Chapter 247

"Priest, my reward."

Wolf Ji clearly wasn't conscious of having just brought honor to the Black Mountain tribe; he only cared about his reward.

Yang Luo almost couldn't catch his breath, glaring fiercely at Wolf Ji: Could I possibly not give it to you? Why are you in such a hurry now?

Just then, another troublemaker emerged from the crowd.

"Priest Grandpa, I'll go get Wolf Ji's reward! I'll be right back!"

Qi Bai raised his hand, shouted, and then pulled Wolf Ze away to run off before Yang Luo even had a chance to stop them.

No, are these kids all lacking common sense? Such precious Snow Chrysanthemum Grass—just give it to him secretly! He didn't want to exchange these medicinal herbs with the other three tribes anyway.

Yang Luo was such a contradictory old man. Usually, he wished desperately for the whole world to know their wealth, but when they truly had good stuff, he wished desperately to hide it where no one could find it.

In contrast, Shaman Yao appeared much steadier.

Although Snow Chrysanthemum Grass was the most important herb for making the Giant Wind Tribe's medicinal powder, without the other formula/ingredients, even knowing about Snow Chrysanthemum Grass was pretty useless.

Wolf Ze in his beast form was extremely fast. Qi Bai and Wolf Ze soon returned to the competition grounds. Qi Bai slid down Wolf Ze's back and carefully took something out of his small satchel.

Having a pretty good idea what Wolf Ji wanted to do, Qi Bai had specially selected the five flowers with the fullest and most intact shapes.

The moment the sparkling and translucent Snow Chrysanthemum Grass appeared, it sure enough gathered everyone's attention.

Zhi's feet unconsciously took a step forward.

Snow Chrysanthemum Grass was the Giant Wind Tribe's most precious herb. Unfortunately, they hadn't managed to gather any for two years.

Last winter, the Giant Wind Tribe hadn't found any Snow Chrysanthemum Grass. After seeing it in the Black Mountain tribe, Zhi also understood that the Black Mountain tribe must have harvested it before they did.

But this was normal. Snow Chrysanthemum Grass was very precious. Even if it wasn't the Black Mountain tribe, other fierce beasts would be guarding it. It was essentially wild grass without an owner; whether one could obtain it depended entirely on one's own ability.

Every year, harvesting Snow Chrysanthemum Grass was extremely dangerous. Precisely because of this, the Giant Wind Tribe had given up approaching from the front of the mountain, instead climbing to the summit from the cliff side.

However, this year when the Giant Wind Tribe went to the snow mountain again, they came back empty-handed once more.

There wasn't even much accumulated snow on the high mountains, let alone Snow Chrysanthemum Grass growing in the snow.

So when the Snow Chrysanthemum Grass appeared now, Zhi's gaze was firmly captured by it.

He was so focused that by the time he reacted, the Snow Chrysanthemum Grass was right in front of him.

Wolf Ji placed the Snow Chrysanthemum Grass in Zhi's hand, his gaze intense: "This is the most beautiful flower of winter. Only it is worthy of you."

After speaking, not wanting to put Zhi in an awkward position, Wolf Ji didn't wait for a response before turning and leaving.

Everyone thought the Black Mountain beastmen were outstanding, but Wolf Ji felt only Zhi was the best.

The first time he saw Zhi treating his injuries in the Stone Forest, Wolf Ji had been deeply attracted to him.

If initially, Wolf Ji was merely curious about this powerful beastman he had never seen before, the more they interacted, the more Wolf Ji gradually understood Zhi's hardships and his inner resilience.

Although the Giant Wind tribespeople had formidable combat strength, their hearts were simple and unadorned, and most lacked a sense of crisis. They even found it difficult to elect a leader who could carry everyone. As the old Shaman Yao grew older, the survival of the Giant Wind Tribe would fall entirely on Zhi's shoulders.

If possible, in this turbulent beastmen continent, Wolf Ji wanted to become Zhi's support.

Qi Bai pinched Wolf Ze's arm, silently screaming: Aow aow, so sweet!

Yang Luo and Shaman Yao almost stood up simultaneously.

Yang Luo: One of the Black Mountain tribe's strongest fighters is about to be whisked away by the Giant Wind Tribe!

Shaman Yao: Wolf Ji is just your hunting patrol deputy captain, but Zhi is going to be the Giant Wind Tribe's future Shaman!

The surrounding beastmen were also shocked.

The beastmen looked at the real flower in Zhi's hand; the feather and stone tokens in their own hands instantly seemed lacking.

The male beastmen wept silently: How are we supposed to follow that?

Although there was this small interlude, the male beastmen's competitions continued.

That day, the most nervous person was undoubtedly Yang Luo. Whenever a Black Mountain male beastman entered the field, he stared fixedly at them, fearing someone else would propose using Snow Chrysanthemum Grass as a prize.

Fortunately, everyone knew their own limits. Wolf Ji had defeated Ai, the strongest among the Giant Wind Tribe's young male beastmen, to win the Snow Chrysanthemum Grass. They didn't have that kind of ability.

Moreover, everyone also understood that Wolf Ji's fighting style was very difficult. After all, the next few male beastmen who tried to fight like that were beaten badly by the Giant Wind tribespeople. So, no one was so tactless as to provoke Yang Luo.

It wasn't until dusk that Yang Luo finally breathed a sigh of relief: "The five tribes have jointly prepared ingredients for everyone. The Black Mountain tribe's Hu Xue will also distribute barbecue seasoning. Many of you haven't tasted Black Mountain's barbecue yet, right? Go ahead."

"Fish is here!"

Following the loud shouts of Huan Ping, Xiong Feng, and a few others, dozens of young male beastmen stood on the ice surface where several large holes had been chiseled open, working together to haul over ten meters long ground cages out of the ice.

They were thrown onto oxcarts and dragged back to the Long Street.

In the square in front of Long Street now, hundreds of stone pots had been set up. The steam from boiling water made the bonfires on the tall pillars appear hazy and indistinct.

Beastmen gathered in small groups around the fires, processing the food they had been allotted.

In theory, tribal leaders like Xiong Han and Lu Yan should have gone to the pavilion to eat with the other leaders and priests.

But today was, after all, Courtship Day. How could they keep these young beastmen trapped indoors? The old priests all waved their hands: Go play.

Shaman Yao looked at Zhi, still somewhat hesitant, but in the end just waved his hand, letting him go.

Precisely because these few joined, Qi Bai and Wolf Ze's group just happened to make up a ten-person table.

At that moment, besides Xiong Han, Yun Jing, and Wolf Ji who had gone to queue for meat and barbecue seasoning, the other eight were helping at the fish unloading area.

Lu Ming, Xiong Nuan, Yun An, Zhi, and a few other beastmen, holding the forks Qi Bai had given them, stood beside Qi Bai, watching the freshly harvested strange fish as if facing a great enemy.

With a whole year's worth of stored food, plus the supplies seized from the Sanghuo tribe, the Black Mountain tribe's food reserves this year could be considered quite ample.

But even so, the tribe hadn't forgotten to use ground cages to catch fish in the Man-Eating River.

One by one, the strange fish with densely packed fine teeth were still alive and kicking even out of the water.

Xiong Nuan swallowed nervously: "Can these fish really be eaten?"

As complete inlanders, Xiong Nuan, Lu Ming, Yun An, and the others were seeing the bottom-dwelling river fish for the first time. They always felt these fish might be poisonous.

Qi Bai skillfully speared a flipping piranha with a wooden fork and placed it on the chopping board in front of Wolf Ze: "Of course they can be eaten!"

"Delicious," Zhi also swallowed saliva, but he wasn't scared—he was tempted. He pinned a trying-to-escape strange fish with his fork and added, "Even better with Leopard Bai's dipping sauce."

He had eaten the Black Mountain tribe's sliced fish once. After returning to the Stone Forest, he had tried to make it several times, but it never tasted quite like the memory from Qi Bai's place.

Xiong Nuan opened her round eyes wide. *If it's delicious... then its terrifying appearance could be forgiven.*

Qi Bai nodded emphatically: "No problem. In a little while, I'll mix my secret dipping sauce for you."

Hearing Qi Bai's assurance, Lu Ming suddenly became spirited. After trying several times to spear fish unsuccessfully with the wooden fork, Lu Ming threw the fork aside, rolled up his sleeves, directly hugged a large fish, and hurriedly delivered it to Lu Yan.

Most of those sitting behind Long Street responsible for cleaning the fish were beast-men from the Black Mountain tribe. Lu Yan had only managed to sneak in thanks to Lu Ming.

To avoid damaging the ingredients, Wolf Ze very perfunctorily demonstrated the fish-cleaning process to Lu Yan.

Fortunately, Lu Yan's learning ability was strong, and he quickly understood the technique.

He took the half-meter-long strange fish that Lu Ming had painstakingly carried over, then rotated the bone knife in his hand. Soon, thin slices of fish filled a large plate.

His focused expression, exquisite method even though it was just preparing ingredients, Lu Yan made it look like a surgical scene. Combined with his refined, handsome face...

Qi Bai suddenly found the scene somewhat eerie. But if he thought about Lu Yan's work as a "doctor," it seemed acceptable... my ghost! This actually made Lu Yan seem more like he had the potential to be a perverted villain!

Qi Bai's brain had already fast-forwarded to destroying the evidence and covering up the crime when suddenly his forehead felt cool: "Yah!"

Wolf Ze retracted his slender fingers, his expression looking somewhat wronged, clearly very unhappy about his partner staring at Lu Yan.

Looking at the equally puzzled Lu Yan and Lu Ming, Qi Bai shook his head, dispelling the strange thoughts, and cheekily moved closer to his partner, saying with a laugh: "The fish caught today are almost all processed. I'm going to mix the sauce. Do you want scallions and garlic?"

As long as his partner acted affectionate/clingy, Wolf Ze immediately lost all his temper: "Mm."

"Alrighty." Qi Bai stood up, scampered to the already gurgling pot, and took out the bottles and jars he had prepared long ago.

Minced scallions, ginger, and garlic, mixed with oyster sauce and soy sauce, a large spoonful of sesame paste, and finally a spoonful of mushroom-beef sauce.

With a "sizzle," the sound of hot oil and its fragrance spread together.

Lu Ming squatted beside Qi Bai, dipped the tip of his chopstick into a bit of the seasoning, and then his whole body seemed to get an electric shock, even his hair standing on end.

Delicious, too delicious. Lu Ming completely didn't care whether those strange fish were edible or not. Just give him this seasoning, and he'd be willing to eat tree bark with it.

"Eh?" Lu Ming asked while slurping saliva, "What's this yellow stuff?"

Qi Bai opened the lid so Xiong Nuan and Yun An, who had also gathered around, could see more clearly: "This is sesame paste. I roasted sesame seeds and ground them out with a small stone mill."

"Sesame?" Yun An scratched his head, "What's that?"

Qi Bai put down the small jar of sesame paste, picked up a small bag from the side, and let everyone see the sesame seeds inside.

"So this is sesame? It's so small."

"Where would we go to gather sesame like this?"

They had seen many small seeds like this, but they all seemed somewhat different from this sesame. Let alone the newcomers Xiong Nuan and Lu Ming, even Zhi, who lived nearby, had never noticed them before.

Hearing about the appearance and gathering method of sesame, Yun An exclaimed admiringly: "Leopard Bai, you managed to gather so much; that's truly amazing."

Qi Bai blinked at everyone: "Who said I gathered it from the mountains? I cultivated all this sesame myself."

Qi Bai had found sesame around the tribe very early on, but these tiny seeds, troublesome to collect, held even less status in the tribespeople's minds than pine nuts.

So besides Qi Bai harvesting some in his small vegetable plot, other tribespeople hadn't yet tasted such a luxurious thing as sesame paste.

Zhi's eyes lit up. Suddenly remembering they would also become citizens of Heiyao City, he urgently asked: "Next spring, can we also plant things?"

Lu Ming and the other two were still somewhat confused. Among these people, only the Giant Wind Tribe's Zhi had visited the Black Mountain tribe's cultivated land; the others had only seen a large empty plot of land.

But regardless of what cultivation was, if it could yield such delicious food, they wanted to participate too. Don't leave them out!

Facing the three people's expectant gazes, Qi Bai raised the corners of his mouth: "Of course! Everyone is a citizen of Heiyao City. Of course, I will teach this method of storing lots and lots of food to every single person."

"Wow, great!"

Lu Ming couldn't help but excitedly clap his hands. After the beautiful houses, Lu Ming had even more expectations for Heiyao City. I really hope the city can be built quickly.

Qi Bai successfully "spread the word" and casually mixed a few bowls of seasoning for the leaders and priests of the five tribes.

正好 (It just so happened that) the land in the middle of the city would be cleared in a few days. Before spring arrived, let everyone work together to open up more cultivated land!

Soon, Wolf Ze and Lu Yan returned carrying their portions of sliced fish. Additionally, Wolf Ze held a large fish head whose teeth had been chopped off.

Almost simultaneously, Xiong Han, Yun Jing, and Wolf Ji, who had gone to get beast meat and barbecue seasoning, also returned.

Regardless of how other tables ate, Qi Bai had prepared bamboo chopsticks for newcomers like Lu Ming and his little friends.

The nearly transparent fish slices were picked up with chopsticks and entered the milky white fish soup. With just one flip, they curled into an arc. The cooked fish was dipped into the seasoning bowl and then quickly placed into the mouth.

The smoothness of the fish and the rich flavor of the dipping sauce combined perfectly, making one want to eat a second piece after the first.

Qi Bai's eyes teared up from the heat, his heart extremely satisfied: As expected of me!

"Ah, if I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have eaten with you guys! Slow down, save some for us!"

Xiong Han, who simply couldn't use chopsticks, was so anxious she broke into a sweat. The fish meat she with great difficulty picked up fell back into the pot as soon as she put it in.

Are these two thin sticks really tools? Could they be something Qi Bai and Wolf Ze are using to torture me?

Especially Wolf Ze's eating speed could be described as like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds. If the stone pot wasn't so hot, Xiong Han really wished she could just use her hands to fish it out of the pot. She felt that in a little while, she wouldn't even get any soup.

Qi Bai, without looking up, handed Xiong Han a bamboo strainer, saying unclearly: "Use this to scoop it out."

Wolf Ji, who had been eating with his head down, paused his movements for a moment.

Zhi was struggling with a piece of fish when a piece of white fish meat suddenly appeared in his bowl. Zhi looked up and saw Wolf Ji retracting his hand.

Seeing Zhi only pause for a moment before eating the food he had placed in his bowl, Wolf Ji suddenly straightened his posture: "Eat heartily. I'll cook the fish slices for you. I'm very good with chopsticks."

Xiong Han was squatting by the pot with the bamboo strainer looking for her fish slices when a emotionless meat-cooking machine suddenly appeared beside her. She felt the fish slices on the plate rapidly disappearing.

Darn it, you hateful Black Mountain tribespeople! Just wait until I learn how to use chopsticks; I'll definitely eat all your portions by myself!

And why are these fish slices cut so thin?!

On the square, all the beastmen enjoyed this sumptuous dinner. No one cared if their current tribal leader was sitting beside them, or if the future High Priest and City Lord were nearby.

The male beastmen and beastmen who had expressed their feelings during the day leaned against each other, making the surrounding atmosphere become romantic and ambiguous.

The single beastmen who hadn't found partners yet weren't lonely either. Whether they knew each other before or not, the excitement from the day's competitions hadn't faded, and at this moment, they had endless topics to discuss.

By the fire next to Qi Bai, someone started discussing Wolf Ji and Ai's match.

Hu Qiao suddenly stood up, his face flushed red, and shouted: "Quan Nan, do you want Snow Chrysanthemum Grass? Tomorrow I'll challenge Ai! I'll go win Snow Chrysanthemum Grass for you..."

Before Hu Qiao could finish his bold declaration, he was suddenly pulled down by Quan Nan. Just as Hu Qiao was extremely dejected, a small brown animal skin flower was tucked behind his ear.

Hu Qiao turned his head dazedly, looking at Quan Nan, who also seemed to be burning up. His eyes gradually revealed a trace of ecstasy: "You... I..."

Hu Qiao leapt up and bounced up again. He spread his arms and spun in circles among the surrounding bonfires: "Aow aow aow! I have a partner! Quan Nan is my partner!"

Quan Nan, flustered and exasperated, followed behind Hu Qiao, spinning with him: "Stop shouting! What's wrong with you? Stop it right now!"

Qi Bai laughed, collapsing into Wolf Ze's arms. Ai yo, these two. One was too timid to express his feelings clearly, the other misunderstood and thought he was being made fun of. This bickering couple pair has finally found their happy ending.

The surrounding beastmen didn't understand what Hu Qiao was so happy about—there were plenty of couples formed on Courtship Day—but that didn't stop them from joining in the happiness. They stood up and ran and jumped behind the two.

No one knew who started loudly chanting, but gradually, countless voices joined in.

The night curtain hung low, starlight brilliant, thousands of bonfires flickered, seeming to keep rhythm for this out-of-tune song.