Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 200
Chapter 200
Aze’s narcolepsy didn’t occur every day, and its timing was unpredictable. Sometimes he would suddenly fall asleep in the morning; other times, he would slump to the ground in the middle of a patrol. Although Chen Qi was worried, after observing him for several days, he found that aside from the lethargy, Aze showed no other physical problems.
In the end, Chen Qi had no choice but to explain the situation to Achu. Aze was assigned to stay by Chen Qi’s side to help revise designs and lend a hand with other tasks. Only when Aze remained nearby could Chen Qi feel a little relieved.
Achu did not make things difficult for him. After hearing Chen Qi’s explanation, he decisively excused Aze from his usual guard duties. That night, he even brought a young lamb newly hunted by Ashu to Chen Qi, asking him to cook a hearty meal to help replenish Aze’s strength.
“Thanks to you, I get to eat well today too,” Chen Qi teased Aze while cooking a mixed mutton soup and brushing seasoning on the roasted lamb.
Aze, who was busy installing the final part of a wheelchair Chen Qi had invented, paused at the comment. “If you want fresh meat, I could go hunting myself.”
“No.” Chen Qi put down the brush, hastily refusing. “Your main task right now is to rest. The prey provided by the tribe every day is enough, and Little Wolf and Ajing go hunting every few days. If there’s something you want to eat, just tell me—I can ask the hunting team to bring it back for you.”
“There’s still a lot of cured meat at home. It’s not good to keep it for too long. You can cook more of it for yourself.” Since his narcolepsy had struck again, Chen Qi wouldn’t even let Aze cook anymore, so Aze could only offer the suggestion.
“Cured meat can’t compare to fresh, and your health isn’t great. We aren’t short on fresh meat, and even if your appetite grows several times over, I can still provide.” At worst, he could join the hunting team when the time came. Chen Qi had improved the crossbows and arrows—now far deadlier and more accurate than before. As long as it wasn’t some massive, thick-skinned beast, he wasn’t worried about failing to catch anything.
Chen Qi used his dragon-horn knife to cut a small, golden-brown piece of roasted lamb and handed it to Aze. “Try this—see if it’s any good.”
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’s delicious.” Aze evaluated it before taking a bite with the knife, and indeed, the meat was tender, juicy, and flavorful.
Chen Qi shot him a glance. “You’re praising it before even tasting it. What if you vomit like last time?”
“That was because Ale cooked it badly. The mutton wasn’t handled properly and smelled so gamey. Didn’t you think it was awful too?” Aze smiled, retorting.
“The wheelchair is finished. Want to try it?” Aze stood up after finishing his meal and pushed the wheelchair around the nearby open space. The wheels were a little rough and squeaked against the ground, but it ran smoothly overall.
Even if the wheelchair was simple, the fact that Aze had achieved this much so quickly impressed Chen Qi. He put down his brush, walked around the fire, pushed the wheelchair a few steps, and praised, “Aze, you’re amazing—you built it so fast!”
Considering that Chen Qi had only produced the design three days ago, and Aze had slept for a full day in between, the actual hands-on time from start to finish was just two days. For such a high-quality result in so little time, few in the tribe could match Aze’s practical skills.
“This will be great for Lang Yan—he won’t have to stay cooped up indoors every day. Let’s send it to him now.”
Chen Qi moved the roasted lamb from the fire and, together with Aze, pushed the wheelchair out the door.
Lang Yan had been living alone in Azhang’s house. Their home was next to the wasteland, with no nearby neighbors. When everyone was busy with construction, few people passed by. Ake and Ayan had gone to the Flame-Hill Tribe. Ka Luo stayed at home with Ayao. In his free time, Ka Luo would help Lang Yan prepare meals, sometimes even eating with him. Soon, the two became familiar with each other.
When Chen Qi arrived, Ajing and the little wolf cub were also there. The little wolf cub stood quietly beside Lang Yan, who sat on a chair and softly spoke about events from when he was a giant wolf-god. The little wolf cub listened attentively, without speaking. Whether it understood him or not was unknown—and Lang Yan didn’t mind either way.
The feather pen scratched and rustled on the paper. Ajing was carefully recording Lang Yan’s words. Sometimes he would read back what he had written to him. Lang Yan was very interested in these strange symbols, but he didn’t ask Ajing to teach him. Although he knew Ajing had the task of teaching young beastmen at school, Axiang was not there, and no one was taking him to school every day behind his back, so Lang Yan simply allowed Ajing to write down his story, stroke by stroke.
“Lang Yan, try this chair,” Chen Qi said excitedly as soon as he entered, waving at him.
After several days of recuperation, Lang Yan’s body was much stronger than when he first arrived in Qi Ze City. Chen Qi had made him two crutches, which allowed him to walk a few steps. Seeing the strange chair, Lang Yan was a little surprised, but he stood with the crutches and sat down in the wheelchair.
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 stepped back to Ajing and gave up his spot.
“Are you sitting properly?” Chen Qi asked softly.
Although he didn’t fully understand, Lang Yan nodded.
Chen Qi smiled and began pushing the wheelchair toward the door. It creaked and groaned as it moved slowly but steadily. The sudden motion startled Lang Yan, and he gripped the armrests tightly.
There was a step at the doorway. Chen Qi and Aze lifted the wheelchair together and moved it outside. The courtyard gate was flat, and Chen Qi continued pushing it forward.
“From now on, you can sit in this chair and have someone push you wherever you want to go. Once it’s further improved, you’ll be able to move around in it by yourself,” Chen Qi explained as he walked.
Lang Yan had been unable to move for several years. As a male, normally, no one carried him around except his mate. And since Axiang, the chief, had many responsibilities, including hunting and caring for Lang Yan, he rarely had the chance to go out. Lang Yan hadn’t expected that just a few days after arriving here, he would receive a chair that allowed him to move.
He lightly rubbed the wheelchair’s handle and said gratefully, “Thank you.”
After sending the wheelchair out, life returned to its calm rhythm. The foundation of the city wall had just been laid when another rainstorm hit. The remaining one-third of the water in the trenches outside the tribe quickly refilled.
The newly built houses had also been completed. Achu assigned people to move in one by one. The females of the Lion-Wolf Tribe dismantled the temporary shelters on the playground and moved into the newly vacant dormitories.
The red-fruits on both sides of the road began to ripen, hanging brilliantly from the branches. After the storm, it was still too wet for construction, so Chen Qi organized the beastmen to harvest all the red-fruits in the tribe.
After setting aside the usual amount for consumption, Chen Qi taught them to dry the surplus for storage.
When the first crops ripened, the beastmen who had gone to the Flame-Hill and Salt-Water Tribes to collect materials gradually returned. The Salt-Water Tribe beastmen came back a few days later and brought with them, besides necessary materials, many foods unique to the Salt Water Lake. Unfortunately, Qi Ze City had too many residents, so each person only received a small portion.
Chen Qi shook the small bag of dried mussels and a few shriveled octopuses, thinking about whether he could go collect them himself again next year.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
At that time, he didn’t know that events a few days later would leave him no time to agonize over whether or not he should go to the Salt Water Lake next year.
It was an ordinary morning. Chen Qi woke and instinctively reached for the person beside him—but the space was empty. He didn’t know when Aze had gotten up.
Since Aze had little work, Chen Qi insisted that he rest more, so he usually woke later than Chen Qi. Seeing that the person who should have been beside him was gone, Chen Qi’s lingering sleepiness vanished completely.
Chen Qi jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room without even changing out of his pajamas.
“Aze.”
Hearing Chen Qi, Aze, who had been sleeping on the fire bed in the hall, raised his head. Chen Qi hurriedly motioned for him to keep his voice down. Ajing, cooking porridge at the small kitchen stove nearby, couldn’t hide the smile spreading across his face upon seeing Chen Qi.
“What’s going on? Why are you sleeping outside so early?” Chen Qi asked. These days, he had been handling dangerous materials for fire and medicine. Afraid to entrust the task to anyone else, he could only toil away at it alone every day. Fortunately, the demand was low, and only a few preparations were needed.
Aze’s expression was troubled. He looked at Chen Qi, seeming hesitant to speak.
Chen Qi looked at him curiously and sat beside the bed. A thin sheet covered Aze, and his forehead felt hotter than usual.
“Are you sick?” Chen Qi asked, alarmed. Since Aze’s narcolepsy returned, he had been worried every day that Aze might fall ill. He had repeatedly searched his memory for any medical knowledge, but had too little prior experience to find anything useful, so he had to monitor Aze closely.
“No, I’m not sick,” Aze hurried to explain, but before he could finish, a loud baby cry came from nearby.
Chen Qi followed the sound and saw a wrinkled little infant wrapped in a soft white cloth, only its red face visible, lying next to Aze. He had been so focused on Aze that he hadn’t noticed the baby beside him.
Seeing the baby crying, Aze gently patted and awkwardly coaxed it with a few clumsy words. Fortunately, the infant cried only a few times, and seeing that someone was comforting it, it quickly stopped, smacked its little mouth, and fell into a deep sleep again.
As if remembering something, Chen Qi froze. Once Aze had soothed the baby, he asked hesitantly, “Whose child is this?”
Aze was silent for a moment, his ears turning a strange red. After a long pause, he said, “Yours.”
Crap… the wife was pregnant, and I didn’t even know.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: 1 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.
