The Survival of the Wild Tribe

66

Luo Zhen reached out and touched the spot where the deerhorn horse was supposed to have a wound. Apart from the outermost patch of fur that hadn't grown back yet due to scratching, even the gut used for stitching had fallen off.

The staghorn horse thought Luo Zhen was playing with it and happily licked the back of his hand. It felt much better today; even if it ran into the mountains right away, there wouldn't be any issues.

"What happened?" Lu Zhan opened the door, letting in a gust of snow. It seemed that it had started snowing again while Luo Zhen was back inside the house.

"The antler horse's injury has healed."

Lu Zhan took off his cloak, shook off the snow from his legs, and walked over. Indeed, he saw that the wound on the staghorn horse had completely healed. If it weren’t for the bald patch of fur, it wouldn't be obvious that the horse had been injured.

"Is this herbal medicine really so effective?" Lu Zhan reached out and touched the staghorn horse's back, but the horse arched away, not wanting him to get close. This horse always avoided him, probably because of their past confrontation when Luo Zhen and he intruded into their territory.

"How could it be due to the thistle?" Luo Zhen rolled his eyes. Lu Zhan knew better than anyone about the effectiveness of thistle, as he used it the most. Besides, the staghorn horse's recovery ability was impressive; thistle had become like a magic medicine for healing.

"Then what else did you use?" Lu Zhan asked, puzzled. The antler horse was just an ordinary beast, and Lu Zhan doubted its healing ability could rival his own. He had seen Luo Zhen change the staghorn horse's dressing yesterday; there was no way it could heal so quickly overnight.

Luo Zhen glanced at the Tai Sui, wrapped in animal skins and placed on a high shelf. Other than feeding a little Tai Sui root to the staghorn horse last night, they hadn't given it anything else.

"Tai Sui?" Lu Zhan followed Luo Zhen's gaze. Was the effect of that thing so remarkable?

Luo Zhen took down the Tai Sui. The staghorn horse remembered this thing and nudged Luo Zhen's sleeve, clearly wanting some Tai Sui to eat.

"No, I can't give you any more." Luo Zhen held the Tai Sui above his head, out of reach of the staghorn horse.

Lu Zhan stepped between them, pushing the disappointed staghorn horse aside. "Can this thing heal?"

Luo Zhen didn't know much about the effects of Tai Sui or how to use it. However, the fact that the staghorn horse's wound healed so quickly must have something to do with Tai Sui. If only he knew how to utilize these plants better, maybe he could learn about their medicinal properties.

"I don't know. To see if Tai Sui has healing effects, we'll have to wait until someone in the tribe is injured next time." But since they planned to stay behind the ice city wall for the winter, there wouldn't be many opportunities for injury unless there was an enemy attack.

"Why don't we ask the antler horse?" Lu Zhan suggested. The giant antler horse could speak and had much knowledge compared to an ordinary beast.

"Good idea. We can also send this antler horse back." Lu Zhan patted the antler horse's giant antlers with distaste. Having it around made the space feel cramped, and Lu Zhan had wanted to send it away long ago.

In order to feed the staghorn horses, they had to dig up grass roots from the frozen ground of winter. They also had some evergreen leaves brought back by Black Cliff, as the grass roots alone weren't sufficient.

Luo Zhen had initially planned to send the antler horse away once its wound healed. Now that it had, he had no objections, but the antler horse seemed to sense their intentions. It approached Luo Zhen pleadingly, even sleeping by his bedside at night as if hoping he'd change his mind.

However, neither for himself nor for the staghorn horse, would Luo Zhen allow it to stay through the winter.

In the end, he promised to let the antler horse return in the spring. Then the antler horse relented.

Early the next morning, Luo Zhen handed Heiya some trap design drawings and asked if they could make them. Unfortunately, Heiya couldn't read, so Luo Zhen had to explain several times before Black Cliff could understand.

After explaining the traps, Lu Zhan and Luo Zhen took the antler horse back to its territory.

The basin where they now lived fell within the territory of the antler horses. The river at the foot of the mountain was where they drank and played. Now, as winter approached, the antler horses retreated to the center of their territory for safety. With a giant antler horse guarding it, ordinary beasts wouldn't dare to intrude easily.

However, the plants in the center of the Antler Horse Territory weren't sufficient for the entire tribe to survive on during winter. Many antler horses couldn't withstand hunger and would sneak out of the territory. Some were lucky to return safely, but most, like the staghorn horses picked up by the tribe, either fell victim to orc warriors or became prey for other predators.

Along the way, Luo Zhen finally witnessed the running and jumping abilities of the staghorn horse. It seemed unaffected by the snow and was faster than Lu Zhan in human form. It ran ahead of them, then circled back behind, almost as if showing off. Though Lu Zhan hesitated, worried about the wound on the horse's back, Luo Zhen still wanted to try riding it.

The staghorn horse seemed to sense their arrival and waited by the pool. Nearby, the snow hadn't accumulated much, and many plants still remained green. Despite the winter cold, it wasn't apparent unless one looked closely. Here, winter had set in.

The antler horse greeted the giant antler horse first, touching its antlers with its own and seemingly telling it about their visit.

The giant antler horse lifted its head. "Thank you for returning my child."

"Since we've made an agreement to become companions, it's only natural to help," the two replied, performing the standard warrior etiquette.

"Is there something you wish to ask me?" the giant antler horse asked straightforwardly. It sensed there was a reason for the half-orc to bring his ordinary companion along and was curious, though its own children could only give limited information.

Luo Zhen took out something wrapped in animal skins from his arms. Instead of bringing the entire Tai Sui, he only carried a root as thick as his thumb. If the giant antler horse recognized anything, just this root would be enough.

Seeing the Tai Sui root, the giant antler horse's eyes changed. Perhaps its equine face couldn't show human expressions, and Luo Zhen didn't notice, but the giant antler horse didn't hesitate.

"Do you know what this is?" Luo Zhen asked, passing the Tai Sui root to the giant antler horse.

The giant antler horse stared at them, then suddenly chuckled. "I was wondering

why my child smelled of life energy. Turns out you fed it this."

Lu Zhan raised an eyebrow; he couldn't even smell the Tai Sui. This giant antler horse could detect who had consumed it?

"This is Tai Sui. It can revitalize even the dead," the giant antler horse said, its tone softening. When it mentioned Tai Sui, there was no surprise on their faces, indicating they were already aware of its significance. This convinced the giant antler horse of their sincerity in wanting the antler horses as companions.

"Revitalize the dead?" Luo Zhen was astonished. Was Tai Sui's effect truly so extraordinary?

The giant antler horse seemed to reminisce, its voice taking on a wistful tone. "Long ago, before the discovery of crystal fruit, the ancient races relied on Tai Sui to strengthen themselves. But with overexploitation, it became scarce. I hadn't seen Tai Sui in ages; I thought it had gone extinct like the other ancient races."

This was the second time Luo Zhen had heard about the ancient races from the giant antler horse. Clearly, the giant antler horse and the race with the other half of Lu Zhan’s bloodline had existed since the time when the other race was mentioned.

"Do you have a crystal fruit?" Lu Zhan's cracked lips betrayed his curiosity. Grabbing onto the topic mentioned earlier, he inquired about the fruit.