Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 133
Chapter 133
Chen Qi had never eaten millet before. In his original world, this plant would be immediately uprooted upon discovery in a rice field. There was no chance it would be allowed to survive because it would steal nutrients from the rice, making it the most detested weed among farmers.
But in a place without rice, Chen Qi was thrilled to see even a single stalk of millet. He excitedly grabbed Aze’s arm and asked, “Where did you find this? Is there more? How many?”
Seeing Chen Qi’s anxious expression, Aze gently squeezed his palm to reassure him. “Don’t worry, this thing isn’t running away anywhere. I’ll take you to see it tomorrow.”
Chen Qi nodded repeatedly, then pulled the group together to talk about the discovery of millet.
In the past, in hopes of finding rice, Chen Qi had drawn its appearance from memory. Every beastman in Qi Ze City had seen his drawing of rice, but so far, no one had come across a plant that looked exactly like it. Even during the journey to the Salt-Water Tribe, Chen Qi hadn’t found anything resembling rice, corn, or wheat. Not even plants that bore a slight resemblance to these crops appeared. At one point, Chen Qi wondered if such things simply didn’t exist in this world.
After spending so much time with Chen Qi, Aze naturally often heard him talk about wanting to eat rice. However, Aze had no idea what rice actually looked like. According to Chen Qi, it was made from something called rice plants. Because of this, Aze would always keep an eye out during his trips outside, but unfortunately, he had never come across anything resembling it.
Today, when Aze went to gather red-fruit, he chose an area he hadn’t visited in a long time—specifically, he hadn’t visited the area since meeting Chen Qi. He knew there was a small grove of red-fruit trees there. What surprised him, however, was the sight of a small ditch next to the grove, completely overgrown with these millet.
At first, Aze didn’t think what he had found was what Chen Qi was looking for. After all, although millet resembled rice to some extent, there were still significant differences between mature millet and rice. To let Chen Qi confirm it first, Aze didn’t gather much and only picked a small handful before heading back. He hadn’t expected this plant to make Chen Qi so excited upon seeing 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.
However, the hunting team’s failure to return on time that night cast a shadow of worry over Qi Ze City. Ali, who had already been feeling uneasy, became even more restless, unable to sit still from anxiety. In the end, to stop himself from overthinking, he decided to stay in the ironworks room, throwing himself into busy work to dispel the endless stream of troubling thoughts popping into his mind.
Early the next morning, Aze went to find Ake. “Uncle Azhang and the others haven’t come back yet. Do you think something happened to them?” After all, they had only planned to be away for two days, but now it’s already the third day, and no one has returned.”
Ake also felt a bit worried. He shook his head and said, “Uncle Azhang is very cautious. With him around, the hunting team definitely won’t get into any danger.”
“I’m just afraid they might have run into some trouble. Should we go look for them?” Ka Luo was also quite worried.
“Let’s wait a bit longer. It’s only just a little later than the time they were supposed to return. Our numbers are already few, so rushing into the forest to search wouldn’t be a wise move,” Ake said, then patted Ka Luo’s shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
Aze thought for a moment and said, “If they’re not back by tomorrow, we’ll organize a few people to go into the forest and take a look.”
Ake nodded.
When Aze returned home, Chen Qi had just woken up. Since Azhang had told him they would be gone for two or three days, he hadn’t been worried about their late return. The discovery of the millet had excited him, and he ended up staying up late before finally falling asleep. He had planned to have Aze take him out to gather more of it in the morning, but he hadn’t expected to sleep in until now.
After a simple breakfast, Chen Qi urged Aze to set off. Today was Ake’s turn to guard, so only the two of them set off.
This time, they headed in a direction Chen Qi had never been before. Behind the old Rock-Mountain Tribe, after circling around a small rocky hill, Chen Qi saw, for the first time, the place where the beastmen piled up dragon bones.
A giant pit, about the size of two or three football fields, stretched out before them. It was impossible to tell how deep it was, but it was densely packed with bones, all covered in reddish-brown dirt, so much so that their original color could no longer be discerned.
The area around the giant pit was desolate, with piles of gravel about ten meters high. This patch of land, completely devoid of vegetation, looked strikingly out of place in the otherwise barren landscape.
Although Chen Qi was very interested in the giant pit, it was clear that Aze didn’t want to linger there. After steering clear of the area, Aze headed straight for the place where he had found the millet.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The red-fruit tree grove was located about an hour’s walk from the Rock-Mountain Tribe. On the dozen or so tall trees, half of the branches were already bare, but the other half were still covered with dense clusters of bright red-fruit, which looked truly beautiful at first glance. The millet was situated in a small ditch not far from there.
Chen Qi picked up a cluster of millet. The number of fruits on it was small, with only about ten grains per cluster. If the entire area were harvested, it was uncertain whether it would even weigh ten pounds.
Chen Qi asked Aze to cut all the millet at the roots and pile it to the side. Meanwhile, Chen Qi carefully sliced each cluster with his dragon-horn knife and placed them into the prepared cloth bags. The feeling of harvesting made him very happy. Although he had heard that millet wasn’t very tasty, Chen Qi could already imagine what it would look like when cooked into rice.
Cutting the clusters this way wasn’t very efficient. The two of them worked for half the day before finishing. The roots and stems of the millet were carelessly thrown aside; they were only useful for burning and had no other purpose. Since they used firewood for their fires, there was no need to go through the trouble of hauling the roots all the way back.
After finishing with the millet, the two of them picked all the fruit from two red-fruit trees, their bags now full. Only then did they head back, their haul complete.
“Uncle Azhang, are you sure the giant wolf-god didn’t point us in the wrong direction?” The two of them had been walking for a day and a night. Not only had they not reached the edge of the forest, but they hadn’t even seen any familiar landmarks.
Azhang frowned deeply. At this point, he couldn’t be sure whether the giant wolf-god would still save him this time or if it had intended to guide him down a path to his death.
Although it had only been a day and a night, Ashu’s shoulder wound had already healed quite a bit. The bleeding had stopped, and there were signs of scabbing. At this moment, Azhang was applying the last dose of medicine. After this, it should no longer need to be dressed.
Azhang glanced at the sun hanging in the sky, thought for a moment, and then said, “Let’s give up on following this small river and try walking in the direction of the sun.” Although they had been brought here by the pterosaur from the sky, given their speed, there was no way they couldn’t find a way out. He didn’t dare to gamble on whether the giant wolf-god was truly helping them.
After deciding on their next course of action, the two of them quickly ate a little, filled their bamboo tubes with water, and packed up their things. They left the riverbank and headed deeper into the dense forest.
The dense forest was completely devoid of sunlight. The tall trees seemed to be desperately growing upwards in a bid to capture every bit of sunlight, blocking the sky entirely. Walking on the ground felt as though they were inside a vast, green prison.
Fortunately, although the trees in the forest were tall, they were spaced far apart. Due to the lack of sunlight, the undergrowth was sparse, with the weeds growing low, which didn’t hinder their progress as they made their way through.
Shortly after leaving the riverbank, the two of them heard a loud roar, followed by a brief tremor in the ground.
Ashu tensed up and glanced at Azhang.
Azhang twitched his nose, as if catching a familiar scent. Without time to explain to Ashu, he whispered, “Let’s go check it out.” He then rushed toward the direction of the sound.
Since entering this dense forest, animals that were not seen at the forest’s edges began to appear one by one. However, most of them were carnivorous dragon species, and the group didn’t dare engage with them. They were only here to find people. If they arrived too late and Azhang and Ashu were either thrown to their deaths by the pterosaur or taken back to its nest to be eaten, Aming felt that he wouldn’t be able to stay in Qi Ze City any longer.
However, after entering the dense forest, things didn’t go as smoothly. Although they had been careful to avoid making any noise to keep the dragons from noticing them, they never expected to encounter the least likely type of dragon at the edge of the forest early this morning—the stegosaurus.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Cursing inwardly about his bad luck, Aming did not dare to engage in a prolonged fight with the stegosaurus and could only hold the rear, guiding the other beastmen to escape. However, he wasn’t sure if they had angered the stegosaurus somehow, but it relentlessly pursued them, not letting up. In their panic, they noticed that the trees around them were growing taller, and the spaces between them were widening. Aming’s heart sank to the bottom—had they entered the stegosaurus’s territory?
This area wasn’t suitable for the beastmen to use the trees for cover while escaping. Although the stegosaurus was relatively slow and its movements clumsy, its large size and long strides made it easy for it to catch up to the beastmen.
Aming tried to use his attacks to slow the stegosaurus down, but his claws couldn’t pierce its tough hide. With a powerful swing, the stegosaurus sent him flying through the air.
Normally, even a young adult stegosaurus would require more than twenty strong females to barely handle, but the one chasing them was clearly a fully grown male. A stegosaurus of this size would likely need forty to fifty females to bring it down.
Seeing Aming thrown to the ground, the stegosaurus raised its front claws high, seemingly ready to crush him into a meat pie. Aming quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike. The stegosaurus, missing its target, lifted its massive steps and continued to chase after him. The ground where it had struck was left with a deep imprint, about an inch deep.
Ayu quickly grabbed the still-motionless Aming and sprinted a short distance. Seeing the stegosaurus miss again, it seemed to grow increasingly agitated. Without hesitation, it charged forward with brute force, crashing into a camphor tree as thick as several people could hug, snapping it in half.
This was the scene Azhang and Ashu saw when they arrived.
Before he could rejoice at seeing his familiar companions, Ashu spotted the stegosaurus following close behind.
“What’s going on?” How could a stegosaurus appear here? Aren’t stegosauruses herbivores? Why is it chasing after beastmen?
Azhang pulled out a rope from his backpack and whispered to Ashu, “Take them to the riverbank. Once you’re there, don’t cross the river—just follow the river downstream. Got it?”
Ashu hurriedly nodded.
Azhang assessed the surrounding environment and circled around to the stegosaurus’s rear. Meanwhile, Ashu quietly ran to the front of his companions, signaling them to head toward the riverbank.
Seeing it was Ashu, the group did not hesitate to quickly turn and follow him toward the riverbank.
The beastmen’s sudden change in direction caused the stegosaurus to momentarily falter. At that moment, Azhang appeared behind the stegosaurus. He quickly threw a thick rope around the dragon’s powerful hind leg, tied a knot, then looped the rope around the thickest tree nearby. Using the tree as a pivot, he pulled with all his strength.
This method was something Azhang had learned when he saw Chen Qi moving objects much heavier than himself.
Just as the stegosaurus was about to lift its foot, its balance was suddenly disrupted. Startled by the unexpected change, it stumbled. Azhang, however, didn’t give it any time to recover. With all his muscles tensed, he exerted every ounce of strength he had. The stegosaurus’s hind leg was finally yanked up high, and the massive dragon, nearly eight meters tall, tilted as it lost control, crashing heavily to the ground.
Azhang’s intention was never to take the sword dragon’s life. Its thick hide made it nearly impervious to the beastmen’s claws, and injuring it would take considerable effort. Moreover, just knocking the stegosaurus down didn’t mean it was defeated. Unlike fragile creatures like giraffes, which might die when they fell, the stegosaurus would only need time to recover and get back on its feet.
After seeing the rope snap when he pulled down the stegosaurus, Azhang discarded it and quickly left the area.
The towering stegosaurus’s eyes burned bright red as it fixed its gaze on the direction Azhang had fled. Letting out a loud roar, it quickly scrambled to its feet. It was hard to imagine how such a massive creature could rise so swiftly.
The stegosaurus shoved aside the massive tree that the beastmen had used, then quickly stomped after them, its steps heavy and urgent as it chased down the direction the beastmen had fled.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Sorry for the long wait, a couple more updates to follow in Feb.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: Yume
Proofreader: Yume/Miiya
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.
