Chapter 68: Discovering the Salt Well

As soon as these words were spoken, Ying's gaze remained fixed on her small face, his eyes carrying a trace of fervor. "Huaner, what are you talking about?"

Nan Qinghuan appeared extremely excited, her smile blooming like a flower, the joy at the corners of her mouth enough to melt ten thousand layers of ice and snow, her brows filled with complete confidence. She pointed at the Devil Spring before them and loudly announced, "Ying, Xuan, Axi, Dashan, I know why this place is called Death Valley — because the water here is not ordinary water."

Hearing Nan Qinghuan's words, Ying did not understand at all. He gazed out at the Devil Spring before them. "Huaner, you're saying this water is what kind of water?"

Nan Qinghuan knew he wouldn't understand, so she immediately walked to the lakeside and squatted down, then reached out and gently scooped up a handful of water to taste it. But Ying shouted loudly, "Huaner, don't drink it! This water can kill!"

He grabbed Nan Qinghuan's mouth, trying to make her spit the water out. "Spit it out, quick!"

Startled by his action, Nan Qinghuan abruptly spat out the water in her mouth, her small face scrunching up like a steamed bun. Ying, however, grabbed her in alarm, afraid something would happen to her, constantly stroking her head. Sweat even seeped out from his worry as he enclosed her entirely in his arms, gently rocking her. "Huaner, Huaner."

Nan Qinghuan was quite helpless. She reached out and gently stroked his dark face. "Stop calling, I'm fine."

She felt a bit embarrassed; this Ying doted on her a little too much. Seeing that she was fine, Ying finally relaxed and gently let her go. Even so, he was still somewhat uncertain. "Huaner, what exactly do you want to do?"

Nan Qinghuan immediately stood up and looked at Youchao Xuan with great pride. "Kid, congratulations — your divine spoon has found the Spirit of the Earth. A treasure as white as snow is hidden at the bottom of this lake."

"Goddess, what did you say?"

Youchao Xuan hurriedly stood up as if he had come back to life, his eyes looking expectantly toward this place that the tribesmen called the Valley of Death. Had he really found the Spirit of the Earth? Axi and Dashan, however, did not understand. Axi tilted her head and asked her, "Qinghuan, what treasure?"

Nan Qinghuan knew they wouldn't understand. She beamed with joy. "It's all salt water down here. We can extract it and boil it into Salt."

"Salt?"

Ying did not know what Salt was. "Huaner, what do you mean?"

Knowing that her wild man did not know what Salt was, she hurriedly explained, "Salt is a mineral, the best seasoning the earth bestows upon people. The king of all flavors is Salt. Without salt, nothing tastes fresh and delicious. Do you understand?"

"Qinghuan, is this Salt the same as salt leaves?"

"No, of course not. The salt water here can be extracted into the purest iodized salt. With Salt, everyone's Roasted Meat will have flavor from now on, and it will never again be tasteless to eat."

"Goddess, tell me what to do, and I, Xuan, will certainly follow your words."

Xuan, full of himself, wanted to know what this snow-like thing actually looked like. Nan Qinghuan thought for a moment, then turned her gaze toward Ying. "Ying, I need your help, but..."

But she had also run into a very troublesome problem now — there were no pots that large in this ancient era. How was she supposed to boil Salt? "Huaner, what do you want?"

Nan Qinghuan looked at Ying, not sure whether her man could manage it. She reached out and gestured. "I want a super massive stone pot to boil the salt water. Ying, do you have a way?"

"A big pot?"

Ying curled up the corners of his mouth and pulled her into his arms. "Huaner wants a big pot, so I'll give you a very large stone pot."

"A very large pot?"

How large? She was about to ask something when not far away, A Mu came hurrying over. "Ying, Qinghuan, something's wrong!"

A Mu's anxious voice came from not far away. Ying hurried forward to look at A Mu. "A Mu, what happened?"

It was noontime, the sun hanging high.

An incident of people fighting over yams had occurred in the tribe. When Ying arrived, those few tribesmen were still fighting. They were battered and bleeding, yet neither would stop.

Ji Lei kept trying to persuade them from the side, but they would not stop. "Stop fighting, all of you, stop fighting!"

"Those are my family's things — what right do you have to snatch them?"

"My kid is hungry — what's wrong with eating a little?"

When Ying arrived, he saw them all fighting and shouted, "Everyone, stop!"

It had to be said that Ying's voice was incomparably loud. As soon as these words fell, the two fighting tribesmen finally stopped. Seeing them bruised and swollen, Ying stepped forward and gave each of them a punch. Bang — both men were knocked to the ground, nosebleeds flowing instantly. Only when they saw that it was Ying did the two scramble to their feet. "Ying."

Ying clenched his fists and swept his gaze over the two of them. "Abu, Ayuan, what are you doing?"

"Ying, my kid's yams were all finished. He was crying from hunger, so I went and took some yams from Abu's place. He wouldn't allow it. His kid can't eat that much — what's wrong with letting my kid have some?"

"Why should I give it to you? The yams the Goddess gave weren't much to begin with. My kid needs them to eat. Why did your kid eat them so fast? You must have stolen some yourself, right?"

"I..."

"Fine, you Ayuan — you dared to steal a child's yams? Are you crazy?"

Seeing everyone blaming him, and then seeing Ying's terrifying gaze, Ayuan dropped to his knees with a thud. "Ying, I'm sorry. The meat and fruit Ji Lei distributed weren't enough to eat. My female is pregnant with a child, and she eats a lot, so..."

"So you went and snatched Abu's kid's food? Ayuan, what are the tribe's rules? Recite them for me."

Ayuan was so frightened his face went pale. He hung his head low. "I'm sorry, Clan Leader. I was wrong."

Ying was very adept at managing the tribesmen. He never showed favoritism. He did not allow anyone in the tribe to snatch food or fight. Ayuan had broken the rules and deserved to be punished.

"Dashan, grab Ayuan and throw him into the wolf den. Huaner, let's go back."

After saying this, he took Nan Qinghuan's hand to lead her away, but Ayuan suddenly burst into tears. "Ying, I beg you, give me one chance! I don't want to go feed the wolves! I was wrong! I don't want to die!"

Ji Lei and Dashan were about to drag Ayuan away, but Nan Qinghuan truly could not watch anymore. She shook off Ying's hand. "Ying, his crime doesn't warrant death."

She hadn't known before that tribesmen who broke the rules would be thrown into the wolf den — the wolf den — wouldn't that mean being eaten by the Wolf Pack? Ying was stunned, not expecting Nan Qinghuan to plead on Ayuan's behalf. The flames of jealousy in his heart instantly flared up. He seized her hand. "Let's go."

"Let go! I'm not leaving! Even though he snatched things and broke the rules, rules are dead but people are alive. We can't treat him like this. He did it for his woman. Ying, killing him is useless. The tribe doesn't have much food, everyone is hungry, and this kind of thing will happen again."

Ying's gaze suddenly turned sharp. He looked coldly at Nan Qinghuan, his fist tightening, a flash of restrained color passing through his eyes. He deliberately lowered his voice. "What did you say?"

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