Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Extra Update Sponsored by Mingwan Lianyou

“Hearty laughter—”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Burn the whole wasteland!”

Elder Pukang put his hands on his hips and laughed, then waved his hand, sending the totem warriors into action. Compared to Changxia’s group of three, the totem warriors worked much faster and more efficiently.

In the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, the wasteland was stripped bare, the ground showing the marks of the fire.

They didn’t even need stone hoes—the totem warriors all shifted their hands into beast form and dug straight into the earth.

Honestly, they were much faster than Changxia’s group.

Shen Rong covered his twitching mouth with his hand, glanced at Yadong and Kongshan, and asked, “Are you staying here to dig up thatch roots, or coming with me back to the cave to build the corridor and eaves?”

Yadong looked eager, but in the end, he sighed.

There were just too many people on the wasteland.

There was no need for him or Kongshan to help.

“Let’s go back to the cave,” Yadong said. “With Elder Pukang’s group here, I bet they’ll finish digging up the wasteland in half an hour. There’s no need for us to help.”

“Changxia, are you heading back?” Shen Rong nodded slightly, agreeing with Yadong’s suggestion.

In fact, that was what he had in mind as well. After confirming there was no fire on the wasteland, he planned to head straight back to the cave dwelling—after all, there was still work to do at home.

“I’ll go back a bit later. You take the basket of herbs home, and bring along the wild chickens and rabbits that Nuanchun caught.” Changxia shook her head gently, thinking it was better for her to stay and keep watch for a while.

Those goji bushes on the wasteland needed to be left alone.

As she finished speaking, she saw some tribespeople about to pull up the goji bushes she valued.

Changxia didn’t even have time to say goodbye to Shen Rong—she hurriedly ran over.

“Wait—leave those alone!”

Watching the lively Changxia, Shen Rong smiled, picked up the basket she mentioned, and had Yadong and Kongshan carry the wild chickens and rabbits back to the cave. When they reached Bai Lake, they happened to see Gen leading a group of tribespeople, hurrying over from the settlement.

Actually, by the time Elder Pukang arrived at the wasteland, Changxia had already burned most of the thatch.

But then Changxia mentioned that the roots of the thatch could be used to make sugar.

At that, Elder Pukang waved his hand and told Changxia to keep burning—he wanted the entire wasteland cleared.

So now...

The smoke that had dissipated began to swirl over Bai Lake again.

Back in the tribe, Gen and the other elders couldn’t sit still any longer.

“Shen Rong—”

“Chief, don’t worry, it’s not a forest fire.”

Shen Rong knew what Gen wanted to hear, so he explained directly.

“Changxia said thatch roots can be used to make sugar, so she took Nanfeng and Nuanchun to clear the weeds on the wasteland north of Bai Lake. The method was just a bit… intense.”

Hearing this, Gen and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If there had been a forest fire at Bai Lake, the tribe would have been in danger—no wonder Gen and the others were so anxious.

With their worries eased, Gen and the others thought back to what Shen Rong had just said.

Thatch roots can be used to make sugar.

Sugar!!!

In an instant, Gen’s steps toward the northern wasteland grew even more hurried.

Sugar—delicious sugar!

During the last harvest of red maple sap from Hongye Ridge, they’d collected over ten thousand jin of maple syrup and sugar.

After discussing with the elders, Gen decided to split half among the tribespeople and store the other half in the caves, to be traded at next year’s Normandy market.

“I think… all the wastelands near the tribe are going to get ransacked.”

“Roadsides, hillsides…”

Anywhere there’s thatch, it’s likely to get dug up.

No beastfolk can resist sugar.

“We need to finish building the corridors and eaves as soon as possible,” Shen Rong said.

Yadong asked, “Shen Rong, are you worried about the rain?”

The rainy season often brings several showers a day—that’s normal here.

The corridors and eaves are built outdoors, so they’re bound to get wet.

Shen Rong shook his head, not answering.

The reason he wanted to finish the corridors and eaves quickly was because of Changxia.

As her strength grew, Shen Rong didn’t think the Heluo tribe could hold back Changxia’s yearning for the outside world. Changxia wasn’t content with an ordinary life—she longed for a wider world.

“Shen Rong, what happened over there?”

When the three of them returned to the cave, Su Ye was playing with the twin cubs, while Shankun and Baiqing were diligently planing wooden boards. In the short time they’d been gone, they’d already made dozens of boards.

Shen Rong touched his nose and explained, “Changxia wanted to dig up thatch roots, so she took Nanfeng and Nuanchun and set fire to the wasteland. The tribe thought there was a forest fire at Bai Lake, so Elder Pukang led a whole group of totem warriors over…”

Just now, Elder Pukang’s beastly roar had echoed across the entire Heluo tribe.

Everyone in the tribe probably heard it.

“…” Su Ye fell silent.

Nearby, Shankun and Baiqing, busy planing boards, looked stunned.

Clearly, this mix-up was enough to make anyone speechless.

After a moment—

“Did you explain things to Gen?”

“I did—”

“Then why didn’t he return to the tribe? Why did he go to the northern wasteland instead?”

Shen Rong’s mouth twitched. He whispered, “Thatch roots can be used to make sugar.”

Hearing this, Su Ye fell silent again.

There’s something addictive about the Heluo tribe. Seriously.

Good thing she’d decided to return to Sacred Mount Kana tomorrow. If she stayed any longer, Su Ye worried she’d be assimilated—and that would be dangerous!

Baiqing, on the other hand, wasn’t as conflicted as Su Ye.

When she heard that thatch roots could be used to make sugar, Baiqing figured that when she left the Heluo tribe tomorrow, she’d probably get to take some sugar with her, in addition to the maple syrup and sugar.

Thinking of this, Baiqing couldn’t help but laugh.

Su Ye caught this scene out of the corner of her eye, which only strengthened her resolve to leave the Heluo tribe as soon as possible. Baiqing would be the shaman of the Twilight Forest beastfolk—she couldn’t let her grow up with a one-track mind, thinking only about food.

Even if she herself was tempted, she couldn’t let it become an obsession.

The sun was sinking in the west.

By the time Changxia returned to the cave again, it was almost evening.

This time, Nanfeng didn’t come with her.

Nuanchun had come to pick up Shankun and the cubs to take them home.

Nuanchun hadn’t come back all afternoon.

The cubs were hungry, so Shankun just steamed some minced meat and bird eggs for them.

After eating their fill, the twin cubs didn’t even remember Nuanchun.

“Why… so late?” Shen Rong asked in surprise.

Changxia complained, “Elder Pukang and the others went crazy—they dug up the entire north side.” And by “north side,” she didn’t just mean the wasteland, but the whole stretch of forest.

Tonight, the tribe would probably be up all night boiling thatch root sugar.

She’d already told Nanfeng how to make sugar from thatch roots, and Nanfeng had been carried back to the tribe by Elder Pukang.

Right now, Elder Pukang was probably organizing the tribe to clean the thatch roots.

Nearby, Nuanchun was asking Shankun about the cubs’ afternoon. When she heard that the cubs had eaten minced meat and bird eggs and hadn’t even looked for her, Nuanchun was left speechless.

“……”

Everyone in the courtyard fell silent.

Sugar made from thatch roots is nothing special. I just thought I’d try making a little, who could have guessed Elder Pukang would go all out like this? Chang Xia had a headache. After all, thatch roots aren’t sugarcane, and their sweetness is milder and more delicate. When boiled with other ingredients, they can enhance the flavor.

But just juicing and boiling them on their own—Chang Xia couldn’t guarantee the taste.

Granted, she’d just tasted some thatch roots from the northern wasteland, and they were pretty sweet, not bad to chew on.

But—

Making sugar isn’t that simple.

Still, there was no point in saying anything now.