Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 158
Chapter 158
Chen Qi was the first to spot Aze returning. Aze was carrying so much luggage that it almost completely hid his figure. When he crossed the wooden plank bridge over the moat, the bridge bent under the weight.
Chen Qi hurried down from the city wall. By the time he ran outside the gate, Aze had already arrived, standing there curiously watching the tribesmen busy peeling the ironshell-drakes.
“Next time, don’t just bring dragons back to the tribe.” Azhang slapped Ale hard on the head, scolding him.
“I only led them here because there weren’t that many ironshell-drakes this time,” Ale muttered, clutching his head and hiding behind Ahxu.
Asu smiled, stepping in to block Azhang’s glare. “It’s not entirely Ale’s fault. The hunting party discussed it and agreed the plan was doable before carrying it out. Still, it was thoughtless of us not to consult you first.”
“But with this batch of ironshell-drakes, we can make more iron tools! The knife Chen Qi made last time was so much better than a bone knife—I want to make one for Ye Huo too,” Ale added.
“……” Aze looked at Azhang, who seemed ready to start scolding again, then at Ale, who kept dodging his gaze. “Wait, what’s going on? You mean the ironshell-drakes didn’t attack the tribe—you brought them here?”
When Ale saw Aze, he brightened instantly and nodded. Then he pointed toward the gate. “Aze! You’re back! Why were you gone for so long this time? Chen Qi’s been worried sick—he’s been going up the city wall every morning to wait for you. He’s been there for several days!”
“How come you were gone so long? Did you manage to hunt the snow bear?” Seeing Aze back, Azhang’s expression softened a little. He shot Ale a glare, then waved him off to help process the ironshell-drakes.
Ale grinned sheepishly and ran after Ahxu.
“I ran into two beastmen from the Lion-Wolf Tribe being attacked by a pack of hyena-drakes along the way,” Aze explained. “I helped them out—they were a bit injured, so I sent them back to their tribe before returning.” He pointed to the fur pack hanging in front of him. “The snow bear pelts are inside.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“There are hyena-drakes active on the plains again?” Azhang’s face darkened.
“On my way back, I came across a small pack near the Chishui River. They seem to be settled in that area.” Aze briefly recounted what he’d seen the night before.
Azhang thought for a moment, then patted Aze’s shoulder. “We’ll talk about this later with everyone. You’ve just come back—you must be tired. Go unpack and rest for a bit. Chen Qi’s been worried about you these past few days.”
Aze nodded.
“Aze!” While the two were talking, Chen Qi had already come running down from the city wall. He had planned to give Aze a warm hug, but with Aze buried under so much luggage, Chen Qi realized his arms wouldn’t be enough—he’d probably only manage to hug the fur backpack on Aze’s chest.
Aze quickly stepped forward to meet him. Chen Qi looked him up and down—aside from the dark circles under his eyes from lack of rest, Aze looked fine. Only then did the knot in his chest finally ease.
“How come you were gone so long this time? Did you run into danger?” Chen Qi unstrapped the hide backpack Aze carried. Inside were only the three snow bear pelts, but since they had been soaked in the river once, even though they were no longer dripping, the pack was still quite heavy.
Aze stopped him. “I was delayed because I helped two injured people on the way. Sorry for making you worry. I didn’t run into danger. The pack’s a bit heavy—let me carry it.”
“I’m a lot stronger now than when you first met me. This bit of weight is nothing.” Chen Qi said, taking the hide backpack from him.
After a whole summer of training, Chen Qi was still not as strong as a female beastman, but he was far from the frail, sedentary person he used to be when he first arrived. There were even a few faint abs showing now. Though the hide pack was heavy, he could lift it easily without feeling strained.
Aze saw that Chen Qi was not reluctant to take it, so he let him do as he pleased and carefully helped him lift the backpack onto his back.
“Did you roll on the ground several times along the way? Why are you in such a mess?” Chen Qi looked at Aze’s shirt, dyed in patches of red and gray, and felt a little distressed. Several places were torn, and he didn’t know whether the other man was injured.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Let’s go home first.” Aze touched his nose a little guiltily. There were many people coming and going at the city gate, and quite a few beastmen had hurried over to help once the alert was lifted. It wasn’t a good place for the two to talk at length.
Chen Qi nodded and walked back to the tribe together with Aze.
Ka Luo was walking toward the city gate with Ayao. When he saw Aze from afar, he quickened his steps and said joyfully, “Brother, you’re back?”
“En.” Aze pinched Ayao’s chubby little cheek. “They’re dealing with the ironshell-drakes outside. Why did you bring Ayao out?”
“I heard that this batch of ironshell-drakes was lured here by Ale, so I wanted to come and take a look.” After speaking, he glanced behind Aze. “Did you run into Ake on your way back? He went looking for you since you hadn’t returned for so long.”
Aze shook his head. “I came back from the Lion-Wolf Tribe’s side. I probably missed him.”
“How did you come back from there? If Ake didn’t find you, he should be back in a couple of days.” Ka Luo leaned closer and sniffed around Aze. “Brother, did you roll all the way back? Have you not washed since you left the tribe? What’s that strange smell?”
Aze choked slightly. Wasn’t it just that when he climbed up the Chishui River, he’d rolled into a patch of stinky grass to mask his scent from the hyena-drakes? Was it really that bad?
Chen Qi gently pulled down the arm Ka Luo had lifted to sniff. “Ka Luo, if you want to see the ironshell-drakes that fell into the moat, you can still catch a look now. They’ll finish dealing with them soon.”
“So soon? Then I’ll head over first, brother. I’ll come find you tonight.” Without waiting for Aze to answer, Ka Luo turned and ran out of the city without looking back.
“Let’s go. Once you wash up, the smell will be gone.”
So he really did stink? Aze slumped his shoulders and let Chen Qi pull him home.
After returning home, Aze didn’t go straight to bathe. Instead, he filled the tub with water, took out the furs of the three woolly snow bears, and soaked them. He then went to the yard, picked some figs, crushed them, and tossed them into the tub to stir.
The snow bear furs had been soaked in river water and had inevitably gotten stained with a bit of blood during processing. If not treated immediately, the beautiful white fur would easily become discolored.
Chen Qi brought Aze a clean change of clothes and, seeing him busy with the furs in the tub, curiously reached out to touch them. Though the snow bear fur looked thick and heavy, it felt soft to the touch—completely different from the roughly tanned hides they kept at home.
“No wonder you use this kind of hide to make clothes for newborn beastmen. It feels even better than cloth woven from wool cocoons.”
“When these furs are dry, let Uncle Ali make a few clothes for you.” Aze smiled, washing the foam from his hands. “I also brought you something else.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“What is it?” Chen Qi asked curiously.
Aze pulled Chen Qi out into the main hall, where a basket woven from fishing nets sat in the corner.
He carefully poured out the wild fruits. Chen Qi fetched several small wooden boxes and began sorting the ones he recognized. “Why did you pick so many wild fruits?” Once everything was poured out, the pile was like a small hill. Even if the two of them ate daily, it would last two or three months. Wild fruits weren’t concentrated on the plains—how long had it taken him to gather so many?
Noticing Chen Qi’s puzzlement, Aze explained, “I found a wild fruit grove on my way back. I picked all of these there. It didn’t take long.”
Aze sifted through the pile and pulled out a few small brown hard-shelled fruits, each the size of a pinky finger, and handed them to Chen Qi.
“What are these?” Chen Qi examined them and tried to break one open but couldn’t.
“These are floc fruits.” Aze took the one Chen Qi couldn’t open, pinched it hard in his hand, and with a “crack,” the shell split in two, revealing the white, floccule pulp inside.
He handed the opened fruit to Chen Qi. A faint, sweet aroma wafted up. “Try it and see if you like it.”
Chen Qi took a small bite. It was sweet but not cloying, with a texture like cotton candy. “It’s delicious.”
Seeing that Chen Qi liked it, Aze cracked open a few more and handed them to him.
The shells of these floc fruits were so hard that even males found it difficult to break them by hand, and sometimes even stones couldn’t crack them. That was why beastmen generally didn’t like picking them—it was too much trouble to eat.
However, the floc fruits tasted very good. Aze, who didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, had tried them once and found them pleasant. Knowing how much Chen Qi liked sweets, he had picked plenty this time—and sure enough, Chen Qi enjoyed them.
“It’s just too troublesome to eat. I can’t even open these shells,” Chen Qi said, trying unsuccessfully to crack one himself after finishing the opened fruit.
“It’s fine. If you want to eat them later, I’ll open them for you,” Aze said reassuringly.
Chen Qi stuffed a piece of the soft white pulp into Aze’s mouth and smiled. “Then I’ll trouble you from now on.”
Aze swallowed the sweet fruit. “I’d be happy to.”
After sorting and packing the fruits again, Chen Qi set aside some that couldn’t be found nearby so others could try them fresh, then moved part of the stock into the cellar for storage.
Aze cleaned the snow bear furs thoroughly and hung them to dry in the yard before finally going to bathe. But the place on his arm that had been scratched by the hyena-drake had only been roughly treated before, and the wound was still caked with dirt. Once the water soaked in, the injury began bleeding again.
Seeing this while heating water, Chen Qi hurried back inside to fetch hemostatic herbs and bandages and carefully redressed the wound for him.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Aze’s back~~~
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.
