With a little energy from the magical beast, Kaelen's negative emotions had somewhat stabilized; at least his body was no longer continuing to develop toward the trend of beastification.
It should be known that Sub-Beasts cannot completely beastify. Their bones cannot flexibly transform like those of beastmen; if forced to beastify, then that Sub-Beast's day of death is not far away.
Disgusted by the foul stench on his body, Kaelen pushed the vines aside and used his own claws to carve a stone pot to boil water for a sponge bath. Walter's claws were not sharp, so previously he had only managed to carve a small pot, insufficient for boiling water.
Seeing Kaelen step out of the cave, Walter stood up, intending to approach. Collins hurriedly pulled Walter back: "Don't go near him. That amount of Magical Energy isn't enough to completely stabilize his mood. If you go over now, it will only agitate him further."
"Oh." Walter sat back down, then remembered something. He ran over to the rocky outcrop behind them and plucked a handful of Fiend grass. He still hadn't forgotten that Kaelen loved cleanliness, and moreover, really liked using Fiend grass for bathing and washing his hair. After plucking the grass, he bundled it neatly into a ball, placed it on his slingshot, and took aim. The grass ball landed accurately by Kaelen's feet; Kaelen cast a glance over in this direction, then picked up the grass ball and stuffed it into his clothes.
Collins asked curiously: "Why did you pick that grass for him? It's not edible either."
"To boil bathwater." Walter replied. Seeing Kaelen accept the grass ball, he happily sat down and said: "In our tribe, we also have bubble grass; it's a pity there isn't any here. You boil the fragrant grass in water, then crush the bubble grass into it, and use it for daily bathing. It's both clean and fragrant."
Mentioning this matter, Walter recalled the pile of muddy water on his head half a month ago and rubbed his nose in embarrassment. Well, he was now a cultured Sub-Beast; there was no need to be shy anymore. Thus, he pulled Collins into a conversation about the myriad of beauty methods he had learned from Kaelen.
Collins was a Priest, but he was also a Sub-Beast. Although he was older in age, his instinct for cleanliness and love of beauty had not faded in the slightest. He absorbed the knowledge from Walter very seriously.
"We left the tribe to search for fragrant flowers and grasses to make the thing Kaelen talked about—a square block that combines bubble grass and fragrant flowers to clean the body. And things used to nourish the hair and skin. It's a pity we got lost and ended up here before we could make them."
"Is it really that magical? Does Kaelen know a lot?"
"Of course, he is our tribe's little sage!" Walter proudly puffed out his small chest. Finding it amusing, Collins poked a stick into the fire, digging out some roasted nut kernels.
"Does your tribe know about Kaelen possessing Divine Energy?"
Walter immediately pouted: "They know my foot, they only know how to isolate him. It's only the Lord Priest and the Patriarch, as well as my Avian clan, the Curved-horn Sheep clan, and a few others who treat him well."
Collins's hand paused, his mouth hanging slightly open in sheer astonishment. Even the beastman standing guard nearby couldn't help but look over. A Sub-Beast considered the little sage of the tribe was shunned and despised by his own tribespeople? What kind of ridiculous brain circuit was this?
Having said this much, Walter stopped talking. Even though he felt frustrated on Kaelen's behalf, this was not their tribe after all, and there were outsiders present. The ugly affairs of one's own tribe should only be spoken about behind closed doors.
The beastman standing guard took a half step forward, wanting to say something, but was glared at by Collins and pulled his foot back. True enough, if one wanted to poach from another's corner, they had to dig slowly; they hadn't even been able to make contact with the person yet, so what was there to poach?
---
"You beastmen up ahead, please stop!"
Chapman had run desperately for two days straight. When he reached the fork heading toward the Obsidian tribe, he came across very fresh travel tracks, and they didn't belong to just one person either. The direction was similar to his route, but at a bend, it veered off onto another path.
Chapman had a guess: perhaps these people were from the Obsidian tribe, on their way to search for the two Sub-Beasts, but looking at the direction, it seemed they had gone the wrong way. He guessed that perhaps they could no longer see the smoke signal, so they lost their bearings and randomly chose a path to follow.
Chapman calculated a bit; if he rushed to chase after this group, he would catch up in one day, but if he just kept heading straight toward the Obsidian tribe, it would take about three days. Weighing the pros and cons, he decided to follow the scent to chase after those beastmen.
After running continuously for an entire day, he caught up to Sane's group of five just as it was nearing dusk, panting heavily as he called out to them. The group of five beastmen immediately turned around on high alert, staring at the newly arrived cheetah beastman. Quinlan retracted his wings and asked:
"Who are you? What is your business calling out to us?"
Chapman took two steps back and sat down to show goodwill, asking: "Are you people from the Obsidian tribe?"
Quinlan nodded: "That's right. Is something the matter?"
Chapman said joyfully: "Are you searching for two lost Sub-Beasts, one from the Avian clan and one from the Leopard clan?"
Hearing Chapman say that, Sane immediately transformed into human form, not caring whether he was being deceived or not, rushed up to the cheetah beastman, and asked urgently: "That's right, you met them?"
Intimidated by the pressure of a high-level beastman into tucking his tail, Chapman swallowed hard and said: "They are near our tribe. My captain guessed they might be Sub-Beasts from the Obsidian tribe, so he sent me to deliver the news. You guys went the wrong way, quickly follow me."
Saying so, he turned his head and darted off. Because the beastmen of the Obsidian tribe did not belong to high-speed races, he didn't use his full strength, slowing down so they could keep up.
"The two of them aren't doing very well, especially the Leopard clan Sub-Beast. His eyes have already turned into beast pupils." Chapman briefly recounted the situation of the two Sub-Beasts as he ran. Sane's heart burned with anxiety; he wished he could grow four extra legs to run like beastmen of other clans. For the second time, he despised his own beast form.
The journey that would have taken Chapman three days was stretched to four and a half days. By the time they reached the edge of the valley, Hugh was so tired that his four hooves trembled. After all, he was already getting on in years.
Sane crawled until a layer of scales under his belly was worn bare, but it didn't hinder him from charging into the valley like a gust of wind. Sharp-eyed, Walter spotted his tribesmen and cheered happily:
"Sane! Brother Quinlan! Everyone, I'm over here!"
"Where is Kaelen? Where is he?" Sane asked impatiently. The moment Walter pointed out the location of the cave, Sane disappeared without a trace. What else could Walter not understand? He rubbed his nose. How embarrassing, he had rounded up all the beastmen who were potentially the author of the fetus in Kaelen's belly, but he had very "cleverly" excluded Sane. Who told the man to have an allergy to Sub-Beasts?
While letting his thoughts wander, Walter felt a chill down his spine. He turned his head and saw a golden sparrow standing on a nearby rock, staring fixedly at him, its downy feathers standing on end. He raised a hand and laughed nervously:
"Hehe, cousin Quinlan, long time no see. You're getting more and more handsome~"
Without another word, Quinlan flapped his wings and lunged forward, beating his wings while relentlessly pecking at Walter's head, cursing as he pecked:
"I'll let you fool around! I'll let you leave the tribe! You damn brat, do you know we almost broke our wings looking for you?! Do you know how many times your Papa fainted from crying?! I'll peck you to death!"
"Ouch, ouch, it hurts, I was wrong, I was wrong, I won't dare do it again! Cousin, please spare me! Wah, wah, Uncle Collins, save me!"
Collins merely smiled, watching the harmonious scene of siblings before him, then looked toward the cave, letting out a bitter smile. It seemed his plan to poach people had fallen through; it wasn't as if these two kids had no one who cared for them.
After all, Anthony was the Patriarch's son, so the basic etiquette between high-ranking members of tribes still had to be observed. He transformed into human form, combed back his messy hair, brushed off the dry leaves clinging to his body, took a few steps forward, punched his right fist over his left chest, and bowed in greeting. Hugh and Sangi also followed suit with the salute.
"Greetings everyone, I am Anthony of the Obsidian tribe. The Sub-Beasts of our tribe have received much of your grace. On behalf of Patriarch Jaxon, I send you our most sincere and profound gratitude."
Collins also bowed slightly in return, and the tribe's beastmen bowed according to their own beastmen customs. Collins spoke slowly:
"Greetings, friends of the Obsidian tribe. I am Collins, Priest of the Crimson tribe, and these are our warriors. Our settlement happens to be nearby; seeing two lost children, lending a helping hand is only natural."
The Crimson tribe? Anthony was somewhat startled, a flash of doubt inevitably crossing his eyes. Crimson was on the other side of the magical beast forest; why would they appear here, especially during this freezing winter? What was their purpose in coming here?
Noticing the wariness of the beastmen in front of them, the Crimson tribe's beastmen also assumed a defensive stance. Collins smiled again, waving his hand to order Barton's group to stand down, and said softly:
"We just finished roasting meat. You all must be hungry from your long journey. How about we sit down, have something to eat, and talk while we eat?"