Shelin grabbed Ya Jiu by the neck and shoved him forward before letting go, pondering how to survive the winter at the salt field.
——
"Hey! Ha! Roar!"
From time to time, the sounds of children straining intently could be heard from the tiny ant colony. Despite the cold winter, beads of sweat covered Ant Wind's forehead. Some of the sweat had already slid down his forehead and fallen into the soil.
In the open area a little further away from the caves where the orcs lived, there was no longer any snow; instead, there were only small pits. The ground, which should have been frozen, was now incredibly soft.
Ant Wind looked at the pit he had made and the loose ground with satisfaction, and said happily, "Look, doesn't this look like the Ant Mountain Clan Chief digging a hole after he transformed!"
"So true!" The ant tribe beastmen who were guarding the side saw that their little priest had finally stopped, so they quickly stepped forward and wrapped him in another large piece of animal skin, covering him from head to toe. They said worriedly, "Priest, you should go back to the cave to avoid the wind. The wind is getting stronger now, and I guess there will be another heavy snowfall."
Ant Wind knew what the tribe was worried about. Their previous priest had been exposed to the wind and snow in winter and developed a fever that wouldn't stop until winter was over, when he passed away and met the Beast God.
Ant Wind listened to his tribesmen and returned to his cave. He felt that he had become much more proficient in using his superpowers these past two days. Before, he couldn't unleash his power nine times out of ten, but now he could do it nine times out of ten. Ant Wind thought of something, and ran to his animal skin kennel where he slept. He lay down on the kennel and reached out to feel around. After a while, he pulled out a candy wrapped in a leaf.
This was the last candy he had left. Ant Wind opened the leaf, revealing the orange candy inside. He looked at the candy and whispered, "This is a reward for me to practice my superpowers properly."
After carefully licking the candy a few times and tasting its sweet and sour flavor, Ant Wind quickly rewrapped the leaf and put the candy back in its original place.
After carefully putting away the candy, Ant Wind rested his chin on his hands. As dusk approached, he gazed at the white expanse outside the cave, savoring the sweet and sour taste of the candy. He thought he would wait for the weather to clear before going out to practice his abilities properly, so he could enjoy the candy again.
As he pondered this, the aroma of meat broth wafted from outside. Ant Wind couldn't help but sniff; the sky outside was growing darker, it was time for the tribespeople to drink their meat broth.
After the ant tribe orcs cooked the meat soup, Chief Ant Mountain served the first bowl to Ant Wind.
Ant Wind, whose stomach had been growling with hunger for a long time, held the meat soup and drank it down without even blowing on it, hissing and laughing from the heat, which made Ant Mountain laugh.
Just then, laughter from the ant tribe's orcs came from outside, though no one knew what they were laughing about.
Ant Wind blushed slightly, but hearing the laughter of his tribesmen made him very happy. In the past, he had never heard the laughter of his tribesmen, not even in spring, summer, or autumn, let alone winter.
As Ant Wind drank meat soup from his earthenware bowl, he suddenly said earnestly to Ant Mountain, "From now on, our Ant Tribe must protect the High Priest and the Wood Tribe well."
Although Ant Wind was young, he knew that not only had his ant tribe survived the winter without freezing or starving to death, but they had also been able to enjoy hot meat soup with smiles throughout the winter. He wondered where all these changes came from.
When Ant Mountain saw that the priest was getting down to business, he quickly suppressed his smile and said, "I will do whatever the priest says."
...
Several days have passed since the New Year's Eve dinner, and the beastmen of the Limu tribe are still thinking about that lively and delicious meal.
It was still snowing outside, and the weather was still very cold. The brick houses where the beastmen of the Wood Tribe lived protected them from the wind and snow, and the heated brick beds provided warmth, so they didn't feel cold at all.
The orcs of the military guard were currently training in the wind and snow. Those orcs who had consumed the Marrow Cleansing Pill had all advanced one level in a short period of time. Perhaps the harsh environment had stimulated their potential. Tiger Roar and the others, who were in the first batch to consume the Marrow Cleansing Pill, were also showing signs of advancing another level.
Shen Nong breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was good that her strength had increased; only by being strong enough could she protect the current Wood Tribe.
After the New Year, he stopped hiding in the courtyard to hibernate and began to continue teaching Lu Shuang how to use her supernatural abilities. Lu Shuang's supernatural ability level is now level five, but compared to the speed of her previous progress, Lu Shuang has been stuck at level five for quite some time.
Shen Nong knew that level five of superpowers was a watershed moment in interstellar times; whether one advanced quickly or slowly before that was nothing to boast about or belittle. As long as one could cross the threshold of level five superpowers before the age of thirty, one could become an excellent superpower user.
Shen Nong didn't know how long Lu Shuang would remain at level five—perhaps a few years, perhaps a lifetime. Upgrading one's superpowers meant converting perceived natural energy into one's own.
But ultimately, what matters is whether the ability user has the ability to attract that vast and elusive energy and make it willingly be absorbed.
Shen Nong knew that the improvement of one's ability level couldn't be forced; it all depended on the ability user's comprehension. However, the Beast World was much better than the Interstellar World. At least the Beast World had thousands of times more natural elements than the Interstellar World, so the chances of improving one's abilities were much higher.
Thanks to sufficient supplies, the long winter was no longer as unbearable as before, and the Wood Tribe orcs had a mild winter.
As the weather gradually warmed up and the soil became less hard, the agricultural team began to get to work.
Spring planting has begun, and those incredibly precious cotton seeds stored in the warehouse can finally be planted! Next winter, everyone in the Mu tribe will have a thick cotton-padded coat to wear!
Chapter 111
mood
Spring has arrived, the winter snow has melted, and all things are coming back to life.
All the beastmen from the Wood Tribe's affiliated tribes came to the Wood Tribe to start working, and the priests who had taken the Marrow Cleansing Pill also lived in the Wood Tribe again, learning supernatural abilities from Shen Nong.
After a winter, Shen Nong clearly felt that the priests were using their supernatural abilities more smoothly, which must have been a lot of practice when they were in the tribe.
These priests did not hide it from their tribesmen; the high priest had granted them the ability to manipulate nature. Yu Ji had also told the tribesmen about this before coming.
The people of the various tribes already held Shen Nong in some awe, and now that they knew he could grant priests the ability to control nature, they directly regarded Shen Nong as a beast god in their hearts.
The chieftains of the Mountain Tribe and the Wind Tribe also came with the Wood Tribe this time; they actually wanted to train with the orcs of the military guard.
Ever since they watched the tournament with the Wood Tribe, it's like a whole new world has opened up for them. They never knew that battles between orcs could be like this!
They had never dared to think about it or say it before. Now that they knew the priests could fight for the Wood Tribe, they could join the military guard and fight for the Wood Tribe too!
Shen Nong understood what the two meant and readily agreed.
After learning that this was possible, Yu Ji also wanted Ying Xi to join the military guard and train with them. However, the Yu tribe was far away, and the priest and chieftain couldn't be absent, so he had to temporarily abandon this idea.
With Songshan and Lynx as examples, it wasn't long before the chiefs of the affiliated tribes, the captains of the hunting teams, and their members were all incorporated into the Wood Tribe's military guard.
After this winter, all the tribes have tasted the benefits. Before, they never dared to imagine that they would survive the winter without starving or freezing to death, let alone having a hot meal in the winter.
They all unanimously chose to work for the Wood Tribe in the spring. Working for the Wood Tribe was much better than their daily hunting. With a little more effort, they could even build a brick house like the Mountain and Wind Tribes, or a mud house if bricks weren't enough, and experience the feeling of lying on a heated kang bed when winter came.
That's what they thought, but when they saw other tribal chiefs and hunting teams joining the Wood Tribe's guard, they all knew how powerful the Wood Tribe's guard was.
What if other tribes become stronger while they don't? With that thought in mind, the Wood Tribe's military guards, whose dormitories were originally somewhat empty, were immediately filled with orcs.
This time, the affiliated tribes didn't just send a portion of their orcs to work in the Wood Tribe; all the orcs from all the tribes, except for infants still nursing, came.
With the manpower increased several times over, Shen Nong was able to work more freely. The moat of the city wall was dug much deeper, diverting water from the other side of the river.
The moat is deep and wide, and apart from the drawbridge, one must either take a boat or swim to cross it.
Shen Nong also found several excellent vantage points on the mountain and set up watchtowers, so that everything below could be seen.
——
Cotton planting sites need to be sheltered from the wind and sunny, with good drainage. After planting, when the cotton bolls are forming, it's necessary to prune to control growth. Otherwise, the cotton's nutrients will be used for the branches and leaves, resulting in fewer bolls and a lower yield.
In the Beast World, there's no potion to suppress the growth of side branches. This requires a large workforce to constantly monitor and promptly remove any branches that haven't yet produced fruit. Fortunately, many elderly people have arrived from the affiliated tribes, so manpower isn't a problem.
To help the beastmen better understand crops, Shen Nong opened an agricultural class at the school, where he himself taught the class. He guided the beastmen in hoeing, planting, and learning about and controlling pests.
The older folks learn slowly, and Shen Nong didn't intend to teach them anything too advanced; a basic understanding would suffice. They could learn the rest gradually. Farming is all about practice.
During this busy spring planting season, Shen Nong sensed that Ze seemed to be intentionally avoiding him. He stayed at the military guard post until very late every day, and by then he was too tired to say more than a few words to Ze. When he woke up in the morning, Ze was already gone.
The guard unit had recently been reinforced with many new orcs, so it was normal for them to be busy. However, when he reported to Tiger Roar, he heard Tiger Roar say that the new orcs were adapting very well, and the guard unit didn't have much else to deal with, just like before.
Something unusual must be going on. After what happened last time, Shen Nong felt it necessary to figure out why Ze was acting so strangely. He walked on the cement road of the tribe, planning to go to the military guard first and then to the farmland today.
As he walked, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be many more pairs of orcs in the tribe. He then remembered that spring was not only for spring plowing but also for the orcs to go into heat.
Shen Nong stopped in her tracks, immediately turned around, and headed towards the council building. She decided to check on the priests' ability control today, and see if Lu Shuang had taught them correctly.
Knowing that her period had arrived, Shen Nong returned to the courtyard and tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Logically, they were now soulmates and could try many things together.
But Shen Nong couldn't get over the mental hurdle; he felt he was going to die.
Thinking about the things he had seen in the system shop, he realized he had enough base points to buy a box... Things that shouldn't have surfaced in Shen Nong's mind, and his fair cheeks flushed red. He hurriedly left the shop as if he had been chased by a dog.
As night fell, Shen Nong was no longer as sleepy as he had been the previous days; instead, he felt increasingly energetic. In the darkness, his senses seemed amplified, and when he heard a noise at the door, he felt his heart pounding loudly.
After washing up, Ze went straight to the bed. His night vision was excellent after waking up, so he no longer needed to light candles. As usual, Ze leaned down and gently kissed Shen Nong's lips. He keenly felt the person beneath him breathe slightly heavily.
"Is the priest awake?"
Shen Nong couldn't keep up the act any longer, so he softly hummed in agreement.
Ze noticed that Shen Nong was tense because of his approach. This time, he didn't even dare to hug her, but just held Shen Nong's hand tightly and lay down.
As the night drew to a close, Shen Nong still couldn't fall asleep. Driven by passion and experiencing unusual sensations in his body, Shen Nong couldn't ignore them; this was the first time he'd had insomnia when nothing had changed in bed.
That's why Shen Nong realized that Ze had probably been too busy to get much sleep since the beginning of spring. He could sense that the other person was awake now.
Shen Nong gritted her teeth, quickly opened the shop and bought what she needed. This thing was produced by the system, so it should be able to relieve some of the pain.
As dawn broke, the gates to the priest's courtyard remained tightly shut. Beyond the many doors of the bedroom, a boundless spring scene unfolded, untouched by any sign of life.
…
The orcs of the Wood Tribe realized they hadn't seen their priest for many days, and Tiger Howl's reports every two days were all to Deer Frost. Back at the guard post, Cat Cloud was leading Ze's team in training. He approached Cat Cloud, looked around, and asked, "Ze still hasn't arrived? How many days has it been?"
Cat Cloud, unusually, didn't ignore Tiger Roar. "The Beastman's level is too high. There's probably still a lot of trouble ahead."
Hu Xiao pondered for a moment and nodded, "That's true. Back then, even orcs at the first or second level could struggle for two or three days. Sigh, I wonder when Ze will come back. I feel like I'm about to advance again. Da Hei is no match for me now. Only Ze is capable of fighting me and motivating me to advance faster."
"Then you fight me and Rabbit Wind now, we're advancing to the next level too." Cat Cloud called to Rabbit Wind, and the three of them went to the training ground. The beastmen of the military guard all gathered around to watch their battle.
The spring afternoon sun was bright but not harsh, incredibly gentle. All the glass windows of the master bedroom in the priest's courtyard were open, letting in the warm, inviting sunlight.
Shen Nong lay sprawled on the bed, feeling completely exhausted. Ze brought warm water and used a linen cloth to wipe her down. Sensing Ze's movements slowing, Shen Nong warned in a hoarse voice, "If you dare move again, you'll never live again."
Ze gently kissed the corner of Shen Nong's mouth, then buried his head in Shen Nong's neck. "Priestess, shall we hold a couples' ceremony?"
Shen Nong, being a priestess, knew that the pairing ritual in the beast world was equivalent to marriage in later times. However, once the ritual was completed, the two people's lifelines would merge, making them inseparable. Pairs could sense each other's emotions, and loyalty to each other would be ingrained in their blood. Moreover, if one died, the other would also perish.
Therefore, during the year or so that Shen Nong served as a priest, he did not preside over a single couples' ceremony.
Orcs are inherently more freedom-loving, and partners are more like shackles to them. Some orcs, even if they have lived together as partners for a long time, will not hold a partnership ceremony, because they feel that if they can't make it work, or if they meet someone better, they can leave at any time.
In the interstellar world where Shen Nong lives, people's thoughts are actually somewhat similar to those of orcs; they don't like having such emotional constraints.
Upon hearing Ze's suggestion, Shen Nong felt as if something was about to burst forth from his mind. A strong sense of sorrow mingled with a faint voice telling him not to agree to Ze's suggestion.
Shen Nong unconsciously followed the voice that suddenly arose in her heart and opened her mouth to refuse.
Ze Que first propped himself up, looking at him with a furrowed brow, and placed his warm palm on Shen Nong's face to wipe away his tears.
Shen Nong then realized that she had been crying.
But why was he crying? Was it because of that inexplicable emotion?
Since then, Ze has never mentioned the partner ceremony again, but Shen Nong has fallen into suspicion. At first, he thought that his time travel might be related to the instability of cosmic energy.
But this time, he inexplicably felt extremely sad again, and he was certain that he vaguely heard a voice, a voice that couldn't possibly be the system's. His original thought was overturned at this moment, and Shen Nong didn't ask the system. Either the system really didn't know, or it didn't have the authority to know.
Thinking back, during Ze's heat cycle last spring, he tried to bind Ze twice using his supernatural abilities but failed. He succeeded the other times, only failing on those two occasions.
Shen Nong concluded that the two failures had something in common: Ze had revealed a part of his beast form. One time it was wings, and the other time it was eyes, leading her to believe that Ze's beast form was immune to wood-type abilities.
But now Shen Nong is starting to doubt whether it's due to immunity.