I thrived in the primitive tribe

Seeing Lu Yao's surprised and bewildered expression.

“Maybe it’s thanking you for rescuing its mate, isn’t it?” Loya explained from the side, his tone carrying a hint of certainty.

“Oh, wolf leader,” Lu Yao continued, “you don’t need to thank me. You should thank yourself. It was your perseverance that gave your mate a new lease on life. I just did what I should do. I hope the mother wolf recovers soon and your family can be reunited.”

The alpha wolf slowly raised its head, looked deeply at Lu Yao, as if trying to memorize her appearance, then lowered its head to snatch the mother wolf, seemingly preparing to leave.

"Wait, wolf leader!" Lu Yao quickly stopped him. Hearing Lu Yao's words, the alpha wolf put down the mother wolf he was carrying, raised his head and looked at Lu Yao with a puzzled expression, as if to ask, "What's wrong? Is there something else?"

Seeing the confusion in the alpha wolf's eyes, Lu Yao quickly explained, "Leader Wolf, your mate is still quite weak. She needs to take her medicine a few more times." Lu Yao pointed to the ceramic bowl. "It's the medicine in this bowl. Why don't you wait here for a few more days? We also need to stay here for a few more days until your mate is fully recovered, then you can leave together. What do you think?"

The alpha wolf looked down at its sleeping mate with deep affection, its profound wolf eyes filled with boundless care. It could sense that although its mate's vitality had stabilized, it was still in a relatively weak state.

After a brief moment of thought, the alpha wolf nodded. Then, it carefully picked up its mate and gently placed her on a flat, clean rock nearby.

After arranging its mate, the alpha wolf turned to face the pack, raised its head, and let out a long and deep howl. The pack responded with a few howls in return, and the valley echoed with a chorus of wolf howls.

Then the wolf pack slowly dispersed, leaving only a dozen or so strong adult wolves. They remained guarding their leader not far away, while the wolf cubs stood quietly, looking at their father and mother.

After working for a long time, and seeing that it was getting late, the group decided to pack up. They didn't have much water left to drink, as they had already used most of it to make medicine for the mother wolf. They discussed going out to find drinking water and see if they could find anything to eat.

So the group split up. Lu Yao and the others who stayed behind handed over the bamboo tubes they carried to the others who were about to go out. After the others disappeared into the forest, they began to clean up the earthenware pots they had used to boil salt. They took out the salt that had been boiled and put it into the earthenware pots they used to store the salt, and then washed the pots with lake water.

Seeing the group's actions, the alpha wolf howled at the wolves behind it, and then brought the two wolf cubs to the alpha wolf. After that, they left together.

Lu Yao nudged Luo Ya next to her with her elbow and asked.

"What are they doing?"

Loya looked up and glanced in that direction. "It must be the alpha wolf sending its minions out to hunt for food."

"Do the subordinates usually hunt for the alpha wolf?" Lu Yao asked Luo Ya with the curiosity of a child.

“No, usually the alpha wolf leads the pack out hunting. Today, it's probably because its mate hasn't woken up yet, and it wants to stay here with her, so it sent its pack to hunt,” Loya replied uncertainly.

"As the leader of a wolf pack, does this wolf only have this one mate?"

“Yes, wolves are very loyal animals. They only have one mate in their lifetime, and after one dies, the other will take care of their cubs alone until they can stand on their own and become qualified hunters. Then the wolves will leave the pack and wander alone.” Loya replied, searching his memory.

"Wolves are such expressive animals; their emotions are truly enviable," Lu Yao said with a look of longing.

Loya looked at Lu Yao strangely, as if deep in thought.

Not long after, the group that had gone out to find water returned and gave the bamboo tubes full of water back to everyone.

“There’s a river not far from here. After we filled our tank with water, we looked around and found fish, shrimp and crabs in the river. We thought we’d come back and get a basket to catch some fish and shrimp, have a simple meal, and then we wouldn’t go hunting. We don’t feel comfortable leaving you here too far.”

Although the wolf pack doesn't seem threatening, there's always the risk of a sudden attack. It's best to keep your distance to avoid any uncontrollable accidents.

Lu Yao and the others agreed with their statement.

"It's been so long since I've had fish, shrimp, and crab. You guys should catch as much as you can so we can make fish soup and cook shrimp and crab when we get back," Lu Yao said with a hungry look on her face.

"Don't worry, we'll use wicker baskets to scoop it up, so we'll definitely get plenty. Just make sure we can eat it all."

The group hurried back with their wicker baskets, preparing to catch the river delicacies that would soon become a delicious meal. Their figures gradually disappeared along the lush forest path, leaving only Lu Yao and Luo Ya behind, quietly waiting in place.

The tribesman who had been keeping watch in the tree also went out with the others. He had climbed down from the high branch after the wolves left. With the threat of the wolves gone, and the remaining wolves not far away, they could be seen from the ground, so there was no need to constantly perch in the tree and keep a close watch.

The two rekindled the smoldering fire. They still had plenty of firewood they'd gathered for making salt, so they didn't bother collecting more. Instead, they sat around the fire, gazing into the distance where two wolves were quietly huddled together. The two wolf cubs seemed to sense their mother's condition, staying obediently beside their father, sometimes climbing onto his back, sometimes gently tugging at his fur with their tiny paws—as if this was their only joy at that moment.

After some time, this time it wasn't the orcs who returned first, but rather several wolves that had just gone out that returned with their prey. They carried the hunted food in their mouths and placed it one by one in front of the leader, waiting for him to choose.

"Is all of this food for the leader? Can a wolf eat this much?" Lu Yao stared in shock at the scene before her.

"Why would you think that? This is food for all the wolves. They bring all the food back for the alpha wolf to eat first. Only after the alpha wolf has finished eating or made its choice will the rest be dragged down and shared among them."

"Oh, I see. I thought these were for the alpha wolf."

After the alpha wolf made its choice, it instructed a gray wolf to bring over an animal that looked tender and placed it not far from the two of them.

"Is this for us?" Lu Yao was shocked again by the alpha wolf. She had actually been fed by a wolf; this was a truly strange feeling. The alpha wolf, who had been watching the commotion, nodded reservedly.

After the gray wolf left, Lu Yao pulled the prey over. Luo Ya looked at it and said, "This is a young antler beast. It tastes very good. It is usually protected within its clan and is not easy to catch."

Lu Yao looked at the food in front of her with a face full of surprise and turned to the alpha wolf: "Thank you, wolf leader."

Loya cut the antler beast into pieces and placed them in a clay pot. Lu Yao poured in the water that her tribesmen had brought back earlier, then put it on a rack to boil. As the water boiled, the aroma of meat gradually wafted out.

"What's that smell? It smells so good!" Before seeing the person, one could hear their voice; the loud, boisterous voice of a clansman came from afar.