LSLFBW: Chapter 30

Qi Bai and Lang Ze climbed up the mountain along the outer side of the Black Mountain and saw a stone platform around 20 meters long and 10 meters wide.

Since the Black Mountain was located at a high altitude, looking out from here, they could see an endless sea of forest. The fallen snow was like flowers blooming on the branches, layer upon layer. This made people feel relaxed and happy just looking at it.

Qi Bai took a deep breath. No wonder why the ancients wrote so many ambitious poems about the mountains. Qi Bai felt his heart open just standing here. In the face of such vigorous vitality of nature, everything seemed insignificant.

The sound of beastmen knocking on the stone walls echoed in the valley as if playing music for such beautiful scenery.

Qi Bai turned his head and saw the steep stone wall of the Black Mountain behind the stone platform. It was just a small piece of the wall, but it had a completely different scenery. The undulating stones seemed to have a strange rhythm that crawled down from the left side of the mountain. Meanwhile, the right side adjacent to the stone looked like it had been chopped with a huge axe, forming a neat cross-section.

This was the location chosen by Qi Bai and Lang Ze. It would become their home in the future.

It wasn’t known how such a strange landscape was formed. Qi Bai thought this as he placed the tools he brought from the collective cave on the snow. Then he turned and entered the forest connected to the mountain wall. Before starting to dig, he had to clear the snow on the stone platform first.

The bedroom in Qi Bai’s plan was to be level with Lang Ze’s cave, so there was no need to dig a very large cave. He estimated that a bedroom of around 40 to 50 square meters would be enough for him to live alone. Of course, if he felt that it wasn’t enough in the future, it wouldn’t be too late to dig deeper to the left.

The focus of Qi Bai’s house wasn’t this neat bedroom but the kitchen he planned to build outside the bedroom.

This was also why Qi Bai chose this place that no one was optimistic about. It was because the half-person high stone that seemed a bit troublesome could be slowly carved into a stone kitchen. The stove, stone table, and stone benches in the kitchen could be directly chiseled out of the stone. Then a pavilion that could shelter from wind and rain could be built directly above the kitchen with bamboo.

In the summer, he could fold up the bamboo curtains to let in the cool breeze. In the winter, he could lay down thick hay and animal skins. Then the kitchen would become warm. It was comfortable just thinking about it.

But there was no need to rush for the time being. What he urgently needed now was to dig out a place for him to rest.

Qi Bai carried the stone hammer and ran to Lang Ze, who was also clearing the snow, and asked, “Lang Ze, are you ready to make the entrance to the cave?”

Lang Ze stopped what he was doing. His previous tribe lived on the grassland and everyone lived in tents. After becoming a slave, he followed the tribe to live in mud houses dug in the ground. This was his first time digging a cave. Therefore, he planned to dig a slightly smaller one in the shape of a collective cave.

After listening to Lang Ze’s plan, Qi Bai thought for a moment before saying, “The entrance to the collective cave is too big, and it faces directly into the cave. It is too cold in winter. I think we have to dig a door on the side.”

He stood up excitedly as he said that. Previously when he was imagining his own house, he only built his side. Now that he had Lang Ze as a neighbor, he thought the layout of the room could be slightly changed.

Qi Bai drew two rectangular openings in the middle of the stone wall. Since Lang Ze’s beast shape was very large, Qi Bai deliberately drew the door higher and wider in order to allow Lang Ze’s beast shape to enter and exit the room freely.

Qi Bai took a step back and asked, “How about this? We dig deeper along the door and then dig towards the side. This way, the wind won’t blow directly into the cave. Once we have time, we can make two wooden doors with wood and block the entrance. It should be much warmer.”

Lang Ze naturally had no opinions. Once the two of them reached an agreement, they took the prepared stone hammers and started chiseling.

However, digging a cave in the ice and snow was definitely not a job that ordinary people could accomplish. The stone awl and hammer that Qi Bai brought were smashed to pieces after a while. There was only a shallow pit on the stone wall. It was just that the thing most in abundance on the Black Mountain was solid stone, so Qi Bai could replace it with another stone after breaking one.

The process was difficult, but Qi Bai had no intention of giving up. Instead, he worked even harder. He was filled with enthusiasm as he thought this would be the home he built with his own hands.

Of course, it wasn’t just Qi Bai and Lang Ze. Almost everyone had encountered difficulties, but such difficulties made everyone feel at ease. You know, everyone had just escaped from the flood. They would no longer have to be afraid of floods with such a solid cave. It was only such a stone house that could make everyone live in peace, not to mention that living on the stone mountain meant they didn’t have to worry about their backs being attacked by wild beasts.

It wasn’t until Yang Luo’s voice rang out in the valley that everyone realized the sky had become dark.

At this time, snowflakes fluttered down, and wind blew in the valley. It blew up the snow on the ground and swirled with the snowflakes in the sky as if they were playing in mid-air.

The moment Lang Ze heard Yang Luo’s call, he raised his head and said to Qi Bai, “Let’s go. It should be time to eat.”

Qi Bai rubbed his frozen hands and arms. He turned around and saw that Lang Ze’s progress was indeed faster than his. Lang Ze had already dug a lot.

The two of them piled their tools haphazardly in front of the cave and returned to the collective cave empty-handed.

The collective cave was very lively. Everyone was sitting or standing with their bamboo bowls in hand, discussing how to chisel the stone wall. Many people had gathered in front of the stone pot in the middle. Qi Bai approached with his bamboo tube. After getting closer, he realized that the ones responsible for distributing food today were not Hu Xue and She Li, but Yang Luo and Zhu Zhu.

Qi Bai drank the hot soup in the bamboo bowl in small sips. A warm current flowed into his chest, and he was surprised to find that he had been numb from the cold.

Once everyone had a sip of the hot stew, Yang Luo put down the bamboo basket in his hand and walked slowly up the steps into the cave. The black bear fur was still hanging behind him, as if sitting there and witnessing them.

This scene was so familiar that Qi Bai was shocked to find that it had been more than a month since he came to the beastmen world. During this month, he first escaped from the flood with difficulty. Later, he stopped in this simple cave. Perhaps he would take root here in the future. He had experienced a difficult life that he never dared to imagine before, but he had a satisfaction in his heart that he never had before.

Compared to the uncertainty in everyone’s hearts the last time they gathered here, everyone now had a goal in life. Even Yang Luo’s tone had become much lighter. After all, there was a pile of food behind him this time.

Yang Luo smiled and waved his hand. Sun Qing and the others carried several large rattan baskets onto the stone steps.

Yang Luo folded his hands in front of his chest. “The Black Mountain Tribe is about to usher in its first winter. The Beast God will protect every member of the tribe and help them spend the winter safely.”

Qi Bai bowed his head like everyone else and said devoutly, “May the Beast God bless you.”

“All beastmen who live the collective cave life can get some food for the winter, even slaves. But no matter what, you must remember that all the supplies you get are not obtained out of thin air. All of this is because you are in a generous tribe.”

Yang Luo raised his hands high after he finished speaking. “Black Mountain Tribe.”

“Black Mountain Tribe!”

In this almost pilgrimage-like atmosphere, Yang Luo started to distribute the winter supplies. What Qi Bai didn’t expect was that the first person whose name was called this time was actually himself.

Everyone was shouting Qi Bai’s name. Qi Bai pursed his lips and looked around with a bit of embarrassment. Seeing this, Shu Lin pulled him up and pushed him.

Qi Bai walked through the cheering crowd and onto the stone steps. This was the first time he stood in such a high place. It was also the first time he could see everyone’s faces clearly. He saw Hou Yan’s smiling face, Shu Lin and Zhu Ya waving their arms to cheer for him, and of course, Lang Ze smiling at him tenderly…

Even Qi Bai himself didn’t notice that his two rows of neat white teeth had already been exposed. Even the back of his ears was red.

Yang Luo first took out two pieces of meat weighing around five catties. Then he asked Sun Qing to pour out half a basket of sweet potatoes.

Qi Bai had participated in the material calculations and naturally knew the amount of food each person could get. Looking at the food, he already had the answer in his mind.

Sure enough, Yang Luo’s voice rang out. He not only told Qi Bai, but more importantly, explained it to the others in the tribe. “This is your food for the next ten days. All the children who move out will get the same food. After ten days, I will distribute new food to you.”

Yang Luo took out a small bamboo tube filled with salt and a whole piece of deerskin.

“In addition, everyone can get a bamboo tube of salt. This salt should sustain you through the entire winter. If you run out of salt before then, you can only exchange supplies with me for it.” He held up the tanned deerskin again. “Of course, everyone can also get a piece of animal skin.”

Yang Luo stopped and looked at Qi Bai’s clothes carefully. “You can use this animal skin as you wish, or you can make it into clothes like Bao Bai did.”

The moment Yang Luo finished speaking, Qi Bai saw Tu Ya and Niu Xi’s eyes light up instantly. If Tu Ya was in the form of an animal, her two rabbit ears would definitely be standing up.

Qi Bai took the supplies distributed by Yang Luo with smiling eyes. Who would complain about having too many supplies? Moreover, with this piece of animal skin, he didn’t need to take off his clothes to use as a blanket.

Just as Qi Bai thought this was the end, Yang Luo actually took out two more pieces of animal skin from his side. “Bao Bai has made contributions to the tribe, no matter whether it is traps to trap wild boars or making tools such as rattan baskets and shoulder poles for the tribe. They have provided us with convenience. It is also due to Bao Bai that we can prepare food for winter in advance. These two pieces of animal skin are the reward given to Bao Bai by the tribe.”

Many people only realized at this time that their lives had long been inseparable from the tools made by Qi Bai. In addition, each of them now wanted to learn from Qi Bai how to make clothes.

Everyone felt that, apart from the priest, Bao Bai was the wisest beastman in the tribe. He might still be underage, but this didn’t prevent everyone from admiring him. Therefore, no one objected, and they even felt that Qi Bai deserved more rewards.

Qi Bai’s face turned red. He didn’t do this for the reward, and they weren’t all invented by him. He just mastered some knowledge earlier than the beastmen.

Yang Luo placed the animal skin in his hand and gently touched Qi Bai’s forehead. “Wisdom is the greatest treasure of the beastmen. Child of the Beast God, only wisdom can make us stronger.”

Qi Bai subconsciously closed his eyes. Yang Luo’s voice seemed to be transmitted to his ears through his palm, which subconsciously calmed his anxious mood.

Qi Bai had respected Yang Luo in the past, but it was more out of respect for an elder. He never really paid attention to Yang Luo’s formulaic movements and intonation.

It was only at this moment that Qi Bai finally understood the feelings of his tribe members. It wasn’t a blind worship of the priest but a type of spiritual sustenance.

It was only after Yang Luo took his hand away that Qi Bai slowly opened his eyes. A barely perceptible trace of confusion flashed across his eyes, but the strange emotion soon disappeared.

Yang Luo didn’t notice anything unusual about Qi Bai. He said loudly to everyone, “From today on, anyone who has made a contribution to the tribe will be rewarded.”

This would be a common practice in the tribe. Qi Bai naturally had no reason to refuse. He put the bamboo tube and the meat into the rattan basket filled with sweet potatoes. Then he put the three pieces of animal skin on his shoulders and walked back to the corner while holding the rattan basket.

Shu Lin, who was sitting on the side, immediately came over to take a look with curiosity. Qi Bai was given all the fresh meat this time. It seemed that during the time they had been digging the cave, Yang Luo and the others hadn’t been idle in the cave. At the very least, the prey that Lang Ze and the others brought back yesterday had all been slaughtered and divided.

After that, Yang Luo called the tribe members over one by one and distributed the supplies to them.

The most noteworthy thing was that the supplies distributed to the slaves were much more than the amount mentioned when he and Yang Luo had calculated. You know, according to the previous calculation, Lang Ze should have the same amount of food as him, an underage sub-beastman, despite being an adult horned beastman. But now, Lang Ze obviously got more food than him.

Qi Bai looked at Yang Luo’s mouth, which was a bit stiff because he was trying to keep smiling. He couldn’t help wanting to laugh secretly. No matter whether Yang Luo was frightened by Lang Ze or Yang Luo himself had let go, this type of change was what Qi Bai wanted to see.

Then he soon had no time to make fun of Yang Luo. It was because he was now busier than Yang Luo. People who had received animal skins gathered around him and asked him to teach them how to make clothes.

Lang Ze, who already had clothes, quietly left the cave when no one noticed.