Searching for food in a cave in a forest inhabited by a mixed race...
Jiang Yunlan and the beastmen secretly observed the furball beasts for two whole days, during which time they witnessed the furball beasts working together to hunt animals that came to drink water by the river.
They are not sensitive to smell or sound, relying more on sight to find prey. They rarely grow larger unless hunting creatures taller than themselves.
As another day began, Jiang Yunlan and the beastmen hid in the trees, waiting for the furry beasts to come to the river to drink.
Time passed slowly, and the furry creatures appeared on the riverbank, hopping and skipping. They made "plop plop" sounds as they jumped into the river to catch fish.
They've eaten almost all the fish in this section of the river; after today, it'll be time to move on to a new section.
After catching the few remaining large fish, the furry beasts, having only eaten half their fill, leaped out of the river, frantically shaking themselves to shake off the water. Their completely wet fur became semi-dry, and the furry beasts hopped and skipped into the forest, no longer glancing at the tiny fish fry in the river.
A small, furry creature had barely caught any fish that day. Unable to eat its fill, it kept looking back at the river, gradually drifting away from its companions.
Seeing this, Jiang Yunlan knew that the time she had been waiting for had come. She patted Ah Bai beside her, signaling him to get ready to grab her and jump away. She took out some smoked fish from the vine pouch at her waist and tossed it to the furry beast in front of her.
The food falling from the sky made the furry beast's black hole-like eyes widen, and it pounced on it, devouring the piece of fish in one gulp.
Having never eaten smoked fish before, it loved the rich flavor and decisively pounced on another fish in its field of vision.
Jiang Yunlan called out "Cuckoo, cuckoo" a few times, mimicking the sound of birds to remind Heitu to drop the fish.
The furry beast walked towards you.
A series of "cuckoo cuckoo" sounds responded to Lan, a message from Mo Rong, who lived on the same tree as Hei Tu.
The furry creature has been attracted.
Jiang Yunlan understood. He patted Ah Bai and pointed in the direction the furry beast had gone. He understood Lan's plan and knew what Lan meant. He hugged Lan tightly and helped her nimbly jump from one tree to another, heading towards the agreed-upon route.
Pieces of fish fell from Jiang Yunlan's hand, tempting the furry beast that was obsessed with food.
The delicious food intoxicated the beast. The hungry furry beast forgot to keep up with its companions and forgot to call them back, happily jumping around as it ate.
Unaware of the beastmen silently closing in from behind, it was eventually trapped between several vines and grass nets, dying from the beastmen's attack.
"Plop—"
The furry beast let out a dying cry, unable to break free from the last vine and grass net, and lay dormant on the ground.
In the distance, the five furry creatures, realizing it hadn't followed, returned to the riverbank. They searched for a while before finding its footprints and hurriedly gave chase.
They didn't find their companions, but instead discovered a scent that made them grit their teeth in hatred. Although the scent was largely masked by the aroma of a plant, the furry beasts, sniffing the soil, still recognized it.
It's the scent of those damned orcs, the scent of those who killed another of their comrades.
Jiang Yunlan and Abai walked at the back of the group, clearing away the footprints left by the beastmen.
The furry beast they hunted today was a bit smaller than the one from last time. Lan and the beastmen took it to another place to dissect it, and happily returned to the cave with baskets full of fur and meat on their backs.
Having lost their companion once again, the furry beasts were so angry that they refused to leave the river, wandering around the river repeatedly, which resulted in them not being able to eat anything all night.
The animals knew they were near this river, so they preferred to travel to a distant, dry riverbed to drink the unclean, stagnant water rather than come here.
So, on the morning of the second day, another furry creature fell into the food trap and gradually drifted away from its companions.
A furry beast spotted it walking away and chased after it, falling into a trap with it, where it was impaled by an orc wielding a stone spear.
The three furballs, having lost two more companions, were dumbfounded, finally realizing they had been ambushed by the treacherous orcs. The arrogant furballs decided to swallow their anger for now and return next year with a large group of companions to devour all the orcs in the forest.
Jiang Yunlan did not give them a chance for revenge.
After battling the four fluffy beasts, she had mastered the art of kiting them. It was easy to draw their aggro; whoever hit them the hardest, they would chase after and attack.
There were three fluffy beasts. She and Ah Bai restrained one, taking it for a stroll in the forest. The remaining two could be dealt with by Feng Hong and the others. With the vine net, they could hold off one first, and then kill the fluffy beast that wasn't caught in the net.
A gust of wind swept by, and Jiang Yunlan, perched on Ah Bai's shoulder, aimed her sharp bone arrow at the pursuing furry beast.
She can't kill the fluffy beast, but if she can hit its eyes, the fluffy beast that wants to stop will chase after her again.
Ah Bai was timid, the kind of orc who would be frightened by the gaze of a strange orc, but at this moment he held Lan tightly, refusing to let go even a little. He had promised Lan that he would not run back to find Feng Hong and the others until his strength was about to run out.
He heard the sound of hearts pounding, his own voice, and Lan's voice.
He suddenly realized that even Arashi could feel fear.
Lan needs him, she needs him very much.
He is needed.
Ah Bai, the lop-eared rabbit beastman who had been ignored by the rabbit beastmen all along, only now realizes that he is useful. He too can be a useful beastman, instead of a discarded one.
Here, beside Lan, he is the orc who will be chosen.
Because he was needed, because he was being protected, the timid orc was willing to face danger head-on. For Lan, for his people, he would keep running until the furry beast was killed.
...
Ah Bai couldn't remember when he stopped sprinting.
All he remembered was the strong wind, and the furry beast roaring as if it were about to pounce. But they won. No matter how terrifying the beast's roar, it would eventually be killed by its own kind.
A small, cold hand touched his forehead as the furry beast died, and praised him with a smile: "Ah Bai did a good job."
He crouched down and looked down at Lan, who was stroking him, and smiled shyly.
He might be afraid, but not terrified. Because Lan said that when he was tired, that would be the time when the fluffy beast would be killed.
The river has returned to its former tranquility and safety.
The beastmen, carrying fire and earthenware jars, and laden with wool, came to the riverbank. They washed the wool, removing the grease. Several discs woven from vines appeared on the riverbank, where the beastmen placed the treated wool balls.
As Feng Hong performed these tedious and repetitive actions, her mind gradually went blank. She couldn't understand why Lan wanted to wash this thing; wasn't it enough to just cover herself with it?
Has Lan discovered something again?
The doubts lingered until nightfall. As Feng Hong practiced controlling her strength with the wood, she saw Lan take out a strange object and then retrieve the previously dried down, which only deepened her confusion.
"Qiuguo, look at me." Jiang Yunlan held one spindle herself and handed another spindle to Qiuguo.
One end of the spindle was made into the shape of a small hook, which made the spindle easier to spin thread.
Jiang Yunlan scooped out a strip of fluff that had been twisted into a thread, hooked one end of the fluff with a hook, and began to spin it.
The fluffy fibers formed threads, and the threads coalesced into a ball. An oval ball of yarn appeared.
As Qiu Guo watched, she gradually understood how to spin thread. She took the fluff Lan handed her and slowly spun thread. Now that she could spin thread, Jiang Yunlan grabbed some cotton, took out another spindle, and let cotton learn to spin thread. Soon, A Bai and Yan Lin were also brought over to learn.
Lan and the two cubs, Black Soil and Black Velvet, were weaving clothes with the spun thread. As for Maple Syrup and Rock, the two orcs who couldn't learn to weave, they were sent to brush the fur.
Maple Red, who would damage the fluffy fabric, doesn't deserve a name. She's currently struggling to learn how to control her strength.
That night, Jiang Yunlan didn't let the beastmen stay up all night. Weaving clothes wasn't something that could be done in one night.
The orcs slept soundly; they were exhausted from all the day's work and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Jiang Yunlan was no exception; she curled up and slept peacefully.
However, when Jiang Yunlan woke up the next day, the moment she stepped out of the cave and away from the fire, she was so cold that she shivered and goosebumps appeared on her skin.
She realized that she could no longer go out to gather food while wearing only animal skins, or she would catch a cold.
Fortunately, they had obtained a large amount of thorny fruit and meat from fluffy beasts, so even if they didn't go out, the beastmen would have enough food to get through the winter. However, she frowned with worry as she looked at the pile of fluffy beast meat that she couldn't put into the cave.
We need to find a safe place to store them.
Jiang Yunlan sprinkled a strong, minty-scented plant liquid around them, but she was still worried that too much meat would attract hungry wild beasts. Feng Hong and the others had just finished hunting the furry beasts and were already exhausted, so they really didn't have the energy to deal with other wild animals.
The little squirrel-like beastman sniffed and retreated back into the warm cave with a fire, his expression somber.
When Maple Syrup saw Lan's expression, she immediately knew that Lan was in trouble.
"Lan".
Hearing her name called, she looked in the direction of the voice and saw Maple Sugar making a "kill" gesture. She understood what Maple Sugar meant. Maple Sugar said, "We will solve Lan's troubles."
The beastmen couldn't think of anything that could bother Lan besides food and wild beasts. Since they already had food, it must be the wild beasts' fault.
Upon seeing Maple Syrup's actions, the orcs shouted in unison, "Kill!" Rock Forest was among them.
They've already killed the furball beast, so they're not afraid to kill other wild animals.
Jiang Yunlan understood what they meant and shook her head with a smile: "Don't kill wild animals."
“We need to store food.” She pointed to the furry beast meat on the semi-circular platform and gestured to the beastmen.
The orcs suddenly realized what was happening.
Feng Hong suddenly stood up, walked outside the cave, picked up the vine basket on her back, turned to Lan inside the cave and said, "Let's go."
The Deer-Beastman clan had always had a cave for storing food. However, before the clan chieftain left, he told Feng Hong to only go there if she couldn't find any more food. Feng Hong was obedient; she could find food herself and never went there.
But if Lan wants to go, then let her go.
Jiang Yunlan and the beastmen, carrying the meat of the furball beasts on their backs, followed behind Feng Hong onto the path connecting the semi-circular platform.
The orcs walked upwards, turning off a dangerous path that bordered the cliff.
A safe path lay before the orcs, and Jiang Yunlan couldn't help but look up, just in time to see a small platform above the mountain. Six-petaled white flowers bloomed from the cliff face to the platform, forming a sea of flowers like a waterfall.
She stared blankly at the pure white flowers that she knew all too well.
022 noticed her suddenly stop and stare at a sea of flowers, and asked in confusion, "Why are you looking at it like that?"
Jiang Yunlan was brought back to her senses by its voice. She looked away and followed the beastmen who had stopped to wait for her. She said calmly, "It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered that a very good friend of mine said I look like it. She likes flowers and looks up the meaning of every flower."
"However, after I graduated from junior high school, we gradually lost contact and were probably no longer friends."
Her tone wasn't sad, just nostalgic. "Although we're not friends anymore, I'm actually very grateful for her company back then, and I'm also grateful that she said that flower looked a lot like me."
"She made me realize that I am actually a very good person in the eyes of others."
Upon hearing this, 022 glanced back at the flowers on the cliff face. It remembered that there was a flower on Earth that looked just like that.
It is Clematis macrantha.
A note from the author:
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The flower language of Clematis macrantha: nobility and a beautiful heart.
*
The little angel "Nan Shige" poured 100 bottles of magic potion into the magic circle, successfully using the large magic circle "Angel's Blessing" on Jiang Yunlan and other orcs.
Ding! Congratulations to Jiang Yunlan and the other orcs for receiving the "Blessing of the Angel".
The landmine thrown by the little angel "Falling Mist" (2024-12-10 19:31:03) travels through time and space, causing a stun effect on the fluffy beast, which weakens the fluffy beast's attack power.
The landmine thrown by the little angel "vv" (2024-12-21 19:31:36) travels through time and space, causing a fluffy effect on the fur of the fluffy beast, making the fur of the fluffy beast warmer.
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