si-mexico Chapter 19 Dry Season
Chapter 19 Dry Season
With trembling hands, Linni cleaned the wound, applied medicine, and bandaged it. The wound was too deep; it would need several days of rest before it could move normally again. Linni's first-aid kit was now empty of its wound medication. There were also some fever reducers and anti-inflammatory drugs left, but she had been so confused by the pain during her last period that she hadn't remembered to use them.
During this time, Baiji gently nuzzled Linni's hand with its head, indicating that she should not worry. Baishu, on the other hand, paced back and forth, sometimes looking at Baiji, wanting to go forward and lick its wounds, but afraid of interfering with Linni's treatment; sometimes looking at Linni, circling around her, occasionally making a few soft murmurs.
After treating Linni's wounds, Ye told her that days without rain like this were the dry season, which would last for about a hundred days. Afterward, there would be heavy rain for more than ten days, and then the weather would cool down, entering autumn. At this time, all the animals would come out to forage for food, and the orc tribes would begin hunting everywhere to store food for the winter. The cool weather would also last for about a hundred days, followed by the cold winter.
Night said that after the heavy rains that followed the dry season stopped, they would leave the cave, and he hoped that Linni would join a powerful tribe and spend the winter there.
Linni learned that this orc world had five seasons: first, the rainy, vibrant spring; then, the summer she experienced upon arriving, when food was plentiful and the animals lived comfortably; third, the dreadful dry season, hot and arid; next, the cool, bountiful autumn, when animals stocked up on food for the harsh winter, making it also a hunting season; and finally, the cold winter. Each season lasted about a hundred days—so a year has over five hundred days. Some orcs believed the world had six seasons: spring, summer, dry season, rainy season, autumn, and winter, only the rainy season was very short.
"A powerful tribe, is it the tribe that lived before nightfall?" Linni asked.
Ye shook her head and said, "The tribe I lived in before wasn't very powerful, and the terrain of the towering cliffs wasn't suitable for forest life. I want to go with you to the towering mountains. The Tiger Beast Tribe there is the most powerful tribe in the mountains. Shall we join the Tiger Beast Tribe?"
Bai Shu and Bai Ji both looked up at Ye when they heard his words. Bai Shu even let out two soft "oohs." Lin Ni looked over and asked, "Bai Shu, are you from the Tiger Beast Tribe?"
Bai Shu nodded.
"How about we go live in the tiger tribe?" Lin Ni asked.
Both white tigers nodded in agreement. It seems that Bai Shu and Bai Ji have a good impression of the tiger beast tribe, so she shouldn't have too much trouble adapting to life there.
Having finalized their itinerary, they also needed to prepare for their migration.
Linni looked at the cave where she had lived for over a hundred days. She had carefully arranged everything here; it was like her first home in this world. Now she was starting to feel reluctant to leave: "Can we take these things with us?"
Ye looked at the stone tables, benches, and basins and said, "Let's leave these things here. We can just take some animal hides with us on our journey."
Linni guessed that the journey would be fraught with danger, but she comforted herself by saying, "It's okay. When we get to the Tiger Beast Tribe, we can rebuild a cave just like the one we had before, or we can come back and stay there for a while next summer."
Ye nodded and said, "Okay!"
Linni had Ye make her a set of animal skin clothes commonly worn by females in this world—a strapless top and a bodycon skirt. Linni looked at the outfit and was speechless: "Didn't they say the weather was getting cool? Why are you dressed like this?"
Night: "If it's cold, change into a long dress and wear a shawl. We can make these things when we get there, so we won't carry too much on the way."
Linni: Okay.
Linni took stock of the items she brought from the original world again: her food consisted of eight hams, five packs of beef jerky, and the bread, instant noodles, and salt were all gone. She still had some five-spice powder left, thankfully the weather was too hot and she hadn't eaten much barbecue. She had two sets of sportswear, one she was wearing at the time and one she brought with her, three sets of underwear, a water bottle, a slightly deformed stainless steel lunchbox, a half-tied bag, a first-aid kit (with only a little medicine left), a sewing kit (not much thread left), and her phone and power bank still had power, which should allow her to take photos for another six months. However, she didn't know if she would ever have a chance to look at the photos she had taken. She turns off her camera and puts it away immediately after taking photos, never even thinking about editing them or posting them on social media; the lighter hasn't been used much since she encountered the night, so it should last a long time; the high-powered flashlight doesn't seem very useful, as her night vision is much better now, and her slight nearsightedness has improved, allowing her to easily see things ten meters away; the multi-functional folding knife is still very useful for cutting meat; there's a little bit of toothpaste left; the towel is worn out, but she can use animal hide instead, so it doesn't matter much; the essential oil, tissues, wet wipes, and sanitary napkins are all used up.
During this time, she had her period twice more, but both times she only experienced mild cramping, and everything else was normal. The second time, the three males still looked worried from time to time because of the smell of blood on her, but ultimately nothing serious happened. By the third time, they had gotten used to it and knew that she couldn't touch any cold water at this time, and she would become a bit fierce. She used boiled and dried animal hides cut into small pieces as sanitary napkins. After changing, she would put them in a bag and bury them in the ground outside the cave when she left.
She made a bag of animal skin sanitary napkins and stored them away for use on the road, then spent the rest of her time on the snake at night, waiting for the dry season to end.
The weather is unbearably hot. The cave, which used to feel a bit too cool, has now become a sweltering oven. Although the sun barely gets in, it's incredibly hot. The whole world feels like a giant furnace, with not a breath of wind, and everyone's hearts are constantly pounding.
Linni was too hot to sleep, and it was only after Night transformed into a snake and let her lie on it that she finally fell asleep. From then on, aside from eating, drinking, and relieving herself, she spent most of her time on Night's body, watching the animals outside constantly perish in their struggle for water. For small herbivores, whether they died of thirst or were eaten, the outcome was the same—deadly. Linni couldn't help but wonder: if a Beast God truly existed in this world, how would He view all of this? Indifference? Pity? Or helplessness?