| GB | Fever | 87
As dusk fell, the setting sun dipped into the western jungle, casting a soft, silent glow on Huo Duo'er's stern face.
Yu Bai reached out and touched it, holding on for a while until the two heads of Man and the little wolf drew closer. Feeling embarrassed, he let go of his arm. Huo Duo'er's expression remained unchanged as he glanced at Man, then picked up Yu Bai and continued forward.
The little wolf turned its head, nuzzling Jinjin's head, while the leopard cat haughtily turned its face away.
They had walked for an entire day before finally leaving the miasma-filled jungle. With nightfall approaching, they needed to find a suitable place to rest before darkness fully descended.
Man clicked his tongue, looking at the two small beasts and their owners, then glanced back at Ze, who was passing by. With a muscular arm, he slung it over Ze's shoulder in a brotherly manner.
A smile appeared on Ze's handsome face. "Big Huo doesn't like anyone staring at Bai."
The glimmer of amusement in his eyes made his meaning crystal clear.
Man, you'd better keep your distance from Bai!
Over the past few years, any male beast in the Yuan tribe who showed interest in Bai had been "specially trained" by Big Huo.
Man said nonchalantly, "I'm just looking. If it weren't for seeing Big Huo and Bai, I wouldn't have known that orc couples could be like this."
He deliberately pressed closer to Ze, rubbing his sweat all over him.
"See, Big Huo and Bai are always this clingy."
Ze, now dirtied with sweat, didn't mind at all. Xiu, with his arms crossed, followed behind, eyeing the two with a meaningful look.
Man asked, "Xiu, what's with that look?"
He then added, "Ze's a good guy, Xiu. I want to recruit him into our tribe. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
Xiu walked ahead, tossing back a sentence, "If you have the ability, of course I don't mind."
They had now reached the southern region. The summer days were long, and the evening lingered for at least an hour and a half before darkness fully enveloped them.
Xiu led A’Lin to hunt in the surrounding area, while Huo Duo'er scouted the terrain. After walking a couple of rounds, he returned to find Yu Bai scratching his shoulder.
Lifting the animal robe, he saw two large welts on Yu Bai's fair arm.
By the fire, Huo Duo'er examined Yu Bai's swollen arm, his thick brows furrowed.
Yu Bai smiled. "It's nothing serious. I'll just apply some herbal juice later."
The mosquito bites didn't actually bother him much, but his skin was smooth and fair, making the bites appear more severe than they were.
Huo Duo'er felt uneasy, but he couldn't say these things to Yu Bai, lest it add to his mental burden.
He lit some mosquito-repelling herbs, and the smoke from the bundle filled the tent several times over, ensuring no insects remained before letting Yu Bai inside.
Yu Bai was utterly exhausted. As soon as Huo Duo'er laid out the dry grass and beast fur, he lay down and could barely keep his eyes open.
—
The moonlight was like water. Xiu returned with A’Lin, but the nearby prey was scarce. With over six hundred orcs, even if each took just one bite, there wouldn't be enough bones to go around.
Mian, along with the orcs responsible for cooking, decided to make more soup. With not enough meat, they could only fill their stomachs with a few extra sips of broth.
After days of non-stop travel, the orcs' bodies and energy had long reached their limits.
Now, with their stomachs empty and their mouths devoid of flavor, they swallowed the thin, oily broth, their tempers flaring.
"I can't take it anymore. When will this end?"
"Yeah, we've been walking for so long, and no one's said where we're stopping... Are we just going to keep walking forever?"
"Big Huo..."
The timid orcs didn't dare to get involved, but they were anxious inside, so they cast pleading glances towards Huo Duo'er.
Before Huo Duo'er could speak, Man chuckled and roughly set down the pottery bowl.
"Is this all it takes? If you don't want to keep going, then don't follow us!"
"If it weren't for Big Huo and Bai's kind reminders, you would have died back in the tribe. How Big Huo has acted and treated us along the way—don't you, you, and you all have any idea?"
"Instead of complaining now, why not go your separate ways! Since you're following Big Huo, then trust him!"
The orcs were intimidated by Man and didn't dare to speak further.
After a long while, a voice came from the back, "I was just asking, there’s no need to get so angry. The giant tribe looks down on us orcs, relying on the power of the mountain god to—"
"To what?"
Man interrupted the voice, "When we were attacked by beasts, we stood in front. Did you complain about the giant tribe then? I'm just stronger than you, even without the mountain god's power, I could snap your neck. If you're not convinced, come and fight me!"
Man spat and cursed in a rough voice, "All talk and no action, I despise orcs like you the most!"
Outside the tent, the argument was in full swing, and Yu Bai, who had been sleeping restlessly, soon woke up.
He rubbed his eyes, feeling a throbbing pain in the back of his head.
"Bai, did we wake you?"
Huo Duo'er noticed that his orc mate had been disturbed and his expression turned grim.
He coldly surveyed the orcs who had spoken up, calling out their names one by one.
"Ye’h, Dai’shi, A’he, Heim, if you have any objections, you can leave tomorrow morning. If you trust me, then don't ask so many questions."
"In this past month, have any of the 560 orcs in the team been lost?"
The orcs remained silent.
"Since I promised to lead you to a suitable place to rebuild our territory, I won't let anything happen to everyone, provided that you must trust me."
The orcs from the giant tribe, as well as those from the Heiyao clan, A’Li, the brothers A’Sen and A’Lin, and Mao Mao from the Yuan tribe, all gathered in front of Huo Duo'er and stood firm.
The situation was clear.
The questioning orcs shut their mouths, and the surroundings fell completely silent as night fell, with everyone going to sleep on empty stomachs.
—
Yu Bai quietly watched the male orcs enter the tent and asked hoarsely, "Are they arguing?"
It sounded like internal strife.
His throat was dry and sore, the season was stifling, but he felt a bit of a chill, he feared he might be getting a fever.
Huo Duo'er: "It's been resolved, no one dares to cause trouble."
As he spoke, he fed Yu Bai some warm water and felt his forehead with a large hand, his heart skipping a beat.
"Bai, you're running a fever."
Yu Bai, feeling cold, pressed against the warm chest of the orc.
He forced a smile, "It seems like I might be getting a fever. Get some cold water later, I'll wipe my body."
He had sweated a lot while cutting the vines, and now, aside from the soreness all over his body, he had a low fever and could smell an unpleasant odor.
Yu Bai made a bitter face, pitifully saying, "I stink, and you didn't even say anything when you hugged me."
Huo Duo'er shook his head, "You don't stink."
Yu Bai pursed his lips.
Huo Duo'er said, "I've been sweating, and Bai hasn't complained either."
Yu Bai: "I can't smell it..."
Huo Duo'er sniffed his forehead and kissed it.
"Bai smells nice."
This simple statement made Yu Bai blush, and he touched his forehead, looking troubled.
"I hope the fever goes down by tomorrow morning."
Apart from some herbs to stop bleeding and reduce swelling, he had no more medicine left to use.
Huo Duo'er wanted to search for medicine at night but was uneasy about leaving Yu Bai alone in the tent.
Outside, the patrolling A’Li squatted down, faintly hearing sounds from the tent and growing increasingly anxious.
"Bai, Big Huo, I'll go find the herbs."
Through the tent, the surrounding night was thick, and beyond the forest, it was pitch black.
Yu Bai hoarsely said, "It's already late."
A’Li: "It's fine, I'll take a torch with me. Big Huo, you stay inside and take good care of Bai!"
He had known Yu Bai the longest, and even though he wasn't the brightest, over the years he had learned to recognize over a dozen common medicinal herbs, even earning praise from A’m!
Huo Duo'er asked Mao Mao to accompany A’Li outside. A’Lin, still groggy, hadn't reacted yet, but Jiu Fe, who slept in the same tent, quickly got up.
Jiu Fe picked up a wooden spear: "A’Li, I'll go out with you."
A’Li scratched his head. Huo Duo'er showed no expression, only saying, "Thank you for your hard work."
A’Li grinned, while Jiu Fe remained expressionless, but this was something he was willing to do.
It was his way of contributing to taking care of Yu Bai.
—
Before dawn, Yu Bai had a recurring fever, his whole body aching.
He endured the pain without a word, and when it became unbearable, he silently rested his head against Huo Duo'er's chest.
Huo Duo'er wiped his body and sweat every half hour, and by the middle of the night, neither of them had slept.
As the orange glow of dawn appeared in the east, A’Li and Jiu Fe finally returned with herbs to reduce the fever, and along with them, they brought back some news.
A’Li said, "Further ahead, there are many medicinal herbs growing. Jiu Fe and I almost got stuck while picking them!"
According to A’Li, they could reach the area abundant with plants in just two or three more hours.
The end of the forest was a vast, seemingly endless wet river with soft, sticky mud. If Jiu Fe hadn't flown up in time to pull A’Li out, he might have been trapped and unable to escape.
Yu Bai leaned against Huo Duo'er's chest, sipping the medicinal soup fed to him.
After hearing A’Li account, he pondered and made a guess.
"The place A’Li described sounds like a swamp. Could it be that beyond the barren forest lies a swamp?"
Before noon, Yu Bai, now fever-free, was carried by Huo Duo'er as they continued their journey. After two hours, just as Yu Bai had predicted at dawn, they encountered a swamp shimmering with moisture, overgrown with reeds, stretching endlessly.
The orcs murmured, "I've seen this kind of land before; it's impossible to cross..."
"Is this the Orc God's test for us?"
"Has the Orc God abandoned us..."
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