dognovel Chapter 21 Entering the Layered Mountains
Chapter 21 Entering the Layered Mountains
After the heavy rain turned into a light rain, Baiji's leg injury had almost healed, and it began to leave the cave to hunt outside.
Linni refused to stay with Ye Feng any longer; this agonizing experience was taking her half her life! She asked Ye to carry her outside the cave. The water in the lake was still murky, but the water level had risen considerably, and the waterfall that had stopped flowing was now crashing against the lake again.
Linni walked along the forest path, stopping and starting in the light rain. Ye silently followed behind her. She wanted to run, but her back and legs ached and she couldn't. She saw many different animals walking in the rain. Only those who had experienced the terrible dry season could truly appreciate the gentle drizzle.
Linni happily reached out to catch the drizzle, but before she could properly enjoy its life-nourishing warmth, she suddenly sneezed: "Achoo!" She then felt a chill on her body; autumn had truly arrived. Linni immediately returned to her cave, wrapped herself in an animal skin, and waited for the night to heat water for a bath. Having experienced that bout of menstrual cramps, she now cherished her life greatly.
Once the weather had completely cleared up, Linni put on her clothes and shoes from her original world, carried her light hiking backpack, and left the cave where she had lived for 136 days, sitting on Baiji's back. Clothes made of animal hides were inconvenient for movement if you wanted to keep warm, while snakeskin clothes were a bit cold. Her sportswear was just right for daytime wear, but a bit chilly at night. However, she slept very comfortably in the sleeping bag Ye had made for her.
Bai Shu led the way, with Ye Hu beside her to handle any situation. Lin Ni sat on Bai Ji's back, which was also equipped with an animal skin sleeping bag and some particularly fine animal skins. Together, they headed northwest into the towering mountains.
In the cool, misty morning air of the forest after the rain, the trees stood silently beneath the azure sky, basking in the sunlight. Sunlight, like strands of golden sand, filtered through the layers of leaves, dappling the forest floor. Dewdrops glistened on the emerald leaves, releasing the fragrance of grass and trees. Various wildflowers bloomed along the roadside, adding vibrant color to the forest. Lin Ni, inhaling the fragrance of the flowers and listening to the chirping of birds, was momentarily captivated.
When they were hungry, they would catch some small animals for Linni. Linni didn't like eating large wild beasts, so she would roast or boil some of the cleaned prey they caught, and eat it with different fruits. She ate quite comfortably. Night's prey was mostly caught by Bai Zhu and Bai Ji. Prey wasn't hard to find these days, and Night didn't feel comfortable leaving Linni in the care of these two white tigers. However, Night had learned how to prepare his food during these days, and finally, Linni no longer looked at him with that terrifying and disgusting gaze when he ate. He placed the prey on clean leaves, and then used his sharp snake scales to cut it into fist-sized pieces. This way, he could eat one piece at a time without getting blood everywhere, and Linni could watch him eat with a normal look.
At night, Linni would crawl into her animal-skin sleeping bag, while Ye would transform into an animal and wrap his body around her sleeping bag. Although it was a matter of sleeping in the open, it had a unique kind of wild charm.
Two days later, after lunch, Linni and Ye were walking through the forest when they suddenly heard a commotion in the distance. They cautiously approached the source of the sound and discovered a hunting party of ten orcs. The party consisted of six gorilla orcs, led by a level six gorilla orc, along with two monkey orcs and one wolf orc.
The hunting party was driving a pack of wild beasts into the valley from all directions. Once the beasts were inside, a level six gorilla orc and two low-level orcs guarded the valley's exit, while the other orcs entered the valley to launch an attack. This tactic was so ingenious and efficient that Linni and Ye were amazed.
Night didn't get too close to them. To avoid exposing themselves to the hunting team's line of sight, Night quickly picked up Linni, climbed a nearby tree, and hid among the dense foliage. The two white tigers also displayed amazing climbing abilities, each climbing a nearby tree and mimicking Linni and Night, hiding among the bushes.
After introducing their team to Linni, Ye told her that this hunting party lived in a nearby ape-beast tribe. The highest-ranking member was a level seven ape-beastman, and they also had one other level seven beastman and five level six beastmen. Ye asked Linni if she wanted to visit their tribe.
Linni asked, "Won't there be any trouble? If we go there, will they not let us leave when we want to?"
Night said, "Orcs in the orc tribe generally don't force females, so we won't have any problem leaving."
After leaving the large pond where she had lived, Ye had always worn a snakeskin tied to her left shoulder to cover her mate mark, so she wasn't worried that the people of this tribe would discover that she was born female. Linni nodded: "Then let's go and see their tribe."
Night, carrying Linni, slid down from the tree, then called to Bai Shu and Bai Ji before leading them towards the valley entrance. The ape-like beastman guarding the entrance turned around, looking at them warily. Seeing Night stop three meters in front of them in human form, he visibly relaxed. He then transformed into human form and said, "By the Beast God, we are from the Ape-Beast Tribe. My name is A'Da, a beautiful little female. What can I do for you?"
Linni smiled at the tall, strong, bald, middle-aged orc named A-Da; "A-Da, hello! We're on our way to the Tiger Beast Tribe and were passing through. We were wondering if it would be alright to rest at your tribe for a couple of days?"
The bald gorilla-orc A-Da said happily, "Of course you can. After we finish hunting, you can go back with our hunting team."
Linni was very happy to hear his words: "Thank you very much."
Ye said to Bai Shu and Bai Ji, "Go and help them."
Although the hunting party had driven the prey into the valley, the valley was quite large, and it would still take them some time to catch all the prey. Bai Shu and Bai Ji, hearing this, howled and ran into the valley to help catch the prey. Although they remained at level three, they were clearly stronger than other level three beasts.
A-Da watched as Bai Shu and Bai Ji rushed in, and said with some surprise, "It's those two! I thought they had already broken through, but it turns out they haven't."
Linni asked in surprise, "You recognize them?"
Ah Da smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, they are very famous in the towering mountains." He waved to the beastmen beside him and said, "This snake beastman and I will guard the valley exit. You can go and hunt."