The Survival of the Wild Tribe

Chapter 21

Even though the orcs' lifestyle remains in the simple Stone Age, their hands-on skills are very strong. There's Luo Zhen, the instructor who provides ideas, and the experienced craftsman, Luka. After an afternoon of practice, even Horned Bamboo and Heiya have learned how to make bone knives, and even Ah Shui can take a small bone and polish a knife for himself.

Orcs who don't have hunting and gathering tasks are often idle. Some warriors meet to learn and practice fighting skills, while ordinary people take care of their tents, look after children, and prepare daily meals.

Luka was called away midway through their practice. It was said that the Great Witch wanted to entertain the foreigner who had come from afar. So only Luo Zhen and Lu Zhan were left for dinner that night, probably because they hadn't even had two meals in a row lately. Luo Zhen felt a bit lonely after the Horned Bamboo family left.

"Is it just barbecue tonight?" Without any guests, Lu Zhan started wandering around the house again.

After spending the day polishing bone knives, even though he got a satisfactory product, Luo Zhen still felt sore and numb all over his arm. Naturally, he didn't have the energy to cook anything elaborate.

"There's bone soup there. If you drink more, it's nutritious and good for healing your wounds." Luo Zhen pointed to the stone pot that was still boiling the bone soup and motioned for Lu Zhan to serve himself.

"Are you tired?" Lu Zhan noticed Luo Zhen rubbing his palms and placed a bowl in front of him, while he picked out the bones. He didn't enjoy the meaty soup much, but he liked to crack the bones and suck out the smooth and tender bone marrow inside.

Luo Zhen gave him a blank look, and Lu Zhan took over the bone knife polishing from Luka. Perhaps it was because there was an outsider around and they didn't want to appear too active, so they had rested all day, until they had full energy now. If they were asked to hunt prey and return, they would probably be able to fight the beasts without hesitation.

"Didn't Horned Bamboo give you a piece of rock salt? Why are you still using salted fruit to cook meat?" Lu Zhan picked out the salted fruit residue into Luo Zhen's husk bowl and asked curiously.

"That piece of rock salt has too many impurities. I want to refine it and use it again." Luo Zhen handed the bone knife to him and motioned for Lu Zhan to make a few cuts on the barbecue, then squeeze a little green pear juice on it. The sour green pear juice, although sour and astringent, could enhance the taste and cut through the greasiness of the barbecue.

"Refine it?" Lu Zhan was puzzled by this term.

"Just remove the impurities from it, so the salt will taste better."

Lu Zhan understood. He had always thought there was a muddy smell in the rock salt, which he didn't like much. It would be nice if he could get rid of that smell.

"I heard Luca say he wants to stay in the tribe through the winter."

"Is that so?" Lu Zhan threw away the bones and went to cut the barbecue. At noon, with no guests, he hadn't eaten enough. "He's different from you. Doesn't Da Wu dislike outsiders from across Changfeng Mountain?"

Luo Zhen was surprised. "Why?"

Lu Zhan shook his head. He, too, was disliked by the Great Witch. He had heard the old warrior who had taken care of him mention it before. It had something to do with his father leaving the tribe and going to the other side of Changfeng Mountain. However, he had never seen anyone from across Changfeng Mountain come here, so he didn't know if that was the reason.

"Changfeng Mountain is guarded by a bird with a human face. How did you go to the Tiger Lion Tribe to exchange rock salt?" Luo Zhen had questions about the human-faced bird all along.

"Don't you know? The human-faced birds go into heat every three years. They are busy incubating their offspring and won't come out to hunt throughout the spring. We took advantage of that time to climb Changfeng Mountain. Your tribe should also send soldiers out to exchange." Lu Zhan had secretly gone to the foot of Changfeng Mountain with the soldiers who exchanged, and he had seen people from other tribes.

Luo Zhen nodded, skipping Lu Zhan's subsequent question and asking another one: "Is there still a long time before winter?"

Lu Zhan bit into the bones, causing Luo Zhen to cringe. "Not too long, about two months. After a while, there will be the final large hunt in the tribe, and the hunting team will be away for about a month. When they return, winter will be upon us."

"Will you go hunting for that long?"

"Of course. They aim to hunt enough prey for the entire tribe to survive the winter."

Luo Zhen frowned. "Won't you go out hunting again in winter?"

Lu Zhan gave him a look as if he were an idiot. "Never mind the human-faced birds, but other wild beasts become much fiercer than usual when they're hungry in winter. Plus, the fierce beasts in the southern plains may also come out to hunt. Do you want the soldiers to become their prey in winter?"

Luo Zhen touched his nose. Seeing that Luo Zhen had only sipped a little soup and hadn't touched anything else, Lu Zhan, who had almost finished the big beef leg himself, left only bones. Lu Zhan looked at his hands, then cut off the remaining meat, picked a few blades of grass nearby, and handed them to Luo Zhen. Then he went back to the tent and brought out the catfish that he hadn't had time to eat.

After being left in animal skins for a day, the catfish had started to spoil. Lu Zhan held it under his nose and wrinkled his face in disgust.

Luo Zhen found it amusing. Seeing that Lu Zhan wanted to skewer the fish directly with wooden sticks, he stopped him and said, "You need to clean out the catfish's guts first."

Before Jiaozhu left, he helped Luo Zhen fill up the water in the big wooden stakes. Now they still have enough water to use. Lu Zhan obediently used a bone knife to clean out the catfish's belly, feeling a little pain in his wound from yesterday's work. Had he been too normal, or had Luo Zhen's sudden idea of farming excited him so much that he forgot he was still a seriously injured patient?