Rest and Recuperation

Before Houtu transformed into the Cycle of Reincarnation, the Primordial World had no decay. Material cycles relied entirely on natural weathering, and food lasted far longer than it had in his previous life.

Feng Xu had everyone begin cleaning up the aftermath.

After peeling off an intact wolf hide, they first had to scrape away the remaining flesh and fat, then soak it in water for several days to remove the residual blood.

In the past, the Human Race of the Great Wilderness considered the process complete at this point.

But Feng Xu knew that without deep tanning, the fur would not last long and would not be soft or comfortable enough.

They rendered oil from wolf brains, mashed it into a paste, and spread it evenly over the inner side of the hide. Once it dried completely, they repeatedly kneaded and beat it.

The hide would become softer, and most of the gamey smell would fade as well.

Afterward, smoking it for several hours would remove odors and prevent insects.

Finally, they could cut and sew it into clothing, which was far more comfortable than grass skirts.

It was just that these wolves were too large, and their hides too thick. They probably could not be made into clothes for everyday wear.

Feng Xu taught the women how to process animal hides, while the men cut the meat and collected the bones to make weapons, decorations, and daily necessities.

"Little White, which do you prefer, boar meat or wolf meat?"

Feng Xu strolled around the camp with the wolf cub.

"Woof, woof. I want wolf meat."

Little White barked twice before answering.

"But they're your own kind. Can you really bring yourself to eat them?"

The corner of Feng Xu's mouth twitched as he probed casually.

"I'm a Heavenly Demon Wolf. I'm not the same kind as them. Besides, it's not unusual for wolves to devour each other."

"Oh—"

Feng Xu stopped walking and asked with a smile,

"What did you just say you were? Say it again. I didn't hear you clearly."

Little White shuddered violently and hurriedly changed its words.

"I meant that I'm a dog. I'm not the same kind as them, so naturally I have no qualms."

Feng Xu nodded.

Over this period, Little White had become increasingly obedient, and Feng Xu had hit it less and less often.

After all, it was such a soft, adorable big dog. So long as it showed no hostility, he could not bring himself to hit it too hard.

Little White seemed to have noticed this too. It always acted cute and begged for affection before Feng Xu could lay a hand on it, leaving Feng Xu to do little more than straddle it and rub it vigorously for a while.

"Fine. I'll have them save you a rack of wolf meat."

"Then I want it cooked. Raw meat tastes awful, and it gets stuck in my teeth."

Little White lay on the ground, wagging its tail.

To reduce Little White's ferocity, Feng Xu fed it only cooked meat. Unexpectedly, after just a few days, Little White could no longer stand raw meat.

Whenever it saw raw meat on the ground, it would usually go over to sniff it, then leave with a frown.

It had to be said, it really did have the makings of a dog.

Thinking of this, Feng Xu asked again,

"Do you still remember the household dog rules I laid down?"

Little White was clever. It was not human and did not need to work. Memorizing those rules over the past few days had not been difficult.

First, all hunting gains must be handed over to the master for distribution. Merit would be rewarded, and nothing could be kept privately.

Second, you must not harm tribe members without cause. You may defend yourself only when attacked.

Third, the master's orders must not be disobeyed without reason. If you are dissatisfied, you may speak your mind and argue openly, but you may not pretend to obey while secretly plotting against him.

Fourth, restrain your ferocity within the camp. Do not howl recklessly and disturb the tribe.

Fifth, you must not secretly associate with wilderness demons. If any old acquaintance comes to visit, you must report it first.

Sixth, before killing, you must first seek permission. Only in a life-or-death crisis may you act first in self-defense, but afterward, you must explain the reason.

Seventh, you must not deceive the master. If you feel wronged or want something, you may say it directly.

There were seven rules in total, governing Little White's daily behavior.

At first, it had disliked them as well. But after staying among the Human Race for a while, it found that life was much more comfortable than before when it followed the rules.

Although it had to acknowledge Feng Xu as its master, life felt secure. No members of its own kind bullied it, and it no longer had to worry about food.

Every day, other than accompanying Feng Xu on walks, it ate and slept, then slept and ate. Its mindset naturally began to change.

A heavenly wolf would never be a slave—unless food and lodging were included.

Processing the wolf hides required quite a bit of time. Feng Xu stayed in the camp for three days, yet no reinforcements arrived.

On the morning of the fourth day, Feng Xu took Little White and Feng Xi to a nearby tribe.

Everything was normal at first. Later, when they spotted traces of a fight along the road, they guessed they might have been left by Tie Song and Yuqi.

He had Little White follow the scent. In the end, they arrived near the large tree that had been knocked down, where the scent vanished.

"How could it disappear for no reason? Even if they were carried away in someone's mouth, there should still be a scent left behind."

Feng Xu examined the footprints on the ground. They were the last traces Tie Song had left.

Little White circled the area several times, but in the end, it could only give up.

They had been taken away by the Eagle King that day. Their scent would have dispersed quickly in the air, so it was normal that Little White could not find them.

Feng Xu sighed. Since the trail had gone cold, there was nothing to be done. They could only seek aid first.

This was the last tribe they truly needed to visit on this journey.

If they had not encountered Iron Mountain and the wolf pack incident, they would likely have completed the trade long ago and already been on their way back to the Wind-Fire Tribe.

The two people and one dog crossed the mountains and arrived at a flatland surrounded by peaks on all sides.

After continuing forward for half a day, they reached the destination of their journey.

This was a tribe that lived underground.

If Little White had not followed the scent, it would have been difficult to imagine that members of the Human Race were living in seclusion beneath the wild grass.

They dug pits underground and used branches to make roofs. They covered them with a layer of soil, and once wild grass grew over it, they became excellent hiding places.

Only a few gaps were left for ventilation.

He had seen cowardly people before, but never anyone this cowardly.

For survival, the Human Race had truly tried every possible method.

Such homes were well concealed, warm in winter and cool in summer, and unafraid of strong winds.

But rainwater would accumulate on rainy days, there was no natural light, ventilation was poor, and snakes, insects, rats, and ants could crawl inside.

The combat strength of the Human Race living underground for long periods would also be greatly reduced.

Sure enough, when Feng Xu went door to door asking after the chief's location, everyone he saw was weaker than an ordinary warrior of the Red Iron Tribe.

However, there was also an unexpected delight: the two people who had lost contact were currently in this tribe.

They had been saved by the Eagle King that day, but the Eagle King did not know their destination. The place where he set them down was quite far from this tribe.

The two of them had only arrived here yesterday.

This place was also within the wolf pack's territory. The wolves had been moving about frequently recently, so they had remained hidden in the pits.

They had not gone hunting for many days and were already starving. Thus, after learning why the two had come, they had not gone to offer support.

They were so hungry that they no longer had the strength to fight.

They had originally planned to go out together tomorrow to search for food, but Feng Xu had unexpectedly arrived today.

He took raw fish from the snakeskin sack and distributed it to them, letting them fill their stomachs before discussing anything else.

There were no defensive facilities here. Once they lit a fire to roast meat, it would attract the wolf pack.

The chief told Feng Xu that they normally went outside every day for fresh air. But the wolf pack had been roaming everywhere lately, so they had stayed in the pits this entire time, only going out to relieve themselves.

Some people even relieved themselves directly in the pits where they lived. Once the lid was opened, the stench inside was overwhelming.

Before being transported here, Feng Xu would certainly have laughed at them for being too cowardly.

But after experiencing so many battles in just one month and witnessing the tribes' struggle to survive in the Great Wilderness firsthand,

he could only sigh helplessly.

The Human Race was simply too weak.

In this situation, individual strength alone was useless. They had to raise the overall strength of the Human Race.

They needed to gain a firm foothold in the Primordial World while also avoiding the Tribulation Cycle. Only then could they live peaceful, stable lives.

It truly was a long-term goal. Yet if they did nothing and slowly waited for the next Tribulation Cycle, that would be even more hopelessly distant.

According to the information obtained through the Merit Mall, one Tribulation Cycle lasted 6.48 billion years.

If he truly waited that long, he did not even know whether he would live to see the day the Human Race became the protagonists of heaven and earth.