The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 29

Chapter 29

The night was deep and quiet. When everyone should have been sound asleep in their tree hollows, a sweaty young man lay motionless on the grass. He seemed to be exhausted, or perhaps asleep, his thin figure blending in with the grass and the darkness.

Worried about the young man sleeping on the grass, yet afraid that his own ugly beast form would frighten him, the furball hesitated for a long time before following his heart, leaping down from the tree, and rushing towards the night-shrouded meadow.

As the distance closed, the furball subconsciously held his breath. He had thought the person on the ground was just taking a nap and only wanted to take a peek. But just as he poked his head out, he was met with a pair of bright and clear eyes.

The furball’s pupils contracted, and he turned to run.

Seemingly not intending to stop him, Hua Shi’an remained lying on the ground, motionless. But after the furball had run a few meters, a soft whisper drifted over with the evening wind.

“Huaishan, my foot hurts.”

As if a pause button had been pressed, the sprinting black furball suddenly stopped. After only two breaths, he stiffly turned around and walked back with uncoordinated limbs.

He didn’t walk directly back to Hua Shi’an’s side. He always kept a distance, stopping four or five meters away and staring blankly at Hua Shi’an.

It was strange. Although he had turned into a beast, Hua Shi’an could see deep worry on his cute little face.

It was already a big step for him to walk back on his own. Hua Shi’an propped himself up on the grass, beckoned to him, and offered gentle encouragement, “Come here, Huaishan. Don’t worry, I’m not afraid of you.”

The furball did not move, and Hua Shi’an was not in a hurry.

His bright eyes curved slightly, and he let out a low laugh, murmuring as if to himself, “Don’t they always say the Lord Priest knows a lot? Of course, I know a little about strange beasts. Ones with fangs longer than an arm, bodies larger than a mountain… you’re nothing compared to them, not scary at all.”

“By the way, why is your fur all black? Was your mother a black panther? Your fur looks so soft, it feels like it would be nice to touch. Huaishan, we’re friends, right? Can I pet you?”

The gentle words lingered in his ears. The furball stared at Hua Shi’an without blinking, his breath catching for a moment. It was as if a piece of plump, juicy meat was placed in front of him, its alluring aroma tempting him—come, come.

His body responded before his mind. By the time he regained his senses, he was already beside Hua Shi’an.

Without being polite, Hua Shi’an reached out and gently placed his palm on the furball’s head.

He touched it! Hua Shi’an’s eyes instantly lit up.

It felt just as he had imagined, soft and delicate, silky to the touch, like a soft marshmallow. It felt as if his hand would sink in with just a little force, a feeling that no stuffed toy could replicate.

This was his first time touching a real, live furry creature, and Hua Shi’an was completely captivated. Coincidentally, the furball also needed this kind of reassurance to affirm himself. He became more and more unrestrained, as if he had drunk too much fake wine, and dizzily rubbed the black furball’s head all over.

It was a bit awkward. The furball’s eyes drooped slightly, his gaze fluttering.

But he did not resist. On the contrary, he stiffly held his neck, letting Hua Shi’an have his way.

So soft, so cute, I really want to hug it and rub it all over…

He hadn’t completely lost his mind. Knowing that there was a person inside, Hua Shi’an only dared to think about it and didn’t dare to be too presumptuous. After rubbing his head and poking his nose, he reluctantly withdrew his hand and looked at the furball with a smile. “See? I’m not afraid of you. So don’t run away. Don’t play hide-and-seek with me anymore.”

The furball blinked and lifted his chin with a “whimper.”

He still hadn’t changed back to his human form. He probably couldn’t. He still had to understand the situation. Hua Shi’an lowered his head and leaned in a little closer, asking softly, “Did you suddenly change back to your beast form because you ate too many pine nuts?”

The furball opened his mouth but made no sound. In the end, he obediently nodded.

“You can’t change back now. Can you change back tomorrow?”

The furball nodded again.

“They drove you away with branches. Were you sad, angry?”

The furball was clearly taken aback. After a moment’s hesitation, he shook his head.

“You have such a good temper,” Hua Shi’an sighed. “I was angry.”

Unable to speak, the furball paced back and forth anxiously. His gaze inadvertently swept over the well-defined hand on the grass. He slowly approached and gently nudged it with his head.

“Comforting me?” Hua Shi’an casually rubbed his head, a low laugh escaping his lips. “So cute.”

Wha-what? The furball’s eyes widened. Just as he was about to confirm if he had heard correctly, Hua Shi’an spoke again, “Don’t live in the same tree hollow with Uncle Qing anymore. Tomorrow, when you change back to your human form, go and chisel a new one. It’s more comfortable to live by yourself. As for tonight… you can sleep in my tree hollow.”

Hearing the first half, the furball was about to nod, but the next second came the sentence “sleep in my tree hollow.” The furball was stunned. He looked at Hua Shi’an in disbelief and quickly shook his head.

Hua Shi’an laughed out loud. “The distinction between sub-beasts applies to humans. You’re in your beast form now.”

The furball did not speak, only shaking his head.

“Then where will you sleep tonight?” Hua Shi’an threw the question back at him.

“Whimper.” The furball turned to look at the crooked-necked tree in the darkness, then turned back to look at Hua Shi’an, and decisively lay down on the grass.

[You go back to the tree hollow and sleep. Don’t mind me. I’ll just make do here for one night.]

Hua Shi’an actually understood. He smiled, and his body also leaned back, lying flat on the grass. “You know, it’s quite comfortable. Let’s sleep here together.”

“Whimper, whimper!”

“Stop fooling around, Huaishan. It’s almost dawn. I’m so sleepy. Let me take a nap.”

…

When he opened his eyes again, Hua Shi’an was already lying in the tree hollow.

He was so tired that he had slept very soundly and hadn’t woken up at all in the middle of the night. He didn’t know how he had gotten back—well, he could actually guess. He had probably been carried back by the beastman who had changed back to his human form while he was asleep.

The warmth in his palm had dissipated, and last night’s furball was like a dream. Hua Shi’an looked down at the clear lines on his palm and, realizing he was acting like a pervert, let out a helpless laugh.

He pushed open the bamboo door, and the sunlight shone on his face.

It was noon, and the distant, bustling camp was in full swing. Hua Shi’an, who had slept until the sun was high in the sky, didn’t dare to delay. He went to the river to wash his face and brush his teeth, and then hurried to join in.

Life went on as usual. His foot injury had not yet healed, so Hua Shi’an could only stay in the tribe and do odd jobs, shelling pine nuts, killing fish, and occasionally cooking. Although it was leisurely, it was also very boring.

His foot had fully recovered seven days later. When he woke up in the morning and found that his right foot was no longer uncomfortable, Hua Shi’an was overjoyed. He quickly got up from the bed and walked around the tree hollow several times, stooping.

Only after confirming that his foot injury had fully recovered did he take his bamboo tube and a newly broken willow branch toothbrush and go out to wash up.

Without bothering to eat breakfast, after washing his face and returning, Hua Shi’an immediately shouldered his hoe and dug two rows of pits beside the crooked-necked tree, planting all the sprouted ginger seeds.

The ginger seeds had sprouted three days ago. The tribe had been busy during this time, and Hua Shi’an didn’t want to trouble others, so he had been putting it off until now.

Ginger was very adaptable. If it was watered well before planting, it would survive easily. But now was not the best season for planting ginger. Whether it would survive or not depended on whether it could get through the winter.

The blueberries he had transplanted a few days ago had already taken root. They were as lush as the blueberry bushes growing in the wild, so there was no need to worry. If he watered them from time to time, he might be able to eat blueberries from his own doorstep next year.

After doing farm work so early in the morning and sweating profusely, he went to the river to wash his face again. Hua Shi’an patted his empty stomach and squeezed into his own cozy little tree hollow.

The ginger had sprouted, the blueberries had taken root, and the tree hollow where he slept had also changed a little.

To the left of the entrance, a low-legged single bamboo bed was placed against the wall. A thick layer of coir sheets was spread on the bed. Although it wasn’t particularly soft, compared to the hard floor bed—it was as comfortable as could be.

A very narrow aisle, just enough for one person to pass, was left in the middle of the tree hollow. And opposite the bed, a rectangular bamboo table, the same height as the bamboo bed, was placed against the wall.

On the table were five bamboo tubes of different sizes. The smallest was a mouthwash cup, with a finger-thick willow branch inside. A slightly larger one was a water cup, with a lid made of coir sheets on top.

There were also three bamboo tubes as thick as a calf. One was Hua Shi’an’s rice bowl, which he usually used for soup and wild vegetables. The other two were his granaries, one filled with roasted pine nuts and the other with roasted chestnuts.

Picking pine cones, catching fish, weaving bamboo utensils… the tribe had been too busy recently. The tribe members left early and returned late, and the two meals a day had gradually become one meal a day. Now, they no longer made a fire in the morning. They would just have some pine nuts and chestnuts, and that would be a meal.

Having just finished manual labor, his stomach was almost empty. Hua Shi’an squatted in the aisle and eagerly poured out the pine nuts and chestnuts from the bamboo tubes, then took out two stones from under the bamboo table.

A palm-sized slate and a fist-sized pebble.

The pine nuts had not yet been fried and were still closed. To avoid chipping a tooth, Hua Shi’an chose to crack them with a stone.

“Lord Priest, Lord Priest, are you in the tree hollow?”

Just as he was half full, a familiar female voice came from outside the tree hollow. Hua Shi’an got up and opened the door, and as expected, he saw Hong Yinglan with a back basket.

“Morning, Yinglan. Are you getting ready to go out?” Hua Shi’an greeted her with a smile, then asked her purpose in coming, “Is there anything you need?”

Hong Yinglan smiled, pursing her lips, and nodded then shook her head. “Yes, I’m going out to pick pine cones soon. I don’t need anything. I just wanted to ask if the Lord Priest wants to eat some blueberries. If you do, I’ll pick some for you on my way back.”

Who doesn’t love crisp, sweet blueberries? Hua Shi’an, who loved fruit, smiled. “You’re going out of your way to find them for me? Then forget it. Picking pine cones is more important.”

Blueberries were not hard to find, but you couldn’t pick many from one bush. It was fine to pick them on the way, but searching and picking at the same time was very time-consuming.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Hong Yinglan waved her hand. “No, I’m not going out of my way to find them. Yesterday, when we were picking wild vegetables, we went a little further and saw a large patch of blueberries on a slope. They were densely packed, so, so many. A lot of them had even rotted on the ground.”

“A large patch? How many do you think you can pick?”

He was not sleepy when it came to this. Hua Shi’an’s interest was piqued.

Hong Yinglan thought for a moment and looked troubled. “I, I’m not sure. We might need a back basket to carry them, to carry—”

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

Hearing that they would need a back basket, Hua Shi’an’s eyes went straight. He closed the bamboo door with a backhand and pushed Hong Yinglan towards the camp. “I’ll go with you. Let’s get a few more sub-beastmen to go with us. We won’t do anything else today, just pick blueberries.”

Hong Yinglan didn’t understand. “Huh? But what are we going to do with so many blueberries? They don’t last long. They’ll go bad in two days, and some of the tribe members don’t even like them.”

When there was little food before, they ate every single blueberry they found, and they wouldn’t even last the night.

Now that there was plenty of food, the tribe members had started to be picky. The things he had wanted to do but couldn’t before could now be put on the agenda. Hua Shi’an licked his lips and said to Hong Yinglan as they walked, “Blueberries don’t last long, but if we make them into food, they will. For example…”

“Blueberry jam, dried blueberries.”

He hadn’t even seen the blueberries yet, but just thinking about it made his mouth water.