A Guide to - 4

Unedited chapter


4. Someone is a Very Good Person


Shu Shu was afraid that the fowl would need a long cooking time to be done. He waited for nearly two hours before poking the fire and pulling the lump of mud out of it. Then he waited again for a short while before knocking the lump of mud open.

When the mud was knocked open, an enticing smell emerged and spread out. The smell of fowl meat mixed with the fragrance and sweetness of chestnuts, making people wish they could devour the whole fowl already…. Shu Shu had his eyes on the fowl meat in front of him, and he was moved to tears.

He hadn't eaten meat for a long time!

Before, he had been very well-behaved and quite close to his owner. He had also known to go to the toilet on the fixed area—because cleaning the toilet was especially disgusting. Therefore, all his owners had basically treated him very well. In addition to cereals, he also had been fed with lightly cooked meat and boiled eggs. But after he had arrived in this place, he had never eaten meat again!

Shu Shu was afraid to burn his tongue, so he waited for the fowl meat to cool down a little before tearing a small piece and putting it into his mouth. Following this, his eyes immediately lit up.

It's really good and delicious!

Shu Shu ate a few more bites, then he suddenly heard some sound of activity coming from the cave mouth.

Once again, he ran to the cave mouth. There, he found a completely clean wild boar that had been skinned and washed. Furthermore, there’s a familiar smell on it.

That kind person gave him a prey again! A very big one, with lots of meat!

It’s just…. What's with all the bumps and bite scars on the wild boar’s entire body and also the torn belly with intestines spilling out? Has that kind person never learned dealing with prey?

Shu Shu looked outside; the rain was still falling, and there was no sign of stopping. He was even more touched—that kind person had caught a prey in this kind of weather and delivered it to him. They had even helped him skinning and washing it clean. Indeed, this one was a super-duper great person!

Shu Shu had been raised by people for many years before. He totally did not think that there was anything wrong with accepting what others gave him. Without further ado, he cheerfully dragged the wild boar back into his cave. Subsequently, he started pondering.

After eating something delicious, he had to show his appreciation. This way, his owner would give him even more next time. If he didn’t show any appreciation at all, his owner would think that he didn't like it. Next time, he wouldn’t get anything at all!

Even though presently he didn’t know who had sent him those things, but he obviously couldn’t just freeload off other people; he had to show his appreciation.

Shu Shu mulled it over, then he ran back into the cave and tore off half of the beggar’s fowl along with half of the chestnuts in the fowl's cavity. He used some leaves to properly wrap it up, then he put the parcel beside the stone at the cave mouth where it’s unlikely to get drenched by rain.

The fowl was quite big; half of it was enough for him to eat. He totally could give the remaining half to that kind person.

Shu Shu waited at the cave mouth for a while; he wanted to wait until that kind person came. However, he had waited for a long time, but that kind person still didn't come.

Did that person leave? Or did they not want to see him?

Somewhat, Shu Shu didn't understand. He could only leave the fowl meat behind and make his way back into the cave.

Once Shu Shu got into the cave, a snake quickly came over and took the leaf-wrapped parcel that Shu Shu had left behind.

Edgar quickly returned to his cave, which was nearby. After he had gotten seriously injured and plummeted to this place, he had never eaten cooked food anymore. Now, he stared at the fowl meat for a long while, and then he slowly ate it.

However, he had already turned into a beast, and surprisingly, he’s somewhat not used to eating cooked food now.

Edgar finished eating the fowl meat and coiled his body to rest inside the cave.

Shu Shu went back to the cave mouth after a while and found that the fowl meat he had put there was already gone. He returned into the cave in a good mood and continued to sort out the pockmarked wild boar.

The pig's exterior was particularly bad, as if it had been bitten by something, but Shu Shu actually didn’t care about it at all.

He had never cooked before, and now, there wasn’t even a pot or a pan. How would this greenhorn deal with the wild boar properly?

After thinking about it for a while, Shu Shu finally got hold of a stone slab, then he used two stones placed in the bonfire to support the slab. After that, he used his claws to strip the wild boar meat into thin slices and then he put the meat slices on top of the slab to roast. Later, he threaded the roasted slices on a rattan skewer and hung it above the other bonfire. He was trying to use the bonfire’s heat to turn the meat slices into dried meat.

At this moment, Shu Shu was really glad that he liked to collect all kinds of things and to decorate his cave as well. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t be able to turn the small wild boar into dried meat in a short time. The remaining half of the boar was small, and he was going to use the same method of making beggar’s fowl to make beggar’s pork.

The pork was cut into pieces, then it was wrapped in leaves together with chestnuts. After that, he packed mud around it and placed it beside the bonfire to slowly roast. After a few hours of cooking, the meat inside was done.

As for not adding salt and seasoning..., Shu Shu has always eaten his food without salt. The natural flavor has already made him very satisfied.

There were two bonfires in the cave; originally, they’re for warming the damp and cold cave, not for roasting. Nestling in the haystacks, Shu Shu slept peacefully.

It’s not because he had eaten meat; it’s because in this side of forest, he was not alone. Although that kind person refused to show their face, but they would send him things!

The next day at noon, Shu Shu once again saw a skinned and pockmarked prey when he came to the cave mouth. And so, he put half of the food he had made at the cave mouth, setting it aside for that kind person.

That kind person refused to show his face to him. In reality, as soon as he walked away, the roasted pork and chestnuts quickly disappeared. Unfortunately, that person did not leave any footprints, nor did they leave any strong odor, making Shu Shu absolutely unable to find them.

After a total of four days of rain pouring down from the sky, the weather suddenly turned very cold. But it was finally clear, and Shu Shu had already made a lot of dried meat.

As a matter of fact, the dried meat he had made was exactly dried meat in every sense of the word. After the meat had been cooked and dried out, the firewood flavor was very unpleasant. It was very hard and very difficult to bite into.... But who was Shu Shu, ah; it was nothing for a hamster spirit who liked to grind their teeth on sticks! This kind of dried meat was not liked by others, but he liked it very much.

He added the dried meat into the stockpile in his storeroom. After checking his food reserves, Shu Shu decided to leave the cave and go out to look for food again.

In the past few days, that kind person had been giving him prey every day, but he should not always rely on others.

Dressing himself by wrapping the grass skirt on his body, Shu Shu left his cave. He planned to continue collecting chestnuts.

Chestnut was quite big; it had a sweet and distinct taste when eaten raw, and it was delicious when cooked thoroughly. In addition, it was very easy to eat his fill since he really, really liked chestnut.

When Shu Shu arrived at the chestnut forest he frequently visited, a group of monkeys was already there eating chestnuts.

Prior to today, it had been windy and rainy, and the chestnuts had all been blown over and fallen off the tree. Shu Shu had to be very careful, so as not to step on the thorny chestnuts. Those monkeys had thick hair on their body, so they did not need to be afraid of it;  it's even okay for them to roll about on the ground.

Shu Shu enviously looked at the hair on those monkeys’ body, and then he looked at his bare, smooth arms, and he couldn’t help but sigh. His current body was really too vulnerable to injuries.

Also, when he had had fur, he had still felt slightly cold in winter. Now that he had no fur, how could he pass the winter, ah….

Those monkeys were eating chestnuts happily, and they simply had no time to pay attention to Shu Shu. Shu Shu was not far away from them, collecting chestnuts.

The outer shell of the chestnut that had fallen onto the ground was already split open, and Shu Shu effortlessly pried it open. After extracting the chestnut, he promptly stuffed it into his mouth. With more and more food in his food pouches, his mood also became better and better;  a smile was showing on his face.

However, his body suddenly felt cold at this time. Then without warning, so many chestnuts were smashing into his body.

Shu Shu cried out and raised his head. At once, he saw above him a monkey bouncing vivaciously on the branch. In the wake of the monkey's movements—because it had rained for a few days and the raindrops had accumulated on the tree—raindrops and chestnuts fell on him. He was fully hit on his head and across his whole face.

The chestnut’s outer shell had sharp spikes, and they cut into Shu Shu's body, causing several lacerations. He wasn’t really hurt, but that monkey was still hopping around on the branch, looking proud of itself.

Shu Shu was so angry he promptly picked up a chestnut and threw it at that monkey. As a result, that monkey also took a chestnut and threw it at him! The monkey next to it immediately followed suit!

Shu Shu was no match for this group of monkeys; lest he was hit and injured, he hurriedly fled with his arms around his head. It didn’t take long for him to ran far away.

The monkeys drove off a different type of unusually strange creature and gaily continued to peel off the chestnuts to eat. At this moment, they suddenly heard something was moving beside them, and then a huge snake appeared in front of them.

This snake was very, very big. His tail advanced towards a chestnut tree next to him and pulled at it. The tree shook up violently, and one said monkey that wanted to jump to this tree immediately fell down. Then, not waiting until it touched the ground, that snake tail flashed out and grabbed it....

The group of monkeys was suddenly thrown into disorder. The monkeys ran away screeching, but there were some monkeys that ran too slow and got caught by the snake tail to become the winning prizes....

Edgar taught that group of monkeys a lesson, beating them and driving them out. Then, slithering, he followed the smell of the little sub-beastman. Soon, he saw that the little sub-beastman was digging some plant's roots with his claws.

The little sub-beastman had been attacked by those monkeys, so there were multiple traces of blood on his body. His hair and grass skirt were also wet with water droplets. He looked quite a sorry sight, but there was still a smile on his face; apparently, he was rather pleased with his food gathering.

Edgar lay prone in the underbrush, and he looked quite distressed.

From childhood, he had been taught that he had to protect the sub-beastmen. The sub-beastmen of capital star were very much pampered; some who were not less weaker than beastmen had a career. However, they really didn’t have to painstakingly look for their own food like this....

This kind of plant has many stem tubers, and the little sub-beastman did not need to dig for long before getting a pile of them. Edgar was positively curious as to how the little sub-beastman would bring back the stem tubers. Then he saw the little guy nonchalantly take off his grass skirt, use it to hold the stem tubers, and turn his back to start walking toward the cave.

Edgar：“……”

Once again, he saw the little sub-beastman’s butt and the very short tail on top of it. Of course, he also, at long last, saw the sub-beastman’s delicate, light pink rootlet in front…*cough, cough*!

Shu Shu as a hamster spirit, although he believed it was important to conduct himself, but eventually, he didn’t take being naked too seriously. After all, hundreds of years ago, he had never worn clothes.

This grass skirt he wore was mainly to protect him from the cold, and also to protect some of his important parts. Now the grass skirt was already soaked and no longer keeping him warm. Anyway, he almost arrived at his own cave, and not wearing anything is not wearing anything....

Shu Shu had collected quite a lot of stem tubers; the burden on his back was very heavy, and inevitably, he was panting as he walked. Walking and walking, and then he suddenly put down the stem tubers and looked at a clump of wild flowers nearby.

In the past four days, that kind person had caught him a good deal of preys—adding a pile of dried meat to his stockpile—but he only gave back a little of his sloppily-cooked food, and even using the stuff given by them to cook it.... Shu Shu was pondering, he should give a present of his own to that kind person.

Many people liked flowers; he was going to give a bunch of fresh flowers to that kind person too!

TL's note:

1. Sub beastman now becomes sub-beastman.

2. I corrected the mistranslated sentences on ch. 3. They are on paragraph four and five from the bottom.

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