Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 203
Chapter 203
Chen Qi’s suspicion wasn’t unfounded. Although it was still impossible to confirm whether it was true or not, it nonetheless drew the beastmen’s attention. Achu even sent someone to deliver the message to the Lion-Wolf Tribe. Even though it was still summer, being a bit more alert was never a bad thing.
Ever since Azhang’s visit to the Lion-Wolf Tribe, communication between Qi Ze City and the Lion-Wolf Tribe had grown much more frequent. Every few days, the two sides would exchange information. In just a few months, the Lion-Wolf Tribe had completed the construction of an inner wall, and the foundation for the outer wall had already been dug out early on.
Ali also led a group of beastmen to clear a large stretch of wasteland for planting. They had missed the optimal planting season, so this year they could only harvest crops with relatively long growth cycles. However, Chen Qi had once asked Ali to keep growth records of various crops and compile a chart of different species’ growth cycles. Now, aside from staple foods like corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, most other crops being grown could be harvested within a month or two. Combined with the abundant prey on the plains, this saved the Lion-Wolf Tribe a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent hunting.
Even though summer here seemed two or three times longer than it had been in Chen Qi’s original world, his busy days made the season pass quickly. The greenhouse was completed under his close supervision—its principle similar to that of a heated kang, though the internal structure was more complex and required a considerable amount of fuel each day. Even though Chen Qi included reusing charcoal among the materials that could be utilized, maintaining the temperature of even a small greenhouse throughout winter would still be no simple task.
Once the greenhouse was finished, Achu organized a large-scale woodcutting operation in the forest. Qi Ze City wasn’t far from the woods, and the females were strong enough to carry back seven or eight large trees at a time. Every household soon had wood piled high, and even part of the training ground was deliberately cleared to store firewood for the winter.
Watching all those trees being hauled into the city, Chen Qi genuinely worried the beastmen might strip the forest bare. Helpless, he could only remind Achu to instruct everyone not to cut too many trees from the same area all at once.
After being forced by Chen Qi to rest at home for more than a month, Aze couldn’t stand it anymore and resumed hunting and guard duty. The little bun was left mostly in Chen Qi’s care since he stayed home often, but it was usually Ajing and the little wolf cub who kept an eye on him. Lang Yan also came by every day to help, easing a lot of Chen Qi’s workload.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ever since the little bun was born, Aze’s narcolepsy had also disappeared. After several months of careful care from Chen Qi, his health was better than before. Every time he joined a hunt, he always brought back the most prey. As before, he would also gather wild fruits along the way for Chen Qi. Most of these would be turned into candied fruit or dried fruit, and later, Chen Qi even managed to make various jams. Spread over grilled meat, they tasted wonderful. Originally, the tribe already had a surplus of wild fruits thanks to a new batch of ripe red-fruit. But once construction work slowed down, the beastmen again set out in great numbers to sweep clean every area nearby where wild fruits might grow.
The pony at Chen Qi’s home had grown noticeably in the past few months. Though still smaller than the adult mustangs next door, it seemed strong enough now to carry an adult without issue.
Perhaps because Lang Yan had once been the giant wolf-god, the pony was especially affectionate toward him. Even though Chen Qi fed and groomed the pony every day, it seemed far more attached to Lang Yan, who only helped with it occasionally.
Lang Yan’s legs had healed significantly—he no longer needed a wheelchair and could walk from Azhang’s house to Chen Qi’s without issue.
Chen Qi had just coaxed the little bun to sleep. After the outer wall was completed, the newly-made siege crossbows had been mounted atop it. Behind the battlements lay stacks of specially crafted arrows—everything ready for battle at a moment’s notice. The last batch of iron shells had been entirely used up. If not for the fact that most mountains lay within the forest, Chen Qi truly wanted to go searching for ore.
“Is Chen Nian asleep?” Aze pushed open the courtyard gate, dripping wet, and saw Chen Qi sitting in the yard, writing something while gently rocking the cradle beside him.
The old pit traps still held quite a bit of water, and digging them out wasn’t easy. Everyone working on them had to stand in water all day. Whenever Aze wasn’t out hunting, he helped with the work too. At this point, Chen Qi was already used to seeing him return home covered in mud.
Chen Qi set down his brush and handed him a dry towel prepared earlier. Aze wiped his dripping hair first, then leaned over to peek at the little bun. In just a few months, the baby had grown more open-faced and soft. The little wolf cub kept bringing back milk fruits from who knew where to feed him, leaving his skin tender and white, irresistibly adorable. Chen Qi had given him the name Chen Nian.
Nian, meaning to remember, to think of often.
“Go wash up inside first. Even if the weather’s hot, don’t get careless—wearing wet clothes makes it easy to catch a cold.”
Chen Qi gathered the things on the table, picked up the little bun, and headed back inside. He needed to start preparing dinner while Aze washed.
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 washing off the mud clinging to his skin, Aze stepped out of the washroom refreshed. Today, all the exterior pit traps had finally been connected. Because the area had been expanded significantly, the water inside now only reached about waist height. Starting tomorrow, they would drain the water into the moat. Once that was done, they could deepen the pits further, and after the sun dried out the bottom, they could start setting the traps.
Now, the only way in and out of the city was via rope ladders hanging between the two walls. Before winter arrived, there would no longer be any passages left at ground level—everything would be turned into traps.
Aze, freshly washed, carried a faint scent of figs. Chen Qi laid out a few dishes on the table. Ajing and the little wolf cub had gone with Ake’s hunting team today to hunt across the Chishui River. Since it was the first day of the month, they would return late. So tonight, only Chen Qi and Aze were home.
“Just now I heard from Achu—news came from the Lion-Wolf Tribe. They spotted traces of messenger eagles near the Dosa River, but so far there’s still no sign of hyena-drakes.”
As Aze helped Chen Qi set out the bowls and chopsticks, he repeated the information he’d heard earlier in the day.
“Anything unusual with the dragons in the forest?” Chen Qi sat down, ladled out a bowl of bone soup that had simmered all day, and passed it to Aze. The broth was made from the warthog bones hunted yesterday, stewed with freshly harvested black beans, a few slices of wild ginseng, and some wild dates that resembled red dates. With a pinch of salt, the flavor was rich and naturally sweet.
“No. Everyone who patrolled near the forest today said everything looked normal.”
Aze was a bit helpless toward Chen Qi’s habit of coming up with new ways to make soup for him every single day. Fortunately, Chen Qi had given up on stewing birds. If he had kept killing one bird a day like at the beginning, their newly grown flock of snow geese would have been in trouble.
“En.” Chen Qi nodded. “Sounds like the hyena-drakes haven’t reached the area yet. But since the Lion-Wolf Tribe already saw messenger eagles, they’ll definitely need to tighten their defenses.”
“The Lion-Wolf Tribe’s second wall is finished too. I heard they’re digging the moat now, and the inner city has several unified cellars for storage and shelter. They’ve already begun stockpiling food. The first snow will come in about a month. Achu also said this year’s gathering won’t be held. Once the first snow passes, Uncle Azhang and the others should return.”
“The red-fruit trees are blooming for the third time now. We still have quite a few fruits from the last harvest. This batch can be sent back with the Lion-Wolf Tribe—it’s a good way to thank them for their help.”
“Achu mentioned that too. Since you planted all the red-fruit trees, he asked me to check with you first. If you agree, then when this batch ripens, we’ll let them harvest and bring it back with them.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Aze took a sip of soup, paused, and a faint worry settled between his brows.
“You said before that you wanted to improve the gunpowder. How is that going? Is it dangerous?”
Chen Qi had previously only made a very simple batch of gunpowder. It was already in use, but aside from making loud noises to scare dragons, its actual destructive power was limited. What he had been sketching earlier was a new method of using it—but gunpowder was dangerous in the hands of anyone inexperienced. Chen Qi wasn’t sure he could produce something significantly more effective, so he had been hesitating. For now, all progress remained on paper.
Chen Qi shook his head. He had already spoken to Aze about gunpowder before, so he wouldn’t secretly work on it behind his back.
After finishing the soup, Aze set down the pottery bowl and glanced at the little bun sleeping beside them. The baby’s tiny lips puckered unconsciously, as if dreaming about something delicious.
“…Maybe you shouldn’t try to improve the gunpowder anymore,” Aze said softly. “What we have now should be enough to hold off the hyena-drakes. And even if it isn’t, I’ll protect you all.”
He couldn’t stand the thought of Chen Qi being put at risk. The first time Chen Qi experimented with gunpowder, he had burned himself—fortunately, the amount used had been small, so the injury wasn’t serious.
Chen Qi quietly picked up a bit of food with his chopsticks and placed it into Aze’s bowl, giving no verbal reply.
The next morning, when Aze left to work, Chen Qi and Lang Yan took the little bun and the pony to the school training grounds to practice riding.
The saddle had been made by an elderly female in the tribe who excelled at sewing. When it was first strapped onto the foal, he couldn’t tolerate it at all—irritable and restless for days. Only after several days of adjustment did he fully accept it.
With the saddle on, the snowy-white pony looked strikingly handsome. As Chen Qi led it toward the training field, they drew the curious stares of many beastmen still staying in the tribe. When they heard he was going to train the pony, several followed along, eager to watch.
Lang Yan placed the little bun’s cradle on his wheelchair and pushed it along behind Chen Qi. The little bun became excited at the sight of the tall pony ahead—his small hands waving wildly in the air while he babbled happily at who-knew-what.
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.
