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

"The roasted sweet potatoes should be ready!" After everyone finished eating the fish soup and toon pancakes, An Xin placed the stone pot and stove under the tree and began to dig out the sweet potatoes from the fire.

Use a twig to pull out the scalding hot sweet potatoes, then insert chopsticks into one and put it into your wooden bowl.

He addressed the beastmen who were gradually gathering around, saying, "This is called a sweet potato. You can roast it over a fire like I just did, boil it in water, or eat it raw! Everyone is welcome to try it. Roasted sweet potatoes will release sugary juices and have a smooth, creamy texture, making them very suitable for females, young beastmen, and old beastmen!"

Peeling back the thin outer skin reveals the orange-yellow flesh inside. An Xin scrapes some out with a small wooden spoon and hands it to Hu Tan, who is closest to her: "Tan Warrior, have a taste."

Hu Tan scratched his head sheepishly and ate the sweet potato in one bite.

But the sweet potato was still hot, and he couldn't bear to spit it out, so he just opened his mouth and blew on it, mumbling that it was hot.

Seeing his face turn completely red, and how he managed to swallow the sweet potato with great difficulty, the beastmen curiously asked him what it tasted like.

"It's so sweet and soft in the mouth, you don't even need to chew it! It's delicious!"

Upon hearing Hu Tan's description, everyone rushed to scavenge the remaining sweet potatoes. After tasting them, they gave them rave reviews.

"Sweet potatoes are nutritious, easy to store, and filling. Tomorrow I can teach everyone how to plant them, so that we'll have plenty of food to eat in winter."

"Witch Doctor, what do you mean by planting?" an older orc raised his hand to ask.

“Hmm, very good. Next, I’d like to talk to you about planting and animal husbandry.” An Xin nodded to the orcs and continued, “Planting is about cultivating plants in a planned way. Once they’re mature, you can eat them without having to constantly search for them in the wild. Animal husbandry involves keeping small wild animals in specific places, providing them with food and water, and then slaughtering them when they grow up. This is also a source of food in winter.”

Next, An Xin sent some of the orcs and some of the warriors protecting them to search for wild animals such as pheasants, wild ducks, rabbits, and lambs. The rest of the people went with her to a bamboo forest not far away!

That's right, it's a bamboo forest. While everyone was tidying up, An Xin used her Sky Eye to survey the surrounding environment and found a dense bamboo forest.

Strolling through the bamboo forest, sunlight filters through the bamboo leaves, casting dappled shadows, and time seems to slow down, creating a flowing ink painting.

A faint scent of bamboo leaves filled the air.

When An Xin and the others entered, they startled a few birds, adding a touch of liveliness to the tranquil bamboo forest.

"Sheming, I need bamboo this thick and straight! Can you cut some for me? Remember to be careful, there might be bamboo rats. You can catch the males, but release the others."

Snake Inscription nodded and joined several tiger warriors in hacking and slashing with their bare hands.

An Xin then called to Wu Ran and taught him how to find bamboo shoots, followed by careful digging. Once he had learned, he could then teach more beastmen.

Look, Sheming has already cut down about ten bamboo stalks with high moisture content. Anxin then has them cut down thicker bamboo on the other side!

After cutting the bamboo into several more sections and tying them together, the group, led by An Xin, walked out of the bamboo forest and met up with the beastmen who were searching for small wild animals. This marked the end of today's wilderness collection.

The group chatted and laughed as they carried, lifted, and shouldered their bountiful harvest back to the tribe.

Deep within the forest, several pairs of eyes were fixed on the orcs.

………………

"Fox Mother, Fox Father!" Fox Na bowed gracefully to the two beastmen at the head of the table.

"Ana's here? Please have a seat!" The haggard Fox Lan rested her head on her hand, while Fox Zong sighed repeatedly beside her.

"Fox mother and father, don't worry. I've found the red foxes of my mother's clan, and they're willing to join the search for Ah Xin. Many hands make light work!" Fox Na said softly, her head still bowed.

“Good child, thank you! But we still can’t figure out what happened that day. It was her birthday, why was she running around like that?” The speaker was Hu Xin’s father, Hu Zong.

The man, as serene as a distant mountain bamboo, is now consumed by worry over the disappearance of his beloved daughter. The pressure on his brow from years of stress has finally given rise to faint frown lines.

"She can't even transform into human form, what if... Waaah..." The fox mother was so worried that she couldn't stop sobbing as she spoke.

Holding his still stunning and alluring wife, Fox Sect remained silent, quietly keeping her company.

Foxna stood to the side, her hands clenched into fists, gritting her teeth.

"Uncle, Aunt! I'm back."

In the spacious mountain hollow, lush green grass carpeted the ground, a riot of flowers bloomed, and butterflies danced in the air. Like the clearest mountain stream, the man was elegant and refined, like a banished immortal. Dressed in a white robe and cloak, Hu Qing stood with his hands behind his back before the stone table, smiling slightly and bowing.

"I've heard about Ah Xin! Please don't panic, your health is important. I'm on my way to the temple for the priest's awakening ceremony, and I will do everything I can to find Ah Xin along the way!"

"Thank you so much, Qing. You can keep this jade pendant; it can resonate with A-Xin!"

Fox Lan took out a white jade pendant with a crack from her sleeve.

"This crack..."

"It cracked after Ah Xin went missing on her birthday."

"Also, this jade pendant is warm and has a faint fluorescence. Does that mean she's nearby?"

"No, we don't know why the jade pendant is like this either, but if A-Xin is nearby, the jade pendant will definitely glow and become extremely hot."

"Alright, Qing will remember this. I'll be going now." Carefully putting away the jade token, Hu Qing bowed again to Hu Lan and Hu Zong.

"Please, Qing, have a safe journey!" Hu Lan said goodbye to him, her face still full of worry, forcing herself to suppress her sadness.

Emerging from the mountain hollow, the elegant young man walked gracefully.

But a splash of red blocked his way.

"Ah Qing...it's been so long." Hu Na said shyly, half-concealing herself, as she tugged at Hu Qing's wide sleeve.

"Red Fox Princess, what do you want?" Without a word, Fox Qing pulled out her sleeve, glanced at her briefly, and then looked away.

"May I travel with you? My Red Fox clan will also join the search team."

"No, there are many directions to search for, so there's no need to search repeatedly. Besides, I'll be eating and sleeping in the open along the way, so it's really not suitable for me to travel with you."

Hu Qing's bluntness was hurtful, but Hu Na liked him just the way he was; the more unattainable he was, the more she liked him.

Besides, Hu Qing was Hu Xin's chosen master. She just felt that Hu Qing wouldn't like a good-for-nothing who couldn't even transform into human form. If he could spend more time with her, she didn't believe he wouldn't obediently submit.

“The other fox clans are already on their way to search, but no one is searching around the road leading to the temple, so our clan was going to go there anyway.”

"Do as you please, just don't cause any trouble later."

After saying that, he leaped away.

Foxna stared at the retreating figure who didn't even turn his head, stomped her foot, and went to find the warrior leading the Red Fox Clan.

………………

Tiger Tribe, Square

An Xin first took a large bamboo stalk, transformed it into sharp animal claws, and cut it open from below the bamboo joint to form bamboo bowls and cups of various sizes.

Have the orcs boil several pots of water, put the bamboo products in them to boil thoroughly, and then spread them out to dry. Then everyone can take them back and use them.

Then she used the middle section of bamboo, about 1.5 meters long, to build a bamboo frame. One bamboo frame was enough to dry items such as fur and straw mats.

Select 2- to 3-year-old bamboo, remove the green leaves and nodes with a bone knife, cut into appropriate lengths, split the bamboo lengthwise, and then use a bone knife to separate it into strips until bamboo strips are formed.

Boil bamboo strips in water, then take them out and weave them into bamboo baskets, bamboo trays, bamboo winnowing baskets, etc.

"Actually, bamboo weaving is very similar to straw weaving, but bamboo is more rigid. For example, this large bamboo basket can be carried on your back with straw rope! If you use smooth and delicate bamboo strips, you can also make bamboo curtains and bamboo mats. Similarly, bamboo can also be used to make bamboo chopsticks, etc. If you can truly combine bamboo itself with bamboo weaving, you can make even more items."

After teaching the orcs the main uses and weaving methods, An Xin selected a thin bamboo pole suitable for making a bamboo flute.

In the square, the beastmen were trying their hand at bamboo weaving, while she quietly reminisced and made a bamboo flute.

It took several thin bamboo sticks to finally complete the most basic bamboo flute.

After several attempts, the unique and melodious sound of the bamboo flute filled the square. Listening closely, one could hear the purity of a clear spring, the crispness of silver bells, the smoothness of silk, and the freshness of the countryside.

A soft, melodious tune echoed across the square. The beastmen, holding their half-finished bamboo crafts, sat around An Xin, listening quietly.

"Witch Doctor, what is this?" The little orc was always the most curious, blinking his big eyes.

"This is called a bamboo flute, and it can make sounds! I'll find someone in the tribe to teach them how to play the bamboo flute. Anyone want to try?"

……

Ultimately, An Xin passed on the bamboo flute and the way of playing it to Nuo, the daughter of the Tiger Clan priest, who would become the next priest. But that's another story.

The day after the collection, a light drizzle began to fall, so An Xin could only teach the beastmen how to plant and raise small wild animals in the largest cave of the tiger tribe, such as how to keep them in captivity, how to feed them, how to prevent diseases, and how to breed them.

If they are birds, how do you prevent them from flying away, how do you collect their eggs, and how do you incubate them?

During this time, she discovered that the beastmen had no way to record events, so she thought of having them use bamboo strips to carve patterns to record events. Finally, she taught the beastmen her limited knowledge of hieroglyphs, hoping that they could learn from it and apply it to other situations.

What she didn't expect was that her small action would advance the cultural progress of the Beast World by thousands of years.

On the last day before leaving, Anxin demonstrated the planting methods for sweet potatoes, wild ginger, and wild onions to everyone. At noon, she also taught them some of the simplest ways to cook bamboo shoots, eggs, and wild vegetables!

Amidst repeated praise, An Xin then gave a general explanation of how to build a house using bamboo, wood, mud, and hay.

After leaving them the most basic diagrams on bamboo strips, they gave them to Hu Yao so that he could build such a house and also dig a cellar to store food.

Amidst Hu Yao and the priest's excited expressions, they even promised to come back and visit again when they had time.

She also repeatedly pleaded with Hu Yao to take good care of those wandering orcs and to let them make the most of their skills if possible.

"Don't worry, Master Witch Doctor, they are so useful that I will definitely treat them well. If other tribes want to come to them for instruction, I will certainly help them as well." Hu Yao thumped his chest loudly.

“I have another request, High Priest, Witch Doctor, Your Excellency. I have a female cub named Huno, who has been studying priesthood with me for some time. She is on her way to the temple for her awakening. I wonder if she could accompany you?” The priest bowed to the three of them and continued, “She recently broke through to level four and no longer needs to eat twice a day; once every few days is fine. Therefore…”

Ao Jue and She Ming didn't seem to care much, so An Xin said, "Okay, Hu Nuo has a straightforward personality and we get along very well. With her by my side, I won't be bored on the journey."

The problem is that She Ming spends all his free time looking for Ao Jue, so she hasn't seen them much these past few days. If this continues on the road, she'll probably be bored to death.

The day of departure finally arrived, and the orcs were reluctant to part with An Xin... Some of the more sentimental ones were even sobbing on the side.

An Xin was a little disappointed not to see Wu Ran, who had become her little assistant in the past few days.

It's no wonder An Xin was reluctant to part with him. Wu Ran didn't talk much, but he was smart and capable. He could immediately understand and put into practice whatever An Xin said, and they gradually developed a tacit understanding.

Perhaps it's for the best that young people are afraid to come because they don't want to experience the sadness of parting...

The four of them, carrying their luggage, had finally managed to escape the orcs' farewell, but before they had gone far, a familiar voice called them to a stop.