I've been transported to the orc continent.

Yue was very interested in the furniture Bai Ling mentioned. His eyes darted around, and he asked, "With furniture, will the house be more comfortable to live in?"

Bai Ling smiled and nodded: "Yes, the house will be more comfortable with furniture." Bai Ling looked around and, seeing that no one was around, he took a small step forward to get closer to Yue.

*

“Yue, I have something to tell you,” Bai Ling said in a low voice. “Next spring, I want to build a new house, not with mud or adobe, but with bricks. I’ll put tiles on the roof, and if possible, I’ll also install glass. Glass is as transparent as water, so sunlight will shine through it and into the windows, making the house bright and airy. A house built with bricks and tiles will be sturdy, spacious, and bright, just like the outside. Then the clansmen can do whatever they want inside.”

“I also plan to build a kang (heated brick bed) in the room, so that the room will be warm in winter and we won’t have to live in a cave anymore.”

"When it snows, we can sit in a warm house and watch the snowflakes fluttering outside through the glass. It's a world of ice and snow outside, but not a breath of wind can get into the house."

Bai Ling's voice was deep yet magnetic, captivating Yue, who listened with rapt attention as if the scene Bai Ling described truly existed.

The house was spacious and bright, with a thin layer of water flowing on the windows. The house was just as bright as the outside, while it was freezing cold and snowy outside, but warm and cozy inside.

When my father and father come back, the three of them will surely be very happy living in such a house.

Yue was so engrossed in his thoughts that he could even picture the beautiful scene before him, and in his excitement, he actually grabbed Bai Ling's hand.

Because of his work, Yue's fingers were rough. Bai Ling could clearly feel the calluses on Yue's fingertips. He could also feel the temperature of Yue's skin. The temperature was not high, but it burned like wildfire all over his body.

Bai Ling's breath became hot, and he tried to slow his heartbeat, but his voice was uncontrollably hoarse: "Yue, let me go first."

Immersed in his imagination, Yue was pulled from that beautiful scene by Bai Ling's call. He released Bai Ling's wrist, his expression apologetic: "Yue, I'm sorry, I was too excited just now. Did I hurt you?"

Yue knew how strong he was. He was so surprised that he didn't have time to control his strength and didn't even know if he had hurt Ling.

Yue looked at Bai Ling's wrist and, seeing that there was nothing wrong with it, felt relieved.

"Yue, I'm fine now." Bai Ling scratched his head. "I haven't told the other members of my clan about this yet. Can you keep it a secret for me?"

Bai Ling glanced at Yue with his obsidian-like eyes, then lowered his head, his voice becoming even softer: "I don't know if I can succeed yet. If the people of the tribe find out, hoping to move into new houses, but I haven't managed to produce the bricks and glass, they will definitely be disappointed in me." His voice grew even softer, "I don't want to disappoint them."

"Yue, you know, I didn't know anything or understand anything before, but my people didn't look down on me at all. On the contrary, they all loved me very much. I like my people very much, and I don't want them to be disappointed in me."

Bai Ling frowned slightly, and the light in his eyes dimmed a little. He rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat at a loss.

Yue understood Bai Ling's feelings very well.

He had felt the same way. At that time, food was scarce in the tribe. He and the young men of the tribe formed a hunting team and set off to hunt. When they were about to leave, the tribespeople came to see them off. Their eyes were full of concern, worry and expectation. Faced with the expectations of the tribespeople, he had only one thought at the time, which was that he must bring back prey and not let the tribespeople down.

“Ling, don’t worry,” Yue Bing’s blue eyes narrowed slightly, her expression very serious, “I won’t tell anyone about this.”

The worry in Bai Ling's eyes disappeared, and he smiled gently: "Yes, only the two of us know about this. It's our shared secret."

*

The best way to bring two people closer is either to have a common enemy or a common secret.

Just like now, after Bai Ling told Yue about her desire to build a house, their relationship has clearly become closer.

He and Yue went from being ordinary friends to friends with a unique secret, and in the future, their connection will become even closer because of this secret.

Building a house is a huge project, and in this relatively primitive orc world, it is even more difficult. Bai Ling cannot complete it by himself alone. Even for the preliminary preparations, he has to consult with others and work together to find solutions to the problems they encounter.

So who would he consult? Of course, it would be Yue, who shares a secret with him.

Bai Ling suppressed her joy and brought up the purpose of her visit again: "Yue, can you come with me to the Longhorn Tribe?"

Without hesitation, Yue replied, "Of course, we'll go together."

Bai Ling could no longer contain his smile: "Now is the crucial time to store food. I can't let you make a wasted trip. I'll give you some animal meat as payment for coming with me."

Yue didn't dwell on this matter. He helped Ling, and Ling gave him something in return, which was perfectly normal. If he didn't want anything, that would be disrespectful to Ling.

Yue asked again, "Ling, are we going alone? If you're exchanging a lot of things, the two of us might not be able to bring them all back."

Bai Ling also thought about this question. Between the two options of spending time alone with Yue or bringing back more sorghum and bamboo, Bai Ling thought it over and over and finally gritted his teeth and chose the latter.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be alone with Yue, but there were priorities. He urgently needed to change his own and his tribe's situation. If he didn't bring back more bamboo and sorghum just to be alone with Yue for a few days, wouldn't he have wasted all his efforts?

Bai Ling smiled and said, "I'll find a few more clansmen, and we'll set off together tomorrow."

Yue thought for a moment and said, "Ling, wait a moment, let me ask Xiao if he wants to go."

After Bai Ling nodded, Yue turned around, took a few steps, and called Xiao over.

Knowing that Bai Ling and Yue were going to the Longhorn Tribe to exchange things, Xiao agreed without hesitation. He affectionately took Yue's arm and said with a grin, "Ling, Yue and I will go together. How about this, I can't carry much stuff, so you don't need to give me any animal meat. Just consider it as me going to play with you guys."

Xiao is a fox-beastman. His beast form isn't very big, so he can't carry too much. It's already a great favor that Ling can take him along. How could he possibly want Ling's things?