Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 052
Chapter 52
As it was winter, the new houses Ka Luo and Azhang were building were to be built according to their original construction methods. The house was no more than two meters high, and there were two connected rooms in each house; one for living in and one for storage. The four locust dragon eye carapaces Azhang brought back were just enough to add to each of the rooms, brightening up the rooms a lot.
This time there were a lot more people helping with the construction, so the houses were built very quickly. From moving the slates from the tribe to building the room frames, all four rooms were finished in one day. All that was left was to wait for the gum fruit to dry before adding on the roof and they would be ready to be moved into.
Due to the removal of one side of the ice wall, Chen Qi could only include the newly-built houses to also be encompassed within the wall. Therefore, with the inclusion of Chen Qi’s original large yard space, the present courtyard was almost comparable to the size of a football field.
Azhang left soon after building the room frames and Chen Qi did not see him again for several days. Since it was not snowing, Aze took advantage of Ake’s presence to go to the outskirts of the forest and cut down many trees. The wall was almost as tall as a person. Chen Qi planned to build the front and rear gates of the wall next.
The gate was built using whole tree trunks that were as thick as two fists. Chen Qi used rope woven from root threads to tie the tree trunks together and formed the first doorgate prototype. Then he filled in the gaps between the tree trunks with melted gum fruit. After the gum fruit dried, he fixed wooden grooves onto the doorgate. The wood used for the wall’s gate frame had been frozen into the wall, and there were similar grooves at the corresponding positions on the gate frame. When the time came for the gate to be closed, as long as a thick stick was plugged into the two grooves, it could not be pushed open from the outside.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ajing’s injury recovered very well, and in just two days, he could already sit up and eat on his own. Chen Qi added some minced meat to the rice paste he prepared and there was half of the ginseng left. He no longer needed to add it to the bone soup.
“When can I go back?” Ajing asked Chen Qi after finishing his bowl of rice paste. This was the first time he had spoken since waking up. Perhaps because of the injury, his voice was soft, though his tone was firm.
The little wolf cub spent more time awake these last couple of days. Now, after being satiated with food and drink, it was curled up in Aze’s palm and sticking out its small, pink tongue to lick playfully at Aze’s fingers.
Hearing Ajing’s words, Chen Qi was stunned and it was Ka Luo, who was sitting next to him, that answered, “Go back? Where are you going back to? The tribe? There is no one left in the tribe anymore. Uncle Azhang escorted the rest of the tribespeople to the Lion-Wolf Tribe this morning.” When Ka Luo finished speaking, he glanced smugly at the child who was half-lying on the fire keng. “You can only live here with us now.”
Ajing looked at Ka Luo with narrowed eyes and pursed his lips, not responding.
“I suppose you have already instigated Uncle Azhang to stay behind as well?” Aze retracted the finger licked by the little wolf whelp and pinched the tip of its ear. The little wolf cub repositioned itself more comfortably and closed its eyes in contentment. Although Aze phrased his words as a question, his tone was quite certain.
“What do you mean ‘instigate’? It was Uncle Azhang himself who said he was going to stay here too.” Ka Luo retorted, starting fiercely at Aze.
Ake patted Ka Luo on the head to appease his mate’s puffed-up fur*. “It was indeed Uncle Azhang who said he wanted to stay. I just told Uncle Ali that we were going to stay here. Uncle Ali felt that Chen Qi knew a lot so he wanted to stay and learn more things from him during the winter. Uncle Azhang was worried that Uncle Ali would run off with Chen Qi, so he decided to stay as well.” Ake gave Aze a profound look and continued, “Uncle Ali, as you know, is still a single female.”
*Not literal fur. Like an angry kitty, pic source: google
Chen Qi, who was getting some bone soup for Ajing, was shocked at Ake’s words. His hands trembled and he spilled some soup into the fire, making a hissing sound. He looked up at Ake and got a fox-like smile in return.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Aze’s body froze for a moment and he raised his head to look at Chen Qi. He saw Chen Qi was also nervously looking at him so he quickly lowered his head back down.
Chen Qi’s heart sank. He gave Ake a fierce glare and leaned in closer to Aze. “Don’t listen to Ake’s nonsense. He has already noticed the relationship between us and is just trying to sow discord. I already agreed to be your mate, so I naturally wouldn’t look at anyone else.”
“What? You want to be my brother’s mate?” Ka Luo sprang to his feet and pulled Aze behind him to protect him from Chen Qi. His stance looked exactly like an old mother hen trying to guard her little chick from a big bad wolf.
Chen Qi couldn’t help but feel a headache starting. What’s all this? How did it develop into this scene of facing off with Ka Luo? But at this time, he naturally wouldn’t back down, so he nodded and replied, “Yes, I intend to be Aze’s mate.”
“Are you just saying this because he’s the only female you’ve really come in contact with? Are you sure you like him?” Ka Luo naturally liked Chen Qi and hoped that Chen Qi could become his brother’s mate. But if Chen Qi did not sincerely want to be with Aze, then he would definitely oppose it to the end.
Chen Qi straightened up his expression and replied seriously, “Yes, I like Aze. I want to be his mate because I like him.”
Ka Luo hesitated. “You know, my brother doesn’t have a pregnancy pattern. He can’t bear a child for you.”
“It’s not like I like Aze because of the pregnancy pattern. Whether Aze has a pregnancy pattern or not, as long as he is the Aze I know, even if he was a male, I would probably still like him.” Chen Qi said while turning to look towards Aze.
This time, Aze was also looking at him. From Ake’s earlier words, Aze had guessed that this only good friend of his, with whom he had grown up with, had noticed his and Chen Qi’s relationship since long ago. Earlier, he had not dared to look back at Chen Qi, not because he did not trust Chen Qi, but because he was worried that Ka Luo would’ve noticed. Although he had confirmed the relationship with Chen Qi, it was still only known to the two of them. He wasn’t sure whether Chen Qi wanted to disclose the matter to others. If Chen Qi didn’t want to say anything about it, he would naturally continue on as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He didn’t expect Chen Qi to directly announce their relationship to Ka Luo and Ake.
“You like males?” Ka Luo exclaimed and immediately took a few steps back. “I look so much like my brother. Don’t be interested in me. I already have a mate and will soon be a father.”
Chen Qi’s head was full of black lines. How is this what he is focusing on? He looked at Ka Luo’s small round face with childlike features, and then at Aze’s chiseled mature man’s face. Where exactly did Ka Luo get the confidence to come out and say that he and Aze looked alike? Chen Qi was almost at the end of his patience and said, “Even if I like males, I only like males that are like your brother.”
Ka Luo patted his chest and went back to sit in his original spot. “Then I’m relieved. Although I don’t object to you being with my brother, if you dare to bully my brother, I definitely will not let you go.” Ka Luo bared his teeth and made a menacing expression that he thought was fierce, but Chen Qi could only roll his eyes at that small round face and remind himself one hundred times that this was his brother-in-law.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ake pulled Ka Luo back to his side, smiled and smoothed his fur down.
When Chen Qi redressed Ajing’s wound that night, he found that the child’s injury was already healing. The intestine thread could be seen on the surface and it did not seem to dissolve very well. Chen Qi considered whether he should remove them and worried that the wound would reopen again if he did. After thinking about it, he decided to leave them in for a few more days.
How effective was the pain relief from the willow leaf paste? Chen Qi had not tried it so he naturally did not know. Every time he redressed Ajing’s wound, Ajing would bite his lower lip and frown. However, he did not make a sound and cleverly let Chen Qi do what he needed to. Seeing this level of tolerance at Ajing’s young age, Chen Qi felt a little distressed and his actions subconsciously became gentler.
“When can I go back?” After Chen Qi finished rewrapping the bandages, Ajing repeated his earlier question once more.
“Didn’t Ka Luo already tell you that there was no one left in the tribe? Why do you still want to go back?” Chen Qi sat down by the fire keng and asked softly.
Ajing was silent for a moment. “I am seven years old. I am a female and I can support myself.”
“Then, how do you support yourself?”
Ajing thought for a moment, “I can find food for myself. I have already picked a lot of wild fruits. It is enough for me to pass the winter with.”
“Did you always rely on wild fruits to pass the winter alone?” He had heard from Ka Luo that the child’s parents were killed in the hyena-drake attack three years ago, and that he’d been living alone for several years.
Ajing shook his head. “Ali sometimes sends me food. But he can’t hunt for himself, so I send it back to him.” After thinking for a while, he continued, “The male named Ka Luo would also give me food. Dad said that I am a female and that I need to take care of the males, so I can’t take Ka Luo’s things either. I am seven years old and can find my own food. I can catch hares now.”
Chen Qi felt his heart ache. He pulled Ajing’s small body into his arms and patted the child’s small head. Ajing struggled a little bit and it pulled at his wound. He could not help but grimace, “What are you doing?”
Chen Qi apologetically let go of him. At this moment, Aze came over with the sleeping pup. Chen Qi said to Ajing, “Do you want to help me with my work? I can give you food and let you live here. There is no one left in the tribe. It is not convenient for you to live there alone. How about staying here to help me?”
Ajing looked at him questioningly. “What can I help you with?”
Chen Qi pointed to the little wolf cub in Aze’s arms and said, “You see the little wolf cub Aze is holding?”
Ajing nodded.
“As you heard just now, Aze and I are mates, but we may not be able to have children. We picked up this young wolf cub. I plan to raise it as our child. It is still so small and we usually have a lot of things we need to do. Can you help us take care of it? Of course, we will also provide you with food.”
Ajing looked at Chen Qi and then at Aze. Then, he shifted his gaze to that ball of a pup that was fast asleep. “You trust me to take care of it?”
“Of course. You are already seven years old. It should be easy for you to take care of a little wolf cub. And aren’t you a female? You can protect it and let it grow up healthy.”
Ajing thought for a moment and finally nodded, “Then it’s settled. Since you saved me, I will help you take care of your child. I’ll take care of it until it is… how many years old?
“Since you are all grown up at the age of seven, then you can take care of it until it is seven years old. Then it will be able to support itself like you.”
Ajing straightened his back and promised, “I will take good care of it until it is seven years old.”
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Such a mature little kid… Grow up well Ajing!
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomNight73
Proofreader: Yume
Editor stepping into the realm of MTL translating, starting with CLWP. Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
Cute
Thanks for reading and commenting.
CQ just adopted a child