Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 137
Chapter 137
After watching Chen Qi finish his dinner, Aze tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, then went back to help with building the house.
Chen Qi picked up the already cut antelope-dragon horn. Because the horn was extremely hard, the cut surface wasn’t smooth. The yellow-brown horn had very rough textures. Although only the tip of the horn had been cut, it was still as long as a forearm. The horn had a slight curve, with a small opening on one end and a hole about the size of a fist on the other.
Chen Qi fiddled with it for a while. When he saw Ajing come in, the latter first looked around under the table and on the heated kang bed, then went into a few rooms to search. Before long, he came back out again.
“What are you looking for?” Chen Qi called out and asked curiously as he stopped Ajing, who was frowning and about to head out.
“Nothing really,” Ajing replied vaguely. “There’s still something I need to finish up at the school, so I’ll head over there first.”
“Do you need my help?”
Ajing shook his head. “I just need to arrange some things — I can handle it on my own.”
Chen Qi didn’t suspect anything and reminded him, “Alright, just do what you can — don’t push yourself too hard.”
Ajing responded with a quick “okay” and hurried out the door. Ever since he’d met the little wolf cub, it had never left his sight — but he hadn’t seen it at all since dinner, and a faint worry stirred in his heart. Where could Little Wolf have gone?
Chen Qi wiped the narrower end of the antelope-dragon horn with a clean cloth, then took a deep breath and leaned in to blow into the small opening. A deep, resonant sound rose from the horn, but just as Chen Qi was about to feel pleased, the sound abruptly cut off.
Chen Qi shook the antelope-dragon horn and said, “Looks like my lung capacity isn’t enough to use this thing properly.”
Although the horn’s sound didn’t last long, its suddenness made the female beastmen still working stop what they were doing. Before anyone could figure out where the sound came from, Aze threw down the stone slab in his hand and ran toward home.
After running past a patch of tall grass, and continuing in the direction of the old Rock-Mountain Tribe for a while longer, one would see a small bamboo grove. The especially thick bamboo there had long since been cut down, leaving only about a dozen bamboo stalks as thick as a forearm. The rest were just young bamboo shoots, only one or two meters tall.
The massive giant wolf-god lay quietly in a patch of grass in front of the small bamboo grove, its head slightly raised. The gentle moonlight bathed its body, making it look like a forest spirit.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Hearing the noise, the white giant wolf-god named Chen finally withdrew its gaze from the moon and slightly lowered its head, only to see a small white fluff cautiously standing not far away.
Chen said nothing, just quietly stared. The little wolf cub felt its scalp tingle under that gaze, its fur standing on end. Even though it knew their strength was vastly unequal, it couldn’t help but let out a low, threatening growl from its throat.
Chen squinted as if seeing something interesting, then tapped the spot beside him with his large front paw and commanded, “Come here.”
The little wolf cub hesitated for a moment, its tail drooping. It nervously paced in circles a couple of times before slowly walking over. Chen didn’t rush it and, after speaking, turned back to gaze at the unchanging massive moon in the sky.
Only after it reached Chen’s side and saw that Chen made no further move did the little wolf cub’s tense body finally relax a bit. Following Chen’s gaze, it looked at the unchanging moon, which—aside from its varying brightness each day—was nothing special. The little wolf cub tilted its head, unable to understand what was so fascinating about it.
“No matter whether in the forest or on the plains, these two moons are the only constant things you’ll ever see,” Chen’s voice was soft, sounding less like he was speaking to the little wolf cub and more like he was talking to himself.
Hearing Chen’s voice, the little wolf cub’s body, which had just relaxed, suddenly tensed up again. Reflexively, it jumped back several steps, putting more distance between itself and Chen.
“Hahahaha,” Chen suddenly laughed. “Looks like they’ve taught you well.” His tone was hard to tell—whether it was sarcasm or praise. “Did I scare you?”
The pup did not answer either. Of course—it only knew how to howl and growl now and didn’t understand how to speak.
Chen fell silent again. This time, the little wolf cub didn’t move closer but stayed where it was. When Chen finally finished looking at the moon and shifted his gaze back to the cub, it couldn’t help but tremble, and the sharp claws it had tucked away on its small paws suddenly extended.
Chen’s gaze glanced over the little wolf cub’s claws, then settled on its face.
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 little wolf cub had been well cared for by Chen Qi over these past ten or so months. Even without its fluffy white fur, its whole body was plump and round, completely unlike the lean, muscular build of the giant wolf-god. Because of this, its limbs looked somewhat short, and with its big eyes, it was the very picture of clumsiness.
Looking at the little wolf cub like this, Chen couldn’t help but show some disdain, snorting through his nostrils. “Since you picked up on my signal and came, are you planning to come with me?”
Hearing this, the little wolf cub shook its head like a rattle and took a few steps back to make its position clear.
Chen was a bit surprised. “If you don’t want to go, then why did you come?” Could it be that he had sent the wrong signal? After all, he hadn’t sent signals to his clan for decades, so he wasn’t even sure himself.
“Awoo, awoo.” The little wolf cub let out two calls.
Although Chen had been able to speak for a long time, he could still understand the cub’s primitive beast language. After listening, he curled his lips and said, “Don’t worry, I have no intention of harming any beastmen.”
The little wolf cub received the answer it wanted and seemed somewhat reassured. It slightly lowered its body, adopting a submissive posture. This was an instinct passed down through its bloodline. Even though it had never stayed with its clan, it knew that as long as it showed submission, it wouldn’t be harmed.
Seeing the little wolf cub like this, Chen seemed amused. “I really want to show your silly little face to that dumb dragon.”
The little wolf cub looked up at him with slight confusion.
Chen, almost humanlike, waved his front paw. “Forget it, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you now. After I leave this time, I won’t be coming back here for a long time. The waters of the Sanchen River have already been polluted, and those idiots in the forest have started stirring. Even if they haven’t found you yet, sooner or later they’ll catch you and drag you back into the forest. If you don’t want to be trapped forever by the Sanchen River, you’d better not let them find you.”
After speaking, Chen slowly stood up. His massive frame cast a shadow that enveloped the little wolf cub, even though it stood some distance away. Only his golden eyes shone exceptionally bright, reflecting the moonlight.
“Those beastmen will probably become food for those idiots before long,” Chen said in a cold tone, without a trace of warmth, as if he were describing something very ordinary.
“Awoo.” The little wolf cub’s fur bristled all over, and the light in its beast-like eyes seemed to grow even brighter. It looked as if Chen only needed to say a few more words about the beastmen before it would leap forward and bite.
Chen was too lazy to argue with a cub; with the little wolf cub’s current strength, it was only a mild itch to him. Shaking off a few pieces of grass stuck to his fur, he said, “Grow up quickly.”
“If you don’t want to come with me, then go back early. Don’t get caught by those idiots in the forest, and don’t get killed by the beastmen either.” Chen took a few steps forward, slightly lowered his head, and leaned close to the little wolf cub. “Remember, under no circumstances should you eat beastmen.”
The little wolf cub nodded stiffly. Chen said no more, slowly straightened up, shook his tail, and turned to walk away toward the direction of the moon without looking back.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
It wasn’t until Chen’s tall figure completely disappeared into the moonlight that the little wolf cub finally relaxed its body. It didn’t plan to stay outside any longer and ran as fast as it could toward Qi Ze City. Having been out for so long without Ajing seeing it, the cub guessed that he would probably be worried.
Aze kicked open the fence gate of the yard and rushed inside. Because of the hot weather, the wooden door to the main hall was left open. As soon as Aze crossed the yard, he saw the familiar figure sitting under the dim oil lamp, fiddling with the antelope-dragon horn.
Chen Qi was about to blow the freshly made horn again when he suddenly heard a loud bang from the yard. Then Aze rushed in with a worried expression, looking him up and down before anxiously asking, “Are you alright?”
No sooner had Aze finished speaking than Ake and Azhang rushed in right behind him. They naturally recognized the sound as coming from Chen Qi’s house. Unlike Aze, who immediately checked on Chen Qi, they first ran through the four rooms, and after finding nothing unusual, they came back out.
Chen Qi looked confused as more and more people gathered inside. “What are you all doing?” he asked.
“Did you just hear a strange noise? We were worried that some kind of dragon might have broken in.” After Azhang and the others had searched the yard without finding anything unusual, Ake asked Chen Qi.
“A strange noise?”
“A sound I’ve never heard before—kind of deep—and it appeared briefly before disappearing,” Aze explained.
“…” Chen Qi glanced at Aze, whose eyes were still filled with lingering worry, then looked at the other beastmen gathered at the doorway, and finally at the antelope-dragon horn in his hand. Chen Qi blinked, took a deep breath, and blew into the antelope-dragon horn. A deep, mellow sound came from the horn, and the watching females all stared at Chen Qi in shock.
After blowing it in one breath, Chen Qi innocently shook the antelope-dragon horn and asked, “Is this the sound you heard?”
Hearing the same sound coming from the room again, Azhang returned inside just in time to hear Chen Qi’s question. Even though he had seen Chen Qi create many strange and unusual things before, this time Azhang was still a bit incredulous. “How did you do that?”
“How did you do that?” Chen Qi really didn’t know how to explain the principle behind the horn producing sound. With no other choice, he handed the horn to Aze and told him to give it a try.
Aze had much better lung capacity than Chen Qi. Following Chen Qi’s instructions, he blew into one end of the horn. This time, the sound was much louder and carried farther—so much so that even the little wolf cub outside the city heard it. The sound lasted for nearly half a minute before finally stopping.
Hearing the strange sound, the little wolf cub quickened its pace considerably. Just as it ran through the city gate, it heard a familiar voice calling out to it. The cub hurriedly ran toward the figure.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: 1 of 2 chapters before another pause for travels.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
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.
