Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 115
Chapter 115
After leaving the beach, there was another vast rocky shore. The rocks here were much larger and more orderly than the ones next to the tribe. The shore was covered in moss and mussels, but due to being constantly washed by the lake water, the sides were too slippery. The cloth shoes they wore did not have non-slip effects, so they bypassed this stretch of rocky beach and walked along the base of the rocky mountain.
The old salt mountain that Axu mentioned before was located at the end of the rocky beach. The two men arrived after about half an hour of walking. White fragments of salt stones were scattered around, covered in mud, appearing dirty and grimy. There was also a massive stone cave entrance to the salt mine, and it appeared quite ancient that it was hard to determine whether it was naturally formed or created through human excavation.
“Is this the old salt mine that Axu mentioned?” Chen Qi surveyed the surroundings. This particular mountain was completely barren, devoid of any vegetation, with only white salt stones around.
“Do you want to go inside and take a look?” Aze asked with a touch of concern, gazing at the dark entrance. It was one thing if it was just him, but with Chen Qi with him, he didn’t want to risk encountering any danger whatsoever.
The cave in this salt mountain was evidently much deeper than the other one. Even though the entrance was quite large, sunlight couldn’t penetrate deep inside, and standing outside the entrance, they couldn’t make out the conditions within.
Chen Qi pondered for a moment. “Let’s make a few torches before we go in.”
Torches were something they had made quite a few of when they were in Qi Ze City. In no time, the two of them skilfully crafted five or six torches. A single torch could burn for approximately fifteen minutes to half an hour or so. Chen Qi didn’t want to spend too much time inside the cave, so after finishing the torches, he lit one and they ventured into the stone cave.
Aze walked beside him, reaching out to grab Chen Qi’s free hand. His five senses were on high alert, constantly monitoring their surroundings. Chen Qi turned at him and smiled, sliding his fingers into the gaps between Aze’s, their hands interlocked tightly.
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 cave seemed to have been abandoned for a long time without maintenance, and broken rocks were scattered everywhere. The ground was not damp, but it was still challenging to walk on. Unlike the other salt mountain, the walls here weren’t entirely white salt stones; instead, some reddish-brown sandstone was mixed in. In comparison to the other salt mountain, this one had more impurities in the salt, which explained why the beastmen had abandoned it.
The cave was quite deep and the space was very large. Besides the unchanging stone walls around them, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special. However, when Chen Qi lit the second torch, he noticed a faint glimmer in the distance.
“Is this cave connected to the entire mountain?” Chen Qi was slightly surprised.
“Be careful”. Chen Qi had barely spoken when Aze suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Chen Qi to shield him. Immediately, Chen Qi heard the sound of fluttering wings. He hurriedly raised the lit torch and looked in the direction of the sound. To his surprise, the ceiling of the cave was covered with a multitude of dark bats.
Although Chen Qi didn’t have any intense phobias, he couldn’t help but shudder at the sight. He crouched down slightly and hurriedly pulled Aze along, heading towards the source of light ahead. “Let’s get out of here quickly. Be careful not to get bitten by the bats.” These things could carry rabies in this world, and there were no vaccines. Getting bitten could be a big problem.
With Chen Qi’s warning, Aze became more cautious in his actions. He’d quickly swat the bats away when they came too close to the two of them.
Although the source of light seemed very distant, it wasn’t actually that far away. Soon, the two of them reached an exit to the cave. Surprisingly, the bats inside didn’t follow them out. Chen Qi nervously checked Aze for any wounds, and only when he was certain that Aze was completely unharmed did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Seeing Chen Qi’s concern for him, Aze smiled, “These little things can’t hurt me.”
“Of course, my Aze is the best.” Chen Qi was never stingy in praising his mate at any time, which made Aze blush slightly with embarrassment.
The cave exit here was less than half the size of the one they had entered through. It appeared as if it had been deliberately carved out for the purpose of allowing light in. The entrance faced a rocky mountain with a few sparse green plants growing on it, making the otherwise barren salt mountain stand out.
After looking around and not finding anything out of the ordinary, Chen Qi was a little confused. “Where are those transparent salts that Axu mentioned? We haven’t seen any of them on our way here.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“I think I saw them just a moment ago.”
“Where?” They were both walking the same route. How could Aze have seen them when he hadn’t?
Aze pointed to the dark cave, “Where we encountered the bats just now.”
“……”
Recalling the dense cluster of bats on the cave ceiling and the unpleasant odor, Chen Qi really didn’t want to go back in there to experience that again. However, since they had already come this far, he felt a bit reluctant to leave without exploring further.
Chen Qi sighed, “Let’s go back in and take another look.”
Of course, Chen Qi did not intend to just go back in without taking some precautionary measures. He gathered some dry branches and fresh green leaves from the vicinity, tied them together, and then ignited them along with a torch before tossing them into the cave, intending to use fire and smoke to disperse the bats inside first.
Chen Qi retrieved a piece of cloth from his backpack, tore it in two and handed one to Aze, then tied his own piece around his mouth and nose. “The smell inside is too foul, and it probably contains toxins. It’s better if you cover your mouth and nose like me.” The bats had likely been dwelling in this cave for who knows how many years, and the guano on the ground must have accumulated several centimeters thick. They hadn’t paid much attention to it when they rushed out just now, but now that they were planning to go back inside, they needed to be well-prepared.
After no more bats flew out of the cave entrance, Chen Qi lit a torch and stepped inside. Aze led the way, and not far from the entrance, there was a fork in the path. This junction was facing away from the direction they had initially entered from, so Chen Qi didn’t see it. However, it didn’t escape Aze’s notice, as he could still see reasonably well in the dark.
After turning down the fork in the road, the bats were no longer visible. Chen Qi looked down and noticed that the grayish-white salt stones had reappeared underfoot. The surrounding cave walls, however, were semi-transparent, reflecting the torchlight as it flickered.
“Is this rock salt?” Chen Qi asked in surprise, touching the semi-transparent cave wall. It felt slightly cool to the touch.
After walking a short distance further, Chen Qi noticed that besides rock salt, there were two other substances he could barely recognize: gypsum and saltpeter. These two often coexisted with rock salt. Additionally, there were some distinctly different minerals that Chen Qi didn’t recognize.
Although finding gypsum was a pleasant surprise, Chen Qi was particularly thrilled to discover saltpeter. This substance was incredibly useful—it could be used to make gunpowder. In such a primitive society, where even cold weapons were scarce, being able to produce gunpowder would be a game-changer. The hyena-drakes wouldn’t stand a chance; if they dared to attack, they could be blown away.
Chen Qi was almost beside himself with excitement. He had Aze dig out some gypsum and saltpeter and put them carefully into his backpack. After all, he was still holding a torch and did not dare to stay in the cave for too long. They soon packed up their things and prepared to leave. On their way out, they encountered the returning of the bats and had to engage in another round of dodging and evading.
If they planned to return to collect saltpeter from this place in the future, they would have to find a way to make these troublesome creatures relocate. Chen Qi, who had a bit of bat droppings fall on his shoulder by some random bat, thought while gritting his teeth viciously and cleaning it up.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
After their unexpected harvest, Chen Qi had no intention of lingering in the area any longer. He looked at the sky to gauge the time and decided it was time to head back. On the way back, there was no need to cautiously observe the surroundings any longer. He asked Aze to carry him back, but they still made a detour to the place where the sea turtle had laid its eggs earlier.
The sea turtle had long gone off, leaving behind only a pile of freshly covered sand hidden under a tall rock. Chen Qi scraped away the sand from the top and saw that it was filled with white eggs, roughly twice the size of ordinary eggs.
Chen Qi couldn’t help but let out a whistle of amazement, and motioned for Aze to remove his backpack. They carefully took out the turtle eggs one by one, dusting off the dirt that clung to them before placing them in the backpack. There were, surprisingly, about fifty to sixty eggs in total.
“Today’s harvest is really good. I’ll cook some of these eggs for you when we get back,” Chen Qi said with a happy mood as he helped Aze secure the backpack. “Aze, how about we explore those rocky mountains further inland tomorrow? There might be more pleasant surprises waiting for us.” If they could find sulfur, he could produce gunpowder, but it seemed like there were no volcanoes in this area, so it might be challenging to find sulfur.
Aze looked at Chen Qi’s excited expression and smiled, “Sure.”
On their way back, the two of them also managed to catch a few giant crabs that were scuttling about in front of them. Perhaps it was because they had easily captured octopuses using jars, or maybe it was because they hadn’t spotted any large, huntable creatures during the low tide today, when they returned, they saw Ale and a group of young females splashing around in the water. Ale was impatiently directing their awkward movements. How could these people be so dumb? They hadn’t learned anything even after being taught for such a long time. Thinking back to when Chen Qi taught him, he had caught on quickly. In comparison, Ale couldn’t help but feel a bit smug.
As for Ashu, who was also continuously splashing around a few times before sinking into the water, he was similarly impatient. He pushed aside the wet hair from his face and said, “It must be your teaching method that’s wrong. If Chen Qi were teaching us, we would have learned it already.”
Ale put his hands on his hips and let out a scoff. “Obviously, it’s because you guys are too stupid. This is exactly how Chen Qi taught me.”
Ashu splashed some water at Ale and retorted, “Tomorrow, I’ll have Chen Qi teach me, and I bet I’ll learn it in no time. Just wait and see.”
Ale, who was drenched, grit his teeth and rolled up his sleeves as he walked toward Ashu. In a mocking tone, he said, word by word, “Chen Qi said all you need is to take two sips of water and you can learn it. I think it’s necessary for you to try it yourself. Maybe we won’t have to wait until tomorrow, and you might be swimming a few laps in a little while.”
Ashu felt a brief flutter in his heart and despite the hot day, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Just as the two were about to come to blows, a female nearby noticed two figures approaching slowly along the beach and called out Chen Qi’s name.
Ale, who had been about to dunk Ashu’s head in the water, quickly released his grip and, upon seeing Chen Qi look their way, offered an embarrassed smile. “We were just fooling around,” he said, as he playfully pinched Ashu’s arm from an obscure angle.
Ashu rolled his eyes and reluctantly nodded. He didn’t expect Ale to be so afraid of Chen Qi. Maybe he could use this to his advantage in the future. Ashu’s mind quickly started to work on some ideas.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Happy early Xmas wishes to all and a Happy New Year.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomNight73
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.
Ale and Ashu?
I like
Super game I approve
Thanks for translation