I've been transported to the orc continent.

When Chen learned that Bai Ling was going to the Longhorn Tribe, he immediately said that he had to go too.

He argued vehemently, “Father, my brother has never traveled far from home since he was little, so I have to go with him. Last time my brother went to the Great River Tribe, I couldn’t go because I had to dig up big grass, but this time I must go.”

Feng looked at the expectation in his youngest son's eyes and nodded: "Alright, you can go with your brother. Listen to your brother on the way."

Chen flashed a bright white smile: "Father, I understand."

Before setting off, Bai Ling carefully instructed her father and father: "Remember to feed the sheep beast, and check the fish basket every day."

Cang patted his son on the shoulder and said, "We remember all of this. Be careful on your journey and come back soon."

Chen was very excited. Before he could finish listening to his father's instructions, he ran behind a big tree and transformed into his beast form. His big black eyes stared at Bai Ling without blinking, urging his brother to hurry up and leave.

He had already told his father what he needed to know several times. Bai Ling hugged his father and went behind the tree to transform into his beast form. With the help of his clansmen, he tied the baskets to their bodies. Bai Ling let out a long howl and headed off in one direction.

*

The Longhorn Tribe is not close to the Great River Tribe; even if the orcs travel at full speed, it will take them about a day and a half to arrive.

Bai Ling brought ten people with him this time. Besides Yue, Xiao, and his younger brother Chen, there were six clansmen. These six clansmen had all worked with Bai Ling before. They were all large beastmen, fast runners, and could carry a lot of things.

Bai Ling brought cured meat, animal hides, dried fish, and some decorations. His top priority was naturally to exchange for sorghum and bamboo. If the Longhorn Tribe had any other seeds, he would also exchange for some.

This time, there were no cubs, so Bai Ling and his group ran at full speed. Although Bai Ling was the initiator of this operation, he had never been to the Longhorn Tribe before. He was led by an orc named Liang along the way.

Liang's father was an orc from the Longhorn tribe. Every year, he would go back to the Longhorn tribe with his father to visit relatives. Liang knew exactly where the water was, where the road was easy to travel, and where there were caves to stay overnight.

As it was getting dark, Liang led them to a cave: "This cave is quite large; we could all fit in it even if we were in our animal forms. There's a stream over there; we can go there to fetch water."

Yue and Xiao went to gather firewood, Chen and Liang went to fetch water, the remaining beastmen patrolled the area, and Bai Ling was in charge of cooking.

The firewood and water were gathered, and Bai Ling lit a fire, placed the earthenware pot on it, added water, and began to cook the beast meat. The bright firelight illuminated the faces of the orcs sitting on the ground, making their faces glow red.

Since it's inconvenient to cook anything too complicated outside, just boil some cured meat. When the meat is almost done stewing, Bai Ling adds dried vegetables.

The water in the earthenware pot was bubbling and steaming, and a fragrant aroma wafted out from the lid with the steam. Marinated meat cooks much faster than raw meat. After the water had been boiling for a while, Bai Ling lifted the lid and sprinkled in some chopped green onions. The bright green onions combined with the boiling meat broth created a unique and irresistible aroma.

Even though they eat stewed meat every day now, Bai Ling's meat soup is still very attractive to everyone present, especially Chen, who sniffed hard with a look of complete intoxication on his face.

As Bai Ling served everyone meat soup, she said, "I added ginger to it; it will warm you up after drinking it."

Bai Ling secretly glanced at Yue, who held the ceramic bowl in both hands. After taking a sip of the meat soup, Yue's eyes narrowed slightly, and her beautiful ice-blue eyes warmed up.

A smile involuntarily appeared on Bai Ling's lips. He lowered his head and continued drinking his soup, feeling an even deeper understanding of Yue.

Yue loves delicious food. Whenever he eats something delicious, his eyes will squint slightly, and his ice-blue eyes will turn into crescent moons, filled with joy.

*

The Longhorn Tribe lives on the mountain. They dug caves in the mountains, and the hillside is covered with a dense array of cave entrances, most of which are adorned with a string of long horns.

The long horns were tied with straw ropes and hung at the entrance of the cave. When the wind blew, the long horns would hit the stone wall and make a tinkling sound.

Bai Ling stared curiously at the long horns. There were sheep horns, deer horns, and some that Bai Ling didn't recognize, with strange patterns on them.

Yue Jianzhuang explained in a low voice, "The Longhorn Tribe has a custom that they dig up the grave in the third year after a relative dies, take out the longhorn of the deceased relative, clean it up, and hang it at the door of their house."

"It is said that those who die in this way will continue to protect their loved ones."

Liang chimed in, “That’s right. It’s a custom of the Longhorn Tribe. My grandfather’s house has the longhorn of his ancestors hanging at the door. Every spring, my father and father would bring me here to attend the Longhorn Tribe’s grand meeting. On that day, they would take down the longhorn of their ancestors and hang it at the highest point of the mountain, and the tribespeople would sing and dance to celebrate.”

The High Tree tribe does not have such a custom. When the orcs of the High Tree tribe die, they are buried in a small valley, and the bodies of the dead tribesmen are never dug up again.

The Longhorn Tribe and the Tall Tree Tribe are not far apart, but their customs are completely different, which Bai Ling finds very interesting.

Xiao said from the side, "I've never heard of this before, Yue, how do you know?"

Yue: "I heard it from my father."

This was the first time Yue had mentioned her father. Bai Ling pricked up his ears, wanting to hear more, but Yue refused to say anything more.

*

The chieftain of the Longhorn tribe was not there; he had taken his people to hunt in a faraway place and would not be returning that night. The old beastman who stayed behind to entertain Bai Ling was the one who was staying behind in the tribe.

They all warmly welcomed Bai Ling's arrival, even treating him and his entourage with the utmost courtesy for the most distinguished guests.

Upon learning Bai Ling's purpose, an old orc smiled kindly and said, "Our tribe has many red rice seeds. How many would you like?"

Bai Ling took out a basket of dried meat: "This is smoked meat. How much red rice can you exchange this basket of dried meat for?"

These dried meats were given to Bai Ling by other tribes. They were all the best animal meat, and the cured meat could last all winter. Bai Ling's family of four couldn't possibly finish them all, so they used them to exchange for other things.

The old orc thought for a moment and said, "Ling, these jerky pieces of yours are all made from the best beast meat. How about exchanging one basket of jerky for five baskets of red rice?"

Bai Ling could accept the price, and he nodded: "Okay. By the way, I also want to dig up some bamboo, the kind that grows tall with segmented sections."

After Bai Ling gestured for a while, the beastmen of the Longhorn Tribe finally understood what bamboo was. The old beastman told Bai Ling to just dig it up, without even having to exchange anything for it.