Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 199
Chapter 199
To Chen Qi’s surprise, among the males the Lion-Wolf Tribe sent this time, there was someone he actually knew—Ai Li, the same male who had mocked him when he first visited the tribe.
“Why is he here?” The moment Ka Luo—who had been assigned to train the males—saw Ai Li, his expression instantly collapsed.
Chen Qi had not interacted much with Ai Li, so he did not hold any particular dislike toward him. He simply assigned tasks according to the plan.
Ai Li froze slightly when he saw Ka Luo, but his expression remained unreadable. He and a few other males were assigned to help tend the crops and assist the beastmen cooking in the kitchen. It was his first time seeing so many varieties of food, so he was a little shocked, but he still learned everything seriously.
Aside from Ka Luo—who clearly disliked him—most beastmen treated him normally. After all, most of them didn’t know him; they only knew he was a male from the Lion-Wolf Tribe and were unaware about his past in the former Rock-Mountain Tribe.
Ayan did not return to the Lion-Wolf Tribe with Axiang. Instead, he guided several beastmen from Qi Ze City to the former Flame-Hill Tribe to gather materials. Axu took another group to the Salt-Water Tribe. In addition to materials needed for making gunpowder, they also had to collect salt stones, because the sudden increase in population meant the salt stones brought back last year would no longer last until next summer.
The Salt-Water Tribe and Flame-Hill Tribe were both extremely far from Qi Ze City, and a round trip took nearly two months. To avoid slowing down construction progress, both teams—other than a few leaders—were composed mostly of the new females from the original Salt-Water Tribe. The original Qi Ze City beastmen were instead assigned to accompany and guide the newcomers.
Axiang left the beastmen who had traveled with him in Qi Ze City and returned to the Lion-Wolf Tribe alone, along with Azhang and the small group accompanying him.
Besides the stack of design plans Chen Qi gave them, each beastman carried a large bag of supplies—iron tools as well as some finished weapons. Axiang did not act pretentiously; he accepted everything Azhang gave. When Qi Ze City needed their help in the future, they would repay this kindness.
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 the addition of new manpower, the construction of the new city wall was added to the schedule. Since the new housing was only half completed, there were not many free places to live. Apart from the newly arrived males who moved into the dormitory, the other females built simple temporary shelters on the training grounds.
These construction tasks didn’t require Chen Qi’s constant supervision. And because there were finally enough hands, the greenhouse he had been longing to build could finally begin.
The greenhouse was built in a corner of the former crop field near the city gate, where a row of red-fruit trees grew. The vegetable plots there had just been harvested, so Chen Qi cleared and leveled the land to begin construction.
The one overseeing the work was Ye Huo. Ye Huo seemed very interested in how the greenhouse worked and had discussed it with Chen Qi for a long time, learning a great deal.
“Why did you carry this little one out here? He was just born not long ago. The sun is so strong—can he handle it?”
Chen Qi frowned disapprovingly at the small beastman strapped to Ye Huo’s back.
“It’s fine. He’s very healthy,” Ye Huo said casually with a wave of his hand.
The little one was only a bit over a month old. Ye Huo carried him in a sling, with an umbrella tied to his back to shade the child. Perhaps because he was born in summer, the little one was indeed very robust. Having just finished eating, he lay against Ye Huo’s back, sleeping soundly.
“Has he been given a name yet?” Chen Qi looked at the little one’s round, chubby face and couldn’t help poking it. The baby stirred a little, blew a small bubble, and did not wake up.
“He has. His name is Ye Yu.” When talking about his son, a smile naturally appeared on Ye Huo’s face.
“Ye Yu?”
“Because he was born on a stormy day. Ale wanted to name him Lei Yu*, but I didn’t agree. Last time you mentioned the idea of family names, so I thought—our family should have a surname too. So his name became Ye Yu.”
*Lei Yu = Thunder Rain
“It’s a good name.” Chen Qi smiled and lightly ran his hand over the baby’s still-sparse hair.
“The batch of bird eggs you brought back last time—did they all hatch? What do we do with the snow geese once they grow up? Keep them in cages forever?”
“No need to keep them in cages. Just clip their wings.”
“Then give me a few to raise later. I want to practice first. Once we move them into the greenhouse, I can help out too.”
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 laughed. “Sure.”
While they were chatting, Ai Li came to pick vegetables and spotted Chen Qi. He still remembered this male who had once shielded Aze with his own body. He hadn’t expected him to be so capable—so many strange yet incredibly useful things in the tribe were actually invented by this Chen Qi.
Ai Li thought for a moment, whispered something to his companion, then walked over.
“Is he looking for you?” Ye Huo pointed at Ai Li standing behind Chen Qi and asked quietly.
Chen Qi turned and saw a face that was more unfamiliar than familiar. He froze briefly but quickly put on a polite smile.
“Can I help you with something?”
Ai Li hesitated. Seeing this, Ye Huo sensibly took the greenhouse plans and left. Once he was far enough away, Ai Li finally spoke.
“I heard you’re Aze’s mate. I’m very sorry about what happened back at the Lion-Wolf Tribe. I came to apologize. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t think you said anything wrong. So why are you apologizing?” Chen Qi narrowed his eyes. He didn’t see even a hint of remorse in Ai Li’s expression.
“Well… you are helping the Lion-Wolf Tribe a great deal. Even though I still don’t think what I said was wrong, my behavior at the time was too offensive to you. So I’m very sorry. If you ever need my help, just come to me. As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll help—no matter what it is.” Ai Li’s tone carried a trace of sincerity. After speaking, he gave Chen Qi a slight bow, then went back to gather vegetables with his companions.
Some vegetables had very short growing cycles—about a month from planting to harvest—so several plots were dedicated to growing these for everyday consumption in the tribe.
Watching Ai Li’s busy figure, Chen Qi quietly sighed and turned to go home and continue his work. He had no deep personal conflict with Ai Li, but he deeply disliked the way the man belittled Aze. And as always, Chen Qi had no interest in talking to people he didn’t like.
After half a month, the little snow geese had changed completely. Half of the eggs they brought back hadn’t hatched, but even so, Chen Qi ended up with fifty or sixty goslings. They grew extremely fast—changing day by day—and in just two weeks they were already fist-sized. They huddled together and chirped nonstop. Before Chen Qi even reached the courtyard, their racket made his head throb.
Maybe I should find another place to keep them… He pushed open the gate while thinking.
Under the fig tree stood a stone table and several newly made long benches—built for sitting outside at night to chat and cool off. The benches were wide enough for an adult to lie on their side; though whether or not that was comfortable, only the person lying there would know.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
And what Chen Qi saw when he entered was someone lying on one of those benches. The man wore a short-sleeved shirt, several buttons undone, exposing a bit of skin. His brows were tightly furrowed, and it was unclear whether he was asleep.
Aze should be on wall-guard duty today. Why is he napping at home?
Chen Qi walked over and tested his forehead temperature with his hand. Everything was normal, and he let out a breath of relief. He gently shook Aze’s shoulder. “Aze, Aze—why did you fall asleep here?”
Aze seemed displeased at having his sleep disturbed. His tightly knit brows scrunched even more, and he waved his hand irritably as if shooing away something that was bothering him. When it didn’t work, he tried to turn away, but the bench wasn’t wide enough—he nearly rolled off. Shocked, Chen Qi quickly caught him.
“Too noisy…” Aze muttered, annoyed.
Seeing this rare childish side of him, Chen Qi felt helpless. Sleeping on a long bench was uncomfortable enough, and with a flock of snow geese screaming nearby, it was bizarre that Aze could sleep at all. Something wasn’t normal.
After calling him several times with no real response, Chen Qi had no choice but to bend down and pick him up. Aze stirred in his arms, opened his eyes slightly in a daze, then quickly drifted back to sleep.
Is his narcolepsy acting up again? Chen Qi carried Aze back to the bedroom, then went outside and moved the noisy geese to the far side of the yard. Away from the fig tree, their noise couldn’t be heard inside.
Aze slept until sunset. Chen Qi went out once to check the city wall foundation excavation, then spent the rest of the time revising designs and taking care of the sleeping Aze.
“I… did I fall asleep again?” Aze had just woken up and looked confused. He clearly remembered heading out for wall duty, but as soon as he stepped outside, a wave of drowsiness hit him. He planned to sit on the bench for a moment until it passed—but instead he fell asleep. As for how he returned to the bedroom, he couldn’t remember at all.
“Aze, are you uncomfortable anywhere?” Chen Qi poured him a cup of warm water, worry in his voice. Sleeping that long was absolutely abnormal, but he had no idea what was wrong with Aze’s body.
“No.” Aze drank the water and handed back the cup, looking dazed. “I feel fine. It’s just…”
“Just what?” Chen Qi’s heart tightened. The last thing he wanted was Aze being sick and hiding it from him.
Aze touched his abdomen, looking absent-minded. After hearing Chen Qi’s question, he snapped back and smiled faintly. “It’s just that after waking up, I’m really hungry. I feel like I could eat several times more than usual.”
Only after confirming repeatedly that Aze really was fine did Chen Qi finally relax. He rolled up his sleeves.
“Then stay here and rest. I’ll go cook for you.”
“Okay.”
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: 3 of 3 for the week.
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.
