Sam was still listening to the system's barrage of notifications when footsteps approached his room and stopped outside the hide curtain. Xuan's voice filtered through, soft but clear.
"Sam, are you asleep?"
"Not yet—come in."
The hide curtain was lifted, and Xuan stepped inside, holding a stack of clean animal hides in his arms.
"The nights get cold. Papa asked me to bring these over for you to use as bedding."
"Thanks." Sam took the hides and turned to spread them over his stone bed.
By the time he finished, Xuan still hadn't left. He was standing by the stone platform against the wall, staring at the items placed on it.
Sam recognized the objects on the platform—there were a few small wooden toys and some smooth, colorful stones. They must have been Xuan's childhood belongings, he thought. This room was probably Xuan's before it was given to him for the time being.
With that in mind, Sam walked over to stand beside Xuan, who was still gazing at the toys in a daze.
"Were these your toys when you were little?"
"No. They weren't mine." Xuan snapped out of his reverie, shaking his head.
"Then why are they in your room?" Sam asked, confused.
"This isn't my room," Xuan replied, his voice lower than usual, heavy with unspoken emotion. "This was my little brother An'an's room. He was a sub-beast."
Sam's confusion deepened. Xuan had only just come of age, so his little brother must have been even younger. How had this room become vacant for him to use? Besides, he hadn't seen any young sub-beasts at the clan leader's house earlier.
"Sam," Xuan said, his voice breaking through Sam's thoughts.
"Hm? What is it?"
"I actually came here to say something to you." Xuan turned to face him, his expression serious and earnest.
"Go ahead." Sam straightened up, matching Xuan's serious tone.
"Even though Papa already apologized earlier, I wanted to say it myself—sorry. I'm truly sorry."
"Huh?" Sam blinked, even more confused. "Sorry for what?"
"For leaving you alone in that cave in the wilderness while I went to hunt the shadow beast," Xuan explained, his eyes fixed on Sam with unwavering sincerity. "I didn't prioritize your safety, and that was wrong. I needed to apologize to you face to face. I hope you can forgive me."
It was clear from his expression that even though Xia and Qiuye had already apologized on his behalf, Xuan himself still couldn't let go of his guilt over the incident. He'd felt the need to apologize personally.
"No! No, it's fine—really! I never minded it at all, and I never blamed you for it!" Sam hurried to reassure him, his voice rising in his eagerness to get his point across. "You don't have to keep this on your conscience. I heard everything this afternoon—the shadow beast caused so much pain to your tribe. After finally tracking it down, you couldn't have let it get away. I completely understand. And after you killed it, I saw how your clansmen felt—even though they grieved for the past, they were also so happy and relieved. You're a hero to your tribe."
Sam hadn't expected Xuan to still be thinking about this incident. They hadn't known each other for long, but Xuan's sincere apologies always left him at a loss for words.
Hearing Sam's words, Xuan's gaze grew complicated. He'd known Sam didn't blame him, but he'd still felt it was his mistake to own up to. What he hadn't expected, though, was that Sam saw his act of hunting the shadow beast as that of a hero.
He stared at Sam for a long moment, then spoke slowly, his voice quiet and heavy with memories.
"The truth is… I had to kill it. It wasn't just for the tribe."
He paused, hesitating several times, as if struggling to put his thoughts into words. Sam could sense that he was holding back something, something he wanted to confide in someone but hadn't been able to share with Xia or Qiuye.
"Would you like to tell me about it?" Sam asked gently, his voice soft and encouraging.
Xuan's gaze drifted off into the distance, as if he'd been pulled back into the past by the weight of his memories.
What followed was Sam's first glimpse into the events of that fateful day ten years ago, told from Xuan's perspective—far more brutal, far more heart-wrenching than the condensed version Xia had shared with the tribe earlier.
It had been autumn, ten years ago. Every year at this time, the tribe would send out most of its beastmen in rotating groups for the autumn hunt, leaving only one-third of the tribe's warriors to take turns guarding the village. The sub-beasts would take advantage of this harvest season to gather as many edible plants as possible, preparing for the harsh winter ahead.
This was the time when both animals and plants were at their most abundant and plump. Carnivorous beasts could easily hunt fat, slow prey that posed little to no threat. They would never dream of attacking a tribe—after all, beastmen were fierce fighters, and sub-beasts or cubs under the age of ten had too little meat and fat to provide any meaningful energy for the winter. Hunting them wasn't worth the risk of facing off against vengeful beastmen.
And yet, the attack had happened anyway.
It had occurred half a month before winter was due to arrive, when the tribe was preparing for its final autumn hunt of the season. Xia and Yang had led two-thirds of the tribe's beastmen out to hunt.
Each hunting expedition followed a strict seven-day cycle. On the third day after their departure, Xuan and Lie had been training on the open flatlands behind the mountain, just like any other day, under the guidance of adult beastmen who taught young cubs basic hunting skills.
The cubs who trained here were all between the ages of four and fourteen. Once they turned fourteen, they'd developed enough strength to defend themselves and would graduate to become reserve warriors, joining the hunting parties to learn combat skills in real battles.
By noon, Qiuye had brought food to the mountain to deliver to Xuan and Lie. An'an had been feeling unwell that day, so he'd stayed home, entrusted to the care of Chiye.
It was at that exact moment that the patrol beastmen's warning roar echoed through the air. Having undergone years of training, Xuan immediately understood the meaning behind the roar.
The tribe was under attack by wild beasts. The number was large, and the threat was grave.
The expressions of the training instructors had darkened instantly. They'd quickly assigned three beastmen to escort the young cubs and the sub-beasts who'd come to deliver food to a hidden cave for shelter.
The remaining instructors had all shifted into their beast forms in unison, then raced toward the direction of the roars, where the fighting was the fiercest.
Qiuye had led Xuan and Lie to follow the beastmen to the shelter cave. As they waited, more and more cubs and sub-beasts were escorted into the cave by the warriors, who then immediately turned around and rushed back to rejoin the fight.
The cave was well-hidden, and wild beasts would have trouble finding it. But for some reason that day, beasts kept sneaking up to the cave entrance, only to be killed by the three beastmen left to guard it.
"Ping! Are you holding up okay?" one of the beastmen called out to another, slashing at a beast that lunged at him.
"I'm more worried about the front lines!" Ping replied, dodging a beast's claws with a sharp twist of his body. "Something's wrong—why are so many beasts making their way here?"
"Ping! Tao! Watch out! There are too many of them!" the third beastman shouted, his voice strained with effort.
As more and more beasts swarmed toward the cave, a few inevitably slipped past their defenses and charged straight for the cave entrance.
Seeing this, the older cubs in the cave—those who were nearing fourteen—immediately shifted into their beast forms, banding together to fight off the beasts that had broken through the perimeter. Their small but fierce attacks helped relieve some of the pressure on the three adult beastmen.
With the cubs' help, the three adults were able to focus on blocking the larger, more dangerous beasts.
Gradually, the number of beasts attacking the cave began to dwindle. Just as they'd started to hope that the worst of the attack was over, an injured beastman stumbled into view from the direction of the village.
His body was covered in wounds, his fur matted with blood. He brought grim news.
"Ping! Tao! Shu! There are too many beasts! Lan says to gather all cubs over the age of twelve for battle! He's already sent Fei to find Xia and Yang—we have to hold out until they bring the hunting party back! Only two beastmen will stay here to guard the cave. Everyone else who meets the age requirement—follow me!"
This was a terrible sign. In times of attack or tribal crisis, the first to fight were always the prime-aged adult beastmen. If they were overwhelmed, the elderly and cubs over the age of fourteen would step up next. Only as a last resort—when all other options were exhausted—would they call upon all cubs over the age of twelve to join the fight.
And if the village truly couldn't be defended, a group of adult beastmen, the severely wounded who couldn't move easily, and all the elderly would sacrifice themselves in a final, desperate charge, buying time for the less injured warriors, sub-beasts, and young cubs to escape.
At the beastman's words, all the cubs in the cave who were twelve or older immediately shifted into their beast forms. Their sizes varied greatly—some were two-thirds the size of an adult beastman, while others were less than half as big.
But every single one of them stood tall, ready to fight.
Watching their children shift into beast forms and follow the adult warrior away, many of the sub-beasts in the cave felt their eyes burn with tears. If even the adult beastmen were struggling to hold back the tide, how many of these young cubs would survive to come home?
While Qiuye wasn't looking, Xuan shifted into his own beast form, trying to sneak into the departing group. He had to go find An'an and Uncle Chiye. They'd been waiting for hours, and while many sub-beasts and cubs had been escorted to the cave, there was still no sign of An'an or Chiye.
His papa had been so anxious that he'd dug his nails into his palms without even noticing, and Lie was still too young—only six years old. Xuan was the only one who could go out and look for them.
But he'd forgotten that he was only eight years old himself. Even though his beast form was larger than most cubs his age, he still stood out like a sore thumb among the twelve-year-olds. The lead beastman had spotted him immediately, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and yanking him out of the group.
He'd been tossed back into the cave entrance.
"Eight-year-old brats stay here! This isn't your fight—not yet!"
With that, the lead beastman had taken Tao and the group of twelve-year-old cubs and left, heading straight for the front lines.
They'd waited in the cave for what felt like an eternity. A few more sub-beasts and cubs had been escorted to safety, but still, there was no sign of An'an or Chiye.
As time dragged on, several young cubs who'd gone to fight were carried back to the cave, either unconscious or grievously wounded. Xuan's worry had grown with each passing minute.
The sub-beasts of the unconscious cubs had held their children in their arms, weeping silently, not knowing if their little ones would ever wake up again.
The cubs who'd been injured but still conscious had curled up in their papas' arms, licking their wounds and trying their best to comfort the adults, even though they themselves were in terrible pain.
And the cubs who hadn't come back at all? They might still be alive… or they might never have the chance to return home.
Xuan had seized his chance to sneak out of the cave when five more beasts had charged at the entrance.
The ten-year-old cubs in the cave had all shifted into their beast forms, standing alongside Ping and Shu, baring their still-soft fangs and facing off against the beasts.
Xuan's beast form was already nearly as big as the ten-year-olds', so he'd blended right in with them, completely unnoticed.
Everyone had watched the battle with bated breath. The ten-year-old cubs looked tiny and fragile compared to the massive, snarling beasts. Ping and Shu had fought fiercely, risking their lives to protect the young cubs.
The little beasts had used their small size and agility to their advantage—darting in to nip at the beasts' legs when they were focused on attacking Ping or Shu, then fleeing the moment the beasts turned to chase them. That had given Ping and Shu the opening they needed to deliver fatal blows to the distracted beasts.
After they'd killed the third beast, Xuan had slipped away from the fight, using the chaos as cover to run toward the village.
It wasn't until the battle was over, when all five beasts had been killed and the ten-year-old cubs had shifted back into their human forms and returned to the cave, that Qiuye had finally realized—Xuan was gone.
The moment he'd realized his son was missing, Qiuye had nearly lost his mind. He'd rushed to the cave entrance, grabbing Shu by the arm and sobbing,
"Xuan isn't back! He must have run off to find An'an and Chiye! Please—please bring him back! He's only eight years old!"
"I'm sorry… I can't leave here," Shu replied, his voice thick with regret but firm. He and Ping were the only ones left guarding the cave now. He couldn't abandon his post. He had to stay here to wait for news—and if the worst came to pass, he would be the one to lead the people in the cave to safety.
Qiuye had understood what Shu meant. He'd released his grip on the beastman's arm, stumbling back into the cave. As the clan leader's mate, he'd already acted selfishly by rushing out to beg Shu to save Xuan. He couldn't make things any harder for him now.