My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 23 Bonfire Party

The light inside the tree hollow was dim, illuminating a small, curled-up shadow on the low bed.

Jiang Yuan put down the plastic bag in his hand and slowed his steps.

Hilu lay on her side on the hay, her short, silvery-white hair spread out on the animal skin blanket, her cat ears drooping limply, and a fluffy, snow-white tail draped over her belly, rising and falling slightly with her even breathing.

She was sleeping soundly, with a glistening drool still hanging from the corner of her mouth.

Jiang Yuan chuckled, squatted down, took a lollipop out of his pocket, peeled off the plastic wrapper, and held the pink candy ball to Xilu's little nose.

She twitched her little nose. Her cat ears twitched and then twitched again, and her sky-blue eyes snapped open, her pupils still blurry.

"Jiang Yuan!" hope Lu sat up abruptly, her cat ears standing straight up, her tail swishing rapidly behind her, her eyes fixed on the lollipop.

Jiang Yuan handed over the candy, and Xilu took it and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out slightly, and her cat ears twitching contentedly.

With a candy in her mouth, she mumbled something, then suddenly her eyes widened, and she grabbed Jiang Yuan's wrist:

"Oh, right! The bonfire party! The bonfire party is about to start!"

She was pulled out of the tree hole by Hilu's wrist.

It was already dark outside.

The amber-colored moss hanging between the giant trees appeared even brighter, and orange light shone through the trunks and branches, enveloping the entire village in a warm, mellow hue.

The air was still very cold, but there were several times more people in the open space than during the day.

Jiang Yuan glanced at it and roughly estimated that the Shuang'er tribe had seven or eight hundred people.

When he entered the tribe during the day, the cat-eared people he had seen were scattered around, but now they had all gathered in the central open space.

The old man sat near the tree trunk, with a straw cushion under his bottom.

The strong hunters stood in twos and threes on the outer perimeter, with hunting knives and bows hanging from their waists.

Women came in and out of the tree hollows, carrying pottery jars and stone plates, while babies darted in and out of the crowd.

In the very center of the open space was a huge pile of chopped firewood, stacked higher than a person.

A dozen or so small campfires were scattered around, and three or four of them were already lit, the flames licking the firewood and crackling as they shot upwards.

A small group of people who were closest to the location discovered Jiangyuan first.

A cat-eared woman holding a cub took a half step back, her gray-brown cat ears tucked back slightly.

The hands of the two young soldiers beside him unconsciously rested on the handles of their hunting knives, their gray-white cat ears standing straight up, their nostrils twitching.

They were both wary and curious about Jiangyuan.

Although news of the presence of humans in the tribe had already spread during the day.

Several teenage cat-eared boys poked their heads out from behind the campfire, their eyes fixed on the fire.

A little girl pointed her finger directly at Jiang Yuan, but before she could open her mouth, the woman next to her pressed it down.

Many people also noticed what Hilu was holding in her mouth.

The white stick of the lollipop poked out from the corner of her mouth, bobbing up and down as she licked the candy.

Several cat-eared women were drawn to the small stick, and their nostrils twitched simultaneously.

The faint sweetness in the air was a scent they had never smelled before.

Hilu was completely unaware, pulling Jiang Yuan's wrist and walking towards the center, her tail swishing happily behind her.

"Hilu!" Ug's voice came from the central giant tree.

The tribal chief had changed his attire today; his cloak, made entirely of animal hide, had been replaced with a dark brown coarse linen robe, and a broadsword, nearly twice the length of an ordinary hunting knife, hung at his waist.

He stood in front of the central campfire, his grey-blue eyes sweeping over Jiang Yuan's wrist, which was being held by Xilu, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Hilu obediently let go of her hand, skipped over and stood next to her father, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

A cat-eared woman stood beside Ug.

She looked to be around thirty years old, with long, silver-gray hair loosely braided and hanging over her shoulders. She wore a dark blue robe sewn with fine rattan thread, and a string of crystal beads hung on her snow-white wrist.

Her cat ears were slightly longer than those of the average person in her tribe, with a small tuft of snow-white down at the tips of each ear. Her facial features were soft, and her sky-blue pupils were exactly the same as Hilu's.

She is Shilu's mother and the wife of the leader Ug, "Moonwood".

At this moment, Yuewu stood beside Wuge, looking at the small white stick that was twitching in her daughter's mouth with curiosity.

The cat-eared people around them gradually gathered around.

Jiang Yuan retreated to an inconspicuous spot beside the campfire, leaning his back against the trunk of a giant tree, and observed silently.

Ug glanced in his direction and then looked away.

"People of the Frostclaw tribe." Ug's voice, louder than the crackling of the campfire, echoed across the clearing.

His voice wasn't loud, but the aura of a fourth-tier warrior and leader quickly silenced the surrounding noise.

"Tonight's bonfire will be lit for Hilu." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the many faces present:

"Celebrating Sil's emergence from the forbidden area."

These words caused a low commotion in the crowd.

Many of the younger soldiers stared wide-eyed.

Only a few people received news of Hilu's imprisonment in the forbidden area.

Jiang Yuan leaned against the tree trunk, recalling the information he had heard from Xilu.

The so-called forbidden land is the Frostclaw tribe's general term for a certain area.

The elders of the tribe have passed down the story that their ancestors came from there, and it was the moon goddess who guided them to this "Moon Dwelling Valley" so that they could multiply here.

Therefore, even during the harshest winter when food is scarcest, the tribe will still arrange patrols near the forbidden area.

This is also why Ke Shan's team was able to discover Jiang Yuan and hope Lu, who appeared on the outskirts of the forbidden area, so quickly.

"Hilu is the only warrior in our Frostclaw tribe in nearly a hundred years to have received the blessing of the Moon Goddess." Ug's voice rose half an octave:

"This is the blessing of the Moon Goddess. And her ability to emerge from the forbidden area is even more due to the will of the Moon Goddess."

His grey-blue eyes gleamed in the firelight:

"From this night forward, Sil is no longer an ordinary hunter. She is the 'Guide of the Moon,' the moon goddess's guide on earth!"

After he finished speaking, the open space fell silent for a moment.

Then, the elderly people in the front row bent down first, placed their right hands on their left chests, and bowed their heads to Xilu.

Next came the hunters, who all bowed their heads and pressed their hands to their chests, their greyish-white cat ears tucked back in the firelight. The women, holding their cubs, also bent over.

Has Shiru become a "Saintess"? Jiang Yuan didn't know what the "Guide of the Moon" was, but he guessed that it was a role similar to that of a god's agent on earth.

Hilu stood next to her father, a lollipop still dangling from her mouth, her cat ears twitching uncomfortably.

Ug and the others straightened up before speaking again: "There's one more thing. A human will be staying in the tribe temporarily."

He gestured with his chin toward Jiang Yuan: "He helped Xilu, he's a friend of the Frostclaw tribe, his name is Jiang Yuan."

Hundreds of eyes turned to Jiang Yuan in unison.

...Jiang Yuan leaned against the tree trunk, stretched out his hands and waved, saying, "Hello everyone."

He sensed that those gazes were mostly curious, followed by wary, with very little hostility, but not none at all.

The cat-eared people whispered among themselves, very curious about this human who had suddenly appeared.

After all, they have lived here for hundreds of years, and humans only exist in the records of their ancestors.

It's not surprising that Jiang Yuan can speak the language of the Frostclaw tribe; the Dusk Leaf Priest even enabled the magical beasts of Moondwelling Valley to communicate.

Ug didn't say anything more, but waved his hand. "Light the central bonfire!"

Two hunters each held a torch and simultaneously stuck it into the bottom of the woodpile.

The flames shot up along the dry moss that had been used to start the fire, and in just a few breaths, they engulfed the entire mountain of firewood.

The orange-red flames shot into the sky, illuminating the entire open space.

The bonfire party has begun.

The cat-eared women emerged one after another from the various tree holes, placing the pottery jars and stone plates they carried on the long stone slabs next to the campfire.

Brown jerky, black hard biscuits, and several jars of grass broth boiled with snow water.

The quantity of each item is not large.

The dried meat was cut into thin slices about the size of a thumb and arranged on a stone plate, the edges of which were curled up from the dryness.

When the hard biscuit is broken open, a grayish-brown interior is revealed, which looks like it was made of pressed sawdust.

Jiang Yuan picked up a small piece of dried meat from the long stone slab and took a bite.

It's dry and hard, slightly salty, and chewing it feels like biting into a rubber band that's been sitting out for three days.

The meat itself had a very mild flavor, but it had an indescribable grassy smell.

He picked up another bowl of herbal soup and took a sip. The warm water had a very faint bitter taste, but it was still easier to drink than plain water.

He put down his bowl and looked at the cat-eared people around him.

Each person received only a small amount of food.

The hunters received a slightly larger portion, but it was still only a few palm-sized pieces of jerky and half a hard biscuit.

The elderly and women received even less, while the children held small bowls barely bigger than their fists and sipped the soup slowly.

No one complained.

Hilu had somehow slipped up to his side, holding a small stone bowl just like her father's, containing three pieces of dried meat and half a hard biscuit.

She had finished the lollipop in her mouth, leaving only a bare white stick in her hand.

"Jiang Yuan, here, have this." She handed the bowl to Jiang Yuan.

"Eat it yourself." Jiang Yuan pushed the bowl back. He took out two milk candies from his pocket, unwrapped one and put it in his mouth, and handed the other to Xilu, "There are still a lot of these, you can just go to my tree hole and get them."

Hilu took it and put it in her mouth, her cat ears twitching happily.

The cat-eared girls who had been secretly glancing in their direction finally couldn't resist anymore.

Walking at the front was a girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, with gray cat ears and light brown short hair tied into two small buns. She was a little shorter than Shilu by half a head.

Behind her was an even younger girl, who looked to be only eight or nine years old, with light gray cat ears and timidly hiding behind her older sister.

Behind them were several boys and girls of similarly young age.

"Sister Xilu." The girl with the little pigtails leaned closer, sniffed, and her gaze moved from Xilu's face to Jiang Yuan's face, then back to Xilu's face: "What are you eating?"

Hiru immediately turned to look at Jiang Yuan, her sky-blue eyes filled with "Is it okay? Is it okay?"

Jiang Yuan pulled out a handful of milk candies and lollipops from his pocket and spread them out in his palm.

More than ten cat ears stood up at the same time.

Several girls cautiously approached, and seeing that Jiang Yuan did not object, each took one.

The girl with her hair in a small ponytail imitated Hilu, unwrapping the candy and stuffing it into her mouth. After chewing a couple of times, her eyes widened suddenly, and her cat ears snapped back and then bounced up, standing even straighter than before.

"So sweet!" she mumbled.

Seeing this, the younger sister who had been hiding behind her also peeled one, put it in her mouth, covered her cheek with her little hands, and narrowed her eyes into slits.

The boys each took one, and their reactions were similar. One of them chewed too fast, and some candy stuck to his teeth, so he was picking at it with his fingers.

"What's this?" The girl with her hair in a small bun examined the candy wrapper from all angles.

"Candy." Hilu puffed out her chest triumphantly, her tail wagging. "Jiang Yuan gave it to me."

Several girls simultaneously turned their gazes toward Jiang Yuan, their cat ears standing up in unison.

Jiang Yuan then took out a few more chocolates from the plastic bag and gave one to each of them.

This time, even those teenagers joined in.

A gray-eared boy took a bite of chocolate, chewed it a couple of times, and then his cat ears suddenly pressed against his head, his whole face scrunched up. "Bitter!"

But after swallowing it, he paused for two seconds, then reached out and broke off another small piece, stuffing it into his mouth.

The commotion quickly attracted more attention.

Although the several adult cat-eared people nearby did not come over, their eyes kept glancing in this direction.

A cat-eared woman who looked a few years older than Xilu squatted by the campfire not far away, holding a bowl of grass soup in her hands, her light honey-colored eyes staring intently at the colorful candy wrappers.

Her nostrils twitched occasionally, and her ears turned this way.

Her name is "Qingye". She has been learning to identify herbs since she was a child and has never smelled such a peculiar scent before.

The snacks worked well... Jiang Yuan noticed her gaze and his heart skipped a beat.

When he first arrived at the Frostclaw tribe, he noticed a bundle of dry grass and a pottery jar next to a tree hole.

There was also a forge for forging steel outside the tree hole.

As a tribe that lives by hunting, they naturally have places to forge weapons and armor, and to treat injuries and illnesses.

According to Xilu, the young woman with light honey-colored eyes, "Qingye," and her master were among the few "medicine masters" in the tribe.

Most of the warriors in the tribe rely on their medicine for injuries and illnesses.

Of course, even more serious injuries could be treated with the medicine concocted by Priestess Twilight Leaf.

Jiang Yuan's gaze shifted and then locked onto a young woman by the campfire across the way.

Her dark gray short hair was tied into a short ponytail, revealing two gray and white cat ears.

She is the daughter of the tribe's blacksmith "Red Fang" and also a blacksmithing apprentice.

These two are Jiang Yuan's primary targets.

Since large quantities of food were not advisable at the moment, he decided to test the waters with some snacks first.

At this moment, the two catwomen were staring at Jiang Yuan curiously, unaware that they had already been targeted.

Aoba looked inside expressionlessly, but the tip of her tail flicked gently behind her, revealing her curiosity.

Not only them, but all those who gathered around the central campfire were people of high status and prestige in the tribe.

But out of consideration for adults, no one came over.

Even the leader, Ug, frequently looked over.

Although he had heard from Hilu that this human possessed peculiar food, the first time he smelled this unique aroma, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Mysterious humans..." Ug pondered to himself. However, he wasn't good at using his brain.

This human, who appeared suddenly and whose origins are unknown, will have to be judged by Priestess Twilight Leaf.

Thinking that Priestess Muye had not yet returned, he couldn't help but frown again.