Orc Girl's Tribal Daily Life

Chapter 37 Inside the Fish Cave

"No, Brown said these herbs need to be steeped in hot water." The little girl looked anxious.

Mao was taken aback, then his gaze hardened. He picked up the cub and said to the little girl beside him, "Come with me, we're going back up the mountain now."

Then he looked down at the cub and comforted it, "Luo, don't be afraid, we'll be back soon."

Before the two could even make a move, a voice suddenly rang out from the side, "Come with me."

Mao and happy looked up at the same time and found that Little Fish King Biao was watching them not far away. When he saw them look up, he turned around and left.

"The Fish Cave is over here."

Mao and Xicai suddenly realized, "Oh right, the Fish Cave is at the foot of the mountain." They quickly started running to catch up with Little Fish King Biao. Before they had gone far, a cave entrance appeared in front of them.

An elderly clansman at the entrance was weaving a fish basket using grass leaves and stalks. He was startled when he saw Little Fish King Biao running towards them with several unfamiliar children.

"She's been poisoned. We need to soak herbs in hot water to detoxify her," Little Fish King said, stepping past the elderly clansman without stopping.

Seeing this, Mao and happy did not stop, and followed the little fish king Biao into the fish cave.

The entrance to Yuer Cave looks no different from the caves inhabited by other tribesmen, but the space inside is much larger.

Mao and happy had no interest in the structure of the Fish Cave. They only noticed a large stone pot burning in the middle of the cave, with some murky water bubbling and steaming inside.

Next to the stone pot was a little girl, who was about the same height as herself, sitting next to the stone pot.

Little Fish King Biao walked straight over and, with just a gesture, the little girl immediately handed him the large wooden spoon she was holding.

Little Fish King Biao picked up the large wooden ladle used for serving soup. Just as he scooped up a spoonful of water, Little Girl happy came over carrying a wooden bowl filled with herbal powder—the bowl was already in Jiang Luoluo's burlap backpack.

The little girl happily picked up the jam spoon, stirred it a few times in the wooden bowl, and immediately fed it to Jiang Luoluo.

Mao carefully held the aching cub to prevent it from harming itself. Seeing that the cub gradually calmed down after taking the herbal soup, he and happy breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

Then they noticed that as these strangers entered, many children emerged from the fish cave, all silently watching them.

Ugh... Jiang Luoluo silently gagged. As the intense pain subsided, a strong fishy smell immediately rose up, mixed with the bitterness of herbs and a hint of sweet jam, giving off a very disgusting odor.

The stone pot used to cook fish in the Fish Cave year-round already had an unpleasant fishy smell, not to mention that there were already several unprocessed fish cooking in the pot.

Although Jiang Luoluo was under the influence of the poison, she remained conscious and knew what had happened and who had helped her.

I won't start to feel disgusted by the nauseating smell; after all, detoxifying is more important than the smell.

Forcing herself to finish the remaining half bowl of herbal soup, Jiang Luoluo immediately took out a jar of jam, scooped out two spoonfuls for herself, and tried to get rid of the nausea in her mouth.

The sweet aroma of jam filled the sealed cave, and more and more children peeked out, drawn by the smell. But seeing the little fish king standing next to them, no one dared to touch it.

Jiang Luoluo calmed down a lot and then had the mind to examine the Fish Cave. The entrance to the Fish Cave was the size of a normal cave door, nothing special, but inside was a very large space that had been hollowed out.

Not only that, but many "small caves" were also dug out inside the cave to serve as sleeping places for the children.

Children of different ages live in different small caves and rely on each other's body heat to keep warm, so they rarely freeze to death in the cold winter.

However, this also creates other problems, namely, in an overly enclosed space, the odor does not circulate well and the smell is very unpleasant.

Upon closer inspection, it even smelled quite like feces.

Many children who are only one or two years old cannot control their own excretions, and there are no qualified adults to take care of them. Often, they have been defecating for a long time, and their bodies are covered in filth and the smell has accumulated before an older child notices and helps clean them up.

Over time, the smell inside the fish cave became even more unpleasant.

Jiang Luoluo didn't see many older children in the cave. Most of those who poked their heads out were under ten years old, numbering in the dozens... It was hard to imagine that there were so many children in the Fish Cave.

Jiang Luoluo breathed a sigh of relief. Although the children were thin, they were not skin and bones. It was clear that although the tribe could not provide them with enough to eat, they were doing their best to ensure their survival.

Mao and happy were very uncomfortable under this silent gaze. It was clear that Mao wanted to warn the children, but he forced himself to hold back when he saw their expressions.

"All done?" The elderly clansman slowly walked in. He had just been weaving a fish basket to hold fish for the children in the fish cave. He couldn't stop until he finished, otherwise all his work would be for nothing.

He's getting old, his hands and feet aren't as nimble, he works slowly and in small quantities, so we can't waste his time.

Upon entering, the elderly clansmen immediately noticed the three unfamiliar children among them. Their overly rounded figures made it clear to them that they were not children from Fish Cave.

Halfway through the conversation, the elder suddenly smelled a strange sweet fragrance in the air, and his eyes fell directly on the little girl in the middle.

Seeing the child's longing expression, aroused by the aroma, the elderly clansman's face instantly darkened, and he began to shoo them away, "If you're done, get out of here now, don't stay here any longer."

I sighed inwardly. How could I let these children know that there are better things? Knowing them would create longing, and not getting them would cause them pain... They are already suffering enough.

Jiang Luoluo was stunned, and suddenly realized what she had done. However, she did not regret it, and did not even hesitate to leave Mao's protective embrace.

Jiang Luoluo opened her burlap backpack and, in front of everyone, took out the two jars of jam that were left over from today's exchange.

Holding a jar of jam, she jogged over to the elderly member of the clan, handed him the jar, and blinked at him.

Both the little girl happy and Mao were stunned for a moment, but the little girl Xi reacted faster. She caught up with the cub and said, "Luo can't speak. She wants to give you these fruit pastes. Thank you for the fish soup."

The elderly clansman looked at the cub in front of her with a complicated expression. She was about the same age as the children in the Fish Cave, but she had clear and bright eyes that the children in the Fish Cave never had.

It's not the kind of innocent clarity that comes from being naive to the ways of the world, but rather the clarity and thoroughness that comes from seeing through everything and understanding everything.

Seeing that the elderly clansman didn't move for a moment, Jiang Luoluo stepped forward and put the jam jar into his arms before gesturing. After gesturing, she immediately looked at the translator beside her... The little girl was delighted.

The little girl did not disappoint Jiang Luoluo. After a moment's thought, she understood what the cub meant. "Luoluo said that these fruit pastes can be cooked in a pot. Just a little bit can make a big pot of sweet soup... However, don't put fish in it, it won't taste good."

Seeing the cub's bitter expression, the little girl couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Many people in the tribe don't like the taste of soft-shelled turtles, so it's normal for the cubs to look like this.

Seeing Jiang Luoluo hand the sweet thing to the elder, the children in the Fish Cave stopped staring at Jiang Luoluo and her two companions and instead fixed their gazes on the elder, with a deep longing they themselves were unaware of.

“…Okay, I understand.” The elder clansman agreed, but still urged them to speak.

"Okay, it's time for you to leave."

After seeing the elderly clansmen accept the jam, Jiang Luoluo obediently nodded, packed up her burlap backpack, put it back on her back, and walked out of the cave with Mao and happy.

As they reached the door, Jiang Luoluo turned around and waved vigorously at the little fish king, Biao, who had led them to the Fish Cave.

Little Fish King Biao just coldly watched the cub's movements without responding at all. Only when the cub turned and left the cave did he return the large wooden spoon in his hand to the little girl who was guarding the stone pot.