Chapter 709, Crude Methods

Translator: Silavin

 

Su Bai fiddled with his hair; recently it had been growing rather quickly, both the fringe and the back.

 

It had not grown to his shoulders yet, but it was at the stage where he constantly had to fiddle with it, otherwise it would frequently obscure his vision.

 

“My hair is becoming a hindrance…” Su Bai frowned.

 

He looked at himself in the mirror with dishevelled hair; this was how he looked every morning upon waking.

 

His beard was the same, somewhat scruffy, though fortunately a few days ago he had obtained a razor from a package.

 

This had resolved an urgent need, but his hair looked rather unsightly and lacked vitality.

 

He certainly did not wish to keep his hair long; there were quite a few men with long hair in the Tribe as well. However, he disliked having to tend to his hair daily; the time spent on it was simply too much.

 

It would be better to cut it short; this way it would look clean and fresh, and would better showcase his refined features.

 

Of course, those long-haired men in the Tribe would not tend to their hair regularly either. They would let their hair grow wild, and when it reached a certain length they would simply tie it up. As for washing their hair, perhaps once every month or two.

 

Even when their scalp itched terribly, they would not think to wash their hair; at most they would just scratch it and enjoy the process.

 

“When it grows long it tangles easily, and it’s harder to dry after washing. There’s no hair dryer here either…” Su Bai murmured to himself.

 

He roughly arranged his hair, trying to make it look less wild.

 

“Never mind,” Su Bai waved his hand and called in his mind, [System, check in and open my Assistance Package.]

 

<Ding! Congratulations Host, check in successful.>

<Ding! Congratulations Host received Low Grade Assistance: a packet of tea leaves.>

 

Su Bai looked at the familiar tea leaves in his hand and nodded with satisfaction. [My long-awaited tea leaves have finally appeared; I won’t have to drink bitter tea anymore!]

 

The tea leaves the System had previously provided had long been finished; what he had been drinking were brought back from the Hunting Ground.

 

Their appearance was very similar to Earth tea, but the taste was entirely different. The overall flavour was extremely bitter, lacking the sweetness of Earth tea leaves, though it was quite acceptable for crumbing his cravings.

 

*Knock knock knock…*

 

A series of knocks sounded; Yu Ying had come punctually to wake Su Bai for breakfast.

 

“Xiao Yu, how do everyone usually handle their hair?” Su Bai asked directly.

 

He wanted to know how others in the Tribe dealt with hair, and also wanted to sort out his long hair.

 

“Those who like long hair will keep it growing; those who don’t will use fire to burn it, burning the hair to a short length.” Yu Ying said earnestly.

 

The corners of Su Bai’s mouth twitched constantly. [Using fire to burn our hair? Is this really okay? Did they go mad?]

 

He calmed his emotions and asked. “Are you serious about using fire to burn hair?”

 

“Yes, when hair meets fire it disappears instantly; this way is simpler and more convenient.” Yu Ying said without hesitation.

 

From Yu Ying’s expression, she did not seem to be joking; clearly this was the truth.

 

“Aren’t you afraid of burning off all of your hair?” Su Bai’s scalp felt numb just thinking about it.

 

“If you accidentally burn it all off, it will grow back. Everyone does this.” Yu Ying maintained her serious expression.

 

“Okay, okay… I shouldn’t have asked.” Su Bai sighed.

 

They walked to the dining table and looked at today’s abundant breakfast: tomato wild chicken egg noodles and roasted sweet potato slices.

 

“Shaman, do you want to cut your hair? I can help you,” Yu Ying earnestly took out a torch from the fire pit.

 

Yu Ying fiddled with her pink hair and began slowly approaching.

 

“No! Thanks, but no. Using a torch to cut our hair is out of the question. I don’t want to become bald.” Su Bai awkwardly laughed.

 

Yu Ying put the torch back and tilted her head, asking. “Shaman, then how do you want to handle your hair?”

 

“After eating, you can help me cut it with the scissors; don’t we have scissors?” Su Bai said.

 

After thinking it through, without clippers he could only use scissors; at least this would preserve some hair.

 

Using a torch to burn his hair bald would make him no different from a monk.

 

Moreover, it would easily burn his scalp, which would hardly be worthwhile. Not only would he become uglier but there was a high risk of injury.

 

“Alright, but I’ve never used scissors to cut hair before.” Yu Ying swished her pink fox tail.

 

Although Yu Ying was quite eager to cut hair, she was still a bit worried inside; the subject of hair cutting was the Shaman after all. What if she accidentally cut it wrong? Or what if she accidentally injured the Shaman?

 

“It’s fine, with me here nothing will go wrong,” Su Bai said calmly.

 

Compared to using a torch to cut hair, using scissors was much more reassuring, even if the result might look rather poor.

 

“Yes,” Yu Ying replied with a smile.

 

Half an hour later, the two had finished their simple breakfast, cleared the table, and prepared to cut hair.

 

“Shaman, besides scissors, what else should I prepare?” Yu Ying asked curiously.

 

“Prepare a large Animal Hide; this way the cut hair can all be caught, and won’t end up all over me,” Su Bai instructed.

 

“Alright,” Yu Ying turned to make preparations.

 

Su Bai sat on a chair with a large Animal Hide wrapped around him, looking rather like a barbershop back on Earth.

 

He looked at himself in the full-length mirror and explained. “Just cut it bit by bit; don’t rush…”

 

“Understood.” Yu Ying nodded with partial comprehension.

 

She clumsily held a pair of scissors, slowly picked up a strand of hair, and gently cut a small section from the end.

 

*Snip! Snip!*

 

After Yu Ying cut twice, she tilted her head and asked. “Shaman, please see if this is acceptable?”

 

Yu Ying’s careful manner was very endearing. She had only cut two small strands of hair in total.

 

“Hahaha…” Su Bai laughed and said. “That won’t do; cut more aggressively. At this rate, who knows how long it will take?”

 

“Alright,” Yu Ying, filled with confidence, picked up the scissors and began cutting again.

 

*Snip snip…*

 

Although the scissors did not cut very quickly, each cut was steady.

 

After more than ten minutes, Su Bai’s hair was noticeably much shorter, though the overall length was still quite long.

 

“Shaman, is this enough?” Yu Ying was somewhat worried that she had cut it poorly.

 

Yu Ying’s worry was not without reason; the hair did indeed look messy.

 

It looked as if it had been chewed by a dog; the overall appearance was completely dishevelled.

 

“Not yet; the overall length is still a bit long. Fetch a comb.” Su Bai began hands-on teaching.

 

This being the first time, he could only accept this result; even if it looked ugly, he had to accept it. Her skills would improve gradually in future.

 

“I’ll try,” Yu Ying picked up a comb.

 

“No need to stress yourself,” Su Bai said gently.