Chapter 15

Chapter 15 \nChapter 15　　Return with great haul\n

Please do not repost elsewhere and do not re-translate to other language from my English version.

Lin Mu chatted and laughed with Phil while picking wild vegetables along the way. Because he is not very familiar with this world, Lin Mu only picked the wild vegetables he knows, such as fiddlehead fern, Shepherd’s Purse and other similar vegetables; he doesn’t dare to try out other things. The vegetation in this world is really rich, and they are very robust. Lin Mu looks at the Shepherd’s Purse that he has just pulled out. The leaves were two or three times larger than what he used to eat, such growth is really gratifying.

“Lin Mu, do we need to collect that much?”

Phil asked when he looked at the number of wild vegetables behind them. They have already picked so much even before they reach the foot of the mountain. Will they still be going to the mountain at this rate?

“We should take whatever we can, these vegetables can be dried and stored for a long time anyway.”

Lin Mu thought of the various ways to eat wild vegetables and remember that many people like to use dried vegetables as steamed bun stuffings. Thinking of steamed buns, Lin Mu’s favourite is soup buns. Savouring the taste of it in his memory, Lin Mu can’t help drooling. Wiping away his non-existing saliva, Lin Mu stopped himself from thinking about the buns anymore. Without flour, steamed buns can only be a dream.

“Do you still go to the foot of the mountain?”

Lin Mu said while tidying the vegetables he picked, “Of course, I want to find new ingredients.”

They sorted out the vegetables and tied them with a fine rattan, then it is Lloyd’s turn to work hard. The two chatted while walking.

“Lin Mu, you know so much. Which tribe do you belong to?”

“My tribe?” Lin Mu thought of his original world, and smiled bitterly, “My tribe is far far away, and I can’t go back anymore. But it’s good to be here.” There are no schemes here, no harming people with unscrupulous means, no people who caused him to suffer. They are no longer in his life, it is really good.

Phil looked at Lin Mu’s faint expression and felt that he must have thought of something sad. Was his tribe attacked by drifter beastmen as well? It wouldn’t be Patrik, right? He said that he can’t go back. Was it because he likes a drifter beastman that he can’t return to his tribe? Phil also like Lloyd, so he can’t go back too. Phil felt that he should comfort Lin Mu, so he grabbed Lin Mu’s hand and said very seriously, “Lin Mu, don’t be sad, I can’t go back too. We can be companions.”

Lin Mu certainly won’t know what Phil is thinking about, but he was moved by him(P) either way. “En, we are companions. And here is our new home.”\n“En! Our new home will be even better.”

Lloyd looked at his female smiling happily in contentment. He never thought that he could have his own female and a loving relationship. Many thanks to beast god’s gift. He will soon have a tribe of their own; everything is getting better.

Lin Mu split the fruit that Patrik gave him into two, and gave one to Phil. Then he took a bite and chewed while asking Phil, “What kind of fruit do you like to eat?”

“My favourite fruit is the crystal fruit.” Recalling that tempting taste, the red fruit in his hand really can’t be compared with the crystal fruit.

Hearing the name, Lin Mu felt that the fruit must be crystal clear.

“Crystal fruit only gets produced in the winter, and it’s pale pink in colour. The fruit is crystal-clear like ice, so we also call it ice fruit. Because the crystal fruit is usually grown on the edge of a cliff, plus there would be wild beasts guarding it, it is not easy to pick the fruit. Beastmen generally pick it to please their female.”

Phil still remembers that he managed to eat it because of his dad1. That time, his father seemed to have done something bad, so his dad ignored his father. Hence, father went to pick crystal fruits for dad. Father was seriously injured when he went to pick the fruits. Dad was very sad at the time, and he forgave his father. Thinking of his passed away father and dad, Phil became sad.

At the moment, Lloyd has been paying attention to Phil and noticed his sadness, and immediately stepped forward to comfort Phil. He pulled Phil into his arms, and let him lean on his chest; telling Phil that he(P) can depend on him.

Lin Mu quickly changed the subject when he saw that Phil’s expression became sad. He looked at a fruit tree next to them. The tree has large white fruits that are as large as a volleyball. “What fruit is this?”

Lloyd’s embrace has calmed Phil’s heart, and Phil said, “Sweety fruit (Tian Tian Guo).”

“Sweety fruit? What is the difference between this one and sweet fruit (Tian Guo)2?”

“Well… it is very much sweeter than sweet fruit.”

Sweeter than sweet fruit! Thinking how sweet is the sweet fruit, if sweety fruit is much sweeter, then it would be like eating sugar! Thinking that he might get sugar, Lin Mu is happy.\n“Phil, is this fruit ripe yet?” If it’s already ripe, Lin Mu wanted to try it.

“Sweety fruit usually matures one month after the rainy season. It must be picked up as soon as its peel begins to turn yellow. Otherwise, the peel of the sweety fruit will become sticky. It will attract a lot of bugs. And the sweety fruit is very strange. It is very, very sour before it matures. No one can eat it except for pregnant females. When it matures, it becomes very very sweet. Just that because it’s too sweet, even people who love to eat sweet stuff don’t like it.” Phil was curious and has tasted both sweet fruits before. Even thinking of it right now caused his stomach to hurt; how can there be such a strange fruit?

Lin Mu listened to Phil’s words; very sour and very sweet. “We should pick some later when we go back.”

“But it’s extremely sour when it’s not ripe yet. Could it be…” Phil looked thoughtfully at Lin Mu’s stomach.

Being stared at by Phil, Lin Mu blushed. Although he slept with Patrik, they were very pure, alright? Even when they did some intimate stuff, it is still a pure male x male relationship. Lin Mu quickly explained, “I just want to take it back and study it to see if I can use it in my cooking.” He hoped that the fruit is just like what he thinks.

“Oh, for cooking. Just that, it is so sour, you still can use it for cooking?” Phil thought of how Lin Mu knows a lot of strange things. It was amazing.

“What I need is the acidity, but I am not sure if it is was I’m thinking of.” If the result is good, that means he will have natural vinegar? Also, when the sweety fruit is ripe, the outer skin is sticky, one can see how high is the sugar content of the fruit! This kind of sweet fruit that nobody cares about is actually a treasure!

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The three arrived at the foot of the mountain.

“What a tall mountain! I can’t see the top at all.”

“En, we are in the mountains now. Think about the rolling mountains, so…” Phil cut in before Lin Mu finished his word, “How many wild vegetables will there be?!”

Lin Mu patted Phil’s head and scolded with a smile. “Such low ambition, only thinks about wild vegetables.”

“But wild vegetables are delicious, and they are better than just eating fruit.”

\nIts height was around one meter high, and it was so thick that he needed both hands to hold it. This caused Lin Mu to doubt that it is really a green onion. If it wasn’t for its appearance looking quite similar, and it smelled alike, Lin Mu won’t dare to pull it out.

“Lin Mu, this thing smells weird, can it be eaten?”

“This can be used as a condiment, an absolutely good thing.” Then he saw some stuff wrapped in leaves in Lloyd’s hand and asked Phil, “Phil, what have you found?” Phil looked so happy, so his haul must be very good.

“I found some medicine.”

As he said that, Phil took the big bag from Lloyd’s hand and opened it to Lin Mu. Phil picked up an oval object that was twice as big as his palm. It was dark red, and the surface was pitted. Lin Mu doesn’t know what it was.

“This is called spicy ball. In the past during the rainy season, the witch doctor would let us eat this when it rained, saying that it can be used to drive away the cold. After eating it, our stomach would feel really warm, just that the taste is too stimulating.” Seemed to recall the taste, Phil frowned.

Lin Mu heard Phil’s description of the oval object and wondered why it sounded like ginger. He took one and cut it with a knife. Next, a familiar smell rushed to his nose. It is ginger! Even though it has changed appearance, it is still ginger deep inside. Lin Mu felt very happy, plus today’s harvest is quite a lot. Now that he has onion and ginger, does that mean he can expect to find other condiments as well?

“Phil, let’s get more of this… spicy ball. En, we will definitely have a good lunch today.”

“There are a lot of spicy balls, but it’s not very convenient to take them back.” Phil looked at Lloyd’s hands full of items.

Lin Mu looked at the pile at his feet and was troubled as well. “Let Lloyd carry these, and we’ll hold onto the spicy balls.”

“En.”

So, Lloyd has wild vegetables hanging around his neck, holding onions and eggs in his arms, plus Phil’s herbs. That amusing appearance made the two laugh.

On their way back, Lin Mu picked up two sweety fruits and returned home with a great haul!