Chapter 239: Hunting the Indigenous

Suddenly, there was a faint crack.

A figure slowly slipped from Lu Xingfeng's arm and fell onto the ground.

Lu Xingfeng turned his head and whispered to Ning Yao, saying this was an indigenous guard on watch, usually the fastest runner in the tribe, more agile than a rabbit, thus relatively hard to catch; now he couldn't sound an alarm nor escape.

Ning Yao stepped closer to look.

The person was clad in animal hide, with a mess of long hair, his neck twisted, his head turned a full 180 degrees, eyes staring, mouth open, barely alive.

Ning Yao felt her heart race, but what concerned her more was how strikingly the person's features resembled those of Huaxia people.

If one says that the few remaining indigenous residents in modern M Guo are about sixty‑to‑seventy percent similar to yellow‑raced people, then this individual, at first glance, is practically a yellow‑raced person.

It needs no thought to know that the indigenous here are the ancestors of modern M Guo's native peoples.

Seeing the fading life light in his black eyes, Ning Yao felt an indescribable sensation rise within her.

Lu Xingfeng thought she was terrified at seeing a killing for the first time and gently comforted, "If you can't bear it, we can go back now; having this one will still give you an extra hundred percent."

Ning Yao crouched down, staring straight at the dying indigenous, "I just think he looks far too much like someone from Huaxia."

Lu Xingfeng realized he had spoken too much, smiled and said:

"Because the indigenous on this continent truly migrated from there; the earliest were probably primitive peoples from tens of thousands of years ago, though whether those primitives survived or left descendants is unknown. Then, a few thousand years later, around the ancient Huaxia slave‑society period, a great influx of Zhong Yuan people arrived here…"

Hearing this explanation, Ning Yao exclaimed in surprise, "Uncle Lu, I didn't expect your knowledge to be so extensive."

Lu Xingfeng smiled without replying.

Regarding the primitive migration theory, he learned it after coming to the modern era and following Ning Hai to M Guo, studying various sources to understand this world.

As for the ancient Huaxia slave‑society period, when many Huaxia Zhong Yuan people journeyed to the North American continent, he discovered that while reading ancient texts in his original world.

Of course, at that time this place was not yet called the North American continent.

It was only known to be at the far end of the Zhong Yuan continent's ocean.

"But Uncle Lu," Ning Yao muttered, "by your account, the indigenous of the American continent are just Huaxia people who migrated thousands of years ago? Yet I think I saw online that this is only a minority hypothesis, with low probability."

Lu Xingfeng also crouched, pushing aside the hair covering most of the indigenous's face, "Miss Ning, look at his forehead."

Ning Yao looked closely and couldn't help but be startled.

Because on the indigenous's forehead, an unknown pigment formed a circular pattern that was almost identical to a Tai Chi Yin‑Yang diagram!

Lu Xingfeng said, "This is a relatively common totem among the locals here; do you think it's a coincidence? The concept and pattern of Tai Chi are the crystallization of Huaxia ancestors' wisdom from millennia ago, and the locals also use it as a totem."

"Of course, besides this evidence, after extensive research during our time‑travel to this place, we also found that in many indigenous tribes, the relatively advanced civilizations are the majority."

"They not only use the Tai Chi Yin‑Yang diagram as everyday decorative totems, but also are adept with chopsticks, can forge crude simple bronze tools, use animal hair as brushes, their script is extremely similar to ancient Huaxia characters from millennia ago, and even their song melodies follow ancient Huaxia tonalities."

"Besides, a small portion of the locals are no different from primitives; this group may descend from yellow‑raced people who migrated tens of thousands of years ago, but the main indigenous are likely descendants of ancient Huaxia people from a few thousand years ago."

Ning Yao listened, feeling deeply shocked.

The feeling was, to her, an indescribable marvel.

"I hate those people back home… I never thought I'd still encounter Huaxia descendants here," Ning Yao said with a resentful look, her instinctive fear of a living human about to die before her having quickly faded.

Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched the indigenous's twisted neck.

As she applied force, her hand shook more and more violently.

Until the already dying indigenous finally breathed his last, her hand stopped trembling.

A thrill surpassing that of having hunted countless animals surged to her Heavenly Spirit Cover, making her scalp tingle with pleasure.

Lu Xingfeng's face showed surprise.

When he was still in the Tian Shu Sect, he had seen many people who wouldn't even dare kill a chicken.

Disciples of the sect had to descend the mountain for trials, and after experiencing the blood‑soaked world, they barely mustered the courage to kill.

And Ning Yao, a young girl.

Moreover, she was born and raised in the modern civilized world, yet in less than two hours she progressed from hunting rabbits to daringly strangling a living adult with her bare hands.

Her displayed demeanor not only failed to frighten Lu Xingfeng, but made him increasingly admire and like her.

Lu Xingfeng couldn't help but think privately, had he had such a disciple back then, how could he worry about not attaining the Sect Leader position?

"Uncle Lu, how many people are still in those Thatched Huts?" Ning Yao asked coldly, interrupting Lu Xingfeng's thoughts.

Lu Xingfeng squinted, looking toward the faint outlines of the Thatched Huts beside the fire, "Not many, just three households, altogether a dozen or so."

Ning Yao drew the crossbow arrows from her back, "The hunting time is ending soon; we must hurry."

Lu Xingfeng activated his light‑step and darted into the Thatched Hut in the blink of an eye.

When Ning Yao ran to about ten meters from the three Thatched Huts, a strong, sturdy indigenous limped out of a hut.

It was clearly Lu Xingfeng's doing, breaking a leg to limit movement, facilitating the hunt.

Ning Yao raised the hunting crossbow and pulled the trigger.

Whoosh!

The sharp bolt pierced the indigenous's abdomen.

The indigenous fell in pain; Ning Yao immediately aimed at his chest and fired another bolt.

Facing arrows forged with modern technology, even ancient armor struggled to resist, let alone hemp cloth and animal hide.

The second bolt pierced the indigenous's heart; he spat blood, his terrified eyes widened, and he breathed his last.

Soon, several more indigenous rushed out of the Thatched Huts.

They too had been crippled by Lu Xingfeng, so even if they tried to resist, they could no longer wield their crude weapons.

Moreover, those melee weapons made of animal bone and rough bronze could not reach Ning Yao, who was ten or more meters away with her bow.

Ning Yao showed no hesitation, firing arrow after arrow, one after another, as the indigenous fell into pools of blood.

With Lu Xingfeng's assistance, thirteen adult indigenous were shot dead by Ning Yao in a short span.

Among them were four robust men, four adult women, and two elders.

In the heat of the killing, Ning Yao suddenly saw another figure emerge and, without a second thought, shot an arrow.

Bang!

The extremely fast crossbow bolt was easily grasped by the opponent.

"Miss Ning, look closely, it's me," Lu Xingfeng said, pinching the bolt as he stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Lu…" Ning Yao apologized, surprised, saying, "Uncle Lu, you know martial arts? Just now I saw you flash your eyes and dash into the Thatched Hut, like skimming the ground, then you grabbed the bolt with your bare hands! Amazing!"

At that moment, hurried footsteps came from the doorway of the nearby Thatched Hut.

Lu Xingfeng didn't even look, and directly flung the bolt in his hand toward it.

Whoosh!

The sharp bolt pierced the chest of a teenage boy, spraying a spray of blood, and lodged into the doorframe.

Ning Yao inhaled a sharp breath; the arrow that a person flung by hand was actually fiercer than the one she launched with her bow!

"Miss Ning, I do know a bit of martial arts," Lu Xingfeng said with a proud look, "When there's time in the future, I can teach you a thing or two."

"Great! Thank you, Uncle Lu!" Ning Yao hopped up happily.

Lu Xingfeng pointed at the Thatched Hut, "There are five little ones inside; I've already caught them and gathered them together. Miss Ning, want to take a look?"

Without a word, Ning Yao climbed over the teenage boy's corpse, stood on the threshold and peered inside.

Lu Xingfeng kicked at the fire, sending several burning sticks flying into the Thatched Hut.

Now it was clearer; the cold sweat on the children's faces and their pupils dilated by fear all reflected in Ning Yao's eyes.

The youngest couldn't even walk, and the oldest was only six or seven years old.

Ning Yao hesitated for a few seconds, then put down the bow she was holding.

After all, they were children, and it touched the compassion in her heart.

"Enough… let them go," Ning Yao said, turning her face to Lu Xingfeng.

Lu Xingfeng replied, "Without adults, these kids can't survive; they'll either starve or be devoured by beasts."

Ning Yao lowered her eyes and said, "Then it's not my concern. Anyway… I can't bring myself to act."

At that moment, three slightly older children roared angrily at Ning Jingli.

Ning Yao didn't understand what they were saying, but from their tone and expressions she knew they were hurling especially harsh insults.

In an instant, Ning Yao's mind flashed to the scene on the street outside the hotel, where onlookers berated her and threw things at her.

In her mind, angry faces of Huaxia Guo people overlapped with the faces of the children before her, constantly provoking Ning Yao's wounded heart.

Ning Yao trembled all over, her gaze gradually losing reason.

A child picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it at her.

Bang!

A fist‑sized stone struck Ning Yao's helmet.

"Ah!" Ning Yao convulsed as if electrocuted, screamed, and shouted, "Die! All of you, go die!"

Then she raised the crossbow and angrily pulled the trigger.

Crossbow bolts fired in rapid succession, like a barrage.

Each sharp bolt instantly took the lives of the five children.

Ning Yao gasped heavily, dropped the empty crossbow, turned and ran aside, bending over to vomit violently.

"Miss Ning, are you alright?" Lu Xingfeng asked as he approached.

Ning Yao had vomited bile, but she found her body no longer trembling, and the humiliating, terrifying memories in her mind seemed less frightening now.

"I'm fine…" Ning Yao wiped her mouth, turned, and a faint smile curled her lips, "I feel great now."

Lu Xingfeng relaxed and said, "The indigenous people hiding inside have all been eliminated; we can return now. Nineteen of us in total; according to the hunting rules, that's 1,900 points, and the first place is yours by default. Rest a bit while I cut off their ears to bring back as scoring proof."

Ning Yao asked, "Cut ears?"

Lu Xingfeng laughed, "Yes. We cut tails off animals, so for humans we naturally cut ears. We don't even keep the animal bodies, so we won't bring the indigenous corpses back, right?"

A blood‑red glint flashed in Ning Yao's eyes, "I have a more fun method."

"Oh? What method?"

"Uncle Lu, may I borrow your knife?"

Lu Xingfeng handed her his dagger.

Ning Yao took the dagger to a native corpse, squatted, grabbed the hair with one hand, and drove the sharp tip into the forehead, slicing a circle along the hairline as if cutting tofu.

She then re‑inserted the tip into the incision, used the blade to separate flesh, and quickly removed a piece of scalp.

Lu Xingfeng watched, bewildered.

Ning Yao lifted the freshly cut scalp and examined it: "Turns out cutting scalp isn't that simple, yet it's easier than I imagined; this piece is imperfect, it's all torn."

"Miss Ning, doing it this way… is there some meaning behind it?" Lu Xingfeng touched his slightly chilled head and asked.

Ning Yao explained, "Over two hundred years ago, M Guo issued a decree to more efficiently clear indigenous people, allowing residents to participate; anyone who cut off a native's scalp and turned it in received a bounty. I just recalled this historical tale and, on a whim, wanted to try it to feel what the ancestors of M Guo experienced."

Lu Xingfeng suddenly understood, "I kept wondering why, after several clearings of indigenous people here, someone always cut off their scalp. I thought it was a personal hobby, but it's actually a traditional custom."

To save time, Lu Xingfeng cut off one ear from each of the other corpses, and packed them together with the previously hunted animal tails in a bag.

The two rushed back to camp within a few dozen seconds before the hunt ended.

Except for Ning Yao, none of the other hunters captured any indigenous people.

The highest‑scoring hunter even killed an elephant; with other prey, his score topped three hundred points, which was nowhere near Ning Yao's two‑thousand‑plus points.

In a single hunt, they managed to kill over a dozen indigenous people, and even the M Guo soldiers who took part gave Ning Yao a thumbs‑up, praising her skill.

Consequently, her name and score were placed on the hunting leaderboard, firmly holding first place.

This gave Ning Yao immense satisfaction.

When Lu Xingfeng was about to take her back to the modern research base, she, still eager, asked when the next hunting competition would begin.

Lu Xingfeng could only tell her that it was irregular, requiring most people at the camp to be free.

The two walked to the place they had come from.

Lu Xingfeng glanced at his watch; there were still a few minutes until the scheduled opening of the Time-Space Gate.

He took this opportunity to earnestly instruct Ning Yao.

"Ning Yao, although you just came over to play a bit and didn't participate in any specific project, you must remember that after returning, you must act as if you never came here, and must not leak any information to the outside world; otherwise, even if your father is Ning Hai, he won't be able to protect you. Understand?"