Holding the dried meat, Asa stood at the entrance of Rowan's cave and called out a few times but heard no answer.
Finding it strange, he pushed the door open and walked in, put the things down, and walked a round but didn't see anyone.
Asa suddenly had an idea, remembering Yanan said Rowan had come over to his place to play a few times; if he wasn't in the cave, he must have gone to find that child.
He had to leave first and wait for Rowan to return to find him later.
Seeing that Snow Leopard tribe Omegina leave, Owen stepped out from the corner, wondering why Rowan still hadn't returned at this hour.
During his recovery period, Owen was free with nothing to do. He cleaned the cave once a day, and for the remaining time, he obediently waited for the Omegina to bring prey back.
Owen was being "kept" without even knowing it, helplessly becoming a canary in a gilded cage.
Rowan had exerted the physique of an Alpha to the limit, going out early every day, carrying the prey distributed by the tribe and heading towards the back mountain.
This was a defense loophole Rowan had discovered. Before this, when he told Leo not to bring prey anymore, he had intended to go out hunting himself.
The tribe's gate was patrolled by Snow Leopard beastmen every day; getting out that way was basically impossible.
This back mountain was revealed by Yanan during a chat with him.
He said the tribe's back mountain was where Omeginas usually went to pick wild fruits and vegetables, so there were no large prey. Now that it was the Snow Season, no Omeginas went there, so the beastmen's defense wasn't as tight.
This allowed Rowan to find a chance to sneak out.
At first, Rowan only hunted some small animals that usually appeared during the Snow Season.
Gradually, these small animals discovered a predator had arrived and all went into hiding, making them very hard to catch.
So Rowan started returning later; he used the tribe's prey as bait to lure them out and then seized the opportunity to kill them.
Rowan hadn't expected that the skills used to deal with the Insect Clan in the past would now have to be used for hunting; it was truly a waste of talent, just to solve the problem of food and clothing for him and Owen.
Life was truly unpredictable.
Thinking of Owen still waiting in the cave for him to feed him, their original identities had been swapped.
This subtle feeling thoroughly satisfied the secret desire for control of an Alpha within Rowan.
Naturally, if Owen were an Omegina, Rowan would absolutely not have let him suffer from hunger until now.
Having not yet hunted a prey like the snow pheasant, Rowan was still reluctant to leave. Although it was barely enough to eat, Owen was still a patient and needed extra nutrition.
Yanan said this type of snow pheasant was very nutritious; his beastman mate, Genia, often hunted it for him to nourish his body.
Rowan was lucky enough to eat it once; the meat alone was fresh, tender, and smooth, let alone nutritious.
Stalking for half the day, finally seeing the silhouette of a snow pheasant, Rowan held a stone and aimed accurately; with one hit to the head, the snow pheasant easily fell into his hands.
Rowan packed up the prey, taking today's food and quickly descending the mountain, avoiding the crowd to return to the cave.
Seeing the Omegina finally return, Owen couldn't help but complain about the tribe's work efficiency being too slow.
"The hunting speed of the Snow Leopard beastmen is truly too terrible; no wonder they have to live in a pack, and even have to let Omeginas help distribute what they hunt."
Rowan held back the urge to throw the prey in his hand at Owen's head, coldly saying: "Cut the nonsense, I'm hungry."
If it weren't for the fact that Rowan didn't want Owen to know he went out hunting on his own, he wouldn't have used the tribe as an excuse to dispel Owen's suspicion.
Owen hurriedly took the prey and began the life of a virtuous husband, seeing the Omegina was so hungry he was giving him attitude.
Those beastmen were truly useless, Owen cursed silently in his heart.
"Oh right, just now an older Omegina came looking for you. I hid, so he didn't see me." Owen brought a bowl of snow pheasant soup that had finished stewing to Rowan.
Rowan took a sip, and his whole stomach immediately warmed up, dispelling the cold from being outside.
"It must be Asa; he is the mate of this tribe's leader. You were right to hide. Asa treats me very well; there was a time he took care of me." Rowan slowly recounted the events from when he first arrived at the tribe.
Owen listened attentively, occasionally adding more food to the Omegina's bowl.
Knowing Leo had never lived together with the Omegina, he considered him to be tactful, though he was very unhappy with Leo's clinging behavior towards the Omegina.
Hearing the Omegina's description, Owen also had a preliminary understanding of the Snow Leopard tribe, silently calculating in his heart.
"I have to go to Asa's place tonight; not going for a long time will cause suspicion." Rowan said, looking at Owen who was cleaning up nearby.
"Okay." Wanting the Omegina to obediently return with him, Owen didn't fuss over these small details.
After reapplying medicine for Owen in the cave, Rowan prepared to go to Asa's place.
At this moment, there was a knock on the cave door; Owen immediately looked out vigilantly.
Rowan patted Owen's shoulder, signaling him to hide first.
The knocking became urgent. Rowan found it strange; who would come looking for him at this hour?
Opening the door, Leo's tall figure appeared before his eyes: "You're back? At noon, Papa came over and said he didn't see you. Papa said he hasn't seen you come over to play for a long time, so he told you to come over for dinner."
"I was also planning to go over to see him, let's go." Rowan handily pulled the door closed.
Leo reached out to block the door before it could close, inhaling deeply. There was a strong smell of medicine. He asked suspiciously: "Why is there a smell of medicine? Are you injured?"
"No, I just spread the medicine out to roast over the fire so it wouldn't get moldy." Rowan pushed him away and shut the door tight.
Leo remembered the medicine his Papa gave the Omegina, so he didn't think much of it for the moment.
"So, are you still angry at me?" His voice was a bit hesitant.
Rowan was straightforward: "I'm not angry at you, don't make me repeat it again and again, it's annoying to hear."
"Really? I won't ask anymore, don't be annoyed..."
"Hey, no... I..." Leo was momentarily a bit flustered, afraid his clumsiness would make the Omegina dislike him.
Rowan looked up slightly and glanced at him: "Walk faster, Asa must be waiting impatiently."
"Okay... no rush, be careful it's slippery." Leo fell silent, following behind the Omegina towards his Papa's cave.
Owen watched them walk away with an emotionless face, his hands clenched until the knuckles turned white.
Just getting close, they saw Asa standing at the cave entrance, occasionally peeking out.
"Finally arrived, did you forget Asa already? Haven't seen a shadow of you for days." Asa pulled Rowan into the cave, telling Leo to stoke the fire to make it burn bigger.
Rowan found it hard to refuse Asa's enthusiasm, silently listening to Asa nag for a while.
"I heard lately you and that kid Yanan are very close? That's good, staying cooped up in the cave all day won't do; you can go around and interact with everyone in the tribe more."
"I will. Yanan's personality is a bit shy, but once acquainted, he talks a lot," Rowan said. When the two of them were together, Yanan seemed to talk a lot, making Rowan become close to him without realizing it.
"Exactly, if he talks well with you, I'm assured. Before, he was also quiet, only knowing to run over to my place." Asa exclaimed.
Leo listened silently from the side, unable to interject. He finished cooking dinner and brought it to them.
Rowan actually wasn't hungry yet; the late lunch hadn't fully digested. He lowered his head, trying to eat a bit more to avoid being lectured by Asa.
While they were eating, Raison returned, busy up to his ears.
"Everyone's here, huh? Give me some food too."
As soon as Asa saw him, he couldn't help but argue a few sentences: "Oh my, you still know the way back? Didn't see your face all day; others would think I'm widowed. Living like this, I'll divorce you sooner or later."