SGSHE67

When Jing Heguang heard his words, he wondered why the other man was willing to trust him.

The original owner had been lazy and dim-witted, stealing from the maltese tiger just to curry favor with other sub-beastmen, while secretly resenting the maltese tiger prowess…

After all, none of the other beastmen had stepped forward to speak up for him.

Jing Heguang turned his head and smiled at those eyes, which resembled ink-blue gemstones.

AXing reached out a large hand and ruffled the little cub’s head. “Even though it’s foolish for two people to scatter and run in different directions when facing danger, the way you acted made me feel I could trust you.”

That shout from Jing Heguang, ‘Split up and run, whoever escapes is the lucky one’, was the very first thing that had changed AXing’s opinion of him.

Jing Heguang was deeply touched, being a good person really does pay off!

Look at Brother Xing, hadn’t he been won over by his character?!

However…touching sentiment aside, one really shouldn’t go around ruffling a man’s head like that!

Jing Heguang protested, “Brother Xing! My head!”

He was simply too small, a casual reach to ruffle his hair would completely engulf his entire head.

A-Xing smiled, lowered his hand, and tucked the little cub back into his animal-skin garment.

The surrounding beastmen were utterly dumbfounded.

Huang Shi was, without a doubt, the most astonished of them all.

There had been so many unexpected things today. The dim-witted canine beastman was no longer dim-witted, and the maltese tiger had actually dared to stake a vow to leave the tribe for the sake of that gluttonous, lazy beastman!

The white tiger gasped upon hearing this: “Brother Xing, calm down!”

The other beastmen chimed in: “Exactly. It’s just a small matter, why talk about leaving the clan?”

“Brother Xing, we’re all counting on you to take over as the next patriarch!”

Amidst the beastmen’s voices, the shaman looked at Huang Shi and spoke with a hint of displeasure: “Although AGuang is lazy, he hasn’t done anything to harm the tribe. His beastman father and sub-beastman dad made immense contributions to the tribe, even if he isn’t a tiger-cub himself, he is still a part of the tribe.”

The shaman then turned to the patriarch: “I support AXing in investigating this thoroughly. Besides, the patrol allowed a Spiny Behemoth to slip in, we ought to find out exactly who was being irresponsible. Otherwise, what if sub-beastmen had come over to harvest the corn? It would have been incredibly dangerous!”

The patriarch had originally intended to side with his son, but since the shaman held a status equal to his own, and had spoken up first, he had no choice but to agree.

***

The beastmen split into two groups: one to investigate which patrol member had been negligent, and the other to wait for the afternoon test of the baskets.

The patrol matter was easily sorted out. Although the beastmen were simple folk, they were meticulous in their conduct, they kept precise records of who was on patrol and when the shifts changed.

The investigation quickly uncovered the issue.

One beastman reported that he had run into Huang Shi and Bai Xiang while on patrol. At the time, Huang Shi was busy kissing Bai Xiang, so he hadn’t gone over to that area.

When he returned later intending to finish his rounds, Huang Shi told him that he had already covered that section for him.

This sort of thing was usually just a minor, private favor, covering for one another. Unmated beastmen and sub-beastmen weren’t supposed to be too intimate, or the elders would scold them, but the younger generation often understood each other better. After all, beastmen weren’t the type to eat and run without taking responsibility!

Had the tribe not pressed for details, that other beastman would have helped Huang Shi cover it up. But this time, the tribe was conducting a serious investigation, the situation seemed grave, so the honest, simple-minded beastman ended up exposing Huang Shi.

Huang Shi wanted to silence the beastman, but he was being watched closely by others and had no chance to speak. The truth had come to light.

The shaman, who detested the idea of ​​tribesmen harming one another, asked with a dark expression, “Patriarch, Huang Shi has harmed a fellow tribesman, how do you propose we deal with him?”

With everyone watching, the patriarch turned to the parties involved: “AXing, AGuang, do you have any requests? According to the rules, Huang Shi must be banished. However, this is the year of the beast tide, I feel that keeping him around could still be useful to the tribe.”

The patriarch was truly putting his reputation on the line for Huang Shi, after asking this, his large ears had turned bright red with embarrassment.

AXing insisted on upholding the established rules: “I demand that he be banished from the tribe, in accordance with the rules.”

Jing Heguang climbed back onto AXing’s head and, clutching one of his ears, said, “Huang Shi only wanted to harm Brother Xing because he wanted to become patriach. If we let him stay in the tribe, what if he tries to hurt Brother Xing again?”

“This is the year of the beast tide, if he truly cared about the tribe, he wouldn’t be thinking about harming Brother Xing! After all, Brother Xing is the tribe’s strongest beastmen!”

A beast tide refers to a massive migration of animals that can cause significant damage to the local environment. However, the actual danger is limited, provided one simply avoids the path the herd is taking.

The reason the original owner had met with disaster was sheer bad luck, the tribe had encountered a group of wild beasts that had strayed off course. To make matters worse, Huang Shi, intent on silencing a witness, had ruthlessly kicked the original owner out.

Hearing Jing Heguang’s words, the other beastmen felt something was slightly off, yet it also seemed to make perfect sense!

If Huang Shi stayed, he could, as the patriarch had suggested, contribute his strength to the clan. But the fact remained: in his scheme to harm a fellow tribesman, Huang Shi had shown absolutely no regard for the clan itself.

Given that, his presence wouldn’t necessarily benefit the clan, so what was the point of keeping him around?

With just a few words, Jing Heguang persuaded the beastmen, winning the majority over to his side.

“AGuang is right. Huang Shi doesn’t care about the clan, keeping him here wouldn’t necessarily help us. I support banishing him!”

“When beastmen turn on each other, we have to follow the rules! Otherwise, things would descend into chaos, everyone would start framing their own kind at will.”

Huang Shi felt something was off, because he had never actually intended to harm the clan!

He wanted to be the patriarch, after all. Naturally, he wanted the clan to be as strong as possible…

Yet, even after being driven out, Huang Shi couldn’t quite figure out where things had gone wrong. He certainly couldn’t admit that his only goal had been to harm the maltese tiger, that would be tantamount to admitting his own wrongdoing.

Jing Heguang, for his part, felt the beastmen were truly simple-minded, compared to them, he was practically a master schemer.

Huang Shi certainly hadn’t set out to harm the clan, but an excessive pursuit of personal gain inevitably damages the collective interest. Still, given the beastmen’s way of thinking, there was no hope of ever making them understand that distinction.

***

After Huang Shi was sent away, Jing Heguang was taken home.

Everyone in the tribe lived in caves. Jing Heguang watched as AXing produced a glowing stone, instantly brightening the cavern.

Once the space was illuminated, AXing set Jing Heguang down and went to prepare some food.

Jing Heguang paced around the bed, a pile of straw and animal skins, familiarizing himself with his new home.

The new home was quite spacious, it featured two beds and two corners designated for storage. One corner held dried meat and other non-perishable foods, while the other was filled with miscellaneous items.

The bed he was currently lying on belonged to AXing.

As for the bed belonging to the original owner, the animal skins covering it hadn’t been tidied up in ages and looked filthy.

Jing Heguang figured that AXing hadn’t put him there simply because the bed was too dirty.

Just as Jing Heguang finished looking around the room, AXing came back in to take him outside. The fire and the meat for roasting were already set up, so he had his hands free.

However, it wasn’t practical to keep carrying the little cub around. AXing glanced around the room, found a white bone bowl, and placed Jing Heguang inside it.

At first, Jing Heguang thought, “Not bad! I even get a little nest to lie in.”

But once they got outside, he realized the container was actually…a soup bowl.

Jing Heguang couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Xing, can I grow bigger faster?”

AXing looked at the little cub in the bowl. Seeing him lying there with all four tiny paws exposed, he couldn’t resist reaching out to give one of the little fleshy pads a gentle squeeze.

“Isn’t this good?” AXing thought it was quite cute. “You don’t even have to do any work.” He figured a lazy little beastman would surely like that.

To his surprise, Jing Heguang wasn’t happy at all. “No, I’d rather go do some work!”

However, AXing didn’t know of any way to shorten a beastman’s period of weakness. After thinking for a moment, he took out two milk fruits. “Eat more to build up your strength?”

Jing Heguang thought, “If I eat more, maybe I’ll grow faster?”

That logic seemed sound enough. So, clutching the milk fruits, he started eating.

As he ate the fruit, AXing began preparing his own roast meat, sprinkling on salt, rubbing in some sour fruit, and adding a touch of honey.

The aroma wafted toward Jing Heguang, making his mouth water.

However, beastmen in their period of weakness could only digest things like milk fruit and meat paste.

Jing Heguang: …Suddenly, the milk-fruit in his hand didn’t seem so appetizing anymore!

AXing watched the little cub’s wide-eyed, drooling expression and felt satisfied with his display of skill. Surely, the cub now realized what he was capable of.

Because of his strength, he could find ingredients that other beastmen couldn’t, he was the best at roasting meat in the entire tribe!

Jing Heguang slurped up the milk fruit juice, his eyes fixed greedily on the food.

He wondered: Why didn’t the original owner know that brother Xing had this kind of talent?

It must have been because the original owner was too lazy, only interested in a free ride, so brother Xing couldn’t be bothered to cater to such an ungrateful wretch!

But the moment he arrived, brother Xing had let down his guard and openly showcased his culinary skills.

Sure enough, after finishing his meal, AXing patted his head and said, “AGuang, later on, when you’re able to eat this kind of food, I’ll make it for you.”

Jing Heguang, completely unaware that the other man had deliberately teased his appetite, exclaimed, “Brother Xing! You’re the best!”

All he had done was refuse to let AXing face death alone, yet brother Xing had completely opened up to him and shown his true self. Brother Xing was just so simple-hearted and kind!

Jing Heguang said with emotion, “When I learn how to cook, I’ll make food for you too!”

AXing smiled, not taking the little cub’s words to heart.

He had thought it through clearly. Although the cub had shown a bit more responsibility during a life-or-death moment, his nature was surely still lazy, he loved to eat well and do nothing.

In the past, no sub-beastman would have taken an interest in a cub who couldn’t hunt or provide for a household. However, if the cub became capable, who knew? A sub-beastman might just take a liking to him.

That was why he wanted to show the cub just how capable he was over the next two weeks, to make the cub understand that he was far more competent than those sub-beastmen.

He could hunt, forage, and work hard, and he cooked delicious food. He was perfectly capable of letting the cub continue living the comfortable life he was used to. Although sub-beastmen were hardworking, they couldn’t hunt and actually needed the little ones to provide for them, life with them certainly wouldn’t be as comfortable as living with him!

AXing finally understood why he hadn’t been interested in sub-beastmen, it turned out he preferred beastmen!

***

That evening, Jing Heguang found himself craving a tasty meal again.

Just as his craving became unbearable, AXing brought out a bowl of fragrant, savory meat mash.

The meat mash tasted fresh, sweet, and slightly salty. Jing Heguang downed two large bowls in one go!

After finishing his bowl of meat mash, Jing Heguang stepped onto AXing’s thigh. “Brother Xing, that meat mash was delicious! You’ve got amazing skills, how did you make it?”

AXing thought to himself: Of course I can’t tell you. A unique recipe is special precisely because it’s a secret.

Therefore, he said, “You just let it boil then add a little salt.”

Listening to the steps, Jing Heguang felt the explanation was a bit like those vague instructions calling for putting in an appropriate amount or a dash.

It sounded like he understood, but when it came to actually doing it…well, that would be up to fate.

Still, the dietary culture of the beastman tribe was simple and easy to grasp. Jing Heguang reasoned that since there were no measuring tools here, precision was naturally impossible.

Jing Heguang nodded, pretending he understood. “I’ll give it a try later, then.”

After dinner, with twilight settling in but darkness not yet fully fallen, it was the perfect time to wash up.

AXing could vaguely see other beastmen swimming in the river below and suggested, “Let’s go wash up before we turn in for the night.”

Beastmen had only one kind of nightlife. For those without a mate, there was nothing to do but go to sleep early.

Jing Heguang nodded, then paused. “Your injury isn’t fully healed yet, you can’t soak in the water like they do!”

AXing pulled down two animal skins hanging in the cave. “I’ll just wipe myself down, and I can wash you off while I’m at it.”

Hearing that it would just be a wipe-down, Jing Heguang agreed.

***

The two walked to the riverside, and AXing chose a secluded side-stream where no one else was around.

Jing Heguang stepped onto the ground, preparing to jump into the river and try out a real doggy paddle, but AXing stopped him.

AXing said, “Wait a moment. Let me finish washing first, then I’ll wash you. That way, you won’t catch a chill.”

Jing Heguang thought to himself that AXing was being incredibly gentle.

But…if they washed separately, didn’t that mean he’d end up watching AXing wash?

Jing Heguang blushed slightly and said, “I’ll turn around, then.”

AXing narrowed his eyes and smiled. “We’re both beastmen, what is there that can’t be seen?”

With that, AXing stripped off his animal-skin garment and began washing his lean, muscular body.

Jing Heguang: …He was drooling again.

However, as Jing Heguang watched, his excitement gradually faded.

He realized that the reason AXing was so unselfconscious was simply because he viewed him as a younger brother!!

How could a younger brother end up with his older brother?!

Over by the water, the maltese tiger, who had been trying hard to show off his physique, noticed the little cub’s attention drifting away.

The powerful beastman felt a twinge of worry: …Could it be that the little cub actually prefers scrawny sub-beastmen???

But someone that scrawny wouldn’t have the strength to hunt!

AXing tentatively asked, “AGuang, do you still like Bai Xiang?”

Jing Heguang: !!!

Just when he was worrying about things, the perfect opportunity arrived!

Jing Heguang immediately declared, “I don’t like Bai Xiang anymore! He doesn’t like me either, he just wanted to take advantage of me.”

After explaining away the original owner’s past romantic entanglements, Jing Heguang looked toward AXing by the river and subtly expressed his feelings: “When Huang Shi badmouthed me today, only brother Xing stood up for me. You’re the one who treats me the best!”

He’d lay the groundwork first, and then, eventually, he could fall in love with his ‘older brother’!

T/N: Xingxing has started seducing the fat cubby Guangguang ٩(๑> ₃ <)۶♥