Chapter 18
“Lord Priest!”
Before he could even tie his shoelaces, a loud shout came from ahead.
Hua Shi’an’s heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously tried to cover his new shoes. But when he saw Hong Yunlang running towards him through the hazy night mist, his suspended heart fell back into his chest.
The gathering team had been back for a while, but the firelit clearing was not lively at all, because today they had brought back more purslane, and only half the amount of chestnuts as yesterday.
The beastman’s brow was furrowed, his expression grave. Hua Shi’an guessed his purpose in coming.
Sure enough, Hong Yunlang, who had trotted up, didn’t even catch his breath before squatting down in front of Hua Shi’an anxiously. “Lord Priest, after today’s picking, that chestnut forest is completely out of chestnuts. Do you know how long it will take for them to grow back?”
How long to grow back? Hua Shi’an pursed his lips slightly. “Chestnut trees bear fruit once a year. If you want to pick chestnuts in that forest again, it will be this time next year.”
“That long?”
Although he had expected it, Hong Yunlang still didn’t want to face reality.
The delicious chestnuts are gone just like that? He lowered his head in disappointment and sighed heavily. “Then what do we do in the future? Have you found anything, Lord Priest? Are there any other fruits that are as delicious as chestnuts?”
The way he asked the question made Hua Shi’an laugh inappropriately. “There are fruits that are more delicious than chestnuts, but I’ve been wandering around the tribe every day. What could I possibly find?”
“Haha, that seems to be true,” Hong Yunlang laughed dryly.
Chestnuts had already become the tribe’s staple food. With no more fruit on the trees, the tribe members were anxious. But being anxious was useless. Hua Shi’an looked at the forced smile on the beastman’s face and comforted him softly, “Don’t worry. Even if the trees are bare, the tribe still has some. It’s enough for us to eat for a while.”
“Tomorrow, you take the gathering team and continue to search. The Giant Tree Forest is so big, chestnut trees will grow in other places. Of course, you can’t just look for chestnuts. Pick up the purslane, blueberries, mushrooms… you encounter along the way. Don’t worry, the food will only become more and more plentiful. We won’t go hungry.”
It was strange. There was clearly no better solution, but after hearing the Lord Priest’s words, Hong Yunlang’s heart instantly settled down a lot.
He nodded like a chick pecking at rice and patted his knees as he stood up.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, his peripheral vision accidentally swept over Hua Shi’an’s feet. Hong Yunlang suddenly froze and exclaimed in surprise, “L-Lord Priest, what’s on your feet?”
“This? It’s called a shoe, a coir shoe.” Hua Shi’an stood up and generously lifted his foot for him to see, a hint of pride in his tone. “Well, is it good-looking?”
“It’s good-looking, but,” Hong Yunlang didn’t understand. “What’s the use of this coir shoe? Why are you wearing it on your foot?”
In the beastman tribe’s development up to this point, wearing clothes and skirts was only for modesty. Even the concept of keeping warm was rather vague, let alone coming into contact with shoes.
Hua Shi’an didn’t know how to explain for a moment, so he asked Hong Yunlang a question in return, “You guys run in the forest every day. Do your feet get injured a little?”
Hong Yunlang nodded honestly. “Sometimes we accidentally step on stones or plants with sharp thorns, and we get a little injured. But we’re used to it. We beastmen have thick skin. These small injuries are no big deal.”
Thick skin, indeed. That almost shut Hua Shi’an up.
But he had to say what he had to say. Hua Shi’an pointed to the coir shoes on his feet and explained to the uncooperative beastman, “Wearing coir shoes is to protect the feet. The feet don’t directly touch the ground, and smaller sharp objects will be blocked by the shoes, so the feet are less likely to get injured. Most of the gathering team are sub-beastmen. Their soles are not as thick as yours.”
There was none of the surprise he had seen when they first saw the coir skirt. The beastman’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter, and he retorted with a stiff neck, “But Lord Priest, our feet are the most flexible part of our body besides our hands. We rely on our feet to find food and chase prey in the forest.”
“I can understand protecting the feet, but if we wrap our feet in these coir shoes, our speed will be slowed down. Can we still climb trees to pick fruit, can we still catch up with prey?”
Hua Shi’an was about to say they could take them off, but then he thought again. If you encounter prey in the forest, you first have to untie your shoelaces and take off your shoes, then chase the prey while carrying your shoes… the prey would have run out of sight by then, right?
Things that have been passed down to modern society were all carefully selected by our ancestors and must have their own wonderful uses.
As a modern person who was used to wearing shoes, Hua Shi’an needed shoes. But for the gathering team that climbed mountains and trees every day, and for the hunting team that relied on their feet to chase prey, the current coir shoes 1.0, which were only suitable for walking, were indeed a bit of a chicken rib.
Thinking of this, Hua Shi’an’s eyes drooped sadly.
The beastman had not yet left. Just as he was about to speak, a clamor of voices suddenly came from the quiet clearing ahead.
A group of people were gathered together, making a lot of noise.
Hua Shi’an looked up carefully and saw that the hunting team had returned.
So many people gathered together, did they catch prey again? Hua Shi’an and Hong Yunlang exchanged a glance and tacitly walked towards the clearing.
“Calm down, calm down! Yong, Hong Yong!”
“Forget it, Brother Yong, calm down.”
The angry beastman was like a raging lion. Three people pulling and dragging couldn’t completely hold him down.
Already blinded by anger, the beastman’s neck veins bulged, his face turned purple, and a deafening roar came from his trembling lips, “Not angry? How can I not be angry?”
“We had already caught it. We could have had meat tonight. It’s because of him that the prey we had in hand escaped! He’s useless, and he messes up at the critical moment. Why is a good-for-nothing like him in the hunting team? Let go of me, I have to beat him up!”
Hong Yong was about to grind his back teeth to dust. His hammer-like fists waved in the air. If it weren’t for the tribe members holding him back, he would have definitely rushed up and beaten the culprit to a pulp.
More and more tribe members gathered around to mediate. Hua Shi’an, who had hurried over, was blocked by a wall of people. He could only hear the voices but not see the people. He only knew they were arguing, but not with whom.
“That’s enough, calm down.”
Chief Mu’s voice drifted from the crowd, “The prey has already run away. It’s no use beating him up. It’s okay if we don’t eat meat for a meal. As for the prey, if it ran away this time, we’ll just catch it next time.”
“We can’t just let it go!” the beastman Yong was hysterical.
Chief Mu: “Then what do you suggest? Do you want him to go catch the prey now?”
“We don’t need him. From now on, the hunting team will either have him or me, but not both! We don’t want a useless beastman who lets prey escape even when it’s in his hands. Kick him out of the hunting team!”
It wasn’t easy to be a peacemaker. Chief Mu sighed, “Alright, as you wish.”
“He let the prey escape and made everyone’s efforts go to waste. He must be punished with no dinner for three days!” Hong Yong was relentless. “And, if he makes this kind of mistake that implicates others again, he can pack his things and get out, get out of the tribe!”
Goodness, letting a prey escape is like breaking a heavenly law. Is it that serious?
Hua Shi’an heard most of it and complained in his heart.
But he didn’t plan to meddle. The tribe had its own rules, and Hong Yong was not an unreasonable person. For him to be so angry, that beastman must have—
“S-Sorry, Yong, sorry, Chief. I really, really didn’t mean to. I’ll be careful in the future. Let me stay in the hunting team, please give me another chance…”
The hoarse, choked voice was extremely familiar. Hua Shi’an was stunned for a moment, then squeezed into the crowd and moved a little forward.
He hadn’t misheard. The beastman who had made a mistake and was being scolded by Hong Yong was none other than Mo Huaishan.
The tall beastman stood alone and helpless in the crowd, his head bowed. He was like a helpless child, his body trembling slightly, his hands nervously clutching the hem of his skirt, his eyes filled with fear and helplessness.
It seemed it wasn’t just a scolding. His left cheek was red and swollen, and he had already been punched hard.
