Chapter 178: The Dandelion Who Wants to Go Home

“Father didn’t say anything…” Nan Feng frowned and shook her head.

  By now, it had been seven or eight days since Maple Leaf and the others left the Heluo Tribe. With no news at all, the clansmen were starting to feel uneasy.

  “Has there been any word from the Sorcerer’s Hall on Mount Kana?” Chang Xia asked, drying her wet hair with a blue cloth towel as she sat in the sun. She’d finished her basic training, and naturally wanted to go explore the forest next.

  But Maple Leaf and the others had been gone for seven or eight days.

  Still, not a single message had come back.

  Chang Xia was starting to worry—had something really happened in the Wangyue Mountains?

  “No news. Don’t overthink it, Chang Xia. Elder Senda went with them this time—who could possibly cause trouble under Elder Senda’s nose? Besides, Maple Leaf, Kong Shan, and the others are all totem warriors. How could a few wanderers possibly threaten them?” Nan Feng was full of confidence. She slipped the snowflake stone bracelet she’d been playing with onto her left wrist and raised her arm. “Chang Xia, can I have this snowflake stone bracelet you carved?”

  “What’s the rush? Wait until I get a bit more skilled and I’ll carve you one out of jade—it’ll be prettier and sturdier.” Chang Xia replied.

  Snowflake stone made for nice bowls and plates.

  But as jewelry, it was a bit lacking.

  When Chang Xia was grinding flour, she’d had a good chat with Granny Wu.

  They talked about pottery, and Chang Xia mentioned porcelain. With Granny Wu’s skills, perhaps the tribe could fire porcelain even more beautiful than their pottery.

  Most of Chang Xia’s bowls and plates at home were still wooden.

  If the tribe could make porcelain, Chang Xia would be happy to trade for it.

  Light, beautiful porcelain—who could resist? Maybe they could even trade with the Bird and Fish Tribes, and bring in some wealth for the tribe.

  “Jade? Weren’t you planning to use that to trade with the Bird Tribe?” Nan Feng hesitated.

  Nan Feng wasn’t really into jewelry.

  But she had to admit, glassy jade was truly beautiful.

  “Just go look for more jade at the Rocky Shoals. If you find a few more pieces, I’ll make you one. Besides, with all those rocks, you might find something even prettier…”

  Chang Xia wasn’t just brushing Nan Feng off.

  There were all kinds of stones, and jade wasn’t limited to just one type.

  There was white jade, red jade, yellow jade… all of them were nice.

  “You’re right!” Nan Feng said excitedly.

  There was no shortage of rocks at the Rocky Shoals. Maybe if she looked harder, she’d find something even prettier than jade. The thought made Nan Feng itch to run off and start searching right away.

  By the pool.

  Nuan Chun watched her twin cubs, making sure they didn’t fall in.

  Listening to Chang Xia and Nan Feng’s conversation, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Nan Feng, didn’t Aunt Muqin ask you to help grind flour back at the tribe?”

  Lately, everyone in the tribe had been busy making flour.

  “Don’t mention it!” Nan Feng grimaced helplessly.

  Her mother had been obsessed lately, grabbing anyone she could find and sending them to the tribe’s square. She seemed determined to turn every last white fruit stored in the caves into vermicelli.

  At this, Nan Feng immediately gave up on the idea of going to the Rocky Shoals.

  If she passed through the tribe and got caught by her mother, she’d never get out today.

  “Two-thirds of the white fruit stockpiled in the caves has been used up. Aunt Muqin will probably stop soon. Next time she starts up again, it’ll likely be after the second harvest of white fruit.” Chang Xia explained. The tribe had stockpiled a large batch of dried flour. Once the Lion and Bear Tribes delivered the first batch of chilies and seaweed candy, Chief Gen would probably let them try the dried flour.

  Of course, the tribe was stockpiling so much dried flour.

  They were probably also preparing for next year’s Normandy Grand Market.

  Chang Xia guessed that besides the Heluo Tribe, the Sky Lion and Earth Tribes were likely thinking the same thing.

  The Beast Tribes had been weak for a long time.

  It was rare for them to have something worth showing off.

  Naturally, they’d want to show off to the Bird and Fish Tribes in any way they could.

  This was a way to demonstrate the Beast Tribes’ strength.

  The shamans would definitely make sure this happened. With the rainy season over and the Twilight Forest entering the warm season, Chang Xia could imagine the tribe soon becoming lively, with more and more beastfolk coming to Heluo.

  Actually, Chang Xia couldn’t figure it out.

  Why was the Normandy Grand Market only held once a year?

  And why was it always timed at the transition between the cold and warm seasons?

  At that time, the snow and ice melted, and the fierce beasts that had slept through the cold season were just waking up. By rights, the Twilight Forest should be extremely dangerous then—so why did the Beast, Bird, and Fish Tribes choose that time for the market?

  Chang Xia had asked Su Ye, and also Gen.

  They hadn’t given her an answer, only told her to see for herself.

  “Did you finish harvesting the white fruit from your garden behind the house?” Nuan Chun asked.

  She meant the little valley behind Chang Xia’s cave cellar. That spot was truly magical—if you didn’t look for it on purpose, it was hard to find from outside.

  Chang Xia had asked Shen Rong to tidy up the garden, planting ginger, scallions, garlic, and some wild vegetables she’d transplanted.

  And the vegetables were all growing well.

  Chang Xia pointed to the white fruit drying on a bamboo sieve in the courtyard. “Shen Rong finished harvesting everything two days ago. Half is dried and stored in the cellar, and the rest just needs one more day in the sun before we can put it away.”

  “I also cleared a few plots near my cave for vegetables, but the ginger, scallions, and garlic are all wilting, and the wild veggies look lifeless too,” Nan Feng said.

  She couldn’t understand it—she’d done everything just as Chang Xia had taught.

  But—

  Nuan Chun’s garden was thriving.

  While Nan Feng’s was the worst of all.

  Lately, the clansmen had been teasing Nan Feng about her vegetable patch.

  “….” Chang Xia shrugged—there was nothing she could do. After all, she still hadn’t managed to grow chilies herself.

  If she wanted to plant chilies, she’d have to wait for news from the Sky Lion Tribe.

  “Nan Feng, why not ask Aunt Muqin for help?” Nuan Chun suggested. Aunt Muqin had helped with all the tribe’s vegetable patches.

  And they were all thriving.

  Even some rare wild vegetables had survived under Aunt Muqin’s care. Chang Xia would sometimes visit her to chat and exchange tips.

  Feeling the changes in Heluo, Chang Xia thought that in another year or two, the tribe might truly enter the agricultural age.

  “Forget it!” Nan Feng waved her hand, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

  Her mother was busy making flour and not pestering her about marriage for once—why go looking for trouble?

  Besides, if her veggies didn’t grow, she could always forage in the nearby forests. It wasn’t like she’d go hungry.

  “I hear footsteps—Shen Rong and the others are back from hunting.” Nuan Chun picked up her twin cubs and looked toward the courtyard gate.

  At her words, Chang Xia and Nan Feng jumped to their feet.

  The tribe had plenty of python meat stored up, so most people had been too lazy to go hunting, preferring to stay in and make flour or dig up grass roots. Life was pretty relaxed.

  Yesterday, Chang Xia had complained about being sick of the food in the cellar.

  So Shen Rong decided to go hunting for something fresh. He took Shan Kun and Ya Dong and headed upstream along the Wei River.

  Gen hadn’t said anything about it.

  This was also why Chang Xia and the others suspected the tribe was planning to return to Mount Wei."