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Actually, going to the other side is fine. It's broad daylight, and the patrolling orcs have already searched outside the tribe. No wild beasts have come near.

The patrolling orcs guessed that they might be watching over Jian Mo's vegetable garden to prevent small animals from coming and causing damage.

Thinking of this, the patrolling orc casually petted the kitten Banjiu beside him. These guys are really clever and cunning, and also well-behaved.

After giving them their instructions, the patrolling orcs went around to patrol the area.

The little ones squatted where they were, watching him leave out of the corner of their eyes.

Once they were completely out of sight, Banjiu immediately said, "Quick, quick, we can cross the river now. Everyone be careful, meow."

The little creatures, who couldn't yet transform into human form, raised their paws and swam across the shallow river.

Jiujiu followed at the very back, its two hind paws stepping on the stones at the bottom of the river, slowly running across. By the time it reached the other side, its bottom was completely wet.

A group of guys, under the blazing sun, shook themselves off the water, looked back at the wide river, and stood tall and proud, all looking quite pleased with themselves.

In spring, there is plenty of food outside, and gathering is relatively easy. All the little ones who can transform have gone out with the adults to learn how to gather, leaving only this group of kids to stay in the tribe to play.

There was no danger in the tribe, and there were even patrolling orcs, so the adults didn't care.

No one expected that they would actually be able to swim to the other side of the river.

After all, rivers already act as a natural protective barrier.

After shaking off some of the water, Jiujiu to the front, turned around and chirped to the little ones, indicating that this was the place.

The Banjiu flicked its tail, its eyes fixed intently on the vegetable patch. "Let's begin then. Two people will share a plot of land, and we'll see if we can hunt any prey."

The little ones immediately started barking, howling, and meowing, and quickly ran off to lie in ambush in the vegetable patch they had chosen.

There was little prey; they crouched for a while and only managed to catch two insects.

A moment later, the chubby little white wolf Zhou Dao let out a soft howl, alerting his companions. "Jiang Tou is patrolling this area."

Upon hearing the news, the cubs rushed to the riverbank, scrambling and tumbling down like dumplings being dropped into a pot. Their four little paws swam incredibly fast, and their tails swung back and forth to help them swim, and in no time they reached the other side.

After swimming across, they all twisted their bodies and shook their fur in unison.

Then, another round of childish complaints came:

You splashed water on me!

"Me too!"

"Meow, Zhou Dao, stay away from me!"

"Keep your voice down! Jiang Tou is coming! Run!"

The little ones ran off and ran to the woods by the river.

Jiujiu chirped and ran the slowest. The river was shallow, and it was big, so only its bottom got wet, and it looked quite dry.

The patrolling orcs circled around to this side, glanced at Jiujiu was running the slowest, and assumed that the little ones were just chasing and playing, so they didn't pay any attention to them.

The cubs had a wonderful day, playing hide-and-seek with the patrolling orcs while running to the other side to try and catch some prey.

When the first group of hunters returned, they had just run back to the tribe's open space, still panting and panting with their tongues hanging out.

Seeing his younger brother panting so heavily, Ban Ming reached out his large hand, cupped his chest, and held him up to his eyes, asking in confusion, "What are you all doing? You're panting so much."

The Banjiu lowered its head and licked its brother's finger. "Play."

His fur was almost dry, and Ban Ming didn't care about the remaining dampness. When they were cubs, they all crawled through jungles and rolled in puddles, so it was perfectly normal for their fur to be a little wet.

Ban Ming: "You guys go ahead and play."

Banjiu: "Meow."

The adults hadn't yet noticed that the cubs had all gone hunting on the other side of the river.

When Jian Mo went to water the vegetable garden, he found some claw marks, but since it hadn't rained for the past two days, the claw marks were very faint. He didn't have much experience in hunting, so he was just puzzled when he saw them, but didn't think much of it.

The crops have been growing very well these past few days, showing no signs of damage whatsoever, especially the seeds from Ru Da, which have already sprouted tender seedlings.

Jian Mo cut the shoots back and used them to cook noodles. She only added a little animal fat, salt, and shellfish powder, and the cooked shoots were very delicious, tender, and full of the breath of spring.

This vegetable is really delicious; it looks like it can be grown long-term from now on.

Seeing that no one had noticed, the cubs' daily game had become hunting on the other side of the river.

They went several days without catching any prey.

Until this day, when the Banjiu were lying in ambush in the vegetable garden, one of the birds tried to fly down and peck at the seedlings.

The Banjiu, which had been lying in ambush in the ground, leaped up and pounced, knocking the entire bird down.

"Wow! The Banjiu is so powerful!"

"Gotcha! Gotcha!"

"Quick, quick, the patrolling orcs are coming! Let's go to the grove!"

"Jiujiu!"

The little ones chattered amongst themselves for a while, then quickly turned and ran, crossing the river to hide temporarily in the grove.

After the patrolling orcs left, the cubs looked at the fairly large bird on the ground and were puzzled:

What should we do with this bird? Eat it?

"It doesn't seem like that will work. Jian Mo said we can't eat raw food."

"Take it home?"

"If we bring it home, Dad and the others will know we've been out catching birds."

"Oh, bury it?"

"Jiujiu chirp--"

"Jiujiu, tell it?"

"Then let's give it to Jiujiu. We'll go catch another one later."

The cubs agreed to give the half-dead prey to Jiujiu.

Jiujiu happily carried its prey and went hunting with the cubs again.

The little ones were having a great time and went to guard the vegetable garden again.

Not long after, they caught a small Long-Eared Beast, which they couldn't eat, so they gave it to Jiujiu.

So when Jian Mo and the others returned, Jiujiu was carrying two prey in its mouth, sitting proudly in the yard with its head held high and chest puffed out.