I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

The tiger-clan orcs were even more wary of the two, and they were all overwhelmed by their pressure.

"Let's go!" She Ming said softly to An Xin, suppressing his imposing manner.

"Alright, everyone, we're heading to the Tiger Clan now. If you'd like, you can come along. That Tiger Clan warrior has already shown us goodwill."

An Xin turned to the wandering orc and spoke, then quickly retracted all the silver needles from Hu Tan's body.

Hu Tan suddenly felt a lightness in his body and staggered.

Once he regained his balance, he let out a deep breath and glanced at An Xin, who had already walked away, still feeling astonished.

The group walked for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before arriving at the wall of the Tiger Clan tribe.

Hu Tai spoke briefly with the tiger warriors at the gate, then walked up to An Xin and She Ming and said, "I've already gone to invite the clan leader. Please wait a moment."

The two nodded without saying a word.

A moment later, dozens of tall and mighty orcs emerged from the tribe.

The leader was tall and handsome, dressed in animal skin and wearing a large canine tooth ornament.

He exuded an aura of authority, and one could tell at a glance that he must be the ruler of the Tiger Clan.

An Xin glanced at the newcomers and couldn't help but sigh: In the beast world, as long as a race is decent, their looks and physique are impeccable.

"Priest!" A group of orcs stopped a few steps away from Sheming, clenched their right fists, pounded their left chests three times, and bowed in respect.

"Hmm! No need for formalities," She Ming said calmly.

The tiger-man rose, took a step closer to Sheming, and said respectfully, "Priest, it's been many years! You haven't changed a bit! Do you remember me? A few years ago, you fought off a group of ferocious beasts in the woods ahead and saved me and my father."

She Ming merely glanced at the young man before shaking his head.

“…The High Priest surely wouldn’t take such a trivial matter to heart, but my father and I must keep it in mind.” Though somewhat embarrassed, he still bowed again.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." She Ming remained indifferent.

“My people have told me the whole story, and I feel truly ashamed. On behalf of the tribe, I apologize to everyone and sincerely request that you stay. Our tribe will treat you with the highest honors.”

The young man bent down to make way, gestured for him to proceed, and then walked leisurely beside She Ming.

While guiding everyone into the tribe, he quietly introduced himself to She Ming: "High Priest, I am Yao, the young chieftain of the Tiger Clan. Today happens to be the ceremony for the handover of our chieftain, and it is my greatest honor to have you here."

As they walked, stopping frequently, a group of powerful tiger-clan beastmen surrounded them, bowing and respectfully introducing themselves.

This reminded An Xin of the government officials who came down to inspect the area before the apocalypse.

The bosses at the companies where she worked were just like the tiger-like beastmen before her, fawning over their leader, bowing and scraping and doing everything they could to flatter her. Thinking about it, she couldn't help but chuckle softly.

The tiger-kin beastmen stopped upon hearing the sound and looked at the beautiful girl beside the high priest, dressed the same as him.

In fact, they had spotted her from afar when they came to greet the group of orcs.

She has an exceptionally beautiful face, with pure, slightly upturned peach blossom eyes that exude both innocence and allure.

Do not stare at them for too long, or you will lose yourself in the shimmering light in their eyes.

Now, upon suddenly hearing the girl's soft laughter, he is even more distracted.

If one didn't possess a certain level of cultivation, they would have already become obsessed and ensnared by now.

The girl seemed completely unaware of her own charm. Seeing everyone stop and stare at her intently, she coughed lightly and said, "Ahem... Don't worry about it, you can continue."

A clear, melodious voice snapped everyone out of their daze, and everyone, regardless of age, blushed...

An Xin looked around at everyone, bewildered and speechless: What's going on? Did they take the wrong medicine?

She Ming frowned, as if he had thought of something, then looked at An Xin and raised his eyebrows, but did not say anything.

"Ah! This is the tribe's main square. Everyone must be tired. Please rest." Seeing the somewhat stagnant atmosphere, Hu Yao spoke up and pointed to a patch of dry grass not far away in the open space.

Seeing that the orcs had found places to rest on their own, he continued to say to Snake Inscription, "Priest, the council hall is over there. Please come with me. Today, chieftains and leaders from some surrounding tribes will be attending the ceremony. Various foods have been prepared in the council hall to entertain our distinguished guests."

She Ming looked at An Xin, as if to say, "Wherever you are, I will be there too."

"Go ahead, don't worry about me. I promised to teach them the trade." An Xin waved her hand, still looking completely indifferent.

She Ming nodded again and walked with Hu Yao toward the council hall on the other side.

An Xin walked towards the group of wandering orcs and sat down on a pile of hay without any airs.

She had just wanted to relax and bask in the sun like everyone else, but the hay she picked up by chance gave her a sudden inspiration.

In the decade following the apocalypse, people gradually returned from modern life to the most primitive era of handicrafts.

Because of the scarcity of resources, people began to pick up the old-fashioned crafts, and straw weaving was one of them.

Grass is the most common plant in the apocalypse, because crops and fruits and vegetables have long been unable to grow due to the strange acid rain and weather in the apocalypse.

Only the most resilient herbaceous plants survived, and even evolved many variant varieties to better adapt to the environment.

People then used grass to weave things, such as basic grass mats, bags, straw sandals, and straw hats...

Back then, Wen Lan didn't have any special abilities and could only do odd jobs and logistics. She would often bring back some hay to weave things.

An Xin would often help her in her spare time, and over time, various simple knitting techniques became her hobby.

Sitting on the open ground, she selected a piece of whole hay of a certain length that was resilient and had a clean, smooth surface from the haystack.

The hay was arranged in an orderly fashion on the ground using the simplest method of intersecting latitude and longitude.

After roughly arranging the vertical columns, she then wove them horizontally using dry grass.

Some wandering orcs sitting not far from her gathered around curiously to see what the witch doctor was doing.

The beastmen were astonished when An Xin finished weaving a grass mat that was 50cm wide and 100cm long.

"Witch doctor, what is this?" Wu Ran blinked his dark, shiny eyes, staring at the object in An Xin's hand.

"This is a straw mat, which can be laid on the ground for sitting or lying down. You see, it's not hard, and you can roll it up. If possible, you can put the selected hay in boiling water to blanch it, which will make the hay more pliable and prevent insects from getting in. When conditions are good, lay out a few straw mats and then put animal hides on them, and it will be very comfortable to sleep on them at night."

An Xin patiently introduced straw weaving to the stray beastmen, and soon almost all of them gathered around her, listening attentively.

Seeing this, An Xin nodded in satisfaction and began to teach them straw weaving techniques seriously.

From how to select hay to demonstrating how to weave, she explained everything in detail, teaching each step carefully and without holding anything back.

Before long, the beastmen were able to weave grass mats on their own.

An Xin evaluated their work like a teacher and offered encouragement.

The beastmen sat on the fruits of their labor, all deeply moved.

In the following time, Anxin also taught them how to weave straw hats, bags, and straw sandals.

The beastmen, dressed in their own hand-woven items, were all in high spirits, their earlier gloom gone.

They studied diligently, and every now and then you could hear Anxin humming funny songs while knitting.

The lively atmosphere in the square attracted many young people from the Tiger Tribe.

They watched as the group of foreign orcs surrounded a stunningly beautiful silver-haired girl in the center, tending to hay.

In no time, they could make all sorts of things from the hay that they had never seen before.

After consulting with the orcs around them, the tribe's youths spread the word far and wide.

So when Hu Yao led the tribal chiefs or leaders to the square to prepare for the ceremony, he saw a huge crowd of orcs surrounding the girl in the center of the square.

As the sun sets, its afterglow spills across the square. The beastmen laugh and play, while some little beastmen flaunt and show off their straw ornaments.

The girl in the middle has a beautiful smile, and her curved eyes are filled with starlight.

"Young Chieftain, Young Chieftain, look! This was made for me by the witch doctor sister. She said it's called a wreath. Isn't it pretty? Isn't it pretty?" A little orc girl pointed to the wreath on her head and tugged at Hu Yao's finger.

"Young clan leader, look, this is a straw mat I wove. The witch sister praised me for my good weaving!" Another little beastman held up a small straw mat in his hand to show Hu Yao.

"Watch me, watch me! Young chieftain, I can even weave small bags now, look, you can put things in them!" Another little orc proudly showed off a small straw bag slung across his shoulder.

……

"Did you make all of these?" Hu Yao and the beastmen beside him were very curious about the straw-woven items in the children's hands.

"Yes, it was the witch who taught us to do it! She's so amazing, she can make so many things!" The little beastman who received An Xin's praise pointed proudly to the girl in the center of the crowd.

"Young chieftain, is this your tribe's shaman?" A Black Panther chieftain stared intently at An Xin and asked without turning his head.

“No, this lady came with the High Priest. I just found out she’s a witch doctor.” Hu Yao finally turned his gaze away from An Xin and looked at She Ming.

She Ming merely nodded slightly. Although he still showed no expression, everyone could sense a sense of pride on his face.

"Go and inform everyone to prepare for the ceremony!" Hu Yao looked at the sky and instructed the clansmen around him.

Soon, the crowd reluctantly dispersed.

Tiger tribesmen specially received An Xin and the other beastmen, arranging for them to sit in a place relatively close to the tribe chief and priest.

Meanwhile, orcs were specifically responsible for the fire, using torches to fetch the fire and ignite the small fires one by one.

The sky gradually deepened in color, and the bonfires around the square echoed the roaring bonfire in the center.

Thick branches were set up around the various small fires, and the tiger youths, beaming with joy, served fresh meat to the distinguished guests.

The servants of the tribal chiefs or leaders all brandished their sharp claws to cut up chunks of meat, skewered them with branches, and placed them on the grill.

An Xin happened to be sitting in front of a fire, and she quietly said a few words to Wu Ran beside her.

Wu Ran excitedly walked towards the edge of the square, saw a relatively flat stone, and hugged it tightly in his arms, carefully turning back to An Xin's side.

"Ah Ran, cut the stone like this... Yes! Cut the rest like this! Very good!"

An Xin directed Wu Ran to divide the flat side of the stone into a large stone slab of uniform thickness, and then neatly cut the remaining stone into two flat stone blocks.

After piling the stones around the fire, An Xin took out a water bag and rinsed the surface of the stones clean.

Before long, the stone emitted a "sizzling" sound.

She warned the orcs around the fire to be careful and not to touch the stone slabs.

He took a thick piece of fatty meat and rubbed it repeatedly on the stone slab until it oozed oil. Then he spread the thin slices of meat that he had just given Wu Ran to cut evenly on the stone slab.

Holding chopsticks made from tree branches, which he had taught the wandering orcs to use beforehand, he methodically flipped the slices of meat.

Soon, the slices of meat on the stone slab sizzled and dripped with oil. The aroma of the stone-grilled meat wafted through the air, filling the entire square with an enticing scent.

This attracted the envious gazes of the orcs sitting nearby.

An Xin checked the doneness of the meat slices, sprinkled some fine salt on them, flipped them over, and quickly placed them into clean leaves.

"Everyone, have a taste." Passing the leaves around, the stray animals used chopsticks to pick up slices of meat, just like Professor Anxin had done.

Although it felt very awkward for everyone, they kept the witch doctor's instructions in mind and tried to use the two sticks called "chopsticks" to pick up the slices of meat and put them into their mouths!