CH 54

With the addition of many males, the hay was quickly piled up at the upwind entrance (upper air outlet) of the beehive and the animal skins was divided into several pieces. After securing the hay and animal skins, Qin Fei signalled everyone to hide far away while he and Sa Lei stayed behind to set the fire.

Once everyone was far enough away, Qin Fei and Sa Lei quickly ignited the hay with a small flame. However, the hay contained some moist medicinal herbs and smoke quickly rose up.

The two of them dared not delay and quickly found a low-lying spot to crawl into and stayed still. After a moment, the buzzing sound of a swarm filled their heads, like countless planes hovering overhead. Qin Fei slowly raised his head, daring to take a glance at what was above him and almost screamed out loud. A dense swarm of bees had gathered around the hay, although they were quickly paralyzed and fell to the ground from the smoke, the next batch would soon come swarming in. They fiercely attacked the animal skins hanging around the hay, causing them to constantly shake from the attack of the numerous bees (hornets). Soon, the sharp stingers were densely packed on the animal skins, making one’s scalp tingle with fear.

After lying on the ground for nearly two hours, the buzzing gradually subsided. Sa Lei pulled Qin Fei up from the ground, and the two of them stepped on countless bees that made their scalp numb as they slowly walked towards the huge beehive. Other males also rushed over, and according to the prearranged plan, they quickly killed the paralyzed bees and piled the dead bamboo bees in one place. After killing all the bamboo bees, the females would extract the valuable medicinal substances such as bee venom from inside according to Qin Fei’s teaching method.

Sa Lei and Qin Fei struggled to cut open a hole in the huge beehive. Sa Lei was startled by the sight of the live bee pupae inside and raised his knife to kill them. Qin Fei quickly stopped him, saying, “These things can be eaten, and they’re very nutritious.”

Sa Lei’s face twitched. “They look disgusting. I won’t eat them.”

Qin Fei chuckled, and Sa Lei rolled his eyes at him and called over a male to go back and notify the people in the tribe to come and collect the food.

The male was fast, and soon the others in the tribe arrived. They were all shocked by the sight of the giant beehive, but when Qin Fei told them that the whole thing was edible, they became enthusiastic and worked under Qin Fei’s command to cut and transport the hive.

Qin Fei discovered the stored honey, which was far more than he had imagined. He dipped a clean blade of grass into the honey and tasted it. It was incredibly sweet. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would taste like if used to roast meat. It could also be used to make honey tea or honey wine, etc.

Sa Lei watched him indulging in the honey and followed suit, dipping his own blade of grass and putting it in his mouth. He was immediately filled with delight. Other people also learned from them, and soon everyone who participated in moving the hive had tasted the honey. They had never tasted anything so sweet before. The rich flavour lingered in their mouths and would not dissipate for a long time.

“I never thought that such a scary flying insect could make something so delicious,” Mo Cha couldn’t help but praise, then he licked the honey juice off the grass and chuckled, “When Bante and the others come back, they’ll regret not staying.”

Qin Fei divided the people into five groups: the first group was responsible for collecting honey and pouring it into the gourds they brought. The second group was responsible for collecting the bee pupae and carrying the chubby little guys back to the tribe. The third group was responsible for cutting open the honeycomb and gradually transporting the cut honeycombs back to the camp. The fourth group went to pick nearby large gourds because there was too much honey and the gourds they had prepared before were not enough. The fifth group was responsible for guarding to prevent any bees from being missed during the honey collection.

After assigning the tasks, everyone went about their duties, and there was a busy scene all around.

Qin Fei wasn’t idle either. He looked at the animal skins used to attract the bamboo bees, feeling a chill run down his spine. The skins were already riddled with holes by the frenzied bamboo bees, especially the dense tail spikes hanging from them, which gleamed with a chilling light in the sunlight. Qin Fei couldn’t help but marvel and thought that even a shattered (I’m guessing the author meant strong or overpowered) mountain demon beast would likely fare poorly against such a swarm.

Sa Lei approached the animal skins, marvelling at the terrifying power of the bee swarm, and pulled out a bee sting. The sting was much thicker and sharper than the ones Qin Fei had extracted from the two females, and it was very hard. Sa Lei handed a bee sting to Qin Fei, who took it and shook it in his hand.

He couldn’t help but praise, “It’s really a good thing!”

Sa Lei was initially surprised but then laughed and said, “Since you’re calling something so terrifying a good thing, you must have thought of something. Tell me about it…”

Qin Fei flicked the bee sting in his hand and said, “First of all, this thing is sharp and pointed, and doesn’t need to be sharpened again. Some of the bee stings even have transparent holes on the head, which can replace bone needles in our tribe. Secondly, these bee stings come in different sizes and are sharp. Although they cannot be used directly as weapons of attack, the larger ones can replace the bamboo arrows in our crossbow. Although the bamboo arrows are also hollow, the incision is larger, and it is difficult to carry herbal juices in them unless the poison is very powerful. Bee stings are different, though. Although they are also hollow, the needle tip has very tiny holes. Even if some herbal juice is carried inside, it won’t affect the shooting angle too much, nor will it spill the juice. If anaesthetic or poison is injected into the bee sting, the lethal effect will be very powerful.”

Upon hearing this, Sa Lei was even more eager to collect all the bee stingers. He called a few people and carefully collected all of the stingers. Those suitable for weapons were kept for weapons, while those suitable for needles were distributed among the people in the tribe.

During this time, Qin Fei and Sa Lei also agreed that the number of weapons and regular inspections would be managed by several hunting leaders. As for needles, which were not easily obtained everyday items, except for the required amount distributed to each family, they would be stored at Priest’s Ruma place.

Mo Cha was puzzled and asked why it was necessary to go to such lengths. Qin Fei took a serious attitude towards this, stating that regular inspections of weapons are essential for the safety of every male hunter. If damage to weapons is not discovered in a timely manner, it can lead to danger during hunting. As for storing hard-to-get life items with Priest Ruma, it is to prevent people from getting too much and forgetting to save them carefully. Items such as bee stingers are not easy to obtain, and if one is lost, there will be one less. If a large amount is distributed now, not only will new members of the tribe not receive any, but their descendants may not inherit much from their elders. Therefore, it is best to distribute an adequate amount and let the rest be kept by the priest.

Everyone agreed with Qin Fei’s analysis, and he was gradually considering the future of the tribe. They could not continue to wander like this and must find a secure place to settle down, so the tribe can have more energy to develop. However, such a place is not easy to find, and Qin Fei sighed at the thought.