Chapter 10
The beach was strewn with stranded marine creatures—fish, shrimp, jellyfish, and octopuses. As Qi Bai strolled along the shore, it felt like he was wandering through a seafood market, with all kinds of sea life on display.
Some of the creatures had been picked at by seabirds, but most were simply left untouched, drying out in the sun and giving off a strong, fishy odor as the breeze blew across them.
But smells are subjective.
Just like some people enjoy the scent of gasoline or the aroma of burning wood, Qi Bai didn’t mind the pungent scent of seafood. There’s even an old saying, “stinky fish and rotten shrimp.” Sometimes, dried fish was supposed to have a slightly funky smell.
Langze, however, wasn’t used to the odor and instinctively scrunched his nose.
Seeing the abundance before him, Qi Bai felt a surge of energy. “The tide hasn’t even fully gone out yet. Let’s head over to those reefs,” he suggested.
Langze, having no objections, followed Qi Bai along the shoreline toward the reef’s edge. When they reached it, Qi Bai excitedly rushed forward. “So many oysters! My god, is this heaven?”
In this untouched sea, where no orcs had ever set foot, marine life had flourished unchecked. The oysters clinging to the rocks alone were an impressive sight.
After his initial excitement, Qi Bai turned to Langze. “Langze, hurry up! We’ve achieved oyster freedom today!”
Langze squatted down, examining the scene carefully. It took him a moment to realize that the white clusters on the dark rocks weren’t stones but the edible oysters Qi Bai was talking about. These oysters were tightly attached to the rocks, but Langze found it easy to pry them off.
Transforming one of his hands into a wolf’s claw, Langze could knock an oyster loose with just a couple of strikes. Qi Bai marveled at how easily Langze managed it, while he himself had to rely on using stones to break them off.
In the past, Qi Bai might’ve used his small bone knife to pry them off—it was incredibly sturdy, after all. But ever since Langze had told him that the knife was crafted from the bones of a legendary Black Bird, Qi Bai had been reluctant to use it for such rough work.
Qi Bai still found it strange that Mao Bai, a weak sub-orc who’d been bullied in his tribe, would own such a valuable bone knife.
Digging through Mao Bai’s memories, Qi Bai couldn’t find an explanation. He only knew that Mao Bai’s parents had died when he was very young, leaving him to suffer a difficult childhood.
If there was any clue, it was the fact that Mao Bai’s father had once been the strongest orc warrior in the tribe but died unexpectedly during an autumn hunt.
A powerful orc father leaving his son a precious bone knife seemed like the only logical explanation for its origin.
Yet, despite its value, no one in the tribe had shown any interest in the knife—perhaps because Mao Bai himself had been weak and overlooked.
Even Yang Luo hadn’t recognized how special the knife was.
If Qi Bai hadn’t trusted Langze’s words, he might’ve suspected he was making it up.
Thinking about all this, Qi Bai couldn’t help but glance at Langze, who was effortlessly prying oysters from the rocks with his claws. He silently wondered just how many secrets Langze was hiding.
As they continued collecting, both of them filled their rattan baskets with oysters. Qi Bai also gathered some seaweed and found a few large crabs hiding under the rocks.
Since it was Qi Bai’s first time catching crabs by hand, he wasn’t careful enough and got pinched, leaving his fingers red. But despite that, his excitement didn’t wane.
As they figured Ma Shu and Ma Ling would return soon, they decided it was time to head back as well.
Before leaving, they carried a large flat stone from the reef. Although the stone was still a bit thick and rough, years of being polished by seawater had made its surface smooth enough for cooking.
As soon as Qi Bai and Langze returned to camp, they were greeted by an unexpected sight—the Ma Shu brothers had managed to haul back a young fawn. The fawn’s front legs were twisted at unnatural angles, and it whimpered softly, letting out pitiful “yo yo” sounds.
Even Langze, usually calm and collected, raised an eyebrow in surprise. Qi Bai couldn’t stop himself from showering the brothers with praise.
Ma Shu grinned and explained, “This little guy must’ve gotten separated from its herd. When we found it, it had already fallen off a cliff and broken its front legs.”
Regardless of how they’d managed to catch it, the fawn was an unexpected windfall for their five-person team—it meant they’d be having a hearty meal tonight.
After setting up the stone pot, Qi Bai was about to toss in the crabs and seaweed when he suddenly paused. A thought struck him, and he turned to the brothers who had just returned from the forest.
“Did you find any fresh water nearby?” he asked.
Ma Ling, who was curiously poking at the crabs in the basket, didn’t understand why Qi Bai wanted to eat these strange, hard-shelled creatures that barely seemed to have any meat. But he knew well enough that seawater wasn’t drinkable, and he’d already been on the lookout for a water source. Hearing Qi Bai’s question, he quickly responded, “Yeah, there’s a stream a little further in. I’ll take you there.”
Following Ma Ling’s lead, the group soon found themselves beside a clear, babbling stream.
The sound of the water trickling over rocks and brushing against leaves was soothing, like nature’s own melody. But gathering the water proved to be more challenging than they’d expected.
During the days of heavy rain, they’d simply used large leaves and grooved stone bowls to catch rainwater. When enough collected, they’d pour it into the stone pot for cooking. Back then, Qi Bai had thought it was a bit of a hassle, but he hadn’t given it much more thought.
Now, with the rain gone, fetching water—even from a nearby stream—was proving to be time-consuming and labor-intensive. The constant back-and-forth of carrying water in makeshift containers was exhausting.
“I need to find a better solution for this,” Qi Bai thought silently.
Especially considering they’d soon be boiling seawater to extract salt—if they continued transporting water like this, they’d wear themselves out before they even began.
By the time they lugged the water back to camp, Xiang Yu had nearly finished processing the fawn. He carefully placed the deerskin into a rattan basket. Along their journey, Xiang Yu had been collecting all the furs they came across, and he would hand them over to Yang Luo for further use once they returned to the tribe.
The water in the stone pot was already boiling. Qi Bai tossed in the crabs, seaweed, and half a basket of oysters and clams. To keep the crabs from escaping, he covered the pot with large leaves, pressing them down securely.
Not stopping there, Qi Bai placed a large flat stone slab next to the fire. He spread the remaining oysters over the slab, preparing to make roasted oysters.
“It’s a pity there’s no garlic,” Qi Bai thought wistfully. “If I had some garlic and vermicelli, I could make garlic vermicelli oysters.” His mouth watered at the thought, and he quickly shook his head to push the craving aside.
Even with the venison from the fawn, Qi Bai didn’t feel like there would be enough seafood to satisfy him. Since arriving in this world, he hadn’t once felt truly full, and his appetite seemed to have no limit.
He glanced longingly at the abundant seafood still clinging to the reefs. “I will eat my fill today,” he vowed.
As the only sub-orc cub in the group, Qi Bai was often doted on by the others. Xiang Yu handed him an entire deer leg without hesitation.
Qi Bai didn’t refuse. Xiang Yu had decided they’d eat half of the fawn that night, which meant everyone would get a large portion of meat. There was no need to be polite about where it came from.
Qi Bai skewered the deer leg on a long branch and placed it beside the fire. Squatting next to it, he carefully sliced off pieces of meat as they cooked using his small bone knife. Whenever one side was cooked, he’d slice it off, turn the leg, and continue roasting—his mouth barely stopping between bites.
Compared to Qi Bai’s meticulous approach, the others were far less particular.
Ma Ling, impatient and hungry, tossed his piece of meat directly into the fire. The skin charred quickly, but he didn’t care. He took a bite and found that while the outside was burnt, the inside was still bloody. That didn’t bother him either; he happily chewed through the half-cooked meat, savoring the wild, gamey flavor.
Though Qi Bai was fussy about how he prepared his food, his eating speed was far from slow. He soon devoured the entire deer leg allocated to him.
But even with fresh venison, Qi Bai found himself craving more. They’d been eating roasted meat for days now, and the tantalizing seafood feast simmering in the stone pot was calling his name.
Langze seemed to share the same sentiment. Despite having polished off his own piece of venison, it was clear he wasn’t satisfied. He was already seated next to the stone pot, eagerly waiting for it to finish boiling.
The scene was almost comical—Qi Bai and Langze, side by side, staring into the bubbling pot, both of them practically drooling with anticipation.
Ma Shu, however, remained wary of the seafood. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the crabs and shellfish were nothing more than strange-looking bugs. As for oysters, he’d tried river clams before and hadn’t liked them, so he wasn’t optimistic about these, either.
Ma Ling, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Not only was he unafraid of the unfamiliar food, but he was also genuinely curious to see how it tasted.
Xiang Yu watched the younger ones with a fond smile. At over eighty years old, he was already considered an elder among the orcs, who typically lived to be over a hundred. His age gave him a certain wisdom, and unlike Yang Luo, he didn’t concern himself much with social status.
To him, everyone—whether orc or slave—deserved equal treatment. He didn’t discriminate against the three slaves in their group, treating them with the same respect and kindness as the others.
For Xiang Yu, it was enough to see the younger generation laughing and learning together. Tonight, with the sea at their backs and the fire warming their faces, they were not just surviving—they were thriving.
Of course, Xiang Yu inevitably showed favoritism toward some of the younger sub-orcs like Qi Bai, but that stemmed purely from his natural affection for sub-orc cubs. It was instinctive for every orc warrior to protect sub-orcs, using their strength and experience to shield the more vulnerable members of their tribe.
Qi Bai lifted the large leaf covering the pot, and a rush of hot steam hit his face. He inhaled deeply, savoring the rich aroma, then eagerly peered inside. The oysters had already popped open, their thick, juicy flesh glistening in the firelight.
Without hesitation, Qi Bai grabbed a pair of makeshift chopsticks—two thin branches he’d sharpened earlier—and carefully plucked out an oyster.
The shells were easy to pry open now, and as he gently nudged one upward, the plump oyster flesh wobbled slightly in its shell, catching the glow of the fire.
Qi Bai’s anticipation peaked. He couldn’t wait any longer and quickly popped the oyster into his mouth.
The moment the hot oyster touched his tongue, Qi Bai’s eyes flew wide open. The heat was unbearable!
“Hot, hot, hot!” he gasped, fanning his mouth frantically with both hands, trying to cool it down while exhaling in sharp bursts.
But once the oyster finally cooled enough, Qi Bai gently bit into its tender flesh. The burst of fresh, briny juice flooded his mouth, and his taste buds were instantly overwhelmed by the natural sweetness and richness of the sea.
So fresh!
At that moment, Qi Bai realized that sometimes, the simplest methods—like steaming or boiling—were the best ways to honor the purity of fresh seafood. There was no need for thick sauces or complex seasoning. The unadulterated taste of the ocean was more delicious than anything he’d ever had.
Langze had been watching Qi Bai closely, his eyes unblinking. Before Qi Bai could even finish savoring the oyster, he nodded eagerly, as if to say, “Hurry up and eat more—it’s amazing!”
Without hesitation, Langze reached into the pot, unbothered by the heat, and snatched up an oyster. Just as he was about to toss it into his mouth, Qi Bai, still remembering the scorching heat from his own bite, quickly swallowed his oyster and blurted out, “Be careful, it’s hot! Eat slowly!”
With Qi Bai and Langze leading the way, Ma Ling and Xiang Yu couldn’t resist any longer and soon joined in.
For people who hadn’t tasted salt in days, the rich, savory flavor of the seafood was irresistible. Even Xiang Yu, the seasoned elder, couldn’t hide his satisfaction—his eyes squinted shut in pure delight as he savored each bite.
By the time Ma Shu finally noticed what was happening, he saw the others gathered around the pot, silently devouring the seafood with focused determination. Even Ma Ling, who usually avoided green vegetables, was eating them without hesitation.
Ma Shu frowned, still skeptical of the strange sea creatures. But as the enticing aroma continued to drift toward him, he couldn’t help himself. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him, and he reached out to scoop up a piece of seaweed.
And just like that, no one could escape the undeniable truth of true fragrance.
After indulging in their satisfying seafood feast, Qi Bai quickly refocused on the real reason they’d come to the coast.
He scooped the cooked crabs out of the stone pot and placed them into a basket, planning to save them as a midnight snack. “This way, we’ll have something to nibble on while keeping watch,” he thought with a grin.
Then, Qi Bai turned to the others, rallying them to start fetching seawater from the beach.
Yang Luo had made it clear before they left that, once they reached the coast, everyone was to follow Qi Bai’s instructions without question.
Since their arrival, the group had been anxious, waiting for Qi Bai to guide them on the next steps. Now, finally given a proper task—and with their bellies full from the hearty meal—they were energized and ready to get to work.
