Chapter 367: Building the Street and Discovering the Cursed Doll

The priest was right, the wolf tribe also gave us a vast tract of land; how could we not give the land to them?

Rongdi is being quite reasonable now; he doesn't take advantage of Yao, and of course Yao won't let him take advantage either. He had already thought this through; since peace is desired, some goodwill must be offered.

If we don't give these lands to Yao, Yao won't agree to it, and the road will still be impossible to build. In fact, he is reluctant to part with the lands—they were painstakingly cultivated by their people, cutting trees and moving stones, with the tribe investing great effort, so he is unwilling to let them go.

But, seeing that the wolf tribe and Ying's tribe have both secured passages, only his side hasn't; saying he isn't envious would be false.

Li Xiang is right; only with a passage can the tribe improve further. He sees the wolf tribe's development and naturally doesn't want to fall behind.

He once thought of conquest, but now he only seeks peaceful coexistence.

He suddenly feels how wonderful peace is—no war, no strife, just great ease, and no need to scheme against others, which makes him relaxed.

The tribe, hearing Li Xiang's words, all understood: "Since it is so and there's nothing we can do, what if we have less land? Will we have nothing to eat?"

Li Xiang had already thought this through; he smiled and looked at Rongdi, "I've already considered it. If the Rongdi chief is willing to cede these lands, then naturally we should turn this place into a great granary. What does the chief think?"

"Clearing trees and opening up the land?"

It's a fresh term.

At noon, the sun blazed.

That morning, members of the Ying Tribe saw with their own eyes that a man was devoured by a Wolf Pack; the bones were almost completely consumed. The man was dead, and the tribe was even more terrified.

Especially A Mu, who suffers from superstition, was truly frightened that the man had cursed them.

"Ying, we shouldn't have killed that man; he was from the You Su Tribe. He could have placed a Curse—if that Curse came true, wouldn't our tribe be doomed?"

A Mu, terrified by the severed limbs on the ground, had heard they were going to execute the You Su Tribe man and had rushed to stop it, but she arrived too late.

They had already killed the man.

"Yes, Ying, I also worry about this Curse…"

Ashu is also an old-fashioned man; like A Mu, he believes the dying man cursed them, and if so, not only would building the One Street be impossible, they themselves might fall victim to the Curse.

Ying had previously known that the You Su Tribe were adept at Witch Gu Art; of course he was somewhat worried, but since Qinghuan said there was no Witch Gu, he believed her.

"A Mu, Ashu, don't worry; it's fine, there's no Curse. Build the One Street as usual; I want to see this street before Winter."

Ying wholeheartedly believed Nan Qinghuan's words, because everything Qinghuan said had come true; although the tribe deeply trusted the witchcraft, he trusted Qinghuan.

Qinghuan said if it doesn't exist, it doesn't, so today she already had people start construction.

Clearing trees at the tribe's edge to build a road, allowing people from several tribes to come here to exchange goods; once the road is open, many things become convenient.

Ying enjoyed the benefits brought by the Carriage and the pleasure of traveling the road. Previously, reaching the wolf tribe required crossing Thorny Land and many dangerous places before arriving at the tribe; Chonglin was fraught with hazards, perhaps wolves and poisonous snakes, but now none of that exists—nothing on the main road.

Extremely safe.

Hearing this, A Mu and Ashu could no longer say anything; just as Ying was about to speak, an urgent voice sounded from not far away.

"Ying, something's wrong; we uncovered something."

Starting work today and already uncovering something is very inauspicious to the Ancient People, and they are frightened, because that You Su Tribe man said he placed a Curse on them, saying they couldn't build this street.

The matter quickly reached Nan Qinghuan's ears; when she heard it, she was brewing medicine for Axi, and Youchao Xuan rushed in from outside.

"Goddess, something's happened."

Nan Qinghuan ladled the medicine into an Earthen Bowl and handed it to Axi, "Try it."

Seeing Nan Qinghuan so calm, Youchao Xuan was a bit puzzled, "Goddess, why aren't you worried?"

Nan Qinghuan remained calm; in fact, she had guessed what had happened.

Youchao Xuan hadn't even needed to say it—she had already guessed.

Axi took the bowl and hurriedly asked, "Youchao Xuan, aren't we building One Street? What's wrong?"

"When we were digging, we uncovered a Dead Doll and a Curse; now the tribe dares not touch it, and there's also a snake nest, Goddess—perhaps that spot cannot be built upon."

"A snake nest?"

That made her stand up immediately; those Ancient People are truly superstitious.

It's not a normal matter; now it has become a big deal.

It seems she must go resolve it, otherwise the street they exchanged for cannot be completed.

"Yes, we uncovered a snake nest; A Mu and the others said the man shouldn't have been killed, and that the street can't be built."

Youchao Xuan's anticipated future, he worries, might be altered because of these events.

Nan Qinghuan was unhurried, smiling, "Don't worry, I'll handle it."

In fact, she thought none of these were big issues; if the tribe is superstitious, she'll solve it with superstition.

Sure enough, when Youchao Xuan brought Nan Qinghuan over, the tribe members who had been felling trees had already stopped work; they stood there, at a loss.

When Nan Qinghuan arrived, those tribe members were by Ying's side repeatedly saying that this place couldn't have a street built because it had been cursed.

No one dared to touch that snake nest or the cursed doll; everyone feared bad luck.

Ying stood there, straightening his back; his brow tightened, his wheat-colored skin bronzed by the sun. He said nothing, merely pondering silently how to handle this. Is there really a Curse? If it moves, could it harm the tribe? What should Qinghuan do? He had promised Qinghuan to finish the street; now how should he explain to her? Qinghuan said the street would greatly benefit them, and he also believed it would bring prosperity, but… "Ying, speak up! Let's not build it; this place is terribly ominous."

"Yes, it's better not to build it. Ying, this is the You Su people's Curse; we can't proceed, or disaster will follow."

"Exactly, we should heed the tribe's opinion."

These tribes have barely gotten their lives back on track; they dare not act rashly about anything.

Especially regarding these Curse matters, they are deeply convinced.

Ying pinched his forehead, irritated, about to speak, when a voice from not far away came from the tribe.

"Oumu has arrived."

Qinghuan arrived!

Ying turned his head backward; when he saw Youchao Xuan bringing Qinghuan, he immediately strode forward to greet her, his eyes full of joy, "Qinghuan."