It was already very late at night. Qi Bai sent away the tribe members, who were learning how to make clothes, and started to pack his luggage for moving.
Qi Bai felt that he didn’t use many things on a daily basis, but after he really started, he found that there were quite a lot of things that could be packed away.
There were some tools he made in his spare time, such as bamboo chopsticks, bamboo bowls, stone knives and axes, and various stones that could be used to hold things. In addition, there were some seasonings he exchanged for sweet potatoes and sheep. Except for the peppercorns, which could be placed in the animal skin bags, the other onions, ginger, garlic, etc., were scattered. All these things had to be collected one by one and stacked in the rattan basket.
Due to the addition of the newly acquired animal skin, the rattan basket, which was almost half full of sweet potatoes, was almost full.
In addition, when tanning animal skins a few days ago, he saved up some wind-rolling grass, indigo grass, and catalpa bark. These materials had lost their moisture, and it wasn’t known if this would affect their efficacy. Qi Bai divided them into two, intending to share half with Lang Ze.
By the time Lang Ze returned to the cave with a cold air around him, he saw that Qi Bai had not only neatly packed up his things, leaving a small hay nest for sleeping, but even the things he left with Qi Bai were neatly placed in a stone trough.
This stone trough was found by Lang Ze when they were grilling fish. Qi Bai would occasionally use it to cook some wild vegetables and fish soup. He had originally wanted to polish it carefully, but he was too busy during this period and never had the time. Unexpectedly, when it was time to split up, it was still in its original state.
After working for a whole day and being busy since returning to the cave until now, Qi Bai felt his eyelids fighting each other. He stretched out his hand, gestured to Lang Ze with the things he had packed, and changed into a beast. He held the sheepskin that fell from his body in his mouth and jumped onto the hay nest.
He was very tired today and had no energy to take a shower. Therefore, he decided to sleep under the dirty sheepskin instead of wasting his new hide.
The next morning, Qi Bai woke up to the aroma of stewed meat filling the cave. Today’s breakfast was very rich, and everyone was given two large bamboo bowls of stew.
Since this would be the last meal that the tribe prepared for the beastmen living independently, they would need to cook for themselves starting from tonight.
After breakfast, Qi Bai carried a wicker basket and held his own hay nest. Then along with Lang Ze, he went up their stone platform along the dirt slope beside the stone mountain.
The slope was quite steep. As he climbed up, Qi Bai looked at the rocks next to him. He decided that after he built his own house, he would carve a beautiful stone staircase along the stone wall of the Black Mountain.
After Qi Bai arrived at the stone platform, he looked at his cave and was a bit dumbfounded.
He blinked while wondering if he was stunned by the cold wind. Otherwise, why did he feel that his cave was so deep? There was only a shallow pit when he left yesterday.
Qi Bai suddenly turned around, looked at Lang Ze, and asked, “What did you do when you went out last night?”
Lang Ze looked at the ground and said, “I came to the stone platform to dig a cave.”
Qi Bai pointed at the completely unchanged progress on Lang Ze’s side and asked, “Where did you dig?”
Lang Ze tilted his head to the side. He licked the tip of his teeth and said unnaturally, “It was too dark. I didn’t see clearly, and dug in the wrong place.
Then he quickly walked to the front while carrying the rattan basket on his back. “I will go and continue digging the cave.”
Qi Bai was still a bit dazed as he entered his own cave and looked at the space of around three or four square meters on the ground, which was about the height of one person.
Something was wrong. Not only was Lang Ze wrong, but he himself was wrong.
Why did he feel that Lang Ze came to help him on purpose? He must’ve been influenced by Yang Luo and Shu Lin’s words.
Lang Ze had never done anything out of the ordinary to him. According to the straightforward personality of the beastmen, Lang Ze would’ve told him directly if Lang Ze had feelings for him, not in such a roundabout way, right?
Qi Bai forced himself to put these messy thoughts behind him. Even though he had accepted that he had traveled to a completely different world, he had been a boy for over 20 years. He really couldn’t accept that he was a sub-beastman who could reproduce. He couldn’t help shuddering just thinking about his big belly. Therefore, he just wanted to live a good life now. No matter what others said, he had no intention of finding a horned beastman partner for the time being.
Qi Bai sighed with relief. Fortunately, his body was still underage. He could worry about the future later.
Qi Bai put down the rattan basket on his back and started to look around his new cave.
The beast form of a sub-beastman wasn’t suitable for hunting, but it had one advantage at this time. It was that he didn’t need a very large cave. The size of this cave was just enough for him to move around.
In fact, Qi Bai felt that a smaller space would be enough. It just had to fit his small hay nest, and it would be enough for him to curl up in it and sleep peacefully.
It was due to this understanding that Qi Bai dared to move out of the collective cave with his luggage before the cave was dug. Now the size of the cave had exceeded this expectation.
Without rushing to continue digging the cave, Qi Bai prepared to build a fire in the cave. However, at this moment, he suddenly discovered another serious problem. It was that he hadn’t prepared any firewood for the winter.
Before the snow fell, there was countless firewood all over the mountains. The little beastmen in the tribe would usually pick up a lot of firewood in the mountains, so there was no shortage of firewood in the tribe. Qi Bai had never worried about the problem of making a fire. Once he suddenly needed to make a fire himself, he realized his lack of experience and was completely unprepared.
It was probably difficult to find dry firewood in the mountains after two heavy snowfalls, but wet firewood could still be burned. Qi Bai suddenly thought of another use for wet firewood.
Qi Bai placed the food in the wicker basket in the corner of the cave, covered it with animal skins and hay, and spread some snow on top.
Even though many animals didn’t dare to set foot easily around the Black Mountain due to the smell of beastmen, this was his food for the next ten days after all. He couldn’t afford to be negligent.
After doing all of this, Qi Bai carried the rattan basket on his back. But before going back, he still hesitated and approached the stone gate.
The two people’s cave entrances were three or four meters apart, but Lang Ze, who had been paying attention, discovered Qi Bai the moment he stuck his head out. Lang Ze turned his head and saw that Qi Bai was still in the cave. Only half his face and his hands clinging to the wall were showing.
Qi Bai was born with a fairer complexion than other beastmen. It was softer and brighter than moonlight against the black stone wall. The small tuft of white hair on his head swayed gently in the wind. This made Lang Ze want to reach out and touch the hair to see if it was really that soft.
Lang Ze stared into black eyes as Qi Bai asked in a low voice, “I’m going to the bamboo forest to pick up some firewood and chop bamboo. Do you need anything? I’ll bring it back for you.”
In fact, if they just needed firewood, then there would be a lot of it on the mountain next to their stone wall. The reason why Qi Bai had to go so far was mainly because he wanted to cut some bamboo before the heavy snow blocked the road.
Lang Ze heard himself say ‘hmm.’
Qi Bai walked out of the cave, came closer, and asked, “What did you say? I didn’t hear clearly.”
Lang Ze put down the stone awl in his hand and said, “I need firewood too. I’ll go with you.”
Qi Bai quickly stopped him. “No, your cave isn’t finished yet. You will have nowhere to sleep at night. You want firewood, right? I can bring it back for you.”
However, Lang Ze was very quick in his movements. He had already hidden the things in the rattan basket beside the cave while he was talking. He put the stone axe used to cut the bamboo into the rattan basket. “Before going to bed, I can dig a cave big enough. Don’t worry.”
He looked at the still stunned Qi Bai and said, “Let’s go.”
On the snow-covered mountain road, two figures carrying rattan baskets were moving forward slowly.
The forest was very quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of the two people’s feet on the snow. Even the usual chirping of insects and birds had disappeared without a trace.
The heavy snow made the mountain road more difficult to walk on and it was easy for people to get lost. Fortunately, both of them were very familiar with the road to the bamboo forest. Since they had animal skins tied to their feet, they didn’t need to worry about the ground under the snow hurting their feet. Therefore, it might have taken a bit more time, but the two of them still reached the bamboo forest smoothly.
Lang Ze asked Qi Bai to pick up some dead branches nearby while he picked up a stone axe and started chopping bamboo. Qi Bai didn’t refuse. After all, he wasn’t as strong as Lang Ze. He might as well take the opportunity to pick up Lang Ze’s firewood.
It was just that when he reached the gentle slope beside the bamboo forest, Qi Bai suddenly thought of something while looking at the snow.
He put down the rattan basket and dug at the snow according to the position he remembered. Sure enough, he saw the onion leaves buried in the snow. Qi Bai hadn’t expected that the onions could still remain green and show no signs of withering in such cold weather.
Qi Bai carefully dug up the surrounding soil with his hands, trying not to damage the roots of the green onions. He dug out several green onions intact and placed them in the rattan basket with their roots and soil.
Qi Bai planned to take these green onions back to the cave and grow them, but he had no experience in planting them. He didn’t dig too many this time, mainly because he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to keep them alive.
Qi Bai had long wanted to grow these commonly used vegetables himself, or he would always worry about these plants being eaten or destroyed by animals in the mountains. It was only by planting and taking care of them himself that he could feel truly at ease.
However, the space in the collective cave was really limited, and he never found an opportunity. Now that he had moved out, he didn’t have to worry about these problems. On the way back, he would also dig some garlic. He would take this opportunity to plant them together and give it a try. If they could survive, maybe he could eat fresh onions and garlic sprouts this winter.
It was snowing, but the areas in the forest with dense vegetation weren’t completely covered by snow. Qi Bai walked in the forest, picking up dead branches on the ground and occasionally chopping off some thin branches with a stone axe. He moved back and forth several times, unknowingly building a small pile next to the bamboo forest.
Qi Bai felt that these should be enough to last for a few days. Most importantly, if there were more, two people wouldn’t be able to carry them all. Therefore, he found some straw vines and tied up the firewood. Fortunately, both bamboo and firewood didn’t require careful transportation. After tying them tightly with knots, they could just drag them back when the time came.
After Lang Ze cut down two bamboo, he saw the bundles of firewood piled up next to Qi Bai. He suddenly asked, “Are there any more vines?”
Qi Bai went to the side and pulled back some vines. Then he saw Lang Ze tie up all the firewood and bamboo tightly together, making a long lock with the vines.
Afterwards, he took off his animal skin clothes and directly transformed into the form of an animal.
The giant wolf stretched his limbs on the snow. Then he lowered his head and put the long lock around his neck.
Qi Bai looked at Lang Ze, who was grinning and ready to go at any time and covered his face silently.
The giant wolf looked at the man, who kept shaking his shoulders in confusion. He lowered his head and gently nudged him.
Qi Bai was laughing so hard that he didn’t have the energy to stand any longer. He was pushed like this and lost his balance. His legs bent, and he fell to his knees on the snow. He simply didn’t stay up and lay on the snow, laughing non-stop.
Lang Ze would probably never know why Qi Bai was laughing. After all, there were no sleds in this world, let alone sled dogs. Therefore, he didn’t know that he really looked like a husky working on the snow.
It was just that Lang Ze was willing to watch QI Bai laughing. If possible, he hoped that Qi Bai would always be so happy.
Qi Bai laughed for a long time before getting up from the ground. He patted the snow off himself and reached out to touch the giant wolf’s face. “Lang Ze, thank you for reminding me of some things in my hometown. I probably won’t be able to go back, but I am very satisfied to be able to live with everyone like this.”
The thick fur obscured the wolf’s expression, but the big tail swinging behind him revealed his joy.
Lang Ze dragged the bamboo and firewood easily by himself, while Qi Bai picked up the animal skin that Lang Ze had taken off that was on the ground. He folded it and put it in the rattan basket. Then he carried his own rattan basket, held Lang Ze’s in his hand, and ran a few brisk steps to catch up with the giant wolf.
The man and beast walked slowly on the way back. If they got a bit closer, they could hear the boy’s clear voice and the giant wolf’s low response.
After returning to the cave, Lang Ze dragged the bamboo and firewood directly to the platform in front of the cave before changing into a human form.
Qi Bai quickly handed Lang Ze’s clothes to him. After putting on the clothes, Lang Ze continued to dig his cave. Meanwhile, Qi Bai piled the firewood in the open space and went to the collective cave to get some fire. He made some effort to light the wet firewood and placed the stone trough brought from the cave on the fire.
One big advantage of the snow was that they didn’t have to go to the waterfall to fetch water every day. Qi Bai took some clean snow on the spot and put it in the stone trough. Then all he had to do was watch the fire and wait for the water to boil.
Taking advantage of this time, Qi Bai started to chop bamboo. He was going to make bamboo tubes. Part of them would be used as seasoning jars, and the other part would be used as containers for planting onions and garlic.
The largest diameter of these bamboo tubes was no more than 15 centimeters. They were more than enough to grow the onions and garlic he brought back.
Qi Bai cut off the bamboo joints and split them in half from the middle. It didn’t require much polishing before it could be used.
Now that he had a container, the next step was to choose some suitable planting soil.
Qi Bai’s stone wall was at the very edge of the stone mountain. On the left was the land. The soil in the original mountain forest had been accumulated for countless years. Everywhere he looked was fertile black soil. This was obviously suitable for farming.
Therefore, Qi Bai was very much looking forward to the transformation of the earth slope next to the stone house. Qi Bai planned to build a small vegetable garden here. Then he could grow whatever he liked to eat. After all, as a member of the flower-growing family, farming was a talent flowing in his blood.
The only small drawback was that this piece of land was still a small slope extending along the mountain. He needed to flatten it, which was a considerable project.
However, it wasn’t too late to reclaim the land in the spring. Now he used bamboo pots to plant onions and garlic. He only needed to dig a little soil.
The land where snow had just fallen hadn’t been completely frozen yet, so Qi Bai didn’t put much effort into it. He took out a small pile of soft black soil and spread it in the bamboo tube. Then he dug small holes in the soil, put the onion and garlic seedlings in, and loosely covered them with soil.
After the snow in the stone trough melted, the soil was watered thoroughly with the snow water. Then two bamboo tubes were placed between the cave and the fire, trying to let them get as much sunlight as possible. He hoped that the two pots of seedlings could thrive.
He finished dealing with the onion and garlic seedlings that worried him. Then Qi Bai squatted down and picked and chose among the stones that were chiseled out when digging the cave. Finally, he selected a relatively flat piece, tied it to a thick branch with a straw rope, and made a stone shovel. He filled the stone trough with snow again and added some firewood.
Then he stretched his muscles, walked to the slope with the crude shovel, and prepared to start digging and building the kiln.
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