Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Night on the Grassland

“Oh, right!” Chang Xia smacked her forehead.

During Elder Yami’s training, she had taught them some basic knowledge about the tribe’s territory, including the strange phenomenon of the Wei River’s surface.

The Wei River was different from other rivers and waterways in the Twilight Forest.

Its surface was an eerie, dark gray.

From a distance, the river looked gray-black, but once the water left the Wei River, it returned to normal. Some beastfolk had entered the river to investigate, but found nothing unusual.

In the end, the beastfolk linked the Wei River’s oddity to Wei Mountain.

“The surface of the Wei River is gray-black,” Chang Xia said. “I’ve heard that when water is deep enough, it looks darker. Is the Wei River very deep? But even if it’s deep, it shouldn’t be gray-black—it should be green or blue!”

“Other than the strange color, the Wei River is normal,” Chen Rong replied.

He had brought Chang Xia to the upper reaches of the small river on the grassland for a trial, and had naturally exchanged all kinds of information with the tribe’s totem warriors. Of course, they couldn’t avoid talking about the Wei River and Wei Mountain, but after all these years, no beastfolk had managed to unravel the mysteries of Wei Mountain or figure out why the Wei River’s surface was such a strange color.

As they walked, Chen Rong found a sheltered slope.

They cleared the ground and built a fire.

This would be their campsite for the night.

It was hard to find caves to camp in on the grassland, and with night falling, Chen Rong didn’t want to waste time searching for one. Instead, he chose a suitable sheltered slope to settle down.

Chang Xia built the hearth while Chen Rong, his hands transformed into beast form, quickly crafted bowls and chopsticks.

Since they’d be staying on the grassland for a few days, Chen Rong even made a bucket and a basin. Then he took the bucket to the small river to fetch water, and caught two fish for dinner while he was at it.

While Chen Rong was fetching water, Chang Xia built the hearth and set the stone pot he’d just made on the stove. With time tight, Chen Rong hadn’t polished the pot to perfection, but as long as it was usable, it would do.

She poured the remaining water from her waterskin into the pot.

Then, she untied the medicine pouch at her waist and took out a small packet of white powder, carefully sprinkling it around the perimeter of the sheltered slope. This powder was for repelling insects, ants, and snakes—things that were never in short supply in the forests during the warm season. She couldn’t afford to be careless.

Soon, Chang Xia finished spreading the repellent powder.

Chen Rong returned with water and fish, and he’d also caught a wild chicken, which was tied to his waist.

“Nice haul, Chen Rong!” Chang Xia exclaimed in delight.

Chen Rong set down the bucket and said regretfully, “It’s getting dark so fast, I didn’t have time to clean the chicken and fish. Leave them for now—I’ll take care of it right away.”

He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Chang Xia alone in the woods.

Fetching water, catching fish, and grabbing a chicken—once he was done, he hurried straight back to their camp in the woods.

Even though he’d checked the area for danger before leaving, you could never be too careful.

When it came to Chang Xia’s safety, there was no such thing as being overly cautious.

“Alright, you handle that. I’ll wash the stone pot and boil some water for tomorrow. For dinner, let’s just have grilled fish and chicken—it’ll save time,” Chang Xia suggested.

She also planned to wrap the chicken and fish in leaves and wet clay before roasting them.

That way, the food’s aroma wouldn’t be too strong and attract wild animals.

The memory of the carrion jackals they’d encountered that afternoon was still fresh in her mind. She didn’t want to spend her first night in the forest fighting off beasts.

“Like beggar’s chicken?” Chen Rong asked, catching on.

Chang Xia nodded. “It’s just the two of us. I don’t want to attract wild animals with the smell of food and end up fighting them all night.”

“Alright, we’ll do it your way,” Chen Rong agreed.

When the tribe’s hunting parties went out, they usually brought fruit powder and made porridge to get through the night. Of course, if conditions allowed, they’d light a fire and have hot roasted meat.

While Chen Rong cleaned the chicken and fish, Chang Xia washed the stone pot thoroughly, then started boiling water. Unless absolutely necessary, it was best not to drink raw water in the wild—boiling it was safer.

Once the chicken and fish were wrapped, they moved the fire aside.

Chang Xia had already built the fire next to the stove.

After burying the chicken and fish, they moved the fire back and kept adding firewood, letting the food cook slowly. This method made the meat juicier and more tender than direct roasting over flames.

When the water boiled, Chang Xia filled two wooden bowls and set them aside to cool.

By now, night had fully fallen.

Above them, countless stars filled the sky. The entire grassland was silent, with only the occasional chirp of insects breaking the stillness.

[Hey friends, ]

“Long Summer, are you cold?” Shen Rong untied the animal pouch at his waist, took out a small handful of wild grass roots, and handed them to Long Summer for her to chew on.

Long Summer happily accepted the grass roots and shook her head. “Not cold at all. The night breeze feels really nice. Stargazing on the grasslands is different from watching the stars in the White Lake caves—it’s a pretty good feeling.”

“The night sky in the Twilight Forest is truly beautiful,” Shen Rong said.

The stars twinkled above them like dazzling pearls, mesmerizing to behold. This was a sight he could never see in the Western Lands—perhaps it had something to do with one’s state of mind.

Every day in the Western Lands, Shen Rong had felt restless and impatient. Life in the Twilight Forest, back when he lived with the Heluo tribe, was so much more leisurely.

Each day was spent hunting and gathering, nothing more. There were no other conflicts or bloodshed—it was almost like living in a paradise.

“Of course!” Long Summer nodded proudly, agreeing with Shen Rong.

The two of them chatted idly about anything and everything, saying whatever came to mind, with no purpose or hidden motives—just speaking as they pleased.

“Shen Rong, put out the fire. The chicken and fish should be done roasting and stewing under the coals. Dig them out and let’s eat,” Long Summer said, her stomach growling. The two exchanged a glance, then quickly put out the fire and dug up the chicken and fish buried beneath.

They broke open the earthen crust, revealing the chicken and fish wrapped in leaves inside.

Shen Rong tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Long Summer, who took it and gave him the other leg. Bathed in starlight and firelight, the two enjoyed a simple meal together.

Afterwards, they buried the bones on the spot.

With the fire and stove extinguished, the night grew deep and silent. The whole grassland was filled only with the chirring of insects. Shen Rong held Long Summer in his arms as they leaned against the hillside and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, before they even opened their eyes, the lively chirping of birds filled their ears.

“Shen Rong—”

Long Summer called out softly, still half-asleep.

“I’m here! I’m making soup. Once you wake up and rinse your mouth, breakfast will be ready,” Shen Rong replied.

“So early?” Long Summer rubbed her eyes and looked around. Shen Rong was crouched by the stove, and the morning breeze carried the faint aroma of meat broth. She asked in confusion, “Shen Rong, what kind of soup are you making?”

“Bird and wild vegetable soup,” Shen Rong answered.

That morning, he hadn’t gone out hunting. Using Long Summer’s sinew bow, he’d shot two green birds. The green birds were smaller than pheasants, but their meat was tender. The beast tribes often caught green birds to feed their young, as they were said to be very nourishing.

Long Summer was delighted. “Green birds! I used to eat green birds and fruit mash all the time.” She’d been frail since childhood, so anything good for her health, Su Ye and the other tribe members would feed her. But since the tribe lacked cooking skills, they only ever used the simplest two methods: roasting and stewing. No matter how tasty the food, after eating it over and over, it eventually became bland and unappetizing.

“Here, try it and see how it tastes.” Shen Rong ladled half a bowl of bird and wild vegetable soup for Long Summer. It was too hot, so he didn’t fill it too full, worried she might burn her hands.

Long Summer took the wooden bowl and sipped the soup. The tenderness of the green bird meat and the sweetness of the wild vegetables had completely blended into the broth. With just one sip, she felt refreshed and invigorated.

“Shen Rong, this soup is amazing!” Long Summer gave him a big thumbs up, full of praise.

Shen Rong’s cooking was getting better and better—she was starting to feel like she’d been demoted to second-in-command. She’d promised to take care of food and lodging, but now it seemed Shen Rong didn’t need her at all.

Long Summer rolled her eyes. She’d heard this line so many times her ears were about to grow calluses. She was born into the Totoro tribe—no matter how much meat she ate, she’d never turn into a Black Panther or Wolf tribe member. The mountain sparrow always called her “beast-form kitty,” but in her previous life, totoros were rodents, while leopards were actually felines.

“You don’t even believe that yourself!” Long Summer teased, giving Shen Rong a playful glare.

Shen Rong just smiled, not arguing, and simply encouraged her to eat and drink more.

After breakfast, Shen Rong packed up their things in a basket he’d woven that morning, then hung it on a tree. Soon, he’d take Long Summer out hunting again, and they wouldn’t return to camp until evening.

He grabbed his spear and bow, and the two of them continued deeper into the grasslands along the edge of the forest.

Long Summer repeatedly insisted she wouldn’t go near Mount Wei, nor approach the Wei River. In reality, both she and Shen Rong were getting closer to Mount Wei. The tribe hadn’t said anything yet, but they guessed it was highly likely they’d be sent to investigate the mountain.

Wanderers were like ticking time bombs—no one knew when they might explode. Instead of waiting passively, why not take the initiative?

They could investigate the changes at Mount Wei while also tracking any wanderers that might appear. Taking care of both at once wasn’t a bad thing.

On the first day, Long Summer and Shen Rong were incredibly lucky. Aside from running into a herd of wild sheep, they didn’t encounter anything else. Not a single prairie wolf or tiger or leopard in sight.

The second day was even luckier. They came across a herd of black-horned cattle, and Shen Rong managed to capture a black-horned cow with a calf. During this time, Long Summer successfully shot two sheep with her sinew bow. As for black-horned cattle, she still needed to build up her arm strength—right now, she wasn’t strong enough to take one down.

The hide of a Blackhorn Bull is tough enough to make leather armor; Chang Xia’s strength alone could never break through its defenses. Still, she could manage to harass it a bit.

As for beast transformation—she could attack in her beast form.

But Chang Xia had never even considered it. After all, she couldn’t exactly use her chinchilla beast form to “cuteness” the Blackhorn Bull to death. That was just too unrealistic.

When they captured the Blackhorn cow with its calf, Shen Rong had subdued it in his beast form. In that state, he was even more robust than the Blackhorn cow, his silver-white fur streaming in the wind, with a striking tuft of golden hair between his brows.

If Chang Xia hadn’t remembered that Shen Rong was in the middle of a hunt…

She would have rushed over right then and there.

And hugged those long, strong wolf legs of his, giving them a good squeeze.

Damn, he was just too handsome!

Absolutely captivating.

“Are we having lamb again tonight?” Shen Rong asked.

They discussed it together, planning to set out for White Lake Cave tomorrow. Chang Xia’s novice trial was now complete. Plus, they’d managed to capture a Blackhorn cow with a calf, so they’d have fresh milk for half a month to a month after returning home.

Chang Xia sighed, “Let’s eat lamb.”

If they didn’t, the lamb would spoil, and she hated wasting food.

With two sheep, she and Shen Rong had been eating lamb at every meal for days now. Honestly, she was getting a bit sick of it. But with the hot weather, the meat would go bad if they didn’t finish it.

Even smoked and roasted lamb probably wouldn’t last much longer.

“Shen Rong, you chop the lamb bones for soup and roast some meat. I’ll fetch some water from the river and pick some wild greens. Maybe I’ll find a few bird eggs?”

Chang Xia stood up. For this last meal before her trial ended, she suddenly didn’t want to just throw something together. Maybe it was time for a real feast?

They’d been wandering the grasslands for days now.

Strangely, they hadn’t run into any other tribe members, which made Chang Xia curious.

Could it be that the others had spotted her and Shen Rong first and deliberately avoided them?

“Hurry back,” Shen Rong said.

It was still early afternoon, and the river wasn’t far. Shen Rong could see the river from their camp, so he didn’t insist on going with her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay where you can see me,” Chang Xia replied, picking up a wooden bucket.

She wasn’t reckless—she wouldn’t wander the grasslands alone.

Granted, she and Shen Rong had cleared the area several times over the past couple of days, so there shouldn’t be any danger. Otherwise, Shen Rong would never have agreed to let her fetch water alone.

At the river, Chang Xia filled her bucket first.

Then she set it down and started searching along the riverbank for wild greens—and maybe some bird eggs.

Shen Rong had found a dozen or so bird eggs in the grass by the river over the past few days. Chang Xia wanted to try her luck too, maybe boil a few for breakfast tomorrow.

As she walked and searched, a strange-looking branch in the grass caught her eye.

“Shen Rong—!”

Chang Xia shouted loudly, at the same time quickly backing away.

In the distance, Shen Rong heard her call.

He dropped his ironwood knife without a second thought, not even bothering to grab his spear, and sprinted toward the river.

“Chang Xia—!”

In a flash, Shen Rong was at her side, shielding her behind him.

He scanned the area warily, but saw nothing unusual. Puzzled, he asked, “Chang Xia, what happened?”

“A snake—a weird-looking snake,” Chang Xia whispered.

She pointed to a spot in the grass, signaling for Shen Rong to check if it was venomous.

Shen Rong parted the thick grass and looked where she indicated.

“…”

A baffled expression crossed Shen Rong’s face.

“Chang Xia, do you mean this one?” Shen Rong carefully picked up a small snake coiled around a branch. It was about as thick as two fingers and thirty or forty centimeters long. Its eyes were closed, and it looked dead, lying limply in his palm.

Chang Xia tilted her head, hesitating. “Shen Rong, do you… want to eat it? We still have some python meat in the cave. This one’s so small, there’s barely any meat on it.”

“Chang Xia—” Shen Rong looked at her with a complicated expression and explained, “Chang Xia, it’s a ‘he,’ not an ‘it.’ He’s a beast cub from the snake tribe, less than a year old, so he can’t take human form yet. Look, here’s the Beast God Mark.”