Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 122
Chapter 122
The next morning, after the sun came out, the weather became hot again. If it weren’t for the standing water that had accumulated in the grass which hadn’t yet drained away, no one would have been able to tell that there had been a heavy rainstorm here the previous day.
Everyone checked their luggage. Since many items had been taken out to dry the previous night, the hide backpacks needed to be dried before they could be used. It took quite a bit of time to pack everything up properly. Meanwhile, Ahxu caught a few more fish from the river. After combining breakfast and lunch into one meal, they set off again.
Ayan had returned to normal. Chen Qi saw that his expression was no different from usual and couldn’t be bothered to explain everything again. After all, Ayan had brought it upon himself by trying to test him. Maybe the misunderstanding on Ayan’s part would actually solve quite a few problems.
The previous straw hats were hastily made from random grasses just for some shade, but they fell apart after being soaked by the rain yesterday. Chen Qi made two new ones, and after putting one on Aze, they set off again.
After walking a few hundred meters through the unaffected grass, they started to see signs of burnt wild grass, likely extinguished quickly by the rain, with only some leaves scorched black. The further they went, the worse it got, until there were no green plants in sight. All they could see was bare reddish-brown soil and ash-covered ground, showing just how intense the fire had been.
Looking at the scene before them, everyone’s expressions turned grim. They felt a mix of lingering fear and relief. If they had walked a bit further before stopping last night, their pile of luggage would undoubtedly have been lost.
“Let’s go,” Ahxu said, kicking away a charred black stone by his foot. He walked ahead of the group, and the others quickly followed.
On the barren plain, devoid of any vegetation, there was only a group of beastmen trudging under the scorching sun. They carried hide backpacks that were four or five times their own size. As they moved, they stirred up a cloud of dust that lingered in the air.
They traveled this stretch of road until almost sunset before finally leaving it behind. Upon seeing the familiar green vegetation, the oppressive expressions on the beastmen’s faces noticeably lightened.
Once the ash dried, any step would send it swirling into the air. The wind blew it straight onto the beastmen, and by the time they found a place to rest, they were almost entirely covered in black soot.
Ashu pointed at the several black fingerprints left on Ale’s face when he wiped the sweat off his face with his hands, and laughed so hard that he couldn’t stand up straight. This nearly prompted Ale to grab him and start a fight.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Aming walked over and knocked Ashu on the head, then helped Ale unload the luggage. “The river isn’t far from here. Go wash up, and while you’re at it, fetch some more water,” he said.
The two of them nodded in response and set off, carrying a pottery dish between them.
As they were traveling, they didn’t carry many cooking utensils. They had only two pottery dishes and a few bowls. Everything else was replaced with lightweight bamboo tubes. During the day, these bamboo tubes could also be used as containers for water, much more convenient than the heavy pottery.
Chen Qi, having kept his head buried behind Aze for a nap and with Aze blocking in front of him, turned out to be the cleanest among the group. He found a clean set of clothes for Aze and asked him to go wash by the river. Meanwhile, Chen Qi went to help cook at the cleared space. With a group of females bathing by the river, he felt too embarrassed to run over there.
“Go and have a rest. We can handle things here,” Ayan said nervously when he saw Chen Qi approaching.
Ahxu, who had just brought over a large bamboo tube with some water, glanced at him strangely and handed the bamboo tube to Chen Qi. “There’s not much water left here. You can boil some tea first. We’ll cook the food when Ale brings more water back.”
Chen Qi took the items and nodded, then couldn’t help but smile as he looked at Axu’s soot-covered face. “You should go wash up by the river too,” he said.
Compared to Chen Qi, who is relatively clean, Axu’s current appearance could only be described as heavily dust-laden. He looked almost disheveled, akin to someone who had just rolled around in a pile of charcoal and then crawled out. Axu felt a bit embarrassed and rubbed his nose, leaving behind a fingerprint that only added to the comical sight.
After handing the bamboo tube to Chen Qi, Ahxu said a few words to Ayan and then went to fetch a set of clean clothes before heading to the river.
Chen Qi set the pottery dish on the fire and poured the water from the bamboo tube into it. The water from a few bamboo tubes filled about half of the dish. After the water boiled, Chen Qi added a handful of chamomile. The flowers, which had been dried and shriveled, quickly expanded in the water. Although the sun was setting, a sip of chamomile tea could still provide some relief from the heat.
Seeing the empty bamboo tube lying aside, Ayan hesitated for a moment before walking over to Chen Qi. He pointed to several other empty bamboo tubes nearby and said to him, as if asking for permission, “I’ll go fetch some water.”
Before Chen Qi could respond, an agile figure suddenly rushed up to them. Perhaps due to the haste, the person was slightly out of breath. “Uncle Ayan, there’s a corpse of an ironshell-drake over there,” they said.
Chen Qi turned to look and saw it was Ayu, the female from the Flame-Hill Tribe. Every time they found a place to rest, Ayan would suggest scouting the surrounding area. It was his experience from camping in the wild. This way, they could check for any hidden dangers and also see if there were any edible wild fruits. Now, they were also looking for any edible wild vegetables.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ayu was one of the members sent out to scout this time. Because he had spotted some laiche fruits, he ventured a bit further and unexpectedly stumbled upon the carcass of an ironshell-drake that appeared to have been dead for some time. There was a bite mark on the dragon’s neck, but otherwise, its body seemed intact, suggesting a fatal blow.
In this barren plain devoid of signs of life, the presence of a recently deceased dragon, especially the ironshell-drake known for its unparalleled defense among dragon species, was highly suspicious and warranted concern.
Ayan frowned, his expression becoming serious. “Are you sure you saw an ironshell-drake? Were there any other signs of dragons nearby?” he asked.
Ayu shook his head. “Even if other dragons had been around, yesterday’s rain would have washed away their tracks. I only found the ironshell-drake’s corpse and didn’t explore the area further. I thought I’d come back and report it to you first.”
Ayan patted Ayu’s shoulder approvingly. “You stay here and keep watch around the camp. I’ll go get Ahxu and the others back, and we’ll figure out what to do.”
After saying that, Ayan headed towards the river, conveniently taking the empty bamboo tubes with him.
Chen Qi looked at the still slightly breathless Ayu and poured a cup of the freshly brewed chamomile tea for him. “Have some tea first.”
Ayu gratefully took the cup and took a sip from the bowl. As a result, he was scalded. He had to hold the pottery bowl and gently blow on the tea to cool it down, while keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.
There were a few other females guarding the camp, and on the acacia tree nearby, another female was on watch. If a dragon were to suddenly attack, they could quickly climb up the tree for safety.
Not long after, Ayan returned with Ahxu and the others. Everyone’s hair was wet and dripping with water, making the shoulders of their camouflage clothing darker than the rest. The fabric they had didn’t absorb water well, requiring a long time to dry their hair. It was clear that Ayan had called them back before they had a chance to finish drying off.
Aze handed a towel to Chen Qi. The towel had been washed in the river. Even without being covered in soot, the sweat from a day under the scorching sun left everyone feeling sticky and uncomfortable. Knowing that Chen Qi wouldn’t be heading to the river to wash anytime soon, Aze had dampened the towel so Chen Qi could at least wipe his face.
Seeing Ahxu and the others about to set off after setting down the newly caught fish and the water they had fetched, Chen Qi quickly spoke up. “Can I come with you to take a look?”
Ironshell-drake, or the ankylosaurus, if he remembered correctly, had a thick layer of tough shell covering its back. And since the name contained the word “iron,” even if it didn’t refer to the metal he was familiar with, Chen Qi couldn’t resist the urge to take a look. If there was anything iron-related on the dragon, that would be even better.
Ahxu glanced at Chen Qi and then at Aze standing beside him. He nodded and said to Aze, “Protect him well.” Then, without saying anything more, he led the group away.
After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at their destination.
The ankylosaurus lay amidst a patch of white reeds, its towering body flattening a swath of them. Additionally, the strong winds from yesterday’s rain had blown down even more of the surrounding white reeds. This was what allowed Ayu to spot it; under normal circumstances, one wouldn’t even notice anything here due to the dense growth of the vegetation.
The ankylosaurus was dark brown all over and resembled a rhinoceros in shape, albeit without horns. Its back was covered in several layers of gleaming black armor, its prime defense mechanism. Ordinary fangs and claws wouldn’t even scratch it.
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 Ahxu confirmed that the ankylosaurus was completely dead, he and the others dispersed to scout the surrounding area. Although ironshell-drakes weren’t as fast as hyena-drakes, they were still carnivorous creatures. The beastmen couldn’t afford to be careless. After all, they were the only remaining native creatures on the plains. While ironshell-drakes weren’t necessarily known for preying on beastmen, when starving, they would still attack beastmen.
Chen Qi asked Aze to let him down, then walked over to the ironshell-drake’s side and reached out to touch the plates of armor on its back. He couldn’t tell if the plates felt cold because the creature was already dead or if they were naturally cool.
From his pocket, he took out a sword and a horn knife, tapped on the nail plate, “dang”, and a clear and familiar sound of metal impact reached Chen Qi’s ears.
Chen Qi reached into his pocket and pulled out his dragon-horn knife, then lightly tapped the armor plate with it. Deng – a crisp, familiar metallic clang resonated in Chen Qi’s ears.
As if in disbelief, Chen Qi tapped a few more times. “Aze, is the shell of the ankylosaurus made of metal?”
Aze, unfamiliar with metal, shook his head somewhat bewilderedly in response to Chen Qi’s question.
At this moment, Ahxu and the others who had been scouting the surroundings returned. Upon their arrival, they saw Chen Qi and Aze crouched beside the ironshell–drake, in the process of dissecting the corpse.
“What are you doing?” Ahxu approached, puzzled. “You can’t eat the flesh of the ironshell-drake. I’ve caught some fish already.” The meat of the ironshell-drake was not only sour and uncomfortable to eat, but its texture was almost as hard as its shell. Without sharp teeth, it was impossible to chew. Ahxu couldn’t believe that Aze didn’t know this.
Chen Qi pulled off a piece of the separated armor plate, which was about half a finger thick and quite heavy. He struggled a bit to handle it. Upon hearing Ahxu’s question, Chen Qi explained, “I’m not going to eat it. I want this shell.”
“The iron shell? What do you want this thing for?”
Aze pulled down the other two pieces of armor, which still had some flesh attached to them, but he didn’t mind. He took the piece from Chen Qi’s hand and slung it over his shoulder alongside the others. “Chen Qi said this stuff can be used to make tools.”
“Yeah, although I’m not sure if we can use it, it’s worth bringing back to take a look. Who knows, it might come in handy,” Chen Qi said with a smile. Even though they couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that these pieces of the shell were made of metal, and even if bringing them back to the tribe might not immediately yield any results, this unexpected find still held a great appeal to Chen Qi. After all, there was a chance that it could be metal.
Ahxu nodded. He gestured for Aze to hand over the items and indicated for him to carry Chen Qi back. The camp where they were resting was quite a distance away, and with Chen Qi’s speed, it would take them quite some time to get there.
Even though they hadn’t found any other signs of dragon activity nearby, the group didn’t let their guard down. Unlike the previous night when they had huddled together on the ground, they dispersed and found tall trees to rest beneath, with several people per group.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: New material, Get-o!
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.
