Chapter 1234 - 1233: Must Go Out Hunting
"We can’t wait any longer. We must go out hunting, or some of the tribe members will die."
The old Shaman’s voice was heavy. Many of the elderly Orcs in the tribe had already started refusing food, wanting the scarce supplies to be saved for the younger Orcs.
Hasa’s mouth was bitter: "This year, there’s more snow than last year. The surrounding desert is buried under snow as high as an Orc. Once we go out, we can’t even find directions. We have no way to hunt in this situation."
The old Shaman sighed, then rubbed his rugged hand across his face: "We’ll have to find Shaman Ji Nuan."
Hasa was stunned: "Find Shaman Ji Nuan? But their food is barely enough to sustain themselves. There’s still a month left before the cold season ends."
The old Shaman shot him a glare, a look of disdain briefly passing across his gaunt cheeks: "What I mean is to borrow double-humped camels from Shaman Ji Nuan. You could ride the camels out hunting. They’re so tall that the snow outside would only reach their legs."
Hasa’s eyes lit up instantly: "That’s right! We could borrow double-humped camels from Shaman Ji Nuan!"
"Before the cold season started, we discovered a Firebird’s nest, didn’t we? Let’s hunt them this time. If we manage to get those Firebirds, we should be able to make it through till the cold season ends."
Hasa nodded: "Understood."
The old Shaman wasn’t one to delay once he had a plan. As soon as he finished speaking with Hasa, he led him and a few Orcs straight to Ji Nuan’s cave.
Ji Nuan and Xiu Yan were sorting through freshly crafted paper when the stone door was knocked upon.
Ji Nuan glanced at Xiu Yan, and the Orc got up from the heated brick bed, threw on his beast skin boots, and went to open the door.
"Shaman Ji Nuan." The old Shaman’s voice came from the outside. By then, Ji Nuan had also put on her boots and descended from the brick bed.
Having not seen them for a while, Ji Nuan was startled to find the old Shaman, Hasa, and the Orcs behind them were all emaciated and malnourished.
"Old Shaman, have you run out of food?" Just one glance made it evident they were starving.
She motioned towards the beast skin mats near the fire pit: "Please, sit down."
Once seated, the group warmed themselves by the fire pit, sighing in comfort as they felt the Fire Seed’s heat.
"To be honest, Shaman Ji Nuan, our food won’t last a few more days. We’re here to ask for your help." The old Shaman smiled bitterly as he explained their plight.
Ji Nuan frowned and looked at him: "Your tribe lives in the desert. You should be used to the cold season there by now. Does this happen every year, where food runs short?"
"This year is different. In past cold seasons, it would snow, but never this much. In the desert’s cold season, the harshest conditions were always the sandstorms carried by freezing winds.
The Orcs could still go hunting as long as they wrapped themselves in beast skin.
But this year, for some reason, the snow is so heavy that we simply can’t go out hunting."
Hasa and the Orcs behind him nodded in unison. This year, they’d only managed one successful hunt, and they’d been incredibly frugal to survive this long.
Ji Nuan finally understood the situation; since heavy snowfall in the forest was common, she had not realized just how devastating it could be for them.
"So, old Shaman, how do you want me to help you? Although I still have plenty of food, if I divided it among all your tribe members, it wouldn’t be enough to fill your teeth."