The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 36

Chapter 36

“Don’t sleep, don’t sleep! Quick, the Lord Priest and the others are back!”

In the misty morning, before the sky had even begun to lighten, a loud shout exploded in the glade. The silent forest was instantly awakened, birds and insects on the branches flew away in alarm, and the sleeping people slowly woke up.

Under the tall and thick giant redwood trees, the closed bamboo doors opened one after another. Sleepy-eyed beastmen and sub-beastmen rushed out, all with a heavy sense of fatigue, peeking around.

“Where? Why don’t I see them?”

“Are you lying? The sky isn’t even light yet. Could they be this early?”

“Huh, you guys heard it too? I thought I was dreaming!”

“Who was shouting? Where are they—”

“There! On the meadow over there. Look closely, are there a few figures?”

Just as they were about to give up their search, another loud shout rang out. The crowd all stretched their necks and looked towards the source of the sound, and sure enough, they saw a few figures on the mist-shrouded meadow.

The light was too dim, and there was mist, so they could only see hazy shadows, but it was enough. The two tall and one short figures, the back baskets wider and more conspicuous than a person—who else could it be but their tribe members who had gone out to collect honey!

Those who were halfway through a yawn, those who were quietly complaining about being woken up, everyone was instantly wide awake. They excitedly threw their arms up and shouted, then fumbled out of the woods in the dark and ran towards the dew-covered meadow.

“Lord Priest!”

“Qiuyu!”

…

A large crowd of people, running and shouting, the scene was simply like a reservoir opening its floodgates, a mighty and torrential flood.

As enthusiastic as ever. Looking at the tribe members he hadn’t seen in a few days, who were running to greet him, Hua Shi’an squinted and smiled with satisfaction.

But soon, the tribe members’ enthusiasm also became a sweet burden.

“Lord Priest, did you find the honey?”

“Lord Priest, are you all okay? Did you encounter any danger on the way?”

“What does honey look like? Let me see, let me see!”

“Oh, don’t push! Who stepped on my foot!”

“Lord Priest, Lord Priest…”

A group of people rushed over. In the blink of an eye, they had crossed the long distance and were in front of them.

Those who were concerned about him, those who were concerned about the honey, the tribe members who had hurried over, with perfect tacit understanding, surrounded Hua Shi’an and the two beastmen, scrambling to get to the front. But when they got to the front and looked, the back baskets on the three of them were covered with weeds and leaves, and they couldn’t see what was inside at all.

Like a noisy marketplace, the morning meadow was in an uproar. Hua Shi’an clearly spoke, but he couldn’t hear his own voice.

Heaven knows how heavy the back baskets were. Just as he was about to shout at the top of his lungs, Chief Mu, with dark circles under his eyes, squeezed into the crowd and roared with a long face, “What are you doing! Don’t you know how tiring it is to travel? You’re all crowding around, all pushing!”

No one was as effective as Chief Mu. With one roar, the restless crowd instantly quieted down. They looked at each other and retreated in unison. Although they didn’t completely disperse, they at least loosened the encirclement a little.

“And you guys,” Chief Mu turned his head and glared at the young beastmen led by Hong Yong. “You run faster than anyone to join the fun! Can’t you see the back baskets are heavy? What are you standing there for? Don’t you know how to help!”

His words were a wake-up call. The young beastmen at the front finally reacted and came forward to help, taking the heavy back baskets from the three of them and putting them on their own backs.

With the load off, he felt much lighter.

Rubbing his slightly sore shoulders, Hua Shi’an smiled and waved to the crowd. “Morning, everyone. We’re back. Don’t worry, we didn’t encounter any danger, and no one was injured. The journey was very smooth.”

“Does smooth mean you also got the honey?”

After being shouted at by Chief Mu just now, only the bold Yan Zhile spoke up.

He had also asked the question that everyone was concerned about. As soon as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the crowd, and dozens of pairs of bright eyes all looked at Hua Shi’an.

Hiss, it’s a good thing we found the honey. If we hadn’t…

Hua Shi’an smiled and pointed to the back basket on Hong Yong’s shoulder. “Of course. This trip was not in vain. The sweet honey is in the back basket! Oh right, and we had an unexpected discovery. We found a very delicious food in the mountains.”

At these words, a series of “wows” erupted from the crowd.

Seeing that the scene was about to get out of control again, Chief Mu quickly waved his hand and spoke before the crowd. “The Lord Priest has been on the road for several days and is tired. Let’s go back to the tribe first, sit down, and talk slowly.”

They were not unreasonable people. Hearing this, the tribe members dispersed, walking back in groups of three or five. But everyone looked back every three steps, as if they were afraid Hua Shi’an would get lost.

It was thanks to the chief’s help that he was able to get away. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have been able to get back for a while.

Hua Shi’an followed the tribe members back and gave Chief Mu a grateful look.

And at this moment, Chief Mu, who had just been so righteous and meticulous, came to Hua Shi’an’s side and asked in a low voice, “Shi’an, you said that honey is sweet. Is it the same taste as chestnuts? And, what did you guys find in the mountains?”

Hua Shi’an looked at him in disbelief and returned his words to him verbatim, “I’m tired, Chief. Let’s go back to the tribe first, sit down, and talk slowly.”

Chief Mu sighed with regret. “Sigh, alright then.”

Returning to the camp after two days, Hua Shi’an and the two beastmen received royal treatment. Someone helped them move a stone stool, someone brought them water, and food such as pine nuts and chestnuts were also brought to them one after another.

Then, the main characters appeared. The back baskets they had brought back were specially placed in the most conspicuous spot in the middle. Then, the crowd formed three layers, building a human wall, and surrounded them again.

Lifting the wilted but very clean leaves and weeds, the translucent, brownish-red honeycomb in the back basket was exposed to the air. Seemingly not expecting honey to look like this, the onlookers were all stunned, and then a thunderous cry of alarm erupted.

“My heavens, what is this? It’s so beautiful!”

“Are you stupid! I already said the back basket was filled with honey.”

“Wow, is this really honey? It’s sparkling, like those beautiful stones!”

“So fragrant, so fragrant. Do you guys smell it?”

“Lord Priest, how do you eat honey?”

“It’s so sweet and fragrant. I can’t take it anymore. Qiuyu, can we have a taste?”

…

All three back baskets were opened, and the tribe members’ eyes were glued to the honeycomb.

The crowd was impatient, but the two beastmen didn’t say a word. Hua Shi’an drank some water to catch his breath, put down his bamboo tube, and explained to the tribe members what a honeycomb was and what honey was.

It wasn’t like he was taking a graduate school entrance exam. He had thought that a simple and colloquial explanation would be enough, but the tribe members’ thirst for knowledge was strong, and they had one question after another.

One question and one answer, and by the time he was done, it was almost dawn.

They had gotten up early and hadn’t eaten yet, and it was almost time to go out to work.

Not wanting the tribe members to leave with regret, Hua Shi’an decisively reached out and patted the back basket closest to him. “Alright, the Q&A session is over. As for what honey tastes like, you’ll know when you taste it yourselves.”

“Come, those who want to taste the honey can break off a piece from the back basket themselves. Let me say this first, honey is quite sweet, so only take as much as you can eat. Don’t waste it. And, you can’t swallow the honeycomb. Remember to spit out the residue after chewing out the honey.”

Before he could finish speaking, the crowd swarmed forward, scrambling to reach into the back basket.

This was a honey nest they had brought back with great difficulty. Were they just going to let the crowd break it off themselves? Fearing that the tribe members would not know how to be gentle and would ruin the honey nest, Chief Mu was so anxious he was scratching his head.

After thinking about it, he still felt it was not right. Just as he was about to get up and stop them, Hua Shi’an suddenly pressed down on his shoulder and shook his head with a smile. “It’s okay, Chief. It’s a happy day today. Let everyone eat. There’s still a lot of honeycomb on the mountain. In a few days, we’ll have the hunting team go and collect some more, and we’ll have honey to eat all winter.”

Chief Mu’s brow furrowed, his face filled with worry. “It’s not that I don’t want them to taste it. With so many people and so many hands, what if they break the honey nest? The honey is like water. If it’s broken, won’t it all flow out?”

“Huh?” Hua Shi’an was stunned for two seconds before he reacted and burst out laughing. “I think I forgot to say, Chief. This honey was meant to be taken out of the honeycomb. It’s more convenient to store it in a bamboo tube. That way, you can just pour it out when you want to eat it, instead of always leaving it in the nest.”

Chief Mu’s eyes widened. “Then why did you say the honeycomb was useful just now?”

Hua Shi’an: “It is useful, but it’s for making things. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad.”

“You should have said so earlier!” Chief Mu slapped his thigh and decisively stood up, about to go and fight for some honey with the tribe members. But before he could take a step, Hua Shi’an pulled him back again.

“What’s wrong now?” With his mind and eyes full of honey, Chief Mu didn’t even turn his head.

Fearing he would run away, Hua Shi’an held onto Chief Mu with one hand and opened the coir bag beside him with the other. He quickly took out the roasted potato wrapped in leaves that he had specially saved from last night and waved it. “There’s no rush to eat the three back baskets of honey. Chief, there’s only one of these. Are you sure you don’t want to try it first?”

Chief Mu squinted his eyes, raised an eyebrow, and quickly sat back down beside Hua Shi’an, eagerly asking, “What’s this? The unexpected discovery you mentioned? Is it delicious?”

“Mm-hm.” Hua Shi’an nodded and handed him the potato with a smile.

It was wrapped in several layers of leaves, so he could only tell it was round, but not what was inside.

Chief Mu was full of anticipation, secretly pleased that the Lord Priest treated him differently. But when he peeled away the leaves like an onion—a blackened “coal briquette” came into view, accompanied by a pungent, burnt smell.

His joy and anger were written on his face. Chief Mu looked at Hua Shi’an with a long face. “This thing had better be edible, or I’ll have to teach Yan Qiuyu and Mo Huaishan a lesson. Have they corrupted you in just a few days?”

Is there a possibility that he was already very bad?

Hua Shi’an smiled and said nothing, resting his chin on his hand and looking at the chief.

His heart instantly sank. With a last glimmer of hope, Chief Mu tore away the charred skin. He was a little surprised to see the pale yellow potato flesh inside, but he didn’t rush to put it in his mouth. He first examined it carefully and then sniffed it.

The cold potato had almost no smell. Chief Mu’s anxious heart gradually calmed down, and he took a bite without any hope. And with that one bite, he abruptly looked down at the potato, his dull eyes instantly lighting up.

“Well, is it delicious, Chief?” Hua Shi’an asked, knowing the answer.

He had no time to deal with Hua Shi’an. Chief Mu held the potato and feasted, finishing the whole potato without a word, not even sparing the potato flesh on the skin, gnawing it clean.

But after he finished eating, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, didn’t speak or ask any questions, just sat there quietly, with no expression.

Hua Shi’an was not in a hurry at all. He picked up his coir bag and stood up. “I didn’t sleep well these past two days. I’m leaving now, Chief. I’m going back to the tree hollow to catch up on sleep.”

With that, he turned and left.

“Hey!” Chief Mu was anxious and quickly got up to chase after him.

“How is your brain so good? You didn’t even fall for it!”

“Don’t walk so fast, Shi’an. Wait for me. What’s that fruit called, and where did you find it? In the mountains? Is there a lot?”

…