Chapter 699 - Take All These Away (1/2)

Chapter 699

Take All These Away

“It should be this place, right?” Duo Kang asked Shao Xuan as they slowly approached the coast.

“It’s probably here. Let’s go onshore,” Shao Xuan said.

Hearing Shao Xuan’s words, Duo Kang shouted so the other Flaming Horns heard it too, “Prepare to go on shore!”

The ship in front of the fleet was about to reach land but Mu Fa suddenly shouted, “Everybody stop!”

The others all halted when they heard Mu Fa shout. Mu Fa jumped into the water. He swam in the cold seawater and laughed. His face was red with excitement. He looked up to the other Longboat tribesmen and said, “Come down, all of you!”

Seeing this, Duo Kang was a little irritated. Was he doing this just to be the first to land? Mu Fa had been like this for the past few days. Just because he was the chief, he wanted to be the first to do everything so that in the future, he could be remembered as the first person in the Longboat tribe to lead a team into the sea, the first chief to successfully bring a fleet across the sea to the other continent, and the first……many things.

“What is this place called?” Mu Fa suddenly thought. How could he put his glorious name in history for his descendants to see if he didn’t know what this place was called? Hundreds and thousands of years would pass by and no one would remember where he went.

“Crocodile river,” Shao Xuan said.

Duo Kang and Guang Yi looked at Shao Xuan simultaneously. They seemed confused. When was this river named? How come they didn’t know this river was called “Crocodile River”?

“I just named it,” Shao Xuan said calmly after seeing Duo Kang and Guang Yi’s expressions. Then, he ordered some people to prepare wooden boards to put up the signs for the river’s name, just like the way they did with the Flaming River.

Mu Fa thought it was a shame. He was thinking if the river didn’t have a name, he would name one just like how the Flaming Horns named the Flaming River. He wanted to call it the Longboat river, Boat River, or even the Long Raft River, but before he even had the chance to say it, Shao Xuan already named the river.

Mu Fa didn’t want to get into a fight with Shao Xuan. He was a step late after all. There was no point in fighting over such a small matter. However, if he finds any new place or unnamed river, he would do exactly what the Flaming Horns did and give it a name too. Then, he would put up a stone sign marked with the Longboat tribe’s totem!

Shao Xuan looked at the river in front of him. This was about the same size as the Flaming River. “If this is indeed the main river that passes through the forest, then there should be quite many crocodiles in this river. But it’s winter right now, so the crocodiles are probably all in hiding. They might be at a warmer section of the river.”

Mu Fa nodded. He had been to the Flaming River Trading Point and he had also seen how the Drumming tribesmen rode their crocodiles to the trading point. That’s why he knew what Shao Xuan meant when he mentioned the crocodiles.

“Everyone be careful. Even though the crocodiles are probably not here now, we must remain alert! There are fearsome beasts in this forest!” Mu Fa hit the shoulders of some Longboat warriors. The Longboat tribe rarely came to places like these, so they wouldn’t adapt as fast as the others. Some people might make seemingly minor mistakes here and there- if he didn’t give them some pressure now, they wouldn’t even have the chance to regret later on.

“I’ve seen a giant crocodile in this river. That’s the biggest threat. If we see it, immediately escape and head towards the estuary. Don’t go on the ships. The ships can’t match up to its speed.”

“Could that be a king beast?” Qing Yi asked curiously. As a member of the Drumming tribe, he couldn’t help feeling a strong interest in the crocodile that Shao Xuan mentioned.

“No, it’s not a king beast, but it’s very close to one.”

Qing Yi contemplated, and then said to Shao Xuan, “There aren’t any crocodiles nearby, but I sense something I need in this river. I want to go take a look.”

The Drumming tribesmen loved water, but Qing Yi didn’t jump into the water at the estuary. He waited until they were further upstream when everyone was either chopping trees for wood to make wooden houses to rest in or hunting for food. He only jumped in then because he knew the others were close enough and could save him in time if any accidents happened.

After he confirmed which section of the river this was, Qing Yi took a deep breath and jumped into the water.

The Drumming tribe didn’t really like winter, and they also didn’t like to swim in cold water, but because he needed to search for something he desired, Qing Yi didn’t care too much about these things.

After charging up the totemic energy within his body, his skin thickened as totemic lines appeared on his skin. This made him less sensitive to the icy cold water. After they merged their fire seed, he gained much better control over his new power. Under the influence of the fire seed, the totemic energy became more concentrated within his body. He also improved in making the water moon stones. He could control the amount of energy he needed to exert for the tasks at hand so he actually had control over how much energy he spent each time. This helped him save a lot of energy.

Shao Xuan was discussing with Duo Kang about how they should set up their tents here. They didn’t know when the Taihe tribe would arrive, but just in case, it was better to prepare for the worst. They shouldn’t sleep on the ships every night.

It was winter time, and they weren’t sure if the estuary was going to freeze. Before the Taihe tribe arrived, they still had to learn the skills from the Longboat tribe to keep their ships in good condition. They also needed to constantly check and repair their ships, or else how could they return to the other continent if their ships couldn’t be used by the end of winter?

When they set up their tents, Shao Xuan also picked some plants that didn’t exist on the other side of the sea. Some of these plants were medicinal herbs. He dug up some medicinal herbs that were evergreen. If they had wilted, he would collect their seeds. Of course, he wouldn’t take any plants that were too big because it wasn’t convenient. He would use other methods to transplant them, methods like grafting, meristems, and cuttage. Perhaps this wasn’t the best time to do this, but Shao Xuan had no other choice. They couldn’t stay here for too long.

The Longboat tribesmen also noticed how the Flaming Horns were collecting plant specimens or capturing beasts that could be tamed.

Shao Xuan saw how Mu Fa was trying to busy himself. He was bringing people here and there, telling them, “This, this, this, that, that, yes, that too! Dig them all up and bring them back…… What’s that? It’s so ugly. Doesn’t matter, bring it back too! You! Where did you get that snake? Did you find it when you were digging up the grass? I’ve never seen such patterns! Bring it back too! What? The Flaming Horns said it’s very poisonous? Never mind. Just kill and eat it!”

Besides the time they spent setting up their tents, Mu Fa also followed the Flaming Horns out to dig up medicinal herbs and capture wild beasts. He didn’t feel tired at all. Instead, he felt exhilarated.

After their tents were set up, they also fenced the area with tall branches to prevent small animals from coming into their camp.

After the Flaming Horns discussed with the Longboat tribe, they decided to use the trees here to build new ships. They had this plan before they even set off from the other continent, so Shao Xuan brought enough new green bronze for this purpose. They were specifically designed for the purpose of building ships.