Chapter 90: Are you bragging to me?

A mischievous glint flashed in Fei Li’s eyes as he handed the lotus root to Luo Sang and playfully said, “But I really want to eat it… maybe you can check if it’s poisonous?”

He was just joking, but to his surprise, Luo Sang actually took the lotus root, wiped off the dirt with his hand, and without hesitation, took a bite. The crisp sound echoed in the ears of the three present.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting poisoned?” Fei Li asked, staring at Luo Sang in astonishment.

“You wanted to eat it, so I tried it first to see if it was poisonous.”

Mitu: “…” He just got a front-row seat to their display of affection.

Fei Li took the lotus root from Luo Sang’s hand and took a bite himself.

“I was kidding, how could it be poisonous?”

The two of them continued to openly show their affection, ignoring everyone else.

Seeing this, Mitu quietly entered the Spirit Spring and began pulling out the lotus roots one by one from the muddy water, tossing them onto the shore.

Fei Li watched Mitu’s skilled movements as he pulled out the lotus roots, and decided not to help.

Suddenly, Fei Li noticed something dark swimming across the surface of the water.

He blinked, but it was gone.

Moving closer to the Spirit Spring, he changed his position and kept his eyes fixed on the water’s surface.

At this moment, a few large fish swam past him.

He froze for a moment, surprised that there were actually fish here.

After being here for so long, he hadn’t eaten meat in a while and had almost forgotten what it tasted like.

Excitedly pointing at the water, he turned back to Luo Sang and shouted, “There are fish here, we could…” He stopped himself mid-sentence, suddenly remembering that Luo Sang didn’t eat fish.

But he really wanted to eat some, so he could only gaze longingly at the fat fish in the Spirit Spring, drooling!

Luo Sang saw right through him and came over, following his gaze.

“Where are the fish?”

Fei Li quickly shook his head at Luo Sang, “No fish. Let’s go! Let’s check out the lotus roots instead.”

… Maybe you should taste them first?

If Luo Sang didn’t eat fish, then he wouldn’t eat them either.

It’s just fish! Who hasn’t eaten fish? There’s nothing special about it.

He doesn’t want to eat, doesn’t want to, wants to eat!

Luo Sang stood still, not intending to leave.

“What’s wrong?” Fei Li asked, looking at Luo Sang in confusion.

“Do you want to eat fish?”

Without thinking, he shook his head, the saliva already flowing back into his heart.

Tenderly holding his hand, Luo Sang said seriously, “Eat, let’s have the big ones.” Fei Li widened his eyes, looking at Luo Sang, “Are you serious? Can I really eat fish?” Luo Sang nodded.

“Not only can you eat, but I will too.”

Luo Sang wants to eat fish for himself?

Fei Li was about to speak when Luo Sang cut him off, “I didn’t like fish before because I hated the Mermaid Tribe for killing my people. Now that Su Yu is dead and our revenge has been taken, fish is no longer a taboo for me.”

“Really?” Fei Li asked with concern, not wanting Luo Sang to force himself.

Smiling, Luo Sang didn’t answer but jumped into the Spirit Spring to catch fish himself.

The fish had been a long-standing obsession for him. If it weren’t for Fei Li, he might never have been able to move past the pain of his people’s destruction, let alone seek revenge.

Fei Li’s presence had changed his world and transformed him.

He should thank Fei Li for bringing so many changes to his life.

Soon, Luo Sang caught several fat fish and threw them onto the shore.

Fei Li used reeds on the shore to thread through the fish’s gills, carrying them all happily.

They gathered the fish and met up with Mitu, and the three of them returned to the Ox Tribe with the lotus roots and fish.

As soon as they left, the Fox Tribe appeared around the Spirit Spring, looking pleased at the unguarded spring.

Back at the tribe, Fei Li started a fire to cook the fish.

As soon as the fire was lit, all the Ox Tribe members took a step back, looking at him with fearful eyes.

“You… are afraid of fire?” Fei Li asked tentatively.

Mitu approached, a hint of fear in his eyes, “What are you going to do with this?”

“Cook the fish. Once the fish is cooked, we can eat it.”

The Ox Tribe showed little interest in his cooking, all staring at the small fire in front of him.

From their eyes, Fei Li saw not only fear but also a hint of anger.

What’s going on?

After hesitating, he extinguished the fire and turned to Mitu, “Why are you afraid of fire?”

The Fox Tribe could use fire, so he assumed the Ox Tribe would be somewhat familiar with it, even if they couldn’t use it themselves.

Mitu loosened and clenched his fists repeatedly before finally letting out a deep sigh.

With a sorrowful look toward the house behind him, Mitu spoke slowly, “Our houses were destroyed by fire used by the Fox Tribe.”

He glanced at the roofless houses and asked in confusion, “What happened?”

Mitu recounted the story of their houses.

Originally, the Ox Tribe’s houses had walls, but starting one day, the Fox Tribe began using fire, bringing nightmares to the Ox Tribe.

The Fox Tribe would always set fire to their houses in the middle of the night.

At first, many of the Ox Tribe’s orcs perished in the flames. Later, the Ox Tribe stopped building houses, living in simple structures to avoid the Fox Tribe.

After hearing this, Fei Li felt a surge of anger in his chest.

The Fox Tribe’s treachery had exceeded his tolerance.

Looking at these innocent Ox Tribe members, Fei Li had no goodwill left for the Fox Tribe.

Thinking about the Fox Tribe’s solid stone houses and then at the Ox Tribe’s simple shelters, he blurted out, “I will help you build houses.”

Build houses?

The Ox Tribe looked at each other in confusion. They had thought about building proper houses, but they had no trees here, and there were no stones around, so what could they use to build houses?

“I know you mean well, but building houses for us is not a simple task. It’s better if we forget about it,” Mitu refused his offer without a second thought.

Fei Li pulled Mitu back and seriously explained his plan.

When he was out looking for herbs earlier, he had discovered a bamboo grove not far from here.

He had seen people building rural houses at his grandmother’s home, and bamboo was just right for making walls.

The Ox Tribe was puzzled and didn’t understand what he was talking about.

“As long as you trust Fei Li, he will definitely help the Ox Tribe build good houses,” Luo Sang suddenly spoke up.

Supporting his wife was something he always took seriously.

Mitu considered Luo Sang’s words and agreed, thinking they made sense.

Fei Li roasted the fish, keeping one for Luo Sang and himself, and distributed the rest to the Ox Tribe.

After eating the roasted fish and some crisp lotus roots, Fei Li felt somewhat satisfied.

After the meal, Fei Li took the Ox Tribe to cut bamboo.

He selected some large bamboo, which the Ox Tribe cut down quickly.

Seeing the Ox Tribe’s enthusiasm, he couldn’t help but give them a thumbs up.

As expected of the Ox Tribe, their work was efficient.

Once they had enough bamboo, they returned to the village.

Fei Li sorted the bamboo into categories: some for columns and some to be made into bamboo strips.

After setting aside the bamboo for columns, he took out a stone knife and taught the Ox Tribe how to shave the round bamboo into strips.

After several attempts, the Ox Tribe finally learned.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he finally understood what it meant to “^[1]“play the lute to a cow” (对牛弹琴) is a Chinese idiom that means to waste one’s effort on someone who cannot appreciate or understand it. It refers to trying to explain … Continue readingplay the lute to a cow.”

The Ox Tribe’s way of thinking seemed to be on a different wavelength from his, but he eventually taught them and showed a smile of satisfaction. Luo Sang, feeling a bit sorry, came over and took the stone knife from him. “You rest, I’ll do it.”

Luo Sang always spoke clearly and straightforwardly.

In his eyes, Luo Sang was simply exuding boyfriend energy.

But Fei Li couldn’t stop now, there were so many houses to build in the village, and he couldn’t afford to take a break.

He measured the size of the house and made four marks at the corners.

He then called Mitu and asked him to dig deep pits at the marked spots.

After the pits were dug, he placed the bamboo directly into the ground, inserting it at all four corners.

Then, he used the bamboo strips he had prepared earlier to weave the bamboo walls, starting from the bottom and working his way up.

After working for most of the day, he finally completed the four bamboo walls.

The busy members of the Ox Tribe stopped their work and gathered around.

“Is this really a wall? It looks great, much better than our previous grass huts.”

“Yeah, in the future, we won’t have to worry about the cold winds in winter.”

“And we won’t have to fear the Fox Tribe setting fires.”

Hearing their comments, Fei Li clapped his hands and turned around, “This is still not enough, bamboo is still very fire-prone when it dries out.”

“What should we do then?” Mitu looked worried. Was all their hard work going to be in vain?

“Don’t worry, I have a solution.”

Fei Li looked at Mitu, “What about the mud you dug up? Did you bring it all back?”

“I had them dig up a lot, and it’s stored not far from here.”

“And the thatch?”

“We also cut a lot of thatch. What can these two things be used for?” Mitu looked at him in confusion.

Fei Li gave the Ox Tribe a mysterious smile, cut the thatch into small pieces, and mixed it with the mud.

After mixing, he applied the mixture evenly to the woven bamboo walls.

Though not as good as cement, the mixture of mud and thatch could effectively bind the mud together, improving the result compared to just using mud.

After finishing one wall, the Ox Tribe was amazed.

Mitu took a closer look and exclaimed, “This is incredible. I didn’t expect we could live in such houses.”

The faces of all the Ox Tribe members lit up with smiles, and their gaze towards Fei Li became much more respectful.

Fei Li then left the remaining work to Mitu and the Ox Tribe.

He was taken aside by Luo Sang, who insisted he rest.

Seeing Luo Sang’s concerned expression, Fei Li couldn’t help but grin.

“Why are you smiling?” Luo Sang asked, pretending to be angry.

He insisted on doing the work himself and ended up with cuts on his hands from the bamboo strips.

Looking at his injured hands, Luo Sang asked, “Does it hurt?”

When someone shows concern, he can’t help but act weak.

He looked at Luo Sang with a pitiful expression and nodded, “It hurts a lot.”

“You should have listened to me. Now you know it hurts, right?”

“How about you blow on it for me?” While speaking, he held his hand out to Luo Sang.

Luo Sang took his hand, looked at him with affection, and gently kissed the back of his hand.