CH 52

After finishing lunch, Qin Fei discussed his thoughts with Ruma. Ruma was worried that if Qin Fei led people deep into the bamboo forest, they would encounter danger from the bee swarm again. However, Qin Fei was confident in his plan and, given his various abilities, Ruma reluctantly agreed. But Ruma was very curious about what Qin Fei would prepare to deal with these terrifying flying insects.

After careful consideration, Qin Fei found several males to help prepare the things to deal with the bamboo bees in no time.

As a result, Ruma almost dropped his jaw when he saw what they had prepared. The old priest pointed to two large pots in front of them that were filled with a mixture of herbs and mud, several bundles of dried hay added with special drugs, and a large animal skin. He stuttered, “This is what you’ve prepared to deal with the bamboo bees…”

Qin Fei smiled and nodded, but the old priest shook his head like a drum, “No, no… If I had known you were only preparing this, how could I let you go on this adventure? The stinger on the tail of the flying insect is so terrifying that everyone can see it. You’re going deep into the bamboo forest, the old nest of these bamboo bees, and there are bound to be many of them. If you take only these things, aren’t you just going to your death?”

Ruma thought that Qin Fei would prepare some heavy equipment to defend against the spikes and have some powerful weapons, at least a few baskets of bamboo arrows. But he was surprised to see that Qin Fei brought these useless things, which made him worry to death. He dared not let a few people set off like this.

Seeing Ruma’s disapproval, Qin Fei quickly explained, “These muds contain a lot of strange-smelling grass juices. Bamboo wasps are sensitive to smell. With these grassy muds, not only can we cover up our smell, but also confuse their sense of smell, so they won’t attack us. And the colour of the mud will make them mistake us for trees or soil, which reduces the danger even more.” 

Then he pointed to the “enhanced” hay, “I added some herbs that can paralyze flying insects in these grasses. If we ignite these things when we are near the hive and quickly move away, hiding in the leeward position, the smoke will attract bamboo wasps out of the hive. They won’t leave because they have to protect the hive, and they may even attack the animal skins near the hay. Before long, the bamboo wasps smoked with the paralysis herb will all fall to the ground. Our people will take advantage of this opportunity to kill those paralyzed bamboo wasps. If we are lucky, there will be a lot of honey and bee larvae in the hive. They are all good things.”

Ruma had just heard Qin Fei’s story about bees and honey, but he would not sacrifice Qin Fei, who was so important to the tribe, for food. However, Qin Fei said that bees posed a great threat to the tribe and that it will always be a hidden danger if they were not dealt with. Ruma was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Qin Fei saw that the old priest has been unyielding and could only slowly explain and negotiate with him. They talked for a full hour before Ruma reluctantly agreed to Qin Fei’s adventurous plan, but he specifically instructed several males that under no circumstances should Qin Fei be harmed. They all nodded heavily and promised not to let Qin Fei get hurt, which finally put Ruma’s mind at ease.

Qin Fei told the chosen males that before they set off, they must smear mud evenly on their bodies. He also gave them some large leaves commonly found in the bamboo forest, indicating that they could use the leaves to cover certain parts of their bodies. Then, he scooped some mud and hid in the grass, letting Xiao Bu help him apply it.

The males watched Qin Fei blush and couldn’t help but burst out laughing. They didn’t care if anyone was watching and stripped down to nothing. They hurriedly applied the mud to their bodies, but they didn’t think they needed the leaves, so they didn’t put them on.

After finishing applying the mud, Qin Fei carefully wrapped the leaves around his body and led Xiao Bu out of the grass. The group of “David statues” standing in the open space were speechless. These males were too ostentatious. Although they were covered in mud, they were still showing off their manhood! Moreover, each of them was so majestic, which was quite stimulating!

Qin Fei was immediately depressed, but fortunately, he had wrapped himself with tree leaves and didn’t have to compete with these barbarians in a size competition. This was considered lucky in an unfortunate situation.

The group filled some gourds with mud as a precaution and prepared to set out with bundles of hay and animal skins.

When they were about to leave the tribe, Qin Fei instructed Ruma to have someone collect more large gourds to prepare for carrying honey. Ruma nodded and immediately had people gather the gourds as Qin Fei requested. He led a group of people with crossbows and weapons to guard beside the bamboo forest.

(The phrase “David statues” is likely a reference to Michelangelo’s sculpture of David, which depicts the biblical hero David standing in the nude. In the context of the sentence provided, it may be used to describe the large and impressive physical appearance of the men being observed.)

After Qin Fei and his group went deep into the bamboo forest, they saw large bamboo bees flying around in the forest. After climbing a small hill, Qin Fei found that the number of bamboo bees became denser, indicating that the hive was not far away. They slowed down their pace and checked to see if any mud had fallen off their bodies, then filled in the gaps with more mud. Then, Qin Fei took out a black medicine ball and had everyone in the group put it in their mouths. This medicine ball can counteract the paralyzing effect of the smoke, even if someone accidentally inhales the smoke, they will not be paralyzed.

After all the preparations were made, they continued to move deeper into the bamboo forest.

The huge beehive in front of them made everyone gasp in astonishment. The beehive was located on the side of a hill and had a diameter of over ten meters, almost as tall as a two-story building.

Qin Fei’s mouth twitched, and he looked at the hay that the group had carried over. He quickly made a gesture to retreat.

After seeing Qin Fei’s signal, the group did not hesitate and quickly rushed back carrying the hay. After they had gone a long distance away from the beehive, Qin Fei couldn’t help but curse loudly. Although his face was covered in mud and the others couldn’t understand what he was saying, they could tell from his angry tone that he wasn’t saying anything good.

Ruma anxiously waited at the edge of the bamboo forest and was relieved when he saw the group returning. But when he saw the hay was still intact and Qin Fei’s expression of frustration, he had a good guess at what happened.

Qin Fei explained the huge beehive to everyone, and they were all shocked. Some of the timid females were so scared that they didn’t dare to go back into the bamboo forest.

Qin Fei had no intention of giving up. In his opinion, today was just a wasted trip. He planned to go back tomorrow with enough hay to completely eradicate those giant bamboo wasps. However, Qin Fei was very puzzled because there were no clusters of flowers there, so where did those bamboo wasps get their source of nectar?

Sa Lei returned in the evening and learned of Qin Fei’s adventure today. He was furious and wanted to spank him, but he also had to admire his courage and strategy. Since Qin Fei planned to take risks again tomorrow, he naturally couldn’t go out hunting with peace of mind. 

To deal with such a large wasp nest, they needed a significant amount of hay. Therefore, Sa Lei made a sudden decision to halve the number of males who go out hunting tomorrow and have the rest help Qin Fei to completely remove the threat to the tribe.