Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 155
Chapter 155
With the departure of the Salt-Water Tribe and the disappearance of the first snowfall, the Dora Plains once again welcomed the annual harvest season and the time to store food for the coming winter.
The crops that Chen Qi had led the beastmen to plant on that large wasteland had begun to ripen one after another. With the forging of iron farm tools completed, even males who could not transform into beasts could help with the harvest, greatly speeding up the process.
However, the matter of crop storage proved troublesome. Only some durable crops, such as beans, sweet potatoes, and millet, could be stored for long periods, but vegetables could only last at most ten days to half a month.
Since summer, Chen Qi had been drying various kinds of vegetables and pickling sauerkraut, yet the thought of not being able to eat fresh vegetables or fruits in winter still gave him a headache. After some thought, he decided to ask Aze to help dig a cellar once he returned.
When Ka Luo heard that a cellar could be dug for storage, he immediately pulled Ake to dig one in their courtyard that very day. The tribe had already begun drying fish to serve as a staple for the winter. The dried fish were to be stored inside the house, and while before the quantity had been small and tolerable, processing such a large batch now filled the entire house with the smell of salted fish.
After a few days, the smell spread so thoroughly that even standing in the courtyard, one could smell it. Chen Qi pinched his nose in distaste as soon as he entered the house.
Azhang also brought two females to help. In addition to observing how to dig a cellar, they discussed with Chen Qi what materials to use for building houses for the newly settled beastmen. After all, they had long exhausted the stones from the original Rock Mountain Tribe, and since they had encountered dragons in the forest just two days ago, collecting slates there would have to wait until next summer.
“When my brother comes back, your house would smell like salted fish too.” Although they endured this kind of smell every year during food storage, the aroma of pickled meat from previous years was far more pleasant. Even though Ka Luo had prepared himself mentally, staying in the house for too long became unbearable. Lately, he had even been dreaming of being crushed beneath a pile of salted fish, leaving him terribly frustrated.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“No, even if we don’t store meat in the cellar, we still have another house to pile things up,” Chen Qi said, pointing to Aze’s old house not far away, which had now become a storeroom. He took a cloth mask from his pocket and handed another to Ajing, telling him to take Ayao home to play so they wouldn’t have to endure the smell here.
Ayao seemed to have been affected by the smell these past two days. He looked listless early in the morning, and not even his favorite fries could lift his spirits.
“Don’t worry, he’s just preparing for beast transformation. He’ll be fine in a few days,” Ake explained when he saw Chen Qi’s concern.
“Beast transformation? Didn’t he already do that last year?”
“Last year doesn’t count as full transformation. That was what he was born with. This time, he needs to grow his fur on his own.” Every beastman female had to undergo this process. Although some young females failed and died during winter, Ayao had been well-fed by Ka Luo through the summer and faced no such danger. Ake was therefore not too worried—he only needed to guide Ayao through the process.
Ka Luo handed an iron hoe to Chen Qi. “Is my brother not back yet?”
Chen Qi shook his head. Based on Aze’s estimated travel time, he should have returned yesterday, but there was still no sign of him today.
“Don’t worry. With Aze’s strength, nothing will happen. He’s probably just delayed by something on the road,” Ake comforted.
Although Chen Qi couldn’t deny his worry, he also knew Aze was a capable female. Before leaving, Aze had told him that if he returned a few days late, he shouldn’t be too anxious.
Ai. Chen Qi began to miss mobile phones from his old world again. Back then, a single phone call could have solved this easily—there would’ve been no need to sit here imagining all kinds of scenarios.
The cellar excavation went smoothly, and Ka Luo’s was completed that same day. To prevent snow from burying the entrance during winter, Ake even built a wooden canopy above it.
Chen Qi originally wanted to wait for Aze’s return before working on his own cellar, but Ake brought several people over the next day to help him finish 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.
With every household in the tribe having finished digging their storage cellars, the plants in the wasteland all ripened. Azhang led the others to harvest all the crops and distribute them evenly among everyone, even the newly settled beastmen. Those who had felt uneasy after joining the new tribe gradually settled down and began actively taking part in the harvest and construction.
By the fifth day that Aze still hadn’t returned, Chen Qi’s brows had furrowed deeply. After harvesting all the crops in his yard, he planted cabbages—fast-growing and cold-resistant—so that even in winter, they would have something fresh to eat for a while.
Nothing new was planted on the wasteland; instead, it was covered with plant ash to nourish the soil.
A straw canopy had been built atop the city gate for shade, with a wooden table and several chairs beneath it. There, Chen Qi was teaching Ye Huo how to write while also showing him how to use movable type printing.
Ye Huo was very gifted at learning characters. In a short time, his literacy had almost caught up to Ale’s. Chen Qi was delighted to have another learner as capable as Ajing in the tribe. He decided to let Ye Huo continue studying under him and entrusted him with the printing work, so that books in the tribe could gradually increase in number.
Chen Qi had originally thought that the longer he stayed in this world, the blurrier his memories of his previous life would become. So, ever since he’d managed to make paper, he had begun writing down everything he knew whenever he had spare time. Sometimes, after telling Ajing a story, he would even ask him to copy it down from memory.
However, the situation turned out to be quite the opposite. Chen Qi’s memories of his past world were becoming clearer as time went on. Sometimes, he could even recall every word spoken by an actor in a TV show.
Because of this, Chen Qi no longer forced himself to hurriedly copy books every day out of fear that he might forget things. He slowed down, and from time to time, he even went to the school to teach new lessons to the beastmen.
“Are you worried about Aze?” Ye Huo asked as he set a freshly printed page aside to dry, glancing at Chen Qi, who had once again fallen into a daze, staring beyond the city walls.
The first thing they had printed was The Thousand Character Classic, used for literacy lessons. It had taken over a month to carve all one thousand reversed wooden characters, and now, two whole boxes filled with them sat piled by their feet.
Ye Huo was still getting used to controlling the amount of dye-fruit applied to the blocks. At first, every page he printed came out as a blurry mess, the ink smudging into an unrecognizable smear. It had taken several tries before he finally began to get the hang of it.
Chen Qi returned to his senses and gave a soft “En.“
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
”He’s been gone too long this time.”
Sometimes, females who went hunting were gone for ten days or even half a month. Only because Qi Ze City was close to the forest could they normally make a round trip in a single day. Ye Huo wasn’t overly worried — unless they ran into a hyena-dragon. Against other types of dragons, even if the females couldn’t win, they could always run.
Chen Qi nodded and helped Ye Huo line up the next set of movable type blocks for printing. But he hadn’t arranged more than a few before his gaze wandered back toward the forest again.
Ye Huo sighed quietly and kept his head down, focusing on his work. He brushed a new layer of dye-fruit across the carved letters while silently memorizing the words as he went.
After another full day of rest, Ajin’s wounds had begun to scab over. The injuries on his back were still too severe for him to carry Ai Li on his shoulders, but he could just barely manage to run while holding him in his arms. Though his pace was slower than usual, it was still much faster than their sluggish crawl from the day before.
Watching Ajin panting and drenched in sweat—whether from the pain of his wounds or from exertion—Ai Li’s expression was complicated. Still, he didn’t suggest stopping to rest. Instead, he took a slightly grimy strip of cloth from his pocket and gently wiped the sweat from Ajin’s face.
The gesture made Ajin’s stride falter for an instant. He looked down at the person in his arms and saw Ai Li act as if it were nothing—once finished wiping, Ai Li naturally tucked the cloth back into his clothes. Ajin couldn’t help but smile.
“Sorry.”
Ai Li looked up, puzzled as to why Ajin would apologize.
Ajin looked away, unconsciously quickening his pace. He knew exactly why Ai Li had come out this time—he didn’t want his own injuries to delay the treatment of the little female still burning with fever back in the tribe.
Feeling the sudden increase in speed, Ai Li said nothing more. Instead, he quietly wrapped his arms around Ajin’s neck to make himself lighter and ease his burden.
Fortunately, the Lion-Wolf Tribe wasn’t far now. The road ahead was smooth, and no more mishaps occurred. Two days later, they could already see the three tall rocky mountains that marked the tribe’s territory. A little further, they would surely encounter Lion-Wolf Tribe females standing guard nearby.
Aze didn’t escort them all the way to the gate. When the distance was close enough, he returned their luggage and prepared to take his leave.
“Thank you for saving us,” Ajin said gratefully, taking the bags. “Will you come when the tribal assembly starts? I’d like to give you my thanks properly then.”
Aze shook his head. “No. I won’t be attending the gathering.”
“Then I’ll give it to you next time we meet,” Ajin said with slight regret. “If you ever need help, you can come to the Lion-Wolf Tribe to find me.”
Aze nodded, though he didn’t take the words to heart. He hadn’t helped them for the sake of a reward—he would have done the same for anyone else in trouble.
Ai Li stood quietly to the side, glancing at Aze before turning away, biting his lip without speaking.
After saying goodbye, Ajin picked Ai Li up again and ran toward the Lion-Wolf Tribe. Aze didn’t mind Ai Li’s attitude. He found a tall acacia tree nearby, climbed up, and watched until the two met the Lion-Wolf Tribe females on patrol. Only then did he turn and leave.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: First chapter for the year, this story will finish this year for sure! (nudges lovely editor and proofreader)
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.
