The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 33

Chapter 33

The beastmen’s stamina and endurance were astonishing, perfectly suited for the jungle. They walked on the steep mountain slopes as if on flat ground, their steps nimble and light, their pace even getting faster and faster.

They only took two short breaks in between, and the sweat on the beastmen’s bodies never dried.

But despite their rush, by the time they crossed the ridge and climbed the rocky mountain, the sky above, which had been dyed red by the setting sun, finally darkened. Darkness and thick clouds enveloped the mountaintop.

The rocky mountain was rugged and precipitous, surrounded by cliffs. One misstep would lead to a bottomless abyss. As visibility decreased, even the strong beastmen dared not move around carelessly and had to stop and find a place to rest.

There was no wind or rain. They could have just found a rock on the mountain and made do for the night, but being in an unfamiliar place and unsure if there were any wild beasts, the beastmen fumbled around in the dark for a while and finally found a narrow, hidden rock cave on the back of the mountain.

They hadn’t complained of being tired on the way, but as soon as they entered the rock cave, the beastmen, who had been on the move all day, put down their back baskets and sat down on the ground. Without bothering to lay out the coir sheets or eat, the two of them leaned against the rock wall and closed their eyes in unison.

Heavy breathing echoed in the cave. Hua Shi’an climbed out of the back basket on all fours, deliberately moving lightly, and only changed back to his human form when he reached a corner.

He didn’t know if it was because the mountain was too high, but the temperature at night was exceptionally low. The cold wind howled, and the moment he changed back to his human form, Hua Shi’an felt a biting chill.

His arms and back were cold, and he got goosebumps all over. It was as if he had suddenly gone from autumn to winter, so cold that he was shivering.

He only had a coir skirt on. If he slept like this for a night, he would definitely catch a cold. Hua Shi’an looked back at the sweating beastmen and tiptoed back to the back basket at the entrance of the cave.

They were not completely unprepared. Before reaching the rocky mountain, the beastmen had picked up some dry firewood in the woods. It came in handy now. Hua Shi’an took out a large piece of rotten wood and stacked the firewood in a pile at the well-ventilated entrance of the cave.

Finding the fire starter in his back basket, Hua Shi’an twisted open the lid and blew gently. A faint spark lit up at the tip of the wick.

The materials were not enough, so the fire starter couldn’t produce an open flame like a lighter, but the faint spark was enough. Hua Shi’an grabbed a few withered leaves and brought them close. In an instant, the spark turned into a roaring flame.

Fatigue had lowered their guard. When Mo Huaishan opened his eyes, smelling the smoke, the fire at the entrance of the cave was already fully ablaze. The scorching flames were like the setting sun, illuminating the dim rock cave.

If I remember correctly, I just closed my eyes for a moment, right? Am I hallucinating from sleep?

Mo Huaishan rubbed his eyes vigorously with both hands.

After rubbing, he found that the fire was still there. He finally realized it wasn’t a hallucination and looked at Hua Shi’an in disbelief. “Shi’an, how did you do that? I wasn’t even asleep, I just closed my eyes for a moment. You, you started the fire so quickly?”

“Fire?”

Also not asleep, Yan Qiuyu opened his eyes when he heard the commotion. Looking at the scattered firelight, he was instantly wide awake. “No, the fire is already started? Did I oversleep? I didn’t hear the Lord Priest drilling for fire at all.”

The cold chestnuts were laid by the fire to warm up. Hua Shi’an picked up the fire starter again and waved it at the two of them with a smile. “I didn’t drill for fire. I used this to light it. It’s called a fire starter. I made it last night, staying up late. You probably haven’t seen it before.”

The thing held up in the air looked like a bamboo tube. How could it light a fire?

The two beastmen rushed forward and sandwiched Hua Shi’an between them.

Without deliberately keeping them in suspense, Hua Shi’an twisted open the fire starter and directly demonstrated the correct way to use it.

And when they saw the spark light up in the bamboo tube, the beastmen’s backs no longer ached, their legs no longer hurt, and they were full of energy, chasing after Hua Shi’an and asking all sorts of questions:

“You made it last night, and it’s still burning? So magical! Lord Priest, how, how is this fire, fire starter made? What’s it made of? How long can the fire burn?”

“Shi’an, Shi’an, I, I want to learn. Can you teach us?”

“That’s right. We’re idle now anyway. Lord Priest, you should teach us!”

Drilling for fire was so troublesome. Who could refuse a convenient, portable fire starter that could be used anytime, anywhere?

Having anticipated the beastmen’s reaction, Hua Shi’an smiled and waved his hand. “Making a fire starter is troublesome and requires a lot of materials. I’ll teach you when we get back. You’ve been walking all day today. Eat something first, and then rest early.”

Their souls had been captivated by the fire starter. How could they have the heart to eat? The fire starter that Hua Shi’an had casually placed on the ground was picked up by the two beastmen and studied repeatedly.

So for once, Hua Shi’an finished his meal before the beastmen.

Having hitched a ride for half a day, Hua Shi’an was very self-aware. While the beastmen were eating, he took out the coir sheets from his back basket and laid out two beds, one large and one small, in a corner where the wind couldn’t reach.

The large bed was for the two beastmen, and the small one was for himself.

However, plans can’t keep up with changes. After eating and drinking their fill, just as Hua Shi’an and the beastmen had lain down and were about to happily meet the Duke of Zhou, the firelight reflected on the rock wall gradually weakened.

Dinner had taken a little too long. The two back baskets of dry firewood were not enough and had been completely used up. The howling cold wind of the mountains swept through the rock cave, and the firelight and residual warmth in the cave quickly dissipated.

The temperature dropped rapidly. Although the corner was sheltered from the wind, the biting cold was impossible to ignore. Without a shirt or a blanket, Hua Shi’an curled up with his arms wrapped around himself, but it was no use. He couldn’t muster a bit of sleepiness.

“Hiss, hiss—so cold, why is it so cold!”

“I didn’t feel it when the fire was burning. Now that the fire is out, it is a bit cold.”

It wasn’t just Hua Shi’an who felt cold. The two beastmen were also too cold to sleep and were muttering to themselves.

This won’t do. Should I find something to block the entrance of the cave?

Just as Hua Shi’an was hesitating, Yan Qiuyu, who was sleeping next to him, suddenly sat up and rubbed his arms repeatedly. “No, no, it’s too cold. Get up, you big oaf. Let’s go out and get some more dry firewood. Otherwise, we won’t be able to sleep at all.”

Mo Huaishan immediately sat up, but before he could speak, Hua Shi’an said first, “It’s too late. We don’t know the situation on the mountain. It’s not safe to go out now.”

Yan Qiuyu: “Then what do we do? Just freeze like this?”

“Actually, there’s a very simple solution.”

Not feeling awkward at all, Hua Shi’an met the beastman’s gaze and frankly stated his idea, “Our beast forms have fur and are more resistant to the cold than our human forms. Perhaps we can change back to our beast forms and huddle together for warmth like wild animals.”

At these words, Mo Huaishan was greatly alarmed and quickly waved his hands. “N-No! Lord Priest, you’re a sub-beastman. How can you squeeze in with us? Besides, besides…”

“Besides, his beast form is so ug—strange. How can we sleep next to each other!” Yan Qiuyu’s face changed slightly, and he looked at Mo Huaishan with wide eyes, making no secret of his disgust for the beastman.

Beastmen were straightforward and didn’t beat around the bush, but such direct words and heartfelt disgust were often the most hurtful.

Looking at Mo Huaishan, who had lowered his eyes in dejection, Hua Shi’an coughed lightly into his hand. “When you change back to your beast form, you’re a beast. What’s the point of distinguishing between beastmen and sub-beastmen? When you’re out and about, you do whatever is convenient.”

At this point, Hua Shi’an paused, then suddenly looked up at Yan Qiuyu, a faint smile on his lips. “You all say his beast form is strange and scary. What’s so strange about it? I’ve seen it too. It’s clearly—very cute.”

“Cu-cute?” Yan Qiuyu almost thought he had misheard. It took him a long time to recover from his shock. He lifted his hand and pushed his jaw, which had dropped open. “Lord Priest, are you serious?”

He was sleepy. Hua Shi’an yawned, his eyes watery as he nodded. “I’m serious. The world is diverse. People and animals all have their own forms. You can’t just think something is strange because it’s different from others, right? People also look different from each other. Why isn’t anyone strange? If you abandon your prejudice and look at the essence of things, you’ll find—”

“He’s actually very cute.”

“Come on, Huaishan, you change back to your beast form first.”

It was unclear whether Yan Qiuyu had taken his words to heart, but Mo Huaishan certainly had. He stared at Hua Shi’an without blinking, his lips tightly pursed, the corners of his eyes quietly turning red.

He changed as soon as he was told. The beastman disappeared in an instant, and a pitch-black, nondescript creature sat beside him. Yan Qiuyu subconsciously moved away from him, but thinking of the Lord Priest’s words, he sat back down and forced himself to turn and look at the black furball.

He didn’t look like a squirrel, and he didn’t look like a leopard. His fur was pitch black, and he was so big, different from everyone else’s beast form. He looked strange no matter how you looked at him.

But after a few more glances, his head was so round, a bit like the Lord Priest’s beast form. His large nose was covered in a layer of short fur, and the tip of his nose was shiny black. His claws were curved, and his fur was thick, looking chubby.

He didn’t know if it was because he had been influenced by the Lord Priest’s words, but Yan Qiuyu really found him more and more pleasing to the eye. He just looked different from the other tribe members. Was he scary? It seemed not.

He rested his chin on his hand and stared blankly for a long time. By the time he felt sleepy, the Lord Priest was long gone. On the coir sheet bed beside him, the black furball and the chipmunk were snuggled together, already fast asleep.

The two little beasts were huddled together for warmth. The chipmunk was resting its head on the black furball’s belly, its cheeks buried in the black fur. As if afraid he would be cold, the black furball’s fluffy, soft tail was curled around its body, tightly enveloping the chipmunk.