Chapter 121 Wax Tree and Waxworm
The Crow God and the Jackal God fought for a long time, and the Crow God's feathers became more sparse, and he looked a little miserable.
The Jackal God was not in a much better condition. A lot of his wolf hair was burned by the divine fire spewed out by the Crow God, and he was left with bald patches here and there.
The battle on the ground was also very intense. The Jackal Cavalry did not gain any advantage under the attack of the Big Crows, and both sides suffered casualties.
"dumb……"
Finally, the Crow God didn't want to continue this mutually destructive tactic, so he breathed out a breath of divine fire to drive away the Jackal God, then flew away flapping his wings with sparse feathers.
"withdraw!"
The leader of the Crow Tribe shouted and ran away with the Crow God.
The warriors of the Crow Tribe, as well as those big crows, fought and retreated, and soon they all ran away, leaving behind hundreds of corpses on the ground.
On the Jackal Tribe side, a warrior panted and asked, "Chief, should we chase... chase?"
"Go chase, go back!"
The leader of the jackal tribe also had many wounds on his body. Moreover, the jackal god did not chase them. Wouldn't it be courting death if they chased them? This battle ended in such an unclear way, but the hatred between the two sides had been formed. If they met again in the future, they would definitely fight again.
…
Southern Wilderness, Teng Tribe, early morning.
Maidong hesitated for a few days and finally decided to find Jiang Xuan.
Maidong is one of the four two-color warriors from the Mountain Sheep Tribe who joined the Vine Tribe. He is not very tall and his strength is not very strong, but he has a special skill, which is raising waxworms.
Waxworms are the most important thing to the blue sheep tribe besides blue sheep, because they can produce a large amount of insect wax every year.
Because waxworms are easy to grow, Ophiopogon japonicus is very popular among the blue sheep tribe.
But now, the Mountain Sheep Tribe is gone, and after joining the Vine Tribe, he no longer has the opportunity to display his abilities and can only hunt with everyone.
He thought about those waxworms every day and dreamed about them at night.
So, after struggling for a few days, Maidong decided to find Jiang Xuan and see if he could take him back to the Mountain Sheep Tribe.
In the yard in the bamboo forest, Jiang Xuan was planting some plants to repel mosquitoes in front of and behind the house, such as stinking grass and fan grass.
As the weather warms up, annoying mosquitoes are making a comeback.
Whether you live in the forest or in a bamboo forest, there are an outrageous number of mosquitoes, and they are very large.
If you don't find a way to drive away or kill these mosquitoes, you will be bitten every day when you sleep in the house.
“Boom boom boom…”
At the gate of the yard, Maidong knocked on the door before entering according to the custom of the Teng tribe.
Jiang Xuan said without even turning his head: "Tangyuan, go open the door."
Tangyuan, who was strolling in the yard, walked over lazily and opened the gate skillfully.
Although Maidong knew that this purple ferocious bird was raised by Jiang Xuan, he was still frightened and took two steps back when he saw a purple bird head as soon as he opened the door.
Tangyuan felt bored, so he went back to his bamboo shed to sleep.
Mai Dong then dared to walk into the yard, and cautiously came to Jiang Xuan's side and said, "Chief."
Jiang Xuan turned around and saw Mai Dong, so he put down the bone hoe in his hand and asked, "It's Mai Dong, what do you want to talk to me about?"
When Mai Dong saw that Jiang Xuan could remember his name, the distance between them in his heart was slightly shortened.
"Chief, I want to go back to the Mountain Sheep Tribe."
"What are you going back for?" Jiang Xuan asked puzzledly.
"Chief, the waxworms should have started laying eggs. I want to go back and make some insect bags for those eggs. This way, they can grow up smoothly and spit out wax in the fall."
A worm bag is a nest made of hay or other materials, with insect eggs placed inside, which is then hung on a tree. This can protect the larvae from wind, sun and rain, and increase their survival rate.
Without artificial worm bags, the number of waxworms that can hatch successfully and grow up will be greatly reduced.
Mai Dong continued, "Although the Blue Sheep Tribe is gone, the wax trees are still there. As long as they are not destroyed, we can still harvest wax in the fall."
After listening to Mai Dong's explanation, Jiang Xuan's eyes suddenly lit up.
He has already experienced the benefits of insect wax.
Whether it is used to make candles for night lighting or ground into powder and used for healing, it is very good.
It would be best if the mountain forest of the Mountain Sheep Tribe could continue to produce insect wax, and the Vine Tribe could continue to use insect wax in the future.
If they can’t use up all the wax, they can treat it as a precious commodity, like the Blue Sheep Tribe, and trade it with other tribes to obtain other things.
"Okay, after I finish planting these plants, I'll go find the old witch to borrow a giant eagle to accompany you."
"Chief, let me help you plant it."
Jiang Xuan and Maidong quickly planted the remaining stinking grass and fan grass.
Afterwards, the two went to the bamboo house where the old witch lived and borrowed the giant eagle from him.
Although Tangyuan has grown a lot, it will still take some time for him to reach adulthood. Short-distance flights are no problem, but long-distance flights will be very difficult for him.
When Tangyuan really grows up, he won't have to borrow the giant eagle all the time.
When Jiang Xuan told the old witch about the waxworms, the old witch was very interested and wanted to see it for himself.
So, Jiang Xuan said hello to Chishao and others, and then rode the giant eagle with Lao Wu and Maidong to the mountain goat tribe again.
A few hours later, they landed at the former residence of the Blue Sheep Tribe. Looking at the burnt-down ruins and the scattered bones on the ground, Maidong couldn't help but feel grief-stricken and knelt on the ground and cried loudly.
Jiang Xuan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Maidong, stay strong. Although the Rock Sheep Tribe is gone, we still have the Teng Tribe."
The old witch comforted Maidong for a long time before he finally came out of his sad mood.
Mai Dong held a broken bone and said, "Chief, I want to dig a hole and bury them in the soil."
Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "I'll dig with you."
This time, they brought bone hoes and bone plows. Jiang Xuan originally planned to use them to dig wax tree seedlings. He wanted to see if the wax tree could be grown on the mountains near the Teng tribe.
Now, they are just right for digging holes.
Jiang Xuan and Mai Dong chose a good location and started digging the pit, while the old witch helped collect the remaining bones.
Although there are many stones where the mountain goat tribe lives, the soil is relatively loose and not particularly difficult to dig.
With the two people's vigorous digging, soon a large and deep pit was dug.
The old witch collected the human bones into a pile, and the mountain goat bones into a pile, and then Maidong put them into the big pit personally.
Maidong leaned over and cried again, then filled the soil bit by bit.
Not long after, a lonely large tomb appeared on the ruins of the mountain goat tribe, burying the former members of Maidong's tribe and the mountain goats.
After finishing all this, it was already afternoon, but there was still some time before the sun set.
Maidong brought Jiang Xuan and the old witch to a large grove of wax trees next to the settlement of the mountain goat tribe.
The wax trees in this world are a type of tree that grows on high mountains. Most of them are seven or eight meters tall, with very thick trunks and many branches.
The leaves of the wax tree are rich in oil, which can be converted into insect wax after being eaten by waxworms.
"The waxworms have indeed laid eggs."
Maidong stood under a wax tree and found many dead female wax worms on the ground. There were still many living female wax worms among the leaves on the tree, but they were not moving much.
The male wax worm died after mating last fall.
Female wax worms live longer and spend the winter hiding in holes they drill in the trunk or thick branches of wax trees.
When spring comes, these female wax worms will crawl out of their holes, eat the tender leaves on the wax tree, lay eggs after eating for a while, and then die.
Ophiopogon japonicus climbed up quickly, searched for a while, and then picked up two broad leaves from the wax tree.
"Chief, old witch, look, these are waxworm eggs."
Ophiopogon turned over the broad leaves of the wax tree and saw a large number of insect eggs on the back, stuck to the leaves.
Maidong continued: "I will pick off all the leaves that have insect eggs, then make a lot of insect bags and put these leaves into the bags."
"When the tribe was still around, these insect bags would be placed in the house, and after the larvae hatched, they would be hung on the trees and let them eat wax tree leaves."
"But now, we don't have time to wait for them to hatch, so we can only make the worm bags and hang them directly on the trees."
When he said this, Maidong's eyes dimmed again, but he quickly adjusted his mood.
"After the larvae hatch, they will shed their skin and grow bigger. They will start to spit out wax in autumn. By then, many branches will be covered with a thick layer of wax, just like snow."
When Maidong thought of that scene, there was a gleam in his eyes.
After listening to Maidong's introduction, Jiang Xuan and Lao Wu had a certain understanding of this waxworm with a rather strange appearance.
Jiang Xuan sighed in his heart: The world is full of wonders.
"Okay, it's getting late, I need to quickly pick off the leaves with insect eggs."
Maidong tied a hide bag around his waist. He climbed up the tree again and accurately picked the leaves that had insect eggs among the numerous leaves, and put them into the hide bag.
There are hundreds of wax trees of all sizes in this wax tree forest. It is not an easy task to pick all the leaves with insect eggs.
"I'll go help too."
Jiang Xuan also hung a hide bag and climbed up a wax tree. With his extraordinary eyesight, he carefully searched for leaves with insect eggs and picked them.
With this workload, there is definitely no going back today.
The old witch asked the giant eagle to hunt two preys, while he made a fire next to the wax tree forest and built a temporary shelter to prepare for the night.
When the old witch finished building the temporary shelter and lit a fire, the giant eagle returned with a large prey.
At this time, the sun sets and night gradually falls.
Jiang Xuan and Maidong only collected insect eggs from half of the forest. It looks like they will have to continue working tomorrow.
When night really fell, Jiang Xuan and Mai Dong came down from the tree. They walked into the temporary shelter. The old witch had already roasted a lot of meat.
The two of them ate some meat, and Maidong picked a lot of hay. Taking advantage of having nothing to do at night, they started weaving insect bags.
In Jiang Xuan's opinion, the insect bag woven with Ophiopogon japonicus actually looks more like a bird's nest, or a hornet's nest woven with hay.
The worm bag is oval in shape. The upper part is tightly woven and airtight. The middle is empty, but there are several holes at the bottom for the hatched larvae to enter and exit.
After weaving, Maidong put two leaves with insect eggs into the insect bag, and then hung it on the densest branch of a nearby wax tree with a straw rope by the light of the fire.
"That's it. In a few days, the wax worms in the worm bag will hatch and then climb up the tree to eat the leaves."
Maidong looked at the hanging insect bags and felt satisfied.
Then, using the firelight, he began to weave more insect bags.
Jiang Xuan asked Maidong how to weave the insect bag, and then helped to weave the insect bag.
The old witch learned faster than Jiang Xuan. After only watching it a few times, he was able to weave it himself.
They ate barbecue and made a lot of insect bags until they felt sleepy and lay down to sleep in the temporary shelter.
This night, with the giant eagle guarding it, was very peaceful.
The next morning, Jiang Xuan and Maidong continued to climb trees to collect insect eggs, while the old witch was responsible for weaving insect bags on the ground.
It was not until noon that all the insect eggs were collected.
With the efforts of the three people, they wove a large number of insect bags, put insect eggs in them, and hung them on the trees.
After working hard for a whole day, I finally completed the task.
After everything was done, Maidong stood by the wax tree forest, looked at the large and small insect bags hanging on the trees, and prayed: "I hope the Sheep God will protect you and let you grow up smoothly, and produce a lot of wax in autumn.
Jiang Xuan dug up a few wax tree seedlings and put them into animal skin bags with soil. He would take them back to the Teng tribe and then find a mountain to try planting them.
If they can be grown alive, the waxworms can be gradually transferred there later, and you won’t have to travel so far to manage them.
After all, without the giant eagle, traveling such a long distance would be very risky.
"Okay, we should go back."
After digging up the wax tree seedlings, it was time for the sun to set. They didn't plan to spend the night here.
"Let's go."
The old witch covered the fire with mud, making sure it was completely extinguished, and then climbed onto the back of the giant eagle.
Jiang Xuan also went up with the wax tree saplings.
Maidong looked around reluctantly, engraved every blade of grass and tree here deeply in his mind, and then climbed onto the eagle's back.
"Cry!"
The giant eagle took off and flew them towards the Vine Tribe.
Maidong looked back, watching the Mountain Sheep Tribe and the lonely grave getting farther and farther away. Although he was reluctant, he knew that if he wanted to integrate into the Teng Tribe, he should let it go.
There are a lot of predators in the forest at night, and even unknown large birds often fly across the sky.
But no big bird dared to provoke the giant eagle. When they met it, they would stay away from it because the giant eagle was too powerful.
A few hours later, the giant eagle flew back to the rattan tribe and landed in the open space next to the bamboo house.
At this time, most people in the Teng tribe had fallen asleep, and only the warriors in charge of night watch ran over with torches to greet them.
The old witch went back to the bamboo house to sleep. Jiang Xuan and Mai Dong also returned to their own houses to sleep under the escort of the night watchmen.
…
On the other hand, the Crow Tribe, which suffered a series of setbacks, had to move on and look for a suitable place to live.
After moving away from the territory of the Jackal Tribe, they finally came to the Great Swamp and set their sights on the place where the Mountain Turtle Tribe lived!
Thanks to the book friend "Perfect Life" for the reward.
(End of this chapter)
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