Chapter 1404: Chapter 1243: Primordial Beast World 9
Over here, Shuangshuang was still thinking about Striped Beast Meat, while over there, Saran’s mind had already focused on the seasoning mentioned by Shuangshuang, full of curiosity.
"Is that seasoning really so magical? Then we must bring back a good amount this time." As Saran said this, worry flashed across her face again: "If we gather too much and can’t bring it back, that would be troublesome."
Seeing Saran and Shuangshuang worrying about carrying too many items back, Shili, who had been watching them with a smile, interjected with a laugh: "Don’t worry, if you two gather more than you can carry, I’m here to help."
"Hehe, I always knew Dad was the best. Don’t worry, Dad, I have a lot of strength too and can carry many things." Shuangshuang said with a smile in Saran’s arms.
The family of three laughed and prepared the items needed for the hunt: herbs to repel insects and venomous snakes, roasted jerky, and a bamboo tube of clean water.
As for weapons, for the Beastmen, their beast form was the fiercest weapon, more handy than any tool.
The Hunting Team led by Shili and Saran consisted of the tribe’s strongest Beastmen, including Da Shi, who had just recovered.
Hunting was not an easy task; because they were the elite force, the responsibility was greater. Other hunting teams might bring back fewer prey, or even return empty-handed.
The team led by Shili and Saran bore the hope of the tribe’s survival. Every time they went hunting, they had to bring back enough prey.
Especially this hunt was crucial. Last time the hunters returned almost empty-handed, due to Da Shi’s mishap.
The tribe held a feast to honor the Gods, and the food supply was gone. If they couldn’t bring back enough game, everyone would have to start eating vegetables.
Most Beastmen in the tribe were carnivorous beasts and preferred meat. Without meat, only vegetables, they’d have no strength, making hunting dangerous.
As Shuangshuang joined the hunting party leaving the tribe, everyone transformed into their beast form, with the majority being Silver Tigers.
Although their shiny silver fur was beautiful, it was too bright for the wild and made them conspicuous as prey for predators.
So, once transformed into their original form, Shili took out a bamboo tube, poured out many green powdery substances, mixed them with water, and had all the transformed Beastmen spread it over their fur.
This powder, a legacy from the previous Great Witch, was concocted from unique herbs and turned the silver tiger’s fur green after mixing with water, lasting for seven to eight days without fading.
With mutual assistance, a large group of green tigers appeared on the ground. They looked peculiar, but blended into the greenery, adding much safety.
In addition to the green tigers, the group included a giant python, two Black Feathered Eagles, and a giant, peculiar rat!
Indeed, it was a rat. Shuangshuang observed that the Beastman’s beast form was identical to a rat, though perhaps it was a Flower Branch Rat.
The only difference was this rat was over a hundred times larger than the rats in Shuangshuang’s memory, about the size of a small calf, with smooth and soft fur.
Shuangshuang suddenly realized that a rat magnified this much was quite adorable, not at all unsettling.
Shuangshuang was also transformed by Mother Saran into a small green tiger, carried swiftly on Father Shili’s back. Compared to animals, Beastmen had one great advantage: endurance.
Beastmen could maintain high-speed running and combat for long periods, unlike many animals—except for Horror Beasts. This endurance greatly benefited their hunting.
Shili and Da Shi led the way, while Saran and other Beastmen, including the Rat-form Beastman, ensured no one tracked or threatened the group; the two Black Feathered Eagle-form Beastmen watched the skies.
The Hunting Team didn’t return the same day but hunted for several days until they accumulated ample prey before coming back.
Shili now led the group to a well-known and relatively safe hunting ground they had frequented many times before.
Every tribe had multiple such hunting grounds, but even these were not always safe.
The previously safe hunting ground had an unexpected visit from a Horror Beast, devastating the area and nearly costing Da Shi his life.
This time, Shili led the group to another safe hunting ground where the Xuan Shui Beasts lived and bred. Despite the "Shui" (water) in their name, they didn’t live in water.
The Xuan Shui Beasts resembled a hippo in appearance, with small eyes and nose and a large mouth. However, they lacked sharp horns; their sleek, tough skin was nearly impervious to Beastmen’s claws and possessed great power.
The Xuan Shui Beast had a single attack method: charging its whole body forcefully at the enemy.
The force of a Xuan Shui Beast was immense; even if one survived a hit, they’d be severely injured. But once evaded, due to their bulk and slow turns, they became easier to hunt.
They were called Xuan Shui Beasts because they had one stomach for food storage and another just for water storage.
Xuan Shui Beasts were social creatures. In good spirits, they’d gather to spit the stored water on each other for a bath.
Shili and Saran, accompanied by Shuangshuang, ran a full day before reaching the hunting ground and saw a group of Xuan Shui Beasts living together.
Shili told Shuangshuang: "You see there are many Xuan Shui Beasts here, but during hunting, we must avoid the pregnant females and the young cubs as much as possible."
Beastmen lived by the wisdom of not exhausting resources; they figured this out themselves and adhered to it, though no one had taught them this principle explicitly.
Shuangshuang felt sentimental that even primitive people understood such truths, while in the modern world, people ignored them for profit motives, driving many species to extinction.
She recalled a cat-loving friend’s words: seeing too much of human nature made one prefer cats and dogs, a sad reflection.
Hunting Xuan Shui Beasts wasn’t the most dangerous part; the real danger was unexpected encounters with carnivorous animals or deadly Horror Beasts.
As Shili, Saran, Da Shi and the others focused on hunting, Shuangshuang looked for herbs she had long noted.
But after a while, Shuangshuang found inconvenience in using Beast Skin to roughly pack the gathered items like the Beastmen.
