Han Cheng squatted down and reached out to rub the little creature's head.
The black-eyed little guy was undoubtedly starving. Sitting there, hugging the bamboo shoot and munching on it with pure delight, it didn’t even glance at Han Cheng’s small act of affection.
Bai Xue was overjoyed. Back when she had followed Han Cheng back from the Fire Tribe and passed through the bamboo forest near Egret River, she had seen a little creature once before.
At the time, she had been tempted to snatch it up and carry it back to the tribe, but unfortunately, Han Cheng hadn’t allowed it.
Whenever she thought about it, Bai Xue felt a little regretful.
But she never expected that today, another tribe would bring such a little creature here!
And they only wanted to exchange it for some salt—how could she not be happy about that?
Even though she was already a mother, Bai Xue was still quite young, and her temperament hadn’t changed much.
Holding Little Pea in her arms, she came closer, reaching out to stroke the fur of the tiny creature, stuffing itself with bamboo. Her brows and eyes were filled with laughter.
If all it took to get fresh, tender bamboo shoots to pet , it would be more than happy to be touched daily.
After a while, Little Pea, who was in Bai Xue’s arms, reached out a tiny hand and grabbed the little panda’s ear.
It was unclear when Little Pea developed this habit of grabbing ears, but Han Cheng and Bai Xue’s ears suffered ever since.
Whenever they held him, he would grab onto their ears. Even at night, he couldn’t fall asleep without holding onto an ear. If they didn’t let him, he would cry.
Fortunately, he was gentle about it—he only held on and didn’t scratch or pull.
This little panda cub had been through plenty of rough handling since birth. It was already tough-skinned and didn’t react to this minor disturbance, remaining perfectly calm.
The chief of the Bear Tribe watched this scene with confusion. He couldn’t understand why they were treating this creature so well, especially considering how ferocious it would become once it grew up.
Were they planning to raise these black-and-white bears like the fierce wolves, training them to guard the tribe?
His gaze flickered to Fu Jiang and the other wolves, and a realization dawned upon him.
He felt as if he had uncovered the truth.
Black-and-white bears were far more formidable than wolves. If they could be trained to be obedient, then once they grew up, no outsider could easily enter the tribe.
Maybe his tribe should start raising bear cubs too?
As this thought took shape in his mind, he recalled the moment when wolves had surrounded them not long ago.
If his tribe could raise some loyal and ferocious beasts…
The mere idea of it filled the Bear Tribe’s chief with excitement.
Han Cheng had no idea what the chief was thinking, but if he did, he would probably sigh helplessly in response.
Using these round, fluffy creatures as guard animals—who would even think of such a thing?
Strangers wouldn’t need to bring anything valuable to win them over—just a few worthless bamboo stalks would do the trick. These round little guys would quickly forget their allegiances.
If they got carried away munching on bamboo, they might even personally lead intruders into the tribe.
One bamboo shoot was not enough for the hungry little creature. After finishing the first, it shamelessly grabbed another from Han Cheng’s hands and continued munching.
Letting the others return to building the wall, Han Cheng carried the happily munching cub deeper into the tribe, accompanied by Bai Xue and Little Pea, still clutching the little panda’s ear…
Han Cheng treated the members of the Bear Tribe who had brought the panda cub with great hospitality. Not only did he make sure they were served a proper meal first, but he also generously gifted them an entire jar of salt.
When he learned that they had come so quickly that they hadn't brought any salt containers, he went even further, giving them the jar along with the salt.
Shaman and Shitou, who were well aware of the divine child's temperament, were overjoyed at the sight.
Never before had an animal cub been worthy of a whole jar of salt, let alone the jar itself, in exchange.
For primitive people, the most valuable creatures were good to eat and easy to tame.
And this black-and-white bear cub before them was clearly among the best. Hadn't the divine child managed to win it over with just a few bamboo shoots?
Even better, unlike other bears, this one ate plants.
Herbivorous meat-producing animals were the most cost-effective to raise—they required little investment yet yielded great returns.
This vegetarian black-and-white bear cub was a perfect fit for that category.
Shaman, Shitou, and the others grew increasingly excited. They couldn't resist touching the panda cub, and some even started drooling.
Seeing this, Han Cheng couldn’t help but twitch his nose.
Primitive people were ruthless—how could they even consider tossing such an adorable little creature into a cooking pot?
The unfortunate cub remained blissfully unaware, as it was currently being debated over whether it would taste better braised or steamed.
Having eaten plenty of bamboo shoots, it was now tugging at Little Pea’s walker, seemingly eager to climb in and take a stroll.
It had a knack for finding fun and wasn’t the least shy around strangers—truly a bear cub.
Bai Xue brought over a basin of clean water to bathe the cub.
At first, the little bear struggled a bit, but after a while, it gradually adapted.
By the end, it was reclining against the clay basin, thoroughly enjoying the bath Bai Xue gave it.
Looking as leisurely as possible, it seemed only a crossed leg away from pure indulgence.
“Divine child, about the… wall…”
Looking somewhat worried, Shaman pointed toward the Bear Tribe members standing at the gate.
They were glancing around curiously, intrigued by everything they saw, yet appearing somewhat restrained.
Shaman was concerned that constructing the wall before them might allow the Bear Tribe members to learn their techniques.
After all, the walls and houses were things the Green Sparrow Tribe took great pride in, and they guarded this knowledge carefully.
Han Cheng simply smiled and reassured Shaman not to worry.
Building a wall wasn’t so simple—it required a great deal of skill and an abundance of free time within the tribe to commit to such a labor-intensive task.
From what he knew of the current tribal lifestyle, very few tribes met these conditions.
And the Bear Tribe, standing right in front of them, was certainly not one of them.
This was precisely why Han Cheng had no reservations about continuing construction, even with the Bear Tribe members present.