Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Weishan Under the Morning Mist

“Foolish!” Gen scolded. “The Wangyue Mountains and Weishan have always kept to themselves, never interfering with each other. Now a forest deer from Wangyue has shown up in Weishan—don’t you think that’s a problem?”

He took a deep breath.

All sorts of suspicions flashed through his mind. Had a new connection opened up between the Wangyue Mountains and Weishan? Otherwise, where did this forest deer come from?

“Did something happen in the Wangyue Mountains, or in Weishan?”

“Could this be related to the lights we’ve seen at night in Weishan?”

At that, Shen Rong and Changxia’s expressions changed. Nanfeng’s smile faded as well. Gen had pointed out the seriousness of the situation—the appearance of the forest deer could affect the future of both mountain ranges.

In a worst-case scenario, it could even threaten the peace between the Sheyue and Heluo tribes.

“Let’s deal with the deer first. We’ll discuss the rest when Elder Pukang returns,” Gen said, rubbing his brow, his expression more grave than ever. At least they’d discovered the problem early—if wanderers or the Sheyue tribe had shown up in Weishan first, he’d be losing his mind.

As one of the strongest beast tribes in the Twilight Forest, if the Heluo tribe let an enemy sneak into their backyard without noticing, they’d be a laughingstock if word got out.

“Chief, don’t worry. Maybe this deer just wandered in by accident and it has nothing to do with the Wangyue Mountains,” Changxia said gently, comforting Gen. Even if something had happened, so what? She didn’t believe there was any problem the tribe couldn’t handle.

“Right! Let’s listen to Changxia,” Gen replied with a smile.

Soon, the other tribespeople returned, carrying mugwort and kudzu.

The moment they saw the deer, they exchanged quick glances.

It was obvious.

Everyone knew there were no forest deer in Weishan.

Even in the Heluo tribe’s territory, deer were a rare sight.

By contrast, the Wangyue Mountains were full of deer herds.

“We have to eat plenty of venison later!” Gorei said excitedly.

Everyone agreed—they’d eat more roasted meat. Venison was rare, and with no deer herds in their territory, the tribe seldom got to eat it.

This time, they were lucky thanks to Weishan.

Outside the stone beast den, Fenghuo and the others quickly got to work butchering the deer.

“Shen Rong, go pick some wild greens nearby,” Changxia said softly.

Shen Rong nodded.

He knew Changxia liked to have some vegetables with every meal—not much, just a little each time. She also liked to make sure he ate them with her.

Hiss hiss—

With so many people around, the place was lively.

The little snake beast cub in Changxia’s pouch woke up.

It poked out its little head, looking around with bright eyes, and let out a soft hiss to let Changxia know it was awake.

The morning mist over Weishan was thick and hazy.

As the sun rose, the mist gradually lifted, revealing a glimpse of the real Weishan.

“Little one, you’re awake?” Changxia smiled, gently lifting the snake cub from her pouch. “Are you hungry? If you are, you can have some fish soup first!”

Worried the cub would be hungry when it woke, Changxia had already made some fish soup.

“Hiss hiss!” The snake cub nodded eagerly at the mention of fish soup, clearly hungry and wanting some. Its lively expression was much more spirited than the twin cubs at Nuanchun’s house.

Of course, it might also have something to do with race and age.

The twin babies at Warm Spring’s home are not even a month old yet—chubby and soft. Every time you hold them, they feel wonderful in your arms.

So—

Changxia walked into the animal den, carrying a bowl of soup.

She fed the snake cubs first; their breakfast would take a little longer to prepare.

“He’s got such a good appetite!” Nan Feng sighed.

Wake up and eat, eat and then sleep. There’s really nothing more comfortable or blissful than this kind of life.

Changxia glanced at Nan Feng and said, “The chief said he doesn’t eat as much as you did. When you were little, you ate even more. Every time you got hungry, you’d cry, and your cries could be heard across half the tribe.”

“…” Nan Feng’s mouth twitched, pretending not to hear what Changxia said. He turned away, scooped out the cooked kudzu root from the stone pot, put it into a clean rattan basket, then popped a small piece into his mouth and started chewing.

“Anyone want some kudzu root?”

Nan Feng ate two pieces and asked if anyone else wanted to try.

Soon, Fenghuo and the others spoke up.

“Yeah, give me a piece.”

“Me too.”

Nan Feng helped cut the kudzu into small pieces and stuffed one into everyone’s mouth.

The kudzu was soft and starchy, filling your mouth with a powdery, slightly sweet flavor.

“The kudzu from Weishan is really sweet!”

“It is! Sweeter than the ones I dug up last time near the rocky beach.”

They ate as they worked, chatting about the taste of kudzu root, and discussing what the kudzu starch Changxia mentioned might taste like.

Before long, a deer had been butchered and prepared.

The deer hide was placed in a rattan basket to take back to the tribe, where the elders would help tan it. Deer hide is usually made into animal-skin shoes, which are warm to wear in the cold season.

However, there aren’t many deer herds near the Heluo tribe.

Usually, their animal-skin shoes are made from sheepskin.

Now, with the rattan shoes Changxia made, the tribe should be able to make new types of animal-skin shoes this winter, which will hopefully be even warmer.

Wisps of smoke rose from the stone animal den, and the aroma of stewed meat filled the air.

Ever since they entered Weishan, they hadn’t bothered to hide their presence. The wild animals nearby all kept their distance and didn’t show themselves.

“Has Elder Pukang not come back yet?” Changxia kept glancing outside the den. The morning mist had cleared, and Weishan welcomed a brand-new day. Elder Pukang, who had gone out early to scout, still hadn’t returned, making Changxia a bit uneasy.

Gen and the others, however, were calm and unhurried.

All the mugwort near the den had been harvested, and the kudzu roots had all been dug up and stored in rattan baskets outside the stone den. The mugwort was piled inside to dry.

Nan Feng skimmed the foam off the stewing meat and said calmly, “Changxia, you don’t need to worry about Elder Pukang. If he hasn’t come back, there are only two possibilities: either he got lost, or he went hunting.”

The others listened to Nan Feng’s analysis and all agreed.

Elder Pukang rarely made mistakes in important matters.

But when it came to small things, he was never very reliable.

Given his strength, Gen and the others never even considered the possibility that he might be hurt.

“Breakfast is ready. Should we wait for Elder Pukang, or just eat first?” Changxia tore off a piece of venison and fed it to the snake cubs.

By now, it was around eight or nine in the morning.

The beastfolk usually went out to hunt and gather around six.

So, it was already quite late.

“Let’s just eat. No need to wait,” Gen said. If they waited for Elder Pukang, they’d all be starving. Better to eat first, then go check the outskirts of Weishan later.

As soon as Gen spoke, everyone grabbed their bowls and started eating.

With so many people, Changxia didn’t bother with anything fancy—just simply stewed the venison, made a dipping sauce, and everyone ate it straight.

Simple, convenient, and still delicious.

[Thanks to: yuag01, 两情依依, 記憶無痕, 马祥林353716544, 灬爱伱不久乄就壹辈子灬, 年年岁, 薰衣草`等待你的约定。, 上磨的驴, 好吃女孩, 冥卍琏懮, 小猫咪吃三紋鱼 and others for your monthly votes! And thank you to: &莎&, 张花花, 想回去的蒲公英, 明梨梨 for your generous rewards and support. I’ve been a bit busy lately, so extra chapters will be banked and made up soon. (づ￣3￣)づ]