lcionline Chapter 3 Encourages Going Out
Chapter 3 Encourages Going Out
"Meow, meow~"
"Brother Cat White, where did you go? Xia is so scared..." Lin Baiyan was immediately surrounded by a small, fluffy ball of fur as soon as he entered.
Even more amazingly, the little dumpling was clearly meowing, but he could strangely understand what it meant.
The fluffy ball curled up in Lin Baiyan's arms, trembling slightly, and kept trying to burrow deeper into his embrace.
He instinctively pulled the small body into his arms, his hand unable to resist stroking the fluffy creature in his embrace.
Oh, this is a fluffy and adorable little calico. But perhaps due to poor nutrition and constant migration, its fur is not soft and shiny, and is even a bit rough.
Memories of the little dumpling automatically surfaced in Lin Baiyan's mind.
This is Xia, a cat girl from the same tribe who was driven out. She is five years old and has not yet transformed into human form. Her father died while hunting, and her mother was bitten to death while searching for milk from wild animals for her.
Because of the harsh living environment, beastmen are very vigilant in protecting their cubs.
The cubs are usually hidden in the tribe by the orcs, and are only allowed to show themselves and go gathering when they are about ten years old. After they reach adulthood, the male orcs will leave the gathering team and join the hunting team.
Most kittens will transform into human form around the age of three, so Xia the kitten's situation is indeed too late.
The tribe's priest said that her failure to transform into human form meant she was a sub-beastman cursed by the Beast God, and they expelled her from the tribe. She was also the youngest cub in the expelled White Cat tribe.
When natural disasters struck, life became even more difficult for the orcs, who were struggling to survive.
Every day when she opens her eyes, she doesn't even know if the people from yesterday will still be in front of her. How can she have time to care about a little kitten that can't transform into human form? These days, Xia the kitten has been stumbling along with the group, afraid of being left behind.
Seeing her all alone as a kitten, the white cat perhaps remembered its own past and would occasionally share some food with her.
Xia the kitten gradually started sticking only to Bai the cat.
After reviewing his memories and gaining a general understanding, Lin Baiyan gently patted the fluffy creature in his arms and said softly, "Brother Cat Bai went to find food. Didn't Little Cat Xia say she was hungry?"
The little cat Xia, who had been snuggling into Lin Baiyan's arms, paused for a moment. She looked up, her wet, round blue eyes fixed on Lin Baiyan, her voice still trembling with tears, "Meow meow meow, meow!"
"Xia isn't hungry anymore. Brother Cat White won't leave, won't go outside, it's scary outside..."
She was clearly frightened by the frequent earthquakes these past few days, and clung tightly to Lin Baiyan's arm.
The earthquake was followed by torrential rain, which severely damaged the Orcish continent. Countless Orcs were swallowed up by sudden fissures during their migration.
Originally, nearly forty of their tribesmen were driven out, but after fleeing for days, less than ten remain, most of whom are still young and underage.
Lin Baiyan gently patted the kitten's head reassuringly, "Xia, don't be scared, Brother Cat Bai is back."
He looked up at the cave, the only one they had managed to find after a long migration that could accommodate all of them.
The environment inside the cave was very bad; in fact, it looked extremely terrible.
The smell inside wasn't pleasant either; a damp, musty odor mixed with the stench of blood lingered in the air. But it was the best place they could find to hide, and the group of people huddled together in the cave.
No one dared to go out alone to find food, for fear of being abandoned by the army. It was impossible for a person to live alone in the forest, and they might not even survive a day. Only by sticking closely to the group could they have a chance to survive.
During the migration, the beastmen dared not be careless in the slightest. When they were hungry, they would eat a few bites of non-poisonous wild grass and fruit by the roadside, and when they were thirsty, they would drink a few sips of rainwater and dew.
They had been in this cave for two days.
Only Cat White and another male beastman, Wolf Cang, went out to find food.
Lin Baiyan thought for a moment, then addressed the group in the cave: "I found some mushrooms and chestnut balls, which are edible. However, I can't carry them all back by myself. Is anyone willing to come with me?"
The orcs in the shadows made a slight commotion upon hearing that there was food to eat. But after a long while, there was no reaction from the crowd.
Lin Baiyan was not discouraged and patiently said, "We have been migrating north for a long time and have not encountered any more ground fissures, which is enough to show that we are now in a safe place."
Upon hearing Lin Baiyan's words, a beastman who looked to be in his fifties or sixties stepped out from the beastmen. He was very thin, but his back was very straight, and his eyes did not show the numbness and confusion of the other beastmen.
The orcs on this continent have extremely long lifespans due to their physical condition, reportedly reaching up to two hundred years old, while ordinary orcs don't even live half of their normal lifespan.
Let alone natural disasters, in this primitive life without high technology, the beastmen even have very few medicines to treat fever, which are difficult to cure. Any small injury can be fatal to them.
Lin Baiyan remembered that his name should be Tu Lin. He was the most intelligent sub-beastman in this migrating group. He had a lot of gathering experience and he identified many edible plants so that his group of beastmen would not starve to death.
During their northward migration, it was he and Lang Cang who guided everyone, enabling them to successfully escape to the plains.
Rabbit Forest walked to the very center of the cave, looked at the many orcs inside, and said in a deep voice, "Cat White is right. We haven't felt any earth cracks for a long time now, so this place should be safe."
"The Beast God guided us to a safe place."
He clasped his hands together in front of his chest and said devoutly, "The Beast God has protected the beastmen, and we have come here following the guidance of the Beast God."
"Orcs have never lacked the courage to explore. Now that we are far away from danger, we should take the initiative to seek opportunities to survive."
Hearing what Tu Lin said, the beastmen's eyes gradually lit up. That's right, the Beast God protected them, and now they were finally safe. They should take the initiative to find food.
The beastmen in the cave were somewhat tempted, but their expressions remained hesitant.
Seeing this, Tu Lin assured everyone, "I will stay in the cave and wait for your return. Don't worry, the Beast God has not abandoned his loyal people and has given us a place to live. Our migrating group will not abandon anyone again."
The orcs in the cave were now completely excited. They were hardworking and brave, and if they weren't afraid of being left behind, every orc would be diligent and simple.
Lin Baiyan stared in disbelief at Tu Lin's few words, which had made the beastmen in the cave as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
So the food he mentioned wasn't even as good as the few words of the Beast God from Rabbit Forest.
Fortunately, the beastmen in the cave finally regained some vitality.
Tu Lin pondered for a moment, then looked at Lin Baiyan and asked, "Little cub, is the food you're talking about real? Where is it?"
Hearing what Tu Lin said, Lin Baiyan felt a little embarrassed. Indeed, according to the age of twenty in the Beastman Continent, he was only seventeen or eighteen years old in his body. Mao Bai didn't know his exact age either.
That's how the orc world is; they haven't yet made specific judgments for each year.
Based on Mao Bai's memories, Lin Baiyan guessed that this was a continent completely different from Blue Star, and could no longer be divided using the twelve months of Blue Star, nor did it have the concept of months.
Lin Baiyan hadn't expected that he would transmigrate and become a little cub, and he felt a little embarrassed.