Chapter 110: Witnessing All the Astonishing Things

The leading old man shook his head; his eyes were dried up, lifeless like dead wood, his face full of wrinkled, snarling lines crawling over his chin and the corners of his eyes, somewhat resembling Shiva.

The old man's voice sounded helpless, "Everything was devoured by beasts, yet Ying still hasn't forgiven us."

When he finished speaking, a bloodthirsty glint flashed in the old man's eyes, "Since you came, you will be our food."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the old man waved his hand and lunged at her; Nan Qinghuan's eyes were sharp, her hands swift, and her body flashed to dodge the old wildman's attack, then she kicked his butt.

Ouch…

The wildman was kicked to the ground, wailing incessantly, and the remaining wildmen were terrified—could this Ou Mu actually hit people? Fearing the old man would keep attacking, Nan Qinghuan immediately stepped forward, planted a foot on his chest, preventing him from getting up, and said, "I bear no grudge against you; why do you want to eat me?"

The few wildmen hadn't expected her to be able to beat someone, and instantly knelt, "Ou Mu, spare us; the old uncle did it for us. We haven't eaten for five days; we've eaten all the bark here, and now we're eating dirt."

"Five days without food?"

Nan Qinghuan suddenly felt some sympathy for the wildmen beneath her foot; she gently lifted her foot, cast a complicated glance at the starving, dazed wildmen, and indeed, when people are famished to the extreme, they can do anything.

She let out a deep sigh, "You all come with me."

Fortunately, she had some dried jerky in her backpack, originally intended for her own consumption, but now… seeing these wildmen starving to the point of delirium, she realized that if she didn't take it out, they might not make it today. "Eat a bit first; this is what I brought from our tribe. What exactly did you do wrong, and when can you leave?"

When they saw the jerky, the wildmen snatched it and began gnawing; the jerky was salted and tasted quite good, and after eating it, the wildmen were immediately won over by her.

"Ou Mu, this jerky is delicious; can our tribe now eat meat every day?"

"Our tribe now has meat to eat?"

She immediately realized that these wildmen must have been stuck here for a long time without a way out; the old wildman couldn't swallow the jerky but was still chewing it, as if it were the best flavor he had ever tasted.

"What exactly did you do wrong?"

The wildmen looked a bit embarrassed, "We stole food and were punished by Ying, brought in here; we've been stuck for three months. When we arrived there were over ten tribe members; now only four of us remain."

"Over ten reduced to just you; how did they die? Could it be that you…"

"No, we didn't eat them; they were taken by the Sky Wolf. Just now, when your thing lit up, we thought the Sky Wolf had arrived."

"Sky Wolf?"

She seemed to recall something, as if she'd heard of a Sky Wolf here—was it a beast? "Yes, Ou Mu, that Sky Wolf is taller than a person and can devour someone in a single gulp. It's terrifying; we don't know when we'll survive—it might be that we die here tomorrow."

"Not only that, this place is close to the Wolf Clan; when Wolf Clan members see our tribe members they will kill us. Ou Mu, what mistake did you make?"

The few tribe members were curious how Ou Mu could also make a mistake. The old wildman, apologetic for what he had just done, tilted his head and asked her, "Ou Mu?"

Seeing the tribe members about to ask, Nan Qinghuan didn't know what to say. She leaned against a big tree, looked up at the dazzling stars overhead, and the silence here felt frightening.

She gritted her teeth, not answering, "When will you be allowed to go back? The tribe's situation has changed a lot; there are sweet potatoes to eat and Hemp Robe to wear."

Hearing this, the wildmen wanted to return, but… "We don't know either. We've been here for three months, but we haven't heard Ying's summons; he still hasn't forgiven us."

"Summons?"

She felt a bit sympathetic toward them, because they were punished for stealing and left to die in this place where not even birds defecate; I have to say it's truly perverse, punishing them by making them work, right? "Ou Mu, the Treehouse's grass floor is ready; go up and sleep, we'll keep watch for you."

The wildmen, after eating her jerky, also took on the task of caring for her, laying out the grass so she could rest.

Nan Qinghuan quickly stood up, "Don't worry; as long as you follow me I won't let you starve. By the way, do you know how far this place is from the Cannibal Tribe?"

She thought it over; they couldn't stay long. Since Ying no longer wanted her, she would return to the Cannibal Tribe to develop agriculture and bring good days to its people.

"Cannibal Tribe?"

The old man thought for a moment, "There's a river not far ahead; it's said to be a place the Cannibal Tribe likes to come to. Ou Mu, why are you looking for them? They might eat people."

"Yes, Ou Mu, they do eat people."

Nan Qinghuan didn't want to explain much; with the help of these wildmen she now had a place to stay for the night. With their assistance she climbed up to the Treehouse, which, though small, was very safe.

Some grass was laid out as a simple bed; she lay there looking up at the sky through the gaps, and in the pitch-black night the stars glittered, the surrounding silence terrifyingly still.

Now the tribe can't return, nor can the modern world; she has to think about how to proceed.

She was daydreaming like this, half-asleep and about to sleep, when suddenly there was movement in the forest below.

Immediately, several wildmen stood up; they were a bit at a loss, but simply raised their sticks to protect the big tree.

A young tribe member shouted up to the tree, "Ou Mu, hide quickly; the Wolf Clan is coming!"

When she heard the Wolf Clan was coming, she also sprang to her feet; through a faint crack she actually saw… what the heck, what is that? A horde of wildmen were attacking them, their eyes actually glowed in the night, and she also saw… the night was seductive, yet inside Ying's cave the candlelight shone brightly.

A Mu was beside them, earnestly trying to persuade Ying, "Ying, go fetch Qinghuan tomorrow; without her, we can't make the Hemp Robe."

"Yes, Ying, without Qinghuan we can't grow sweet potatoes; the ones we planted yesterday died today. We can't cultivate without her."

Axi and A Mu took turns urging him, while Ying merely sat at the stone table, drinking bowl after bowl without restraint.

"Ying…"

"Go out"

Ying coldly rebuked A Mu and Axi, his eyes filled with pain; in his heart he did think of her—this was the first night since he had known Nan Qinghuan, and that night they…

【48】 He was made to hate her for taking Herbal Medicine, for not wanting to bear his offspring, even… "Hehe…"

She felt some sympathy for these people; being punished for stealing and left to die in this barren place was truly twisted—was punishing them with labor not enough? "Ou Mu, the grass on the Treehouse is laid out; you can go up and sleep, we'll keep watch."

He let out a bitter laugh, and A Mu and Axi dared not persuade further, because they had never seen Ying so distressed; Axi tried to say something but was pulled away by Dashan.

"Axi, A Mu, you should go out first; Ying is uneasy at heart, let him think it over."

A Mu was still wearing the Hemp Robe made by Nan Qinghuan; she looked at her son with concern, then glanced at the pitch-black Chonglin outside, "Sigh, Qinghuan is so petite, has never stayed outside, I wonder if she's afraid?"

"A Mu, don't worry; Ou Mu has light, she says she's afraid of nothing."

Outside the cave, Dashan returned. Hearing this, Ying suddenly stopped drinking, rose quickly, strode toward Dashan, then grabbed his neck with a hand, nearly lifting him entirely.

"What else did she say?"