Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 108
Chapter 108
“Aze, can I go over and have a look?” The rumbling sound of flowing water shook Chen Qi’s soul. Chen Qi gently patted Aze on the shoulder, signaling for him to stop.
Hearing Chen Qi’s request, Aze called out to Ahxu, who was walking ahead.
“Chen Qi has never seen the Dosa River before?” Ahxu turned around and asked.
“I haven’t seen it before either.” Ale held up his hands and expressed his opinion. The Salt-Water Tribe was not on the other side of the Dosa River. According to the direction they were headed in, they would leave the range of the Dosa River after walking a bit further. Ale, who was venturing out for the first time, also wanted to get closer and have a look at such a magnificent river.
Ahxu smiled and asked for the opinions of Axu and his brother. Axu had been attending the gatherings held by the Lion-Wolf Tribe for several years, and he had crossed the Dosa River multiple times, but he had never taken a closer look. Now that everyone else wanted to go see it, he couldn’t help but feel a bit interested as well.
“Then let’s go and have a look.” Seeing that everyone had no objections, Chen Qi could not wait any longer and urged Aze to hurry up and go.
Most of the beastmen in the Dora Plains lived in the vicinity of the Dosa River or its tributaries. Only the original Rock-Mountain Tribe had always insisted on living by the Chishui River.
The surface of the Dosa River was very wide, barely allowing only a faint view of the opposite bank. There was no beach formed by the impact of the water onto the riverbank. The riverbank stood significantly higher than the water surface. This particular stretch happened to be a rocky area, and the stones along the bank had been polished smooth by the force of the water. Perhaps due to long-term moisture, the stones on the bank were covered in thick moss.
The water of the Dosa River was not clear, and had a tinge of reddish-brown. The roaring river could rival the Yellow River during the flood periods. It was said that at a relatively narrow section of the river, there were two tall rocky mountains that spanned the entire river surface, connecting the plains on both sides of the Dosa River. That was also the only way for animals to migrate every year. Thanks to those two rocky mountains, the Dora Plains remained unpartitioned by the Dosa River, preventing it from being split into two separate parts.
Chen Qi got down from Aze’s back. As the river water crashed against the rocks, it created a layer of mist that sprayed onto Chen Qi’s face. The breeze blew and spread the mist all over him. In this hot weather, it provided Chen Qi with a refreshing sensation, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly in bliss.
“Don’t go too close,” Aze took Chen Qi’s hand and cautioned him.
“En, I’ll just stay by the riverbank for a look.”
Chen Qi looked around and noticed a much taller rock not far away. The area around it had minimal vegetation, allowing for a clear view on the dry surface of the rock. Chen Qi pointed at the rock, “Aze, let’s go over there.”
Aze took the heavy backpack from Chen Qi’s back and placed it on his own back. He looked up in the direction Chen Qi had pointed at. The rock was very big and appeared to have a smooth surface. Aze nodded, took Chen Qi’s hand, and walked to the side closer to the riverbank. Then he nodded and replied, “Alright.”
By now, it was approaching noon, and Ahxu decided to rest directly by the riverbank. Ale took out a rope from his backpack, tied a fish hook made of bone, and threaded some cured meat as bait. He then grabbed Ashu and the other two to find a suitable spot to fish at. However, with the turbulent water flow on the river surface, whether they would be able to catch any fish remained uncertain.
Axu and Ahxu set down their belongings on a nearby acacia tree and cleared some space beneath it. They set up a small fire pit, and took out a small pottery dish to start making some tea. Given the current weather, drinking meat broth would be too greasy, but some daisy tea would help alleviate the greasiness and provide relief from the summer heat.
Ahxu saw everyone happily gathering by the riverbank and said to Axu, “It seems that they don’t plan to leave anytime soon. Let’s not have roasted meat for lunch today. I’ll make something else to eat.” In order to speed up their traveling, these past few days, they’d just roasted or boiled cured meat quickly and ate it directly before continuing on their way. They didn’t have time to make a good and proper meal at all.
Axu smiled, “Let me help you.”
“Sure.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ahxu tied a rope to a large bamboo tube he carried with him and went to the river to fetch water. He also found a smooth, flat stone and cleaned it thoroughly, bringing it back to use as a chopping board.
Chen Qi and the other two climbed onto the big rock. The wind carried the misty spray towards them, relieving the surrounding heat. Aze held onto Chen Qi’s hand, not letting him get too close to the edge of the shore.
This spot offered a clear view of the surrounding scenery. The rushing river flowed towards a distant horizon whose end couldn’t be seen. Chen Qi couldn’t imagine how massive the rocky mountain must be to span such a wide river and withstand the migration of animals across the entire plains without collapsing. This scene was likely no less impressive than the vastness of the Dosa River itself.
Chen Qi felt a surge of emotion in his chest as he looked at the river. He could not help but want to recite a verse from Cao Cao’s “Viewing the Vast Sea” to express his current mood.
“Is the Sanchen River similar to the Dosa River?”
Aze shook his head. “The waters of the Sanchen River are calmer.”
“Isn’t the Sanchen River even bigger than the Dosa River? How can the river’s waters remain calm on such a wide river?” Chen Qi asked, slightly surprised.
“En, if we have the opportunity next time, I’ll take you to see it.”
“Great.” Chen Qi smiled and leaned over, rewarding Aze with a gentle kiss on the corner of his lips.
“Aze, pass me the backpack. I want to paint the Dosa River.”
Aze’s ears turned slightly red from Chen Qi’s sudden gesture. He discreetly glanced at the others and relievedly noticed that no one was paying attention to their side. He quietly let out a breath of relief. No matter when, he still couldn’t quite adapt to being affectionate in front of other people.
Taking the backpack handed over by Aze, Chen Qi rummaged through it and took out some paper, a quill brush, and a dozen small bamboo tubes which contained various colored dye-fruit liquid. Chen Qi handed a slightly larger bamboo tube to Aze. “Aze, could you please fetch some water for me?”
Aze nodded and took the bamboo tube. Then he leaped down from the boulder and found a spot relatively close to the water surface to collect water.
Chen Qi sat down and carefully spread out the paper. The sketches he’d made on the journey so far were all just quick drawings using black dye-fruit. This time he wanted to depict the Dosa River with more detail. After Aze returned with the water, Chen Qi asked him to discuss with Ahxu and the others about staying by the Dosa River for another day. Aze looked at Chen Qi, who was completely immersed in painting, and smiled helplessly before heading to find Ahxu under the acacia tree.
The fish in the Dosa River were much more ferocious than those in the Chishui River. Ale and Ashu laid silently in the grass, tightly gripping the ropes which were attached with fish hooks. At the end of the ropes, stones were tied to allow the hooks to sink deep into the water.
“Can we really catch fish like this?” Ashu asked with a hint of doubt as he watched the rope swaying in the rushing water. During their time in Qi Ze City, he had tasted dishes made from fish. Although the cooking process was a bit more elaborate, this kind of fish was much more delicious than those soft-bodied and boneless creatures in their Salt-Water Lake.
It’s such a pity that there was just so much to learn in Qi Ze City. Ashu had to help with hunting and to search for various materials needed for papermaking, pottery and crafting bamboo sieves. He simply did not have time to go to the Chishui River to learn how to fish.
“Of course. I’ve always been able to catch quite a few fish in the Chishui River using this method. Don’t talk. Just wait patiently for a while.” Ale replied softly.
The two of them were quite close together, and Ale’s breath tickled Ashu’s ear, making it feel itchy. Ashu couldn’t help but move his body back slightly to alleviate the sensation.
As Ashu was adjusting his position, he suddenly felt a strong pull on the rope in his hand. Reflexively, he tightened his grip on the rope, causing him to stumble forward with the pull. At that moment, Ale quickly reached out and wrapped his arm around Ashu’s waist. They both regained their balance and swiftly stood up, with Ale planting one foot firmly into the mud ahead to reduce the force of their forward movement.
With his free hand, Ale reached over and took the rope from Ashu’s grasp. He swiftly wrapped it several times around his own arm, securing the rope in place. Once it was secured, he released Ashu and firmly gripped the rope with both hands. Turning his body to the side, he exerted a sudden force, causing a massive black-brown catfish, almost as large as an adult beastman, to be yanked out of the water. It soared over their heads and landed solidly in the nearby grass.
Ale swiftly transformed his left hand into beast claws as he took a quick step forward. One hand firmly grasping the thrashing head of the large fish, his other hand, now sharp claws, swiftly sliced through the fish’s throat, nearly severing the entire fish head. Blood spilled, staining the tender green grass beneath their feet.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Ashu snapped out of his daze, Ale was already excitedly eviscerating the lifeless but reflexively twitching fish and the fish head and innards had been tossed into the rushing river water.
From his spot on the big rock, Chen Qi witnessed the entire scene. He was shocked by the sight of the fish leaping into the air, and it was the first time he had seen Ale move with such agility in handling prey. It was a stark contrast to Ale’s usually somewhat childish and carefree demeanor. Chen Qi pulled out another blank sheet of paper and closed his eyes, replaying the scene he had just witnessed in his mind. When he opened his eyes again, his quill pen had dipped into the black dye-fruit liquid and with swift strokes, he captured the moment when Ale pulled the fish ashore.
“You’re amazing.” Ashu murmured in admiration, equally stunned.
Carrying the large processed fish over his shoulder, Ale awkwardly touched his nose with embarrassment. “Let’s go, we can have fresh meat for lunch.” After more than a week of eating roasted or boiled preserved meats, Ale was almost sick of it. Having tasted fresh food in recent times, he couldn’t imagine how he’d managed to endure eating those roasted meat with the bitter salt stone taste every day before coming to Qi Ze City.
As the saying goes, it was easy to transition from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to transition from extravagance to frugality.
As Ahxu, who was about to take out some preserved meat to cook for lunch, saw Ale returning with the large fish, he smiled and took the fish from him. “You little rascal, I didn’t expect you to be able to catch a fish in such a turbulent river.”
Ale chuckled and pointed to Ashu who was following behind. “It wasn’t me who caught it, it was Ashu who caught the fish.”
Upon hearing that, Ashu waved his hands repeatedly. “If it weren’t for you, I’m afraid I would have been dragged into the river by this fish.”
Axu heard this and mercilessly knocked his foolish younger brother on the head. “If you were dragged into the river by a fish like this, you don’t need to come back.” This prey was not even half the size of the usual prey they hunt. If people were to find out that they couldn’t handle such prey, they would be too ashamed to say that they were from the Salt-Water Tribe.
Ashu looked pitifully at his brother and did not dare to reply.
“Alright, alright, the prey has been hunted, so we’ll rest here today and continue our journey tomorrow. Since we’ve caught fresh prey, we’ll have fish for our meal later.” Ahxu said with a cheerful smile, trying to defuse the situation.
Ale was puzzled for a moment. “We don’t have to hurry to set off today?”
“Chen Qi needs some time to draw something here, so we will wait for him to finish before continuing.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ale’s eyes lit up when he heard this, but before he could open his mouth, Ahxu gave him a stern look. “Don’t even think about causing trouble. Before the sun sets, don’t go looking for Chen Qi.”
“I just want to see what he is drawing, I wasn’t going to cause trouble.” Ale said dejectedly, his shoulders slumping down, but he obediently gave up the idea of running over to the rocks. Since he couldn’t go and observe, he decided to spend the afternoon exploring the surroundings for useful plants. The booklet depicted the plants in detail and their usage and processing methods were recorded next to them. Chen Qi had spent several months compiling this information, and there were only two such booklets. One remained in the tribe, while the other was brought along by Ahxu. Azhang had instructed them to gather some if they happened to come across any suitable plants during their journey.
Aze exchanged some words with Ahxu and the others, then returned to the rocks. With so many people there, there was no need to help with cooking. Although there were no animals on the plains now, it didn’t mean there were no dangers. Aze was not at ease leaving Chen Qi on his own for long.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Thanks for reading!
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.
hmm?
Do I smell another “lily” pairing? Ale and Ashu?
And Chen Qi, show me that picture of Ale catching the fish!!!! I wanna see it too!