Chapter 191: Depart! Embark on the Road to Xu Shi!
The day to depart arrived. The sun had not yet risen. Lin Ye and the three Beast-eared Girls were preparing to leave. All the Beast-eared Girls in the tribe were gathered in the open space. Lin Ye, along with Xing, Shi, and Ganyu, were bidding farewell to them.
There was no telling how long this trip to Xu Shi would take. However, the travel time alone would be twenty days.
“Ye, you must come back soon,” Sakura hugged Lin Ye, looking at him pitifully as she spoke. The other Beast-eared Girls looked at Lin Ye with reluctance. This was the first time Lin Ye would be away for so many days since he arrived at the tribe.
Lin Ye patted Sakura’s head and said to her with a smile, “Be good and listen to Yun and the others while I’m gone. Otherwise, if I hear you’ve been disobedient when I return, I won’t bring you for talent training anymore!” After Lin Ye finished speaking, Sakura’s face turned red, but she still nodded firmly at him.
Lin Ye had already explained everything that needed attention to Yun and the others during these past few days. Meanwhile, Xing and Shi, sitting in the carriage, were a little confused. Why was everyone there bidding Lin Ye farewell, but no one was looking at them!
After a while, Ganyu walked over with a wooden bucket filled with saltpeter. After placing it in the storage area behind the carriage, Ganyu also walked around to the front and climbed into the resting area at the front. The resting area was like a small room.
Shi and Ganyu had spent these days setting up this area. The entire interior was wrapped in wolfskin by the two of them. In the middle, there was a specially made pottery that had been fired later. It was a disk shape, gradually sloping inwards like a funnel. Below it was a pottery jar. On the disk, several ice cubes made from wooden cups were placed. The water from the melting ice dripped through a small hole in the middle directly into the pottery jar below. Moreover, because the carriage was wrapped in wolfskin, the coolness from the ice could not easily dissipate. The melting ice also absorbed the heat inside the carriage. This made the carriage as cool as if it had air conditioning.
Lin Ye, Xing, and the other two still needed to travel to the Winged Tribe. So, after a simple, reluctant farewell with the Beast-eared Girls, Lin Ye got into the carriage. Finally, after waving goodbye to the Beast-eared Girls, under their reluctant gazes, the Unicorn pulling the carriage departed. With a Unicorn, there was no need for someone to sit outside the carriage. If the Unicorn encountered any problems, Lin Ye would know immediately through beast taming. The Unicorn maintained a steady speed, and the carriage traveled smoothly through the forest. Finally, before the sun fully rose, the carriage reached the Winged Tribe.
The Winged Girls were all already up and packing their belongings. When they saw the Unicorn pulling a carriage enter, the Winged Girls were stunned, watching the approaching Unicorn. Since the Winged Girls had visited the Beast-eared Girl tribe before, they already knew this Unicorn was Lin Ye’s mount. Therefore, they were stunned because this was the first time they had seen a carriage being pulled by a Unicorn.
The Unicorn informed Lin Ye through beast taming that they had arrived at the Winged Tribe. After walking a bit further, the Unicorn stopped not far from the Winged Girls. Lin Ye opened the carriage door and stepped out. The Winged Girls were wondering what the Unicorn was dragging when Lin Ye, Xing, and the other two emerged from inside. This shocked the Winged Girls even more. Even Grandma Nanrong looked at the carriage behind the Unicorn with surprise.
When Lin Ye, Xing, and the other two got off the carriage, the Winged Girls remained standing there, dumbfounded, staring in their direction.
“Mingyun, what are you all doing?” After Xing got out of the carriage, she saw Mingyun and the others standing still and asked Mingyun with some confusion. Hearing Xing’s voice, the Winged Girls snapped back to reality. Mingyun blinked, flapped her wings a couple of times, and lightly flew towards Xing. Mingyun arrived beside Xing and looked at the carriage up close with curious eyes. After looking at the carriage for a few moments, Mingyun asked curiously, “Xing, what is this thing? Why did you all come out of it just now?” At this point, the other Winged Girls also flew over, surrounding the carriage, their eyes wide, and their faces filled with astonishment.
Xing smiled and said to Mingyun, “This is called a carriage. Ye made it. If you sit inside, you don’t have to walk when you travel.”
“Wow, a carriage?! How magical!” Mingyun exclaimed involuntarily when she heard Xing’s explanation, although she didn’t understand anything. However, seeing the appearance of the carriage, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of amazement.
After watching for a while, the Winged Girls were called back by Grandma Nanrong. Today was the day to depart for Xu Shi, and they couldn’t waste any more time. Hearing Grandma Nanrong’s voice, the Winged Girls obediently returned to continue packing their belongings.
Lin Ye looked at the items the Winged Girls were bringing. There was only one thing: the feathers they shed. Every year, they grew a layer of down for warmth in winter, which would fall off in the spring. These feathers didn’t mean much to them, but other tribes were extremely lacking in such items. The only way to obtain them was from wild chickens foraging on the ground, but they couldn’t catch many. As for birds in the sky, it was even more impossible; without long-range attacks, they couldn’t even touch them. Lin Ye watched for a while. The Winged Girls’ feathers were colorful, with all sorts of colors. Among them, Mingyun’s white feathers were packed separately into a piece of beast skin.
“Ye, Mingyun, come here for a moment.” Lin Ye, who was watching the Winged Girls pack their feathers, suddenly heard Grandma Nanrong’s voice. Lin Ye and Mingyun both turned to look. Grandma Nanrong was looking at them kindly. Lin Ye and Mingyun walked up to Grandma Nanrong.
“Grandma Nanrong, what do you need us for?” Lin Ye asked Grandma Nanrong softly as he approached. Mingyun also looked at Grandma Nanrong, waiting for her to speak.
“It’s nothing, I just have a few things to explain to you.” Grandma Nanrong said with a kind smile. Upon hearing this, Lin Ye looked at Grandma Nanrong seriously. Grandma Nanrong paused for a moment before continuing, “When you get to Xu Shi, unless it’s absolutely necessary, don’t try to exchange for things that many people want but can’t put a price on. Many people, unable to offer what others want, wait until Xu Shi ends and ambush others on the way.” After saying this, Grandma Nanrong paused again. Lin Ye nodded in agreement. In this world without the constraint of rules, even wealth could be a sin.
Grandma Nanrong took a couple of breaths and continued, “Also, Ye, you must be careful. Never let others know the miraculousness of potatoes. If other tribes find out about such a food source that never runs out, they will definitely try to snatch it at all costs.” After saying this, the kind smile on Grandma Nanrong’s face disappeared, replaced by a stern expression.
“Ye, the last thing is something I need to entrust to you. Mingyun and the others, along with Xing and her group, will definitely attract the attention of people from other tribes once you arrive at Xu Shi. Every Xu Shi, many women go missing, abducted by those people. You must watch them carefully and never let them leave your sight. Their safety will depend entirely on you!” Hearing Grandma Nanrong say this, Lin Ye nodded very seriously. Mingyun, watching Lin Ye nod seriously, couldn’t help but blush.
After finishing, Grandma Nanrong looked at Mingyun with great concern and said to her, “You’ve only been there twice with your father. When you get there, make sure you stick to Lin Ye with the others. Listen carefully to what I’m saying!” Grandma Nanrong was very worried. After all, Mingyun and the other Winged People were still children. Grandma Nanrong couldn’t feel at ease sending them to such a chaotic Xu Shi. However, they had to go. If they didn’t exchange the feathers for some goods, the Winged Tribe would not survive this winter.
