Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Sugar

“Muqin, I didn’t mess with little Changxia,” Pukang protested, pulling a beast pouch from his clothes and waving it. “I just wanted to give her a gift, really! Muqin, you have to believe me.”

As he explained, Pukang tugged at Muqin’s arm.

Yami!!!

He absolutely did not want to see Yami. That female was even scarier than a shaman. If Muqin really told Yami what happened today, he could forget about ever slacking off or napping in the tribe again.

Muqin’s face stiffened. Her arm was being pulled by Elder Pukang, and she was too weak to break free. His wailing was like thunder in her ears, and her face showed nothing but pain. Elder Pukang’s shamelessness was truly terrifying—would someone please come save her?

Perhaps the heavens took pity, because Changxia walked over just then.

Changxia’s face was twisted in discomfort at the scene. A dignified tribal elder acting like a spoiled child, throwing a tantrum like an unruly cub. Thankfully, everyone present was family, so at least the embarrassment stayed within the tribe.

“Grandpa Pukang, what gift did you bring me?” Changxia smiled, placing her hand lightly on Elder Pukang’s hand, the one pulling Muqin, and flicked it away with a deft motion.

“Huh?” Elder Pukang looked at Changxia in surprise.

Muqin quickly pulled her hand back, wincing in pain. She hadn’t even noticed what had just happened.

“Grandpa Pukang, where’s my gift?” Changxia held out her hand expectantly. She didn’t want to reveal her strength just yet—at least not until her stamina caught up. Otherwise, if Elder Pukang decided to train her, life would be worse than death.

Pukang looked suspicious for a moment—had he sensed wrong? After a moment’s thought, he just handed the beast pouch to Changxia.

“Little Changxia, this is Grandpa Pukang’s treasure. No one else in the tribe has it.” Pukang, unconcerned, stopped thinking about it and instead stared eagerly at the pouch in Changxia’s hand, swallowing nervously.

It was clear he valued whatever was inside.

Seeing this, Changxia’s expression shifted slightly. She didn’t open the pouch right away, but sniffed it. A faint sweet scent drifted out.

Sweet? Sugar?

“Changxia, open it and see!” From a distance, Nanfeng and Nuanchun stopped what they were doing and hurried over.

“Okay,” Changxia replied. She untied the pouch and poured out a few yellowish pellets, each about the size of a finger. The sweet aroma was coming from them.

“What are these, Elder Pukang?” Nanfeng asked curiously. They didn’t look like gravel or stones. Nor did they look like gems—the surface was rough and not very shiny.

“Little Changxia, try one,” Pukang said with a grin, picking up a yellow pellet and holding it to Changxia’s mouth. “It’s sweet—not as fragrant as honey, but still very tasty!”

Mmm!

Changxia opened her mouth and took the pellet. Soon, a gentle sweetness filled her mouth.

“Sugar!” Changxia exclaimed in surprise.

At her words, everyone grew excited.

“Sugar—is it honey?” Nanfeng squeezed over, reaching out to grab one.

Elder Pukang slapped her hand away. “These are for little Changxia, Nanfeng, don’t mess around.”

“Nanfeng, this isn’t honey.” Changxia looked seriously at Elder Pukang and asked, “Grandpa Pukang, where did you find these yellow pellets?”

These yellow pellets were sugar—somewhere between hard and soft candy. If she had to guess, they were probably naturally crystallized syrup from some kind of tree sap—completely natural.

“Redleaf Ridge,” Pukang replied.

Changxia didn’t recognize the name, but Muqin and Heyun did. Redleaf Ridge was a mountain ridge south of the Heluo tribe, full of tall deciduous trees, different from the shrub forests. The tribe only went there to gather wild vegetables and mushrooms—otherwise, few people visited.

This time, Elder Pukang had really brought back something special.

Muqin and the others were instantly excited.

Sugar—there wasn’t a single beastman who didn’t love it. From the elders down to the youngest cubs, everyone adored sweets.

“Muqin Auntie, where is Redleaf Ridge?” Changxia asked excitedly.

Muqin took a deep breath and explained, “Redleaf Ridge is south of the tribe—it takes about half an hour to get there.”

“Half an hour? That’s not far at all,” Changxia said. “Muqin Auntie, I want to go see Redleaf Ridge.”

Birch, maple, and palm tree sap can all be made into syrup, but maple sap has the highest sugar content and tastes the best.

However, no matter which kind of tree it is,

it represents the hope that the Heluo tribe will soon be able to enjoy sugar—sweet, delicious sugar.

Changxia licked her lips, wishing she could fly straight to Redleaf Ridge right now.

“Little Changxia, what about my roast meat…” Pukang looked at Changxia with a longing gaze, arms crossed, reminding her not to forget his barbecue. After all, he’d already given his gift—Changxia couldn’t let him go hungry.

All the excitement in the group instantly died down.

Sugar or not, the most important thing right now was to prepare food for Elder Pukang.

“Changxia, we’ll go to Redleaf Ridge tomorrow,” Muqin said decisively.

Changxia glanced at Elder Pukang, put aside her longing, and nodded. “Okay.”

From then on, all Changxia could think about was Redleaf Ridge.

She couldn’t even focus on cooking.

With Elder Pukang’s help, Chenrong quickly finished butchering the black-horned ox. They marinated the meat and started roasting.

Changxia cut a few pieces to make pan-seared steaks.

She also used sour fruit, ginger, and garlic to season and slow-cooked a pot of beef stew.

There were also cold mung bean noodles, fruit pancakes, roast meat, roast chicken, roast duck, and more. One dish after another was brought to the long table by Changxia and her friends. Elder Pukang grinned from ear to ear as he ate heartily.

At the table, the three little Mountain Sparrows watched in shock.

“Changxia-jie, how can Elder Pukang eat so much?” they asked.

Everyone fell silent at the question.

It wasn’t just the Mountain Sparrows—everyone in the Heluo tribe wanted to know how Elder Pukang could eat so much.

“Hee-hee-hee—” Elder Pukang laughed.

“A mighty totem warrior must first learn to eat—a lot. Only by eating enough can you become strong.”

That was Elder Pukang’s explanation.

Almost everyone in the Heluo tribe had heard him say this before.

Elder Pukang was very strong, though no one knew exactly how strong.

However, Changxia once overheard Gen say,

Elder Pukang stands at the very peak of the Twilight Forest.

“Changxia-jie, I want more!” Wuliu shouted.

Changxia looked down at his bulging belly, walked over and patted it twice, and said helplessly, “Wuliu, if you eat any more, your little tummy’s going to burst! Get up and walk around a bit to help digest.”

With Chenrong, Muqin, and the others helping, Changxia didn’t end up completely exhausted.

By the time her arms were so sore she could barely lift them, all the ingredients had been cooked and brought to the long table for Elder Pukang.

Tired and hungry, Changxia felt completely drained.

Not a drop of energy left.

Elder Pukang, all by himself, ate an entire black-horned ox, countless chickens, ducks, and fish, plus over a hundred pounds of cold noodles and endless fruit pancakes.

And that wasn’t even a lot for him.

It was about enough to feed forty or fifty people.

If Elder Pukang really let loose, he could probably eat two or three times that much without breaking a sweat.

But it was enough to wear everyone else out.

“Is that all?” Elder Pukang licked the meat juice from his lips, still unsatisfied and looking regretful.

Changxia waved him off, exasperated. “Elder Pukang, goodbye.”