The Survival of the Wild Tribe

186

However, discussing the purpose behind Luca's actions wasn't suitable for them at the moment. They needed to take advantage of Luca's absence and lower their guard with the Crelu Lion Tribe, evacuating first from this cave not far from the tribe.
The cave bore plenty of traces of their activities, impossible to completely erase. Luca knew it was only a matter of time before someone discovered they had been there. With too many wounded and incapable members, it wasn't an ideal situation for the Heke Lushi tribe.
Lu Zhan's new foothold was a cave in an underground waterway, with the river surrounding the Klu Lion tribe actually being a tributary of this underground waterway. The cave wasn't too far from their current location, situated in the direction of the Black Forest. From the cave, they could see the swamp where they found the rice.
The cave had only one entrance, facing the direction from which the river flowed out. To enter, one had to go through the water. Only Lu Zhan, skilled in swimming, could find such a place. Moreover, once inside, regardless of the number of people from the Kru Lion tribe searching, it would be challenging to find them after exploring the surroundings.
This waterway wasn't an issue for Lu Zhan, but it posed a challenge for those like Staghorn Horse and A Chun, who couldn't swim.
They found two wooden rafts by the river. Lu Zhan took the opportunity to transport the luggage one by one. By the time they finished with the rafts, most of the luggage had been moved.
The four members of the Riyao tribe were skilled in water activities. Even Chasing Wind could manage a few jumps in the water. However, the waterway was long, and Staghorn Horse couldn't enter the water. Moreover, the rafts were small and could only be used twice.
The mermaid was placed into the water as soon as they reached the river. A Chun supported his body, allowing his fish tail to soak in the water while moistening his chapped lips with a wet towel.
"Give him some tea," Lu Zhan instructed as he and A Qing brought Staghorn Horse into the waterway. The others waited by the riverbank. After a busy night, Luo Zhen was also tired, but now wasn't the time to relax. He handed a water sac to A Chun, gesturing for him to feed the mermaid.
The water sac contained small pine bamboo tea. Originally used by Luo Zhen to cultivate crystal fruit, the small pine bamboo plants weren't tall and could only grow to the length of an arm. However, they were easy to carry and had tenacious vitality, surviving with minimal care.
It was a pity that without a stable environment, they couldn't successfully cultivate crystal fruit. Despite Luo Zhen's efforts, they only managed to bring some life energy to the plants, causing them to grow more robustly. They hadn't harvested any crystal fruit from them yet.

Now, apart from occasionally picking a bamboo leaf as a reward for Staghorn Horse, pine and bamboo are also used to make tea. Although it doesn't contain as much life energy as a crystal fruit, it can still restore some energy. One cup can dispel the fatigue accumulated over the past few days.
"Thank you." A Chun took it, letting the fish lean in her arms, adjusted him to a slightly more comfortable posture, and then carefully fed the mermaid a little pine bamboo tea.
Songzhu tea has a unique bamboo fragrance, which makes people feel refreshed just by smelling it.
It was Luo Zhen's first time seeing a creature like a mermaid. He had seen Lu Zhan’s second beast-like form, with scales spreading on his legs, but the appearance of a mermaid with a huge fish tail was vastly different.
The appearance of mermaids is deceptive. They seem fragile, which makes people want to protect them. Although it feels a bit rude, Luo Zhen can't help but want to get closer.
A pair of cold, emotionless pupils confronted Luo Zhen. He was startled by the sudden opening of the mermaid's eyes. Obviously, he didn't expect the mermaid to wake up suddenly. The mermaid let out a roar, acting aggressively towards Luo Zhen with a hideous expression. If he hadn't fully recovered at that moment and had to rely on A Chun to avoid falling, Luo Zhen was sure the mermaid would rush up and bite his neck severely.
"Are you awake?" Ah Chun was undoubtedly the happiest to see the mermaid wake up, but she still remembered she had a water bag in her hand. She carefully covered the water bag with a lid and put it aside to prevent the excited mermaid from knocking it over into the river.
The huge fish tail lifted, creating a splash, while the sunlight from the rising mountain lazily fell, casting a golden hue on the water droplets as if beautiful gold had slipped from the gray-white fish tail.
The mermaid seemed to recognize Ah Chun. Hearing her voice, his expression relaxed a little. The fish tail sank into the river again, his nose moving up and down as he leaned into Ah Chun’s abdomen to smell it. After sensing the smell, he gently wrapped his nail-less hands around A Chun's waist and buried his head in her arms.
"What's wrong with him?" Seeing the mermaid motionless, Luo Zhen waited for a while before asking Ah Chun in a low voice.
Ah Chun was also puzzled by the mermaid's behavior. She shook her head at Luo Zhen and could only ask the mermaid in her arms in a low voice, "A Qi, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
Mermaids don't usually speak. The name Ah Qi was only learned by Ah Chun after being with him for several years. At first, Ah Chun thought the mermaid was mute. According to him, he was the seventh mermaid successfully hatched in his family, so he was named Aqi, and the previous six mermaids had already died.

Perhaps upon hearing his name, the mermaid's tail moved in the water again, but he never raised his head. Achun looked at Luo Zhen helplessly and explained, "Sorry, Dawu, Aqi is a bit scared of strangers."
Luo Zhen nodded and didn't insist on communicating with the mermaid. The mermaid had been detained for who knows how many years. He was likely wary of outsiders. At that moment, Lu Zhan returned to pick them up.
"Is he awake?" Lu Zhan flicked his wet hair as he asked, his actions tough. He signaled for Ah Si to place the mermaid down and then threw him onto the wooden raft.
"Be more gentle," Luo Zhen reminded him when he saw Lu Zhan's rough movements.
Lu Zhan paused, then quietly looked back at Luo Zhen.
Luo Zhen gave a light cough and explained, "He is still injured."
Although the mermaid didn’t have any obvious wounds, and the removed nails on his hands had scabbed over, his face was pale, and with his gray fish tail, he looked weak. But Lu Zhan knew better. These were just the outward appearances of a mermaid. Even with the claws removed, the mermaid's sharp teeth could easily kill fierce prey as an orc warrior.
Not to mention just tossing the rafts casually. If he hadn't instructed Ah Si to place the mermaid down first, they might have ended up in a scuffle in the river. Though he understood, Lu Zhan's movements were softer next. He handed the mermaid directly to Ah Qing, and then took Luo Zhen to swim deeper into the waterway.
The traces on the shore had been cleared by the mountain. Many beasts frequented the riverside to drink water. Even if some footprints were found, no one would guess they followed the river into an underground cave.
As they went deeper, the surroundings grew darker and darker, away from the sunlight. A pot of dungeons lay ahead of the wooden rafts. The dungeons were waterproof and provided light even in heavy humidity. Shanqi and Ah Qing were pushing them alone, while a wooden raft floated ahead. The black panther cubs and Black Mountain were squeezed onto the same raft. The raft, already used once, was originally quite simple and didn't have great buoyancy. Now, with a deeper draft, most of the black panther cub's fur was wet from the river.
The black panther cub couldn't swim. He was small and only dared to approach small pools or small animals for water. He didn't even dare to go near the river.
Now, despite the anesthesia wearing off, the black panther cub didn't dare to move. His eyes were wide with panic, and his fur stood on end uncontrollably. He tried to move away from Heishan, who was also unable to move, but each time he shifted, the wooden raft shook, and his tail became pointed and sharp.

After passing through a narrow waterway, the space widened. To Luo Zhen's surprise, it wasn't as dark as he had imagined. In fact, it became brighter as they walked, almost like daylight outside.
"It's those beads." Seeing the doubt in Luo Zhen's eyes, Lu Zhan pointed to the white beads placed on two large rocks on the left and right, saying triumphantly, "I found them in the cave where the mermaid was kept. They're brighter than lamp grass."
"Moon Pearls?" Luo Zhen's eyes widened. Each of the two white beads was as big as a fist. The flat ground they stood on was close to the cave wall, with the river flowing in front. Although the area wasn't large, the light from the pearls was more than enough to illuminate it.
"Good find," Luo Zhen praised. Though he didn't know where Lu Zhan found the Moon Pearls, having them was incredibly convenient. Lamp grass needs life energy to thrive. Luo Zhen had worried about their ability to sustain it once they used up the Jingguo and Tai Sui they carried. With the Moon Pearls, he felt much more reassured.
Though the flat land was close to the river, it wasn't as damp as expected. Lu Zhan had already gathered some dry firewood, and a fire crackled on the ground, drying out their resting spot.
After changing into dry clothes, they tidied up. A Chun even put water on the fire to boil broth. Soon, the small space was filled with tempting aromas.
Where the flat land met the river, many large shrimp roamed. The people from the Kru Lion tribe didn't eat these small creatures with hard shells and little meat, but a few from the Ri Yao tribe had their eyes on them. Once they packed up, they took a bag of animal skins and went to catch shrimp by the river.
These shrimp and crabs had lived in these waters for a long time. With no natural predators, they didn't know how to escape when approached. They easily fell into the hands of the group.