Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 121
Chapter 121
When they were hiding from the rain and hurrying along the road earlier, their clothes got quite muddy. Even though the stains weren’t very obvious on Azé’s camouflage shirt after the mud was wiped off, he still went to the riverside to wash both of their clothes. The cloth shoes, soaked by the rain, couldn’t be worn either. Azé simply took them off, cleaned the mud from the shoes, rolled up his pants legs, and walked back barefoot to where the shelter from the rain was located.
Chen Qi picked up a few relatively flat stones, stacked them by the fire and dried them a little, then used them as makeshift stools to sit on.
The ginger soup had begun to emit steam. Seeing Aze approaching, Chen Qi waved him over to sit beside him. They lit another fire nearby. Once the flames were rising, Chen Qi took the wet clothes from Aze’s hand, skewered them with a wooden stick, and placed them by the fire to dry.
Most of the beast people couldn’t stand the spiciness of ginger soup. After the ginger soup was cooked, Chen Qi added a little sugar to it. Then, he served a bowl to Aze. “After being soaked in the rain for so long, how are you doing? Drink some ginger soup to warm yourself up.” It was already dark now, and the rain had completely stopped. Perhaps due to the rain, the temperature had dropped a bit.
Aze shook his head and looked at Chen Qi anxiously. “You’ve also been soaked in the rain for so long. Is there any part of your body feeling uncomfortable?”
Chen Qi smiled and squeezed Aze’s hand reassuringly. “I’m fine. My body is much stronger now than before. This little rain won’t make me ill.” The pottery bowl filled with ginger soup was stuffed into Aze’s hand. Then, Chen Qi got up and went to the shelter to get the other’s pottery bowls, inviting Ahxu and the others to come over and have some ginger soup.
Around the shelter, the beastmen lit several fires, mostly to dry the clothes, backpacks and food that were wetter than water, as well as damp branches that were prepared to be firewood. Since they had been thoroughly soaked by rain, the branches were all soggy. Even after being dried a bit, once thrown into the fire, they would emit a plume of black smoke. Only by sitting farther away could they avoid being choked by black smoke.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
After a day of traveling and then being soaked in rain for most of the day, everyone was utterly exhausted. After dinner and assigning people to take turns keeping watch, they all began to rest.
Chen Qi moved one of the fire pits aside. Due to the heat from the fire, the ground there had dried completely. He spread a thick layer of cattail leaves which had been dried by the fire on top, and then covered them with a piece of cloth. Satisfied with his work, he patted it and said to Aze beside him, “Aze, you can sleep here.”
Aze looked at the bed that was only suitable for one person. “What about you?”
Chen Qi smiled. “I’m on watch duty for the first half of the night, and I need to deal with some of the wet things for now. I’ll rest later.” Earlier, they were worried that the wildfire might reach the shelter area, so almost everything that wasn’t afraid of getting wet was taken when they left. This included the dried seaweed and various flowers collected along the way, even though they were stored in waterproof bags, they inevitably got damp. Chen Qi could only try to dry them by the fire, hoping they would still be usable and they wouldn’t suffer too much loss.
Watching Chen Qi spread the dried mussel on the cloth around the fire pit with a pained expression, Aze approached, intending to take the items from Chen Qi’s hands, but Chen Qi evaded him.
Chen Qi sighed helplessly and adopted a negotiating tone. “Aren’t you scheduled for the second half of the night watch? Why don’t you rest for a while first, and when it’s your turn, I’ll take over, okay?”
Aze was reluctant and shook his head. How could he let Chen Qi do all the work alone while he went to sleep?
Seeing Aze like this, Chen Qi glared at him. “You’ve been carrying me around all day, and your body isn’t made of iron. If you ruin your health because you didn’t rest properly, who will be left to carry me back for the other half of the journey?” Chen Qi nodded toward Ale and Ashu, who were already curled up and fast asleep nearby. “Don’t talk nonsense about not being tired. Look at them, they’ve been busy all day and are exhausted. On the contrary, I’ve been taken care of by you and haven’t been tired at all. Be obedient and go to sleep for the first half of the night, and we’ll switch shifts for the second half, alright?”
Aze pursed his lips, looking at the stubborn Chen Qi, before nodding gently after a while. “Alright, I’ll switch shifts with you for the second half of the night.”
Chen Qi raised his hand and rubbed Aze’s slightly tousled hair, which had been dampened by the rain and then dried by the fire, nodding with a smile.
Only then did Aze lay down on the cattail leaf bed that Chen Qi had prepared, closing his eyes. It didn’t take long for his breathing to become steady, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Looking at the faint dark circles under Aze’s eyes, it was clear that these days of traveling day and night were indeed exhausting, despite any pretense otherwise.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
In fact, Chen Qi, as a male, did not need to take a night watch shift at all. However, throughout the journey, he was already the person doing the least and had the easiest tasks. It wouldn’t feel right for him to do nothing all day and then sleep soundly at night. So, even if Ahxu hadn’t assigned him to night duty, he would have volunteered to take the first half of the night watch anyway.
Chen Qi picked up the now dried camouflage shirt and gently draped it over Aze, then returned to the fire to continue laying out the wet items one by one.
After patrolling the area nearby and finding no signs of trouble, Ayan returned to the edge of the camp. In fact, there was also a female beastman on guard upon the neighboring acacia tree. Positioned higher and with a better vantage point, as long as the female guard in the tree hadn’t noticed anything unusual, it was generally considered safe. Moreover, it was migration season, so there were hardly any animals on the plains to pose a threat.
Upon returning to the camp, Ayan saw Chen Qi drawing something with paper and pen. Beside him, a pot of fish soup was simmering beside him, with several vibrant red kapok flowers bobbing in the boiling broth. The enticing aroma wafted through the air. Even though he had just finished dinner not long ago, Ayan could not help but gulp and unconsciously approached.
As he got closer, Ayan realized that Chen Qi was drawing the scene of the beastmen sleeping around the campfire. Due to the poor lighting at night and the significant color deviation, Chen Qi hadn’t added color to the drawing, keeping it as a simple black and white sketch. After drawing the group, he moved on to individual portraits, even drawing a close-up of nearby Aze’s sleeping face.
A shadow fell onto the paper Chen Qi was drawing on. He looked up to see Ayan slightly leaning forward, peering at the paper in his hand.
“Sorry, did I disturb you?” Ayan asked with a hint of apology as he noticed Chen Qi pausing his movements.
Chen Qi shook his head. “No, not at all.” He set the drawing aside and picked up a clean pottery bowl. “You’ve come at the right time. I’ve made fish soup. Would you like some?”
Ayan had been drawn over by the aroma of the fish soup in the first place, so he nodded eagerly at Chen Qi’s offer.
Chen Qi served him a bowl, sprinkling a bit of salt on top before handing it over. “It’s a bit hot, so be careful. If it’s not seasoned enough, feel free to add more salt yourself,” he cautioned.
The fish was caught by Aze by the river before the heavy rain arrived. Chen Qi reserved only a small portion for the soup, while the rest was consumed by everyone for dinner.
“It’s delicious.” Ayan took a sip from the edge of the pottery bowl. There was no fishy taste; instead, it carried a hint of the fragrant kapok flowers.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Chen Qi smiled. “If you like it, have some more. I’m going to make another batch soon. They can have it when they wake up.” He gestured towards another pottery plate not far away.
“You really are a remarkable male.” Ayan said, sitting down beside Chen Qi and stirring the soup in his pottery bowl with a wooden chopstick. “You know a lot.”
Chen Qi looked at him, momentarily taken aback.
Seeing the slight wariness in Chen Qi’s expression, Ayan smiled. “I didn’t mean anything else. You don’t need to be nervous.” He sighed. “I just wish I had met you earlier, or encountered a few more males like you.” That way, we could all live a little better.
Although their interaction had been brief, Ayan had learned a lot from Chen Qi. He had learned more in this short time than in the past hundred years. He never knew that fish could be eaten, that flowers could be used to make delicious soup, that salt stones didn’t have a bitter taste, or that ice could be made in summer.
In the past 100 years or so, Ayan had dealt with hunting prey, guarding the tribe, and defending against attacks from predators like the hyena-drakes. If he had met someone like Chen Qi when he was younger, or if someone like him had been in his tribe, would his tribe still have declined from a medium-sized one to a small one with only around a hundred people now in less than a hundred years?
“I just happen to know a few things.” Chen Qi picked up a piece of wood and tossed it into the fire. Then, he collected the dried mussels from nearby, which had already been sufficiently dried by the fire.
When he arrived to this world, he had already received the information about the world and naturally knew that even though the beast people looked strong, their lives were not easy. On the one hand, they had to deal with various external threats and on the other, they had to deal with harsh weather. Therefore, when he decided to stay here and live among them, Chen Qi intended to change their living situation. He hoped that the people he cared about could have a better life. For this reason, he spared no effort in teaching them everything he knew.
Fortunately, the beastmen were intelligent and eager to learn. Even if Chen Qi’s teaching methods were a bit chaotic, they could still grasp the concepts. Otherwise, if he had to keep teaching without them understanding, Chen Qi feared he might lose patience.
“You’ve already know a lot,” Ayan said. “I’ve heard from Axu that many of the things accomplished in his tribe were your suggestions. I’m really curious what kind of tribe can produce a male like you.”
Ayan lowered his head slightly, and although Chen Qi couldn’t clearly see his expression, he could discern the probing tone in his words. He smiled. “There are many people in my tribe who are much more capable than me. Our tribe was also very large. Unfortunately, no one from my tribe, including myself, will ever come here again. And of course, no matter who they are, including me, we can’t go back to my tribe.”
“Why?” Ayan raised his head, eyes showing hints of concern.
Chen Qi blinked. “Have you seen anyone who has been to the place where the Beast God lives?”
Ayan was stunned for a moment, then looked at him with a face of disbelief.
“I’m kidding. Don’t take this seriously and tell anyone else,” Chen Qi said, chuckling softly as he covered his mouth with his fist. He patted Ayan’s stiffened body. “Go call the others to come and have some fish soup. It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
Ayen nodded blankly, his steps faltering as he walked away. Even though Chen Qi said it was a joke, the impact of his words still left him in a daze.
Chen Qi shrugged helplessly. These beastmen were indeed too naive. He hadn’t expected them to believe so easily. It seemed he really needed to be more careful with his jokes in the future.
He sighed and looked up at the moon, now appearing as a bright crescent, despite it being the fourth day of the month. Perhaps it was because of the rain earlier, but the moonlight was shining brightly, almost as radiant as it would’ve on the first day of the month.
It had probably been too long since he had thought about his old world, but now, talking to someone, memories of his forgotten relatives, colleagues, and friends came flooding back to him, their familiar faces appearing in his mind one by one. It felt like a punch to the heart, a dull ache settling deep within.
Chen Qi placed his hand over his heart and murmured softly, “Maybe that world really is where the Beast God resides.” Even if he wanted to go back, he couldn’t, just like the beastmen’s blind worship of the so-called Beast God, yet they would never see it.
Fortunately, Chen Qi had already given up the idea of going back. He had met the person he wanted to spend his life with here. Even if the door to return were to open before him now, he might only hesitate a little before reaching out to close it. After all, Aze wouldn’t survive in that world like he did.
Aze, who had been sound asleep, opened his eyes slightly. He turned over gently, pulled the camouflage shirt covering him up a bit higher, and then slowly closed his eyes again.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Thanks for those who have been patiently waiting and reading.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: Miiya
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.
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