Chapter Thirteen: A Great Achievement
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Gong soon came over to Mu Qing. “Mu Qing, you heard what your mate just said. If this stone mill can truly help the witch doctor, then the witch doctor will have more time in the future to teach his disciples.
“And if the witch doctor’s disciples can treat the tribe’s beastmen in his place, he won’t have to remain confined to the tribe all the time. He’ll be able to travel farther with the hunting parties and search for things useful to the tribe.
“This isn’t merely the witch doctor’s concern. It concerns the entire tribe.”
After hearing this, Mu Qing immediately understood what Gong intended to do and stepped aside for him.
Gong hurried forward and took Mu Qing’s place, beginning to turn the stone mill.
Iron fruit was somewhat like the dried monk fruit of the modern world. However, not only was its shell thin and hard, but the flesh inside was also covered in fine spikes. Even when crushed and boiled into water, it would always leave a prickling sensation in the throat.
After all, unlike modern people, who drink only the liquid when taking herbal medicine, beastmen swallowed the medicinal ingredients themselves in order to achieve the best possible healing effect.
If dried herbs were difficult enough to swallow on their own, Yun Li suspected that, had they been given the choice, the beastmen would not even have bothered boiling them. They would have eaten them raw.
“Is this enough?”
Since he had no idea how long it would take to grind the iron fruit into powder, Gong stopped turning the handle at Yun Li’s reminder and lifted away the upper grinding stone.
Beneath it lay iron fruit ground into an exceedingly fine powder. A mere swipe of his finger easily picked up a good amount of it. Ecstasy immediately spread across Gong’s face.
“It works! It really works! Someone, hurry and call Mang!”
When He saw that the stone mill could truly grind iron fruit into the fine powder the witch doctor needed to make pills, she was astonished as well.
But she quickly recovered. “Call the witch doctor too.”
The male who had just been about to run out answered when he heard He’s voice, and moments later, he vanished from sight.
At last, He turned to Yun Li and gave her a sincere smile.
“A-Li, you’ve rendered the tribe a great service.”
She took Yun Li’s hand and told her, “The witch doctor will certainly be delighted when he learns about the stone mill. When the time comes, if there’s anything you want, just tell Mang and the witch doctor. As long as the tribe has it, they absolutely won’t refuse you.”
“Really?”
As Yun Li spoke, she tried to pull her hand back, but He’s grip was remarkably strong. Only after Yun Li tugged twice did He seem to realize it and release her.
“Yes. Is there anything you want? When the time comes, I’ll speak to Mang and the witch doctor on your behalf.”
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“The witch doctor saved me before. If the stone mill can help him, then of course that would be wonderful. How could I ask the chieftain and the witch doctor for anything in return?”
Besides, even if there were something she truly wanted, Yun Li would never have He relay the request. What she wanted was something He could never explain clearly.
Hearing her say this, He looked at her with even greater warmth.
The tribe had never treated Yun Li particularly well. Before she reached adulthood, the tribe had regularly provided enough food to keep her from starving, but nothing more.
After she came of age, it went without saying that the tribe hoped a single female like Yun Li would quickly take a male from the tribe as her mate. They even cut off that meager supply of food, nearly starving her to death.
Yet Yun Li had never held a grudge against the tribe. She had even continued to remember that the witch doctor had once saved her.
By comparison, some of the tribe’s females had been spoiled beyond all reason.
Thinking of this, He cast a cold glance at Green Grass, whose face openly displayed her jealousy.
Green Grass had been staring at Yun Li, consumed by envy. She never expected to look up and meet He’s warning gaze. She shuddered violently and lowered her head.
Only then did He withdraw her gaze and continue smiling at Yun Li as though nothing had happened.
“How could that be? Your stone mill has contributed to the tribe. The tribe must give you something in return. That way, when the other beastmen see it, they’ll be even more willing to work for the tribe.”
Hearing this, Yun Li thought for a moment before saying, “There are indeed a few things I want, but I don’t know whether the tribe has them.”
“Tell me. I know what the tribe has far better than you do.”
He was delighted to hear that Yun Li wanted something.
She was not afraid that Yun Li might be greedy. After all, the items would come from the tribe’s common stores. If she agreed to give Yun Li something now, then Yun Li would remember her kindness once she received it.
Would that not gradually bring them closer? And if Mang needed Mu Qing’s help with something, it would surely be more convenient than before.
If Yun Li wanted nothing at all, He would have had to rack her brains trying to figure out how to grow closer to her. After all, Yun Li had suffered too much in the past. Now that she had Mu Qing as her beast husband, she seemed satisfied with everything.
Yun Li: ...
It was clearly because she had nothing at all, which was why she had been forced to spend every day racking her brains over how to improve her quality of life.
“I’ve wanted to eat a certain food for a very long time. I happened to eat it once when I went out with the gathering party. I thought it tasted wonderful, but I never came across it again on any later trips.
“I asked Mu Qing, but he said he had never encountered anything like it before, so...”
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After finishing, Yun Li gave an awkward smile.
“I’m sorry, He. I used to worry constantly about whether I’d have food for the next meal, so I only remember eating it.”
He forced a smile, but she was still unwilling to give up.
“Mu Qing often goes out with the hunting party, and those beastmen know nothing but meat. Why don’t you tell me what you ate back then? Since you found it with the gathering party, the tribe must have it.”
At this, Yun Li fell into thought.
“Let me think. It seemed to be rather long, and it grew in the ground. I was so hungry then that when one of the females in the gathering party told me it was edible, I broke off a piece and took a bite. It was very sweet.”
“What else?”
After hearing her description, He still could not figure out what it was. It grew in the ground—but apart from edible wild greens, what else did their gathering party dig out of the earth?
“That’s all. I only remember that much.”
What Yun Li was actually describing was a sweet potato. She had never truly seen one in the original owner’s memories, but she had said this in the hope of using the opportunity to awaken He and the others’ guilt over having ignored her in the past, while also drawing their attention to the females in the gathering party.
Those females had actually taught a starving minor to eat random things outdoors. Why had they not tried the food themselves to see whether it was safe and edible? Yet afterward, they had turned around and blamed the original owner for eating recklessly and holding up their journey.
Yun Li sneered inwardly. Was it not simply because the original owner had no one to stand behind her, allowing them to vent every grievance upon her?
Green Grass was guilty of that, but those other females were hardly innocent either.
Green Grass had bullied the original owner openly. The others, however, had hidden behind the excuse of playing around as they mocked and isolated her in secret. Each incident had seemed trivial, yet together they had deepened the original owner’s inferiority and self-loathing.
He immediately found herself in a difficult position.
“The way you describe it, I can’t remember what it was either. Why don’t you think harder? Did any of the females in the gathering party tell you what it was called?”
Yun Li pretended to think seriously.
“I think it was called bitter sweet potato.”
She had made up the name on the spot. But even if He went to ask the gathering party, Yun Li doubted that the female in question would remember what she had said back then.
Besides, those females had deliberately wanted to see the original owner make a fool of herself and had instructed her to eat random things. It had happened several times.
Only after suffering several setbacks did the original owner finally realize that they had never sincerely meant her well. From then on, she stayed behind the female beastmen who accompanied and protected the gathering party. Whatever those females ate, the original owner gathered as well.
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