LSLFBW: Chapter 125

Qi Bai had just stepped onto the platform when he heard a series of quacking noises coming from the duck shed.

Qi Bai opened the door of the duck shed and saw three ducks happily flapping their wings at him. Qi Bai reached out and touched the dry grass inside the shed, his eyes lighting up. He had three blue duck eggs in his hand when he withdrew it.

Qi Bai wrapped the duck eggs in animal hide and rubbed the ducklings’ little heads. “Great job!”

The ducklings, who had already started laying eggs, had been listless since the earthquake. Qi Bai had checked on them twice a day, morning and evening. This was the first time they had laid eggs since the earthquake.

A rustling sound came from the bamboo wall next to them. Chuan Chuan’s head poked out from the small window in the bamboo wall.

Qi Bai looked at Chuan Chuan, whose four ears had been squeezed into two. The small window could no longer accommodate Chuan Chuan’s big face.

Qi Bai stroked his chin. “Grow any bigger and this little bamboo nest won’t be able to hold you, Chuan Chuan.”

Two frosty moons hung high in the sky and the idle chatter of the beastmen as they dispersed from the valley reached his ears. Everything was peaceful and serene.

Qi Bai lit a fire under the stove, poured some water into the earthenware pot and waited for the duck eggs to cook.

The winter wind was cold and dry, and the bamboo pavilion offered no shelter. Qi Bai could only wrap himself tightly in his animal skin coat.

He had originally planned to add straw curtains to the kitchen outside the cave to cope with winter. Unexpectedly, in just one year, he already had a new brick house to live in.

The outdoor kitchen wouldn’t need any further work for now. He could just come up to it to cool off when the weather got warmer.

Qi Bai felt a surge of pride as he thought back to when he first arrived at the Black Mountain and everyone didn’t have a place to live, only for him to now own ‘two houses.’

“What are you smiling at?”

Qi Bai looked up and saw Lang Ze returning from the valley with wet hair. He apparently had just taken a bath.

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Qi Bai opened the pot lid and took out the duck eggs from the earthenware pot. “You’re back just in time. The ducks laid eggs today, so I boiled them. Use them to warm your injured areas.”

Thanks to the beastmen’s powerful self-healing abilities, the terrifying bruises on Lang Ze’s body had now faded to just faint marks.

Nevertheless, Qi Bai kept a close eye on Lang Ze. He changed the treatment from a cold compress to a hot compress to promote blood circulation and remove bruises.

Lang Ze took the duck egg, his eyes flickering beneath his slightly lowered eyelids. “How do I use this?”

“Just roll it in the egg white…” Qi Bai realized that Lang Ze wouldn’t have a chance to warm the bruises with the egg and changed his mind. “Let me do it for you.”

Qi Bai cracked the eggshell and looked up at Lang Ze. Lang Ze obediently lifted his animal skin coat.

Perhaps it was because Lang Ze’s fur was white, but Lang Ze’s chest was much whiter compared to the wheat-colored or even bronze skin of most horned beastmen.

The soft moonlight shone on the bamboo pavilion, and Lang Ze’s sturdy but not overly muscular chest looked like a piece of finely carved jade.

The soft egg white touched the slightly damp skin, the slightly concave surface feeling like a gentle caress.

Qi Bai’s gaze was fixed. For a moment, only one thought occupied his mind.

“I wonder if this chest is as nice to touch as it is in my dreams.”

Lang Ze looked at the top of Qi Bai’s head and hesitated for a moment before saying, “The mating day is in a few days…”

Before Lang Ze could finish speaking, Qi Bai suddenly threw the duck egg he was holding forward. Fortunately, Lang Ze had been keeping his eyes on Qi Bai. He prevented the painstakingly laid duck egg from falling to the ground.

Lang Ze’s eyes dimmed when he saw Qi Bai taking a large step back in fright. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“What did you say?” Qi Bai instinctively repeated.

Lang Ze was silent for a moment before shaking his head. “It’s nothing.”

Qi Bai didn’t know why Lang Ze suddenly seemed so downcast. Honestly, he hadn’t heard what Lang Ze said at all.

It was just that the vibration of Lang Ze’s chest as he spoke sent a tingling, electric shock through Qi Bai’s fingertips.

Qi Bai suddenly snapped back to reality and quickly stepped back. Otherwise, he didn’t know what he might’ve done.

“You… you know how to use this egg now, right?” Qi Bai stammered before stuffing the other two eggs into Lang Ze’s hand. “It… is just like this. Go back and roll it on all the bruised areas.”

Then he ran towards the cave entrance without looking back. “I’m going to sleep. See you tomorrow!”

The door slammed shut with a bang.

A gust of wind blew and the clouds slowly obscured the moonlight, making the valley somewhat dim.

Lang Ze quietly watched the closed door.

Perhaps it wasn’t the right time yet. He could continue watching.

He could wait indefinitely as long as Qi Bai didn’t choose anyone else.

What Lang Ze didn’t know was that Qi Bai inside was currently trapped in deep self-doubt.

Qi Bai pressed his head against the bamboo door.

He simply couldn’t believe what he had just been thinking.

A few days ago, he had been worried about Lang Ze’s injuries and truly didn’t have any romantic thoughts. All of that changed today.

If Lang Ze hadn’t spoken, Qi Bai couldn’t imagine whether he would’ve actually taken action or not.

Qi Bai never believed that feelings should be bound by gender. He always respected feelings between any gender.

This didn’t change the fact that in the more than 20 years of his life before or after his rebirth, he always firmly believed that he was a pure straight man.

Despite the indescribable dreams, Qi Bai tried to convince himself that they were just the body’s natural reactions. Lang Ze was his closest horned beastman, which was why Lang Ze became the protagonist in his dreams.

Now Qi Bai couldn’t help doubting his own sexuality.

Could it be that he was a closeted gay man? After all, a straight man wouldn’t dream about his male friends, right?

Most importantly, Qi Bai almost shed tears.

He could like the same sex but he didn’t want to be a pervert! Help, he really did look like a pervert just now!

Qi Bai was completely unaware that if a sub-beastman had close contact with an adult horned beastman when they first reached adulthood, it could trigger dependent behavior during their estrus cycle. Therefore, he didn’t realize that Lang Ze was subtly probing him.

It was precisely because of this lack of knowledge about beastmen bodies that Qi Bai deeply felt guilty for the ‘mistake’ he hadn’t committed. He couldn’t sleep well at night, developing dark circles under his eyes.

Yet no matter how conflicted Qi Bai was, life in the Black Mountain Tribe continued as usual.

In the center of the square, two large trees were once again covered with evenly sized strips of meat.

The shaded area beneath the trees had been swept clean. Two thick trunks, cut horizontally, were placed beneath the trees to form four large tables.

The sub-beastmen placed the plants they had previously gathered on the table, slowly sorting and classifying them. Intact wild vegetables were packed into rattan baskets to be stored in the cellar.

The cellar that Qi Bai and Zhu Zhu dug earlier might’ve been damaged by the earthquake with a lot of sand and gravel, but it had withstood the pressure and was more sturdy and durable than the dilapidated thatched hut in the original kiln site.

The increase in food in the tribe meant that the cellar, specifically for storing plants, had played a vital role.

Not far away, rows of thick, large trees were piled up at the entrance of Hu Huo’s cave.

Hu Huo was leading a small team of horned beastmen, chopping wood to continue working on the wooden table and benches that were unfinished.

A stone sheepfold was completed and the four-eared sheep became the first members of the Black Mountain Tribe to move into their new homes. They adapted well to the spacious enclosure.

The sheepfold was right next to the kiln, so the task of feeding the four-eared sheep was smoothly handed over to the tribe’s seven or eight year old children.

All the children were enthusiastic about this job since they could earn points like the adults.

These points were very important to the children as they could exchange them with the priest for many delicious treats. For example, the hawthorn cake that Brother Bao Bai had made, and the braised dishes that he had been researching these past few days.

The little beastmen had such thoughts while carrying small bamboo tubes and returning from fetching water from the waterfall. They couldn’t help sniffing in one direction.

This was the only newly built house in the tribe, and a cloud of steam was swirling around the protruding chimney.

This time, the tribe had obtained so much game. After processing the fresh meat, the quantity of offal such as beast intestines, lungs and tripe was also considerable.

The beastmen cherished their food and would never waste it. However, if they were asked if they liked it then none of them actually enjoyed eating it.

Qi Bai, who had been reflecting on his sexuality several times a day for the past few days, volunteered to handle the offal.

Qi Bai’s method was simple. He would try braising these parts that were difficult to process.

This wasn’t Qi Bai’s first time making braising liquid. The flavors he made a few days ago had surprised the tribe members, but Qi Bai had tasted more authentic and appetizing braised dishes. He was still working hard to improve his recipe.

He added large pieces of beef bones to cold water in a large earthenware pot, along with scallions, ginger and garlic. Then he simmered it slowly, skimming off the foam to obtain a large pot of clear bone broth.

Qi Bai took out the beef bones, shook off the water, and placed them on a large stone slab beside the heated kang.

The four children, who couldn’t transform into human form yet, were already waiting out of habit.

Once the beef bones were on the slab, each of them took a small spot and buried their heads deep into the thick bones.

After licking the bits of meat off the bones, they grinned and crunched on them with their little teeth. Little Tu Qian was the most enthusiastic when gnawing on it.

Don’t be fooled by the rabbit beat form. At an early age when sub-beastmen and horned beastmen were still the same size, his mouth was no worse than the horned beastmen.

He even had the strength to kick away the lamb that tried to steal his food when approaching.

Qi Bai watched their playful antics with amusement. He wouldn’t interfere as long as there was no danger. After all, learning how to snatch and protect their food was a required lesson for all beastmen children.

After improving all the beef bones, Qi Bai tossed the spice packet he had prepared beforehand into the pot.

This packet contained the spices Qi Bai recognized from his previous life such as Sichuan peppercorns, star anise and fennel seeds, as well as some unknown spices he had collected. In short, the flavor of the first batch of braising liquid was entirely a matter of luck.

Qi Bai added some firewood to the stove. Then he added some salt and oyster sauce to the earthenware pot for seasoning. He covered the pot with a wooden lid, allowing the braising liquid to simmer slowly over a low flame.

As it was simmering, Qi Bai blanched all the offal in another earthenware pot to remove any unpleasant odors.

Finally, he marinated all the offal in the braising liquid to infuse it with flavor. The longer this process took, the better.

So after confirming that there was enough braising liquid in the pot and the fire under the stove was just right to prevent the pot from burning dry, Qi Bai took the four children outside to continue working.

However, this caused a lot of hardship for the horned beastmen still recovering from their injuries in the room next door.

They lay on the heated kang and enjoyed the rare warmth of winter, yet the enticing aroma made it impossible to rest.

A young man from the Horse Tribe named Ma Xiang wiped the drool from his mouth. “I would be fine right now if I could just take a few bites of this meat.”

It wasn’t just him. Ma Ling and several other members of the Black Mountain Tribe had never suffered from this type of torture before.

Ma Ling leaned against the scorching wall of the kang, trying not to press on his injured leg. “Bao Bai said that these are all prepared for mating day. By then, all of us will be able to eat a lot of delicious food like this.”

The mating day… everyone looked forward to it even more.