He thought for a moment and replied to Shen San, "For now, everything at the beach is as usual, but be careful on night patrols. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be conflict among the coastal tribes. The preconceived notions of those large tribes cannot be changed; they can only break through and figure things out themselves. It's better for you to stay out of the way and not get involved; the more you get involved, the more chaotic things will become."
Yes, priest.
After Shen San finished speaking, he logged off.
Shen Nong had just closed the system interface when Ze Zheng returned. He was soaked to the bone at the cave entrance, his feet drenched. "The tribespeople are all fine, only the children are a bit frightened. I also brought a medical team of orcs to take care of the pregnant woman, so don't worry, Priest."
Shen Nong breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the selected animal hide and handed it to him, telling him to wipe the rain off his body and head.
Ze took the animal hide from Shen Nong, wiped the water off his body, and then picked up a large basket from the corner and turned it upside down over the fire. There wasn't much firewood in the fire, so the fire wasn't strong and wouldn't damage the basket. After placing the basket, Ze spread the used animal hide on it to dry.
After doing all that, he changed into a dry pair of fish-skin trousers and sat on the bamboo mat. He helped Shen Nong lie down, massaged Shen Nong's legs and patted his back, hoping that he could sleep well that night.
…
Hearing Shen Nong's words, the tribe that had run up to hide early suffered no casualties. Because they had just traded animal hides, cured meat, and earthenware pots with the Mu tribe, they took these with them when they left.
However, because there was no fire, they couldn't cook meat soup. They could only use earthenware pots to collect rainwater, eating a bite of cured meat and a mouthful of rainwater at the same time.
Otherwise it will be too salty.
After staying on the mountain for two days, several tribes couldn't stay any longer and wanted to go down. So far, there hasn't been a flood, and it probably won't. Although it's the same up in the mountains, the caves in the lower tribes are more spacious, unlike now where nearly twenty people are crammed into one cave—it's practically shoulder to shoulder.
The flood broke out the night before they decided to come down the mountain.
Looking at the tribe submerged by the water, the orcs patted their chests, thankful they hadn't gone in, otherwise their survival would be uncertain.
The orcs from other tribes were not so lucky.
They thought it was all a conspiracy by the Wood Tribe to steal back what they had traded for, and that even if there was a flood, they could escape before it arrived.
But they didn't expect the flood to erupt in the dead of night, rushing in with lightning speed. Its speed was too great for them to escape.
The priests who had experienced the flood were carried on the shoulders of the tribal chiefs, all muttering, "Impossible." In their memory, the flood had never been so unstoppable, never so terrifying.
The wind howled, and the rain was torrential. The Beast World had no concept of flood recurrence periods, nor any established precedents. The priests of these tribes relied solely on their limited past experience to make judgments, so errors were to be expected.
However, the cost of this deviation is too heavy, requiring an entire tribe to bear it.
The howling wind and rain couldn't drown out the terrified screams of the orcs. The water swept across every corner like a tidal wave, and the orcs of slightly lower levels were unable to resist the powerful impact and were swept away by the current.
The stranded tribes all wanted to head upstream, only to realize how difficult it was. Going against the current, a slight misstep could result in being swept away by the current or slipping and falling. If they fell, they would be immediately swept away, their whereabouts unknown, their fate uncertain.
The fear in their hearts had pushed away their regret; they were alone and helpless in the darkness, numb and desperate.
…
It seemed that Mother Nature had emptied most of the accumulated water, as the rain visibly subsided the next day. The floodwaters were also much calmer than they had been during the night, but it was still very dangerous.
Shen Nong doesn't have the energy to manage the mountain tribe right now, so he can only hope that they will listen to him and leave in advance.
He was now heading to the cave where the pregnant women lived. Early that morning, Tu Feng risked his life to find Shen Nong. Perhaps because of the fright, three pregnant women were about to give birth.
In any era before interstellar travel, children were conceived and born from a woman's womb over ten months, unlike in interstellar travel where a culture chamber could simulate the uterine environment to nurture a child in place of the mother.
The act of a mother giving birth to a child also symbolizes that during childbirth, the mother has one foot in the grave and is hanging by a thread.
Not to mention that this is a beast world where medical conditions are practically nonexistent.
Shen Nong had just finished tidying up and was about to have breakfast. Upon hearing what Tu Feng said, she stopped eating and followed Tu Feng to the cave where the pregnant women were.
The outside was flooded, and there were no tellings if there were sharp branches or pebbles underwater, making it easy to slip and fall. Ze spread his wings and scooped her up in his arms. Shen Nong was so startled that she instinctively wrapped her arms around Ze's neck.
"It's dangerous down there, it'll be faster if I take you there."
Shen Nong understood what Ze meant. He clung to Ze's neck and leaned down to say to Tu Feng, "Tu Feng, walk slowly, don't rush, don't get hurt. I'll go check on the situation first!"
Rabbit Wind waved his hand, "Understood, Priest!"
Not wanting Shen Nong to worry too much, Ze flew very fast. Upon arrival, Shen Nong took off her raincoat and bamboo hat. Ze took the two items, and Shen Nong immediately turned and entered the cave.
A fire had been lit inside the cave, and plenty of hot water had been boiled. The contractions were causing the pregnant woman intense pain, and screams echoed through the cave.
Shen Nong took a deep breath. He didn't know much about childbirth, so he could only use his supernatural abilities to keep them alive. Although he couldn't alleviate their pain, he didn't have to worry about them dying during childbirth.
Even simple childbirth is something the medical team's orcs can do. Shen Nong had previously exchanged some childbirth-related knowledge from the system because of these pregnant women. However, it was all the most basic content; he couldn't afford to exchange for anything more advanced, which would require at least two million infrastructure points. Moreover, given the conditions in the Beast World, exchanging for it would be useless; there was simply no way to implement it, it would just be a piece of waste paper.
Basin after basin of bloody water was poured out, falling into the water and drifting away with the current. The stench of blood in the cave had reached its peak. Shen Nong closed her eyes tightly, communicating with Shen Yi in her mind to create a loom, trying to ignore the intense stench of blood.
Clothes made of fish skin are best suited for winter, while linen is cooler to wear in summer. It's just that I hadn't been able to find linen material before; it seems I hadn't been searching carefully enough.
Shen Nong had seen pictures of the loom in the museum, along with detailed textual explanations and instructions on how to use it, but not its manufacturing process.
Shen Nong then listed out the information she knew, drew its outline, and gradually broke down the details of the knowledge within.
Shen Yi did know how to build looms, but he could only build fully automatic ones. There were no materials available, and even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without ingredients; he was helpless. He and Shen Nong could only add bricks and tiles to the ancient loom model built on the platform, each contributing a stroke of the pen.
When they were halfway through figuring out the loom model, the children were born one after another. With their strong physiques and Shen Nong's protective abilities, the female beastmen, whose lives had been hanging by a thread, finally regained their strength.
The rest was left to the medical team to handle, and Shen Nong and Ze returned to the cave.
On the way, Ze looked ahead and asked, seemingly casually, "Does the priest like children?"
Shen Nong was taken aback, then felt the unconscious tightening of his waist and the back of his legs, and he understood why Ze had asked that question.
He wrapped his arms around Ze's neck and gently nuzzled her. "I don't want children, I only love you."
Ze increased the pressure on his hand, his chest heaving, and a deep voice came out, "Yes, I also like priests."
Words used to express love, even if their meaning is unclear, can convey the intense affection a lover feels when they say them.
Shen Nong chuckled softly, her originally heavy mood lifted by the presence of her lover.
Two days later, the rain stopped completely. Although the water level didn't appear to have dropped, people could walk more steadily in the water and wouldn't be easily swept away by the current.
The three newborn babies survived successfully, and each of them has a loud voice and is very energetic.
Chapter 86
Sunny
After several days of gloom, the sky finally cleared completely, and the bright sunshine outside felt like a different world. The Wood Tribe orcs emerged from the Salt Tribe's cave and waded through the water to check on their long-established tribe.
The heavy city gate, built from giant trees, was pushed open, and the orcs looked at the scene inside, their eyes reddening.
Broken branches and leaves floated on the water. Their favorite mud house had long been washed away and collapsed by the flood, and there was no trace of its former appearance.
The other work sites were also washed away by the flood, and the workers' dormitories and cabins outside the city were all destroyed.
When the Wood Tribe beastmen were about to leave their tribe with their baskets on their backs, they were not sad. They were not too panicked by the terrifying sound of the raging flood. On the contrary, now that everything has calmed down, looking at their destroyed homes, they feel both sad and panicked.
The feeling of losing something important was difficult for them to bear for a while.
Even the highest-ranking orcs couldn't help but cry.
The home that made them happy and joyful is gone.
The low-ranking orcs working in various teams were nearly overwhelmed by sadness. Before, because of their low rank, they were useless at everything. But working in teams, they realized for the first time how useful they truly were.
So what if they're of low rank? They built the tribe's land, constructed the mud houses, forged the furniture, and prepared the meat.
But now, it's all gone.
The places where they could prove themselves and realize their value were all washed away by the water.
Shen Nong looked at the filthy, murky water below, sitting in the palm of the giant black beast, trying to mentally prepare herself. She heard the cries of the tribespeople nearby, and upon closer inspection, she realized that the orcs who had arrived earlier were now standing in the water, howling. "What are they crying about?"
An orc sobbed, "Waaah, priest, our tribe is gone. Waaah!"
Shen Nong patted Da Hei's palm, signaling Da Hei to put him down. Da Hei bent over, and Shen Nong, holding Da Hei's palm, gritted her teeth and put her feet into the water.
He gritted his teeth and said, "As long as we're in the tribe, we're here. What's the big deal if we lose our houses? We can just rebuild them."
After finally regaining his footing, Shen Nong glanced at the orc who was stunned by his words and laughed, "This time we'll build an even better one, the kind that even a flood can't wash away."
"Yes! We'll build an even better one this time!"
"It's covered; a flood can't wash it away!"
"Our food preparation team's canteen must also be built!"
"Our brick-making team wants some too!"
"And our pottery team too!"
The gloomy atmosphere was instantly dispelled, and the orcs' spirits were lifted, with everyone vying to build better houses.
The Mu tribe is located in a low-lying area with a lot of water accumulation. Shen Nong sat on Da Hei's back and directed Da Hei to wander around. In some places, the water level was very low, and in some places, there was no water at all.
Shen Nong instructed Shen San and another person to draw up maps based on the observed terrain. As soon as the specific route was determined, they immediately led the tribesmen to dig ditches for drainage. Fortunately, Shen Yi had previously crafted many farm tools from iron, which could now be used, making the process much faster than digging by hand.
Shen Nong delegated the supervisory work to Shen San, who knew more and could quickly respond if mistakes were made or if a better solution was found.
Shen Nong wasn't idle either; the terrain of the Mu tribe was truly unsuitable for habitation. The Mu tribe had settled in that area before because they couldn't get any other good places. And the best place in this area was where the Salt tribe was located.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Nong decided to relocate the Wood Tribe.
He didn't plan to leave the previous area; the land there was still very fertile, and he intended to convert it into farmland and livestock areas. He also didn't plan to move the military guard unit, which would also allow them to keep an eye on the farmland and livestock areas.
The system shop cannot store living things, and Shen Nong cannot take the crops she planted with her; they are all still in the ground.
He took a look and saw that, thanks to the mountainside acting as a buffer, the crops hadn't been washed away. They were just now submerged in water.
However, as long as it's not washed away, his superpower can be restored, though the taste might not be as good.
...
The mountain wind and rain completely stopped, and the sun even came out. Only then did he lead his people down the mountain. Following the route in his memory, they groped their way forward, and when they finally reached the village, they could see nothing but water.
If the surrounding environment hadn't remained unchanged, Shanfeng would have thought he'd gone to the wrong place.
"The tribe can't stay here yet. Let's go back up the mountain and come down when the water has dried up," Shanfeng sighed.
Summer was hot. Although it had rained and was quite humid before, the temperature wasn't too high. A dozen or twenty orcs could still catch their breath in a cave.
But the sun was so bright it looked like it was going to bake people alive. If they stayed in the cave like before for two days, some of the orcs would probably die from the heat and suffocation.
Shanfeng was well aware of the consequences, but there was nothing he could do. "If it doesn't rain, people can live outside the cave."
Songshan said solemnly, "We have no fire. Sleeping outside the cave might attract wild animals."
Shanfeng weakly looked up at the sun overhead, his eyes stinging from the glare. He rubbed his eyes and turned away. "Judging from the sky, there shouldn't be any thunder anytime soon."
The mountain tribe had protected their fire very well, but no one expected the rain to last so long. The fire went out the night before they ran up the mountain because they didn't have enough dry wood to burn.