Xia fell silent for a moment, taking a deep breath before turning to face the gathered clansmen.
"Send word to gather everyone else in the tribe," he ordered. "Once everyone's here, we'll tell the whole story together."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted to the shadow beast's corpse, a flicker of pain crossing his face before he quickly schooled his features back into neutrality. As clan leader, he couldn't afford to let his emotions show too openly.
Since it was a direct order from the clan leader, the tribespeople arrived quickly.
After about twenty minutes, the flow of arriving clansmen dwindled to a stop. Xia glanced around, estimating that most of the tribe had gathered, and decided not to wait for the stragglers any longer.
He stepped up onto the stone platform, gesturing for the nearby beastmen to lift the shadow beast's corpse onto the platform beside him.
A murmur rippled through the crowd as they stared at the massive beast. Xia raised a hand, signaling for silence, and the square fell quiet at once, all eyes turning to their leader.
Clearing his throat, Xia began to speak, his voice steady and clear, carrying over the silent crowd.
"Ten years ago, our tribe was attacked by wild beasts. Does anyone still remember that day?"
At the mention of the attack, the square erupted into a buzz of chatter, the memory still fresh in everyone's minds.
"Ten years ago, that attack became a wound our tribe will never forget," Xia continued, his voice growing heavier with each word. "In that attack, we lost countless clansmen—beastmen, sub-beasts, even many children."
"I'm sure most of you thought it was just a random, savage beast raid."
The crowd fell silent again, everyone lifting their heads to stare at Xia. He turned to glance at the shadow beast's corpse, pausing for a moment before he went on, his voice sharpening with anger.
"It wasn't random! This cowardly shadow beast was the one who caused it all. It wanted to steal all the food we'd worked so hard to stockpile before winter arrived. It craved the flesh of sub-beasts and cubs, and it *planned* that attack from start to finish."
"It waited until most of our beastmen were away from the tribe on our autumn hunt. Then it used its cursed ability to command hordes of wild beasts to attack our tribe."
"Back then, we had very few beastmen left to defend the tribe. The ones who stayed fought valiantly against the invading beasts—even the young, unbonded beastmen and the elderly joined the fight."
"But there were too many beasts. By the time the hunting party rushed back to the tribe, the village was swarming with wild beasts. And the people who'd stayed behind... most of them were either dead or wounded."
"And this shadow beast—the monster who caused all this chaos—sneaked into our food storage warehouse while our beastmen were busy fighting off the other beasts."
"But stealing our food wasn't enough for it."
"It avoided the beastmen entirely, hunting down only the hiding sub-beasts and cubs." At this, Xia's voice began to tremble, and he closed his eyes for a second, hiding the pain in his gaze.
"It... it killed the sub-beasts and cubs, piling their bodies up like... like discarded prey."
"When we finally found it, it was already too late to save the sub-beasts and cubs. We managed to leave this scar on its face, but we couldn't kill it. We let it escape."
With that, Xia walked over to the shadow beast's head, lifting it up so everyone could clearly see the jagged scar marring its face.
The square erupted into an uproar. The attack ten years ago hadn't been an accident—it had been a deliberate, cruel scheme hatched by this greedy, bloodthirsty beast.
Those who'd been confused before suddenly realized the truth. Normally, beast raids on tribes only happened during harsh, long winters, when food was scarce and the beasts were starving, driven to desperation by hunger.
But the attack ten years ago had happened in autumn, right before winter arrived—a time when food was abundant, and the beasts were fat and strong from hunting. They would never have risked attacking a tribe when they could easily hunt weaker, less dangerous prey instead.
Moreover, the number of beasts that had attacked back then had been far larger than any normal raid. It had been nothing short of a small-scale beast tide.
Yang hung his head, his hands clenched into tight fists. The broken nails on his fingers began to bleed again from the pressure.
Lie stood beside him, his hand trembling slightly as he supported his father's arm.
"Father..."
Yang took several deep, shuddering breaths, forcing his emotions under control. He glanced at Lie, shaking his head slightly to indicate that he was okay.
After a long, tense silence, someone finally spoke up, their voice thick with rage.
"Damn it! The bastard deserves to die a thousand deaths!"
"My child! Waaaah! My child died because of it! It owes me my child's life!"
"Waaaah! My father died in that attack! He died fighting those beasts!"
"My mate too..."
More and more people began to weep, their grief and anger filling the square.
"It's finally dead now! Who killed it? Who avenged our loved ones?"
"Yes! Who killed it? He's a hero of our tribe!"
"I think it was Xuan! He went out on his coming-of-age hunt a while ago. I saw him bring the beast back with his own hands!" someone called out.
"No wonder he was gone for so long on his hunt—he was out there tracking this monster down!"
"Well done! Xuan, you're our hero!"
...…
Xia didn't say anything else, letting the clansmen vent their pent-up grief and anger freely.
Not many people had known the full truth about the attack ten years ago—only the beastmen who'd fought the shadow beast and the few who knew about the creature's existence had been aware of its role in the tragedy.
It took a long time for the crowd to quiet down again. When the sobs and shouts finally faded to a murmur, Xia spoke up once more.
"Ten years later, Xuan took advantage of his coming-of-age hunt to track down this shadow beast. He killed it with his own hands and brought its corpse back to the tribe. At long last, this matter has been put to rest."
All eyes turned to Xuan, who stood there with a blank, emotionless expression on his face, looking cold and detached.
Lan, the hunting party leader, stepped forward and clapped Xuan hard on the shoulder.
"You've done well, lad. You've made us all proud."
With that, he turned away, wiping a tear from his eye. His own papa had been killed by the shadow beast ten years ago, and his father had died fighting off the hordes of beasts it had commanded.
The crowd erupted into cheers again, this time their voices filled with pride and admiration, all their attention focused on Xuan.
...…
By the time the gathering finally dispersed, the sky had turned completely dark. Sam followed Xuan closely, walking toward the clan leader's house. As he replayed everything he'd heard and seen that day—the grief and the relief of the tribe's people—he made a silent decision in his heart.
They arrived at the clan leader's house soon after. Lifting the heavy hide curtain at the door, Sam saw Xia and his mate Qiuye sitting in the center of the room, waiting for them.
"Father, Papa—this is Sam," Xuan said, leading Sam into the room and sitting down across from them.
Qiuye immediately broke into a warm smile when he saw them enter, though his eyes were still red and puffy, clearly evidence that he'd been crying not long ago.
Xia also looked at them with a gentle gaze, far more like a caring father than the stern clan leader he'd been earlier in the square.
A fire burned in the center of the floor, with a stone pot hanging over it, filled with chunks of meat and wild vegetables simmering in broth. The rich, savory aroma wafted over to Sam, making his stomach growl—he was suddenly ravenous.
"Sam, is it?" Xia said, his voice warm and welcoming. "Welcome to Azure Mountain Tribe."
"You must be hungry. Let's eat first—we can talk later."
Qiuye ladled a portion of the hot broth and meat into a stone bowl, handing it to Sam first. He was about to scoop another bowl for Xuan when Xia pressed a full bowl into his hands.
"You eat too. You've been through so much today—you need to keep your strength up." Only after making sure Qiuye had a bowl did Xia fill one for himself.
Watching this small, intimate interaction, Sam felt a wave of warmth spread through his chest. He liked this kind of family atmosphere—it felt like home.
Qiuye was quick to notice the softening in Sam's expression. Setting his bowl down, he said gently,
"Xuan told us he met you out in the wilderness. That boy has never really spent much time around sub-beasts before. If he did anything wrong or made you uncomfortable, please don't hold it against him."
"No, no—Xuan was amazing!" Sam quickly shook his head, setting his bowl down in his eagerness to explain. "If I hadn't met him, I never would have survived out there."
Qiuye shook his head, his voice soft but earnest. "Xuan already told us everything. When he found you, he hadn't completed his hunt yet, so he left you in a cave to wait for him instead of bringing you back to the tribe right away. That was far too dangerous for a sub-beast—he shouldn't have prioritized his hunt over your safety. I hope you can forgive him for that."
His face was filled with genuine remorse.
"We didn't raise him well enough," Xia added, placing a comforting hand on Qiuye's shoulder. He looked at Sam with the same apologetic expression as his mate.
Xuan stared at the ground the entire time, his head hanging low in obvious guilt, too ashamed to meet Sam's eyes.
Sam was so shocked by their words that he almost jumped to his feet, his voice rising in his haste to reassure them.
"No! It wasn't like that at all! I was so lucky to meet Xuan! He did everything he could to protect me—he took care of me even while he was out there hunting that dangerous beast, worrying about my safety the entire time. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me—I must have been such a burden to him!"
Qiuye stared at Sam in surprise, clearly taken aback by his vehement reaction. After all, Sam had only just arrived in this world, and even with the system's protection, he still didn't fully understand just how perilous the wilderness was for a sub-beast with no beastman to protect him.
Out in the wild, a sub-beast alone was practically as good as dead. Xuan leaving him in a cave by himself, even for a short time, had been an incredibly reckless thing to do.
Xuan looked up at Sam in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. He'd known Sam didn't blame him, but he'd never imagined Sam felt this way—*that Sam thought he was the one who'd been a burden*.
"Don't be so worked up—sit down," Qiuye said quickly, changing the subject to calm Sam down. "Eat your food before it gets cold."
Sam finally realized he'd overreacted, probably making them think he was upset. He sat back down, picking up his bowl and taking a big sip of the hot broth.
His eyes fluttered shut in bliss—it was delicious! After days of nothing but roasted meat, this warm, savory broth tasted like heaven. He ate so quickly that Qiuye couldn't help but chuckle, gently reminding him, "Slow down, don't choke—there's plenty more where that came from."
Watching Sam eat with such obvious enjoyment, Qiuye's eyes softened with a fatherly warmth. He glanced over at Xuan, who was still staring at Sam in a daze, and his voice grew even gentler as he said,
"You can think of this place as your tribe now—this is your home. We are all your clansmen, your family."
Sam froze mid-bite at these words, his head still hanging low. He blinked hard, holding back the sudden sting of tears in his eyes, before nodding slowly, his throat too tight to speak.
...…
Later that night, as Sam lay in the soft grass bed prepared for him in the clan leader's house, the system's voice finally echoed in his mind, a notification of a task completed.
**Task Completed: Join Azure Mountain Tribe. All existing functions have been unlocked. Please check the host panel for minor adjustments and updates.**
**Main Quest Unlocked: Develop Azure Mountain Tribe (Long-Term Task). Discovering or inventing anything beneficial to the tribe, or implementing measures that improve the tribe's well-being, will be considered progress toward this quest and will earn energy points. Energy points are crucial for both the system and the host. Please actively explore ways to promote the tribe's development! Note: The system advocates for positive, sustainable development and prohibits malicious competition or harmful practices.**
**System Upgrade Reward: One Unidentified Scenic Landscape Map. What is its purpose? Please continue to upgrade the system to find out!**