Orc Priest (4): 

The rain was pouring down, the wind was fierce, and it was cold outside.

But the young and strong in the tribe didn’t mind a little cold. They patrolled around the tribe, cleared away branches blown onto the island, and helped repair the houses that leaked…

A few of those whose beast form was a hippopotamus even turned into beasts and rolled around in the muddy water, claiming they were catching fish and hunting.

Gu Juntian walked around and realized that, thanks to the priest’s thorough arrangements, there wasn’t much left for him to deal with.

No wonder in the original storyline, the original host could just lie at home doing nothing!

His priest was truly capable!

With his hands behind his back, Gu Juntian happily returned to his place, only to see Qing cooking porridge again.

Since he was already soaked, he helped Qing deliver the porridge to the children. Only after that did he return once more to his dwelling.

There were no towels. After entering, Gu Juntian simply wiped off the water on his body with his hands and squeezed the water out of his hair.

Once he wasn’t dripping wet anymore, he sat on the hide by the fire.

From the moment Gu Juntian came in, Zhou Qinghao’s eyes were unconsciously drawn to him.

Yes, Zhou Qinghao.

Last night, as the priest, he had vaguely learned more things—such as his name being Zhou Qinghao.

It was a rather unusual name. In their tribe, names were usually one or two characters, but this one had three.

Still, he accepted it gladly and even liked it.

Surely this name was given to him by the beast god.

From now on, he would be Zhou Qinghao, though others could still call him “Qing.”

To be favored by the beast god and truly foresee the future made Zhou Qinghao very happy.

And now, seeing Gu Juntian helping him like he used to when they were young, interacting naturally with him, made him even happier.

Ever since becoming chief, Gu Juntian’s attitude toward him had grown colder.

He could even keenly sense that when he asked Gu Juntian to help with things, Gu Juntian was unwilling.

But he dared not complain.

He had realized he felt something different for Gu Juntian.

Even though Gu Juntian was a man, he actually liked him.

A priest was supposed to remain pure, never bear children or take a partner. Developing feelings for Gu Juntian was wrong.

Especially since Gu Juntian was also a man.

He thought of himself as an outcast, a freak.

And Gu Juntian might have sensed it.

That being the case, it was only natural for Gu Juntian to dislike, reject, and distance himself from him.

All he could do was work harder for the tribe and for Gu Juntian. That way, he would feel a bit better.

These past couple of days, with Gu Juntian’s attitude softening toward him, he felt flattered.

Forcing his gaze away, Zhou Qinghao took out a dry hide skirt and handed it over. “Tian, your hide skirt is soaked. Change into this one.”

Yesterday, after hunting, Gu Juntian’s clothes had also been soaked, but he hadn’t changed.

At the time, Zhou Qinghao had too much to do—cooking for the children, handling the meat he was given—and he was also afraid of annoying Gu Juntian, so he hadn’t reminded him.

But today was different. Remembering how Gu Juntian had slept right beside him last night without any guard, Zhou Qinghao felt their relationship had improved, so he spoke up.

Seeing the hide skirt, Gu Juntian asked, “Did you make this?”

Zhou Qinghao replied, “It’s new, I’ve never worn it.” In fact, he had made it especially for Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian’s face lit up.

His priest had personally made him clothing!

Something as intimate as a hide skirt—his priest had made it for him!

Making hide skirts wasn’t hard: poke holes with claws, string them with vines or strips of hide, and tie them.

But tanning the hide was troublesome.

To make it soft, it had to be kneaded over and over with ash for about a month.

Everyone in the tribe knew how, but few had the patience. Most hide skirts ended up stiff and rough.

Only Zhou Qinghao, who worked carefully, could prepare such fine hides.

Gu Juntian took the skirt, admiring it fondly, and immediately wanted to change.

But then he remembered.

There was only him and Zhou Qinghao here. If he changed, Zhou Qinghao would definitely see.

That was a bit embarrassing!

Yet despite that thought, his hands didn’t stop.

Without hesitation, he stripped off his wet hide skirt and began changing, staring straight at Zhou Qinghao the whole time.

And saw Zhou Qinghao quickly turn his head away, refusing to look.

Gu Juntian felt a little disappointed.

He had wanted to show off his strong body, but failed!

Meanwhile, Zhou Qinghao was silently rebuking himself.

When Gu Juntian undressed, he had really wanted to look.

If he hadn’t had feelings for him, then watching would’ve been fine. But since he liked him, how could he dare?

He stared at the fire in front of him, not even allowing the corner of his eyes to stray toward Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian was let down.

After changing, he placed his wet skirt by the fire to dry, then told Zhou Qinghao about the situation outside.

The elders were gathered in dry houses, and he had lit fires for them, reminding them to boil water and food before consuming it.

The tribe knew how to use fire, but they often drank raw water. Some barely roasted their meat before gnawing on it…

Normally it was fine, but not these days.

With the rain so heavy, the water around was especially dirty—not fit for the weak to drink.

After this, Gu Juntian told him more things.

Though Zhou Qinghao hadn’t gone out today, as priest many people had reported to him through the woven walls, so he was well informed.

Even so, he still listened to Gu Juntian with full attention.

The door was closed, some spots covered with hide to block leaks.

The house was dark, lit only by the fire.

Zhou Qinghao sat by the flames, listening to Gu Juntian talk about the outside, feeling deeply content.

He was truly happy today.

He hoped for more days like this.

But he feared it wasn’t possible. Though Gu Juntian didn’t yet have a partner, as chief, sooner or later he would—along with children.

Zhou Qinghao’s movements faltered, unwilling to face that reality.

He had thought of it before—Gu Juntian finding a partner. Back then, it was painful but bearable.

Now, just the thought made it hard to breathe.

Forget it. Since Gu Juntian had never shown interest in finding a partner, there was no need for him to dwell on it. He just needed to do his own part well.

Suppressing his thoughts, Zhou Qinghao said, “Tian, should I cook for you?”

Gu Juntian answered, “I’ll do it.”

The hippo tribe’s cooking was always careless.

For example, the porridge Zhou Qinghao made for the children tasted very strange.

But it was indeed nutritious, likely a recipe developed by generations of priests, the best food for children in this era.

Still, he didn’t want to eat that.

In the original story, Bai Yutian’s cooking wasn’t that great either. In this prehistoric time without seasonings, even a skilled cook couldn’t make much. Bai Yutian had no real ability to create good food without oil or salt.

It was only that the hippo tribe’s food was so awful that his cooking seemed impressive.

But in truth, what Bai Yutian made wasn’t something ordinary people could afford.

For instance, when he roasted meat, he sprinkled a powder like pepper, which priests had always used as medicine—it was precious.

In the hippo tribe, only the sick or injured could drink a bowl of pepper soup.

Bai Yutian using it for roasted meat was sheer luxury.

Gu Juntian wasn’t about to waste the tribe’s medicine. He washed the dinosaur skull used for porridge, added water, shifted into beast form to tear meat apart, and blanched it.

The water was filled with scum, so he drained and rinsed the meat, then boiled a fresh pot with some algae to make broth.

Though tasteless without salt, it was clean and appetizing.

The algae gave it natural umami, making it delicious.

Zhou Qinghao drank a bowl, then said, “This soup could be given to the wounded in the tribe.” He thought adding pepper would make it perfect for injured beastmen.

“Good idea.” Gu Juntian smiled.

A bowl of meat soup with pepper after being wounded would indeed be comforting.

Whether pepper really healed or not… survival depended on one’s constitution.

Beastmen were strong; minor injuries rarely threatened them.

The original host had once been gored in the stomach by a dinosaur. By turning into beast form and licking his wound in the tribe, he recovered in less than ten days.

Well, not just on his own—back then the former priest and Zhou Qinghao had both brought him medicine and food, and he’d eaten porridge daily like the children.

He had always lived well.

The rain kept pouring that day, but with food relatively plentiful, everyone stayed cheerful.

Those in hippo and buffalo form even went out to catch a few fish.

Seeing the fish, Gu Juntian thought of fishing nets.

He had people gather vine plants suitable for rope-making and planned to weave a net to catch fish.

Fish had many bones, but in beast form, beastmen didn’t care.

They could chew up small dinosaur bones—fish bones were nothing.

Even in human form, one only had to be careful.

With the water level so high and hunting difficult, catching fish to fill stomachs wasn’t a bad idea.

Gu Juntian quickly found the materials and began weaving, but after a long while had only a small patch.

He was getting irritated when Zhou Qinghao took over.

Then he watched as, in Zhou Qinghao’s hands, a stiff but workable net quickly took shape.

His priest really was amazing!

Oh right—last night, Zhou Qinghao hadn’t slept, while he had been exhausted from hunting and dozed off first, missing the chance to get closer to him.

Tonight, he was definitely going to sleep right next to Zhou Qinghao!