Chapter 217

On the way back to the tribe from the threshing ground, no one rode the carts. Everyone huddled in small groups, chattering excitedly about the events of the evening.

Quan Nan's middle team had been punished, and she, as the middle team leader, along with the ten small team leaders, had work points deducted. However, you couldn't see any unhappiness on their faces.

On one side, Quan Nan gripped Niu Xi's arm, spitting as she talked animatedly: "Ah, I think I do have some impression. That sub-beastman was always running out. I just didn't think of it that way."

On the other side, Yang Ling said to the other small team leaders: "That person had to make a move. Leopard White told us to inform everyone there would be no meat for the next few days, so he must have gotten anxious, right?"

"Right, right, he must have gotten anxious."

A petite scorekeeper quickly raised her hand: "We helped too! Brother Leopard White had us record the numbers on everyone's tokens. No matter which one was extra, we could match it."

"Ah, you worked hard too."

So, this operation was far more meticulous than everyone saw.

And for the Black Mountain tribespeople who participated, they long stopped caring about those few bowls of food. The most thrilling part was the manhunt环节 (phase), something they had never participated in before.

However, as the central figure of the tribespeople's heated discussion, Qi Bai had already turned his attention elsewhere.

Qi Bai stood by the heated kang, pinching his own little belly hard with both hands, his eyes full of disbelief: "Lang Ze, have I gotten fat?"

Lang Ze poked his head out from the kitchen, glanced at the fair, soft little belly, and shook his head firmly: "Not fat."

Qi Bai looked at Lang Ze suspiciously: "Could I pinch out flesh on my belly before?"

Although Qi Bai didn't have the clearly defined, solid muscles like Lang Ze, his figure had always been pretty good too.

The beastman physique was one aspect, but more importantly, he did a lot of work every day, so even without specific exercise, he had a thin layer of muscle.

Qi Bai reflected deeply. Since the workers arrived at Black Mountain, he had basically switched to a desk job, sitting behind a table every day,确实缺乏锻炼了 (really lacking exercise).

Especially a few days ago during the business trip, his life could practically be described as eat, sleep, sleep, eat.

No, absolutely not. Even if he didn't have a little belly, losing his abs was absolutely unacceptable.

Just then, Lang Ze, wearing hide gloves, pulled a whole roasted mountain phoenix out of the oven: "Ready for supper?"

"Ah, ah." Qi Bai immediately put down his hide coat and scurried off to move the small kang table.

Qi Bai tore off a large mountain phoenix leg, biting into the crispy skin while mumbling: "Supper, supper is also complicit."

Yesterday, the canteen served roasted pepper-salt deer leg. Today, Lang Ze单独狩猎 (hunted separately) another mountain phoenix. Having little BBQs every late night, no wonder he was gaining weight.

But dieting was out of the question. It's not like they couldn't afford it, why should they diet?

The days when you could eat meat every day were something many people longed for but couldn't have.

So, after eating and drinking his fill, just as Lang Ze was eagerly anticipating doing some 'exercise' at home, Qi Bai put on a serious face and took the horn bow down from the wall: "Let's go, let's go out to walk off the meal."

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, perhaps few beastmen would believe that on a cold winter night, there could be a corner as lively as midsummer.

The tribespeople's original training ground was the plaza in front of the mountain caves. But ever since everyone tested the ballistas by the sheep pen last time, and after tribespeople started making their own bamboo bows, the training location gradually changed.

At first, it was the sub-beastmen practicing archery with their bamboo bows by the woods next to the sheep pen. After Qi Bai made the higher-tension horn bows, the beastmen gradually joined in.

Finally, Lang Ze simply took everyone to clear out this large open area, separating it from the bustling plaza, and created a dedicated training ground.

Qi Bai also offered advice and planning针对兽世的地形 (tailored to the beast world's terrain), designing many training equipment pieces at the edge of the场地 (ground), such as rope ladders and stone walls for climbing practice, and parallel bars, horizontal bars, and dumbbells for exercising different muscle groups.

Inspired by Qi Bai, Lang Ze, from then on, found ways to get Qi Bai to recall more training methods.

Any methods Lang Ze tried and found useful were统统都加入 (all added) to the tribal warriors' training regimen.

The training difficulty for the tribal beastman warriors increased by more than one level. Qi Bai sometimes even felt Lang Ze wasn't training a hunting team; he completely wanted to build a special forces unit.

Logically, with such high-intensity training morning and night, plus hunting and patrolling during the day, the beastman warriors should feel tired.

But actually, after surviving the initial period, everyone quickly adapted to the training rhythm, even showing signs of getting more and more into it.

Just look at the state of the warriors on the training ground. It was as if they couldn't feel the freezing temperatures of minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius. They were sweating profusely, steam rising from their bodies. Even the temperature on the training ground seemed higher than elsewhere.

As Xi Zhou put it, if he didn't exercise a bit morning and night, he couldn't sleep.

Besides enhancing the warriors' combat power, the most important change brought by such training was everyone's mental outlook.

No wonder the Black Mountain Tribe's warriors were completely unafraid of the nearly thousand workers. Honestly, in the warriors' eyes, the workers根本不算什麽战斗力 (didn't count as any fighting power at all). Only those giant pigs of the Sanghuo Tribe were worth fighting.

"Lang Ze!" "Lang Ze!"

The beastmen on the training ground greeted Lang Ze as they saw him. Lang Ze just waved casually and walked forward with Qi Bai by his side.

Many sub-beastmen also joined in training these human-form methods, but what the sub-beastmen were clearly more passionate about was still shooting practice.

From afar, Qi Bai could see the bright torchlight at the archery range. Torches made from tree oil occasionally crackled, adding a soundtrack to the already bustling range.

"So many people! I thought as the weather gets colder, everyone would be curled up at home!"

The tip of Qi Bai's nose was a bit red from the cold, but his eyes seemed brighter than the surrounding torchlight. He vigorously stretched his body and ran happily towards the crowd.

Lang Ze lagged behind a step. When he caught up to Qi Bai's side again, he held a target woven from grass rope.

Many parts of the target were frayed, and its surface had many irreversible arrow marks. This target was clearly one Lang Ze used regularly.

Unlike modern precise concentric rings, the grass rope target only had a bullseye painted with red powder. Such a target was sufficient for the vast majority of Black Mountain tribespeople.

After all, they didn't need pinpoint accuracy. As long as they could shoot arrows into the weak points of enemies and wild beasts, applying enough force to pierce hide, then the horn bow could be a qualified weapon.

Qi Bai's attention was completely captured by the few young sub-beastmen shooting arrows. He didn't even notice Lang Ze leaving and returning.

Qi Bai stood behind the crowd, his head swaying along with the arrows everyone shot,直到箭矢穩穩射中靶心 (until the arrow struck the bullseye steadily).

"Good!" Qi Bai applauded along with everyone.

"Sun Qing!" "Sun Qing!"

From everyone's shouts, it was clear this bullseye shot belonged to Sun Qing.

After that, Sun Qing shot several more arrows, most hitting the target. Considering these bows were all made by everyone themselves, achieving such synergy with the bow was definitely not easy.

Hearing the cheers for Sun Qing, several young sub-beastmen nearby also strained to aim and shoot. Although their accuracy was slightly worse, compared to when they first started with bows, everyone's progress was visible to the naked eye.

Qi Bai hadn't done anything yet, but a fine sweat already broke out on his forehead. He pulled Lang Ze's arm: "Everyone is so good. I need to step up my game; I can't be outdone by the tribespeople."

Lang Ze smiled: "I'll teach you."

Although Qi Bai was the one who made everything from the bamboo bows to the horn bows, it must be said that术业有专攻 (different trades require different skills).

Qi Bai was very adept at钻研 (researching) these things that beastmen found稀奇古怪 (odd and strange), but his skill points in combat-related areas显然没有狼泽点得那么多 (clearly weren't as high as Lang Ze's).

Lang Ze led Qi Bai to the edge of the archery range and套 (slipped) the target onto a large tree.

There were no special stands on the range; everyone hung targets on trees like this, adjusting the height and distance as they wished.

However, to prevent accidental injuries, all targets faced the same direction, and箭矢回收 (arrow retrieval) times were fixed.

As the first person to make a bamboo bow, Qi Bai naturally knew how to shoot.

Watch now, at the end of the row of sub-beastmen.

Qi Bai stood with feet shoulder-width apart, left hand holding the bow, right hand drawing the string, right arm pulling back with force.

With a "whoosh," the fletched arrow flew out.

Unfortunately, the arrow didn't hit the grass target as expected; it even fell short by over ten meters.

The tips of Qi Bai's ears secretly turned red. This shot was worse than those of the twelve or thirteen-year-old young ones. Luckily, most people were focused on training, and no one noticed his miss.

Just then, a pair of warm large hands covered Qi Bai's. Lang Ze used his chest to steady Qi Bai's slightly leaning back body. He lowered his head slightly, his chin resting against Qi Bai's ear: "Don't raise your arm so high."

Under Lang Ze's guidance, Qi Bai's arm gradually extended. Lang Ze's breath brushed his ear: "Ready?"

"Mhm."

The archery range was bustling with noise, but at this moment, the world seemed to grow quiet.

They focused all their attention on the horn bow, on their overlapping hands. All they could hear was each other's synchronized heartbeat.

"Thump!"

Slowed time returned to normal. All sounds returned at once; the surroundings were still jubilant.

"Hit!" "Brother Leopard White hit!"

The young ones, like announcers, cheered.

"Awooo~" "Moo moo~"

The little wolf pups, calf, and foal高兴地 (happily) spun in circles on the spot.

They loved Brother Leopard White the most. Brother Leopard White hitting the target made them happier than hitting it themselves.

Only these little ones didn't notice that their Brother Leopard White's entire ears were practically熟透了 (cooked through) by now.

Qi Bai elbowed Lang Ze: *Seriously? Were this many people watching them?*

And indeed, many people were watching, not just the young ones.

A few young beastmen smirked and nudged each other's shoulders. *Learned it, learned it. Gonna use this move to teach the sub-beastman I like.*

Lang Ji rolled his eyes silently. *With your skill level, you want to teach others? They'd be lucky if they didn't mind you stealing techniques.*

Older sub-beastmen clapped their hands欣慰地 (approvingly).

"So many young beastmen in our tribe are still too reserved. Look at Leopard White and Lang Ze being so affectionate; it's just joyful to see."

"Exactly. Don't see Lang Ze talk much usually, but he's really无可挑剔 (beyond reproach) to his partner."

"That's because our Leopard White is better. If Lang Ze dared treat Leopard White badly, even if he is the hunting team captain, we wouldn't let it slide."

Yang Luo's downturned mouth finally turned back up after hearing the last old beastman's words.

*That's right. No matter which beastman Leopard White chooses as a partner, that beastman is getting the better deal.*

Somehow, in the eyes of Yang Luo and most old beastmen, Qi Bai was like their own child. At times like this, Lang Ze became the outsider. No matter what, there was always a bit of dissatisfaction.

Qi Bai's shyness vanished in a blink. He quickly stopped caring about their posture.

Because being guided by Lang Ze to shoot felt truly wonderful. Qi Bai quickly found the trick. His progress in just one night was better than瞎练 (fumbling around practicing) alone for over ten days.

"If I knew you were this good, I should have asked you to teach me long ago!"

After leaving the training ground, the two顺便去 (detoured to)撸了一會兒串串 (have some kebabs for a while).

You could really say Qi Bai had endless things to worry about. Once he left the stone sheep pen, he lost interest in pondering how to improve his archery skills and started planning: "There are many more lambs in the sheep pen. After the dormitories are built, we最好再盖 (best build another) sheep pen."

"Mhm," Lang Ze nodded. "Pick a few rams that eat a lot; we can slaughter them and store the meat."

"That works too..."

One tall and one slightly shorter shadow gradually lengthened on the ground. The tall figure walked with steady steps; the slightly shorter one蹦上两下 (hopped a couple steps) every few paces, looking very happy.

The moonlight silently lit their way forward, until the sound of their conversation grew faint.

The next morning, Middle Team Leader Quan Nan placed two extra basins of food next to the table负责打饭 (responsible for serving food). Every worker who received their meal could come to her for an additional small spoonful of food.

And indeed, the hundred workers of that middle team didn't get a single bit of food分配 (allocated) to them all day. To suppress their hunger, everyone filled their bellies with hot water.

Many people could hear the sloshing water sound in their own bellies when they walked.

However, the punishment of Quan Nan's middle team soon stopped being the focus of attention.

Because the worker dormitories, under construction for nearly twenty days, were finally completely finished. After the heated walls and kangs were plastered with yellow mud, the workers finally understood the purpose of these beautiful houses.