Chapter 17: My Peerless Hero

In the Forest came several towering, horse‑sized wild men; they had white Totems painted on their faces, each brandishing a bull‑head Scepter, surrounding her while singing and dancing, and scattering white flowers over her—this was clearly treating her as a Ritual offering.

Not good!

"Wuwu…"

She kept struggling to break free, but the vines bound her tightly.

"Burn the different‑eyed one, burn the different‑eyed one."

Nan Qinghuan knew her life hung by a thread tonight; more and more wild men gathered here. It was her first time seeing so many wild men—about a hundred in total—and each one stared at her with such angry eyes that seemed ready to devour her.

A Yue held a wooden moon Scepter in her hand, then waved at the dancing people; they immediately halted, respectfully listening to A Yue.

"A Plague God has arisen within the clan; today I, A Yue, in the name of the Shamaness, have captured the Plague God's different‑eyed one. Let us use divine fire to burn the different‑eyed one, pray to the Heavenly God for forgiveness, and allow the female to bear offspring."

"Burn her, burn him."

In the crowd, the wild men kept shouting to burn her; then many of them added firewood at her feet. This truly seemed poised to burn her alive.

"Wuwu…"

She kept shaking her head—it's over, what to do? The Old Clan Leader, seeing her struggle, stepped forward, glanced at Nan Qinghuan, and said, "No matter where you come from, tonight your sins will be forgiven; light the fire."

"Clan Leader, no! She is Ying's female; she cannot be burned."

Axi ran over, continuously pleading with the Clan Leader; the Old Clan Leader, however, was resolute, "How can a different‑eyed one be Ying's female?"

"Exactly. This different‑eyed one's origin is unknown, but she is clearly the Plague God. Since she entered the clan, we have been unable to bear offspring; now they are still wailing in the Cave. All these sins stem from this female; only by burning her can the Plague God be driven away."

A Yue could not wait for Nan Qinghuan to be burned now; only if she dies can she be with Ying.

Axi, seeing A Yue's resolve to burn Ying's female, said, "Sister A Yue, you're insane; Qinghuan is Ying's female. If you burn her, Ying will not spare you when he returns."

"You stinky brat, who are you really helping? Guards, pull Axi down."

"Let go of me, let go of me."

Axi was taken away, and the great fire was lit. A Yue, seeing the flames rise, seemed to sigh in relief and walked to Nan Qinghuan's side, lifted her head and looked at her triumphantly, "Only I am worthy of Ying; only I can bear his offspring."

"Wuwu…"

Nan Qinghuan saw the fire blaze; she was frantic, wanting to jump, what to do, what to do? In that moment she even hoped Ying would come to save her, but she was disappointed, forced to hold her breath and avoid inhaling too much smoke; yet even so, she was badly coughing from the fumes.

"Burn her, burn her."

A Shamaness beside her kept striking a stone tool, the sound irritating and unsettling. Nan Qinghuan realized there was no way to call for help and completely gave up struggling; she closed her eyes, awaiting death. Yet, in her daze, she seemed to hear someone calling her name.

"Qinghuan, Qinghuan."

But the voice was very small, so small that she thought she was hallucinating in her confusion.

"Stop."

That "Stop" seemed to give her hope to live; she suddenly opened her eyes—yes, she seemed to hear Ying's voice. She strained to lift her head to look down, only to see…