RPS – Chapter 24 Corn and Soybeans

Li Feng stared at the brightly striped tiger that suddenly leapt toward him. His previously frozen body somehow found strength from somewhere, and he abruptly rolled to the side. The tiger pounced into empty air and let out a deafening roar. The sound startled the birds in the forest, sending them flapping into the sky.

Although he had narrowly avoided the initial attack, Li Feng still didn’t dare to turn and run outright. He knew that racing against a tiger was a hopeless idea—no human could match a tiger’s explosive power and speed. His rarely-used brain began working at full speed, thinking of how to escape danger. He was certain that the others would soon realize he was missing, and besides, the tiger’s roar must have already alerted the rest of the tribe.

But this wasn’t an ordinary beast. Even if the others came, they wouldn’t be able to kill it immediately. More likely, they would only enrage it, making things worse. Li Feng didn’t want to see more of his tribe members get hurt—especially since Li and the others were the closest.

His thoughts raced through his mind in a flash, though only a moment passed in the real world. Glancing at the dense jungle around him, Li Feng suddenly curled his lips into a smile—he had thought of a plan, though he wasn’t sure if it would work.

He began slowly edging to the side. Meanwhile, the tiger, frustrated from missing its target, launched another attack. The speed was so fast that Li Feng imagined even an afterimage lingering in the air. “Roar—!” Another earth-shaking roar, but it wasn’t a victorious one.

Li Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead and scrambled to his feet. “Feng—!” In the distance, Li and Bu had seen the tiger lunging at Li Feng, but they were too far away to intervene. They had only managed to hurl their wooden spears, which missed completely. Just as they thought Li Feng was about to be mauled, they let out anguished, furious cries—especially Li, who was now charging forward in large strides.

However, the tragic ending they feared didn’t occur. The tiger stepped right into the trap they had set earlier. With its heavy pounce, it triggered the vine trap and was hoisted into the air. The tiger was heavy, and the vines wouldn’t hold it for long—but the time it bought was enough for Li and the others to deal with it.

(On a side note—don’t buy tiger products. No matter how fierce tigers seem, humans are the real monsters. Just look at the tragedies caused by poachers—it’s horrifying. No matter how savage wild beasts are, they’re nothing compared to the cruelty of humans. Truly despicable. Poachers deserve the worst! At least in ancient times, there was a basic balance between humans and animals. But now, humanity has fallen too far—driven by greed. It’s a tragedy!)

“Feng, are you okay?” Nuo rushed over and checked Li Feng from head to toe. Once he saw he was unharmed, he let out a huge sigh of relief. “Hey, you scared us half to death, you know?” Still shaken, Nuo held tightly onto Li Feng’s hand, refusing to let go. This guy really knew how to run off and cause trouble.

“Next time, you’re not allowed to come along!” Li rarely got angry, but now he wore a stern face. The situation just now had scared him badly. If it weren’t for the trap, Li Feng would be dead for sure. No one could have saved him. “Didn’t I tell you to stay by my side and not leave even half a step?”

Li Feng was startled by Li’s serious expression. Although Li didn’t usually smile much, his eyes were always gentle. “But I found something good,” Li Feng muttered in defense.

“Feng, what could be so good that you’d risk your life for it?” Nuo asked, seeing that Li Feng had been genuinely frightened.

Li Feng frowned. It wasn’t like he wanted to risk his life. How could he have known a tiger would show up just a few dozen meters from where the others were? If he’d known there was a tiger nearby, even if there were mountains of gold and silver, he wouldn’t have gone over. “I think it’s corn and beans. I couldn’t see clearly from far away. But if we have those, we wouldn’t have to worry about starving even if we don’t hunt.”

Mentioning this perked Li Feng up. Eating meat every day wasn’t something everyone could handle—especially for someone like him who grew up on grains and vegetables. His stomach just wasn’t that strong.

Bu walked over after dealing with the tiger and happened to catch what Li Feng said. “Really? We wouldn’t go hungry in winter even without hunting?”

“Yes,” Li Feng nodded. “But we still have to get closer and check. I don’t know how much there is yet.” As he spoke, he tugged Nuo, wanting to head forward again.

Li yanked him back. “Do you have a death wish? You’re not afraid of tigers anymore?” This guy was unbelievably thick-headed—he had just narrowly avoided becoming tiger food, and now he still wanted to press on.

“It’s fine. Generally, where there’s a tiger, there won’t be any other wild beasts. And usually, there’s only one tiger per mountain,” Li Feng said.

Of course, he left out the part about mating season—who knew when tigers went into heat? Judging by this tiger’s behavior, it shouldn’t be in mating season, right? As long as it wasn’t, the situation wouldn’t be too dangerous. After all, there’s a saying: “One mountain cannot house two tigers.” So this place should be relatively safe.

Li and the others weren’t aware of these specifics, but they did know that tigers usually roamed alone. And hearing Li Feng mention corn and soybeans stirred their interest—if it really was like he said, why not go check it out? After all, the only tiger around had already been dealt with.

“Fine. But this time, you’re not taking a single step away from me,” Li said sternly to Li Feng.

“…”

Li Feng nodded quickly like a pecking chick. He agreed without hesitation. Even if someone asked him to leave, he wouldn’t—there was food to eat and people to protect him when he stuck with big bro. He wasn’t stupid.

Li and Bu carried the tiger up the mountain, leaving Li Feng stunned. They were really hauling something so important up there? Why not just leave it where it was? Were they afraid other wild animals would eat it? Were there even animals that ate tigers? Li Feng turned to Nuo and asked.

To his surprise, Nuo’s answer matched his guess—it was to keep other beasts from eating it. After all, tiger pelts were very precious.

“Feng, you were amazing this time! You actually brought down a tiger yourself! This pelt is yours,” he said excitedly.

According to tribal rules, whoever brought down the prey got the pelt, while the meat was shared equally.

“Then let’s leave the tiger here and go inform the chief,” Li Feng suggested.

Since the tribe had surely heard the tiger’s roar earlier, they would probably come over soon. His suggestion was quickly accepted. When the others arrived, they gave a rough explanation, saying Li Feng had used a trap to catch it. The tribal men looked at him with admiration—after all, it had been a long time since anyone had hunted a tiger.

Li Feng told them to place the tiger with the other hunted game from the tribe. Then, he and the others went to the nearby area to check the corn and soybeans. If there was a lot, they would call the tribe to gather together and collect it.

When they climbed the slope, what lay before them in patches of yellow and green really were corn and soybeans. Most were nearly ripe, some already overripe, but Li Feng still managed to find some tender corn and beans to take back and cook. Young green soybeans could be stir-fried, and the fresh beans were fragrant and flavorful. Even the old corn and yellow beans could be roasted and eaten—crunchy and delicious.

The corn grew scattered across the slope, with soybeans mixed among the stalks. Li Feng peeled open an ear and took a look. Though smaller and less plump than modern varieties, the kernels were there. At the very least, it was grain—and edible.

Especially cornmeal and soybean flour—when mixed together into a paste and spread thinly on a flat iron pan to make pancakes, stuffed with various wild vegetables inside… just the thought made Li Feng’s mouth water. These grains and legumes were much more appealing than meat to him now.

Li Feng picked a good number of soybean pods and stuffed them into his basket. Nuo’s basket was filled with tender corn as well. Li and the others tried some, but immediately spat it out with twisted expressions—it tasted weird and wasn’t good at all. Li Feng burst into laughter at the sight. After he had laughed enough, he finally explained how to cook and eat them under their unamused gazes.

Now, Li and the others trusted Li Feng almost instinctively when it came to food. They didn’t even bother to think anymore—if he said it was edible, it definitely was. However, they had brought too few baskets this time and couldn’t carry much. But Li Feng hadn’t planned to take everything anyway. There would be plenty of chances later. For now, they would just bring some back to eat first.

Li Feng and Nuo returned to the trap carrying their baskets. He looked around, wondering what today’s haul would be like. Ideally, they’d catch some live animals too—especially ones that could produce milk. That way, he wouldn’t have to worry so much about the baby’s nutrition!