Chapter 64: Chapter 64: The Red Maple Trees

In an instant.

Chang Xia and Chen Rong arrived at the mouth of the Bai River.

They looked up and around.

All they could see was the sky, painted into a dazzling tapestry by the endless sea of red maples covering the mountains. Just one glance was enough to take your breath away.

At that moment, Chang Xia suddenly understood why Nan Feng wanted to live at Red Leaf Ridge.

With scenery this beautiful, who could resist falling in love with it?

“It’s so beautiful!” Chang Xia exclaimed in awe.

Chen Rong carried Chang Xia, following her gaze toward Red Leaf Ridge. As soon as he looked, he too was captivated by the red maples.

They followed the riverbank, passing through a grove of ginkgo trees at the river mouth.

The ginkgo nuts in the grove were sparse, likely because the tribe had harvested them not long ago. Ginkgo nuts were no longer just an optional food—they might soon become a staple for the beast tribe.

For now,

Su Ye hadn’t shared this with the other beast tribes.

But if Chang Xia really managed to make ginkgo flour, the status of ginkgo nuts among the tribes would rise even higher. At that point, Su Ye would reveal the importance of ginkgo nuts to the many beast tribes of the Twilight Forest. Of course, each tribe would have to compensate the Heluo tribe accordingly—that was a must.

“The tribe really has picked all the ginkgo nuts nearby,” Chang Xia sighed.

Once Granny Su Ye arrived at the tribe, it would be time to plan the hot pot feast. Gen had sent out hunting parties, probably with this in mind. After all, expecting just a few people like Chang Xia to prepare food for over a thousand was unrealistic.

Most of the ingredients would still have to come from the tribe.

Chen Rong broke the silence: “There’s a small patch of ginkgo trees upstream of White Lake. The nuts there haven’t been picked yet.”

He’d stumbled upon it yesterday while gathering herbs.

The ginkgo grove upstream of White Lake was conveniently close to the exit of their own cave cellar. Chen Rong had roughly counted—there were about seventeen or eighteen trees, each bearing plenty of nuts.

“Really?” Chang Xia was overjoyed.

“That grove is just to the right of the cellar exit, in a mountain hollow. There aren’t many trees, maybe a dozen or so,” Chen Rong said.

Besides ginkgo trees, the hollow was filled with all kinds of shrubs.

Yesterday, they’d been in a hurry, so Chen Rong hadn’t looked closely. Still, he felt incredibly lucky that Chang Xia had chosen this spot for their kiln—it was perfect in so many subtle ways.

The hollow was secluded, making it ideal for planting or raising animals.

Further up was the upper reaches of White Lake.

There, vast reeds grew thick, home to all kinds of wild birds.

Expanding the Heluo tribe toward White Lake was definitely the best choice.

“A dozen or so trees—that’s enough,” Chang Xia smiled, gently tugging at Chen Rong’s soft fur and pressing her face to his back. She waved her hand, “Let’s go to Red Leaf Ridge. Chen Rong, I don’t think the tribe will ever lack sugar again. The tall, broad-leaved trees at Red Leaf Ridge must be red maples.”

“The end of April is the last time of year to collect red maple sap.”

“Usually, the sap is tapped starting in March, with early April being the best time. Maple syrup made from sap collected then tastes the best.”

As Chang Xia rambled on, Chen Rong carried her through the ginkgo grove at the river mouth, heading straight for Red Leaf Ridge. At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder—what would maple syrup taste like? Was it sweeter than cane sugar? Was it even better?

As for how Chang Xia knew that maple sap could be turned into sugar—

Chen Rong, like the rest of the Heluo tribe, pretended not to know, turning a blind eye.

“Chen Rong, do you smell it?”

“That sweet, sugary scent.”

“It’s faint, but with how much the beast tribe loves sweet things, how could only Elder Pukang have noticed it?”

Chang Xia frowned. Given how much the beast tribe craved sweetness, the tribe should have noticed something unusual at Red Leaf Ridge long ago. Why was it only Elder Pukang who picked up on it?

“I heard from Aunt Muqin that Red Leaf Ridge is barren, so few people from the tribe come here to gather or collect things. Maybe that’s why they missed it.”

After all, Chang Xia had said it herself.

The best time to collect maple sap was from March to April each year.

That just happened to be when the tribe was busiest with hunting and gathering.

So it made sense that no one had noticed anything unusual at Red Leaf Ridge. Elder Pukang probably discovered it by accident, maybe while patrolling.

But Elder Pukang was always a bit scatterbrained.

Even if he noticed something odd, he probably didn’t think much of it.

Chen Rong moved fast—from the moment he caught the sweet scent to when they arrived at Red Leaf Ridge, only about fifteen minutes had passed. The closer they got, the stronger the sweetness became.

Red Leaf Ridge seemed to have sweetness in the very air, dreamlike and surreal.

Landing, Chen Rong set Chang Xia down.

He quickly shifted back to human form, tilted his head, and gazed at the sea of red leaves, lost in wonder.

“Chen Rong, we’re rich!” Chang Xia put her hands on her hips and laughed out loud.

Red Leaf Ridge was home to countless centuries-old red maples, and even some that were a thousand years old. These ancient trees towered overhead—any single one could be seventy or eighty meters tall, with trunks over a meter wide. This vast maple forest was enough to turn the Heluo tribe into a kingdom of maple sugar.

Maple trees store huge amounts of starch in their trunks, which turns into sucrose in winter, then into sweet sap when the weather warms. All you have to do is drill a hole in the trunk, and the sap will flow out. Boil it down, and you get maple syrup.

There were thousands upon thousands of maples at Red Leaf Ridge, many of them ancient trees over a thousand years old. Those over a hundred years old were too many to count. When Chang Xia said the Heluo tribe could become a maple sugar kingdom, she wasn’t joking.

By the time Chang Xia calmed down, two incense sticks’ worth of time had passed.

“Chen Rong, try drilling a hole in one of the maples. Let’s see if there’s any sap.”

Chen Rong set down his basket and picked up a bone knife.

He picked a nearby maple at random, found a suitable spot on a branch, and drove the bone knife in.

Soon, he’d made a hole about the size of two fingers.

A moment later, brown sap began to flow from the hole. Chang Xia stepped forward, dipped her finger in, and tasted it.

A rich, caramel-like aroma filled the air.

“Chen Rong, you should try some too—”

Chen Rong leaned in and took Chang Xia’s hand into his mouth.

Chang Xia froze, her cheeks instantly flushing bright red. She’d meant for Chen Rong to dip his hand in the red maple sap and taste it, but he’d suddenly launched a sneak attack instead.

She almost kicked him away on reflex!

Though, honestly, she doubted she could have kicked him very far.

Turning her head away, Chang Xia quickly withdrew her hand, pretending nothing had happened.

Chen Rong pressed his lips together, chuckling softly.

“Sweet. Very sweet.”

Chang Xia cleared her throat, not sure if Chen Rong was talking about the maple sap or her hand. And did this count as an indirect kiss?

Wait, had she even washed her hands?

Her thoughts started to drift further and further away.

It wasn’t until she heard the steady drip of maple sap hitting the ground that she snapped back to reality.

“Chen Rong, can you make a wooden bucket?” Chang Xia asked, regaining her composure.

They’d only brought two baskets with them, and had nothing to collect the maple sap in. Watching the precious sap drip away, Chang Xia felt a pang of regret.

“Wait here,” Chen Rong replied.

A short while later, Chen Rong gathered materials from the surroundings and cobbled together several wooden buckets. Following Chang Xia’s instructions, he tied the buckets to the trunks of the red maple trees. Once the buckets were full, Chang Xia decided not to collect any more sap for now. Instead, she walked around Red Leaf Ridge, counting the number of red maples. Then she planned to return to the tribe to discuss the sap harvest with Gen.