Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs novel Chapter 61

1. JM.

Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs

Chapter 61 Harvesting the Prickly Ash

The two prickly ash trees alone produced enough peppercorns to last them for months–likely through the entire winter.

By the time Zachary and the others arrived, a crowd had already formed beneath the branches, Hands reached upward, everyone scrambling to snatch as many clusters as possible. The atmosphere quickly turned competitive, urgency rising as no one wanted to be left behind.

However, harvesting wasn’t easy.

The branches bristled with thorns, and one careless move meant a painful cut.

Zachary discovered this firsthand. After only a few tries, shallow scratches lined his hand, and a bead of blood welled at his fingertip.

Matthew noticed immediately. His expression hardened as he stepped closer, grasped Zachary’s hand, and without hesitation, drew the injured finger to his mouth.

Zachary froze. “You don’t have to… I’m fine…”

From the side, Elias chuckled. “Therians‘ saliva helps wounds heal. It stops bleeding and speeds recovery. Just let him do it.”

Even knowing that, Zachary felt uneasy. The act seemed far too intimate. Matthew, however, treated it as nothing unusual. Once the blood was gone, he released Zachary’s hand and returned to picking peppercorns as if nothing had happened.

Zachary stared at his finger, a ridiculous thought flashing through his mind. This isn’t going to give me rabies, right?

If Matthew heard that, he might’ve smacked Zachary with the beast–hide bag.

Shaking his head, he forced the thought away and grew more careful.

The prickly ash was smaller than the towering trees nearby, more like a crooked shrub with a trunk the width of an arm and branches spreading thickly along its slope.

The lower branches were easy to pick–just standing on tiptoe or stepping onto a rock was enough to reach them.

Once those were nearly harvested, Zachary’s gaze shifted toward the treetop.

Up there, the sunlight was stronger, and the peppercorns had grown larger and redder, strikingly beautiful.

Elias had Ethan lift him without hesitation. Yael followed suit, letting Quincy climb onto his shoulders. From that height, the upper branches were easily within reach.

Zachary glanced at Matthew, then quickly looked away with hesitation. Elias and Ethan were brothers. Yael and Quincy were mates, so their closeness made sense.

Both Matthew and him were mates too, but Zachary knew better than anyone how little that bond meant in practice.

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Chapter 61 Harvesting the Prickly Ash

Flachen

Matthew didn’t need words. A single look was enough. He knelt, tapped his shoulder, and said simply. “Get

on.”

Before Zachary could protest, he was lifted. The sudden height startled him, and he instinctively grabbed Matthew’s head for balance.

“You’re fine.” Matthew assured him. “I’ve got you.”

Matthew stood steady.

Zachary gradually relaxed, and let go of his hand that was hugging onto Matthew’s. He even reached down to smooth Matthew’s slightly messy hair.

Realizing where his thoughts had wandered, he quickly refocused. “This side,” he said, pointing.

Matthew shifted, and Zachary began plucking peppercorns with ease.

Matthew held onto Zachary’s leg to keep him from falling.

The others soon noticed and joined in. Once they learned the peppercorns‘ uses, they spread out eagerly, searching for more trees.

What was meant to be a short pause stretched into the afternoon. By the time they set off again, their beast- hide bags were stuffed full. The therians carried them effortlessly, clamped in their jaws as they moved deeper into the forest.

Zachary had thought about returning later for the rest, but Yael warned that the forest’s twisting terrain made retracing steps nearly impossible. In the end, they gathered everything at once.

As they traveled, Matthew’s movements grew smoother–each step more controlled, each leap lighter. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the canopy, warm but fleeting, the kind of gentle glow only late autumn offered.

The mist had vanished, replaced by birdsong echoing from every direction.

Zachary absorbed it all. This world never ceased to astonish him.

There were birds taller than people, monkeys with eerily human faces, frogs with six legs, flowers large enough to swallow him whole, and leaves shimmering in unnatural colors.

Nothing resembled the world he had once known.

After crossing countless ridges, the Black Panther Tribe finally reached their destination near sunset.

The mountain before them towered higher than any Zachary had seen, its ridges stretching endlessly, cloaked in dense green.

The vegetation layered upon itself in dense tiers, stretching so far that the eye could not find an end.

Aside from the difference in climate, he felt as though he had stepped into another realm–vast, unfamiliar, overwhelming.

Since they planned to stay here for two or three days, the therians immediately began searching for a

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14:55 Fri, Jun 5*** JM.

Chapter 61 Harvesting the Prickly Ash

suitable spot to set up camp once they stopped.

Finished

Of course, “setting up camp” here was nothing like the modern idea of pitching tents or building ready- made shelters. Everything had to be created from scratch.

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