Chapter 316: Two Men Compete for the Bodhi Root

She didn't understand why the assassination suddenly stopped; Ying let out a deep sigh, reached out and gently stroked her little face, "Silly Qinghuan, your senior brother saved you today and also drove the Giant Dragon away for the tribe. He's a very capable person; killing him like that would be such a waste, and you'd surely come find me and be upset, right?"

He had already planned that, aside from Li Xiang, he would be here, but today they dealt with the Giant Dragon together, which let him see Li Xiang's skill. He resented Li Xiang for trying to take Nan Qinghuan away, yet now he understands that Qinghuan will not go with that person; since that's the case, what is he still afraid of? Qinghuan loves him and won't be willing to leave him.

He doesn't kill Li Xiang because he wants to wait until later when he can bring him to the tribe; he just overheard their conversation. He now refuses to come because he's dissatisfied with himself. He believes that as long as he can give Qinghuan a good life, Li Xiang will be friendly toward him.

They might no longer be enemies.

Nan Qinghuan: "……"

Ying's words truly surprised her; she quickly nodded, "Exactly, if you kill senior brother I'll be sad."

"Alright, let's go, the Bo Lan Festival has started; let's go down and see what you like?"

As soon as the words finished, suddenly the pitch‑black night was filled with many beautiful fireflies; they fluttered across the night sky, looking splendid from here.

"It's Gu Worms."

The Gu Worms can actually be used to decorate the sky, just like modern fireworks; multicolored worms dance in the air, dazzling and graceful, tracing the most beautiful arcs.

So beautiful.

After going down, the lower area was also bustling.

The Matriarchal Tribe's Clan Leader Ayina prepared plenty of food, drink, and some weapons; all of these could be taken freely.

No wonder each chief could only bring one person; here she witnessed the civilization's level—there were embroidered bags made of woven hemp. Though craftsmanship wasn't highly advanced, for this ancient age it was already quite good.

There were also some sand fruits she had never seen; Ayina said eating them was good for females, and Nan Qinghuan didn't hesitate, gulping down two at once.

The sand fruit tasted very much like a sweet Hami melon.

What surprised her was how prosperous the Matriarchal Tribe had become.

They not only built houses of stone, but also had many wild beasts to serve them, and the tribe was large with many people; women ruled while men held very low status.

She saw men coaxing children to do chores, women drinking, a woman surrounded by several men; they were dark‑skinned yet very respectful to the women.

All household chores were included.

Not bad at all.

Truly a genuine Matriarchal Tribe.

"Ying, the competition is about to start; are you going?"

Ayina ran over, urging Ying to join the contest, "Go ahead; the last Bodhi Root—whoever wins tonight can take it away."

Bodhi Root? This left Nan Qinghuan a bit confused; Ying's leg was slightly injured, and she didn't want him to go.

"Ying, don't go; your leg is hurt. We can just look around elsewhere."

Ying, however, was very interested; he knew Qinghuan's body was weak and needed the Bodhi Root. After a moment, "Who's left now?"

Ayina hurriedly said, "Rongdi—Rongdi single‑handedly defeated eight chiefs; if you don't go now, he'll win, and the Bodhi Root is his."

Ying wanted, "Qinghuan, I'll go for a moment; you just wander around. I'll have Ayina and Ji Lei stay with you."

"No, Ying, can you not take that thing?"

She didn't know what that thing was for, but Ying's injured leg made her feel sorry.

Ying merely shook his head, reached out and brushed her little face, "It's fine, I'll get the Bodhi Root; I'm leaving."

"Hey, I'll go with you."

Here everyone was picking items, while over there the fighting was fierce; when they arrived, a man was thrown down by Rongdi and nearly coughed up blood and died on the spot.

"Rongdi, Rongdi!"

Everyone below shouted Rongdi's name, screaming like madmen; Rongdi, up there, was also battered and bruised, yet he was exhilarated.

"Who else is coming up to snatch things with me?"

This time he must fight with dignity and claim that Bodhi Root.

"Me."

Ying spoke up.

Everyone stared at him, all hoping he could have a proper fight with Rongdi.

The Matriarchal Tribe's Clan Leader, hearing Ying arrive, hurried forward with concern, "Ying, your leg is still injured—will it…?"

"I'm fine, I'm coming."

His leg had been cut by an Emperor Crocodile's scale, throbbing painfully, yet he said nothing.

Nan Qinghuan had originally planned to take him to a secluded spot inside the Merchant city to buy medicine, but he insisted on fighting.

What to do? Rongdi, seeing Ying arrive, squinted slightly; he also wanted the Bodhi Root. Spotting Ying standing below, he tried to taunt, "Ying, your leg's injured—so you want to become a useless thing, huh?"

"Who's afraid of whom?"

"Hey, Ying, don't go; I'll go back and show you the leg."

Nan Qinghuan wanted Ying to go back so she could show him the leg, but Ying ignored her and went up.

He went up and stood together with Rongdi, overlooking everyone below.

Both of them were tall; it looked like a fight was about to break out.

Nan Qinghuan, down below, was terrified; why did these people start fighting over the slightest disagreement?

"Junior sister, Ying's leg can't fight anymore."

Then Li Xiang stepped forward, standing beside her and said a caring remark, which left Nan Qinghuan very surprised.

How could senior brother care about Ying? Li Xiang seemed to know what she meant, "He's fighting desperately to protect you; that changed my view of him. I thought wild people were just brute and unreasonable, but…"

"Senior brother..."

"Never mind, let's drop that. He's stubborn; let's see who can snatch that Bodhi Root."

Li Xiang said that, leaving Nan Qinghuan a bit confused, "What is the Bodhi Root, and why do they all want it?"

Li Xiang frowned, "I heard it's a Divine Medicine that can help Rongdi's Beastman body heal faster. Last time I heard he was injured by a huge gorilla and needed the Bodhi Root for treatment. The Beastman's genetics are strange; unfortunately he can't return, otherwise I'd be quite interested in studying it."

"Injured?"

When the matter was brought up, Nan Qinghuan finally recalled the previous incident; last time Jingang was beaten into that state—could it have been fighting Rongdi? Then what is Ying doing with that thing? "I'm also very curious what Ying uses this treasure for—does he eat it himself, or is his body having problems?"

This made Nan Qinghuan even more worried.

The two men above started fighting, and the ancient‑style brawl was so savage that she could not bear to watch, because she saw Ying's leg bleeding.

In the end she could no longer stand it.

She shouted toward the stage.

"Stop fighting, stop fighting, stop!"

The two men were trading punches, and Nan Qinghuan rushed out; they immediately stopped.

"Qinghuan, what are you doing?"

"Stop fighting, your leg is bleeding—do you want to become a cripple?"

She was angry, reached out to press her hand against his leg's fresh blood; the blood kept flowing, and she needed to apply medicine.

Ying's eyes were already bloodshot, "Qinghuan, don't worry about me, I must obtain the Bodhi Root."

"Don't take it— is the leg more important or that thing? Come with me, Ji Lei will take him away."

Ying withdrew midway because of his injury, and the Bodhi Root naturally fell into the hands of Rongdi; it is a root‑like treasure, handed to him personally by the Clan Leader.

"Congratulations, Rongdi leader."

Although Ashina really wanted to give this thing to Ying, she is the Clan Leader; since Ying withdrew, she could only give it to Rongdi.

Rongdi had Li Xiang store the item properly and was very pleased; this time, although they didn't win the fight, they did obtain the Bodhi Root.

"Let's go."

After Rongdi took the Bodhi Root here, Nan Qinghuan entered a space, used a Merit Bean to purchase medicine and applied it to him; even after everything was done, Ying was still dissatisfied.

"Qinghuan, you shouldn't have stopped me; I must obtain the Bodhi Root."

Seeing how much Ying wanted that thing, she didn't understand how important it was; she only knew that Ying's life was the most important!

"Ying, in my heart you are more important than anything; I don't regret coming up to stop you. Whatever good thing you want, we will have in the future, but we only have one pair of legs, understand?"

"Qinghuan"

Ying was not giving up; this is the best tonic for Qinghuan—only by eating it will she not feel so uncomfortable and won't vomit.

But he wouldn't tell Qinghuan about this.

After thinking, he got an idea, lifted his gaze at Ji Lei beside him, "Ji Lei, where is Rongdi?"

??