Sally carried a bone bow on her shoulder, along with a bunch of bamboo arrows.
These were Auro's belongings. He often carried them when he used to hunt, but they had been idle for a while since he became ill.
When Sally took them, Auro was very reluctant. It wasn't that he was loath to part with the bow and arrows, but in his view, females were very fragile, and even Sally's talent couldn't change his long-standing impression. She wanted to go hunting with Robby for fun, which was fine, but anything else was out of the question.
It wasn't until Zulu came to find Robby, saying that he would help Sally with the bow and arrows, that Auro agreed.
With Zulu there, Sally's safety was not an issue.
Actually, Sally had learned archery and even participated in archery competitions, winning quite a few awards. So, once the bow and arrows were in hand, she drew the bow, aimed, and shot with precision, hitting a wild chicken squarely.
Robby was startled by Sally's movements. "Sis, you know how to use arrows?"
"Yeah." Sally handed him the bow and arrows while she went to pick up the chicken.
"We'll have chicken soup tonight."
"Can I have a taste? I won't freeload, the first prey I hunt later will cover the meal," Zulu said, eyes full of admiration for Sally. Especially the way she had just shot the arrow—it was extremely graceful!
"Sure," Sally replied.
Zulu suddenly got excited, "I'll go hunt a wild boar."
"That thing is dangerous." In the forest, the wild boar was definitely one of the fiercest beasts, with its thick skin comparable to a tank and a pair of sharp tusks.
The more she said so, the more Zulu insisted on hunting a wild boar, "Wait for me."
He was very familiar with this area, knowing where there was an abundance of prey and what kind of prey there was.
Soon he aimed in a direction and ran off.
Sally handed the chicken to Robby, "Let's continue looking for prey then."
"Sis, Brother Zulu won't run into trouble, will he?"
"If he were to be in trouble, then no one in Beast Forest would be hunting."
Sally, leading Robby, hunted smaller prey on the outskirts of the forest.
During this time, Sally also picked a lot of fruits and wild vegetables, but most importantly, she found a patch of wild yams.
Each one was as thick as a wrist, and Sally was overjoyed, giving up hunting and starting to dig up the wild yams.
Although eating only meat was not a problem, for someone like Sally, who grew up on grains and cereals, she still longed for carbohydrate-rich food.
Robby didn't understand why Sally wanted to dig up these things normally eaten by wild beasts, but seeing her excitement, he began to dig as well.
As they were digging, Sally felt the yams under her hands start to move on their own.
Then, each wild yam burrowed out of the ground by itself, piling up neatly together.
Robby shouted in surprise, "Brother Lin Lang!"
Lin Lang had an Earth Element talent, and digging up wild yams for him was just a flick of the fingers.
Sally dusted off the dirt on her hands and flashed a sweet smile, "Brother Lin Lang is amazing. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Lin Lang watched Sally, her face adorably innocent, "Is there anything else that needs digging up?"
"No, nothing else. What did you hunt, Brother Lin Lang?"
"Two deer, already sent back to the tribe. I'm free for now."
"Brother Lin Lang, I want to hunt a deer too."
"Sure, I'll take you to the deer herd."
"Thanks, Brother Lin Lang. Let's go now," Robby said eagerly.
"I won't go," Sally said. "I'm going to take these wild yams back home in batches." There must have been at least a hundred pounds of them, and if she didn't use the System Space, she would have to run several trips.
"Wait, I'll help you deliver these." As he spoke, Lin Lang grabbed a few vines of the wild yams, bundled them securely, and hoisted them onto his shoulder.
The entire process took but the blink of an eye.
Sally didn't even have time to object.
And Robby stood there, mouth agape, "What about hunting the deer?"
"After we deliver these," Lin Lang replied.
"Alright, then, little sister, you head back with Brother Lin Lang, and I'll wait for Brother Zulu,"
"That works. These wild yams need some sorting too. Give me the fruit basket and the wild chicken, I'll take them back first," Sally said to Robby.
Robby continued hunting, while Sally and Lin Lang walked back to the Rat Clan settlement.
On the way, Sally picked a sour-sweet tasting verdant fruit from the basket and offered it to Lin Lang, "Is it heavy? Have a fruit to quench your thirst."
"No need, it's not heavy at all." Lin Lang looked at her, his gaze somewhat intense, and also a bit conflicted.
Sally pretended not to notice, "I heard from Robby that you were injured while saving fellow tribespeople, and you passed out. By the time you regained consciousness, you were already on the way to relocating the clan. How is the wound now? I hope it hasn't left any lingering effects."
"What are lingering effects?"
"Well, it means residual issues or symptoms from an injury that are difficult to recover from."
"Does losing you count?"
"..."
...
Auro returned from the Rabbit Clan witch's place in high spirits.
Although the Rabbit Clan didn't have many females either, it was quite easy to find one with poor living conditions and above-average fertility. The Witch Clan promised they'd have news for him within three days.
Carrying two beast skin bags of sheep's milk, Auro arrived at his doorstep and spotted Sally from afar.
Her snowy-white long hair was unmistakable, and it would be hard to mistake her for someone else.
But beside her...
"Yanyan, why are you with Lin Lang?"
"Brother Lin Lang is helping me bring back the yams," Sally replied.
"Thanks to Lin Lang for the trouble, give them to me," Auro extended his hand to take over.
"No need to hand them off, I can bring them in," Lin Lang said.
Once in the yard, Sally asked him to place the wild yams next to the water pool fed by mountain springs.
"I'll make some yam cakes and give you some to try later."
"Sure." Although he didn't know what yam cakes were, he would accept anything given by Sally.
"Lin Lang, Ashley is about to give birth, you should hurry back," someone called out from the entrance.
Lin Lang's expression shifted slightly.
Sally quickly said, "You should get going."
Lin Lang looked toward the person at the door, "Wasn't it supposed to be a few days more?"
"Ashley says she's having stomach pains, just hurry back," the person said before rushing off.
Sally understood; it was likely because she and Lin Lang had returned together from outside, and Ashley must have learned of it. There might not be anything wrong with the child at all.
"Go back then. Women's moods can be volatile during pregnancy. Take good care of her," Sally said.
Speaking these words, Sally went into the house and came back with a packet of fine salt, roughly a pound, and handed it to Lin Lang, "I don't have much to offer, but this is presentable at least. Thank you for bringing back the yams."
Lin Lang did not accept it, turning to leave instead, "I'll come for the chicken soup later."
"Alright, alright, Brother Lin Lang take care," Auro saw him off personally.
"Just call me Lin Lang," he said at the doorway, "I'll stop by later."
"You'll be most welcome," Auro responded with a warm smile.
Once Lin Lang had left, Auro asked Sally, "What's going on with you two?"
"We bumped into each other while hunting. He helped me dig up these wild yams and brought them back for me. It was purely a fellow clan member helping another, nothing more," Sally explained.
"That's good to hear. He married Ashley, the finest female of the Rat Clan, and the Witch Clan's granddaughter. She might even inherit the Witch Clan; we cannot afford to offend them," Auro said.
"I understand. That's why my target now is Zulu," Sally said.