Chapter 201: Let’s Run, Fox (XVII)

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Chapter 201: Let’s Run, Fox (XVII)

Shang Ke had been sitting in his yard carving wood when he suddenly felt something on his tail. He turned around and found the two little foxes standing behind him, both grabbing onto his tail with miserable faces.

From the look of them, Kellona had probably mistreated them again. Had one punishment really taught her nothing?

Shang Ke set down the wood in his hands, washed at the basin beside him, then took two pieces of fruit from the table and handed one to each child. After that, he stood and decided to take them out for a walk to lift their spirits.

Shang Ke walked in front while the two little foxes followed closely behind, each clutching his tail with one hand and gnawing on fruit with the other.

“Well, Yanu, taking your sons out for a walk?” one beastfolk teased.

Good-natured laughter immediately rose around them. One large fox and two little ones walking together made an exceptionally pleasing sight.

Shang Ke smiled back and continued strolling around the settlement with the two little foxes. Other children spotted them and came laughing over to join in, and before long a long procession had formed behind Shang Ke.

It was a rest day, but since so many children had gathered anyway, Shang Ke simply took them to harvest mushrooms. He had transplanted this patch during the cold season, and it was about ready to pick. The local climate was excellent for wild mushrooms, so he had planted them in damp, shaded corners throughout the settlement. With spring warmth came broad clusters of gray, white, and yellow-brown caps, occasionally interrupted by a brilliantly colored poisonous mushroom. Perhaps because he had once been a mushroom spirit himself, everything he planted grew especially plump, tender, and healthy.

Shang Ke picked mushrooms with the children while removing the poisonous ones as he found them.

Mushrooms could be stir-fried, braised, stewed, deep-fried, dressed cold, made into soup, stuffed, steamed, roasted, and prepared in countless other ways. They were delicious and nutritious. Most beastfolk did not care much for vegetarian food, but almost anything Shang Ke cooked was accepted without complaint. Vegetables, mushrooms—even mud would probably be eaten if he served it properly. Wasn’t their own Chief especially fond of that pheasant baked in clay?

By the time they finished, every child had stuffed a generous handful of mushrooms into their clothes and followed Shang Ke home in high spirits.

They all knew the rule by now: work hard at their lessons and chores, and Shang Ke would reward them. Sometimes the prize was food, sometimes a toy or new clothing, and sometimes some useful little household item made in an adorable shape.

One child had earned an entire set of tableware carved with lion designs; another had received a handsome fitted outfit. The rest had been nearly green with envy.

Back at home, Shang Ke kept the children for a meal and cooked a whole table of dishes so they could taste the fresh mushrooms they had gathered with their own hands.

By the time Mutu returned, the children had already swept the table clean, dessert included. He was not worried. His fox always saved a portion for him.

After sending the children home, Mutu spoke to Shang Ke while eating, “Let’s go together to hunt tomorrow. I found out where the black oil came from.”

Shang Ke nodded and was not surprised. After all, the lion tribe’s mule ox squad had almost mapped out the entire mountain.

On the other hand, the two little foxes carried home a piece of honey flatbread each. When they saw Kellona standing by the door staring at them coldly, they immediately handed the bread over, timidly calling her, “Mama.”

Kellona took the bread and returned to the house without a word.

While the two fox children grew healthier and more comfortable by the day, Kellona’s own life seemed to decline. She had assumed her connection to Yanu would earn her special treatment, but Yanu paid her no particular attention. Far from receiving privileges, she had been sent to the clay pits for hard labor and thoroughly humiliated in front of the tribe. After that punishment, people stopped indulging or flattering her. Whatever work was assigned to her had to be completed properly; no one let her cut corners anymore.

Resentment inevitably festered in Kellona’s heart. They were both fox beastfolk—so why could a mute male like Yanu win the Lion King’s devotion while she had to lower herself, endure restrictions, and remain insignificant?

Kellona had always known how to use her beauty. She had once survived among the Avani by relying on her looks and her skill at pleasing men. After the Avani abandoned that territory, the fox tribe took her in, and she became the fox chief’s lover, living almost like nobility. Not long afterward, however, the tribe was attacked by the Avani. Kellona escaped with the chief’s two children and thereafter drifted from tribe to tribe.

She relied on other people’s pity for the children and preferential treatment toward females to ensure that, even if she no longer lived as well as before, she never lacked food or shelter. That changed after she entered lion territory. Her old tricks stopped working. No matter how thoroughly she tried to charm the men, at most she could obtain a little extra food; she could not escape her poor, low-status life. Even the two fox children ceased to be useful bargaining chips once Yanu opened the school.

“Mama, where are we going?” The next day, taking advantage of Shang Ke, Mutu, and the others being away from the settlement, Kellona packed her belongings and secretly left lion territory with the two children.

Kellona ignored their questions and concentrated on putting distance between herself and the lions. Rather than remain an insignificant nobody there, she believed she would be better off joining a smaller tribe, attaching herself to whoever held power, and using that relationship to secure a more comfortable life.

“Mama, don’t go.” As the lion settlement receded behind them, the two fox children kept looking back and pleading with her.

“Stay? So they can keep bullying me?” Kellona sneered.

“They’re nice. They never bullied us.”

That’s because of you two! Kellona’s grip tightened until one child cried out in pain.

“Shut up! Do you want to attract the monsters?” The “monsters” she meant were the Avani. The children’s biological parents had died at Avani hands. They remembered little of the event itself, but the terror associated with the Avani had been burned deep into them.

At Kellona’s threat, the children fell silent in fear and let her drag them deeper into the mountain forest.

When Shang Ke returned, several children immediately told him that Kellona had left with the two foxes.

His expression darkened. He immediately mounted Calf and rode in the direction the children indicated, while Mutu gathered more than a dozen strong young warriors and followed close behind.

They pursued for more than an hour, from dusk into full darkness, before finding signs of a struggle halfway up the mountain and a patch of blood that had not yet dried.

“The Avani again.” One beastfolk crouched to inspect the tracks, then swore under his breath.

“Looks like Kellona and the children may have been captured by the Avani.” Mutu had barely finished speaking when several furious roars sounded in the distance.

Mutu exchanged a look with the others. They dismounted and silently tracked the noise through the trees.

“You demons! Sooner or later the lion warriors will wipe every last one of you out!” A badly wounded bear beastfolk knelt on the ground and roared at the surrounding Avani.

One Avani sneered, raised his long blade, and cut off the bear’s head without hesitation. Blood sprayed outward, splashing Kellona where she knelt nearby.

“Tch. Two bodies aren’t nearly enough to feed us.” One Avani shifted his gaze to Kellona and licked his lips. “Why don’t we cook this fox too?”

Kellona shuddered and forced a smile. “Don’t kill me. I can serve you. I can bear children for you.”

“Hmph. We can barely keep ourselves alive. What do we need children for?” The Avani walked slowly over and lifted her chin with the tip of his blade. “You are pretty, though. Fine—we’ll keep you for a few hours. Once the brothers are done with you, we’ll cook you.”

Kellona went deathly pale and began trembling uncontrollably. The two little foxes huddled in her arms, their faces filled with terror.

A thought suddenly struck Kellona. She shoved the two children forward and pleaded, “I’ll give you my children. Just spare my life.”

By then, Shang Ke and the others had already crept close enough to hear her clearly. Fury surged through the entire group.

The Avani looked down at the stunned children from above. “What would I want them for?”

“Children’s meat must be more tender than an adult’s. Don’t you want to try it?” Kellona urged.

The two little foxes stared at the woman they had regarded as their mother. The disbelief on their faces slowly faded into numbness.

“Hahahaha!” The Avani burst out laughing. “You’re offering us your own children to eat?”

The Avani ate other beastfolk, but they did have one rule: they did not eat children. They might kill a child, but they would not consume one.

“As long as you let me live, I can give you plenty of children.” Kellona shuffled toward the Avani on her knees and reached between his legs, forcing herself to smile seductively. “I can make you happy…”

The Avani allowed her to use her mouth and hands on him, visibly pleased. The others watched with eager expressions, plainly anticipating their own turn.

Shang Ke had seen enough. At Mutu’s signal, he released the arrow already nocked to his bow. It punched straight through an Avani’s throat.

The battle erupted at once.

The Avani shouted in alarm, snatched up their weapons, and collided with the lion warriors in a chaotic melee.

“Papa!” the two little foxes cried in delighted surprise.

The shout immediately drew the attention of two Avani. Before Shang Ke could reach them, each man seized one child.

Shang Ke stopped short and fixed the two Avani with a wary stare. They sneered, then retreated rapidly in opposite directions.

The two kidnappers were about to disappear into the forest. Unable to pursue both, Shang Ke turned toward Mutu.

Mutu understood instantly. “You take the left. I’ll take the right.”

Shang Ke nodded and raced after the Avani on the left while Mutu pursued the one on the right.

Clutching the little fox under one arm, the Avani fled desperately through the forest.

Visibility was poor at night. Shang Ke could not risk shooting unless he was certain of a killing hit; the slightest deviation could strike the child instead.

Fortunately, carrying the little fox slowed the Avani down, allowing Shang Ke to stay close without fear of losing him. While searching for an opening, Shang Ke suddenly realized where they were headed. If he remembered correctly, a cliff lay not far ahead.

The cliff was indeed the Avani’s destination. Once he realized he could not shake Shang Ke, he decided to drag someone down with him.

He stopped at the edge, turned back with a sinister smile, then grabbed the little fox by the collar and dangled him over the drop.

Shang Ke opened his mouth to stop him, but no sound came out.

“Two choices,” the Avani said, shaking the child in his grip. “Jump off the cliff yourself, or I throw him down.”

The little fox looked at the black abyss below and froze in terror.

Shang Ke clenched his fists. For the first time, he truly felt the agony of being unable to speak. If he had a voice, he could at least stall for time and negotiate.

Instead, he could only stand there in silence.

The Avani did not know Shang Ke was mute. Taking his silence for cowardice, he sneered. “Looks like you don’t have the nerve. Fine. I’ll throw the little fox down first, then settle things with you.”

No!

Shang Ke abruptly threw his bow to the ground.

The movement stopped the Avani. He raised a brow. “What? Decided to jump?”

Shang Ke knew perfectly well that even if he jumped, the little fox probably would not be spared.

He moved toward the cliff one step at a time. When only seven or eight meters remained between them, he suddenly burst forward like an arrow.

The Avani had no time to react. Shang Ke slammed into him and knocked him over the edge. As the man fell, his grip on the child loosened.

Shang Ke snatched the little fox out of the air, twisted his body midfall, and hurled the child upward with all his strength.

“Papa!” Suspended for one terrified instant in the air, the little fox watched Shang Ke plunge downward and disappear into the darkness. He stretched out his arms helplessly and screamed.

“Fox!” Mutu’s roar exploded from behind. He arrived just in time to catch the falling child, then stared into the black abyss below and went rigid…

Shang Ke plummeted through the darkness, wind roaring past his ears. Several times he tried to catch himself against the cliff face, but each attempt failed and only left him more battered.

Just as he inwardly cried, “My life ends here!”, the System’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind. 【Congratulations, Host. Additional Mission 2 complete—Within five years, develop the lion tribe into the foremost tribe on Kaloch Mountain, with a population of at least one thousand.】

What? It was complete?

As it turned out, the lion tribe had just accepted more than a dozen foreign beastfolk seeking refuge—the tribespeople of the bear who had been killed earlier. Once the elders carved their names into the registry, the lion tribe and its affiliated settlements officially reached a combined population of 1,007.

At the same moment the System spoke, a burst of violent pain tore through Shang Ke’s abdomen and nearly made him black out.

When his senses returned, he discovered that he had somehow landed across a thick tree branch and miraculously survived.

System, you bastard—you finally acted like a genuine golden finger for once!

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