Orc Priest (2): 

The houses of the people in the Hippo Tribe are quite interesting.

When they weave their houses using local plants, they don’t pull the plants out by the roots, but instead let them continue growing in the ground.

For example, if someone weaves a house out of long reeds, the reeds remain alive.

This way, their houses are green.

Some people who care about aesthetics even plant flowering vines next to their houses, letting the vines cover their homes. When the plants bloom, their houses are full of flowers.

It’s easy to see that life in the Hippo Tribe is pretty good.

The people of the Hippo Tribe take turns going out to hunt, and those who join the hunt don’t have to do other work that day.

Gu Juntian and the others handed over the prey to the men who stayed in the tribe, who would process it, and then they all went their separate ways.

Some lay down to rest, some went to find their partners to repair their houses together.

Meanwhile, three beastmen whose beast forms were hippopotamuses—including the original owner’s younger brother Zhuang—turned into their original forms and went swimming in the lake.

They floated there, swimming while eating algae, looking especially leisurely.

Gu Juntian, on the other hand, returned to the original owner’s house.

As the tribe’s leader, the original owner lived in a house on a small island.

This house was always reserved for the chief. It was built beside a few trees, very sturdy, and larger than ordinary houses.

Other houses only covered a few square meters, and many were too small for a person to stand upright inside.

But this house was different. It was about ten square meters, and Gu Juntian could stand upright inside.

Of course, it was still very simple, with just bare earth for the floor.

In the original story, Bai Yutian couldn’t bear living in such a house. He would even scream when he saw bugs, leaving the Hippo Tribe people baffled.

They had long grown used to insects around them, and even ate some of them.

Since everyone was repairing houses, Gu Juntian also tore off the rotting branches and leaves from his house and replaced them with fresh ones.

Actually, this house had always been repaired by Qing.

As the tribe’s priest, Qing knew many things, including how to repair houses.

When there weren’t enough houses for everyone, it was also the priest who decided where to build new ones.

The places Qing chose were always good, never flooded during the rainy season.

This was clearly inherited knowledge.

The previous priest and Qing had once taught the original owner bits and pieces of this knowledge, but the original owner didn’t take it seriously and refused to learn.

He thought that as chief, repairing houses was beneath him.

So for the past couple of years, Qing had been the one fixing his house.

Qing was meticulous—his houses never leaked during rain!

According to the original owner’s memory, in another day or two, there would be a heavy storm. The rain would keep the original owner from hunting, and for days he couldn’t eat dinosaur meat, only fish.

At that time, many in the tribe were drenched. His younger brother simply turned into a hippo and stayed in the water, but the original owner’s house stayed dry, letting him sleep comfortably inside.

That was all thanks to Qing repairing it so well.

Qing really treated the original owner well.

When the tribe gave Qing fruits, he would give the sweetest ones to the original owner. The original owner’s animal-skin skirt and some of his tools were also gifts from Qing.

For example, the stone bowl—or stone basin—inside his house was something Qing had spent two years polishing in his spare time before giving it to him.

The original owner didn’t have enough strength to convince everyone, yet he managed to remain chief—thanks in no small part to Qing.

The original owner liked men, and so did Qing. Even though the original owner didn’t like Qing, he enjoyed being liked by him. He often flirted with Qing, making Qing more and more devoted to him.

But after falling for Bai Yutian, the original owner slandered Qing, accusing him of improper intentions and saying his behavior went against the Beast God’s will.

Then he misled Bai Yutian into thinking Qing abused his position as priest to throw his weight around. Together, they used various means to turn the tribe against Qing and drove him out.

Thinking of Qing’s fate, Gu Juntian sighed.

He would not return Qing’s feelings, but he definitely would not drive him away.

According to the original owner’s memory, Qing was an all-rounder and very smart.

The tribe’s priests could not actually communicate with the Beast God, but they were the most knowledgeable people in the tribe. From memory, Gu Juntian knew that priests chose successors from among the children, selecting the smartest one to teach.

Since there was no writing in this era, knowledge was passed down orally, making the priest’s inheritance a precious treasure.

Though priests didn’t hunt, they had many other tasks and weren’t freeloaders.

Even though Qing liked the original owner, he was also devout in serving the Beast God.

He never confessed to the original owner nor truly tried to be with him.

Gu Juntian felt that in the future, it was best if they kept things as they were.

He wouldn’t like Bai Yutian, nor Qing—he would just let the two of them help him build up the tribe.

As he was thinking, Gu Juntian heard a pleasant voice.

“There’s a lot of meat today. Don’t eat it all at once, remember to save some.”

What a beautiful voice!

Gu Juntian turned his head and saw Qing.

The climate in the Hippo Tribe’s territory was always hot, so men and women alike usually wore only animal skins around their waists.

Children often ran around naked.

But Qing was different.

Besides wearing a skin around his waist, he also wore a simple animal-skin top.

His skin was a healthy wheat color—darker than Bai Yutian’s, but lighter than most of the tribe. His features were strikingly handsome.

Although he was the priest, he also gathered herbs and did other work. With food being scarce in prehistoric society, his bare arms carried beautiful muscle lines.

The moment Gu Juntian saw him, his heart raced.

He realized almost instantly—he liked this man.

What kind of taste did the original owner have? How could he not like this healthy, handsome Qing, and instead prefer that frail Bai Yutian, who was even afraid of bugs?

Gu Juntian stared at Qing.

Qing also looked at him seriously, feeling joy rise from deep inside.

He didn’t know when he had begun to like Tian, but for years, just seeing him made him happy.

And today, Tian made him even happier than before.

So he said, “Tian, since the tribe is repairing houses today, let me help repair yours too.”

Gu Juntian replied, “No need, my house is still sturdy, you should rest.”

He noticed Qing’s rough hands had small scratches.

Qing had clearly been helping others with their houses all day and was likely exhausted.

How could Gu Juntian let him repair his house too?

In the original story, even without repairs, his house didn’t leak.

No, perhaps Qing had secretly fixed it without the original owner knowing.

The original owner had never paid attention to such things.

Qing smiled. “No resting now—it’s time to divide the meat.”

Only then did Gu Juntian notice that the prey had already been processed.

In the Hippo Tribe, some paired under the witness of the Beast God, but many had no fixed partners.

They were with different people, and children were raised collectively.

To them, the tribe was one big family.

They grew up together, worked together as adults, and even in old age were never abandoned, still receiving food.

However, meat was divided based on contribution, so the elderly and weak got little.

Dividing meat was the chief’s job.

Gu Juntian shifted into his beast form and used his claws to divide the meat, following tradition.

The best meat and the dinosaur’s heart went to the priest first, then to himself and the hunters.

They had caught three dinosaurs today, one quite large, so everyone received a share.

After dividing, Gu Juntian told others to wrap the leftovers—organs, bones, and gathered roots and fruits—in large leaves and place them in a fire pit, covering them with a new fire.

People roasted their meat over the fire, and when they finished, the organs and bones beneath would be cooked.

Those who had received too little meat could eat the less tasty but filling organs and bones.

Gu Juntian noticed that “roasting meat” here was quite casual.

For example, his younger brother stuck a large piece of meat on a branch, briefly roasted it, then started gnawing. After chewing part of the half-raw meat, he roasted the rest again before continuing to eat.

This was already considered good. The previous priest once told the original owner that some tribes ate raw food all the time.

The previous priest also said that their tribe’s fire was a gift from the Beast God and must be carefully kept.

The priest’s house was better than the chief’s because it kept the fire.

Qing lived at the highest point of the island. Inside his house was a pit where fire burned year-round.

Because of this, Qing ate better food than most.

He placed a stone basin over the fire and often cooked meat in it.

When the original owner didn’t want roast meat, he would bring his share to Qing to cook.

Today, Gu Juntian also wanted boiled meat. He brought his portion to Qing’s house. “Qing, I want boiled meat!”

“I’ll cook it right away.” Qing glanced at him, scooped out the porridge already in the basin, then added water and Gu Juntian’s meat to cook.

Flipping through the original owner’s memories, Gu Juntian realized that porridge was for the tribe’s young children.

The priest would cook fruits, minced meat, and algae together for them. Once they had teeth strong enough for roasted meat, they no longer received it.

Qing was truly the tribe’s logistical backbone. After the original owner drove him away, the tribe lost many benefits.

The chief’s own quality of life didn’t drop, but everyone else’s surely did.

“Tian, don’t eat all your meat at once. Save some. It might rain in the coming days,” Qing said.

Gu Juntian was slightly stunned.

In the original plot, it really did pour afterward.

Qing could even read the weather? Was the reason he had people repairing houses today actually to prepare for the coming storm?

The beast god truly didn’t exist, but the priest really knew a lot!

Gu Juntian wasn’t sure if it had been the same in the original plot, mainly because the original host never cared about such things.

As for the original host’s future, he only knew the rough outline, not the details.

Still, in the original host’s memory, the former priest often reminded the tribe about weather changes. The priest must have studied weather quite a bit.

Thinking of this, Gu Juntian said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely store some food.”

Qing smiled.

Being able to do something for the tribe and for the heavens made him happy.

At first, the former priest hadn’t chosen Qing as his successor.

Normally, priests started choosing their successors in their thirties, to ensure their knowledge would be passed down. The former priest was no different.

But the first successor he chose suddenly died of diarrhea when the priest was fifty.

That was when the former priest chose Qing.

Afraid he might also die unexpectedly, the priest was very strict with Qing. In those first few years, Qing had to study a huge amount every day and lived a hard life.

Later, when Tian started sticking close to the priest, Qing’s life grew easier.

He had always studied earnestly, prayed devoutly, and hoped to gain the beast god’s favor. But he never received any divine guidance.

Not until the priest’s dying days did Qing learn that the priest himself had never once received guidance from the beast god.

The beast god might not exist at all. Every decision a priest made was entirely his own.

This weighed heavily on Qing, and after becoming priest, he always acted with great caution.

Fortunately, no one in the tribe ever doubted him.

But last night, something miraculous happened.

He saw the future.

In that vision, the next night would bring a violent storm.

The storm was so fierce that it blew away some people’s houses.

No one in the tribe died in the storm, but afterward, eight children and four elders fell ill, and two children and two elders died.

His vision hadn’t been very clear, yet for some reason, he felt it was real.

Maybe the beast god really did exist.

So today, he specifically asked everyone to repair their houses and also told them to store food.

According to the vision, the storm lasted two days. Afterward, the swampland was flooded, making hunting nearly impossible.

For several days, the tribe caught nothing, and some people went hungry.

He remembered Tian hadn’t stored food back then, so he went without meat those days.

Zhuang’s house had been blown away, so he turned into his beast form and stayed in the water, managing to catch a few fish, which Tian ate.

But Tian didn’t like fish.

Qing planned to make Tian store more food this time. As for himself, he decided not to eat meat for the next two days, saving his share to feed the sick when the time came.

The meat in the stone pot was done. Qing took some out for Gu Juntian and asked, “Tomorrow, can the tribe send out more people to hunt?”

“Of course,” Gu Juntian agreed at once.

The hippo tribe was used to rain or life in the water, but storms were always uncomfortable. And if people had no food during the rain, they would grow weak.

Tomorrow, he would definitely catch more game!

The original host had been clever, always leading the hunting party back fully loaded. But Gu Juntian felt he was even better!

Even today, while hunting outside, he’d already thought up more methods than the original host had ever used.

He would bring back even more prey and make Qing look at him with new respect!

By now, night had fallen.

People outside were still eating meat by the fire, while some women and elders carrying children brought leaves to Qing.

He divided the porridge he’d cooked earlier onto the leaves for them, then added water to the pot, crushed meat and a dinosaur heart, and cooked it with plants to make more porridge.

It was said dinosaur hearts contained special energy, so they were given to the priest.

The priest might eat it himself, or make dried meat, or boil it into porridge to share.

Qing was busy nonstop, while Gu Juntian watched from the side, liking him more and more.

In the firelight, Qing looked truly beautiful.

If only Qing were his partner—then he could look at him forever…

Wait. Gu Juntian suddenly realized something—Qing was so focused on cooking that he hadn’t eaten.

“Qing, aren’t you eating?”

“I ate a lot of fruit today, I’m not hungry,” Qing replied.

Without meat, he’d definitely still be hungry. Fruit wasn’t filling!

And this season, there weren’t even good fruits around.

Gu Juntian handed him a piece of boiled meat. “Eat some.”

“I have meat, you don’t need to give me yours,” Qing said.

“I have too much, I can’t finish it. You should eat. Didn’t you always give me meat before?” Gu Juntian said.

Back when the original host was younger, he often didn’t get much meat. Sometimes when the hunting party returned empty-handed, he went without meat entirely.

Many in the tribe didn’t mind filling their stomachs with grass. The original host’s younger brother would turn into his beast form and chew grass in such cases.

But the original host only liked meat, so he suffered.

At that time, Qing always gave him meat.

As the priest’s successor, Qing had received more meat than the original host, and together with the former priest, he even made dried meat. By rights, he shouldn’t have gone hungry.

But after giving meat to the original host, Qing sometimes had to chew grass like the others.

Thinking of this, Gu Juntian’s heart ached for Qing, while also feeling that the person he liked was truly wonderful.

Since the original host hadn’t cherished him, this person would now be his!

“Eat,” Gu Juntian pressed the meat into Qing’s hand.

Qing thought for a moment, then began to eat.

Gu Juntian watched happily—Qing even looked good eating meat, with those sharp teeth!

When Qing finished, the fires outside had nearly burned out.

Gu Juntian took the entrails from the ashes and distributed them to the weak and elderly. The primitive people’s day finally came to a complete end.

He reluctantly said goodbye to Qing and went back to his own house.

He lay down early, planning to rise at dawn, hunt more prey, and make sure Qing could eat as much meat as he wanted.

Perhaps because he had made this resolution before sleeping, Gu Juntian woke up very early the next day.

He roused all the strong men and women of the tribe—nearly a hundred people—and led them out to hunt.

After leaving the tribe, Gu Juntian divided them into four groups.

He had the older, more experienced hippo beastmen lead three of them.

As for himself, he took about a dozen of the weakest beastmen, along with the original host’s younger brother, to hunt outside the swamp.

The brother had already come of age. His beast form was large and strong, but he was simple-minded, young, and inexperienced. He couldn’t lead a hunting party, but he was perfect as a helper.

Gu Juntian led them to a pond by the swamp.

They set up traps there and left the brother to guard them, while Gu Juntian drove prey toward the traps with the others.

They stayed in the same place all day.

Since prey came constantly to drink, and Gu Juntian’s beast form was nimble, they kept driving animals into the traps.

By the end of the day, they had caught five dinosaurs.

They weren’t very big—altogether maybe a ton of meat.

The brother carried three dinosaurs in beast form, while Gu Juntian and the rest lifted the other two.

As they walked, the rain began to fall.

The brother was delighted. In beast form, he loved water and wished he could stay in it forever!

Earlier, his skin had felt dry and uncomfortable, but the rain finally made him feel good.

Gu Juntian, however, disliked being rained on.

Feeling the wind and rain, and recalling the original host’s memories, he realized this must be a typhoon.

Their settlement must be near the sea.

The water buffalo tribe didn’t eat salt—their salt came from their prey.

But that wasn’t enough, especially for those who didn’t eat much meat.

He would have to find a chance to go to the seaside and get salt.

Salt gave strength and preserved food, making it last longer.

Still, in such a damp and hot place, food couldn’t be stored for long.

Fortunately, their environment also meant they could hunt year-round, so they were never truly short of food.

When Gu Juntian reached the tribe, he saw Qing from a distance.

His priest stood in the rain, his hair blown into disarray, yet still looking beautiful.

Gu Juntian dropped the prey and strode forward. “Qing, go back into your house quickly. The wind is too strong—it’s bad for your health.”