Fever
He ate the dumplings to his heart’s content and slept soundly, a rare treat for him. However, he woke up the next day shivering from the cold.
He had been frozen for an unknown amount of time; no matter how much he curled up and pulled the feather blanket tighter, his hands and feet remained icy.
Opening his eyes, Bai Wu saw that the sky was overcast with continuous rain. Occasionally, flashes of lightning streaked across the dark clouds, bursting into purple-white light.
Bai Wu frowned.
Yesterday, his two fathers said it would rain today, and sure enough, it really did.
Luckily, the roof of their hut had been reinforced; otherwise, they would have been soaked in the rain.
Bai Wu rubbed his hands and feet to clear his head a bit, when he suddenly remembered that they hadn’t had time to put away the food they’d left in the hearth, especially the green root powder they’d painstakingly made—it hadn’t been sealed properly!
He sat up abruptly and peered into the hearth.
The roof of their hut was made of dry grass, and rainwater was dripping down it, forming thin lines.
Looking out through the rain curtain, under the gray sky, white mist rose from the distant mountains, and the nearby trees and grass were all wet, especially around the hearth, where puddles had formed.
The simple stone stove was half submerged, and the earthenware pot that had always been placed beside it was nowhere to be seen.
Holy crap!
Could the earthenware pot have been washed away?! An, awakened by his movement, yawned while still wrapped in the blankets. “Aren’t you sleepy?”
Bai Wu leaned forward, grabbing the animal-hide shoes beside the nest and trying to slip them on. “Let me check if our food is soaked in water.”
“Do we need to wait for you? Fathers moved the food to the nest yesterday,” An said. “We don’t need to gather or hunt today, so sleep a little longer.”
Bai Wu breathed a slight sigh of relief, peering over to check the green roots and onions he had planted yesterday. They were also waterlogged; he wondered if they would drown.
An followed him and looked outside. “Everything’s packed away, go to sleep.”
Bai Wu rubbed his arms and casually said, “It’s too cold, I can’t sleep.”
An paused, reached out and touched his arm, finding it ice-cold. He immediately sat up. “Why didn’t you say you were cold sooner? I’ll go get you a blanket from dad.”
Bai Wu sniffed, feeling like he was about to have a runny nose, and his throat was sore. “I didn’t wake up last night, I just woke up this morning from the cold. Never mind, I’ll be fine in a bit. Don’t go, there’s nothing to keep warm in the rain.”
An scolded him for being foolish, “It’s only a few steps, and you’re waiting here! You’re already injured; it’ll be troublesome if you get caught in the rain and catch a cold.”
Chuan, hearing the commotion, peeked out from the next nest, “What’s wrong with Wu?”
An called out, “He says he’s cold, Dad, give me a blanket.”
Chuan stood up, “It’s almost summer, how can you feel cold? Are you sick? Wait a moment, your father is looking for blankets for you.”
Bai Wu denied it, “No.”
Regardless of Bai Wu’s denial, Chuan and Mo still found a blanket in the wooden box in the nest and brought it to them.
An grabbed Bai Wu and showed his fathers Bai Wu’s icy hands.
The two fathers took turns touching Bai Wu’s forehead, and only after confirming he wasn’t sick did they breathe a sigh of relief and tuck him under the thick feather winter quilt.
The feather winter quilt is woven from feathers and plant fibers, with a layer of fine down underneath. It’s somewhat like a down comforter, but much stiffer and more fixed in shape.
Wrapped in the feather quilt, Bai Wu felt like he was wrapped in a cardboard box; the texture wasn’t great, but he was definitely getting warmer.
Bai Wu slowly regained some energy and snuggled inside, asking, “What are we eating today?”
“The dried meat we stored up,” Chuan explained. “We can’t start a fire today, so we’ll have to eat cold food.”
Bai Wu had eaten dumplings yesterday, so he wasn’t craving them today. “Dried meat is fine too. I just don’t know how long this rain will last.”
Chuan laughed, “We’ve stored enough dried meat, don’t worry.”
It was still raining outside. The two fathers were too lazy to brave the rain to go back to their own beds, so the family of four simply lay down in one bed and chatted.
The rain was very cool, and the sound of the rain was very soothing.
Bai Wu fell asleep again while chatting.
Unexpectedly, the rain outside intensified, and the wind blew the water directly into the nest.
Chuan moved him, waking him up.
Bai Wu abruptly opened his eyes and immediately saw that half of the nest was submerged in rainwater.
The contents of the nest had already been moved.
Chuan patted his chest through the blanket, his expression calm. “It’s alright, go back to sleep.”
Bai Wu was far less composed than his dad. He sat up, and the damp wind hit his face, bringing a chill.
He quickly realized that not only was the rain blowing in, but the straw roof of the nest was also soaked, dripping down relentlessly.
Fortunately, the nest was made of soft straw, so the rain seeped directly to the bottom and slowly drained away.
The stones at the bottom of the nest were high enough that there shouldn’t be any immediate risk of flooding.
Bai Wu stared intently at the rain, then suddenly said, “It would be great if we built a house.”
An asked, “You want to build a nest?”
Mo and Chuan also looked over.
Bai Wu explained, “Not a nest, a house.”
“What’s a house?”
“It’s…it’s a building with walls on all four sides, so the wind can’t get in and the rain can’t get in.” Bai Wu looked up at the roof of the nest and continued, “The house is also covered with tiles, so it usually doesn’t leak.”
An looked blankly, “What is that? I’ve never seen it before.”
Bai Wu’s expression remained unchanged, “I saw it in my dream, maybe it’s a building from somewhere else?”
Chuan chimed in with interest, “I’ve seen similar houses in the places where beastmen live. They nail together wooden frames and cover them with grass on all sides; they really can shelter you from the wind and rain, but it’s nowhere near as spacious as our nest.”
An suddenly realized, looking at Bai Wu, “You mean that kind? Those shacks aren’t comfortable. Anyway, it doesn’t rain that often. Our nest is fine.”
“Not that kind. It’s a house built of stone or brick.”
Chuan chuckled beside her, “If you like that kind of nest, when you find a partner, have them build you one.”
“I don’t want a partner.”
An scoffed, “Childish talk.”
Bai Wu lay down weakly on the spot that wasn’t wet yet, “You’ll understand when I build it.”
The rain had lasted almost a whole day.
When the rain stopped in the evening, Bai Wu ran off to check on the green roots and scallions he had planted the day before.
After so much rain, the roots and scallions had been washed away, their surfaces completely clean. He wondered if they could survive.
The soil he had hastily cleared was almost entirely washed away as well.
Chuan and Mo went to check on their firewood stack.
The firewood stack was covered with straw mats and supported by stones, so it hadn’t gotten too wet and was still usable.
However, the ground was completely wet today, so they couldn’t cook with firewood. They would have to wait a couple of days until the rain stopped and the hearth dried.
The family ate dried meat and wild fruit in their hut.
The dried meat was hard, salty, and had a smoky flavor. The wild fruit was alright, sweet and sour, but eating too much made their stomachs uncomfortable.
Bai Wu looked pale and sickly after eating.
Mo looked at him and said, “When the rain stops tomorrow, father will catch some wild birds for you to eat.”
Bai Wu nodded weakly.
Hunting wasn’t easy; it often depended on luck, and his father couldn’t just catch birds whenever he wanted.
He looked at the sky and, for the first time, had the idea of building a house.
The rain continued for several days.
During these days, they could only go out to gather some things when the rain stopped.
Bai Wu would go out to gather with them.
The beastmen and sub-beastmen were generally healthy, and getting a little rain on them while gathering wasn’t a big problem, except for Bai Wu.
Bai Wu had wounds, and after being soaked in the rain, his wounds softened, turned white, and the scabs were washed away.
His wounds, which had been slowly healing, deteriorated rapidly after this incident.
To make matters worse, Bai Wu developed a high fever one night due to the infection of his wounds, directly waking An from his sleep.
An wanted to call for help, but Bai Wu stopped him. “It’s nothing,” Bai Wu said weakly, lying in bed. “I’ll sleep it off, and I’ll be fine by morning.”
“What if you’re not better by morning, and you’ve become mentally impaired?”
Bai Wu smiled. “It’s not that easy to become mentally impaired from a fever. I’m not a little brat.”
Bai Wu peered at the sky through the crack in the bed.
It had been raining for the past few days, and dark clouds covered the sky, blocking out even a ray of starlight.
Even with their excellent eyesight, they couldn’t do anything in the near-total darkness.
An touched his forehead. “I’ll go find some herbs to make you some tea.”
“It’s the middle of the night, don’t fall. Let’s wait until it’s light. Brother, you should go to sleep. Don’t wake Father and the others, so they don’t worry.”
Bai Wu was adamant, and An, persuaded, didn’t get up. However, he couldn’t sleep at all that night and stayed by his side to observe his condition.
Bai Wu was delirious with fever and couldn’t fall asleep either.
He woke up at the crack of dawn covered in cold sweat, sticky and uncomfortable.
An had touched him countless times throughout the night.
Finally hearing movement coming from the nest near his fathers, An jumped up and shouted, “Dad, are you awake? Wu has a fever!”
“Why didn’t you call us?” Chuan asked anxiously, standing up and adjusting his feathered skirt as he asked, “Is it serious?”
An replied, “He feels quite hot to the touch.”
At the same time, Bai Wu’s weak voice rang out, “It’s not serious, I’m still awake.”
The two fathers quickly wrapped themselves in their animal skin skirts and rushed over. They touched Bai Wu’s head, and Mo said, “You two stay here, I’ll take Wu to the priest.”
Bai Wu struggled to sit up, muttering, “No need, I’ll just drink some scallion water and sweat it out.”
Chuan ignored Bai Wu and said directly, “You two go quickly, An and I will guard the nest.”
Mo carried Bai Wu to an open space outside, instantly transforming into a giant white bird.
Bai Wu lay steadily on his back.
Chuan and An brought ropes and tied Bai Wu securely to Mo.
With a flap of its wings, Mo carried Bai Wu into the air.
Bai Wu was burning up with fever, but the wind blowing against his face felt surprisingly cool.
He opened his eyes and tried to make his sense of direction, discovering they were flying south.
The priest lived alone on a mountain to the south.