Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 118
Chapter 118
Even during the migration period, the fish in the Salt Water Lake were rarely hunted by the beast people, and they showed no fear when the beast people approached. Some fish even voluntarily swam towards them. During the day, the water’s surface was scorched under the sun, and the shadow cast by the bamboo raft became the perfect refuge for the fish, naturally attracting quite a few of them.
Axu and Ahxu hardly needed to move. They simply spread the fishing net evenly under the water, patiently waited for the fish to swim in, and then slowly pulled the net up by the four corners. This method yielded quite a few large fish, while the smaller ones had already escaped through the gaps in the net. However, the beast people didn’t mind. In less than an hour, they harvested more prey than they would have in several days using their previous methods.
Due to the rare bumper harvest, Achu gathered all the tribespeople in a shaded area near the rocky mountain for a celebration. Axu was tasked with teaching the tribe members how to handle the newly acquired fish.
Chen Qi had long been captivated by the giant lobster. He asked Ashu to bring over the largest pottery dish from his home. He then found a bamboo sieve with larger gaps and placed it in the pottery dish. He added an appropriate amount of water into the dish, washed the lobster clean and directly steamed it.
While Chen Qi was drooling over the large lobster, Achu walked over with a female from the Flame-Hill Tribe.
Chen Qi had seen this female before. He was the middle-aged female with graying hair who had been standing by the shore talking with Achu earlier. His face looked more mature than Achu’s, with a slender forehead. Although it was difficult to discern from the side view before, as the two stood in front of Chen Qi, one could notice a certain resemblance between them.
Achu called Axu over as well and then pointed to the female beside him, introducing him to the others. “This is a member of the Flame-Hill Tribe and also my older brother, Ayan.” Afterward, he went on to introduce Chen Qi and the others to Ayan, one by one.
“Hello.” Ayan nodded slightly to the group of people. Despite Ayan’s appearance seeming only slightly older than Achu, he was actually over a hundred years old. Of course, this age still placed him in the prime of life among the long-lived beastmen.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Achu briefly explained the purpose of bringing Ayan over. In short, the Flame-Hill Tribe also wanted to participate in this year’s gathering between Qi Ze City and the Salt-Water Tribe.
“Perhaps you no longer need flint, but if there’s anything you need, the people from our tribe can assist in finding it.” Although the Flame-Hill Tribe was located on the edge of the forest, they didn’t have many valuable items for exchange. Every year during the gathering, they only brought flint, which was their specialty. Since the last time they failed to attend the gathering, news had spread about the method to make fire without flint. Therefore, the people of the Flame-Hill Tribe were having a headache over what else they could bring for exchange.
This initially forced visit to the Salt-Water Tribe brought unexpected gains for Ayan. Although the time was short, almost everyone in the Salt-Water Tribe was talking about the male named Chen Qi, which inevitably made Ayan pay more attention to him.
Seeing Ayan staring directly at him, Chen Qi quickly pushed Ahxu to the front. He left the inter-tribal communication to the experts and focused on cooking his lobster.
“We don’t currently have any specific needs. If you plan to attend the gathering, bringing flint will be sufficient. While it is possible to make fire by drilling wood, the actual process is still a bit troublesome.” Ahxu added to the conversation.
Ayan withdrew his gaze and nodded. The discussion shifted to the gathering, and in the meantime Ahxu also inquired about the current situation of the Flame-Hill Tribe.
Last winter, the Flame-Hill Tribe had one of the most challenging times among the nearby tribes. Not only were the females attacked by hyena-drakes while on their way to the gathering, but the tribe’s absence from the meeting also resulted in a shortage of salt stones and pottery. Thus, resources had to be prioritized for the young and strong females who guarded the tribe and led to a decline in the health for those lacking sufficient salt intake. Many individuals with injuries or of advanced age fell ill. Although they later ventured to the Salt-Water Tribe to exchange for salt stones, they encountered hyena-drakes again in the forest shortly after the onset of summer, suffering the loss of many young females. Now, the tribe’s population was almost only half of what it was in the previous summer. The people of the Flame-Hill Tribe were already contemplating whether to find a power tribe to merge with.
It was unknown whether nostalgia for one’s native land was a universal trait in any world, the people of the Flame-Hill Tribe had only pondered the idea of merging with another tribe when facing extremely severe circumstances. They hadn’t translated this thought into action yet. Even though the tribe was currently experiencing shortages of clothing and food due to the inability to hunt, their plan was only to come to the Salt Water Lake to hunt for some prey. There was no intention to bring their people over and merge with the Salt-Water Tribe at this point.
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 broke off a bit of lobster meat, dipped it in a specially made sauce, and let Aze taste it. Every time he ate new seafood, he would only let Aze have a small portion until he was assured Aze showed no signs of discomfort or allergies. Don’t blame Chen Qi for being overly cautious in this regard. He had a former colleague who was allergic to shrimp. After accidentally eating some, the colleague ended up in the hospital for emergency treatment. This incident left a deep impression on Chen Qi, and in a place without hospitals, he could only be careful on his own.
Although he had mentioned to the other beastmen to stop eating if they felt uncomfortable, whether it was because the beastmen bodies were too robust or that they were not prone to food allergies, Chen Qi hadn’t yet discovered anyone who couldn’t eat a certain type of food.
“You are too cautious. Why can’t we eat this food?” Ashu didn’t care about any of that. As soon as he saw Chen Qi tearing apart the lobster meat, he quickly grabbed a large piece, dipped it in some sauce and stuffed it into his mouth. The taste was even better than the rice berry flour-coated fried fish slices or fried fish balls. Ashu quickly grabbed another large piece of meat and offered it to Achu, who was sitting next to him, engaged in a lively conversation.
Aze glared at him and set aside Chen Qi’s share while others were not paying attention. He was not a glutton for food. Although he found the lobster delicious, he didn’t have an insatiable desire to eat it because he knew that Chen Qi was also concerned about him. This concern meant more to him than any food.
After preparing the lobster, Chen Qi did not rush to eat it. Instead, he took a large fish they had caught before and fried fish slices for Aze. He found a thin piece of slate, washed it clean, and placed it on the fire. First, he used the fresh fish fat to create oil, then he placed the thinly sliced fish on it. While frying, he used a brush made of feathers to apply sauce to the fish slices. After frying, he served it in Aze’s pottery bowl for him to eat while it was still hot.
Aze was worried that the lobster would not taste good when it was cooled down, so he used the chopsticks to feed the lobster meat to Chen Qi while he was frying up the fish slices for him. Watching the natural and intimate exchange of actions, Ashu couldn’t help but move his ceramic bowl filled with food closer to Ale. However, because he got too close, Ale pushed him away, showing a bit of disdain.
In fact, while Chen Qi’s hands were busy, his ears perked up as he listened to the three people chat. It was uncertain whether Ashu and the others were unconcerned about others overhearing their conversation or deliberately speaking for Chen Qi to hear, but their voices were precisely within the range where Chen Qi could clearly hear.
Ahxu had never been to the Flame-Hill Tribe, so he asked more detailed questions about the Flame-Hill Tribe. Listening to this, Chen Qi couldn’t help but interject, “The place where your tribe produces flint is a volcanic mountain?”
Upon hearing Chen Qi’s question, Ayan turned to look at him. “Yes, flint is produced by absorbing the fire essence from the Flame Hill.”
Chen Qi thought for a moment, “Is there a type of stone over there that has a strong and pungent smell?”
Ayan shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t pay attention to that. When I go back, I can ask the tribespeople to look for it on Flame Hill.”
Chen Qi’s eyes lit up. “If you don’t find it on Flame Hill, you can search nearby. The stone may be somewhat yellowish in color.” If they could find sulfur stone in the Flame-Hill Tribe, they would have all the materials needed for making fire or medicine. Unfortunately, the Flame-Hill Tribe was too far away, and returning from there to Qi Ze City would take almost a month. If delayed for such a long time, the next winter might already be upon them. Although Chen Qi was eager to personally see whether sulfur could be found there, the transportation in this region was too limited, forcing him to reluctantly give up the idea.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ayan nodded and silently made a mental note, planning to instruct the tribe members to prioritize looking for the thing Chen Qi needed after returning.
The so-called gatherings of the beast people were mostly about eating together; there were no entertainment activities like singing, dancing, or playing games. After filling their stomachs, the group was eager to continue fishing because the operation was too simple. Even the males in the tribe who had never hunted before were eager to give it a try.
At first, Achu was reluctant to let the males go into the water. After all, even with the simplest hunting, they had to be in the water, and falling in wouldn’t be fun. However, Chen Qi persuaded them to wear life buoys and tied protective ropes around their waists, with the females watching on the sidelines. In the end, Achu reluctantly agreed to their actions.
For those who had never hunted before, the indescribable joy of catching prey with their own hands overwhelmed them. Dozens of young males eagerly took over the fishing work, enthusiastically rotating shifts and working continuously from noon until the tide receded.
Every day when the tide ebbs, some large creatures would linger by the lake shore. Regrettably, the young males could only reluctantly return to the shore, but apparently, there were no giant creatures worth the females’ attention today. After a fruitful afternoon of fishing, they tidied up and headed home.
Having caught enough prey and considering the current situation of the Flame-Hill Tribe, Achu had the prey simply processed then let the people from the Flame-Hill Tribe take their share back. However, Ayan and a young female stayed behind. The two of them planned to take advantage of this opportunity to check out the situation at Qi Ze City first.
After spending around three days in the Salt-Water Tribe, Chen Qi and his group explored the rocky mountain area. Besides discovering two wild ginseng plants, there were no particularly significant findings. Nonetheless, the discovery of wild ginseng already brought great joy to Chen Qi.
Ahxu and Ale were caught every day by the Salt-Water Tribe tribesmen, either to teach them how to make bows and torches, tell them stories, or to help them learn activities like swimming. Every day, they were busy until late at night before being allowed to return. In comparison, Chen Qi and Aze seemed to be on vacation. Later, Chen Qi also felt a bit guilty because the people from the Salt-Water Tribe took over all their work. In the end, Chen Qi could only teach them how to make sweets and sugar water as a gesture of gratitude.
When it was time to decide to return to Qi Ze City, Ahxu and Ale both secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The people of the Salt-Water Tribe were too enthusiastic, and they found it a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, the atmosphere among the people of the Salt-Water Tribe became more silent. It was their first time encountering so many new things, and although it would take some time to fully digest it all, they found themselves inexplicably dependent on the members of the Qi Ze City. Whenever they didn’t understand something, as long as they found the beastmen of Qi Ze City, they could always find a solution. Over time, a strong sense of reluctance grew, and later, when they heard that the tribe chief was organizing a small team to help move things to Qi Ze City, some of the young females even secretly fought to secure a spot on the team.
The result was that what arrived as a small team of only six people, had transformed into a large force of over twenty people for the return trip.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: What’s next, I wonder!
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.
