The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 19

Chapter 19

“It was a huge green iguana, a whole circle bigger than the last one we caught. It definitely had a lot of meat! What a pity. We had already injured it and were just about to catch it, but it was all because of that… sigh!”

The night was thick, and the branches and rotten wood burned fiercely, illuminating the dim camp.

The beastman, chewing on a chestnut, vividly recounted the hunting team’s encounter in the forest that day to the tribe members gathered around the fire. When he got to the final result, he lowered his head, letting out a helpless and regretful sigh.

The atmosphere was a bit heavy. The crisp sound of cracking chestnut shells echoed in the dull, oppressive camp.

Yan Zhile couldn’t contain his curiosity. He swallowed the fruit paste in his mouth and asked one more question, “So how did it get away? Didn’t you say it was injured?”

“Sigh!” The beastman sighed again, casually tossing the peeled chestnut into his mouth and speaking as he ate, “It was like this. It stopped moving after being hit by a stone, and we had it cornered at the bottom of a slope. The slope was quite steep, and it couldn’t climb up because of its injury. All we had to do was form a human wall, slowly approach it, and hold it down.”

“Brother Yong said many times that we had to be gentle and approach carefully, because even an injured prey might suddenly run away if it gets scared again. You wouldn’t believe it, I was so close, so close to touching it, but at that moment, I don’t know what Mo Huaishan was doing, he fell, he fell down!”

“Seeing how big he was, Brother Yong had him stand in the most important position in the middle. But when he fell, not only did he make a loud noise, but he also broke the human wall. The green iguana got scared and ran away right where he had fallen. We couldn’t even catch up!”

The beastman clenched his fist and beat his chest. “I can’t, I can’t. The more I talk about it, the angrier I get.”

“A fall made the prey get away?” Yan Zhile shook his head regretfully. “What a pity. We were so close to having meat today.”

A precious prey was lost because of a fall. The others also felt resentful.

Hearing the beastman explain the reason, the long-accumulated resentment finally found an outlet, gushing out like a raging flood.

“Shan is so useless. He can even fall while walking.”

“Exactly. And he’s a beastman, yet he can’t even walk steadily.”

“He’s an ill omen, someone not protected by the Beast God. That’s why he falls while walking. We should stay away from him in the future, lest we get dragged into his bad luck.”

“Is it that scary? He even talked to me yesterday! What should I do?”

“Then could it be because of him that the hunting team hasn’t caught any prey recently?”

“If you put it that way, it’s really possible. He made the hunting team unlucky!”

…

The words “ill omen” could magnify a mistake infinitely and erase all previous contributions to the tribe. Listening to the tribe members’ disgust and criticism of Mo Huaishan, an indescribable feeling welled up in Hua Shi’an’s heart.

He couldn’t eat this meal at all. Hua Shi’an stood up with his bamboo tube and uneaten chestnuts. Without a word of farewell, he walked away from the firelit camp and disappeared into the darkness.

Without deliberately searching, Hua Shi’an walked straight towards the crooked-necked tree. As he vaguely saw his own big tree through the hazy night, he also saw a figure sitting alone on the grass, blending into the darkness.

Not small, very large, but still very pitiful.

Hua Shi’an’s footsteps faltered slightly. He unconsciously turned and walked towards the soft grass.

The big beastman was curled up on the ground, his head bowed, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees.

He was completely immersed in his own world. He didn’t even notice when Hua Shi’an sat down beside him. It wasn’t until the steaming hot chestnuts were handed to him that he finally moved, turning to look at Hua Shi’an in surprise.

Like an old machine in disrepair, he moved and then got stuck again. Hua Shi’an lifted his hand a little higher, a smile on his lips as he said softly, “You’ve been running in the forest all day. You can’t go without eating. Have a little something to fill your stomach.”

The food was right in front of him, but the hungry beastman didn’t even glance at it.

His slightly reddish eyes stared straight at Hua Shi’an. His throat moved up and down. After a long time, he managed to squeeze out a few syllables, “L-Lord Priest.”

“Your voice is hoarse. How long has it been since you drank water?” Hua Shi’an handed him the bamboo tube with wild vegetables. “There’s still half a tube of vegetable soup inside. If you don’t mind, have some?”

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but as soon as he finished speaking, the beastman’s already red eyes became even redder, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, Mo Huaishan shook his head, his low, hoarse voice sounding again, “N-No, Lord Priest. It’s your dinner, you eat it. I did something wrong. I should go hungry.”

“What did you do wrong?” Hua Shi’an asked, knowing the answer.

Mo Huaishan answered honestly, “I let the prey escape.”

“Did you do it on purpose?”

“O-Of course not.”

Hua Shi’an shrugged. “Then that’s that. Everyone has flaws, and everyone makes mistakes. Don’t blame yourself too much. Just learn from your mistakes.”

“No, it’s different.” Mo Huaishan lowered his eyes in disappointment and murmured as if to himself, “I didn’t make a small mistake. I let the prey escape when the tribe needed meat the most. No, no beastman would make such a mistake.”

Hua Shi’an raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, “Oh? Did your Red Pine Tribe used to catch prey every time they went out? They never failed?”

“Well, n-not really.”

Mo Huaishan stammered, “It’s normal not to be able to catch up with prey, but no one is as stupid as me, letting a prey that was almost caught escape because of a fall. I, I’m really useless. I, I don’t know what happened, why I would fall at that time…”

The more the beastman spoke, the more he blamed himself. He lowered his head and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders trembling.

Is he crying?

Hua Shi’an placed the bamboo tube and chestnuts on the ground and patted his back. “Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. The chief of my, our Chipmunk Tribe used to trip and fall on flat ground too. You can’t negate yourself because of one thing. We are human, and we have to allow ourselves to make mistakes. Just be more careful next time something like this happens.”

“There won’t be a next time. I’ve been kicked out of the hunting team.”

His voice trembled, muffled and low, with a distinct sob.

Hua Shi’an unconsciously frowned and comforted him softly, “I’ll go talk to Hong Yong in a bit and ask him to give you another chance. I’m the priest of the tribe. He might listen to me.”

“N-No need.”

The beastman slowly raised his head, turning his face to the side to wipe his eyes, not letting Hua Shi’an see his face. He sniffled and said, “Maybe leaving the hunting team is the right thing to do. You probably don’t know yet, Lord Priest. Actually, actually, I’m an ill omen. Getting close to me will make you un—”

“Mo Huaishan, summon the courage you had when you changed your name. Anyone can say that, but you, you absolutely cannot think that way.” Hua Shi’an interrupted him, his gentle tone instantly turning cold, like the biting winter wind.

The beastman seemed to have been frightened. He forgot that his tears hadn’t been wiped clean and suddenly turned to face Hua Shi’an.

The evening wind blew past, and the tears welling in his eyes were blown away. The handsome beastman’s cheek was swollen high, looking both comical and pathetic, a sight that made one feel uneasy.

Hua Shi’an’s bright eyes curved slightly. He smiled at him, his expression returning to its previous gentleness. “Luck and misfortune are a matter of thought. If you think you are lucky, then you are a lucky person. If you admit that you are unlucky yourself, even if it’s false, it will become true.”

“Don’t give up on yourself, absolutely not.”