Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Jadeite

“Little Chang Xia, where are you all headed?”

In the distance, Elder Dalai approached, walking on one leg and smiling as he looked over the group. They weren’t carrying stone hoes or rattan baskets, so it didn’t look like they were going to dig for thatch roots.

“Elder Dalai, we’re going to the rocky beach to collect stones. It’s been raining, and the courtyard in front of the cave is all muddy. I want to gather some stones from the rocky beach to pave the courtyard,” Chang Xia explained. Besides the clan members who patrolled Bai Lake every day, Elder Dalai was also keeping an eye on things.

It could be said to be extremely safe!

“Are you not going to dig for cogongrass roots today?” Elder Dalai asked with a kindly smile.

Compared to the other elders, although Elder Dalai had lost a leg, he was by far the gentlest and most benevolent.

“I’m not going today,” Changxia shook her head and smiled. “Elder Dalai, have you ever tasted cogongrass root candy? Do you like the flavor?”

Elder Dalai gave Changxia a thumbs up and praised, “It’s delicious—sweeter than maple sugar.”

Maple sugar had a strong caramel aroma and a rather heavy taste.

Cogongrass root candy was different. Even the golden cogongrass root candy made with added maple syrup had a rich, sweet fragrance. Both were sweet, but in distinctly different ways.

“As long as you like it, Elder Dalai.” Changxia smiled and said goodbye, then walked past the tribe and followed the White River upstream.

Along the way, she occasionally encountered tribespeople digging cogongrass roots by the roadside or on the slopes.

She greeted everyone as she walked, repeating what she’d just told Elder Dalai.

Maybe it was because there were totem warriors like Maple Leaf and Yadong in the group, but the tribespeople didn’t stop Changxia from leaving the tribe. Still, they couldn’t help but offer a few words of caution.

“Nanfeng, do I look weak to you?” Changxia pouted and asked.

Nanfeng burst out laughing. “You are weak—”

Maple Leaf just smiled and didn’t say anything. She reached out and quietly pinched Changxia here and there.

This made Changxia yelp and squeal.

Before Chenrong could intervene, Maple Leaf let go of Changxia.

“Changxia, you’ve been training well lately,” Maple Leaf said.

“What do you mean by that?” Nanfeng looked at Maple Leaf curiously, not quite understanding.

At the same time, everyone nearby turned to look.

“I just checked Changxia’s body—her muscles are much firmer and her strength has improved a lot. It’s a pity she hasn’t practiced any hunting skills, but her abilities are almost catching up to Nuanchun’s. Nanfeng, if you don’t work harder, Changxia might surpass you soon…”

Maple Leaf teased Nanfeng with a smile.

She wasn’t exaggerating at all.

Suye knew about Changxia’s bloodline awakening.

Root and Muqin also knew a bit. It was just that Changxia’s body was too weak, and her bloodline powers were more supportive rather than the brute strength of the beastfolk.

So, no one in the tribe asked much about Changxia’s bloodline.

“Maple Leaf, you’re joking, right?” Nanfeng exclaimed in shock.

Nuanchun, standing nearby, didn’t say anything, but she looked Changxia over carefully. She still remembered when they were building the kiln—Changxia couldn’t even carry a basket of yellow earth…

And now, just a month later, Changxia’s strength had caught up to hers.

If Changxia hadn’t spent over a decade in a weakened state, wouldn’t that mean she would at least be a totem warrior by now?!

Thinking of this, Nuanchun felt a mix of emotions.

But mostly, she was happy for Changxia.

“Nanfeng, do you think I’d joke about something like this?” Maple Leaf raised an eyebrow, looking down at Nanfeng with a hint of pride—she was a few centimeters taller than Nanfeng.

Even among the male warriors, she didn’t look short.

Nanfeng was about average height for a female, and standing in front of Maple Leaf, she felt a bit lacking in confidence.

Nanfeng: “…”

Changxia met Nanfeng’s gaze and gave her a “cheer up” gesture.

Chatting as they walked, the group crossed the White River’s banks and arrived at the Rocky Flats.

All around them were rocks of every shape and color.

There were massive boulders rising like hills, and pebbles scattered everywhere.

Calling it the Rocky Flats was an understatement—it was more like a rocky forest.

According to the elders, the Rocky Flats used to be part of the White River. Later, an offshoot formed upstream, reducing the river’s flow, and over time, this rocky landscape was created.

The outer edge of the Rocky Flats was still connected to the White River.

From time to time, stones from upstream would be washed down and become new rocks in the flats.

“Changxia, what kind of stone do you want to use to pave the courtyard of the kiln cave? Snowflake stone, yellow stone, black stone, or small pebbles?”

The Rocky Flats covered a huge area.

Sometimes, they even wondered if the elders’ story about it being part of the White River was true.

After all, the Rocky Flats were almost as big as the Heluo Tribe itself.

“For paving, the stone needs to be hard. Which types are the hardest?” Changxia asked.

Soon, as Changxia asked, Yadong and the others spread out, each bringing back a different kind of rock for her to choose from.

“Changxia, these are the hardest stones in the Rocky Flats,” Maple Leaf said, carrying back a watermelon-sized rock. It was pitch black and looked rather strange.

According to Maple Leaf, this black stone was very hard and could be used to grind bone tools.

Every household in the Heluo Tribe kept a piece of black stone.

If their bone tools got chipped, they could be sharpened with the black stone. It could even be used to grind ironwood.

Soon, the others brought back the so-called snowflake stone, yellow stone, blue stone, and more.

There were so many rocks that Changxia was dazzled.

“Changxia, look—”

At that moment, Chenrong came over carrying a bright green rock.

It was about the same size as the black stone Maple Leaf had brought.

But when Changxia saw the rock in Chenrong’s hands, her knees went weak and she dropped to the ground.

Holy crap—

That wasn’t just any rock.

That was clearly jadeite—top-quality glass-type jadeite, at that!

Changxia didn’t know much about rocks, but she definitely knew jadeite when she saw it, even if she’d never owned any herself.

Among all types of jadeite, glass-type was the best. Then there were ice-type, egg-white, glutinous, lychee, and bean types.

Even if she was blind, Changxia could tell the difference between a rock and jadeite.

“Changxia—” Chenrong saw her kneel and, without thinking, was about to throw down the jadeite to help her up.

“Stop!” Changxia shouted, stopping him. She said anxiously, “Chenrong, calm down. I’m fine—don’t throw it, whatever you do, don’t throw it!”

A piece of glass-type jade the size of a watermelon—how much would that be worth?

Chang Xia stood up, trembling, and took the jade from Chen Rong with shaking hands.

Excitement. Shock.

She felt dizzy, almost light-headed.

A moment later, under everyone’s speechless gazes, Chang Xia finally regained her composure.

Meeting the group’s “have you lost your mind?” expressions, Chang Xia snapped back to reality. She was in the Twilight Forest, not on Earth. In the Twilight Forest, not only did nobody care about glass-type jade, even rosewood was ignored…

She realized she’d gotten excited for nothing just now. No wonder Chen Rong and the others were looking at her like she was crazy.

“Don’t look at me like that—” Chang Xia said awkwardly.

Chen Rong smiled faintly and asked, “Chang Xia, do you really like this kind of green stone?”

“…I do. As long as it’s a pretty stone, I love it,” Chang Xia admitted through gritted teeth. If she couldn’t show off, she’d just haul them all back to her cave to admire in private.