| GB | Isn't that Bai? | 114
"A seashell?" Yu Bai leaned forward, examining the object in Huo Duo'er's hand.
Huo Duo'er reached out and poked the shell again, causing it to make the "ying ying" sound once more.
Yu Bai found it novel, his eyes widening.
"...How can it make sounds? It's like it's talking. Huo Duo'er, can you understand it?"
Huo Duo'er shook his head, noticing that his mate wanted to touch the seashell, and raised his hand to stop him.
"This thing is strange, don't touch it."
Although the seashell showed no signs of aggression, Huo Duo'er did not let his guard down.
Yu Bai, hearing this, said, "Oh," and obediently nodded, his stomach growling—he was hungry.
The food had been ready for a while, and Huo Duo'er led him to the stone stove.
While they were eating, A’Sen and the other warriors returned from patrolling the coast, reporting their findings.
"Big Huo, Bai, we found no traces of the Shell Clan orcs, nor did we find the natural salt pit Bai mentioned," A’Sen said, scratching his head, somewhat disheartened.
"Should I go out and look again later?"
The coastline was long, seemingly endless.
Ahead, towering and jagged sea rocks stood, but the exact distance was unclear to the naked eye.
When the sea breeze picked up, the waves crashed against the rocks, and the surroundings did not seem like a livable environment.
The orcs gathered in a circle to discuss. A’Sen noticed the white shell and licked his lips, asking, "Bai, is this edible?"
It wasn't that he was particularly greedy, but river shrimp and crabs had become so delicious.
Previously, orcs thought these things had hard shells, little meat, and no flavor, so they rarely ate them.
But since Yu Bai had developed new cooking methods, these small things had become tasty snacks in their mouths. Whenever they saw something with a shell in the water, they instinctively wanted to pick it up, craving a bite.
Before Yu Bai could answer, the seashell, quietly resting in the sand, made the "ying ying" sound again.
A’Sen and the other warriors scratched their ears, "What's that sound?"
Dozens of eyes were fixed on the seashell; "It can still make sounds?"
Yu Bai was also curious. The seashell was whimpering softly, seemingly frightened by the earlier conversation.
He rolled up his pant legs to his knees, squatted on the sand, glanced at Huo Duo'er, and with the other watching, extended his index finger to gently poke the seashell.
Huo Duo'er, holding a bowl, said, "Bai, eat first."
Yu Bai returned to sit beside him, gnawing on the meat from the bone, when he noticed the tightly closed seashell quivering slightly, emitting a soft whimper, and suddenly opened a crack, as if opening its mouth.
Huo Duo'er stared at the seashell, not letting Yu Bai approach.
By the afternoon, the orc scouts had returned, still finding no traces of the shell tribe's existence.
Huo Duo'er didn't plan to waste time. Following Yu Bai's suggestion, he instructed everyone to gather materials, dig drying grounds, and prepare to extract sea salt.
From that day on, even Chang Sheng wasn't idle.
For Chang Sheng, being able to follow Priest Bai and receive the priest's instructions was a tremendous fortune!
Hearing Priest Bai say that water could be turned into salt...
Could this water really turn into precious salt?!
The orcs present couldn't believe it, and Huo Duo'er was equally puzzled.
But since Yu Bai had spoken, he would just follow along.
As the priest favored by the Orc God, following Bai's lead was surely the right thing to do.
This time, two methods were used to extract salt crystals.
The first was the salt evaporation method. Selecting a suitable site, they dug out ponds, then introduced seawater. Through sun exposure, the water evaporated, leaving behind salt crystals.
It was the height of summer. Although the seaside was windy and wavy, the sunlight was intense enough. As long as they avoided being washed back into the sea by the waves, they could patiently wait.
The second method was boiling salt.
They piled up many stones on the shore, and the orcs collected these stones to make simple filters, removing larger impurities, then used charcoal to adsorb some impurities and odors.
They heated the treated seawater until it boiled, and when the water completely evaporated, salt crystals indeed formed.
When the salt crystals appeared in the pot, a group of strong orc warriors crowded around the pot, dumbfounded, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
"Orc God above, you can actually boiled salt from water!"
"We are blessed by the Orc God!"
"Has Bai ever lied to us?"
Chang Sheng burst into tears, not out of sadness, but from sheer excitement.
After days of labor, they had received such a great reward. The Gray Mouse tribe had finally been blessed by the Orc God!
Huo Duo'er didn't join the crowd of orcs. Instead, he held Yu Bai's hand, wrapped his arm around his waist, and sat down on a rock, stirring the heated soup and watching him drink.
Yu Bai took a few sips, his lips glistening.
The seashell on the sand started whimpering again, opening a crack, trying to get something to eat.
Every time Yu Bai ate, it would open its mouth begging for food, and if it didn't get any, it would keep the crack open for days, getting nothing.
Although it was just two shells, Yu Bai could sense a bit of pity from it.
This seashell was stranded on the shore, strange and alone, with no companions or other orcs coming to look for it.
Yu Bai discussed with Huo Duo'er, "Should we give it something to eat?"
Huo Duo'er nodded.
After observing for a few days and confirming the seashell posed no threat, he allowed Yu Bai to "play" with it for a while.
Yu Bai tossed a strip of chicken into the crack of the seashell, and the shell's whimpering sounded somewhat cheerful.
After feeding a piece of chicken, Yu Bai, with a gentle smile, returned to Huo Duo'er's side and sat down: "It seems quite happy."
As night fell, stars hung over the sea.
Except for the warriors on duty, the other orcs, seeking coolness, were soaking in the shallows with their bare torsos.
Chang Sheng didn't go anywhere, he was responsible for tending the fire. Whenever new salt crystals were produced, he would be so moved that he would shed tears, kneeling towards heaven and earth, murmuring thanks to the Orc God and Priest Bai, taking quite a while to calm down.
Yu Bai went to sleep on time.
Inside the tent were some collected seashells, quite colorful, which could be taken back to the tribe as gifts for the orcs.
There were also shells in the tent, placed on the low table, reflecting the faint firelight, their surfaces emitting a mesmerizing, glossy sheen.
Yu Bai curled up in Huo Duo'er's arms, their necks intertwined as they slept. The light emitted by the shells in the corner grew increasingly intense. Suddenly, Huo Duo'er felt a headache, the veins on his forehead throbbing. He tightened his embrace around his orc mate: "Bai!"
Yu Bai's face was covered in sweat, having already lost consciousness from the pain.
Huo Duo'er stared at the light source in the tent, about to throw it out, when suddenly a bright light filled his vision, plunging him into a white, luminous circle. The warmth in his arms grew increasingly empty, and he instinctively tightened his grip.
"Bai!"
—
Huo Duo'er opened his eyes, his arms empty. Just as he anxiously searched for Yu Bai, he looked up and was stunned.
Before him stretched a green grassy slope, and on the winding path, a small boy with a basket on his back was running.
The features, when scaled down proportionally, were unmistakably those of his Bai!
Yu Bai was also dumbfounded.
He was actually seeing his five-year-old self.
Not only that, but Huo Duo'er was also there, watching!
He walked up to the other, trying to take that large hand.
"Huo Duo'er!"
He couldn’t touch him, and the other didn't hear him.
Huo Duo'er saw the tiny Yu Bai running forward and, without thinking, followed.
The rural area was built along the mountain, with over forty households.
Little Yu Bai returned to his small courtyard with the medicinal herbs in his basket. At the door, his mother was collecting the dried clothes, and his grandfather was hoeing the medicinal herbs in the field.
Little Yu Bai was picked up by his grandfather and placed on his lap. The old man flipped through the herbs in the basket, laughing and praising him for being clever. His mother leaned over, also laughing, saying, "Xiao Yu is so amazing!"
Huo Duo'er followed into the courtyard, watching the little Yu Bai being held on the old man's knee. His strong arms passed through, trying to hold the boy in his own arms, but still, he couldn't touch him.
Yu Bai stood beside him, looking at his usually composed partner now in a daze, then at his mother and grandfather, his eyes instantly welling up with tears.
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