43: Chapter 43 Staying in the Tribe

Meng Lai sighed in resignation, wrapped his arms around the tree trunk, and scrambled up in a few quick movements. He snapped off a branch laden with cici fruit and tossed it to the ground.

"Do you want more?" Could cici fruit really be edible? His sister never did anything without a reason.

"No more." She just wanted to confirm if they were chestnuts. These chestnuts weren't ripe yet; she'd probably have to wait a while longer.

Sang Qing used a stone to crack open a chestnut that looked relatively ripe, then peeled off the shell and skin.

As the plump, white chestnut lay in Sang Qing's hand, Meng Lai jumped down. He seemed to catch a whiff of a fragrance and reached out to grab it.

Sang Qing pulled her hand back with a giggle. She held the chestnut to her nose and took a sniff, confirming it was indeed the scent of a chestnut.

"Qing Qing, let me have a bite first." Meng Lai looked at his sister expectantly, trying to move her with his handsome face.

Who would have thought that the fruit of the cici fruit was actually encased deep inside?

Sang Qing held the somewhat irregularly shaped nut. After scanning it with the system to confirm it was a chestnut, she stuffed it into Meng Lai's mouth.

Unfortunately, these were just ordinary chestnuts and couldn't be exchanged for points. But as long as they were edible, it was fine. They could be harvested, dried, and sealed away to be eaten as food during the Cold Season.

Of course, if she harvested them now, she definitely wouldn't miss out on Sugar-roasted chestnuts.

However, the timing wasn't right. The chestnuts weren't ripe, and she had two little females with her. She could only come back in a few days.

Meng Lai chewed the sweet nut and looked up at the forest full of cici fruit trees, his eyes sparkling.

"Qing Qing, they really are edible! Let's take some back."

It wasn't very sweet, but the texture was unique and felt quite good.

Sang Qing shook her head and pointed to the two little females still unconscious on the ground. "Let's head back to the Tribe first. We can come back to harvest them later."

It would be inconvenient with the two of them. If they encountered wild beasts or something, it wouldn't be worth the risk.

More importantly, the chestnuts weren't ripe yet; they had to wait.

Meng Lai pursed his lips. Alright, it seemed now really wasn't the time for harvesting.

Sang Qing picked up the cluster of fresh, unshelled chestnuts from the ground and tossed them into a Storage Grid. No sense in wasting food; they should still be edible in a stew.

Carrying three people, Meng Lai finally brought the three females on his back safely back to the Tribe.

The sound of conversation reached her ears. Dainai's consciousness was hazy. Her small hand tightly gripped the animal skin beneath her, and tears slowly slid down from the corners of her eyes.

"No, don't catch me, I won't go with you..."

"Father, Mother, Brother, don't leave me!!"

"Brother?"

"Let me go, let me go!!!"

One moment, Dainai dreamed of her Father and Mother telling her to live well; the next, she dreamed of being captured by Gray Leopard Beastmen and forced to mate. Scenes and images intertwined, making her sleep very fitfully, with fine beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"Ah!" Dainai sat up with a scream, clutching her chest in terror and gasping for air.

"Sister Duo Li!" Hearing the sound, Duo Li ran in from outside. Seeing Dainai's pale face, she hurried over to sit down and hold her hand, asking worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"Duo Li?" Gripping Duo Li's small hand, Dainai looked tense and began to tremble all over. "Why are you here? Run, run quickly!"

The bad beasts are coming, run!

She couldn't be caught. She was still young; if she were taken back by the beastmen of the Gray Leopard Tribe, she would surely be tortured.

"Sister Dainai, it's okay now. We're in the Wildcat Tribe. It's okay, don't be afraid." Duo Li looked at her heart-wrenchingly and quickly spoke to soothe her tense emotions.

They were safe now; there was no need to be afraid.

What? The Wildcat Tribe?

Dainai looked around frantically, her eyes gradually focusing. She brushed back her hair, her consciousness not yet fully clear. "We... how did we end up in the Wildcat Tribe?"

She remembered they seemed to have been captured by Gray Leopard Beastmen; those hideous, terrifying faces were deeply etched into her mind.

"Sister Sang Qing and Brother Meng Lai saved us. They brought us back to the Tribe." Duo Li wiped the sweat from Dainai's forehead and explained softly, a hint of relief in her eyes.

If not for them, they would probably have been taken back to the Gray Leopard Tribe by now.

It was all thanks to them.

"So I didn't see wrong..." Dainai murmured, her eyes a bit dazed. She had thought she saw Sister Sang Qing before she passed out.

Duo Li was several years younger than Dainai, and her face still looked somewhat youthful. She held Dainai's hand. "But Sister Dainai, what should we do now?"

As she spoke, her eyes grew sad, and an aura of loneliness surrounded her.

Their Tribe was destroyed, and all the females were captured. Her Father and Brother had fought to the death to help her escape, but she had run straight into the beastmen of the Gray Leopard Tribe.

Fortunately, she had met Sister Dainai, but what now?

They had no home, and her Father and Brother had been killed by the beastmen of the Gray Leopard Tribe.

Duo Li was heartbroken.

Holding the weeping Duo Li, Dainai's eyes were hollow. She wiped the tears from her own face, her voice filled with uncertainty. "It's okay, Duo Li. It will get better."

Did she know what to do either?

It was just that the two of them were much better off than the Tribesmen who had been captured; at least they didn't have to worry about being forced to mate.

The beastmen of the Gray Leopard Tribe were truly too cruel.

Having comforted Duo Li, Dainai got out of bed and led her outside.

She hadn't thanked Sister Sang Qing and Brother Meng Lai yet.

Outside, Meng Lai was chasing after Sang Qing, his eyes fixed on the red fruit in her hand as he shouted, "Qing Qing, give me the tomato! I'll just have one more, just one!"

Qing Qing was mean for not letting him eat the tomato.

"Hahaha, no way, no way!" Sang Qing tossed the tomato into the air and shook her head at Meng Lai with a mischievous grin. She dodged nimbly, giving him no chance to catch her.

Only five tomatoes had ripened in a row. It was agreed that each beast in the family would get one, and one would be given to the little female Duo Li. In the end, he finished his own and wanted to steal hers. She had never seen such an unreasonable beast.

Meng Lai had chased Sang Qing around the Treehouse several times. Meng Qi was lying on a rocking chair soaking up the sun, quite speechless at his two mischievous cubs, while Sophia sat on a small stool in front of the door, taking small bites of the tomato in her hand and watching the scene with a smile.

Meng Lai was relentless, nearly on the verge of throwing a tantrum. "Qing Qing, good Qing Qing, give me half. Half is fine, right?"

He had never eaten such delicious fruit. Waaa, let him have one more bite, just one.

Tomorrow morning, he would definitely be the first to wait in the vegetable garden to see if any more tomatoes had turned red.

"No, no, you can't be a sore loser." Sang Qing protected the tomato in her hand and giggled, refusing to give it to him no matter what.

Watching Sang Qing laugh loudly, Dainai suddenly felt her blood run cold. For some reason, she felt Sang Qing's smile was quite dazzling.

Sang Qing could still cheer and laugh happily, with her Father and Brother by her side, while she had nothing left.

She didn't mean to blame or be resentful; she just felt that there was a difference between one beastman and another.

At this moment, she and Sang Qing were beasts from two different worlds.

Lowering her gaze, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly as a tear fell onto the grass. Dainai painfully accepted the cruel reality she found impossible to accept.

Taking a breath, Dainai haphazardly wiped the tears from her face. After steadying her emotions, she walked toward Sang Qing.

"You say you want to stay in our Tribe with Duo Li?" After tossing the tomato in her hand to Meng Lai, Sang Qing looked at Dainai with some surprise.

But then again, where else could they go if they didn't stay in the Wildcat Tribe?

She had only just learned from her Father that Dainai's Tribe had been wiped out by the Gray Leopard Tribe.

Patting Dainai's shoulder, Sang Qing withdrew her smile and nodded gently. "Then I'll have Father take you to the Chief this afternoon. If the Chief agrees to let you stay, then you can live in the Tribe with peace of mind."

She had only intended to house Dainai for a few days; if she wanted to stay permanently, she would definitely need Mao Shuo's approval.

Meng Qi also nodded in agreement from the side.

Dainai looked at them gratefully, holding Duo Li's small hand, her voice thick with unshed tears. "Thank you, Sister Sang Qing, Uncle Meng Qi!"

She would repay them in the future.

In the afternoon, Meng Qi took Dainai and the other to see the Chief. Meng Lai went out to hunt, while Sang Qing and Sophia went to the field by the stream to water the plants.

Looking at the thriving crops, the smile on Sang Qing's face grew much brighter.

As the days passed, Sang Qing had been staying at home lately; even Meng Qi wouldn't allow her to leave the Tribe.

It turned out that the cub of the Gray Leopard Tribe's Chief had died and had even been scavenged by wild beasts. He begged the Tribal Shaman to find the cause. The Shaman told him that his cub had been killed by a beastman. Consequently, the Chief of the Gray Leopard Tribe began to go mad in the forest, leading his Tribesmen from one Tribe to another to demand an explanation, attempting to find the beastman who killed his cub.

After this news reached Meng Qi's ears, he immediately told Meng Lai and Sang Qing. He also warned Dainai and Duo Li not to say a word, telling them to say they had secretly escaped from their Tribe and had never encountered any Gray Leopard Beastmen.

Meanwhile, as the forest fell into chaos, Meng Qi also restricted Sang Qing from going out.

"Two animal skins, a basket of fruit, a basket of jerky, and a bottle of salt crystals. Master, I've prepared everything." Sophia looked at the items on the table, counting them on her fingers before speaking to Sang Qing with a smile.

Sang Qing finished braiding her hair, smoothed down some newly grown stray hairs, and looked at herself in the mirror. She nodded to Sophia. "Alright, let's take these and go to Dainai's house."

Dainai had moved out with Duo Li a few days ago, and they lived quite far from her house, in completely opposite directions.

She didn't know why the Chief had arranged for them to be so far away. Sang Qing had been busy harvesting the newly grown moonlight realm and hadn't visited them much. Now that she finally had some time today, she planned to take Sophia to see how they were adjusting to life in the Tribe.

Carrying the baskets, the two beasts leisurely headed out.

Under the large tree in the center of the Tribe where people sought shade, several females sat lazily resting. A floor full of Little Cubs crawled nearby, making for a very harmonious scene—provided one ignored the bragging or sarcastic remarks of these females.

"Hey, look, isn't that Sang Qing? Where is she going?" A young female took a bite of the fruit in her hand. Her eyes landed on Sang Qing in the distance, and she subconsciously brought up the topic.

"How has she become even fairer? Heavens, it's only been a few suns since I last saw her. How is her skin so white?" Another young female's eyes turned red with envy. She looked at her own skin, then at Sang Qing's. She had thought she was the fairest one.

"What is she carrying in her hand? I think I smell something fragrant."

"When did she trade for a Half-Beastman? I haven't seen her before. She's so ugly and scrawny, just like her."

"Yeah, I see Meng Qi and Meng Lai bringing plenty of prey home. How is Sang Qing still so thin? If people didn't know better, they'd think Meng Lai and the others were mistreating her."

"Pfft, what's the use of getting fat? She can't have cubs anyway. Don't waste food."

"Exactly. No wonder she traded for a Half-Beastman to keep her company. Neither of them can have cubs, hahaha!"

"I ran into Meng Lai two days ago and suggested he pair bond with my cub, but he actually refused! My cub is so beautiful, has a high fertility value, and it would be her first Pair Bonding. Why on earth would Meng Lai refuse?"

"It's because you told him to kick Sang Qing out. Weren't you just looking for trouble?"

"Shouldn't he? Is Meng Lai supposed to support Sang Qing for the rest of his life?"

"Tsk, I said you were stupid, and you didn't believe me. What's wrong with keeping Sang Qing at home? You could treat her like a Slave to serve your cub. Just give her a bite to eat."

"Oh, why didn't I think of that? I'll go talk to Meng Lai again tomorrow."

...Nina, who rarely brought her cub out, was sitting on the grass, looking at the Little Cub in her arms with doting eyes. Suddenly hearing the group of females gossiping about Sang Qing, she couldn't help but snort. She picked up the Little Cub and stood up, speaking bluntly.

"Chenxi, listen to that. This group of malicious aunts is speaking ill of your Aunt Sang Qing. Let's stay away from them so they don't corrupt you."

"Who doesn't know that your Grandpa Meng Qi is now a Fourth-Tier Warrior? Supporting your Aunt Sang Qing is practically effortless. I heard they eat Iron Horn Beast and Great Winged Beast every day. Sigh, it's really enviable."

"Then look at some other beasts. Their cubs are failures, their mates are useless, and they probably haven't even smelled an Iron Horn Beast before. How pitiful."

If she had known, she wouldn't have come today. Their voices were annoying.

The group of females who were still gossiping about Sang Qing fell silent instantly at Nina's words.

Although they didn't know who Nina was targeting, they all felt like they had been hit.

After saying her piece, Nina left with her cub, who was making constant "ah-ah" noises.

It seemed her cub agreed with her.

She happened to be heading back, and Sang Qing was walking that way too, so the two beasts naturally met.

"Sang Qing!" Nina, holding her incredibly cute Little Cub, was the first to greet Sang Qing.

"Oh, Nina, it's you." Sang Qing had been looking down chatting with Sophia and looked up quickly when she heard Nina's voice.

Sang Qing glanced at Nina and then at the bundle in her arms. Seeing that her Little Cub was becoming more and more adorable, all chubby like a little rice ball, she reached out to touch him.

"Chenxi, you're so cute."

Too adorable! This Little Cub was truly cute to the extreme.