Chapter 869: I simply can't believe it

He stared blankly at Tuan Tuan, the bow and arrow in his hand slowly lowered.

The deer herd's brown eyes flickered with a gentle light amidst the dappled tree shadows.

They walked around the thickets, trod over the scorched, blackened clearing, and approached Tuan Tuan.

Ma Li'an's face showed a hint of bewilderment for the first time.

These deer, who usually fled at the sound of a bowstring, now stood calmly around the little child, like a flock of docile goats.

Luo Zhenjiang gently set Tuan Tuan on the ground.

Tuan Tuan took the antler and walked up to the lead doe standing at the front of the herd.

The doe lowered her head, gently sniffed the antler in her hand, then touched her small hand with her warm nose.

Tuan Tuan raised her hand and lightly stroked the doe's neck.

The doe blinked her eyes and let out a low call from her throat.

Tuan Tuan lifted her head, looked at the surrounding fawns, and said happily, "You're so well-behaved!"

But soon she realized that although the deer surrounded her, they all kept their distance from the half-dried deer hide.

A fawn closest to her trembled at the smell of the hide, jerked back a few steps, hid behind the doe, showing only half its head, its wet big eyes flashing with fear.

Tuan Tuan looked at that piece of hide.

Dark red bloodstains still lingered on the hide's edge, with several flies buzzing around it nonstop.

"Don't be afraid," she said, placing the antler into her sachet, reaching out with her two small hands to hug the doe's neck and press her cheek against its warm fur, "I will save you."

The doe let her rub against it, tilting its head.

Tuan Tuan turned around, looked at Ma Li'an still standing foolishly under the tree, and asked, "Why do you keep catching them?"

Ma Li'an turned to Cai Tong, who quickly translated Tuan Tuan's words for him.

Ma Li'an fell silent for a moment, then replied in a few rapid syllables.

Cai Tong said: "He says the Red-haired Barbarians demand deer hides, needing a lot each year; if they fall short, they get whipped."

Tuan Tuan lowered her head, stroked the doe's ear, and the doe kept lowing softly beside her.

Moments later, Xiao Tuanzi lifted his head, his eyes bright and shining, yet veiled with a thin layer of moisture.

"They told me many of their family members have disappeared; you also have family, so why harm them so they can't reunite with theirs?"

Cai Tong was stunned.

Ma Li'an frowned and pressed for more; only then did he regain his composure and relay Tuan Tuan's words.

Ma Li'an's hand suddenly clenched the bow stave.

He looked at the gentle eyes of the doe, then at the half-dried hide, as if wanting to argue something, but ultimately said nothing.

Xiao Ningxun's heart stirred, and he asked, "Elder, you've been hunting deer for years, paying tribute of hides to the Red-haired Barbarians each year; I wonder how many deer remain in these mountains?"

Cai Tong translated that.

Ma Li'an's face darkened.

He remained silent for a while, then replied in a low voice.

Cai Tong said: "He says it's getting harder and harder."

"Before, one could see several herds in a day's mountain trek; now, after three or five days, one might not even encounter a herd."

"The elders say the deer are dwindling, likely to be hunted to extinction by this generation."

Xiao Ningxun nodded and asked further, "If no one demanded deer hides from you—meaning, if you didn't have to hunt deer anymore—do you have other ways to make a living?"

Cai Tong translated it all, and Ma Li'an let out a heavy snort from his nose.

"We never relied on hunting deer for a living." He raised his rough big hand, gesturing at the surrounding undulating hills and forests, his face showing a hint of displeasure at being looked down upon.

"There's plenty in the mountains! The deer are what the Red-haired Barbarians want, not what we ourselves need."

He spoke a sentence, Cai Tong translated a sentence.

"The mountains have wild boars, hares, birds, and the rivers hold fish, shrimp, and shells."

"Around the rainy season, fish are abundant; dried, they can be stored for several months."

"With these, our tribe's women and children can easily handle them; why would we need to chase deer all over the mountains?"

"The camphor trees in these mountains can be made into camphor, which the Han people love and scramble to buy."

"There are also vines, honey, and various herbs, which they also favor."

"We also make dried fruit from wild fruits, which keeps for a long time without spoiling."

"These things need no planting; they're everywhere in the mountains, far less labor-intensive than chasing deer."

He paused, then snorted again: "Don't think only you Han people know how to farm."

"We also farm—millet, sweet potatoes, taro—anywhere in the mountains where slash-and-burn is possible; though the yield doesn't match your sugarcane fields, it's still enough to feed the whole tribe."

His voice lowered: "Since the Han people arrived, we've retreated into the mountains, and our ancestors have lived this way for generations."

"These past few decades, the Red-haired Barbarians have held guns to our heads, forcing us to deliver deer hides each year; if we can't, we get beaten—what else can we do?"

"Everyone goes out to hunt deer, leaving no time for these other tasks. In recent years, deer have grown scarcer, we've become poorer, far worse than before."

His face darkened: "How are you any different from the Red-haired Barbarians? Why pretend benevolence here when it's not how we ourselves wish to live?"

Everyone fell silent upon hearing that.

The indigenous people's plight today is certainly due to the Red-haired Barbarians' atrocities.

But if it weren't for the large influx of Han settlers occupying the lowland, they wouldn't have to cling to life in the deep mountains.

Things have come to this, and it's impossible to make the Han people leave their homes and withdraw entirely from Taiwan Island; this is practically a dead knot.

Moments later, Xiao Ze stood up.

He walked up to Ma Li'an, raised his hand, imitating his earlier gesture, palm down, placing it on his own chest.

Ma Li'an's brow twitched slightly.

"Elder, I can promise, after the Imperial Court recovers Taiwan," Xiao Ze's face solemn, "from now on we will not collect even a single copper coin of tax from you."

"There will also be a stall reserved for you in the Red Bank Market."

"Your camphor, rattan, dried fruit, and the grain you grow can all be taken to the market to sell."

"The price is up to you; as long as someone is willing to buy, however much you sell is yours, and you don't have to hand over even a single copper coin."

"The silver you earn can be used to buy food and sugarcane from the Han people, and the Imperial Court also does not collect their taxes."

"That way, you and the Han people can each live in peace."

He turned his head to look at Tuan Tuan weaving through the deer herd, stroking the little deer: "Please, Elder, think carefully: in this world, there is only the principle of raising chickens to lay eggs; how could there be killing chickens to take their eggs?"

"The deer are almost hunted out; don't keep killing them, let them breed and multiply."

Ma Li'an listened as Cai Tong translated each sentence, his eyes gradually widening.

He stared fixedly at Xiao Ze's face, as if trying to discern whether these words hid some trap.

Xiao Ze did not avoid his gaze, continuing: "From now on, no one will again hold a firearm to your heads, forcing you to hand over anything you do not wish to give."

Ma Li'an glanced at him, then looked up toward Tuan Tuan.

Tuan Tuan had already sat on the mother deer's back, hugging its neck as he walked back and forth in the clearing; the surrounding deer all followed behind, their calls revealing a joy he had not heard in a long time.

Ma Li'an's bow and arrow slipped to the ground.

Everyone's gaze gathered on his face, hoping this elder could see reason.

After a long while, Ma Li'an slowly said: "What you say, I simply dare not believe."

Cai Tong sighed, translating his words.

Everyone's expressions darkened.

Immediately, Ma Li'an added: "But if you can do one thing, I will believe you once."