LSLFBW: Chapter 93

Niu Xi fanned herself with the big leaf in her hand and said, “Bao Bai, we have been on the road for two days. Why are you still thinking about the tribe’s affairs? We can’t turn back even if you find that you have missed something.”

“I see that you worry even more than Priest Yang Luo.” Diao Lan wiped Qi Bai’s sweat. “The sheepfold has been cleaned. The treasures beside your cave are being watched by Shu Lin and Yang Ling. We’ve even arranged a hiding spot for the tribe members if the tribe encounters an attack from outside enemies. What are you still worrying about?”

Qi Bai tilted his head and thanked Diao Lan, but his eyes didn’t leave the bamboo slip in his hand. “Nothing. I just remembered that it has been five months since the few ewes in the sheepfold have given birth. I wonder if their milk is still sufficient.”

Diao Lan placed the large leaf in her hand directly onto Qi Bai’s bamboo slip. “If you are worried about this, there is absolutely no need.”

“Little She Zhen and little Tu Rong are already over a month old. They can eat other foods. It doesn’t matter if they don’t have sheep milk. Besides, Tu Rong’s father, Ma Shu is staying in the tribe. If there isn’t enough milk, we can just let him go out and look for it.”

Qi Bai scratched his forehead and smiled. “That’s true.”

Niu Xi nodded quickly. “Don’t forget it. I already have a headache from the ache. My head hurts even more when I see the words on your bamboo slip.”

Niu Xi’s words caused several people to laugh.

Ever since Qi Bai started teaching numbers in the tribe, everyone realized that not everyone could learn these miracles.

Take Niu Xi for example. After Qi Bai started teaching everyone the multiplication formulas, he felt as if the world was turning upside down. He couldn’t learn it properly even when putting in 120% of his effort.

Qi Bai said, “Don’t think you don’t have to learn now that we are out here. I just saw that everyone was too tired from traveling these days. Once everyone gets used to it, I will continue to teach you.”

It was a hot summer day, but Niu Xi felt a chill running through her body. Even the little freckles on her face were shocked.

Qi Bai smiled and tied the bamboo slips in his hand together with animal skin ropes into a roll. Before Niu Xi could react, he ran to the front of the team and found the white wolf leading the team.

The moment Qi Bai approached Lang Ze, he felt the temperature around him rising a lot.

Now was the hottest time of the year. For a horned beastman with thick fur like Lang Ze, it was indeed more difficult to endure than someone like Xi Zhou, who didn’t have thick fur in beast form.

Qi Bai stuffed the bamboo slips into the bamboo basket next to the white wolf’s neck. Lang Ze immediately retracted his big tongue after hearing the footsteps beside him.

Qi Bai casually picked a few leaves from his side and folded them into a small fan. He pushed aside the thick fur of the white wolf and fanned the skin underneath. “Hu Qiao has been exploring the road for a while. Why hasn’t he come back yet? It is too hot. We have to find a place to rest quickly.”

Lang Ze let out a low groan. At this moment, a rustling sound came from the grass in front, and a gray fox appeared.

Seeing everyone, the gray fox immediately changed into human form. “Just a bit further ahead, there is a stream with a stone shed next to it. We can go there to drink water and rest.”

“Awoo~”

After hearing Hu Qiao’s words, the white wolf howled toward the sky, and the voices of other teammates came from behind him.

Seeing that everyone had understood Lang Ze’s instructions, Qi Bai nodded to Hu Qiao and said, “Lead the way.”

Hu Qiao casually wiped the sweat off his body. “Let’s go.”

Everyone worked together to move the carts onto the stone platform. The horned beastmen transformed into their human forms one after another. They jumped directly into the not-so-deep-stream and poured water directly on themselves.

Qi Bai also quickly ran to the stream. He scooped up a handful of water and washed his face.

Since they were traveling with cards, they usually tried to choose roads with flat surfaces and wide views.

There weren’t many tall trees on such roads, and no one could withstand the direct rays of the sun.

This was why Lang Ze made the decision to find a water source at noon every day. Everyone would stop to replenish water, and continue their journey until the temperature dropped a bit in the afternoon.

Diao Lan and Hu Xue picked up some stones by the stream, built a simple stove on the shore away from the crowd, took a clay pot off the cart, and poured some stream water into it.

Qi Bai had already told everyone in advance that they should try not to drink raw water directly from the mountains during the journey. They should boil the water and put it into the bamboo tubes they carried with them.

Everyone had to make a fire and cook anyway. This meant none of them raised any objections.

Qi Bai found another bamboo slip next to Lang Ze’s saddle.

Qi Bai made these bamboo slips by stringing together dried thin bamboo strips with animal hide ropes. Since they hadn’t been treated with an anti-corrosion solution, they wouldn’t last for a thousand years like the ancient Chinese bamboo slips. However, they were more than sufficient to replace stone tablets and serve as a temporary record book when going out.

Qi Bai first drew a rough direction and pattern on the ground. Once Lang Ze came over, dripping wet, he pointed at the pattern on the ground and said, “This is the route I remembered this morning. Can you see if there is anything that needs to be modified or supplemented?”

The two of them had already made a simple map to the Xishui Tribe once before, but all the information that Qi Bai had obtained was from Lang Ze’s oral narration.

This time, the team set out again. Qi Bai could see it not only with his eyes, but he also found that the route they were taking wasn’t exactly the same as the one Lang Ze’s team had taken before.

Therefore, every time they stopped, they had to record the distance they had traveled.

Lang Ze looked at it carefully, nodded, and said, “No problem.”

Hearing Lang Ze’s affirmative answer, Qi Bai picked up the small bone knife and started to slowly carve on the bamboo. “When you went to the Xishui Tribe last time, did you see the Xishui they mentioned?”

Lang Ze shook his head. “According to them, Xishui is a very wide river. As long as we get close to the vicinity, we can see the changes in the plants. There is no need to worry about this.”

At this time, Niu Xi came over with two pieces of barbecue. “This is the barbecue for you two.”

Qi Bai looked up and said, “Thank you, Niu Xi.”

Niu Xi blinked at him. “Don’t tell me that. I’m leaving now. The two of you should get busy.”

Niu Xi returned to the fire and saw Hu Qiao, who was in high spirits. “It is great to have you sub-beastmen following me. This barbecue tastes much better than what I usually make.”

Quan Nan choked on the smoke and coughed as he handed a piece of meat to Xiong Feng behind him. “Stop making trouble here. Are you going to hunt at noon or night today?”

Hu Qiao stepped aside and said while biting the meat, “We just saw fish in the stream. Lang Ze asked us to catch some fish at noon and go hunting in the evening.”

Quan Nan glared at him. “Then finish your meal quickly and go catch some fish!”

Hu Qiao laughed twice. “I know. I must catch a few more fish.”

Soon, there was a commotion in the distance. Hu Meng’s voice came from afar. “Lang Ze, there is a pool at the end of this stream. There are more big fat fish there. We…”

“Ouch!”

Hu Meng, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped. This caused the closely following Niu Yong to stumble. “Why did you stop?”

Niu Yong’s voice gradually became quieter. It was because after passing Hu Meng blocking his way, he saw Lang Ze standing in front of them with an expressionless face.

Niu Yong lowered his head. “Well…”

Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, Qi Bai quickly picked up the bamboo slips and headed over to Diao Lan and the others.

Hu Xue chuckled. “How many times has Lang Ze repeated it before going out? We should try to be quiet outside, so as to not disturb the prey and other beastmen in the mountains and forests. How could the two of them dare to act like that in front of Lang Ze?”

Qi Bai held back a smile. “Let’s go to the pond and take a look.”

Diao Lan glanced at Lang Ze. “Go ahead. Hu Xue and I will stay here to guard the fire. I will always watch the fire. Clean the fish you catch in the pond and bring them back so we can roast them and take them with us.”

After hearing Diao Lan’s words, Qi Bai, Niu Xi, and Quan Nan glanced at each other before hurriedly running upstream.

This small pond actually wasn’t far from their camp, but was blocked by trees and rocks. It wasn’t easy to find if one wasn’t looking carefully.

Several horned beastmen had already jumped into the water. Some of them attacked directly, while others held long knives around arm length and stabbed them at the fish swimming in the pool.

Seeing them coming, they threw the fish they had caught directly onto the shore.

Qi Bai and the other two sat by the pond, soaking their feet in the cool water while taking out the bone knives they carried with them and cleaned the fish neatly.

It wasn’t until several people returned to the camp carrying more than twenty fat fish that Qi Bai saw Hu Meng and Niu Yong, their heads hanging down as they sorted out the supplies on the cart.

The cicadas were noisy, insects were chirping, and frogs were croaking.

The horned beastmen, who seemed to have endless energy just now and were catching fish in the water, now lay under the stone shed. Bursts of snoring could be heard from time to time.

Diao Lan and Hu Xue were grilling fish by the fire a bit further away from the stone shed. Qi Bai, Niu Xi, and Quan Nan came back from outside, each holding huge leaves and branches in their hands.

Hu Xue asked, “What are you doing with these leaves? Are you using them to hold fish?”

Qi Bai shook his head. “No, I want to make some umbrellas.”

Quan Nan handed over the wood in his hand and looked at the actions of Qi Bai’s group curiously.

QI Bai used a bone knife to split all the forks on the branches, making them into support poles for the big umbrella.

He determined a position from the top downwards, tied a straw rope on it, and fixed six thinner wooden branches around the rope to support the ribs of the umbrella. “Summer has just begun. If the heat continues like this for these thick-furred horned beastmen, they will get heat stroke.”

“I’ll make some big umbrellas for them and put them directly on the carts. This way, the beastmen pulling the carts can be directly under the shade. Other beastmen can also enjoy the coolness for a while as long as they follow the carts.”

As he spoke, he took six longer branches and wrapped one end around the top of the support pole, tying the other end together with the previous thin branches. These branches supported each other very firmly.

Finally, he spread the leaves on the umbrella surface. A simple parasol made of green leaves was completed.

But time was tight now. Qi Bai didn’t have time to consider how to make it open and close like the modern ones. However, the principle was similar. He would definitely be able to make it after a few days of further research.

Several people lifted the parasol together and fixed it to the front end of the cart. The effect was immediate, because everyone could immediately see the shadow cast on the ground.

Quan Nan clapped his hands. “This is beautiful and easy to use.”

Qi Bai smiled. “We can make a few more small ones on the road later, and hold them directly in our hands. This way, it will be more convenient.”

Quan Nan blushed with a small face and kept nodding.

Diao Lan looked up at the sky. “The sun has already set. Let’s wake them up.”

If they were to ask who was the happiest about waking up, it must be Xiong Feng.

He circled around the cart, which had become completely different, and excitedly transformed into a beast, tying the thick vines directly to his body.

The others asked enviously beside Xiong Feng, “Is it cool?”

“Wow! Cool!”

It was a pity that Xiong Feng was in beast form and couldn’t explain to them clearly that this umbrella wasn’t only cool but also lightweight. It was very convenient.

Qi Bai smiled and said to everyone, “We will add it to the other two carts at noon tomorrow.”

The horned beastmen returned to their saddles, transformed into beast form and put the saddles on.”

They brought three carts with them this time, and the saddles on each beastmen weren’t left empty. After all, if they could bring more things then they could exchange them for more supplies.

Of course, the space on the cart wasn’t completely occupied. The empty space could be used to place the saddles of the beastmen pulling the cart and the beastmen going out to scout.

The person in charge of scouting today was Hu Qiao. Long before everyone else, Hu Qiao had already taken the lead in front to explore the way.

Seeing that everyone had returned to their seats, Lang Ze took the lead and walked forward in the direction agreed by Hu Qiao.