Free Web NovelChapter 526: Chapter 394: The Snow Tiger Witch’s Inadvertent Wisdom
"How dare you feed a witch rotten meat!"
The Flying Eagle Witch, who was dreaming of a grand feast, was jolted awake by the foul stench of long-spoiled prey filling his nostrils. He shot upright with a WHOOSH, letting out a furious bellow.
But...
The Black Wolf Witch, who was in the middle of moving his foot toward the Lion Witch’s head, turned to look quizzically at the Flying Eagle Witch. "What are you dreaming about? It’s nowhere near time to eat yet."
As he spoke, he continued to dangle his foot right next to the Lion Witch’s head.
Seeing this, the Flying Eagle Witch felt utterly disgusted. "You bastard, is that how you woke me up just now?"
The Black Wolf Witch chuckled mischievously and nodded. "Of course it is."
With that, he turned his foot toward the Snow Tiger Witch, who was snoring with his mouth wide open. "Tiger, get up! We’re trading for salt today."
The Lion Witch, woken by the foul stench, had just opened his eyes when he saw a dry, smelly foot land right in a certain old man’s gaping mouth.
He clutched his stomach. For some reason, even though he hadn’t eaten yet, he already felt full.
Wu Yue woke up early to prepare food. When she and the two Half-beastman Warriors accompanying the Snow Tiger Witch brought it to the witch’s courtyard, they found the three great witches sitting around the stone table with grim expressions.
The Snow Tiger Witch, in particular, was letting out an occasional retching sound and seemed to be in some distress.
"Witch, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Would you like to drink some herbal water?"
The Snow Tiger Witch looked at the young female beside him, her small face filled with worry, and felt his heart warm. "I’m not unwell. It’s just... I ate some sort of unidentified object when I woke up this morning, and it’s making me feel a bit sick."
"Unidentified object?"
Wu Yue’s mind suddenly went to insects or something of the sort. She scratched her head. "Perhaps the insect-repelling herbs in your room need to be replaced. I’ll bring some new ones over in a bit."
The Snow Tiger Witch was about to say more, but he saw the Black Wolf Witch across from him looking at him with his hands pressed together, an embarrassed look in his wrinkled old eyes.
He swallowed the complaint that was about to leave his lips and simply nodded with a dark expression. "Yes, go ahead and replace them."
Having finally saved face in front of the little one, the Black Wolf Witch let out a sigh of relief. His gaze toward the Snow Tiger Witch became rather fawning.
"Oh, the food this young female makes smells absolutely wonderful!"
He exclaimed as he stood up, grabbed a bowl, and filled it to the brim with food. He then presented it to the Snow Tiger Witch. "Tiger, don’t be angry anymore. Here, eat something to cool off."
"Heh."
The Snow Tiger Witch sneered but still accepted the food with a sour look on his face.
’Chewing on Old Wolf’s smelly foot this morning had certainly put him in a foul mood, but this food was made by Yue, and it was delicious.’
The four witches gobbled down all the food Wu Yue had brought with loud SLURPS and GULPS. Only then, with their bellies round and full, did they follow the Snow Tiger Witch toward the warehouse.
"!!!"
The Black Wolf Witch patted his satisfied belly, lamenting that he wouldn’t be able to eat such delicious food once he returned to his tribe. Suddenly, he was so shocked by the ’building’ that appeared before him that he nearly tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face.
"Wh-what is this?"
He pointed disbelievingly at the surrounding wall, which was as tall as three Beastmen stacked on top of each other. "This is a building too?"
’A Beastman in their beast form wouldn’t even be able to jump out of this thing.’
The Flying Eagle Witch and the Lion Witch were just as astonished as he was. The three old men looked as if their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
The Snow Tiger Witch stroked his beard smugly. He had to admit, the unsophisticated, wide-eyed looks on the three old-timers’ faces greatly satisfied his vanity.
’Words couldn’t describe how proud he felt at this moment.’
"This is where our tribe stores its food."
With that, he walked straight toward the large gate ahead.
Several Half-beastman Warriors stood guard outside the gate. Seeing them approach, they quickly bowed in greeting. "Greetings, Witch."
The Snow Tiger Witch nodded. "Open the gate."
The Half-beastman Warriors bowed in acknowledgment, then returned to the side of the gate and gently tapped on a bamboo tube attached to it.
As everyone held their breath in anticipation, they heard something drop to the ground from inside. Then, the heavy wooden gate, as tall as the wall itself, slowly opened, creating a gap wide enough for two Beastman Warriors to walk through side-by-side.
Seeing the expressions on his old companions behind him, the Snow Tiger Witch felt so proud he could have floated up into the sky.
"Let’s go. The salt is stored in the warehouse inside."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he took the lead and walked inside.
The Beastman Warriors from the three visiting tribes formed a protective circle around their respective witches and slowly advanced toward the enormous gate.
’Deep shock filled the Black Wolf Witch’s eyes. To think the Snow Tiger Tribe had actually built such a structure...’
’He desperately wanted to know the reason for such a great change in the Snow Tiger Tribe.’
’Or rather, who had caused this great change.’
"Those are our warehouses up ahead."
The Snow Tiger Witch’s voice from up ahead interrupted the Black Wolf Witch’s thoughts.
He looked in the direction of the voice and couldn’t help but gasp.
’He really wanted to grab the Snow Tiger Witch by the scruff of his neck and demand, ’You bastard, I can understand building the walls so high to keep out wild beasts, but why the hell are the buildings this tall too? What are you trying to pull?’’
’Doesn’t your neck hurt?’
’Suddenly, he felt that he should have let Tiger chew on his foot a few more times this morning.’
The Snow Tiger Witch was bursting with pride at this moment, walking with an extra swagger in his step.
The group walked toward the second row of warehouses. As they rounded a corner, they saw two Beastman Warriors and several Half-beastman Warriors waiting at the entrance of the first warehouse.
The warehouse, as tall as the wall, was wide open. A mountain-like pile of pale blue crystals on the ground instantly captured everyone’s attention.
"Salt!"
"Salt!"
"Salt!"
The moment the three visiting witches saw the pile of pale blue, their eyes instantly turned red.
The Black Wolf Witch was the first to rush forward. He carefully scooped up a handful of the sparkling blue crystals, took a pinch, and placed it in his mouth.
A pure, salty taste, completely free of bitterness, instantly spread through his mouth.
He turned his head to the Snow Tiger Witch. "You old codger... We all thought you didn’t trade for much, but we never expected... never expected..."
The Black Wolf Witch suddenly thought of the children in his tribe who had died because of the salt trade.
The Sea Side Tribe was too far away. And because they had to carry food for the journey, they could only set out to trade for salt after the weather turned cold.
The journey would take the entire winter, and they wouldn’t be able to return until it was over, carrying with them merely two beast-skin bags of crude salt.
Perhaps thinking of the same hardships, everyone’s eyes began to burn.
"Tiger, to trade for all this salt... how much food did you give the Shuishan Tribe?"
The Snow Tiger Witch looked at the Lion Witch with a bitter smile. "During the rainy season, where would we find any extra food? I gave them five Crystal Cores and several dozen Beast Skins, plus two hunted animals.
"On top of that, I allowed them to hunt within our territory while they were here. Only then was I able to trade for all this salt."
