Ye Nianzhen gestured for him to be quiet, then whispered to him, "You and Qin Qiu go and hunt a few of them down. Be quick and don't get caught."
"Oh, oh!" Luo Shui finally understood what Ye Nianzhen meant, and quickly tugged at Qin Qiu's sleeve, ready to go hunting.
When they left, Hongxiao insisted on following them, and they did not refuse.
Although Luo Shui thought to herself: This guy just loves to show off in front of Ye Nianzhen! Humph!
The three of them went out hunting, and no one noticed. The leader was actually a little worried because there was very little prey around.
However, a few hours later, when Ye Nianzhen had already settled in at the base and the leader was helping them pack their things, they heard some commotion outside the base.
Upon going outside, I found that almost everyone in the base had gathered at the entrance, looking out and squeezing in.
The leader finally managed to squeeze to the front and then exclaimed in surprise. It turned out that Luo Shui Qin Qiu and Hong Xiao had returned from hunting. Although he didn't know exactly what these people's beast forms were, he guessed that they must be powerful beast forms, since they were called Saintess Ye Nianzhen. Since they were Saintess, the guardians around them could not be weak either.
But the scene before us was too astonishing. Even a very powerful beastman could hunt so many prey in such a scarce environment within a few hours?!
On the open ground outside the base, there was a deer, several rabbits, and a few edible magical beasts. One of the magical beasts was very large and looked somewhat like a dinosaur. It was probably a mutated form of some kind of bird.
This thing can fly!
So many people died on their escape route because of these monsters... and now they've become their food!
The group that had accomplished this feat still looked rather dissatisfied, especially the baby-faced, talkative young man who kept muttering something: "We could have caught their whole family, but if it weren't for Hongxiao, you had to steal the spotlight and rush in to alert them! So annoying!"
The man with the sour face who had been criticized frowned and pulled out one of the monster's claws. Strange-colored blood splattered from the wound, scaring the onlookers into backing away.
He said impatiently, "Shut up! These things can fly, so we can't catch them all in one go. Stop daydreaming!"
The other man, the tallest and most imposing, but not very talkative, spoke up: "At least... we can catch the biggest one."
As soon as he spoke, Hongxiao's bad temper subsided a lot. He was indeed a bit anxious and wanted to make a good impression on Ye Nianzhen. So in the end, they only managed to capture the male adult magical beast, while the other, larger and fatter female magical beast escaped with their cubs.
They caught those rabbits on their way back, and the deer they caught at the beginning. Since they felt they had caught enough magical beasts, they came back, as it was more important to stay by Ye Nianzhen's side.
They were bickering there, and the people in the base couldn't wait any longer. Although they weren't starving to death, they were always hungry, and most of the time they ate tasteless or even unpalatable plants to fill their stomachs. Now that there was so much meat in front of them, it was hard for them not to be excited.
A man rushed up and asked, "Are all of these... available for trade? We don't have many valuable items; we probably can't exchange them for this much meat."
Luo Shui waved her hand and said generously, "You can take these rabbits, they're free. As for the deer, we'll eat them ourselves. If you don't mind the rest, you can take them. As for the magical beast, we'll tell you how to trade it when Ye Nianzhen arrives."
Indeed, rabbits are easy to catch, and there are plenty of them. Once you find their burrows, you can catch a few every now and then to have a taste.
Moreover, they reproduce very quickly, so as long as you don't catch them all at once, you can always have food.
Venison is quite delicious; it's great roasted or used in soup. Ye Nianzhen likes it too, so we won't give it to them.
Monster meat is generally not very tasty, just edible, but it is quite precious and has more energy than ordinary food, so we'll wait for Ye Nianzhen to arrive before making a decision.
Ye Nianzhen arrived quickly.
She discussed it with the base's leader, and the monster meat would be used to offset their living expenses at the base. The leader happily agreed, as the price was negligible and a great deal.
The residents were also very happy, as they were essentially getting meat for free, and if stored properly, the meat could last for a very long time!
As a result, Ye Nianzhen and his group received much better treatment at the base, and everyone treated them much better. After all, no one would want to offend someone who provides food.
That very evening, a lively party was held at the base. Many bonfires were lit in the open space in the center of the base to roast meat. Everyone had a full meal after a long time, and they also dug out some wine that had been hidden underground in the base and drank it. Everyone chatted and danced together and had a great time!
It turns out that this base was originally a large winery, and now they use it as a base. If there is any danger, they will hide in the basement that was originally used to store red wine.
Ye Nianzhen and her group joined them, but they ate roasted venison with their own seasonings, which tasted delicious.
The party lasted until almost dawn before everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.
But when they woke up, they faced a new problem: they didn't have enough salt, so they couldn't cure the rest of the meat, which would be a huge waste for them.
When Ye Nianzhen and the others learned about this, Luo Shui shrugged indifferently: "Eat as much as you can, and bury the rest in the mountains. Next year, there will be plenty of plants in the mountains, and there will be more prey to eat grass. That's what our tribe does!"
Hongxiao had been picking on Luoshui ever since their argument yesterday, and now she taunted him, "We can catch more meat after we finish eating it, but what about them?"
What he said wasn't wrong. Very few people in these bases have superpowers, and even if they do, they don't have powerful abilities suitable for combat. Besides, humans' hunting abilities are inherently inferior to those of the beastmen.
Ye Nianzhen would never get involved in their struggle; that would be too foolish.
She found the leader of the base and asked him, "Isn't there any way to obtain salt?"
Previously, the salt for the base was obtained from warehouses in some cities. If the base was located by the sea, it was even more convenient, as it could be obtained from seawater. Although the taste was not very good, it was still better than having no salt at all in other places.
The leader hesitated and said, "Yes, there is..."
(End of this chapter)
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