Chapter 31: Parting Ways
In the small tent, several adult tall men stood or sat scattered in every corner of the tent. They didn’t mind the ground that was soaked in rain all night and was muddy. They have all been in a messier environment than this.
“You want to stay?” Hei Shan’s face was a bit tired. This time, the tribe’s evacuation and the upcoming migration have consumed a lot of his energy, as if he had expected that someone would mention this to him, his tone was not so surprised.
“Yes.” Hei Ya held the hand of Jiao Zhu, the two looked at each other, and then said firmly, “My feet won’t allow me to migrate such a long distance.”
Hei Shan’s sight fell on Hei Ya’s feet which had been bandaged with herbs. If in peacetime, the scars were proof of bravery, not to mention the scars caused by fierce beasts then Hei Ya’s wounds can also inspire warriors to fight, but when encountering this long-distance migration, Hei Shan also understands that even if the other party leaves with them, those who cannot walk or those who slow them down will eventually become the objects of being left behind.
Between the safety of most people and the lives of a small number of people, there would be no hesitation at all. The reality is so cruel that Hei Shan would have to make a choice.
“Then, do you want to stay?” Hei Shan did not immediately express his position. Hei Ya’s partner, Jiao Zhu, is a powerful warrior. The loss of such a warrior in the tribe is also a big loss, instead, he asked Lu Zhan who was beside him.
Lu Zhan’s chest was still wrapped in a layer of animal skin that was used as a bandage. He lifted a little away to show the fresh medicinal mud that had just been replaced inside. “My injury is still not healed, and I will only become heavy baggage if I leave with you.” Lu Zhan showed just the right amount of sadness on his face as if he was full of reluctance for not being able to leave with the tribe.
“Will your partner stay with you too?” Hei Shan asked softly when he saw this.
Lu Zhan looked back at Luo Zhen, Luo Zhen stepped forward, reached out to support Lu Zhan’s arm, and nodded to Hei Shan.
“I remember that you haven’t come to me to form a bond yet.” Da Wu next to him said leisurely.
Lu Zhan was taken aback and reacted quickly, showing a weak smile, turning to his side, and looking directly at Da Wu, “It’s all because of my injury, and there is no way to go to Da Wu. If Da Wu doesn’t dislike it, can we trouble Da Wu to help Luo Zhen and I hold a contract ceremony before leaving?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Da Wu calmly looked at him for a while before he spoke, “The arrival of winter is not too far now, to get to the destination before the first snow falls, we have just discussed that we will not wait until the water here has receded. Instead, we will leave early tomorrow morning.”
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Hei Shan next to him explained, “Da Wu will also help me deal with the migration, I’m afraid we can’t spare the time to help you bond together.” Before leaving, they naturally have to retrieve the fertility tree away, only Da Wu knows how to do so he doesn’t have time to deal with other things.
“What about you? Are you unwilling to leave?” In addition to Hei Ya’s family and Lu Zhan, there are a few middle-aged beastman warriors who will stay here this time. These people followed them from their homeland. Those who have migrated to this place are now returning to their homeland so Hei Shan does not understand why they are unwilling to leave.
The name of the person who was spoken to was Hei Fu. He was not tall, but his muscles were very strong. He was almost as big as two Luo Zhens. As he stood there, he posed a very imposing image but as long as no one mentioned him or talked to him, it would be difficult to notice the other. He can be said to be someone with a relatively weak sense of existence.
Hei Fu’s face is a bit round, and his facial features look very young, which is very different from his figure. Luo Zhen searched for adjectives in his mind and felt that ‘muscled Barbie’ was a very suitable description for Hei Fu.
Hei Fu smiled a little innocently, showing a neat row of teeth, “My child is only one year old and can’t stand the long journey. As you know, I finally got such a child after all these years, I don’t dare gamble away his safety.”
“Do you think it’s safer to stay here?” Da Wu intervened strangely.
“Of course dangerous to stay here, but if I take my child with you, I’m afraid he won’t survive the arrival of winter.”
It is because he has experienced migration before that he is more aware of the dangers encountered during it. In addition to the attacks of various beasts, bad weather, and even the exhaustion of constant walking, the journey will easily make such a small child sick, and being sick is equivalent to the child being half-dead, when the Black Panther Tribe first came to this place, except for a few warrior children who were strong and able to become beasts early, there were no other children who could survive. Otherwise, how could the Black Panther tribe accept foreigners so easily?
Hei Shan knew that Hei Fu had a hard time winning the fertility fruit. He raised his hand to stop Da Wu from speaking again. He stood up, patted Hei Fu’s shoulder a few times, and said solemnly, “Those who will stay behind, please take care of yourselves.”
Hei Fu’s dark eyes flashed as tears gathered, and he choked with what he said, “Of course, we are all members of the Black Panther tribe.”
Hei Shan didn’t want to listen to their reasons for staying one by one. He only ordered people to record who else was going to stay, so he turned around and continued to be busy with the migration.
Da Wu is very dissatisfied with the leader’s approach, “You are too soft-hearted. To let them stay is to wait for death. I have already said that we will be able to reach our destination smoothly since we have the shelter of the Beast gods along our way. There will be a large number of casualties if so many people are left behind, how many powerful fighters will we lose? We have to settle near the Kruger Lion tribe. If we have too few fighters, it will be detrimental to our tribe.”
“They are just worried.” Hei Shan rubbed his forehead. “Our decision to migrate this time was too sudden and we didn’t have any preparations. It’s normal for the people to worry.”
Da Wu snorted coldly, “They just don’t believe me.”
Since he took over as Da Wu, the fertility tree has given only one fruit a year, and sometimes, the pregnancy would be hard despite eating the fruit. There was even the case where a dead baby was born, so Da Wu’s prestige in the tribe has been declining year by year, and Hei Shan occasionally vetoed his own decision.
Da Wu ground his teeth bitterly, could he be blamed for the situation of the fertility tree? The fertility tree cannot adapt to the soil and moisture here but as long as it can return to its homeland, as long as it can cultivate more fruits, it will definitely re-grow the Black Panther tribe.
Light flashed in Da Wu’s eyes, and no one could stop him from returning to the Beast God Mountain with the people of the tribe.
In the evening, it rained a little bit, but it was not as strong as the previous few days. It stopped after only half an hour so it would not affect the trip of the tribe people the next day.
Luo Zhen stood in the crowd and saw the mighty team leave this high slope. He felt a little melancholic. Although he hadn’t met most of the people, he still belonged to the same tribe. Those who left with the big troops may not feel so deeply about parting, but those who are left can’t help but think more.
“I thought you would leave with them.” Luo Zhen asked the woman next to him after shaking off the inexplicable emotions in his heart.
A-Xue retracted her gaze, without the slightest bit of dismay in her eyes. Instead, she smiled at Luo Zhen, revealing the half-missing front tooth, “Because I am the daughter of Da Wu?”
Luo Zhen nodded. Although the matter of migration was decided by the leader, Hei Shan, he could also see the eagerness of Da Wu to be able to leave here. As the daughter of Da Wu, Luo Zhen really couldn’t imagine why A-Xue would choose to stay.
“She is a half-beastman.” Lu Zhan walked between the two, blocking the distance between A-Xue and Luo Zhen.
“Half-beastman?” Luo Zhen looked at A-Xue in surprise. He had never seen a woman in the tribe who could transform into a beast. He thought that transformation was an ability that only men could possess.
However, half-beastmen are not fertile, and half-beastmen women cannot make others pregnant, and even the fruit of the fertility tree has no effect on them. Therefore, female half-beastmen are worse off than male half-beastmen in the tribe. Not everyone likes them, even though she was the daughter of Da Wu.
“Yes, I’m very powerful, much better than you.” A-Xue transformed to show Luo Zhen, but the parts that transformed are not the same as Lu Zhan’s. Lu Zhan can transform his hands into a pair of claws but A-Xue can only transform with a pair of hairy ears and a half-short tail, which is a little stunted at first glance.
Luo Zhen’s eyes widened and looked at A-Xue in shock. He didn’t expect that he could see a living beast girl at this age. Even A-Xue’s slightly ordinary face also received the effect of the transformation as she looked a bit cuter now.
A-Xue thought that Luo Zhen’s expression was dislike for the half-beastmen so she turned her ears and tail back after being transformed for a while. Lu Zhan next to him could see that Luo Zhen was not disgusted with A-Xue’s half-beastmen’ identity. On the contrary, he was a bit starstruck.
He stretched out his hand and squeezed Luo Zhen’s arm secretly, and Luo Zhen wailed in pain. Only then did he realize that it was too rude to stare at a girl like this, “Sorry, I was just shocked by your transformation. It’s cute, so I can’t help but look at it a few more times.”
A-Xue had suffered a lot from being a half-beastman since she was a child, and she had never heard anyone praise her before, so she blushed a bit.
Lu Zhan pulled Luo Zhen over with a black face, “There are still a lot of things to do to stay, and now is not the time for you to talk with peace of mind.”
Luo Zhen let the other party drag him away, but his eyes fell on Lu Zhan’s body.
Lu Zhan endured and gave him a ferocious look, “What are you looking at?”
“Can you transform with ears and a tail like A-Xue?”
Lu Zhan: “…”
😂 Thank you for the translation 😍
Beast God have mercy 🤣🤣🤣 thank you for the chapter 💋💋💋
Me : reading this chapter at the office laughing so hard (silently) right now that my stomach hurt. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣