Therefore, when orcs are in the cave, no orc can tolerate another orc touching their own.
Ze is the most powerful orc in their Wood Tribe, so he has an exceptionally strong sense of territory. Not only does he not allow anyone to touch him, but if anyone does, he has to wipe it clean.
Wolf Rain, unaware that Shen Nong had a phobia of germs, thought to himself.
Chapter 45 Yu Ji's Abilities
Communicating with birds
No matter how fallen the Feather Tribe may be, it was once a large tribe. Even though its abilities have been lost to the traditional way of being passed down, secrets unknown to smaller tribes have been passed down orally from priest to priest.
Yu Ji pondered for a long time but couldn't recall that the former priest's dying words contained any mention of the ability to bring the dying back to life. However, this didn't stop Yu Ji from wanting to befriend him.
For various reasons, the Feather Tribe, despite being surrounded by numerous other tribes, lived as if in a desolate, forgotten wilderness. It was considered fortunate if those tribes didn't cause them trouble, let alone engage in trade.
Shen Nong's abilities are absolutely not to be underestimated. Just the fact that she has no hostility towards the Yu tribe and even makes deals with them is enough for Yu Ji to treat her with sincerity.
Yu Ji didn't take the previous little incident to heart, but he didn't try to pull Shen Nong back. Instead, he told Shen Nong to stop at the cave entrance.
A loud, clear whistle rang out, followed a moment later by birdsong in response.
Shen Nong looked up and saw several birds circling in the azure sky. The flock of birds was gradually expanding, gathering continuously from the dense forest.
Is this... summoning and controlling birds?
“I can communicate with birds,” Yu Ji said to Shen Nong. “I can ask them to help me find the things you drew on the wooden board you showed me before.”
Shen Nong's eyes lit up; this was a great idea!
It's hard to imagine how long it would take them to find it on their own. Having these birds to help would surely save them a lot of time.
Shen Nong did not refuse and had Bao Qiu bring the wooden board, which she handed to Yu Ji.
Yu Ji held the wooden board in his hand and blew a whistle again. Several birds flew down from mid-air, each of a different size. They were probably the leader birds of each type that had been summoned.
Yu Ji communicates with the birds using whistles, intermittently, with varying degrees of intensity. The lead birds huddle around the wooden board, craning their little heads, their wide eyes fixed intently on the painting on the board.
It would chirp and chatter from time to time, and Yu Ji would respond with a whistle, as if they were communicating in another language.
This scene made Shen Nong exclaim in her heart at the wonder of the beastman world.
The whistles and chirping of birds rang out for a long time before the birds finally flapped their wings and flew into the sky.
The birds that had been circling in the air scattered and flew away with the lead birds, and soon they were all gone.
Yu Ji smiled and said, "They have memorized what it looks like and have flown out to help search. We should have news soon."
Shen Nong's face lit up when she thought that if she could plant rice this year, she would have rice to eat next year. "If these birds really help us find it in the end, our tribe will reward us with animal hides, pottery, or meat."
Although the Feather Tribe was really lacking in these things, Yu Ji shook his head and said, "If possible, I would like to invite you to visit our sacred mountain."
The other party had previously suggested going to the sacred mountain, which would allow the Feather Tribe to obtain more wheat. However, at that time, he didn't trust this person. The wheat growing on the sacred mountain was the Feather Tribe's only food source in winter, and Yu Ji couldn't afford to gamble with it.
Although I have some concerns, this person is so capable that if he really wanted to do something to the Feather Tribe, he could simply use Yingxi's life as leverage.
However, this person did not. Instead, he kept trading with the Feather Tribe, and even when they asked the tribe's orcs to transport goods, they had to give them extra meat to eat.
If... if it really could make the sacred mountain grow more wheat.
Even without meat in winter, the tribe has fewer people who starve to death.
Shen Nong agreed to Yu Ji's request, as he had originally wanted to visit the so-called "sacred mountain".
Although Yu Ji doesn't want meat, if the birds actually find the crops he needs, Shen Nong will still give some benefits to the Yu tribe.
Although he doesn't like to suffer losses, he also doesn't like to take advantage of others.
The sacred mountain of the Feather Tribe is actually just a small mountain, not very big, with an estimated height of about three or four hundred meters.
The wheat wasn't grown on the mountain, but behind it. Yu Ji led the group over the small hill, which wasn't very high, and there was a path that the Yu tribe often used, so they crossed it in no time.
Behind the hill was a barren expanse of land.
Yu Ji pointed to the barren land and said, "Every year before we return the preserved wheat to the sacred mountain, we have to remove the weeds, otherwise the wheat won't grow well."
Shen Nong surveyed the ground before him; the weeds had been cleared away cleanly. However, the ground hadn't been turned over, and as he squatted down, he could still see the wheat grains scattered on the surface.
Based on observations of the approximate distribution of wheat grains, the feathered tribe was scattered randomly with a low density, which was acceptable.
He picked up a pinch of soil with his slender, white fingers. The soil was moist and quite fertile.
If they take a proper rest and then plant again, the wheat yield will definitely be much higher than what the Feather Tribe is doing now.
Shen Nong lightly rubbed his fingertips together, and the soil flew back down. He took out a handkerchief to wipe his fingertips. Now that the seeds had been sown, and their last wheat had been traded to the Mu tribe, there was obviously no point in turning the soil and sowing again.
“The wheat has already been sown this year, and there’s no way to increase the yield.” Shen Nong paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “If you need to increase your wheat yield next spring, I can have our tribe teach you.”
"Really?" Yu Ji exclaimed in surprise.
Shen Nong nodded, "Why would I lie to you? But I'm not helping you for nothing; I'm making a deal with you."
"trade?"
Technical guidance and the use of tilling tools are things I can't offer for free; after all, he's not here to do charity.
The system's latest task is to build a small city. Even if it's tiny, it's still a city.
He needs more crops and supplies to strengthen the Wood Tribe.
"Yes, if the wheat yield increases next autumn, you have to give a portion to our tribe. If it doesn't increase, then you don't have to."
Although that's what she said, Shen Nong knew that it was impossible not to improve.
Yu Ji took a deep look at the fair-skinned priestess in front of her; this was a priestess who loved trading.
However, he prefers to trade with other tribes!
Yu Ji grinned and said, "Okay."
After the group returned, Shen Nong, along with Ze, Bao Qiulangyu, and Yu Ji, finalized some details regarding the Yu tribe's beastmen's assistance in transporting goods. The sun gradually set.
"Gurgle gurgle".
Ze clutched his stomach, blinked at Shen Nong with a pitiful look, and said, "Priestess, I'm so hungry..."
Shen Nong chuckled, "I could tell."
No one has eaten anything since morning. Not to mention they climbed a mountain all day, and orcs expend a lot of energy, so it's no wonder they're hungry.
Yu Ji also felt extremely hungry, but he was used to being hungry and could still endure it.
He glanced outside the cave and thought the hunting party should be back soon.
Yu Ji said, "Wait a moment, our tribe's hunting team will be back soon."
As luck would have it, no sooner had Yu Ji finished speaking than a sound came from outside.
The Feather Tribe's hunting party has returned.
Yu Ji got up and went outside to check. Shen Nong, who was curious about the flying beastmen, also got up to look.
Three eagles, two or three times larger than usual, were flapping their wings and descending from mid-air, followed closely by several large geese.
One of the geese and one of the eagles had their prey tightly gripped by their sharp talons.
From a distance, they look like deer and wild boar.
As the eagles and geese slowly landed, Shen Nong could see clearly that, apart from the deer and wild boar, the other beastmen had caught fish and snakes.
However, this amount of prey is a drop in the ocean compared to the entire Feather Tribe.
Orcs have bottomless stomachs; the higher their level, the bigger their appetite.
All these prey combined wouldn't even be enough to fill a few of their teeth.
Dropping his prey, the orc transformed into human form the moment he landed.
Shen Nong was caught off guard when he saw several gaunt, naked men. He coughed lightly and turned his head away.
Their eyes met.
An uncontrollable question surfaced in his mind: Ze had previously transformed into beast form, lying beside him like a doll to keep him company while he slept. However, since Ze always woke up earlier than him, it seemed that after Ze fully matured, he had never seen Ze completely naked...
Shen Nong's gaze involuntarily drifted downwards, and when she saw his waist and abdomen, she asked softly, "What's wrong, Priest?"
Shen Nong snapped back to reality, her gaze darting around in a panic. "N-nothing...it's nothing."
Ze pursed his lips and looked down at his waist. Was something dirty there that the priest didn't like?
Shen Nong knew that orcs did not actually have what civilized humans called "shame," or if they did, it was very vague and not obvious.
Being completely naked isn't unusual, but because of mosquitoes, they wrap themselves in animal skins or large leaves to protect their bodies.
Otherwise, if you get bitten even once, the agonizing pain and itching could be deadly.
The transformed Feather Tribe orcs quickly wrapped themselves in large leaves, just like the other Feather Tribe orcs.
The leaves are quite resilient and large enough, with one in the front and one in the back, and the two sides are tied together with grass to make a rope for securing them.
As long as you don't pull on it too hard, it won't easily break or fall off.
It's just that if you look at it from the side, it might expose you.
However, only Shen Nong cared about this issue.
The hunting team didn't bring back much prey, and the Feather Tribe was struggling to feed themselves.
The fair-skinned priest saved Yingxi and even made a deal with their tribe. Yu Ji thought that at least his people should be able to eat their fill.
He eventually gave all the prey to the Wood Tribe. He could sense that these orcs were of a high level, and he hoped that the prey would keep them from going hungry.
Shen Nong looked around, glancing at the emaciated orcs of the Feather Tribe, then at the prey on the ground. He could sense that the Feather Tribe was extremely short of food. If it weren't for this shortage, the tall tribal chief wouldn't have eaten so many poisonous wild vegetables, bringing himself to the brink of death.
Even if these prey are not full, at least they have something in their bellies, which keeps them from starving to death.
Shen Nong sighed softly, "You all eat, we can go hunting in the forest, it'll be quick."
Before Yu Ji could speak, Shen Nong ordered Bao Qiu to lead a group of men to hunt in the forest.
They didn't just eat the cured meat they brought from the Mu tribe along their journey; sometimes they hunted, otherwise there wouldn't be enough to eat.
Leopard Autumn was originally part of a hunting team, and their orc level was not low, so hunting in the forest was a piece of cake for them.
Yu Ji was about to say something when Shen Nong interrupted her, "Consider it as thanking you for summoning the birds to find crops for me and giving your tribe twelve earthenware pots."