He can no longer exchange android warriors from the system shop to protect Shen Wu because his energy comes from the fundamental energy of the Beast World. The system cannot receive the fundamental energy of a world.
Just as Shen Nong was worrying, Bao Qiu came to the courtyard to find him.
"If you don't rest properly in the dead of winter, you won't have any rest after spring." Shen Nong helped Bao Qiu sit down and poured him a cup of hot water. "Speak, what is it?"
Leopard Autumn bowed respectfully and said, "High Priest, I would like to take the caravan out for the winter as well."
Shen Nong raised an eyebrow, "Why did you suddenly make this decision?"
“It wasn’t sudden, I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.” Bao Qiu’s expression was serious and earnest, clearly he had really thought about it for a long time before making the suggestion to Shen Nong. “High Priest, you gave me a booklet with plant patterns before, and so far the caravan has only found tung oil trees in it.”
Caravans would return to their tribes to rest during the hot summer and cold winter. Spring and autumn were too short; if they could utilize the long winter and summer months, caravans could travel much further.
We didn't mention it before because firstly, our orc level wasn't high enough, secondly, we didn't have enough warm clothes for winter, and thirdly, the orc city was blocking our way, so we didn't dare let the orc city find us.
Currently, the lowest level orc in our caravan is level seven, while I, Wolf Rain, and Deer Spring are already level nine orc warriors.
The tribe gave us cotton-padded clothes, so we have enough warm clothing. The Beast City is no longer an obstacle, so we want to take the caravan further afield to trade with various tribes and find more items listed in the register.
Leopard Autumn knew that everything in the booklet was very useful, and the more he found, the more he could help the Wood Tribe. Although he had rarely stayed in the tribe due to his caravan activities, he genuinely loved the Wood Tribe and wanted to do more for it.
The other orcs in the caravan shared the same sentiment: the high priest treated them very well, worrying about them being too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, and always considering their needs.
They had never been treated like this before in the Salt Tribe. Even though they were of a high rank, they were essentially no different from the orcs used as meat shields by the Salt Tribe.
Shen Nong pondered. The orcs, including Bao Qiu, were indeed of a high level, so it was feasible. He thought of Shen Wu's suggestion and mentioned it to both Shen Wu and Bao Qiu, suggesting they set off together so they could look after each other.
Both sides agreed on this, and the Emerald Cave in Beast City had been surveyed to a near completion. By the time the caravan circled around to Beast City, Shen Wu's work would be finished.
Shen Nong bought another camera to follow the caravan, which could pinpoint their location and help them avoid risks. Since he didn't have enough time to monitor the camera for the caravan every day, he granted Shen Wu access to control it.
As the caravan set off, it snowed in the Beast World. The snow fell heavily, quickly covering the surroundings with a thin layer of white.
Shen Nong watched the caravan gradually disappear into the wind and snow, hoping that their journey would go smoothly.
——
When the caravan was nearing the Beast City, they discovered two unrecognizable corpses in a forest, mutilated by wild beasts.
The body was buried under the snow and was not visible at all. Lang Yu didn't notice and stepped on the ribs of a corpse, which is when he discovered the body under the snow.
"Leopard Autumn! Deer Spring! Come and see!" Wolf Rain dug out the corpse whose ribs he had crushed, and was somewhat shocked when he saw the face.
Most of the face has been eaten away, but the other half can still be vaguely recognized. The totem belonging to the Salt Tribe, although much dimmer, can still be seen in its outline.
"Is this the Snake Forest?" Wolf Rain asked, pointing at the face.
Leopard Autumn and Deer Spring gathered around, and after seeing each other's faces clearly, they exchanged a glance. The other orcs in the caravan also gathered around, and everyone fell silent.
“It’s the Snake Forest.” Leopard Autumn frowned and walked forward. “Hurry up and leave after you’ve rested. Don’t keep Shen Wu waiting too long.”
Upon hearing this, everyone scattered and followed Leopard Autumn's footsteps, carrying their large baskets on their backs.
Wolf Rain glanced at Snake Forest's corpse, then at another unidentified corpse. Without a doubt, given Snake Forest's personality, the two must have fought amongst themselves, resulting in neither of them escaping unscathed and both dying.
No one in the caravan offered to cremate Snake Forest so he could be baptized by the fire god. They ignored Snake Forest's corpse and, as usual, conserved their energy, silently continuing on their way.
Upon arriving in Beast City, the caravan rested for a day before taking Shen Wu with them.
The snowstorm in the Beast World was already quite heavy, and the caravan had been traveling for a long time through the endless snow. Some of the orcs' eyes were beginning to feel uncomfortable.
Shen Nong left a message on the system platform reminding Shen Wu to have everyone take appropriate sizes from animal leg bones, shape them into glasses, dig a thin, long hole in the middle, and use treated animal tendons to tie and fix them to the eyes, which can effectively prevent snow blindness.
After the animal bone glasses were put on, the strong light could no longer shine directly into their eyes, and the beastmen indeed felt much more comfortable.
Shen Wu is an android and shouldn't need bone glasses to prevent snow blindness, but he thought the glasses were cool and would look very handsome, so he asked Leopard Autumn to make one for him as well.
The group walked a little further, and Shen Wu saw a small tribe ahead through the camera.
The caravan of orcs followed Shen Wu forward, and soon they arrived at the small tribe.
There was no guard outside the tribe, and fearing that the tribe might misunderstand that they were there to attack, only Leopard Autumn and Shen Wu went in, while the other orcs stayed outside to wait.
The tribe was deserted, which Leopard Autumn was not surprised by. It was winter, and even high-level orc warriors from large tribes would stay in caves during the winter and rarely came out.
The tribe was small and quickly found the cave.
The cave entrance was blocked by a pile of branches, and the deep snow below had submerged the bottom of the pile. Leopard Autumn stood outside the cave and called out, "I am Leopard Autumn, an orc from the Wood Tribe caravan. Do you need to trade anything?"
There was no sound in the cave. Leopard Autumn had extremely sharp hearing and knew that there were people inside, and they were all huddled together, their jaws chattering and trembling.
He wasn't in a hurry; he'd seen this situation many times before. It was simply that these orcs were too afraid to show themselves. He continued shouting, "We can trade animal hides, salt, and fire in the winter. If you have nothing to trade, let our caravan stay here for a while."
If you don't need any of that, we'll also be trading cured meat, pottery, and seasonings in the spring. If you're interested, let us know now, and orcs will deliver them in the spring.
At that moment, rustling sounds came from inside the cave. Half of the pile of branches at the cave entrance was removed, revealing a pair of dark eyes. Whether out of fear or cold, the voice trembled violently, and the breath was very weak. "You really have fire?"
Leopard Autumn laughed and said, "Yes, do you want it now?"
Those eyes seemed to light up for a moment, then filled with unease and fear. "We have nothing to exchange..."
"Didn't I just say that if we have nothing to exchange, then let us stay for a few days?" The caravan needs time to find the items in the book and Shen Wu needs time to survey the area. It's not that we can't stay in the wild, but staying in a tribe is still safer.
The other party pondered in silence. Faced with the choice between letting unfamiliar high-level orcs live in the tribe and risking the tribe's annihilation, or watching their people freeze to death one by one, they ultimately chose the former. "Okay."
Leopard Autumn happened to have a tinderbox in his arms. He stepped forward and felt the person hiding behind the pile of branches tremble, as if they were very afraid of him. He stopped two steps away from the cave entrance and handed over the tinderbox. "Open this and blow gently into it to make a fire."
"Not a torch?" The other person stared at the tinderbox in Bao Qiu's hand, the doubt in their eyes outweighing their fear.
Leopard Autumn laughed and said, "With such a heavy snowstorm, how could there possibly be torches outside?"
The tinder in his hand was quickly snatched away by a dirty, black hand, and there was another rustling sound in the cave, mixed with several sighs.
Soon, these sounds were replaced by screams. Even Shen Wu could hear clearly that the beastmen in the cave were shouting, "Fire! There really is fire! They didn't lie to us!"
The pile of branches at the cave entrance was all removed from inside, and the orcs passed them around one after another, quickly building a bonfire.
There's fire! They're saved!
This tribe was so small that, apart from the priest and chieftain, all the other orcs lived together in two large caves, one of which was larger. During the winter, the priest and chieftain also lived in the large cave with the orcs.
However, the priests' and chieftains' caves were too small, only big enough for one person. In the winter, it was too cold, and after their fires went out, all the orcs crammed into the largest cave, leaving only the one on the side empty. Therefore, the caravan orcs lived in the large cave next to theirs.
In the evening, the caravan's orcs laid out mats and blankets in the cave and began to cook meat soup.
The delicious aroma of the broth wafted into the neighboring cave, where the sounds of people swallowing their saliva never stopped.
The caravan's orcs wrapped their feet in cotton coats, took off their leather boots, and stuffed warm, heated stones inside. Although these boots were effective at waterproofing, saving the orcs from the pain of soaking their feet in snow during winter, they were also incredibly stuffy and didn't allow for proper ventilation. By the end of the day, while water couldn't get in from the outside, a lot of sweat accumulated inside.
If you don't dry it, it will be very uncomfortable to wear the next day.
"Did you pour mugwort and roundleaf grass powder into the foot bath water?" Wolf Rain, holding a leather bag, went over and sprinkled some green powder into the earthenware pot where the foot bath water was being boiled after hearing the orc say that it hadn't been poured in yet.
Sprinkle mugwort and round-leaf grass powder on your feet every night after washing them. Not only will it eliminate odor, but your feet will also feel very fresh. Even if your feet are sweaty after a long day, the smell in your shoes will be minimal. If there is still a strong odor, simply sprinkle some powder inside your shoes and then place stones inside to remove the smell.
Shen Wu did the same things as the beastmen every day. He didn't have sweat glands, so he didn't sweat. He did it simply because he found it interesting and wanted to try it out.
The broth was bubbling away, it was ready. The beastmen took out their earthenware bowls and began to ladle out their broth.
"Ah, I really miss the tribe's dumplings. Do you think the priest will make dumplings this year?" Wolf Rain sipped his meat soup, his mind filled with thoughts of dumplings.
Leopard Autumn ate a piece of meat and replied, "Wrapped, right? Didn't the priest say we'd eat dumplings every year on that day?"
Wolf Rain said with some regret, "I should have eaten dumplings first before coming out."
“We can eat it this year too,” Leopard Autumn said calmly. This made the beastmen of the caravan widen their eyes. Deer Spring asked, “Are we going back before that day? But we don’t know which day it is.”
Seeing the expectant looks on the beastmen's faces, Leopard Autumn said directly, "The priest gave me flour to make dumplings, and Shen Wu knows which day it is."
Wolf Rain howled twice, "The priest is so kind!"
Lu Chun, who was close by, slapped Lang Yu across the head, saying, "These orcs in this tribe are timid. You'll scare them to death again!"
The caravan stayed in the small village for three days, but found nothing, so they continued on their way.
Along the way, the caravan passed through many tribes, and the name of the Mu tribe spread among them.
Some of the more daring orc tribes would approach caravans and ask about the Wood Tribe. They were genuinely curious about what kind of tribe it was, that could create clothing that allowed orcs to move freely outdoors in winter. They were also curious about why their salt was like snow, and why they could carry fire in small bamboo tubes.
After asking many questions, they learned that the Wood Tribe was an even more powerful tribe than the Beast City. This was because the Beast City had been defeated by the Wood Tribe; while the Beast City possessed divine beast warriors, the Wood Tribe also had them, and their divine beast warriors were far more powerful than those of the Beast City!
Moreover, the Mu tribe has an endless supply of meat and animal hides.
There, in summer there is ice like in winter, and in winter there are heated houses.
The orcs there won't freeze to death in winter, starve to death, or die from heatstroke in summer...
Because they have a way to preserve meat for a long time, and there is a kind of flower that is made into clothes that are particularly warm to wear. The orcs in the caravan wear such clothes because they can walk outside in winter while wearing clothes.
The Wood Tribe also has something that can travel on water, called a boat.
The Wood Tribe can make things from wood into carts. With the help of these carts, the elderly and children can carry things as heavy as orc warriors.
All of these things were created by the high priest of the Wood Tribe. According to the orcs in the Wood Tribe caravan, their high priest is like their beast god.
When they had no meat to eat and no animal skins to keep warm, it was the high priest who provided them with enough to eat and wear. When they encountered danger and suffered serious injuries, it was the high priest who healed them.
The high priest also ensured that the elderly could earn enough to eat and wear through their own work, instead of having to eat only small pieces of bone all day long, starving and weak, and forced to eat grass and tree bark to fill their stomachs.
Leopard Autumn led the caravan forward, and the Wood Tribe gained great fame among all the tribes along the caravan's route.
Especially among small tribes suffering from hunger and cold, their yearning for the Wood Tribe was almost as strong as that for the Beast God.
Praying to the Beast God for food and clothing is useless, but becoming a subordinate tribe of the Wood Tribe is. They had no doubt that the caravan beastmen's words were false; their clothes, the food they ate when they stopped to rest, and the things they used were the best proof.
In their hearts, the mysterious and powerful Wood Tribe had become a city of gods.
During this winter, the small tribes that could not survive seemed to have found a final destination to rely on in the vast world.
Survive, fight with all your might to survive, and then go to the Wood Tribe! There, everyone can eat their fill and stay warm with their own hands, and get through the scorching summer and freezing winter.
-The End--
A note from the author:
The main text ends here. There will be three or four extra chapters, tentatively, telling the story of Shen Nong awakening as a Beast God many years later (including her past life). There might also be an "if" scenario where she transmigrates to an interstellar world as a cub and encounters the pre-transmigration Shen Nong. Readers who don't like this should remember to turn off auto-subscription!
Chapter 124 Extra 1
Past Life