May the forest protect you, Xia Clan, who come from the forest.
"Lan... I want to quit the hunting team," Yan Shaofeng said sullenly, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.
He didn't know why, but when Lan rubbed his head, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
But Lan said that it was okay to cry in front of her.
Jiang Yunlan looked at his brightening eyes and smiled gently, saying, "Of course you can. Yan Shaofeng, do you want to cultivate mushrooms? Even if you don't go hunting, you can still bring food to the clan. Not letting everyone go hungry is also a form of protection."
"Me...can I do it?" Yan Shaofeng lacked confidence. Could he, who wasn't a soldier, really successfully cultivate food?
Saying the words "quit the hunting team" had already stripped him of all his courage and confidence.
Jiang Yunlan understood his anxiety. The orcs had so little. They had no choice but to survive by hunting and gathering; if they didn't fight, they wouldn't have food, and if they didn't become warriors, their clan would disappear.
Their environment and the education they received destined them to have only one goal in life: "to become a warrior."
"Do you believe me?" Jiang Yunlan asked.
Yan Shaofeng nodded, his tone instantly becoming confident: "I believe in Lan!"
“Then you definitely can. Because I’ve always felt that you could become an excellent grower. I knew you had that ability, which is why I let you grow mushrooms.”
Looking into Yan Shaofeng's bright eyes, she stated her thoughts: "If you lack confidence, then trust me. Yan Shaofeng, I firmly believe you will become an excellent mushroom grower."
...
“Lan, you really are here,” 022 said, finding the squirrel-beastman cub sitting with its knees drawn up by the edge of the farmland. “Mo Rong will be angry if you don’t eat breakfast on time.”
When Lan comforted the two leopard beastmen, she worried that their presence would prevent them from speaking their minds, so she didn't let it watch. It was obedient and didn't watch their conversation. But it waited a long time, and Lan didn't return to find it. Even Yan Dahe went to eat breakfast, and Lan still hadn't come looking for it.
Fortunately, it knew that Lan liked to look at plants, and it found Lan among the plants.
"Sorry, 022, I didn't come to see you earlier. I'll go have breakfast in a little while." Jiang Yunlan leaned against her knees, her voice, which had been flat, inexplicably revealed a hint of sadness.
022 floated onto her head and patted her forehead with its round hand. "Is Lan sad?"
No.
"Lan is lying again."
"I'm sorry..." Jiang Yunlan looked away from the grass at her feet and let out a long breath. "I just suddenly realized that there are so many things I can't do well."
During the migration, no orcs died in the tribe except for the Green-Clad who died of old age. Perhaps it was because the Healer Clan and Aranya were there that no orcs died.
"Everyone has always trusted me. As long as I'm here, anything can be solved."
But upon arriving on the grasslands, two orcs died on the first outing of the gathering team. I couldn't cure the aftereffects of the squirrel orcs' extreme hunger. I didn't notice the post-battle trauma of the leopard orcs. And I didn't catch the creature that dug out the strange dent…
She felt even more depressed when she thought about how her tribe didn't have enough food to get through the winter, and she began to doubt herself: "Am I really a good chieftain?"
She couldn't help but smile bitterly. She tried to appear calm and convince Yan Shaofeng, but she herself was starting to lack confidence.
I want the orcs to live a life free from worries about food and clothing, I want them to smile happily. It's so difficult.
"Does Lan need a hug?" 022 jumped off the ground, expanded its body into a huge transparent slime, raised its two round hands and said, "I remember there is a saying among humans that hugs can make people feel better."
Jiang Yunlan stared at it for a while, then stood up and pounced on it. 022's soft body was like liquid; holding it felt like holding still water.
“Thank you, 022,” she said.
022 caught the tiny squirrel-like beastman cub steadily, patted her on the back, and heard her say something.
"I will become better and a patriarch that everyone can rely on."
It's okay. She told herself that she would try her best to do well in the future, even if she couldn't do it well now. Now that she had become the clan leader, she had to do her best to fulfill her responsibilities no matter what happened.
Jiang Yunlan let out a breath and took a step back from 022's embrace. She smiled brightly and said in a light tone, "022, let's go eat!"
022 came to call her not too late, and she barely made it to the last bus for breakfast. She stood in front of Mo Rong, blinking her eyes, her tail wagging guiltily from side to side.
"This is breakfast. Don't come too late next time, or the food will get cold and won't taste good." Mo Rong took out a bowl of food that was being kept warm with hot water, his tone very gentle. He usually only got angry when Lan missed mealtime by more than an hour.
After obediently nodding, Jiang Yunlan picked up her breakfast and went to eat at the dining table in the shed.
A few more days passed.
After Jiang Yunlan finished eating breakfast and washing the dishes, she saw Green-Hovered Crow leading other winged beastmen to find her.
"Chief Xia, my clansmen and I should make a trip to the surrounding clans." Green-feathered raven lowered its eyes and looked at the squirrel-beastman cub.
She had no objection and agreed on the spot, after hearing what the Green Perched Crow said.
"Qingzhi and the other two really like the Xia Clan. Could we let them stay in the Xia Clan a little longer? We'll come and pick them up before we go back."
Jiang Yunlan liked the two winged beastmen very much. One was skilled in sewing, and the other was an expert animal breeder. They had helped their people a lot and were very powerful beastmen.
She answered decisively, "Of course."
"On the day you return, why don't you let my people escort you back? On the way back, you might encounter the same beast tribes you've met before. With your clothes and food, it won't be easy for you to deal with them."
"Don't worry, I know you don't want unfamiliar orcs to enter your tribe's habitat. We, the Xia clan orcs, will wait for you at the foot of the mountain to bring out the liquid spiders. That way, you won't need to bring your supplies to the grasslands when the snow season is approaching."
The Green-Winged Crow felt a little embarrassed by such thoughtful words. But thinking of the beasts that had killed two of its kind, it nodded.
The winged beastmen are not good at fighting. If they can get help from the Xia clan, they may be able to return to the clan safely.
Having secured a guide to the other side of the mountain, Jiang Yunlan smiled sincerely. It seemed she needed to work harder to persuade… cough, recruit the argali tribe into the clan. The more argali tribespeople she had, the more confident she would be in leaving Maple Sugar behind to guard the house while she led the rest of the tribe to the other side of the mountain.
The orcs had never seen ore before, so they would have to rely on her and 022 to find it.
"Chief Xia, we'll meet again. May the forest protect you." After saying this, the Green-Winged Crow spread its wings and flew away from the Xia Clan with the feathered beastmen.
Jiang Yunlan was stunned. After watching their flying figures for two seconds, she remembered that the Xia clan was a clan from the forest.
"Salt Clan beastmen, may the mountains protect you!" She blessed them in the way the winged beastmen would.
The blue bird flew away, leaving behind a melodious sound.
It seemed to be the language of the people on the other side of the mountain. Jiang Yunlan didn't understand the winged beastmen's language, but she could tell they were very happy.
“022. Let’s go see Yan Shaofeng.” She said to 022 above her head with a smile in her eyes.
During his time as a grower, Yan Shaofeng focused intently on cultivating mushrooms, even moving his residence to a shelter next to the mushroom house. He nurtured them very well, and the first batch of mushrooms would be ready for harvest in about seven days.
“Yes, this is how you should cultivate these kinds of mushrooms. Very good, you have now learned how to cultivate all the mushrooms in the clan. Yan Shaofeng, you see you can do it.” Jiang Yunlan finished checking the last “homework” she had given to the leopard beastman, walked out of the newly built brick and tile mushroom house, and happily patted the head of the leopard beastman who had come out with her.
The newly cultivated mushrooms in the clan will be placed in the new mushroom house. And she no longer needs to worry about cultivating mushrooms.
Yan Shaofeng recalled the mushrooms he had failed to cultivate, and then thought of the mushroom spores that had successfully grown in the mushroom house, and scratched his head sheepishly.
Just as Lan said, he was indeed able to do it.
“Arashi,” he hesitated for a moment before asking, “Will I one day no longer be afraid of wild beasts? Iwata said she would definitely heal my emotional wounds. Will my wounds heal too?”
He's grown fond of breeding and won't return to the hunting party. Will he ever heal his wounds?
“Yes, that day will come. It just will take a long time, a very long time, so don’t worry. You just have to wait patiently for it to get better,” Jiang Yunlan said.
Not all psychological traumas heal. Perhaps time will eventually allow him to overcome his fear of wild animals, or perhaps he will never be able to fight again. Jiang Yunlan doesn't know which scenario will unfold for him. Perhaps he will realize that this statement was a lie on the day he dies, but she is still willing to utter this deception.
Yan Shaofeng believed Lan without hesitation.
How long is "a long time"? He didn't know, but he would keep waiting. Just like Lan said, he would wait patiently.
"Lan! Brother!" Yan Dahe walked over from the breeding area and saw Lan talking to Yan Shaofeng. He ran over with light steps.
She stopped in front of the two orcs and said excitedly, "The patterned egg we brought back has hatched! It's the chick of a large bird. It looks like a bird we've never seen before."
After she apologized to her brother, he forgave her. Now, every time she successfully hatches an animal, she tells her brother.
022 straightened its body, raised its hand and patted Jiang Yunlan's forehead, "Lan is a creature that has never been recorded before, let's go and take a look!"
Hearing its urging, Jiang Yunlan readily agreed and followed Yan Dahe to the breeding area.
The nest of the blue bird, Little Chirp, in the feeding area.
Jiang Yunlan squatted not far from Xiao Qiu, watching with a puzzled expression as Xiao Qiu stuffed the fledgling bird that wanted to escape back into the nest, and even pushed the unfinished eggshell for it to eat.
The baby bird was incubated next to Little Chirp's nest. According to the sheep-beastman, after hatching, the baby bird accidentally rolled a few times and ended up next to Little Chirp, and that's how things turned out.
"If Xiao Qiu is willing to raise another cub, then let Xiao Qiu raise it." Jiang Yunlan stared at Xiao Qiu's seemingly irritable but actually gentle movements and couldn't help but laugh.
She found the baby bird and the black egg at the same time, and she never expected that the two of them would eventually become brothers and sisters living in the same nest.
“Little Chirp’s temper has improved recently; she’s more willing to let the sheep-beastmen and the Green-Branched Crow get close. 022, do you think Black Egg’s vitality is stronger than before?” She picked up 022 from her head and placed it next to Little Chirp.
Little Chirp glanced at 022, then calmly moved aside a little to let 022 see the eggs it was hatching. It didn't know what 022 was, but it was certain that 022, which it felt very close to, was a very, very good being.
The transparent slime reached out its round hand and gently touched the black egg that had almost died.
"Lan, it's about to be born." 022 turned to look at Jiang Yunlan, her round eyes curving into rainbow shapes.
It survived.
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