PNB Chapter 42 Choosing a new home location
Chapter 42 Choosing a new home location
Yan transformed into his black eagle form, placing Linni on his back as they circled low over the territory of the Tiger Beast Tribe. The territory was surrounded by rolling mountains, but unlike other mountain ranges, these peaks were relatively low and not very flat. This terrain was undoubtedly the most ideal habitat for the orcs, skilled at digging caves. After circling the Tiger Beast Tribe for half a day, Linni still couldn't decide on a good spot. Seeing that it was almost noon, Yan caught a wild rabbit nearby and landed by a stream: "I'll roast a rabbit for you first, then you can continue watching."
“Okay.” Lin Ni watched Yan process the rabbit from the side; he did these things very cleanly and efficiently.
While grilling meat, Yan told Linni that the Tiger Beast Tribe was home to more than a thousand beastmen, of whom more than seven hundred were tiger beastmen. The remaining three hundred or so were various other beastmen. Some, like his father beastmen, came from other places and settled here after forming mates. Others, like Yan, were offspring of outsiders and tiger females. There were also females who joined the tribe, like Linni, but such cases were rare. Females were treasures in any tribe, and no one wanted to let them leave.
Regarding offspring, Linni asked Yan curiously, "Are all the offspring beastmen of the same race as their father?"
Yan blushed and replied, "That's decided by the female. The female can decide whether she will give birth to a male's race or her own race."
"Is it that amazing?" Lin Ni was extremely surprised. She wanted to ask something more, but seeing Yan Baixi's face turn bright red, she suddenly realized that this was not a question to be discussed with Yan, a single beast who had just come of age. So she quietly changed the subject: "Let's go and look at the place after we finish eating. Actually, sitting on your back flying in the sky, I can't see the terrain very clearly. Can you find me a place near a water source, but not too many beastmen living there, and then we can go down and take a look?"
Yan's skin was fair, and he was tall, thin, and fair-skinned with well-defined features and bright eyes—a true star. Hearing Lin Ni get down to business, he nodded and said, "To make it easier for the females to move around, the tribespeople have chosen to live on the mountainside or below. There are plenty of places that meet your requirements if you go higher, but living too high will be very cold in winter."
Lin Ni selected a series of high mountains facing south and close to the west: "That one will do."
Yan looked around and said, "That place is a bit far. It will take you a lot of time to come to the tribe by yourself."
Lin Ni: "Let's go take a look first."
Yan's grilling skills were decent, slightly better than Ye's, but far inferior to Yao's. Lin Ni ate a roasted rabbit leg and drank some of her own warm water, then couldn't eat anymore. Yan ate the whole roasted rabbit, then transformed into a black eagle and flew with Lin Ni towards the high mountain in the northwest direction she pointed out.
The mountain Linni was pointing to was located behind many small hills, and according to the order of the mountains, it belonged to the second tier of peaks. The mountainside of this peak connected with another mountain in front of it, and where the two mountains connected, there was a crystal clear mountain spring and a small waterfall that was three meters high.
Looking at the scenery before her, Lin Ni recalled the magnificent waterfall where she had lived with Ye for over a hundred days and nights. She had already made up her mind to settle down here. However, she still needed to take a look at the surrounding environment before making a final decision. So, Lin Ni sat on the back of Yan Kuankuo and flew around the entire mountain peak.
To their delight, after bypassing the waterfall and turning towards the back of the mountain, they discovered three small hot springs. Linni's eyes lit up when she saw these steaming natural hot springs; she couldn't wait to get in and enjoy a hot spring bath. Previously, she had either taken cold showers in the lake or could only wash herself with water in a stone basin; it had been a long time since she had taken a hot bath—it felt like a lifetime ago.
Linni walked between the three small hot springs, touching the water temperature and observing the terrain: "Yan, I want to go for a bath, is that alright?"
Looking at Lin Ni's expectant eyes, Yan naturally couldn't bring himself to refuse. This place was close to the Tiger Beast Tribe, so there was definitely no danger. However, Yan still checked around the hot spring, even trying out all three pools before saying, "This pool is shallower, you go soak in it. I'll wait for you here."
Lin Ni didn't care about being in the wild or the fact that the two of them weren't very familiar with each other. She made Yan turn around so his back was to her, then took off her clothes and went into the water wearing only her underwear. The underwear was made from the molted skin of a snake, which was waterproof and suitable as a swimsuit. She comfortably soaked her entire body in the warm spring water and sighed contentedly.
The sound made Yan blush. Even though he was standing there doing nothing, his palms were sweating with nervousness. He stood quietly by the hot spring pool, like a guardian statue, looking ahead, afraid that he might lose control and peek at her, thus displeasing her.
Linni thoroughly enjoyed this rare moment of relaxation, soaking comfortably in the hot spring for half an hour before getting up.
After Lin Ni finished her bath, she realized that she had made him stand there waiting for her for half an hour. She blushed and said, "I'm sorry to have made you wait for so long."
"Being with Lin makes me happy no matter what we do!" Yan heard her getting dressed and then heard her speaking behind him, guessing that she must have finished soaking in the bath before daring to turn around to look at her. He was then greeted by a fresh and sweet fragrance, and saw Lin Ni's fair face with rosy cheeks and her big, bright eyes looking at him. Yan felt that she was more tempting than the sweetest fruit on the Beastman Continent, making him wish he could pounce on her and take a bite right away.
Linni was a little scared by his intense gaze, so she pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Let's go to the little waterfall up ahead and see if it's suitable for digging a cave."
Yan nodded quickly: "Oh, okay, okay!"
They went to survey the area near the waterfall in the mountain stream. After examining the mountain, Yan finally found a suitable spot to dig a cave about 500 meters away. Lin Ni lingered in front of the spot, mentally planning how to build a comfortable and functional cave. Then, Lin Ni asked Yan to take her to see several caves inhabited by members of the Tiger Beast Tribe, to see if there were any good examples they could learn from.
The caves of the Tiger Beast Tribe were all similar, consisting of large caves containing smaller ones. The large caves were used for living and sleeping; some had cooking stoves built outside the cave with a thatched hut on top, but most simply built them directly at the cave entrance, leaving the entire cave somewhat blackened by smoke. The smaller caves inside were used for sleeping or storing food. After seeing several caves, Lin Ni was a little disappointed. Since it was almost dark, she and Yan returned to his cave halfway up the mountain.