Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Shaman Arrives

The moon was bright, the stars sparse.

By the time Changxia had finished draining a hundred pounds of dough and wrapping it in leaves to ferment, it was already close to midnight. Her hands ached so much from kneading the dough for so long that she could barely lift them.

“I told you to let me do it, but you wouldn’t listen. Now… you know it hurts, don’t you?” Chenrong gently scolded her as he fetched hot water and began to soak her hands, softly massaging them to ease the soreness.

Changxia closed her eyes, enjoying Chenrong’s care.

“It doesn’t hurt, it’s just really sore,” Changxia pouted, mumbling in protest.

Fresh-pressed rice noodles were different from rice sheets or steamed rolls—you had to ferment the dough in advance if you wanted to eat them. Of course, if Chenrong and the others ate to their heart’s content, even a hundred pounds of dough might not be enough. After all, there would be a lot of tribe members coming tomorrow.

She thought, if it really came down to it, she could just knead and press the dough directly. Maybe it wouldn’t taste quite as good as the fermented kind, but with the tribe’s appetite for food, they probably wouldn’t even notice the difference.

“Wait—”

“Chenrong, be gentle, that hurts!”

“Hiss! You’re really strong, you know that?”

Hearing Changxia cry out in pain, Chenrong looked up with a smile and asked, “Oh? Now you know it hurts? Didn’t you just say it didn’t hurt?”

“Chenrong!!” Changxia glared at him, puffing up in anger.

Changxia: [○･｀Д´･○] Angry.

“Don’t be mad. If I don’t massage it tonight, your arms will be so sore tomorrow you won’t even be able to lift them.” As he spoke, Chen Rong playfully flicked the tip of Chang Xia’s nose. Then, the sound of Chang Xia’s pitiful wails rose and fell by his ear—honestly, it was almost rhythmic.

“Chen Rong, you’re definitely getting back at me.”

When Chen Rong finally withdrew his hands, Chang Xia collapsed limply onto the rattan-and-hide bed, her whole body sticky and drenched in sweat from the pain.

Hearing her words, Chen Rong couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

This silly girl had been quiet for ages, only to come up with that?

“Yes, I’m getting back at you,” Chen Rong replied, teasing. “So, would you like to take a bath now? If you wait any longer, the water will get cold!”

“Yes!” Chang Xia nodded firmly, struggled to sit up, and pointed down the mountain toward White Lake, muttering, “Don’t worry about me, you should go bathe in White Lake. Once we move into the cave dwellings, you won’t have to go all the way to the lake to wash up. We can turn the leftmost cave into a bathroom…”

“A bathroom? A room just for bathing?” Chen Rong picked up a hide skirt, planning to head to White Lake.

The hide skirt had been a gift from Yadong of Mount Kun. After all, he’d come alone to the Twilight Forest, bringing nothing but the clothes on his back.

“Exactly, a room for bathing,” Chang Xia nodded. “If we convert the leftmost cave, we’ll need to build two more rooms—one for a kitchen, one for a toilet. Anyway, go take your bath. I’ll think it over some more. We can only start once Nan Feng finishes her work in the south.”

“Alright. You go soak before the water gets cold,” Chen Rong replied, turning to leave the den. He knew that if he stayed, Chang Xia would be too shy to bathe.

This female, bold enough to propose marriage at the Normandy Grand Market, was actually incredibly shy in private.

Just getting close to her would make her blush bright red.

Her rosy cheeks were absolutely adorable.

Chang Xia took off her clothes and slipped into the bath barrel. The steaming hot water covered her entire body, and she let out a long, contented sigh.

She only got out of the bath, unhurried, just before Chen Rong returned.

It was late, so she didn’t wash her hair.

She was truly exhausted—she didn’t even dump out the water, just collapsed onto the rattan-and-hide bed and fell fast asleep. When Chen Rong came back, he gently moved her, covered her with a hide blanket, and emptied the now-cool bathwater.

Only then did he lie down on the other rattan-and-hide bed beside Chang Xia.

He tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep.

A thought crossed Chen Rong’s mind: Once they moved into the cave dwellings, could he and Chang Xia finally share the same kang bed?

The idea made a dazzling smile unconsciously appear on his handsome face.

But, as the night deepened, no one saw this moment.

The next morning, at dawn.

Chang Xia woke to find herself alone.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she sat up and looked around, but Chen Rong was nowhere to be seen. However, there was a half-bucket of river shrimp by the stone vat, and seven or eight river crabs in a bamboo basket.

Looks like the fish traps had a good haul this morning.

“Chang Xia—”

Nan Feng waved, carrying two wooden buckets as she walked up from White Lake.

“Nan Feng, you went fishing so early?” Chang Xia asked curiously, rinsing her mouth. She looked at Nan Feng with a puzzled expression. Lately, everyone had been obsessed with experimenting with fruit flour recipes, so their craving for fish had faded a lot.

Was Nan Feng suddenly in the mood for fish today?

Nan Feng shrugged and explained, “Chen Rong asked me to bring these fish over.” She didn’t need Chen Rong to explain—she already guessed why. The food the tribe had sent was nearly gone.

After all, they’d all been eating at Chang Xia’s place these past few days.

There was enough food for Chen Rong and Chang Xia for ten days to half a month, but with a few more people, it was nowhere near enough.

And since they hadn’t gone hunting recently, there was no extra food to bring.

Luckily, they lived near White Lake and could catch fish and chickens anytime, which really eased the food pressure. Gen had suggested Nan Feng bring food over, but she’d politely refused—she knew Chang Xia wouldn’t like that.

“Fish? Great!” Chang Xia beamed at the live fish in the bucket. “Let’s have fish noodles and freshly pressed rice noodles today.”

“Fish noodles—” Nan Feng’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Just from the name, you could tell it was a combination of fish and fruit flour.

The tribe used to hate eating fish, but with Chang Xia’s fish ball recipe, they’d recently come up with all sorts of ways to cook fish. With ginger, scallions, and garlic for seasoning, even the roughest fish dishes tasted way better than before.

“Fish noodles—looks like we’re in for a treat today!” Mu Qin’s gentle voice came from a distance as she walked toward Chang Xia’s den, supporting an elderly woman, with a little boy following behind.

Hearing the voice, Chang Xia looked over.

Instantly, a huge smile broke out on her face. She waved and shouted, “Grandma Su Ye, you’re here!”

Su Ye, the shaman of the beast tribe.

The guide for the tribe’s development.

Everyone in the tribe called her “the shaman,” and no one dared use her name—except Chang Xia. Ever since she was little, she’d called her “Grandma Su Ye,” though she used the formal title in public. In private, it was always “Grandma Su Ye.”

“This child is all grown up and still acts like a little beast cub,” Mu Qin scolded gently, letting go of the shaman’s arm.

Su Ye smiled kindly, opening her arms to welcome the running Chang Xia.

Chang Xia threw her arms around Su Ye, rubbing her cheek against Su Ye’s.

“Grandma Su Ye, I missed you so much! Why did you come so late this time? I built a cave house and saved a room for you. Don’t stay in that cold, empty shaman’s hall on Mount Kana anymore. You and Bai Qing should live with me and Chen Rong. I’ll make you fish balls, rice noodles, and fried meat…”

She clung to Su Ye, chattering nonstop.

The others all smiled at the scene. They revered the shaman like a god—no one else dared get this close to Su Ye, but Chang Xia was always fearless, sticking to her like glue.

Su Ye’s feelings for Changxia were anything but ordinary—perhaps because of Changxia’s unreserved closeness and trust.