| GB | Should Not Be Seen | 77
Watching the retreating figures of Man and Ze, Huo Duo'er shook his head slightly and said, "Ze is like this with everyone."
Ze had a bright and inclusive personality and was skilled in social interactions. The chief had assigned most of the tasks of communicating with other tribes to Ze, and over the past two years, he had done an excellent job.
Yu Bai's suspicions were dispelled upon hearing Huo Duo'er's response, and he shifted his attention back to the field.
A’Liao and a few other orcs from the giant tribe, seeing that Man had left, also gave up on the idea of participating in the competition.
They realized that no matter how powerful the giant tribe was, they were not generally accepted by the orc tribe because the orcs feared them.
A’Liao looked somewhat disappointed. After exchanging glances with a few of his tribesmen, he said nothing, turned around, and silently left one after another.
Once they had left the field, the surrounding orcs gradually breathed a sigh of relief.
"Will the competition continue?"
"Of course!" The male orcs nearby were unwilling to give up and were also excited. They rolled up their sleeves, eager to seize this opportunity to find a mate.
Without Man's intimidating presence, their chances of winning were higher. Why wouldn't they compete?
Yu Bai sighed softly, realizing that there seemed to be some misunderstandings between the orc tribe and the giant tribe.
This misunderstanding stemmed from their lack of interaction with the giant tribe. It wasn't something that could be resolved with a few kind words from him. It would take the right opportunity and time to ease the tension.
Yu Bai looked at Huo Duo'er, his thoughts swirling.
Huo Duo'er had initially been a loner, keeping his distance from everyone except Yu Bai.
Over the past three years, aside from leading expeditions, Huo Duo'er had maintained a certain distance from the orcs. Most of the orcs in the Yuan tribe were closer to Yu Bai, while they held Huo Duo'er in high regard.
In the past, Yu Bai had rarely interacted with orcs. He was naturally shy, and due to his poor health, he had been somewhat insecure, which made him hesitant to make friends.
However, as long as others showed kindness, Yu Bai was quite willing to get to know more people.
Now that his health had improved and he had lived with Huo Duo'er for a few years, being cared for in every way, his personality had become much more open, and he had naturally made more friends.
He muttered, "You and Man are not like that."
Huo Duo'er's expression remained calm, but his gaze softened only when he looked at Yu Bai.
"I only care about those who matter to me."
So, how other orcs viewed him was something Huo Duo'er never concerned himself with.
Huo Duo'er thought this way, and Man, A’Liao, and the other male orcs shared similar sentiments.
Today, after Man's failed attempt to court a female orc, the giant tribe would likely avoid interacting with other tribes for a long time.
Late into the night, the Milky Way stretched across the sky, and the chirping of insects in the grass grew faint.
The trading grounds, which had been bustling with activity, finally returned to tranquility.
Yu Bai wiped himself down with warm water and quietly nestled into Huo Duo'er's arms.
As they lay entwined, the sky had not yet brightened, and the surroundings gradually became lively again.
Huo Duo'er held his drowsy mate, his lips gently kissing the smooth forehead.
"Go back to sleep."
Yu Bai softly murmured an "Mmm" and slept until noon.
—
Just past noon, a fine drizzle began to fall over the mountains. Yu Bai rubbed his sleepy eyes and peered through the tent flap to see Huo Duo'er cooking.
Man and Ze had also arrived, and the two were gathered around Huo Duo'er, seemingly discussing something.
After yesterday's competition, Yu Bai had thought that Man would be disheartened for a while. But upon closer observation, Man was laughing heartily, as if he had no lingering concerns.
Man was the first to notice Yu Bai and waved at him.
Huo Duo'er turned his body and with a sweep of his arm, pulled his approaching mate into his embrace.
"I've cooked some porridge. You can eat after you finish washing up."
Yu Bai nodded obediently. Seeing that the washing utensils were already prepared by the other, he picked up the toothbrush and squatted in a patch of grass to clean himself.
Man clicked his tongue, and Ze smiled as he asked, "Envious?"
Man glanced at him, "Of course. Big Huo is really lucky to find such a good orc mate like Bai. Who wouldn't be envious? Aren't you?"
Ze stroked his chin, nodding slightly, then shook his head.
Man: "What do you mean?"
Ze pretended to be mysterious, "Nothing."
Man: "Why didn't you compete yesterday? I remember you haven't found a mate either. Don't you want to form a bond?"
Ze: "There's no rush now. We'll see later."
Man scoffed, "So mysterious."
Yu Bai finished washing up, his cheeks warm with the steam.
Huo Duo'er used a soft linen cloth to dry him off and handed him a bowl of porridge.
Yu Bai took a sip of the porridge, "How's the trading going?"
Huo Duo'er: "A’Lin is handling it. It should be done by this afternoon."
They planned to return to the tribe after completing the trade. With the heavy rains this year, they intended to exchange for more grain.
Just as they were thinking this, Pipi, the leader of the Feather orcs, approached.
Pipi was an adult male orc that was not particularly strong, he was dressed in a short linen robe with a bone necklace around his neck. His waist-length brown hair was adorned with a few brightly colored feathers, giving him a somewhat scholarly air. His exposed arms and legs showed thin muscles.
Seeing Huo Duo'er and Yu Bai, he merely nodded slightly, offering a friendly smile, and did not intrude.
Yu Bai stood up to greet him, "Pipi."
The chief had entrusted him with the task of exchanging for millet, so he had been dealing with the Feather orcs for the past few years.
Pipi’s smile was a bit nervous, "This year's harvest in our tribe is thirty percent more than usual. Do you still want it?"
Yu Bai said happily, "We'll take as much as you have. We'll trade fine salt in proportion."
Remembering the fields ruined by the rain, a matter concerning the tribe, he concealed his expression and gestured for Pipi to lower his body, indicating he wanted to whisper.
Pipi quickly said, "Oh," and glanced at Huo Duo'er's expression before lowering his head, his ears slightly red, not daring to meet Yu Bai's eyes.
"Besides the Feather tribe, Pipi, do you know any other tribes? If they have grain, we'll take it all."
Pipi was surprised, "So much grain?"
Yu Bai's eyes shifted, "Yes."
He added, "The tribe has taken in many orcs. More mouths to feed means we need more grain."
He could only use this reason to cover up the news of the ruined fields.
Pipi didn't doubt him, "Then I'll contact a few other friends and have them bring the grain over."
Small tribes would band together to avoid being swallowed up. The Feather tribe had good relations with several nearby small tribes, working together to cultivate millet.
Initially, Pipi was hesitant to recommend his friends to Yu Bai, fearing Yu Bai might think they were too greedy. Now that Yu Bai had brought it up himself, it was even better.
The more salt, the better. There was never enough to go around among the orcs.
After discussing, Pipi quickly brought over the leaders of the White Feather and Red Feather tribes. The leaders were around the same age as Pipi and were easy to talk to, and honest.
After hearing Pipi’s words, they agreed without hesitation, handing over all the millet they had brought to the Yuan tribe, and took fine salt back with them.
Not far away, Man glanced at Huo Duo'er and said, "Big Huo, your little orc mate is truly a treasure."
—
The next day, after leading the team to inventory the food supplies, Huo Duo'er set off on the journey back.
Along the way, they encountered a relatively small beast tide, most of the attacking creatures being pangolin beasts.
The sharp howls of the beasts startled the mountain birds into scattering, and the creatures hidden in the soil surrounded them.
The tree canopy here reached high into the sky. Huo Duo'er extended a vine with his left hand and helped Yu Bai settle onto the canopy above.
The young sub-female half-lay on top of the canopy was visibly nervous.
"Huo Duo'er..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the beasts launched their attack.
Pangolin beasts were adept at hiding in the soil to ambush their prey. They had six legs, each equipped with sharp claws, and their bodies were covered in tough fur.
Though not particularly large, their meat was tender and flavorful. A single pangolin beast could barely satisfy a full-grown male orc for a day.
This beast tide was relatively small, and it happened to cross paths with Huo Duo'er's team. He manipulated the vines to weave underground, herding all the pangolin beasts together. A’Lin and Ze seized the opportunity, leading the warriors to encircle and eliminate them.
The beast tide was wiped out in just over half an hour. A’Lin and the orcs gathered the carcasses, tied them up, and transported them back to the tribe.
Man stood with his arms crossed, he was full of strength but he didn’t help.
He glanced at Ze and said, "With Big Huo here, it's not my place to interfere. But if you couldn't handle it, we'd have a share of these pangolin beasts too."
He had joined the Yuan tribe's team with A’Liao, and they had to follow orders in everything.
The Yuan tribe warriors had their own methods for dealing with such a small beast tide. If they acted rashly, it would be like openly challenging Big Huo and stealing food.
After resolving the beast tide, they secured another batch of food was obtained.
Huo Duo'er brought Yu Bai down from the canopy and held him in his arms. "Still nervous?"
Yu Bai shook his head with a smile.
Although he had lived in this otherworld for several years, his mindset hadn't fully adjusted. He often forgot that orcs possessed the ability to fight beasts.
Observing the pangolin beasts' fur, he seemed deep in thought.
"Huo Duo'er, this fur is very tough. Do you think it could be made into armor?"
"Armor?"
Man and Ze spoke in unison.
Yu Bai nodded. "Wooden spears can hardly pierce the pangolin beasts' fur. If we make armor for the warriors, even if there's not enough material, we could focus on protecting key areas, like making backplates."
Ze: "That's a great idea! If all the warriors could wear sturdy backplates, it would definitely reduce casualties. Bai, why didn't I think of that earlier?"
Yu Bai blushed. "The Orc God showed me something similar, so it came to mind right away."
Ze was filled with respect, while Man sighed heavily. "Big Huo is so lucky!"
—
The mountain birds nesting in the wild forest were startled by Man's roar and flew away, flapping their wings.
Yu Bai chuckled softly and placed a flower crown he had made on Huo Duo'er's head.
"There were so many flowers on the tree. I picked some and made this for you."
The sight of the stern giant orc with a small flower crown on his head was undeniably comical.
Man was the first to burst into laughter, but he quickly swallowed it when Huo Duo'er shot him a look.
Ze: "What are you laughing at? Should I make one for you too?"
Man shuddered. "I wouldn't wear that. A’Liao would make fun of me."
Huo Duo'er reassured Yu Bai, "I like it."
"I like anything you give me."
Yu Bai's face turned red, and the nearby warriors began to cheer.
"Kiss! Kiss!"
Yu Bai: "Ignore them..."
Huo Duo'er: "Mhm."
Whenever he kissed Bai, he would kiss him until his body went soft, his eyes brimmed with tears, and his cheeks flushed red.
His mate should never be seen by other orcs.
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