Chapter 458, Salty!

Translator: Silavin

 

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh…*

 

Sha Lan stood in the basket of the hot air balloon, her blue eyes constantly watching the river.

 

This was her second day out.

 

Yesterday, early in the morning, she had set off from the Tribe, taking Ai’er with her and some food.

 

“Sha Lan, I wonder how much longer it will take…” Ai’er said, propping her cheeks with both hands, her elbows resting on the edge of the basket. Her purple butterfly wings would occasionally flutter, while her face showed boredom.

 

They had been bored since they left, staying in the basket the whole time, which was very tedious.

 

“I don’t know either. Looking ahead, I still can’t see the end of the river…” Sha Lan shook her head and said.

 

She also felt bored, either watching the river or sleeping in the basket.

 

“It looks like we still have some distance to go. It’s really tiring…” Ai’er grumbled.

 

“It should be fine for you since you can fly out to play but I don’t have wings,” Sha Lan said, brushing aside her blue hair that had been tousled by the wind. She felt envious every time she saw this. Although she was in the sky, it was still different from Ai’er, who could fly freely.

 

She often saw her turning her body in various ways in the air, flying freely, which looked fun.

 

“I’ll go ahead and take a look. Maybe we’re not far from the edge?” Ai’er said, flapping her purple butterfly wings, preparing to fly out.

 

“Okay, go and take a look. That way we can have some hope.” Sha Lan nodded in agreement.

 

Rather than staying aimlessly in the hot air balloon, it was better to fly ahead and look. After all, flying would be faster than the hot air balloon.

 

*Flap, flap…*

 

Ai’er flapped her purple butterfly wings and flew out of the hot air balloon, continuing to fly toward the front of the river.

 

She happily flapped her wings, sometimes turning her body, sometimes facing the blue sky with her feet gently kicking, looking very happy.

 

Being able to go out and move around was good; staying in the basket was too confining.

 

“How envious…” Sha Lan said watching her receding nimble figure with envy. She watched for a while until she could no longer see the figure, then turned around and leaned her back against the basket, looking up at the top of the hot air balloon.

 

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh…*

 

As the hot air balloon continued to advance, two or three hours had passed, and Ai’er had finally returned.

 

Ai’er had both hands on the basket but did not fly into it, her body was suspended in midair. She gently tapped on Sha Lan’s head with one hand and said, “Sha Lan, I think I saw it!”

 

Hearing these words, Sha Lan immediately turned around and stood up straight, asking, “Really? You really saw it?”

 

She finally heard what she wanted to hear. Her previously bored expression instantly vanished.

 

“I’m not entirely sure, but it’s similar to what the Shaman had described. We’ll know when we get there,” Ai’er said, blinking her purple eyes.

 

Ai’er saw a vast boundless large lake, so wide that she could not see its edge even after flying over a long distance.

 

That lake was different from the river. It did not seem to flow in one single direction.

 

“Good. If it took you so long to fly there, then our hot air balloon will take even longer, right?” Sha Lan was initially very happy, but became frustrated when she thought about the time.

 

Ai’er flew into the hot air balloon and said, “Yeah. We still need some time. We’ll probably arrive by evening. Let’s eat something first; I’m hungry.”

 

“You must be hungry after flying for so long. Let’s open a pot.” Sha Lan smiled.

 

She took out a pot from the corner of the hot air balloon and used a small wooden stick to break the yellow clay on top.

 

These pots were sealed with yellow clay to ensure they were airtight so bacteria could not get in, allowing for long term preservation.

 

When the yellow clay was broken, the fragrance from inside the pot immediately wafted out.

 

Sha Lan sniffed, and the fragrance instantly entered her nostrils.

 

Her blue eyes narrowed as she said, “So fragrant. I really want to eat it every time I smell it.”

 

Before, when they went to the Hunting Ground to find horses, they had eaten preserved meat. She still remembered that fragrance.

 

“It smells so good. The Shaman is truly amazing…” Ai’er could not help but praise.

 

Now, in the Tribe, preserved meat was only taken out to eat when going out; they didn’t eat it within the Tribe.

 

Sha Lan poured the food from the pot into a ceramic bowl. Chunks of succulent fish meat were poured out, releasing their fragrance.

 

They had brought preserved fish meat this time. Since they had managed to preserve them the last time. Subsequently, they had made many other types of preserved meat.

 

“Let’s eat.” Sha Lan said, blinking her blue eyes.

 

The two held the ceramic bowls and began eating the meat at lightning speed, their expressions full of satisfaction.

 

This could be said to be the most delicious food they had eaten before Su Bai came to the Tribe. Before, they always ate plain, ordinary roasted meat.

 

The roasted meats they ate tasted very fishy and dry. Compared to now, what they ate in the past was mediocre. Of course, this was only after Su Bai came. Before he came, they saw no problem with the food. After all, they ate it every day, and not everyone could eat each day. In fact, at the time, getting a piece of meat was already quite good.

 

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh…* Four hours later, the hot air balloon began to reach the ‘large lake’ where Ai’er had been earlier.

 

“This is it. Is this ocean?” Ai’er pointed to the distance.

 

Sha Lan brushed her hair and suggested, “You can fly down and taste the water. If it’s salty, then it’s the ocean.”

 

Ai’er nodded, flapped her purple butterfly wings, and flew out of the basket, heading toward the bottom of the ‘large lake.’

 

*Flap, flap…* Ai’er quickly flew to the surface of the large lake, her wings fluttering slightly to ensure she would not fall in.

 

She reached her hand into the water, then raised it to her mouth to taste.

 

The moment she put it in her mouth, the butterfly girl immediately furrowed her brows. She looks to be in great pain.

 

“Ah! So salty!” Ai’er shook her head repeatedly and began flying toward the hot air balloon to tell Sha Lan about this.

 

Sha Lan, seeing her expression, tentatively asked. “Is it very salty?”

 

Ai’er nodded without hesitation and said with disgust. “Yes, it’s salty. This must be the ocean.”

 

“Ah! Finally! We’ve finally found the ocean! We can take some back to report to the Shaman.” Sha Lan smiled.

 

Sha Lan took out a small wooden bucket with a lid from the corner and handed it to Ai’er, wanting her to bring some water up.

 

“Okay,” Ai’er flapped her wings and flew down again.