Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Red Leaf Ridge

“Shen Rong, time to get up!”

At dawn, Changxia yawned as she called Shen Rong to wake up.

She’d spent the whole night thinking about Red Leaf Ridge, tossing and turning and barely sleeping. She woke up before sunrise.

Shen Rong opened his eyes and looked at the faintly brightening sky.

“Changxia, it’s still early,” he sighed.

Last night, Changxia had tossed and turned all night. No matter how he tried to comfort her, it didn’t help. More than once, Shen Rong considered whether he should just physically help her fall asleep.

“But I want to go to Red Leaf Ridge early,” Changxia said, her bright, watery eyes shining. Even though she hadn’t slept well, she was full of energy.

“Alright, alright, let’s get up,” Shen Rong agreed.

It was rare for Changxia to act so cute, and Shen Rong couldn’t bear to say no.

Besides, who could refuse her when she looked at him with those big, sparkling eyes?

They got up and got dressed.

Brushed their teeth and rinsed their mouths.

With last night’s stew, Changxia made a dozen fruit-flour pancakes. The two of them sat at the long table and ate.

Just as they finished, they saw someone approaching from the direction of the tribe.

“Changxia—”

Judging by the voice, it was Nan Feng.

“Hold on, we’ll be ready in a minute,” Changxia called back.

Yesterday, after discussing the tribe’s expansion plans with Changxia, Nan Feng had gone back to consult with the elders. The tribe’s totem warriors had all gone out hunting, so it seemed the tribe would soon start building kilns.

After all, there were only three or five days left before the rainy season.

Even the usually oblivious Changxia could faintly smell the moisture in the air.

The first rain of the rainy season probably isn’t far off.

“Nan Feng, you came alone?” Chang Xia asked in surprise.

Given how excited Muqin Amu and the others were yesterday, Chang Xia thought a few more people would come along.

She hadn’t expected that only Nan Feng would show up. This genuinely caught her off guard.

Nan Feng shrugged regretfully. “Chang Xia, I can’t go to Hongye Ridge with you. The tribe has decided to build kilns and they need people to help. I just came to let you know, and then I have to head back to help out.”

“So soon…” Chang Xia said, a bit startled.

“You said the rainy season isn’t a good time to build kilns, so of course the tribe is anxious. The rains could start at any moment now, and the sooner we start, the sooner the kilns will be ready,” Nan Feng explained. The tribe wanted to finish the kilns before the rainy season, so everyone could move into safe, clean cave dwellings.

This year, they had to make sure the tribe wasn’t affected by the rains.

Thinking about it, Nan Feng realized that whether or not she went to Hongye Ridge wasn’t that important anymore.

Chang Xia nodded. “The chief made the right decision. Shen Rong and I will go to Hongye Ridge to check if the yellow granules Elder Pukang gave us are really syrup. If they are… I might need the tribe’s help to collect tree sap. As for building kilns, I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”

“The tribe doesn’t need you to help with the kilns. After all, you gave us the kiln-building method for free—that’s already a huge help,” Nan Feng said seriously.

Everyone in the tribe was very grateful to Chang Xia. If she hadn’t insisted that no one bring her gifts, her home would probably be overflowing with presents from the tribe by now—not just animal pelts, but even cave dwellings.

Even though they hadn’t given her anything, the whole tribe remembered her kindness.

After saying this, Nan Feng suddenly remembered Chang Xia had mentioned needing help collecting sap. “Chang Xia, what’s this about needing help to collect tree sap?”

“There’s no rush. Let me check things out at Hongye Ridge first, and then we can talk,” Chang Xia replied.

If there really were maple or palm trees growing at Hongye Ridge, late April would be the last chance to harvest sap for the season. Once this window passed, they’d have to wait another year to collect sap and make maple sugar.

With just her and Shen Rong, they wouldn’t be able to collect much sap.

When the time came, they’d definitely need help from the tribe.

But right now, the tribe was busy building kilns—everything seemed to be piling up at once. Still, with the Heluo tribe’s strength, they should be able to handle both tasks at the same time without delaying either the sap collection or the kiln construction.

Building the kilns just meant digging them out; the rest could be done during the rainy season.

But collecting sap was different. If they missed this last chance, they really would have to wait until next year.

“Alright, I won’t hold you up,” Nan Feng nodded, saying goodbye to Chang Xia.

Having seen Shen Rong’s abilities, Nan Feng wasn’t at all worried about their safety. Hongye Ridge was the Heluo tribe’s hunting grounds, and as long as they stayed within tribal territory, it was generally safe. The tribe regularly sent totem warriors to patrol the area, driving off or hunting dangerous beasts. Hongye Ridge wasn’t far from the tribe, and the soil there was relatively poor, so fierce animals rarely showed up.

So, the tribe felt at ease letting Chang Xia go to Hongye Ridge.

Of course, it also helped that everyone was busy with the kilns. At any other time, Gen would never have agreed to let Chang Xia and Shen Rong go so far from the tribe.

It was just that the timing was a bit delicate.

Plus, sugar was so tempting to the beastfolk that even Gen was a little tempted.

“Wait—” Shen Rong suddenly called out, stopping Nan Feng as she was leaving.

Nan Feng paused, looking puzzled. “Shen Rong, is something wrong?”

Chang Xia blinked, clearly curious why Shen Rong had stopped Nan Feng.

“Chang Xia, do you even know where Hongye Ridge is?” Shen Rong asked helplessly. Chang Xia was usually careful and meticulous, but sometimes she could be a bit scatterbrained.

Chang Xia had always been frail and spent most of her life within the tribe.

Last time, when they went to Mount Kana, they’d taken a roundabout route.

Even with a clear destination like Mount Kana, they’d almost gotten lost. This time, all Chang Xia knew was that Hongye Ridge was to the south of the tribe—but “south” could mean a lot of things.

“Hehe!” Chang Xia giggled sheepishly.

Nan Feng smacked her forehead, blaming herself. “Look at me—I forgot Chang Xia’s never been to Hongye Ridge, and Shen Rong just arrived at the tribe. Neither of you know where it is.”

With that, Nan Feng picked up a stick from the roadside.

She drew a simple map.

“Chang Xia, look—” Nan Feng said, “This is where the tribe is. You follow the White River south, and when you reach the fork in the river, head upstream. There’s a grove of ginkgo trees there. Go through the grove, keep going, and at the end you’ll reach Hongye Ridge.”

“Hongye Ridge is covered with red-leaf trees all year round.”

“From the river fork, you can see the brilliant red-leaf trees of Hongye Ridge—it’s beautiful!”

Nan Feng had once wanted to build her animal den at Hongye Ridge.

That way, she could admire the red-leaf trees all the time.

But before she could even say so, Gen and Muqin had given her a good scolding. Hongye Ridge might be the tribe’s hunting ground, but it was still far from the main settlement.

A single female living out there alone? That would be asking for trouble.

“Red-leaf trees—”

Chang Xia’s eyes lit up. She’d guessed that Hongye Ridge might have maples, sycamores, or palms. But from Nan Feng’s description…

She was now eighty percent sure those red-leaf trees were red maples.

Jackpot.

Absolute jackpot.

Maple sap could be turned into maple sugar, which tasted amazing.

Chang Xia had eaten it in her previous life—apart from being a bit pricey, it was perfect in every way. Maple syrup was a bit cheaper and could be used to make all sorts of snacks and desserts.

“Shen Rong, let’s go!” Chang Xia said excitedly.

This trip to Hongye Ridge, they were traveling light. After all, their main goal was to confirm whether there were trees there that could produce sugar sap, not to hunt or gather.

Each of them carried a basket, and they set off briskly toward Hongye Ridge.

Nan Feng watched them go with a bit of regret, then turned back to the tribe to help with the kiln construction.