Lan is a mixed race clan in the Forest of Wise Men.

Jiang Yunlan did not disappoint Maple Syrup; she was the orc who could make wooden barrels.

A somewhat ugly but perfectly intact wooden barrel was created at noon. Jiang Yunlan specially made two handles for the barrel and strung it with vines so that it could be carried on the shoulders of the beastmen like a crossbody bag.

She didn't know that what Maple Syrup wanted was a wooden barrel that the gathering team could take out; she just subconsciously made a barrel that was easy to carry and use.

"Lan, Lan!" Maple Sugar received the wooden bucket from her, her face flushed with excitement, and she called her name several times to express her excitement.

She was grabbed by the shoulder by maple syrup, her body stiffened, and she tried hard to restrain herself from showing a disgusted expression because of the unpleasant smell.

She needed water, desperately needed water that could wash all the orcs clean!

Grief and indignation make people stronger. Jiang Yunlan's desire to take a bath burst forth with strength, and she forced herself to drag her weak body to dig out another wooden tub that was about the height of an elbow to a fingertip.

No one can stop her from taking Maple Red and the other beastmen out for a bath tomorrow; she wants to bring back water to wash Maple Sugar and the other beastmen clean.

The weather in this world is slightly cool, and the leaves are turning yellow; it's probably already autumn. If I don't take a bath now, I won't be able to anymore in winter.

Jiang Yunlan pondered and decided to make a fire as well. Without a fire to warm their bodies, she worried that the beastmen would catch a cold and get sick from being exposed to the wind while they were wet.

With fire, we can drive away wild animals and cook food. We should get fire out of the way as soon as possible.

She finished planing the second wooden bucket, tossed it to Maple Syrup, and rubbed her rumbling stomach as she looked out of the cave. It was almost dusk; she hadn't eaten anything at noon, and her stomach was growling with hunger.

Ignoring her rumbling stomach, Jiang Yunlan endured her hunger and scrambled to her feet, slowly walking to the edge of the semi-circular platform outside the cave, looking up at the outside world.

A sun hung in the sky, and tall, dense forests surrounded her, their orange-yellow leaves interspersed with crimson ones, filling her field of vision. She seriously doubted that she would be able to find her way back if she went out on her own.

She tried to find the river, but the trees were too dense and too tall; no matter how she looked, she could only see a bunch of trees.

"How can I get them to take me to a river?" Jiang Yunlan sighed heavily. If only the beastmen could lead her to a river with fish. If there were fish, she could use a branch to make a fork and catch a few to bring back.

When she was ten, her grandparents, who had raised her, passed away. After that, her irresponsible parents took her from their hometown to the city to attend school. But she retained her skills in fishing, farming, and bamboo weaving.

After all, her parents divorced shortly after she was born and started their own families early on, so they didn't care about her at all. She won't forget any of the skills that her grandparents had painstakingly taught her.

Jiang Yunlan was worried about how to find more food, and silently recalled the trap-making methods that her grandmother had taught her.

If it's impossible to catch fish, using traps to catch prey is a good alternative; in any case, the beastmen's bellies must be filled.

Being constantly hungry makes it difficult to have the strength to hunt or farm. However, it's currently autumn and no crops have been found, so farming is unlikely. But next spring, once she finds crops, she can lead the beastmen to farm.

Jiang Yunlan pondered what she needed to do and considered the possibility of finding her original race after winter.

She thought to herself that she might be able to get some information about her original clan from the orcs.

Maple Syrup hugged the two wooden buckets and grinned foolishly for a while, her excited mind finally cooling down. She looked up to find Jiang Yunlan and saw his figure sitting alone in front of her under the setting sun.

The tiny squirrel-like beastman cub sat on the ground, its expression calm and composed. It turned its face to the side and looked at the world with seriousness, as if it were thinking about something very important.

An indescribable emotion welled up from the depths of Maple Syrup's heart. She suddenly realized that Lan, who could make wooden barrels, was very much like the "wise man" the chieftain spoke of.

The wise can tame fire to dispel darkness and cold. The wise can identify herbs to heal the orcs. The wise can bring things from heaven and earth that the orcs have never seen before, benefiting the entire clan.

The chieftain once said that the wise man was probably a beastman sent to the world by the beast god, which is why he was able to do things that ordinary beastmen could not.

Maple Syrup had never met a wise man. The closest she had ever come to one was the fire she had seen in her clan before the blooming season. That fire was tamed from the forest by the wise man of the Fire Clan.

Before the clan chief led her people away, she left behind a cluster of fire that she had obtained in exchange from the Fire Clan, but she failed to protect it, which is why the clan has now lost the protection of the fire.

Maple Syrup didn't disturb Lan, who was deep in thought, but silently looked at the wooden bucket in her hands. She recalled Lan's composure and calmness when she first woke up, unlike any other cub she had ever seen. She could tell that Lan was different from other beastmen.

Thinking that Lan was a wise man, she couldn't help but grin.

Wise people are a gift from heaven. We've found a treasure!

Several orcs, including Maple Red, ran back excitedly from outside, shouting "Woo-ah-yo-ah!" Maple Sugar's lips were still upturned, unable to be suppressed.

Jiang Yunlan was brought back to her senses by the familiar yet incomprehensible language. Turning her head, she saw the woman hugging the wooden buckets and grinning foolishly, and her feelings became complicated. It was just two wooden buckets; was it really worth her being happy for so long?

Orcs are so easy to please and coax.

Perhaps this clan is surprisingly easy to fool. Jiang Yunlan's eyes crinkled into a smile. Easy to fool, that's good; only someone easy to fool will listen to her opinion.

When Feng Hong returned, she was carrying a small, unidentified animal, which looked like a combination of a hedgehog and a pangolin. She held the prey in one hand and berries in the other, her face beaming with joy.

"Sister! Look, we caught some prey today!" She proudly handed the spiky prey to Maple Syrup, showing it off like a treasure.

Maple Syrup smiled as she put down the wooden bucket, praised her sister as she took the prey, then slammed it to the ground, swiftly slit its neck with her knife, and dissected it in a few quick movements.

This kind of prey is very good at escaping, so it's best to kill it before it gets away.

Seeing her older sister processing the prey, Feng Hong quickly ran to put the berries away, then took out leaves to wipe away the bloodstains that had spilled onto the ground, and used a bamboo tube of water to dilute the smell of blood. As for the blood-stained leaves, Feng Hong rolled them up and threw them, along with the inedible parts of the prey, down the gentle slope outside the cave.

While the Maple Syrup Sisters processed their prey, the beastmen who returned with their fruit conscientiously sorted and separated their food with leaves. They all knew that different kinds of fruit would spoil faster if kept together.

Each beastman was busy with their own affairs and did not notice Jiang Yunlan staring at a point of "air" outside the cave entrance.

She never expected to see Slime 022, its body flowing like water and floating in mid-air. She thought it wouldn't return to the clan after leaving under the cover of night.

It seemed there was still something she wanted to record. Thinking this, she forgot to immediately avoid the direction of 022 and met its gaze again.

022 stared at her for two seconds, then looked away and drifted to Maple Sugar's side to record Maple Sugar's dissection techniques.

Jiang Yunlan accepted being ignored as a matter of course, pushed herself up with her hands, and staggered back into the cave. She heard the beastmen calling her name, their voices filled with an inexplicable excitement. She looked at the group of beastmen with some confusion and bewilderment.

"Lan, yo ah, woo ah wu ah."

Jiang Yunlan was helpless. She really couldn't understand a single word.

She moved closer, only to see Feng Hong suddenly turn her head and look at her with the same look a dog has when it sees a bone. A chill ran down her spine; she had a bad feeling and silently took a step back.

Feng Hong was unaware that her retreat was because of her. She rushed over in three quick steps, lifted her up, and looked at her with a face full of admiration as she looked at the flustered girl.

“Lan looks no different from a cub. Could it be that the wise ones are beastmen who look like cubs?” Feng Hong held Lan up and looked at her for a while before gently putting her down. She turned to look at her older sister with a curious expression.

Maple Syrup recalled what the clan chief had said, shook her head and said, "The Fire Clan's sages are adult orcs, and their appearance and race are not fixed."

The two deer-beastmen talked back and forth, leaving Jiang Yunlan completely bewildered.

Her feet finally touched the ground, and when she looked up, she saw the sheep-beastman Cotton, the lemming-beastman cubs Black Soil and Mo Rong surrounding her. Even the easily startled rabbit-beastman Ah Bai was standing not far from her.

The sheep-orc cotton, filled with malice, reached out and gently rubbed Jiang Yunlan's face while she was still dazed.

“It’s a cub,” he said definitively.

Jiang Yunlan: ?

"I want one too!" Mo Rong shouted as she ran over and ruffled her hair, saying in a beastman's tone, "It feels like a cub."

Her view was blocked, and someone grabbed her hand in the chaos. She reacted a beat too late, her pupils dilating in shock. She flung them away in terror, yelling for them to stop as she hid behind Maple Syrup. She hadn't had close physical contact with anyone in a long time and felt incredibly uncomfortable.

She was puzzled and couldn't understand what was wrong with these orcs, why they were suddenly so enthusiastic towards her. What she didn't know was that the culprit was none other than the maple syrup she had used as a refuge.

The orcs felt a little disappointed when they saw that she didn't like it, but they didn't try to get close to her again.

They were orcs who had come into contact with the wise men; they were promising orcs!

Seeing that they had finally returned to normal, Jiang Yunlan silently breathed a sigh of relief and leaned out to discuss something with Maple Sugar. She pointed to the bamboo in the distance filled with water, watching Maple Sugar gesture, and occasionally uttering words like "river" and "water".

She tried her best to convey that she wanted to go to the river with Maple and the others the next day, hoping that Maple Sugar would understand her meaning and grant her request.

Maple syrup didn't disappoint her; it nodded, though she wasn't sure if it understood. She simply took it as a yes.

If Mo Rong, who is only a head taller than her, can go out to gather food, she can definitely do it too.

Tonight's food is another kind of fruit, no meat. It seems the maple syrup is planning to save the meat for winter.

Jiang Yunlan could clearly see the two lemming orc cubs craving meat. She silently looked away and swallowed the fruit in her hand with difficulty. As a modern person accustomed to cooked meat, she couldn't muster any interest in raw meat.

She obtained six fruits tonight, a quantity only an adult orc could produce, two more than a lemming orc cub. She guessed it was because she had successfully crafted two wooden barrels today.

She felt at ease eating the food she earned through her own hard work.

The next day, Jiang Yunlan, who had gone to bed early, woke up to find that Feng Hong and the other orcs were still there.

Maple Syrup sat not far from her, and when she saw that she had woken up, she handed her some food. "Lan, eat."

She thanked them and accepted the six fruits, but was a little puzzled. Did she receive two extra fruits, or did the cubs already have six pieces of food this morning?

She turned her gaze to Heitu and Morong, the two cubs blinking innocently at her. None of the other beastmen had any food; they had apparently already eaten.

Jiang Yunlan, who woke up late, paused for two seconds before eating her food without any hesitation. Perhaps the two extra fruits from last night and this morning were extra food that the beastmen had specially given her.

It's alright, she will bring more food to the clan and let the beastmen know what it means to be well-fed.

A note from the author:

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Ding! Congratulations to Lan for unlocking a new title: "The Sage"

*This is the Beast World Information Station

New information has been unlocked: Flower Season (Spring), Hot Season (Summer), Fruit Season (Autumn), Snow Season (Winter)

The orc clans of the forest call winter the snow season. Winter snow blankets the forest; a touch of a branch will send down a flurry of falling snowflakes.

The beastmen call spring the flower season because many flowers bloom after the snow melts. When the beastmen see the flowers bloom, they know the weather is about to warm up.

Summer is called the hot season by the beastmen. It is the hottest time of the year and also the harvest season for carnivorous beastmen.

At this time, wild beasts often go to the river, so herbivorous and omnivorous orcs rarely go to the river during the hot season, but carnivorous orcs will choose to go to the river more often to hunt wild beasts (some powerful herbivorous/omnivorous orc clans will also try it).

The fruit season (autumn) is a bountiful harvest season for herbivorous/omnivorous orcs. Even the weaker carnivorous orc clans will gather large quantities of fruit at this time to prepare for the winter.