LSLFBW: Chapter 57

On the hillside beside the sheepfold, Qi Bai adjusted the small hat made of cypress branches on his head and tried to hide his whereabouts.

“It has been three days.” Qi Bai pointed to the two sheep lying on the ground and whispered to Lang Ze, “There is definitely something wrong with Xiao Hua and Xiao Cao.”

There were a total of 38 sheep in the Black Mountain Tribe’s sheepfold, four of which were pregnant. Qi Bai came to observe the condition of the flock every day and patiently gave each ewe a nickname.

The one with round eyes was called Doudou, the one with concave ears was Juanjuan, the one with a slightly crooked mouth was Xiao Cao and the last one with a mark on her face was Xiao Hua.

Lang Ze didn’t quite understand the meaning of the names Qi Bai gave them, but it was indeed easier to find ewes in the flock with such nicknames.

The beastmen relied on the milk of wild beasts to feed their young. So even though they had never successfully domesticated livestock, they had always been relatively accurate in judging the time when wild beasts gave birth.

According to Lang Ze’s initial observations, these sheep should give birth about a month after they entered the sheep. However, it wasn’t known if it was because the ewes were uneasy about their new residence or because the food that Qi Bai provided them was too good.

In short, two of the sheep, Xiao Hua and Xiao Cao, had been behaving very abnormally in recent days. They didn’t eat much even with plenty of food, and they always looked restless.

Qi Bai called Lang Ze over. He had a hunch that Xiao Hua and Xiao Cao would be giving birth soon. Based on today’s observation, Xiao Hua seemed a bit faster.

During the ten minutes or so that the two of them lay here, Xiao Hua kept walking around in place and looking at her belly.

Qi Bai narrowed his eyes and nudged Lang Ze with his elbow. “Look, is there something coming out of Xiao Hua’s hind legs?”

Just as Lang Ze was taking a closer look, Xiao Hua suddenly lay prone on the ground and started to make noises.

“It… it is happening! It is really happening!”

Qi Bai almost jumped up and looked more nervous than the unknown four-eared sheep father in the sheepfold.

Lang Ze’s eyes also became cautious. “I’ll go call the others over.”

Qi Bai quickly calmed himself down and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. “Okay, I’ll watch here.”

Qi Bai had become very familiar with Xiao Hua, Xiao Cai and other sheep, even preparing ‘delicious’ food for them every day, but there was a difference between beastmen and beasts. There was one thing that couldn’t be changed. It was that Qi Bai and Lang Ze’s ultimate goal was to steal the sheep.

Lang Ze’s figure quickly disappeared. Qi Bai continued to look at Xiao Hua in the shed. Unfortunately, from his current position, he could only see Xiao Hua’s head and forelimbs. He had no idea whether the baby had been born or not. He could only listen to her voice and worry anxiously.

Qi Bai thought, ‘Xiao Hua, you have to try hard to not have a difficult delivery. I don’t know how to deliver a baby or provide postpartum care. You must be strong.’

Soon, Qi Bai felt the sky above his head suddenly darken. He looked up and saw Xiong Feng and Huan Ping climbing up the big tree next to Qi Bai.

The two men’s animal skins were still wrapped around their waists, and their hands were covered in mud. They looked like they had been dragged directly from the kiln by Lang Ze.

“I got it!” Another voice sounded. Qi Bai saw Niu Yong, who was guarding the sheepfold, waving at them from the opposite hillside.

Following Niu Yong’s voice, Xiao Hua finally stood up. There was a small white figure on the ground and Xiao Hua was licking it hard.

Xiong Feng and Huan Ping immediately jumped down from the tree. Lang Ze signaled for them to be patient. “An ewe will not only give birth to one lamb.”

Lang Ze looked in the direction of the head sheep. “I will drive the head sheep out of the shed later. You two will go and steal Xiao Hua out. Don’t bump into other ewes.”

Xiong Feng and Huan Ping nodded, their faces full of joy. “Don’t worry, we will be careful.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on the sheep in the valley, so they didn’t notice Qi Bai nodding solemnly after hearing the words.

The reason why Lang Ze asked the two of them to steal the sheep wasn’t only because both their partners were about to give birth, but more importantly, their beast forms could walk upright.

Now it wasn’t the usual action of bringing the ewes back to the tribe. What was more important was to ensure the safety of the ewes. After the milk was squeezed out, the ewes needed to be put back in the sheepfold.

Just as he was thinking about milking them, he saw Yang Luo, Diao Lan, and Zhu Zhu running over with a few bamboo tubes.

Wow, this ewe giving birth to a child really attracted half the tribe to come and watch.

In the next half an hour, Xiao Hua gave birth to two more lambs.

Qi Bai watched with great interest. He didn’t expect the newborn lamb to straighten its legs in just a few minutes. The first lamb was already able to circle around Xiao Hua and suckle.

QI Bai’s fists clenched with excitement as he looked at the fair, tender, and pretty little lamb that had been licked clean by Xiao Hua.

At this time, Lang Ze and the other two had already taken off their animal skin clothes and transformed into their beast form.

A wolf howl sounded without warning.

The flock of sheep were originally strolling leisurely in the valley when they heard the terrifying sound. They came to their senses and saw a silver-white figure swooping down the hill.

The sheep ran towards the inner mountain wall while the brown bear and honey badger dug at the ground with all four legs and quickly reached the shed where Xiao Hua was.

Xiao Hua wanted to escape, but she had just given birth. There was no way she could outrun two huge beastmen.

Xiong Feng and Huan Ping easily lifted Xiao Hua up, one in front and one behind. The umbilical cord, which hadn’t been bitten off in time, fluttered in the wind as if expressing Xiao Hua’s dissatisfaction.

After making sure that they had succeeded, the two beastmen ran to a corner of the thorn wall where there was a movable bamboo gate that they had made a long time ago. Niu Yong and Ci Yi were already waiting there, ready to open the gate to welcome the two of them at any time.

Just when everyone thought that today’s mission was about to be successfully completed, Yang Luo suddenly discovered a small white figure running hard behind the brown bear and honey badger.

He looked to the side and saw Qi Bai’s fur coat dropped to the ground. Yang Luo’s voice almost broke. “When did he go down there?”

At Yang Luo’s reminder, Diao Lan and Zhu Zhu realized that Qi Bai had secretly run into the sheepfold at some point.

The most important thing was that the little snow leopard was holding a lamb in his mouth. However, the sub-beastmen were naturally small in size and even the newborn lamb was almost the same size as him. Anyone could see that he was running with difficulty and his long tail was stretched taut.

He raised his head high. It was only in this way that the lamb could be completely off the ground. He relied on the resistance of its body to stop it from falling in the snow.

The flock of sheep, which was driven away, finally reacted and started running around in a panic. Lang Ze couldn’t take care of all the four-eared sheep by himself. Two or three rams were already running towards Xiong Feng and Huan Ping.

However, after they discovered the two people’s huge beast forms, they turned around and rushed towards Qi Bai behind them.

Yang Luo, Diao Lan, and the others tightly grasped the bamboo tubes in their hands as they stared at the little snow leopard without blinking. It took them a long time before they could finally sigh with relief.

The little snow leopard looked like he was carrying the lamb in a very strenuous manner, but in reality, the sheep couldn’t get close to him at all.

Qi Bai could not only jump nimbly over the blockade of the sheep, but he could also keep up with Xiong Feng and Huan Ping. He looked quite proud of himself.

However, Qi Bai forgot one thing. In order to prevent the sheep from hitting the gate, they cut the original wooden stake in half and added the bamboo gate on top.

Therefore, the bamboo gate that was more than one meter above the ground was now right in front of him. Qi Bai was holding a lamb in his mouth and was a bit unsure if he could jump over it or not.

Just as Qi Bai was hesitating over whether to transform into a human form and crawl over, he suddenly leaped into the air and flew directly over the thorn wall that was over two meters high.

Hey, he was flying.

Qi Bai’s thoughts only lasted for a few seconds. Before he could enjoy the feeling of flying without any effort, he was placed on the snow by Lang Ze.

Qi Bai put down the lamb in his mouth and licked the tip of his nose. He hadn’t played enough. Thinking of this, Qi Bai used his short legs to poke at Lang Ze’s wolf claws.

The giant wolf raised his front legs, and the little snow leopard was thrown to the ground. The thick pads of his limbs were still scratching the air. One of the giant wolf’s paws gently pressed on the little snow leopard’s belly.

“Awoo~”

The giant wolf rubbed his belly and said, ‘Do you know that it is dangerous to run among so many prey?’

“Meow~”

The little snow leopard hugged the giant wolf’s paw. ‘Haha, don’t step on my belly. It is too itchy. Hahaha.’

“Awoo~ Awoo~”

The giant wolf wagged his tail. ‘If you want a lamb, just tell me directly, and I can catch it for you.’

“Meow~ Meow~”

The little leopard said directly, ‘Woo woo, bite you.’

Qi Bai finally got what he wanted. The giant wolf pressed the little snow leopard on the snow and kneaded him for a while. Finally, he gently bit the back of the snow leopard’s neck and ran quickly towards the white snow field.

The wind blew towards him, carrying the scent of ice and snow and blowing away the fur on Qi Bai’s face. Qi Bai opened his eyes wide, not wanting to miss any frame of this beautiful scenery.

The slowly flowing stream and the pine forest covered with snow made the world vast and magnificent like a dream.

Lang Ze took Qi Bai for a long walk in the forest outside the sheepfold. By the time they came back, Diao Lan and the others had already held down the ewes and started milking them.

Everyone might not know how to raise sheep, but they were all very skilled at milking sheep. Zhu Zhu held the bamboo tube in one hand and gently squeezed the milk with his other hand. The sheep milk flowed out and already filled nearly half a bottle.

He saw Qi Bai, who had already changed into animal skin clothes and even raised his eyebrows with excitement, Zhu Zhu didn’t dislike them for running out to play. He just smiled and shook his head.

Young beastmen, they all understood.

Only Huan Ping asked in confusion, “Bao Bai, why are you catching a lamb?”

Yang Luo looked behind Qi Bai and asked, “Where is the lamb?”

Qi Bai, who was squatting nearby and curiously watching the sheep being milked, stiffened for a moment. Then he stood up and quickly ran back.

He had completely forgotten about the lamb…

The moment he walked to the thorn fence, Qi Bai saw Lang Ze holding the lamb he had stolen in one hand.

The little lamb: “Meh~”

Lang Ze handed the lamb to Qi Bai. “It is such a small lamb. There won’t be much meat.”

Qi Bai took the lamb with a smile and shook his head. “This isn’t for eating. You all say that wild beasts will be repelled by the smell of beastmen.”

QI Bai’s eyes sparkled. “What if I raise it from childhood? It isn’t familiar with the flock yet and might be able to accept beastmen. If we can feed this lamb, we can feed more lambs!”