Chapter 343: Discovered the Trail of Well Salt in the Mase Tribe

Twilight hung low, and a bright moon hung high in the clouds.

The Ying Tribe shone amid a sea of candlelight, and the Tulou bathed in the bright lamps, especially warm.

The tribe members had returned early to rest and cook, and Nan Qinghuan was no exception; she sat at the doorway with Youchao Xuan handling the Carriage wood, but her mind was a bit elsewhere.

"Goddess, you made a mistake."

Youchao Xuan helplessly reminded for the third time.

"Ah, wrong again?"

Youchao Xuan smiled patiently, "Look, it's like this, Goddess, what's wrong with you?"

Nan Qinghuan, not wanting to continue, rested her head against the wall; it was late autumn and the night was a bit cold, though the Bonfire in the room blazed and could warm people.

But Nan Qinghuan's heart was uneasy.

"I don't know what's happened to them, whether they've found the Mase tribe; it's already been a day."

Those who went out this morning have not shown any sign of returning even as night fell, which made her very worried.

"Qinghuan, don't worry, it's fine; Ying will definitely come back."

Mother, though she opposed them attacking the Mase tribe, could only pray for safety now that her son had gone.

She held a pitch‑black stone in her hand, intending to go out, and Gungun wanted to follow her; since Nan Qinghuan became pregnant, Gungun had been locked up by Ying.

Seeing Gungun had become thin, Mother released him to wander a while now that Ying was away.

"Mother, where are you going?"

"Mother is going to pray to the gods; you stay at home."

"Pray to the gods?"

Nan Qinghuan followed her, and Youchao Xuan, seeing her worry about Ying, said, "Goddess, don't worry, Ying will be fine, and haven't you forgotten that Rongdi are there? Rongdi are Beastmen who will protect him."

"Rongdi..."

Nan Qinghuan sighed deeply, "Youchao Xuan, it's like a dream; I still remember when we were at the Golden Nest, we besieged Rongdi together. Back then I thought the two Tribes would fight to the death, but I didn't expect my senior brother to arrive, and everything changed."

"It was still the Goddess's merit; actually I also think peace is better than conflict."

"You think so too?"

Youchao Xuan nodded, "Yes, I like peace and dislike war. Look at how happy the Tribe members are now, living in clean Tulou with food and land to farm. Goddess, that's true happiness, don't you think?"

"Happiness, Youchao Xuan, ChaoJi is to marry Yao; we will attend the wedding feast in three days, you must go."

"That girl being with Yao later is fine; it's better than staying with me."

"And you?"

Chatting with Youchao Xuan allowed her to shift her focus, so she wasn't as worried; otherwise she wouldn't sleep tonight.

"Me?"

Youchao Xuan's gaze was deep as he told her without fear, "Goddess, my dream is to see what the future looks like; I don't want to start a family."

She disagreed, "You fool, the future and starting a family aren't contradictory, understand?"

She didn't know what Youchao Xuan was insisting on, or whether he hadn't found a woman he liked.

No, she must change this man's thinking.

"You think ChaoJi now has a home, Dashan also has a home, Ji Lei also has a home, Ashu now has one, and only you remain; aren't you at all envious?"

She sensed Youchao Xuan might have a secret; his expression stayed complex as he looked at her, then he shook his head, "No, I need to see the future before starting a family. Goddess, you'll help us, won't you?"

Nan Qinghuan, seeing he was too stubborn, had no choice but to nod, "Yes, I will help you, I will."

【7】 "Dong dong dong…"

Thump… Thump… Thump…

Suddenly, Adong dong dong sound came from the forest outside, startling the tribe members inside; they hurried out of the house to the area beneath the Tulou.

Then they faced the forest, palms pressed together.

Nan Qinghuan sprang up, "Let's go see."

When they went down, the tribe members were still praying with palms together; Axi, seeing Nan Qinghuan arrive, hurried forward, "Qinghuan."

"Axi, what is that sound?"

"You don't know?"

Nan Qinghuan shook her head, "I don't know, what's up? Why are they beating a Bronze Drum so late at night?"

"It must be that Ying's group won, it must be."

The tribe cheered, and Axi was also very happy, "It must be that the Masai were defeated; Ying's side won."

Great!

The tribe kept cheering; Nan Qinghuan and Youchao Xuan exchanged a glance—Ying won? So easily? "The leaders have returned."

Hearing that the leaders had returned, Nan Qinghuan was even more delighted, "Let's go welcome them, Axi, gather the tribe to slaughter chickens and sheep, prepare fine wine; we will celebrate their victory."

"Alright, fine."

They got to work; upon hearing they were back, the tribe members began preparing a Bonfire. When Nan Qinghuan and Youchao Xuan arrived at the tribe's gate to wait, they saw a group of people slowly approaching from afar.

The leading man was none other than her husband, she felt like the Wangfu Stone herself, and without hesitation she rushed forward and embraced him.

"Ying"

Li Xiang and the others followed behind; seeing her rush in to hug Ying, Li Xiang was first stunned but quickly relaxed.

"Qinghuan"

Ying had never expected Qinghuan to be so enthusiastic; he reached out and gently patted her head, "Go back, there are many people to hug."

With a puff, Nan Qinghuan couldn't help laughing; the man had even become shy.

Interesting!

She quickly let go of him, looked at Li Xiang and the others, "Senior brother, are you all okay?"

"Junior sister, I'm fine."

Qinghuan, I said I'd protect Ying; see, I've brought him back to you.

Thank you, Rongdi; everyone is safe, right? I've already had people prepare a bonfire party, so don't leave tonight; let's drink and eat meat to celebrate.

Ying was very happy, "Of course we should celebrate. Guess what treasure we found among the Mase tribe?"

"Treasure? What treasure?"

Ying quickly had Dashan take a white object from the bamboo basket and hand it to her, "Your senior brother said this stone can be used to make salt; take a look."

Their salt is scarce; the tribe is too large, and the lake salt can no longer meet their needs.

So the Mase tribe's treasure turned out to be salt.

They discovered rock salt.

When she saw the rock salt, Nan Qinghuan was startled, "It's rock salt, senior brother. Where did you find it?"

That night, Nan Qinghuan slaughtered chickens and goats to celebrate their return; under the blazing bonfire, the tribe sang and danced, rejoicing in this great victory.

The Masai eat human flesh; for the tribe, exterminating them is better than keeping them, and now they need not fear Masai threats, because they will come to worship the moon and might appear at any time.

That evening, the Ying Tribe revelled wildly, and Rongdi was also very happy; not only did he and Ying easily eradicate the Masai, they also seized so many treasures there.

Especially the rock salt.

His tribe also had salt to eat, which made Rongdi think this trip was worthwhile.

He raised a bowl of wine, "Ying, you won't leave tonight unless you're drunk."

Rongdi was rarely this happy, and Ying naturally was as well; everyone ate, drank, and laughed as if they had no worries, and Li Xiang personally poured a bowl of wine to toast Nan Qinghuan, "Qinghuan, I have something to tell you."

Nan Qinghuan was about to reach out, but Ying reached out, took the drink and downed it in one gulp, "Qinghuan, if you're pregnant you shouldn't drink. What did you want to say? Are you planning a wedding?"

Nan Qinghuan smiled at Li Xiang, "We've been taken by the Masai, and there's a wedding?" Curious, she asked, "Senior brother, what wedding are you planning?"