Chapter 235 – Together in the Tent While Sleeping

After traveling for a day, Laura and the others felt very tired. After drinking the bowl of hot milk tea, however, they all felt a lot better.

Spear examined the appearance of his visitors and it made him smile. The mouth of a pig was big, and his smile was even larger than his big mouth. Laura and the others couldn’t bear not to smile along.

After they placed their bowl down, Spear’s wife filled them up once more with milk tea. Spear then opened his mouth and said, “Beautiful young lady, how much food have you bought and what is the price?”

Beastfolk liked to talk directly, so Spear didn’t beat around the bush and directly asked Laura about the price. Just as Spear had noted, Laura brought along food. Food, to the beastfolk, was something they all needed.

Laura smiled and said, “Honorable chief, this time we have brought 25 tonnes of food in total, all bamboo rice. In return for your hospitality, I am willing to trade 1 tonne of food per argali.”

Spear looked at Laura with uncertainty. “You said 1 tonne of food will be traded per argali? Did you not speak incorrectly?”

This was the first time Spear had spoken to Laura without adding the few words, ‘beautiful young lady’ to his sentence. It revealed how shocked he was.

Laura smiled and said, “It is as chief Spear said. 1 tonne per argali. I have not spoken incorrectly, and you have not misunderstood.”

Spear became excited about this and stood up. He then held his chest seriously and courteously said to Laura, “Beautiful lady Laura, you are as generous as the beautiful Yaja river. Starting today, you are the Sheep-Head Hammer horde’s most honored guest.”

Laura smiled. “Honorable chief, we are now friends and friends shouldn’t be so polite with one another. Also, allow me to introduce him. This is my fiancé, Zhao Hai. He is a magician, and in fact this food had been produced in his territory. The price was also set by him.”

Zhao Hai was introduced this time around because Laura didn’t want to steal all the credit from him. Furthermore, she observed that Spear didn’t seem to have a good view of Zhao Hai. Laura didn’t want Zhao Hai to be left out, so she introduced him to Spear.

Sure enough, after Laura introduced him, Spear immediately held his chest[1] to Zhao Hai and courteously said, “Honorable sir magician, please forgive my rudeness from earlier.”

Zhao Hai returned his courtesy and said, “Chief Spear doesn’t need to be polite. I understand that my ident.i.ty isn’t amiable, but I do hope I can be friends with you.”

As soon as Spear heard Zhao Hai’s words, he faced him straight on and said, “Honorable sir Zhao Hai, your mind is as broad as the prairie. Today, I will do my best to entertain you!”

Zhao Hai smiled agreeably as he said, “Then I won’t be polite. Please allow me to, however, give your adorable son a gift.” Having said that, he waved his hand and an iron s.h.i.+eld appeared.

This iron s.h.i.+eld wasn’t big and was only a round s.h.i.+eld instead of a tower s.h.i.+eld. Zhao Hai had bought it in the Purcell Duchy during the time when they were purchasing items. The craftsmans.h.i.+p could be considered ordinary, but in the iron-lacking prairies, it was an absolutely extraordinary gift.

Spear happily received the round s.h.i.+eld and expressed his grat.i.tude to Zhao Hai. He didn’t know how the s.h.i.+eld appeared, however. Since they were a beastfolk tribe situated at the edge of the Beastfolk Prairie, their contact with Terrans wasn’t plentiful. With regards to them, a magician was a very mystical occupation. The prestige of a Terran magician was extremely exaggerated within the beastfolk. When Zhao Hai, this pseudo-magician, displayed his skill in front of Spear, there was no lasting issues from Spear.

By this time, the morning sky had already long fled, so Spear turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Brother Zhao Hai, there’s a bonfire lit outside and the argali will be placed over it. Come out with me and enjoy the enthusiasm of the beastfolk.”

Zhao Hai took off his magic hat at this time. In any case, n.o.body knew him here. He smiled as he stood up and said, “Alright, Brother Spear. With regards to the beastfolk’s argali, I have been craving it for a long time now.”

The few people left the tent and looked outside. Sure enough, the land was lit up by the bonfire and a few argali had been placed inside the fire to roast, their juices dripping down. One pig-headed man was rotating the argali while another was paying attention to the fire. Some of the pig-headed women were carrying earthen jars filled with milk wine and sprinkling them around the bonfire.

Spear pulled along Zhao Hai and they sat beside the bonfire. They were immediately served two plates and a wine bowl each. The first plate was filled with a thin layer of salt while the other was empty. The wine bowls, on the other hand, were filled with wine.

When the Pig tribe people saw Spear coming out, they walked towards him. They took away the two’s empty plates and went over to the roasting area. Taking out a dagger, they cut away some sections of mutton. Afterward, they placed the meat on the plates and served them to Zhao Hai and Spear.

Spear’s wife also took out a dagger and placed it before Zhao Hai. Spear then smiled and said to Zhao Hai, “Brother Zhao Hai, this dagger is the one I like the most. Today, I will give it to you so that you can use it and have a taste of our beastfolk’s roasted argali.”

Zhao Hai looked at the dagger. It was shaped in a curve, resembling a sickle. The scabbard was made of sheep’s horn and had a beautiful pattern carved in it. It really did look like a work of art.

He gently drew out the dagger. Presently, the dagger emitted a cold light that shone brightly. It was obviously a rare, high quality item. Zhao Hai remembered what Laura told them earlier, that they shouldn’t decline when receiving gifts. Since that was so, Zhao Hai happily received the dagger and said, “Thank you, Brother Spear. I like this gift a lot.”

Spear laughed and patted Zhao Hai’s shoulder, almost forcing him to the ground. This made Spear laugh even louder, and even the other pig-headed tribesmen around them were laughing.

Zhao Hai was helpless since his body was really that bad. The beastfolk were also known to have great strength. Even if the Big Bellied Pig tribe wasn’t a war tribe, they were still a lot more powerful than common Terrans. As such, Zhao Hai couldn’t bear it.

Zhao Hai watched as the roasted mutton placed in front of Spear was cut into pieces by him with his dagger. Spear then moistened a piece with salt and placed it in his mouth.

Following Spear, Zhao Hai placed his hands on the roasted mutton and cut them. He then moistened the surface with salt and placed it in his mouth. The salted surfaced was melted in his mouth, giving off a salty taste as the mutton’s roasted fragrance pa.s.sed by.

This roasted mutton, when compared to the roasted mutton of Terrans, had a completely different taste. The roasted mutton was very fragrant, and in this atmosphere, the taste had increased by three times. Zhao Hai currently thought that this was the best roasted meat he’d ever tasted.

After he swallowed the roast meat, Zhao Hai continued to ponder the taste and fragrance as it was very deep. Unlike the milk tea, though it was also fragrant, it didn’t really taste better. The mutton’s fragrance, however, actually managed to increase the taste of the roasted meat. This made it so that everyone wouldn’t be able to stop eating it[2].

While Zhao Hai was still pondering the taste of the meat, Spear lifted a bowl of wine and loudly said, “My people, let us pick up some mellow wine and welcome our friends from far, far away! Brother Zhao Hai, come, bottoms up!”

Everyone loudly shouted, “Bottoms up!” As they shouted those words, everyone lifted their own wine bowls and drank it all at once. Zhao Hai looked at this and understood that they had to drink the wine in one take.

Fortunately, the degree of alcohol in the milk wine wasn’t that high. Along with the aroma, the flavor itself was very good and it wasn’t difficult to drink. Zhao Hai didn’t make a fool out of himself during this scene.

After drinking that bowl of wine, Spear didn’t try to propose a toast again, but chatted with Zhao Hai. Every time he drank wine, he would call for Zhao Hai, who would then follow his lead. Before long, they had each drunk three bowls of wine and eaten two sections of roasted mutton.

To be honest, Zhao Hai’s appet.i.te wasn’t very large. Today, however, he had a good appet.i.te for some unknown reason. It may have been due to the roasted mutton being very fragrant, or the milk wine being too tasty. He ate two large sections of roasted mutton and, at present, he could unexpectedly still eat. This was beyond his expectations.

At this time, a Pig tribe young girl appeared and started to sing a unique beastfolk song. The tune was long and very nice to hear. Zhao Hai and the others couldn’t help but cheer up even more.

Bonfire roasting. Living in the prairie. This type of atmosphere was really good and it could make a person subconsciously excited. The atmosphere in the field grew even warmer.

In the end, Zhao Hai didn’t know how much milk wine he’d drunk or how much of the roast mutton he had. He didn’t even know how he got back to his tent, because he’d been knocked unconscious with all that he’d drunk.

Laura and the others didn’t drink too much. The beastfolk wouldn’t urge women to drink milk wine. If they could drink, then drink; if they couldn’t drink it, then they could take milk tea instead. As long as everyone eats and eats with relish, then the meal becomes joyous.

Zhao Hai had been sent off back to the tent by some Pig tribesmen since he’d gotten drunk and was knocked out. Laura and the others couldn’t return to the s.p.a.ce, so they had to live in the tent.

Since Zhao Hai and the others would be leaving tomorrow, they didn’t bother to set up multiple tents and only had the one built. Earlier, they only wanted to use it to pretend they were living in it, but now they had to actually stay there. The undead in the caravan wouldn’t get tired or feel cold, so they stood guard.

The next morning, Zhao Hai woke up. Although he was knocked out cold from the drinking yesterday, he had to admit that the milk wine of the beastfolk was really good. Above all that, Zhao Hai didn’t feel thirsty, nor did he have a headache. The only thing he had was some slight dizziness.

Feeling a little heat in his throat, Zhao Hai immediately drank some Spatial Water. This made him feel a lot better and sobered him up.

After sobering up, Zhao Hai found out that Laura and the others were all resting inside the tent. To his left was Laura, while Meg was on his right. Nier slept on the other side of Laura. He was unexpectedly in an unknown situation where he slept with three beauties.

Zhao Hai looked at the situation blankly and suddenly didn’t know how to act. He definitely couldn’t force himself on them, but the situation caused him some agitation.

Consider this; Zhao Hai was an otaku back on Earth[3]. Presently, he was sleeping in the same tent with three beautiful women. Although he didn’t do anything, with regards to Zhao Hai this was still a rare experience. Especially now that he could smell the fragrance they gave off, which made Zhao Hai’s heart shake.

When Zhao Hai looked at Laura’s tender white skin, it made his heart itch. He bent down to get a closer look, but Laura suddenly turned her body. Zhao Hai woke up and took a deep breath, then looked at Laura and Meg. He stood up softly and left the tent.

He didn’t notice as he left that Laura and Meg had opened their eyes. They both looked at the tent entrance, and then at each other. Both of them saw a happy light in the other’s eyes. It was obvious that the two of them had already been awake before Zhao Hai and had only been pretending to sleep[4].

They had naturally noted down Zhao Hai’s actions, so Laura had deliberately turned her body. Zhao Hai’s actions that was similar to a frightened rabbit made the two women almost laugh aloud.

The two of them, however, were touched by Zhao Hai’s actions. It showed that he respected them enough. It was a move full of love and respect.

In the case that Zhao Hai kissed Laura, then it not only meant that he loved Laura. On the contrary, this may mean that Zhao Hai’s desire for Laura exceeded his love.

With regards to love, every person expressed it differently. Everyone’s understanding of it wasn’t the same, but there was one thing that was still important; if you loved one another, then you must respect the other and don’t look down on them. If Zhao Hai had forcefully kissed Laura, then Laura might not have resisted, but she’d be disappointed in Zhao Hai[5]. That’s because she would think Zhao Hai didn’t understand her.

Laura was a very self-disciplined woman, so she hoped that her other half would also respect her. If Zhao Hai had kissed her, then while she wouldn’t resist, she also wouldn’t cooperate. Since Meg and Nier were also in the tent, if she kissed him back, then they might find her frivolous. This was unacceptable for the self-disciplined Laura.

If Zhao Hai truly loved her, then he wouldn’t forcefully kiss her. Doing so would mean Zhao Hai didn’t understand her disposition, and that he didn’t care about her feelings. Such a thing would make Laura sad.

It was obvious, however, that Laura’s worries were in vain[6]. Zhao Hai did well and didn’t force himself on Laura, instead leaving the tent. This was the result Laura wanted.

Meg didn’t have the same thoughts as Laura. She wasn’t jealous either. Meg knew that Zhao Hai liked Laura and knew that he liked her as well. If Zhao Hai did kiss Laura forcefully, however, then Meg would also be disappointed. This was because Meg wouldn’t be able to think that Zhao Hai was the same Zhao Hai she knew from the Black Waste.

Prior to them going to the Black Waste, he was Adam, not Zhao Hai. Meg, however, didn’t know this. If Zhao Hai kissed Laura, then she would think Zhao Hai was the same Adam she knew from before they went to the Black Waste. He was currently different from Adam who was a person who had flowers hanging off him and didn’t understand love. If he did kiss Laura, then that would mean that in his bones he was still the dandy, Adam. Meg would be even sadder than Laura in the end[7].

Notes:

-This chapter was MTL’ed. Please leave a comment for constructive criticisms and advice. Thanks.

-Please support the author if you love this novel.

-Please check out the Editor’s footnotes, thanks.

Footnotes:

[1] I a.s.sume that holding his chest, 扶胸, basically means to, like, place his palm on his chest or something. I dunno. ↩

[2] As of here, I understand the author should never try to write a cooking novel with his limited vocabulary. Neither should we for that matter… ↩

[3] Questionable. He probably only wore a s.h.i.+rt that said, “I’m an awesome Otaku.” Nothing about him seems to back up this claim. ↩

[4] If people do not want to read weird author’s attempt at romance, it’s alright to stop here… ↩

[5] And this completely ruins the cliche “kissing her while she’s asleep” scene. ↩

[6] … cause he wasn’t about to kiss her… ↩

[7] So basically, if he did anything else, they would have dumped him on the spot instead of help him. Great. Let’s do that. Romance parts are killing me…