The Survival of the Wild Tribe

99

"Cuckoo."

Early the next morning, Lu Zhan was awakened by the cuckoo bird's call outside the door. He heard rustling, like boxes and cabinets being moved around. He yawned widely and slowly sat up, noticing Luo Zhen on the ground, searching for something amid piles of crops they had gathered from the wild. Most of the crops were wrapped in moist soil to keep them from drying out, but now dirt was scattered everywhere, making the cleaned floor dirty again.

Lu Zhan jumped off the bed, finding himself amidst the mess. "What's going on?"

The warriors of the Black Panther tribe had weaker calls without their aura, sounding mismatched with their size. Lu Zhan didn't want to sound like those petite wild cats, but without yelling, he could only manage basic animal language, which the busy Luo Zhen couldn't understand.

Hearing the noise, Luo Zhen looked up and saw Lu Zhan was awake. He pushed aside obstacles with his front paws, trying to approach. "Are you up? A Zhan, have you seen the wild crystal fruit we found?"

Over the past two days, Luo Zhen's attention had been solely on Lu Zhan, leaving no time for anything else. He had planned to cut some wild crystal fruit for Shan Qi to test its effects, but now he couldn't find it anywhere in the room.

Lu Zhan thought for a moment, then raised one front paw and pointed to Luo Zhen's arms. He remembered that Luo Zhen had kept the crystal fruit close to him, tucked away in an inner pocket where he stored important things.

"Not here," Luo Zhen understood Lu Zhan's gestures and shook his head. He had flipped through his animal skins multiple times but found no trace of the crystal fruit. He even searched through the animal skin bags he had brought back, but it was nowhere to be found.

Looking at the bamboo shoot with the crystal fruit in the middle, Luo Zhen felt a pang of regret. He couldn't remember where the wild crystal fruit had fallen. Even if they wanted to search for it now, it was likely too late. He recalled how Lu Zhan had scouted various animal trails on their way back to the tribe, and even the giant anaconda had waited patiently for the crystal fruit to mature. Other beasts wouldn't easily let go of such a valuable supplement.

After tidying up the mess, Luo Zhen picked up the pile of bamboo shoots. He needed to plant them quickly to avoid reducing their survival rate. Though he didn't know if each shoot contained a crystal fruit, he resisted the temptation to taste them immediately, knowing he might lose the chance to find the last one, let alone the possibility of finding a crystal fruit inside.

Seeing Luo Zhen heading out, Lu Zhan hurriedly followed.

As they opened the door, the cuckoo birds outside became agitated, and A Jiao was already preparing broth by the fire. "Da Wu, are you hungry? It'll be ready soon," A Jiao stirred the pot with a wooden spoon, casting a curious glance at the white giant leopard following behind Luo Zhen.

Heifu had informed her early in the morning about Lu Zhan's transformation. Though Lu Zhan hadn't explicitly explained his journey from half-orc to full-beastization, everyone in the Riyao tribe knew. Lu Zhan's prowess as a half-orc leader was already impressive, and his full-beastization would make him even more formidable. A Jiao felt a sense of security for the newly joined Sun Yao tribe, and her admiration for Lu Zhan grew.

Luo Zhen pulled at his ears as Lu Zhan bared his teeth threateningly at the cuckoo birds, causing them to tremble and scream loudly. Luo Zhen couldn't help but feel that these cowardly birds might be scared to death by Lu Zhan's posturing.

"Don't scare them too much," Luo Zhen gently patted Lu Zhan's head. He still intended to let these timid birds lay eggs on Lu Zhan, especially since Acao was about to give birth. They needed the extra nutrition.