Chapter 89: Chapter 89: The Abnormal Giant Prawn

After breakfast.

Shen Rong and Bai Qing still hadn’t returned to the cave.

Chang Xia poured the finished crucian carp soup into a clay pot, covered it with a wooden lid, and put it in a rattan basket for South Wind to take to Nuan Chun, along with Mountain Sparrow and the other kids.

She watched them leave.

Then Chang Xia fetched a basket from the storeroom, planning to head to the White Lake reeds.

“I’ll come too,” Su Ye said. She grabbed a basket from the storeroom and called out to Chang Xia, intending to join her for a walk through the reeds.

It was lively by White Lake that morning.

Su Ye guessed that quite a few people from the tribe had come to White Lake.

Besides Ya Dong and his group fishing, Mu Qin had probably brought people to the reeds—maybe to hunt or forage. Either way, there were definitely people at White Lake.

In terms of distance, White Lake was a bit closer than the White River beach.

Also, since the tribe was expanding toward White Lake, the reeds needed to be cleared out. Combining hunting and foraging with clearing the area was a win-win situation.

“Grandma Su Ye, aren’t you going to check on Nuan Chun?” Chang Xia asked in surprise.

Su Ye shook her head. “Shan Kun didn’t mention anything to South Wind, so Nuan Chun is probably fine. I’ll go to White Lake and pick some herbs for you while I’m there. I saw some processed herbs in your storeroom—did Shen Rong gather those?”

Elder Yami in the tribe could identify herbs and would have the tribe help gather them.

But Elder Yami didn’t know how to process herbs.

The herbs stored in Chang Xia’s storeroom were clearly carefully prepared. Though they were all common herbs, the way they were sorted and categorized was clearly not something an ordinary person could do.

Su Ye knew Chang Xia recognized some herbs.

But not many.

Likewise, she and Elder Yami didn’t know how to process herbs either.

At least, Su Ye had never seen Chang Xia do it.

Shen Rong was different. He came from the Western Land’s Tianyuan tribe. As a noble, his knowledge and experience were far beyond ordinary people.

Plus, Shen Rong was an awakened Wolfblood, making him even more extraordinary.

“Those herbs were indeed gathered by Shen Rong. He said he wanted to make ointments for hands and face,” Chang Xia said, not hiding anything and revealing Shen Rong’s skills.

The beastfolk weren’t full of schemes—the stronger you were, the more the tribe respected and supported you. If Shen Rong wanted to stay with Chang Xia in the Heluo tribe for the long term, some things would come out sooner or later.

Rather than waiting for them to be revealed, Chang Xia preferred to take the initiative.

The love of beauty is human nature. If Chen Rong really manages to develop a skincare ointment, then the chances of trading for Light Stones and Ice Crystal Grass with the Bird Tribe will increase again. After all, no female can resist skincare and cosmetics.

“He’s even making ointment for hands and face—he’s really thoughtful,” Su Ye said with a smile, her gaze sweeping over Chang Xia’s slender hands, now marked with insect cocoons.

Chang Xia had always been frail, pampered by the tribe. Before coming of age, she hadn’t even fully familiarized herself with the tribe, let alone participated in activities like hunting or gathering. Apart from her skin being a bit sallow from illness, it was no exaggeration to call her delicate and weak.

After reaching adulthood, Chang Xia’s health gradually improved. Being strong-willed, she actively joined in the tribe’s gathering and collecting activities. Her once soft and smooth hands and feet began to roughen, slowly accumulating scars. Su Ye and the other tribe members saw this and, while they felt sorry for her, they were also filled with pride and comfort.

In truth, Su Ye and the tribe had always worried that pampering Chang Xia would spoil her. Would she turn out badly because of it? Fortunately, Chang Xia never betrayed their trust and protection.

“Grandma Su Ye, don’t worry… I’ll work hard to build a good life with Chen Rong. I’m waiting for Bai Qing to take over your role as shaman, so you can retire in comfort at the Heluo Tribe. When that time comes, I’ll take care of you,” Chang Xia said confidently.

As she spoke, her face radiated confidence and sincerity.

Su Ye had raised her to adulthood, and now Chang Xia wanted to care for Su Ye in her later years. Of course, she hadn’t forgotten the rest of the lovely people in the Heluo Tribe, either.

The ginkgo nuts were just the first step. Next, she planned to gradually improve the tribe’s life through her actions, and then slowly extend those changes to the entire beast race of the Twilight Forest.

“Alright! I’ll be waiting,” Su Ye said happily.

She didn’t dampen Chang Xia’s enthusiasm—after all, anyone hearing such words would be moved, and then touched emotionally. Even the calm and composed Su Ye couldn’t help but feel the same.

She had poured so much of her own feelings into Chang Xia, treating her as her own child. Now, Chang Xia’s words assured Su Ye that all her efforts had not been in vain.

With light steps, the two walked out of the cave together.

By White Lake, several new ponds had been dug, each filled with a different kind of fish—and quite a lot of them, too.

Chang Xia looked at Chen Rong and the others splashing about in White Lake, exasperated. There must be tens of thousands of pounds of fish in those ponds. Fish aren’t like other prey—they die easily out of water. Although keeping them in ponds keeps them alive for a while, the tribe lives right next to White Lake and White River. If they want fish, they can catch them anytime.

Clearly, these people were pretending to fish but really just playing in the water. They were all adults, yet acted as childish as Bai Qing, who wasn’t even of age yet! The moment they got in the water, they forgot everything else!

“Chen Rong, you should take Bai Qing home for breakfast now!” Chang Xia called out loudly. The group was drifting farther from shore—if she didn’t raise her voice, they probably wouldn’t hear her.

At her call, Chen Rong leapt from the water, clutching a huge fish—at least a hundred pounds by the look of it. If Chang Xia tried to hold a fish that size, she’d almost certainly be dragged into the lake.

“Chang Xia, where are you planning to go?” Chen Rong asked, suddenly remembering what had happened that morning. He’d meant to play a small prank on Ya Dong and the others, but once he got in the water, he’d completely forgotten about it, swept up in the excitement of fishing.

Back in the Yuan family at the Tianyuan Tribe, Chang Xia had always been tense and on guard. But ever since returning to the Twilight Forest, the calm and wise Chen Rong had changed—clearly, environment shapes character. In the past, he would never have gone fishing in a lake, but here in the Heluo Tribe, it seemed perfectly natural.

“I’m going to the White Lake reeds with the shaman. You get Bai Qing out of the water and take him home for breakfast. After you eat, remember to deal with all these fish. There’s so much, it’ll last the tribe until the rainy season!”

As she spoke, Chang Xia couldn’t help but complain.

Ya Dong burst out laughing. “The water’s so cool, I forgot how many fish we caught—do we have enough already?”

“Come on, let’s get out. We still have to work on the mud walls and install doors and windows.”

At Chang Xia’s reminder, Ya Dong and the others snapped back to reality. The cave dwellings by White Lake weren’t finished yet—there was still a lot of work to do. This was no time for horsing around. If they delayed the construction, the chief and elders would never let them off the hook.

With that, everyone started swimming back to shore.

Bai Qing, being small, had caught a giant shrimp as thick as his arm. He ran excitedly to Chang Xia and Su Ye, shouting, “Shaman, Chang Xia, look what I caught!”

“Such a big shrimp—amazing, Bai Qing!” Chang Xia was astonished. Did shrimp like this really grow in the lake? Wasn’t this more like a giant lobster from the sea?

Then she remembered the giant fish Chen Rong had been holding—if White Lake was teeming with hundred-pound fish, then maybe shrimp as thick as an arm were normal too.

Normal—

Normal, my foot! With shrimp this huge, how is anyone supposed to fish in peace?!