Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Visitors Arrive

In the cellar, Chen Rong and Bai Qing were hard at work.

In the kitchen, Chang Xia had to wait for Shan Kun to bring back the ingredients she needed, so for now she could only make carp soup for Nuan Chun. At the same time, she took the herbs Su Ye handed her and started preparing medicine for Chen Rong.

The medicine wasn’t ready yet, but the smell already made Chang Xia gag.

“Ugh, ugh—”

Su Ye looked at Chang Xia, exasperated. “Chang Xia, is it really that bad?”

“It’s a reflex. Just the smell makes me want to puke,” Chang Xia said, embarrassed.

It wasn’t her being dramatic—anyone who’d had to take medicine since childhood, for over a decade, would probably react the same way. Just the smell was enough to make her retch and want to stay far away.

“You!” Su Ye shook her head at Chang Xia, but didn’t say more.

As they chatted, they heard noises coming from the cellar below the yaodong.

Chang Xia glanced toward the storage room, puzzled. “Grandma Su Ye, what’s Chen Rong up to this morning?”

“Didn’t you give Bai Qing a stack of blueprints? I’d guess the two of them are down in the cellar working on something,” Su Ye replied. She’d seen Chang Xia’s blueprints too, and was full of hope. She looked forward to the day Chang Xia finished organizing the yaodong. When that day came, she wanted to plant a branch of the white tree in the yard in front of Chang Xia’s home.

The white tree symbolized the identity of a witch.

She planted the white tree in the open space in front of the Changxia family’s cave dwelling.

It represented her protection over Changxia.

Upon hearing this, Changxia broke into a delighted smile. “I discussed with Chen Rong earlier about tidying up the cellar during the rainy season. The cellar is spacious enough, but the floor and walls need to be repaired and refinished. We also need to build some shelves to store things in the cellar.”

“Granny Suye, have you seen the blueprint for the cellar?”

“I have. Why?”

“Then do you remember the space that was left in the middle of the blueprint?”

Suye thought back. There was indeed a rectangular area marked on the cellar blueprint.

Seeing how excited Changxia looked, Suye couldn’t help but wonder if that space was for something special.

“Granny Suye, that’s the spot I set aside to plant Ice Crystal Grass in the future,” Changxia explained, revealing the answer before Suye could guess further.

She planned to custom-build a wooden cabinet shaped like a freezer—a long rectangle. The bottom layer of the cabinet would be filled with soil to grow Ice Crystal Grass, and the top would be covered with wooden slats, making a simple version of a refrigerator. There was Ice Crystal Grass on the Qinghai Plateau; perhaps elsewhere on the Gangwa Continent, there might even be Flaming Grass that radiates heat?

Thinking of this, Changxia was itching to fly out of the Twilight Forest.

“…” Suye’s expression stiffened a little as she looked at Changxia with a strange look.

This kid really has some wild ideas!

How could Changxia be so sure that the Bird Tribe would agree to trade Ice Crystal Grass with her? Even on the Qinghai Plateau, Ice Crystal Grass was scarce. Otherwise, why would the Bird Tribe risk offending the Beast and Fish Tribes by being so stingy with it?

The Bird Tribe’s reluctance to trade Ice Crystal Grass was simply because it was too rare.

“Alright then!” Suye said. “I’ll wait for you to trade with the Bird Tribe for Ice Crystal Grass. I’m looking forward to seeing this refrigerator you described. And those popsicles and ice cream…”

Ever since she was little, Changxia’s imagination had always been wild and unrestrained, and she could always come up with things that left people stunned.

But the way she described them was so vivid and real that people couldn’t help but believe that somewhere on the Gangwa Continent, the plants, animals, and things Changxia talked about really existed.

Actually, at first, the tribe had their doubts.

Gen had once gone up to Mount Kana to tell Suye about Changxia’s oddities.

After listening, Suye had only said one thing:

“There are always those in this world who are born knowing things. No matter what Changxia says or does, she will always be a child of the Beast God, and she will always be my child.”

After that, neither Gen nor the rest of the tribe questioned Changxia again.

If Suye said Changxia was her child, then to the Heluo Tribe, Changxia was their child too.

“Granny Suye, you have to believe me. I’m sure I can trade for Ice Crystal Grass with the Bird Tribe,” Changxia said seriously.

During the rainy season, she tidied up the cave while also searching the area around White Lake.

All of this was in preparation for Changxia’s upcoming journey.

After all, given her current physical condition, neither Suye nor the Heluo Tribe would allow her to leave.

“The Bird Tribe is very proud, you know,” Suye said meaningfully.

Changxia stuck out her tongue and didn’t argue.

The kitchen was filled with the strong scent of medicinal herbs, making Changxia feel lightheaded.

At the same time, the crucian carp soup that Nuan Chun needed was ready.

Suye asked Changxia to pour the soup into a clay pot, and she would take it over to Nuan Chun herself. That way, she could also check on Nuan Chun and her children.

“Granny Suye, are you sure you want to go like this?” Changxia asked hesitantly.

Suye replied, “I’m a witch of the Beast Tribe. Do you think a little rain will make me catch a cold? Besides, I’m wearing a beast-hide coat—the rain won’t touch me.”

The beast-hide coat was the Beast Tribe’s rain gear, similar in appearance to a straw raincoat.

“Alright then, just take it slow,” Changxia said, not insisting further. She waved Suye off and watched her leave the cave, then turned back to the kitchen to continue brewing medicine.

“Changxia—”

A moment later, Shankun’s voice drifted in.

She saw Shankun carrying a basket made of vines into the kitchen, followed by Yadong and Kongshan. Both of them were also carrying vine baskets, their hands full.

“Yadong, Kongshan, what are you two doing here?” Changxia asked in surprise.

Yadong replied, “I’ll explain in a minute. Where should we put these baskets?”

“Put them in the storage room at the very back, next to the cellar. Chen Rong and Baiqing are organizing things in the cellar. Take the baskets over there. By the way, what’s in them?” Changxia asked as she led the way.

The baskets were covered with leaves, and Changxia couldn’t see what was inside at a glance.

But she could smell a faint scent of raw meat.

Maybe the baskets were filled with meat—

“Meat, and some other things. The chief said that since the witch is staying at your place, these are for her. If you need anything else, just let us know and the tribe will send it over,” Yadong explained as he put down his basket.

No one in the tribe would dare let the witch go hungry.

“Isn’t this a bit much?” Changxia lifted the leaves covering the baskets and was stunned. There were six baskets, all filled with food.

These baskets weren’t the improved ones Changxia usually used.

Each one was nearly as tall as her chest.

“It’s not too much. The weather’s been getting hotter lately, so the chief was worried that if we brought too much, it would spoil. So we brought a little less,” Kongshan added, glancing into the cellar. “If you think it’s too much, just make some fried meat and store it in clay jars to eat over time. By the way, can I take a look at the cellar?”

The tribe had several caves.

Those caves were specifically used to store food.

Unlike the other caves, the food storage caves were cooler, which helped preserve food for longer.

Unfortunately, there weren’t enough cool caves.

Changxia said the cellar was for storage.

Was it like the tribe’s storage caves?

“I want to see too—” Yadong said, following after him without hesitation.

Shankun, however, wasn’t in a hurry to check out the cellar. He looked around and, not seeing Suye, asked, “Changxia, where did the witch go?”

"Wu went to bring some crucian carp soup to Nuanchun. She said she was going over to help check on Nuanchun and the babies,"Changxia replied. She knew that Shankun was asking about Wu mostly because he wanted Wu to check on Nuanchun and the little ones. Otherwise, who would normally care about Wu’s whereabouts?