Chapter 562
What To Eat
On this day, everyone was informed to stay at home and not go outside for the time being. Whether they lived in the forest or outside the forest, they all stayed indoors.
Many people in the tribe panicked, worried that something big had happened.
The wanderers who went to work on the farm every day also panicked. Farming was the only way for them to exchange food with the Flaming Horn tribe. When the Flaming Horn tribe sent out such news, they couldn’t help but think about what had happened. Could it possibly be another robber?
No, it shouldn’t be. They didn’t need to take such precautions for robbers. Was there something dangerous out there? Even if there were thieves, were they that dangerous?
No matter how curious they were and what they thought in their hearts, they had to follow orders passed by the Flaming Horn tribe.
All of a sudden, the mountains and forests became much quieter.
In order to prevent the green-faced fanged beast from getting angry, the tribesmen moved Caesar and the other beasts away and made sure the beasts did not see each other.
The patrolling soldiers kept guard everywhere, with their shields and nets ready to subdue the beasts just in case they suddenly decided to cause trouble.
Each of the beasts were as tall as Shao Xuan’s waist and abdomen. The largest one reached Shao Xuan’s chest level. The vine rope attached to the beasts was thicker than the arm of an adult. They were the toughest vines in the tribe usually used to tie up beasts. Shao Xuan could not hold onto seven vine ropes at once. It was too inconvenient. He only needed to take control of the knot holding all the seven ropes together.
The seven green-faced fanged beasts that were finally released seemed extremely excited and were ready to dash off anytime. Unfortunately, their necks were tied, and Shao Xuan firmly held the other end of the rope. They were unable to escape. After the successful enslavement, the slaves’ fear of their master kept them from using their fangs to pierce the rope. Rather, they all slowed down because they were not allowed to “fly.” Thus, when Shao Xuan led the seven beasts out into the grounds, this was what the tribesmen saw:
Seven figures with green faces, droopy eyes, long fangs, and fierce expressions. They swung their stubby limbs quickly, kicking the grass on the ground and causing it to fly up into the air. Their huge nostrils snorted out hot air.
The rope was pulled tight, and it was making a squeaky sound. Fortunately, the rope was strong enough so it didn’t break.
“Are all of you ready?” Shao Xuan looked at Duo Kang who ran back from outside the forest.
“Yes. Besides those patrolling soldiers and warriors, everyone else is safe inside.” Duo Kang rubbed his hands while he stared at the seven green-faced fanged beasts with eager eyes. He kept thinking in his heart, “Just pick something to eat. Don’t be so picky! How can we raise you if you’re so picky about food?”
Shao Xuan continued to move forward after he received a clear answer from the beasts.
Where the seven green-faced fanged beasts stood became four pits dug by the rapid movements of their stubby limbs. Now as Shao Xuan moved, the beasts became more active and were ready to dash. Luckily Shao Xuan was pulling on them, or else they would have run away.
Shao Xuan initially thought that green-faced fanged beasts would sniff everywhere to look for food, but it was not the case now. Besides stopping for a while after their release, they never stopped trying to rush in the direction of the forest. Shao Xuan thought that the beasts would all try to escape in different directions, but to his surprise, the seven beasts all moved in a uniform motion.
Shao Xuan followed them from behind, and because they ran on an open path, there were no trees obstructing their path. So far the journey was smooth. The beasts wanted to run in a straight line, but if they went straight ahead, they would enter the forest where the seven ropes tying them together might become entangled due to the intertwining trees. What Shao Xuan did was he led them back onto the open road before they ran out of the safe route.
Others from the tribe may not be able to handle the pulling force of seven green-faced fanged beasts alone.
After the patrolling soldiers saw this, they were discussing among themselves.
“I heard that those beasts can fly on the grass. Is it true?”
“But they look heavy. I don’t see them flying yet.”
“The strange thing is, why are the chiefs and leaders following behind? They seem very nervous.”
When they were finally out of the forest, no trees surrounded them. Shao Xuan no longer forced them to follow the open path. Instead, he followed their directions.
There was a lot of cultivated land outside the forest, which was turned into farmland after the Wanshi tribe had been exterminated.
Where the beasts were heading, sowing didn’t happen as early as it did in other places. Most of the seeds planted there were given by Ji Ju, and they were planted there because the tribesmen felt that winter wasn’t as cold as it usually was so they were testing to see whether the seeds would grow. They did not plant many seeds and did not occupy a large area.
The plotted farmland was guarded by soldiers. In the past, tribal people would be busy working here in the day, but they were all forced to stay home today.
Shao Xuan knew what type of plant was planted in each land, and he had already prepared a sheet of animal skin with plots of farmland mapped onto it.
As the green-faced fangs walked along the road between the farmland, two of the beasts stopped right next to a field and wanted to rush onto the field. The other five beasts did not want to stop.
Shao Xuan marked the corresponding location down on his map, and then asked the soldiers who were guarding there to cut some leaves.
These plants in the field were sown too late, so the seedlings did not grow high and the leaves were not large either.
Shao Xuan handed the two narrow leaves with long blades to the two green-faced fanged beasts that wanted to stop. It was rare to see the two beasts suddenly calm down and smell the leaves. They then opened their mouths a little and started chewing on the leaves. It seemed a little reluctant.
As for the other five, they refused to eat those leaves. They simply sniffed and did not even open their mouths. Struggling against the ropes that held them back, they wanted to continue running forward.
Well, at least two of them managed to eat something. The chiefs and leaders who followed behind breathed a sigh of relief with slight smiles on their faces.
Shao Xuan continued to move forward. Whenever the green-faced fanged beasts stopped, he would do the same test, and based on the reaction of seven beasts, he made a mark on his map. He kept note of which plant the green-faced fanged beasts liked and which ones amongst the beasts liked it, etc.
The seven green-faced fanged beasts seemed to have different preferences for crops. It was just like how different people preferred their food differently. Some like it salty while others like it sweet. Apart from the grass that grew deep in the forest that all of them liked, they seemed to have no other similar interests.
The chiefs and leaders who were following behind felt that these seven were too troublesome to raise. Even their food was all different. Some were even picky for expensive crops, like those plants that grew from the seeds they took from the Ji family when they were close to the sea.
Under such a weird climate, when people from small tribes had to eat tree bark and soil to survive, they still had to use those precious crops to feed the beasts? How costly it was to raise them! Looking at them with reluctant expressions, Duo Kang and the others felt the urge to chop their heads off.
Plus, how does it feel to have beasts with a more expensive diet than yours? They had never thought about that before!
If someone had told Duo Kang this before, Duo Kang would have thought that whoever did this had a hole in his brain. But now, they were willing to do this for the beasts.
The people from the Flaming Horn tribe had a mixed feeling about this.
However, for the new bronze, they had to bear it!
Eating well and being picky was at least better than not eating anything.
Now everyone in the Flaming Horn tribe wouldn’t dare sacrifice the seven beasts. They had no choice. The blood of these beasts was precious and the casting of the new bronze weapons depended on their blood.
When everyone had complex expressions and were deep in thought, the seven green-faced fanged beasts held by Shao Xuan stopped at the same time.
Everyone looked in front of them. It was a fence made by a pile of tall wooden posts. The place where Shao Xuan hit Robber Seven with his net and made him unconscious.