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The sky was bathed in a myriad of radiant hues, the high cliffs reflecting golden light, and the surrounding sea of trees shimmered with an orange glow. A light, cool drizzle fell—a sunshower.
The animal skin tent stood by the water, and Yu Bai, along with two orcs, were dealing with the beast meat.
In three more days, they would return to the tribe. Although the journey had been safe, it had not been entirely peaceful.
Since encountering the pangolin beast, they had faced a wave of beast tides almost every day. Though the scale was not large, dealing with them took a considerable amount of time.
Yu Bai marinated the beast meat with scallions and ginger to remove the gamey smell before frying and stewing it in the pot.
In the meantime, Yu Bai washed the fruits he had gathered from the surroundings and served the fried beast meat on a ceramic plate, pairing it with two fruits to cut the greasiness.
Huo Duo'er and Man returned, each male orc carrying at least two or three wild beast carcasses, piling them up to be processed after they had eaten.
Huo Duo'er squatted by the river to wash the bloodstains off his hands, only approaching Yu Bai once the smell was gone.
He took the plate of meat Yu Bai handed him, his beastly eyes softening a bit. "You've worked hard."
Man rubbed his hands together. "Uh... Bai, can I have some too?"
Yu Bai, who didn’t have a big appetite, nodded.
Huo Duo'er frowned at Man, whose arms were still stained with blood. "Go wash your hands."
Man let out an "Oh," and while washing his hands, he bumped into Ze and couldn’t help but mutter, "You guys have so many rules. Even Big Huo is like this. Why does everyone have to clean up before eating?"
Ze explained with a smile, "This is what Bai taught everyone. It’s best to pay attention to hygiene when it comes to what goes into your mouth, and the places we live should also be kept clean."
"Hygiene?" Man was puzzled, but seeing that the warriors of the Yuan tribe all did this—some even pulling out a small object from their animal skin shorts to scrub their hands—he didn’t say anything more.
He nudged Ze. "What’s that thing? Do you have any?"
Ze replied, "Soap. I didn’t bring any because it’s a hassle. If you want some..."
Before he could finish, Man had already washed his hands and moved closer to Yu Bai.
Yu Bai, ever patient, handed Man a plate. "The meat has a bit of fruit sauce on it. Huo Duo'er likes this flavor. Give it a try."
Man chuckled, noticing that the plate Yu Bai used was different from his, with small carvings of flowers and birds on the surface—it looked quite pretty.
"If Big Huo likes it, I’m sure I’ll like it too."
Man was about to ask Yu Bai for some of the soap Ze mentioned, but catching Big Huo’s gaze, he quickly shut his mouth, grabbed a piece of meat, and left.
Yu Bai watched Man walk away with a gentle smile, his eyelashes curving slightly. Suddenly, warmth enveloped his back as Huo Duo'er’s arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him into an embrace.
Huo Duo'er used a stone knife to cut the meat and fed it to Yu Bai.
Yu Bai accepted the feeding for a while, but when he was about 60-70% full, he shook his head.
"You eat."
Huo Duo'er responded with a low "Mhm," still holding Yu Bai with one arm while using the other to pick up pieces of meat and eat heartily.
The orcs who had already finished eating started a fire nearby to process the hunted beasts. Yu Bai played with Huo Duo'er’s rough fingers, then took out a small jar from his pocket, applying some ointment to the scratches on Huo Duo'er’s palm.
Huo Duo'er lowered his gaze and planted a kiss on Yu Bai's forehead. He then leaned down, kissing from his soft cheek to the ear, leaving Yu Bai's neck damp with his breath. After a few lingering licks, he finally let go, breathing heavily.
The night had fallen, and the darkness concealed the flush on Yu Bai's cheeks.
He glanced at Huo Duo'er, covering his damp neck, "We're still outside..."
Huo Duo'er nodded gently, "Just a kiss."
Yu Bai responded with an "Oh," smiling shyly.
The night breeze lifted his slightly curly, dense hair. Huo Duo'er lowered his head to sniff it, letting Yu Bai rest in his arms as he continued to eat.
Yu Bai finished applying ointment to Huo Duo'er's hand. His gaze drifted over the flickering flames, quietly watching the orcs handling the beast meat.
"Hasn’t the frequency of the beast tides been unusually high recently?"
Huo Duo'er pondered, "Hmm."
Yu Bai was about to say more when a rough voice interrupted from behind.
Man knocked on his plate, somewhat embarrassed, "Is there any more meat?"
His eyes then turned to Huo Duo'er's bowl, "Big Huo, the fruit-glazed meat Bai made is really delicious."
Huo Duo'er had no words, silently sharing the remaining meat.
Man chuckled, "Keep cuddling, I won't disturb you!"
But he didn't leave immediately, his eyes fixed on Yu Bai, clicking his tongue, "Bai, most of these beast meats are sour and gamey, but the way you cook them is delicious."
Yu Bai explained softly, "I marinated the beast meat with spices."
Man had an epiphany, though not entirely.
"So that's how it is. I can't cook, so I'll have A’Liao come over later. Can you teach him this method?"
Yu Bai was about to agree when his waist was pinched, causing him to stammer, "Tomorrow..."
Man replied, "Alright, Bai, you're so kind!"
After encountering several beast tides, Man and A’Liao had caught quite a few, even sending some to Yu Bai as a token of gratitude.
Man pinched his nose, "Though these meats are sour and gamey, they're still edible. This year's harvest wasn't enough, so we can't be picky."
Having meat is still better than eating grass.
The giants and the Yuan tribe have close ties, and Man was aware that the Yuan tribe's harvest had significantly decreased this year.
Yu Bai and Huo Duo'er exchanged a glance, whispering, "It can't be helped."
Late into the night, rustling sounds came from outside the tent.
Yu Bai curled up in Huo Duo'er's warm chest, disturbed by the noise and unable to sleep soundly.
Sensing Huo Duo'er getting up, he groggily sat up, eyes still closed, mumbling, "What's happening?"
Huo Duo'er quickly returned to the tent, holding something by the scruff of its neck.
The creature was terrified, not daring to bare its teeth at Huo Duo'er, its throat suppressing a growl, tail tucked, and ears flattened.
Huo Duo'er said sternly, "This thing was disturbing your sleep."
Yu Bai opened his eyes, the sleepiness vanishing as he exclaimed, "A cat?"
But it didn't quite look like a cat, with black and yellow stripes, wild and leopard-like, its eyes resembling a leopard's.
"Is it a leopard cat?"
Yu Bai murmured, seeing Huo Duo'er about to kill the leopard cat, he quickly stopped him.
"Never mind, it didn't bite anyone. Let it go."
Huo Duo'er slightly raised his head, tossing the creature outside.
After washing his hands, he pulled Yu Bai back into his arms to lie down.
The next day, Yu Bai discovered that the leopard cat hadn't left. It was curled up in the grass not far behind the tent, continuously moaning. The orcs around, seeing it was too small to pose any threat, simply ignored it.
Huo Duo'er was organizing the team to set off. The nearby beast tide had been cleared, and the road was temporarily safe.
As they started their journey, Yu Bai lay on Huo Duo'er's shoulder, watching the leopard cat limping along behind them. It didn't approach the orcs but followed at a distance.
Yu Bai was puzzled, "Why isn't it leaving?"
Ze, who was responsible for flanking the rear, glanced at the leopard cat. Though not particularly interested, he still answered Yu Bai's question.
"Perhaps the frequent beast tides have left it injured. It's easy prey for other beasts if it stays alone in the wild. Seeing that we didn’t harm it, it's following us."
During a brief rest at noon, Yu Bai saw the leopard cat lying in the grass. He asked Huo Duo'er to cut a piece of meat and toss it near the leopard cat.
"Eat."
The leopard cat hesitated, but it was too hungry and injured. It looked up in Yu Bai's direction for a while, seeing the smallest two-legged creature smiling at it, and then lowered its head to take a big bite of the meat.
After finishing the meat and cleaning its paws, the leopard cat noticed the larger two-legged creature picking up the smaller one and leaving. It continued to follow, limping along.
Dark clouds loomed overhead as they prepared to enter the territory of the Yuan tribe.
A wind blew towards them, and Yu Bai caught a faint whiff of blood in the air, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
Huo Duo'er quickly arranged for A’Lin and Ze to lead people back to the tribe, and instructed Man to take several giants, except for A’Liao, to assist the surrounding small tribes.
Yu Bai tightened his throat, "Is it..."
Huo Duo'er said, "The beast tide."
As he spoke, he unfolded a piece of animal hide and wrapped Yu Bai from head to toe.
"Bai, get on my back and hold on tight."
"Mm!"
Yu Bai didn't want to add more burden. After covering himself with the animal hide, he obediently moved behind Huo Duo'er and clung tightly to him. Huo Duo'er swiftly carried him back to their territory.
—
Inside the inner city of the Yuan tribe, chaos reigned. Whether it was the females or the young, the weaker groups all huddled together, trusting their backs to their fellow tribesmen, forming circles to fend off the beasts that had run into the city.
The males were responsible for defending against the beast tide that climbed the walls. Jiu Fe was exhausted, continuously flapping his wings, roaring as he shot arrows at the flying beasts, and fought against those that pounced on him, tearing and biting.
This wave of the beast tide was of moderate size and had been assaulting the Yuan tribe for five consecutive days.
The Yuan tribe and the surrounding smaller tribes had been resisting tirelessly for five days. The damage was significant, but they had managed to prevent the complete invasion of the beast tide, splitting and destroying them in groups.
Five days had pushed the orcs' physical and mental strength to their limits.
Xiu, along with the giants, used the power of the mountain god to block most of the beast tide outside the outer city. These beasts, when hungry, would devour their own kind. The lowlands outside the city were filled with blood and bones. The beasts surged up the walls, and rocks tumbled down from the high walls, smashing them, causing them to bleed and howl, yet they continued to climb even with broken limbs.
Xiu was covered in blood and sweat. He leaned back for a moment, resting against the wall to catch his breath.
The Yuan tribe warriors, armed with wooden spears, fought against the beasts that climbed the high walls.
Xiu steadied himself and stood up, attempting once more to harness the power of the mountain god. But their strength was depleted, and after overuse, both their spirits and bodies were nearing their limits. They were too exhausted to muster any more power.
Xiu had no choice but to pick up a wooden spear and, like the Yuan tribe warriors, rely on strength and skill to combat the beast tide.
The sky was dark and heavy. Since the beast tide began its assault, not a single ray of light had penetrated the skies above the Yuan tribe.
In the car, Xiu felt a cool sensation on his forehead and touched a falling leaf, which suddenly shook his spirit.
The Yuan tribe warriors looked up and saw sharp leaves flying densely towards the lowlands of the outer city. The ground split open into pits, and beasts fell into the mud, only to be ensnared by countless vines that spread from the muddy ground. The leaves cut their skin, turning them into spiked balls.
The weary warriors erupted in a roar: "Big Huo and the others are back!"
Xiu wiped his face: "Big Huo, Man!"
He leapt down from the city wall, and the Yuan tribe warriors saw the giant orcs rushing towards the outer city, quickly engaging in fierce combat with the beasts.
They roared a few times and then followed, jumping down to join the battle.
The sounds of battle and roars echoed continuously in their ears. Yu Bai clung tightly to Huo Duo'er's waist. Although the animal hide blocked his vision, the sounds alone were enough to conjure up the intense scenes of combat.
He restrained his fluctuating emotions, clearly feeling the tense and bulging muscles on Huo Duo'er's back and shoulders as he fought.
After what seemed like an eternity, all that could be heard around them were the victorious cheers of the orcs.
Yu Bai took a deep breath and poked his head out from the animal hide.
"Huo Duo'er..."
He glanced down to see Huo Duo'er's chest, neck, and face covered in blood, with blood droplets hanging from his hair.
In the twilight, amidst a sea of blood and beast corpses, Huo Duo'er's silver-gray eyes were tinged with a bloody glow.
Yu Bai sniffled and reached out to wipe the bloodstains from Huo Duo'er's neck and brow.
"Bai, it's over now."
"Are you hurt?"
Yu Bai slid to the ground, stepping on the bones of beasts.
When Xiu came to meet them, he saw Yu Bai clinging to Huo Da's chest.
He gave a weary smile and cleared his throat, "Big Huo, Bai."
Huo Duo'er had no time to respond. At this moment, though helpless, he obediently leaned against the rock, allowing his orc mate’s hands to fumble over his chest and abdomen, and even loosening his belt.
Yu Bai took a moment to glance back at Xiu and the other orcs, fearing they might misunderstand something, and explained, "I'm checking Huo Duo'er for any wounds first. I'll take a look at you all in a moment."
Xiu raised his hand, signaling him to continue, and cast an envious yet teasing look at Big Huo.
"Bai, feel free to do as you please. This is the first time I've seen Big Huo in such a state."
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