Chapter 23
“Lord Priest, the Lord Priest is back!”
A loud shout shattered all the tension and oppression. The crowd’s taut nerves instantly relaxed, and the deathly silent camp was filled with the sound of heavy, rapid breathing.
In just a fleeting moment, the sub-beastmen sitting around the fire and the beastmen who were about to go out and search for him surged like a tide, rushing towards the source of the sound into the pitch-black meadow.
The open meadow was unobstructed. Although it was late and dark all around, they could vaguely see two figures, one tall and one short, very close together, almost clinging to each other as they moved slowly in the distance.
The taller one was carrying a back basket, with two long poles sticking out from behind. The shorter one seemed to have trouble with his legs, walking with a limp and relying entirely on the taller one for support.
“It’s the Lord Priest, it’s really the Lord Priest! He’s back.”
After watching from the meadow for a moment, another cry of alarm rang out, and the hearts that had been in their throats finally settled.
“He’s finally back, that scared me to death. It’s completely dark, and he was still outside. I almost thought…”
“Me too, my face turned pale from fear. Why is he so late today?”
“Look closely, isn’t the Lord Priest’s walking posture a bit strange?”
“Heavens, could he be injured?”
“Lord Priest!”
“Lord Priest…”
The hearts that had just settled back into their bellies were instantly lifted again. The group of people, like a stampede of ten thousand horses, rushed towards Hua Shi’an.
Seeing this, Hua Shi’an felt inexplicably guilty. He quickly nudged Mo Huaishan with his arm and urged in a low voice, “Walk a little faster, it doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”
Mo Huaishan grunted softly, but his pace did not quicken in the slightest.
“Lord Priest.”
Soon, Chief Mu and a group of tall and sturdy beastmen were the first to reach Hua Shi’an. Without even catching their breath, he bent down to look at Hua Shi’an’s injured right foot and asked three questions in a row, “Lord Priest, what happened to you? Were you attacked by a wild beast? Did you injure a bone?”
“Don’t be nervous, Chief. I just fell and twisted my ankle. I didn’t injure a bone.” Hua Shi’an touched his nose and waved his hand, making a thousand movements a second.
Chief Mu was not reassured by his words. Looking at his swollen ankle, he was so anxious he was scratching his head. “How could you fall and hurt your foot? It’s all swollen. Does it hurt? Are you sure you didn’t injure a bone?”
Before Hua Shi’an could answer, Hong Yong glanced at the hand resting on Mo Huaishan’s arm, coughed casually, and turned to Hong Yinglan who had just hurried over. “The Lord Priest’s foot may be inconvenient to use. You go and support him.”
There was a distinction between sub-beasts. A sub-beastman could not be so close to a beastman other than their mate.
Hong Yinglan understood immediately. She hurried forward a few steps and reached out to Hua Shi’an. “Lord Priest, let me support you.”
Hua Shi’an really wanted to say: Is there a possibility that before beastmen and sub-beastmen, there is also a distinction between men and women? What kind of a thing is it to have a girl support him!
Seemingly sensing his hesitation, Yan Zhile took the opportunity to squeeze out of the crowd and quickly came to Hua Shi’an’s side, volunteering himself, “Lord Priest, me, me, I’ll support you.”
Both were male, both were sub-beastmen, a perfect crutch. And Yan Zhile was even a little shorter than him. Hua Shi’an decisively pulled his hand from Mo Huaishan’s arm and placed it on Yan Zhile’s shoulder.
“Mo Huaishan, what on earth do you think you’re doing?!”
Just as he had stabilized himself with his new crutch, a roar suddenly exploded in his ear.
Hua Shi’an abruptly looked up to see Hong Yong give Mo Huaishan a heavy shove on the chest. The beastman, who had been working all day, was caught off guard and staggered back two steps. Just as he managed to regain his balance, Hong Yong pointed at his nose and berated him:
“Wasn’t harming the hunting team enough? You want to harm the Lord Priest too? Look up and see what time it is, it’s completely dark! As a beastman, don’t you know that darkness means danger? Didn’t you know to bring the Lord Priest back earlier?”
Misery loves company. The beastmen who were in cahoots with Hong Yong all chimed in:
“It’s one thing not to know to come back before dark, but to also get the Lord Priest injured!”
“What bad luck. Whoever gets close to him is unlucky, not even the Lord Priest is an exception.”
“Let’s just have him stay in the tree hollow. Don’t go around harming people.”
“Enough!”
The little bit of guilt he had felt for returning late vanished. Hua Shi’an’s gaze darkened, and he swept a cold look over the sarcastic tribe members. “I said, I twisted my ankle because I was careless. It has nothing to do with Mo Huaishan. Don’t say it was his fault. I’m an almost-adult sub-beastman. I can judge right from wrong myself.”
“I couldn’t walk fast because of my twisted ankle, so I came back late. I apologize to everyone for that. I’m sorry for making you worry.” When it was time to apologize, Hua Shi’an bowed his head slightly, his attitude sincere.
But after apologizing, his expression immediately changed. He glared at Hong Yong. “If you’re going to accuse someone, you should understand the situation first. Huaishan ran around with me all day, worked all day, and barely rested. He shouldn’t be blamed like this.”
“Oh right, we also found food today.” Hua Shi’an held out his hand to Hong Yong, a pine cone he had been clutching all this time in his palm. “The nut inside is called a pine nut. It’s no less delicious than a chestnut. As for how to eat it, ask Huaishan. I’m tired.”
After saying everything in one breath, giving no one else a chance to speak, Hua Shi’an turned to Yan Zhile and said, “It’s not easy for me to walk alone. Please help me back to the tree hollow.”
Yan Zhile secretly glanced at the chief and obediently nodded. “Okay, Lord Priest.”
No one stopped them. Yan Zhile supported Hua Shi’an as they gradually walked away.
As their figures disappeared into the darkness, Hong Yong, who had been fiddling with the pine cone, also managed to pry a plump pine nut from its scales. The powerful beastman would not bow his head. Although he was very curious, he handed the pine nut to Chief Mu.
A light brown fruit, the size of a small fingernail.
Chief Mu took it and sniffed it, but didn’t smell any particular fragrance. He then tried to pry open the shell with his fingernails, but no matter how hard he tried, the hard shell of the pine nut remained unmoved.
With no other choice, Chief Mu gave a dry laugh and, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, looked up at Mo Huaishan. “Huaishan, did you find this fruit called a pine nut? Where did you find it? The fruit is so hard, how do you eat it?”
“I didn’t find it. The Lord Priest found it in the forest on the other side of the river.”
The honest beastman did not take credit or hold a grudge. He truthfully told Chief Mu how to eat the pine nuts, “The Lord Priest said that the shell of the pine nut is hard. To eat it raw, you have to crack the shell with a stone and eat the kernel inside. You can also cook it like chestnuts, and the shell will be easier to peel.”
As he spoke, he suddenly became excited. Mo Huaishan looked at Chief Mu and suggested seriously, “Chief, you can try it. The taste of this fruit is very unique. I don’t know why, but I particularly like the taste of this pine nut, even more than chestnuts.”
“Hiss, you like it even more than chestnuts?”
“The Lord Priest just said so too. Is it really that delicious?”
“Chief, you should try it!”
Whispers came from the crowd, but Chief Mu held the pine nut and didn’t move.
After examining it carefully for a moment, he lowered his arm and sighed helplessly. “What’s the use of it being delicious? A fruit the size of a fist has so little to eat, and you have to peel a shell. How many do we have to pick to have enough for one meal?”
“There’s more, Chief. There’s more inside.” Hong Yong slapped the pine cone hard, and in a short while, five or six more pine nuts appeared in his palm.
Chief Mu’s face lit up with joy. Before he could speak, Mo Huaishan cupped his hands and added, “There’s much more. The Lord Priest said that one large pine cone can yield a full handful of pine nuts.”
“Don’t worry about not having enough to eat, Chief. Actually, we came back late not only because of the Lord Priest’s injured foot. After we found the pine cones in the evening, the Lord Priest took me to search the forest again, and we, we…”
Chief Mu: “Don’t stammer at a critical moment! What about you two? Say it!”
Mo Huaishan smiled, his voice suddenly rising. “We found a huge pine nut forest! Oh, I almost forgot, there are still a lot of pine cones in the back basket. We picked them up on the way.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier! Quick, find a stone to crack the pine nuts!”
