretly, many times."

She wasn't talking nonsense; it was all the truth.

Meng Lai knew Sang Sang wouldn't lie and was instantly chilled to the heart. He quickly stepped forward to hug her, "Don't cry, Sang Sang. It's okay. From now on, Brother will catch even more prey for you, okay?"

Meng Qi felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He was so angry his whole body trembled, his large hands clenched into tight fists.

He had wondered why Ku Ya and Nan En were stronger than Meng Lai; so that was why.

In that instant, it was as if Meng Qi suddenly understood many things, and his eyes couldn't help but dim.

"Meng Lai, then come out and live with us."

He wanted to see exactly what would happen without him and Meng Lai.

While Meng Qi sat in front of the Treehouse in sorrow, Meng Lai went back to move his things. Sang Qing took advantage of the fact that no one was watching her to quickly open the System Mall and buy some medicine to help Meng Lai's wounds heal.

Additionally, she had bought two Powerful Crossbows. With these things, wouldn't hunting be much simpler?

Amidst his Mother's scolding, Meng Lai carried half a wild beast and a few of his animal skins, running toward the other side of the Tribe without looking back.

He felt that his decision to move out was truly the right one. When he went back, Mother hadn't even noticed he was injured and instead kept complaining that the food he brought back from this hunt was too little.

Too little? Then let the other Fathers go hunting from now on; he was going to take care of Father and Sang Sang.

The Treehouse where Meng Qi and Sang Qing were currently living was in a somewhat remote location, but it was fortunately large and spacious. The Chieftain had specially allocated it to them in consideration of Meng Qi's past contributions to the Tribe. So, even with Meng Lai moving in, there was plenty of space.

After Meng Lai laid out his bed with soft grass, he sat obediently by the bedside, letting Sang Qing smear and dab things on him.

"Sang Sang, what is this?" Feeling a comfortable coolness from his wounds, Meng Lai's large amber eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Medicine to help your wounds recover." Sang Qing answered softly, her head lowered as she looked for spots on his body that hadn't been covered yet.

"Medicine? Did you get it from the Shaman? No, stop applying it. I'm fine. Save this medicine for when someone is seriously injured later." He had thought it was just water for cleaning the wounds; he hadn't expected it to be medicine. No wonder the wounds didn't hurt anymore.

Medicine was very precious. Meng Lai grew anxious and quickly tried to stop Sang Qing's movements.

Sang Qing firmly held him down, her round eyes filled with displeasure. "No, I made this myself using herbal medicine. It's not from the Shaman. Brother, don't move."

Meng Lai scratched his head, his thick eyebrows furrowing as he looked at her anxiously, "Sang Sang, it's too wasteful. My injuries will be fine after two suns."

It hadn't hit the bone, so it was fine. There were always some bumps and scrapes during hunting.

Sang Qing continued applying the medicine with a straight face, mentioning something else to him, "Brother, call me Qing Qing or Sang Qing from now on. I've decided to change my name."

She still preferred using her own name. This was her life, so she naturally wanted to use her name.

"Change your name? Change it then." Meng Lai didn't seem to have much of a reaction. It seemed that changing a name wasn't important to him; he nodded and accepted it as soon as Sang Qing finished speaking.

Just then, Meng Qi walked in, and Meng Lai took the initiative to tell him about the name change. "Father, Sang Sang has changed her name. You have to call her Qing Qing from now on."

Hehehe, was he the first beast to know?

"Qing Qing? It sounds nice." Meng Qi didn't have much of a reaction either, only a bit curious, "What made you think of changing your name?"

"I just felt like changing it." Sang Qing smiled at the two of them and said gently, "Father, it's Sang Qing. I'll be called by this name from now on."

"Okay, Father will remember." Was there a difference between Sang Qing and Sang Sang?

Meng Qi nodded with a smile. Since his cub liked it, then so be it.

As night fell, the noisy Tribe became quiet. Sang Qing lay in bed and calculated the time; it seemed a day here was more than twenty-four hours. It was so long.

It looked like she'd have to buy a watch to calculate the time of a day here.

Sang Qing opened the System Mall. After learning that only the Host bound to the system could see the screen, she became much bolder. Even if there were other beasts in the room, she no longer cared.

Upon opening the Mall, Sang Qing realized she had forgotten one thing—she hadn't distributed the marrow cleansing pills to them yet.

Meng Lai and Meng Qi were sleeping soundly in their Beast Forms when suddenly, both Father and son perceived a shadow falling over them.

After seeing who it was, Meng Lai stretched lazily in a daze and asked in a muffled voice, "Qing Qing, why aren't you asleep yet?"

If you don't sleep, you won't grow tall.

Sang Qing squatted down and leaned against the bedside. She poured a dark pill out of a bottle and giggled, "Brother, I have something good for you."

"What? Uh..." Meng Lai was puzzled. Just as he opened his mouth, something with a strange taste slipped in. Before he could react, he had already swallowed the thing.

"Cough, cough..." Meng Lai rolled over and turned into his human form, clutching his throat and coughing violently. He shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Sister, it's so bitter! What did you give me to eat?"

"Blegh—"

"You're not allowed to spit it out." Sang Qing quickly covered his mouth and spoke overbearingly, "This is a good thing I requested from the beast god."

If he spat it out, she would be furious. After all, there weren't any extras.

The beast god? Hearing it was a good thing from the beast god, Meng Lai's expression instantly changed, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "It's a bit bitter, but I like it very much."

Sang Qing couldn't help but laugh. Then, in the next second, she saw black impurities beginning to seep out of Meng Lai's body.

Civet Beastmen have very strong night vision, so Sang Qing immediately noticed the abnormality on his body, and a sour, foul stench followed closely from Meng Lai.

"Ugh—" Sang Qing and Meng Lai both turned their heads to the side and gagged at the same time.

Meng Qi had also woken up. He was completely bewildered by the siblings' strange behavior, and before he could speak, a strange smell hit him.

Bang!

Meng Lai was kicked out of the house by Meng Qi.

"You stinky cub, how did you get feces all over yourself?" Meng Qi pinched his nose in disgust, his mind full of the lingering power of that smell from just now. It was quite overwhelming.

"I... I didn't..." Meng Lai wanted to cry but had no tears. He was an adult; how could he possibly get feces on himself? It was clearly after Qing Qing gave him something to eat just now that he became like this.

He quickly fixed his gaze on the culprit, only to see her leaning against the door, covering her mouth and laughing loudly.

Humph, he knew it.

"Qing Qing! Did you give me Stinky Grass to eat?"

Looking at himself covered in filth with the sour stench constantly spreading, Meng Lai's fur literally stood on end. He flailed his arms and legs, hopping around on the spot.

Bad sister, he didn't want to take a bath!

Sang Qing waved her hand, her face stiff from laughing, "No... Gah hahahahahahaha!"

"It's not that, Brother, listen to my explanation."

She had just thought that since Meng Lai had the best physical fitness among the three of them, she would give him the marrow cleansing pill first to see what the reaction would be so she could be mentally prepared.

But she hadn't expected the detoxification of the marrow cleansing pill to be so direct; the effect was practically instantaneous, catching her off guard.

Fortunately, taking the marrow cleansing pill wasn't as agonizing as described in novels. Being a bit dirty didn't matter; he just had to wash it off.

Facing the bewildered looks of Meng Lai and Meng Qi, Sang Qing had no choice but to use her ultimate trickery. She began to fabricate a story about how the old grandpa beast god was in tune with her soul, pitied her inability to bear children, and blessed her. Moreover, she claimed she could now directly offer sacrifices to the beast god in exchange for other good things.

Meng Lai and Meng Qi were so fooled that their eyes shone. They were just one step away from enshrining Sang Qing as the messenger of the beast god.

Sang Qing gave herself a thumbs-up in her heart; her mouth was truly impressive.

After ensuring that both Meng Lai and Meng Qi were fully convinced by the story, she took out the remaining two marrow cleansing pills, giving one to Meng Qi and taking one herself.

By the stream, soft moonlight spilled onto the turbid water surface floating with white foam. The once clear stream water was now heavily polluted.

Sang Qing endured the foul smell while washing her hair. The thick layer of filth on her body wrapped her like a mudman. The pungent sour scent rushed to her nose, almost making her faint from the stench.