When the sun had fully risen, Minho stopped and said to her, "We are here."
Hayoon slid down from the giant snake's body, and he returned to his human form.
In front of them was an unfamiliar broadleaf forest. The tree trunks were thin and tall, with extremely high canopies. The spacing between trees was wide.
But deeper inside, low shrubs grew densely and chaotically. Light was blocked from above and the sides, making everything look dark and shadowy.
Even the grass on the ground was unfamiliar to Hayoon.
"We are already very far from the tribe," she said with emotion.
"Yes. A little further ahead is another tribe's territory."
Hayoon clicked her tongue in amazement.
They had actually reached the edge of the tribal lands.
"Go this way," Minho quickly identified the direction and naturally picked up the baskets from the ground, walking ahead.
Hayoon paused, then quickly followed and said a little embarrassedly, "Minho, I can carry them."
"It is fine."
Since he refused, she could not insist and could only follow quietly.
After moving through the forest for a while, Hayoon's ears twitched. She felt like she had heard something.
When she listened carefully again, it was gone.
Was it an illusion?
Minho in front suddenly stopped and looked into the dark forest ahead, his expression turning serious.
Hayoon's heart tightened immediately. "What is it? Is there danger?"
Minho said, "There seems to be something over there."
He turned back and added, "There is no danger."
Hayoon relaxed and smiled. "That is true. With a warrior like you here, there is nothing to fear even in the wild."
Minho slowly looked away and did not respond.
Hayoon leaned forward curiously. "Shall we go take a look later?"
Minho said, "Alright."
The two of them continued forward.
Soon, Minho brought her to a tree.
After choosing a spot, he took out a bone knife and, with steady strength, carved a Y-shaped cut into the trunk.
Then he took the beast skin bag Hayoon handed him and tied it onto the tree, leaving the opening spread wide.
Clear resin slowly flowed down along the fresh cut path and dripped into the skin bag with a soft pattering sound.
Hayoon bent down, her dark eyes shining. "So this is it?"
"Yes," Minho said. "If we collect it for two days, this bag should be full. There are a few more trees. Let us set them up as well."
"Alright," Hayoon said cheerfully. "Tell me the locations. We will split up and set them."
After all the bags were placed, Hayoon eagerly called out, "Come on, let's go see what that thing is."
Minho curved his lips slightly into a smile.
This time, he followed behind Hayoon.
Hayoon did not know how Minho detected things.
As for her, being a canine-type sub-beastman, she mainly relied on smell and hearing.
Fearing he would miss out on something good, Hayoon even manifested her beast ears.
Two thick, fluffy wolf ears, white on the inside and black on the outside, stood upright on her head, twitching from time to time.
She herself did not notice that there was a tuft of smart-looking fur on the tip of her wolf ears.
As they flicked, those tufts swayed along with them.
Those cute little tufts made Minho glance at her a few more times.
After her beast ears appeared, Hayoon's hearing improved greatly.
She finally distinguished the sound. It was a beast's cry, filled with pain and urgency.
To confirm the source, they moved forward slowly and stopped repeatedly.
Finally, after pushing aside a patch of shrubs, they saw the scene ahead clearly.
Hayoon immediately widened her eyes and said in surprise, "A calf?"
Lying on the ground was something that had been pierced through the hind leg and buttock by a sharp tree branch.
It struggled weakly from time to time and it was indeed a young cow.
As someone who studied agriculture and dealt with plants, there was no way Hayoon would not recognize a cow.
However, it was called a "calf" only because its fur had not fully grown in yet.
Its head and mouth were round, and its horns were only short stubs. It was not small in body size.
Hayoon estimated that when it stood up, it would be about one and a half meters tall.
She herself was only about one point seven meters.
The ground around it was muddy and trampled, with many trees knocked down.
It seemed to have struggled violently before running out of strength. Now it could only let out weak, pitiful cries.
None of that mattered.
What made Hayoon's heart start pounding wildly was this thought.
Beast God, she was going to have an ox for farming.
For agriculture, the meaning of cattle was revolutionary.
Properly domesticated cattle were strong, patient, and relatively docile.
If she wanted to farm, how could she do it without an ox?
This calf just happened to be injured and exhausted. Wasn't it perfect to bring it back to the tribe?
And it was still young, the best age for domestication.
During its recovery period, she could take the chance to build a relationship with it.
If things went well, by the time it grew up, it could already be used for production work.
Hayoon's eyes lit up brightly.
The more she thought, the more excited she became.
Her wolf ears fluttered wildly, and she stopped paying attention to anything she was hearing.
Her mind and body were filled with joy.
Even her nose seemed to stop working.
She stared straight at the calf and let out a silly laugh, just as she was about to step forward.
A strong arm blocked her path.
"Hm?"
She looked up at Minho.
After a few seconds, she finally came back to her senses.
"Oh, I got too excited when I saw the cow and forgot to tell you. Can we not kill this calf? I want to take it back and raise it."