Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains

“You . . .” Don’t you hate that I have this smell on me? How are you still willing to let me be near you?

Chen Qi saw Aze just staring blankly with the bamboo tube in his hand. His mouth and jaw moved a few times, as if he wanted to say something, but he just had a tangled look on his face and didn’t say it in the end. He couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What’s wrong? Is boiling the salted meat with the laiche fruit juice too unpalatable?”

“No, it’s delicious.” Aze nervously raised the bamboo tube to his mouth and took a big mouthful of the meat mixed in with some soup. Maybe it was because he had rushed too much, he ended up choking and coughing a few times. The salty yet sweet taste filled his mouth. Compared with the food Chen Qi normally made, this food really could be considered within the category of ‘unpalatable’, but it still tasted better than the food made with the salt stone.

Chen Qi hurriedly gave Aze a few pats on the back to ease his airways and he scolded him, both angry and amused, “No one is going to rob you for it. Why did you eat in such a hurry? It is better for digestion if you take your time to eat.”

“En.” Aze’s ears turned slightly red, and he picked up the chopsticks lying in the bamboo tube next to him then bowed his head to continue eating.

Chen Qi also poured some into his own bamboo tube, then frowned as soon as he took a mouthful. It was salty and sweet. Why did it taste so much worse than the usual unmarinated meat slices boiled in the laiche fruit? Was it because the amount of salt used was usually less? Chen Qi did not understand, but in his heart he had already crossed off the boiled salted meat with laiche fruit juice from the list of future recipes. This dark dish would not appear a second time.

Seeing the man carefully eating beside him, Aze continued to stuff bite after bite of the meat slices into his mouth with the chopsticks. The expression on his face looked no different from his usual expressions when eating. It always seemed like he was eating some high-end cuisine; each piece of meat chewed carefully before swallowing. If this occurred a few days ago, Chen Qi would have to suspect that there was something wrong with his sense of taste, or that the boiled salted meat with laiche fruit juice was actually not unpalatable. Now that he knew Aze’s character though, he was afraid that Aze would probably eat a plate of fried eggs that was burnt black without a change in his expression, and he would even give off the feeling that he was eating truly delicious food.

Crossing  to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)  is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.

Chen Qi cut open the last laiche fruit with the dragon-horn knife and set it down within Aze’s reach. “In a little while, after you’ve finished eating, drink some of this laiche fruit juice to help remove the aftertaste in your mouth.”

Aze paused, swallowed the food in his mouth and then nodded, “Okay.”

After the two of them finished with dinner, Aze packed the leftover bones into some hide and planned to dispose of them near Chishui River tomorrow, where the many predators in its vicinity would take care of this free food given to them.

Chen Qi took a walk around the outside of the door to help digest dinner. Originally, he wanted to walk over to see what was going on with the pillars of the house next door. But according to the calculations in this world, it was already Thursday today and the moon here was not as bright at night as it was a few days ago. Chen Qi could only give up. Anyway, he would see them tomorrow and he was not in any hurry.

When he went back inside, Chen Qi took out the fabrics, bone needles and the banyan tree roots. Last night, he originally wanted to take advantage of the evening time to make the clothes he’d been eager to make. However, he did not anticipate that he would end up sleeping like the dead.

He took off his shirt. After wearing it for the last several days, he smelled of sweat. With some disgust, Chen Qi put the shirt aside and changed into an uncomfortable hide shirt.

Aze was worried that the bad odor on his body would waft over, and took a fur blanket and sat down by the door, but his eyes were following Chen Qi’s every move.

“Aze, come here for a moment.” Chen Qi set aside the cloth and beckoned Aze over.

“Hmm?” Although Aze obediently went over, he was still separated from Chen Qi by the fire.

Chen Qi secretly rolled his eyes, then picked up a root thread and walked around the fire to get to Aze. The ceiling of the house was too low. Whenever he came into the house, Aze basically had to sit on the ground. Chen Qi raised his chin at Aze. “Stand up for a moment.”

Aze obediently stood up. Chen Qi used the root thread to measure Aze’s lower body length, then he got Aze to let out his beast nails to cut at the determined length on the root thread. The circumference of his waist, the width of his shoulders and the length of his arms were all measured in the same way. Finally, four different lengthed root threads were gathered up and Chen Qi returned to his spot where the cloth was placed.

This was Chen Qi’s first time making clothes. Fortunately, he had his own shirt as a template. However, Chen Qi had not found anything to replace buttons, so this time he was not going to make shirts, and was only going to make T-shirts.

He simply drew the outline of the T-shirt on a stone slab using charcoal, then folded the fabric in half to determine the required size along the edge of the fabric using more root threads. Since the fabric was slightly white, Chen Qi was afraid that using charcoal to draw the outline directly on the fabric would not wash out. Therefore, he chose a darker colored stone with a softer texture in advance and used it to draw the outline of the T-shirt on the fabric. Only then did he use his dragon-horn knife to cut following the outline, bit by bit.

After managing to cut out a piece of fabric with just a few rough edges and corners, Chen Qi picked it up and started to sew the shirt, stitching the openings on the edges, bit by bit, with a root thread accordingly. After the exercise of making backpacks two days ago, Chen Qi was still not very proficient at sewing, but his results still resembled his goal.

Sewing was the most time-consuming step. Not only did he have to sew up the edges firmly, with no loose stitches, but in order to make it look good, he also had to sew the seams for those rough cut cuffs and neckline.

Crossing  to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)  is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.

There wasn’t much for beastmen to do for entertainment at night, so Aze usually went to bed after eating. This night, seeing Chen Qi busying himself, he didn’t want to sleep alone, but had nothing to do. So he just leaned back against the wall by the door, supported his chin and looked at Chen Qi.

Chen Qi’s hair was very dark and was slightly messy after several days of neglect. His facial features were not very defined, but after looking for a while, Aze felt that the more he looked at him, the better looking he was. Aze stared intently and didn’t realize how much time passed when Chen Qi suddenly looked up at Aze, and smiled at him. “It’s done, come and try it.”

Aze was stunned by this smile and didn’t come to himself until Chen Qi repeated his request, then he dazedly walked over to him.

Chen Qi handed the newly-made T-shirt to Aze. “Try it out. Does it fit all right?”

Aze did not answer that inquiry, but instead he asked with uncertainty, “For me?” Didn’t Chen Qi tell Uncle Ali that he wanted the fabric to make clothes for himself? Why did he give it to him?

Chen Qi nodded. “Of course it’s for you. Why don’t you change into it? If it doesn’t fit well, I will adjust it.”

Aze took the T-shirt. Originally, he wanted to go outside to change then come back in, but he ended up stopping before he walked out and just took off his hide shirt in front of Chen Qi. Probably because he had scrubbed so much to get the smell off, Aze’s skin was still slightly red. Aze’s figure was very good; muscular and well-proportioned, with smooth lines. Only those who worked out regularly in the gym would have such beautiful muscles. Chen Qi secretly envied them. Seeing Aze holding the T-shirt a little awkwardly, not knowing how to put it on, he found it a little funny as he took the T-shirt from him to help him out. Aze was half a head taller than Chen Qi, so he motioned for him to lower his head slightly, then Chen Qi helped him put on the T-shirt.

Although the T-shirt was rather crudely made by Chen Qi, Aze wore it well and it looked inexplicably good on him. “How does it feel?”

This time Aze felt his face and forehead were a little hot, “Very good.”

“Really? Do you think it is too tight? Does the neck opening feel narrow?

Aze seriously evaluated how it felt, “It seems a little bit tight.”

Chen Qi motioned for Aze to take off the T-shirt and said. “It is my first time making clothes, maybe I didn’t grasp the right method of measuring. Let me make another one for you.”

Aze was a little vexed. If he’d known it would turn out like this, he would have said that it all fit very well. This was Chen Qi’s first time making clothes for him, but Chen Qi asked him to take it off and he didn’t want to refuse him, so he could only reluctantly change back into his previous shirt. Even though Chen Qi said he’d make another one for him, he still cared a lot about the first piece because he felt that it was more meaningful.

Crossing  to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)  is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.

Chen Qi finished the second piece and got Aze to put it on. This time he was more proficient and it obviously looked much better than the first one. The stitches on the edges were neater and closer together. Wearing the second piece, Aze really felt that it was much more comfortable. It was just that he was more used to the weight of the fur clothes, so suddenly wearing this light and thin clothing still felt a little awkward. No matter his own awkward feeling though, Aze didn’t want to take it off and even wore it to sleep that night. Meanwhile, the first T-shirt was worn by Chen Qi. After all, Chen Qi didn’t want to wear his old shirt that was full of the stink of sweat.

Ka Luo and Ali arrived at dawn the next day. Azhang and Ake also did not go out to hunt first this time. After yesterday’s messenger eagle incident, they both planned to help move the stone slabs over to build the house first. In this kind of wilderness, a completed house should be safer.

As soon as Ake approached Aze, he couldn’t help raising his eyebrows and glancing at him with narrowed eyes. “Did you roll around in a pile of stegosaurus dung?”

Aze replied gloomily, “This is the skunk’s smell.” A night had already passed, and although the smell was much lighter, it hadn’t completely disappeared. As long as someone got close to him, they’d be able to smell it, causing Aze to be depressed since getting up. He vowed in his heart that he must detour and walk as far away as he could if he ever encountered a skunk again.

Of course, Ake knew that this was the stink from a skunk. He just said that to tease the other. Seeing Aze’s gloomy face, he patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

“Brother, why are you wearing a fabric shirt like Chen Qi? And why is the shape so strange?”

“This is a shirt made by Chen Qi.”

Ka Luo made two confused laps around Aze, “Is it comfortable to wear?”

“It’s very comfortable.” Although he felt a bit unused to it when he first put it on, after wearing it for a while, it did feel much more comfortable than wearing fur clothing. The cloth shirt felt more breathable and less stuffy to wear in this kind of weather.

“Chen Qi, teach me how to make fabric clothes too.”

Chen Qi, who had just come out of the house, looked at the few of them with a puzzled expression. Aze pointed to his clothes then Chen Qi realized what they were saying and nodded, promising, “En, I’ll teach you when we have time after the house is built.”