Chapter 1590: You Run, I Chase

The Tuomao Tribe traveled through the night, but they overlooked one problem: their stamina was limited. Even if people could go without sleep or rest all night and keep traveling, the cattle and sheep could not; the endurance of cattle and sheep is far inferior to that of humans.

Furthermore, they are all ruminants; they need to stop and find a suitable place to ruminate slowly so that they can digest their food and truly get it into their stomachs.

Cattle and sheep are also not like horses, which can sleep standing up; instead, they will lie down to rest. Even horses, when they feel the environment is safe enough, will lie down. It is not that they cannot lie down, but that they dare not; they need to keep standing to ensure they have enough speed to run. Plus, a horse's ankles are very thin and easily snapped, especially when suddenly trying to stand up, so they avoid lying down whenever possible.

Sheep are different; they are small and light, so they can lie down and get up as they please. Therefore, they prefer to lie down in cooler places to ruminate and rest.

After an entire night without a single pause, being dragged along constantly, they felt their strength failing. They could not walk, their stomachs were empty, and the cattle and sheep were bleating very fiercely.

The people also felt flustered, not because of fear, but because they had not slept or rested for too long and had engaged in such strenuous exercise, leaving them exhausted.

Seeing the situation, Tuomao had no choice but to harden his heart and order them to rest on the spot. In any case, they had already made up their minds: this time, it was entirely a matter of luck, and it depended on whose luck was bad enough to be caught.

As for joining forces to resist, there was absolutely no such intention. Everyone would rely on their own luck; it was better for one tribe to be wiped out than for all of them to be.

When Wulian arrived at this area, he found that there was not a single person left, and not even a single sheep could be seen. Thus, he guessed that they had run away, having deceived them and sent them to their deaths.

Following the obvious route in pursuit, by evening, the Huaxia people could already clearly hear the bleating of cattle and sheep. However, having walked all day, everyone was very tired, so they did not take any action and instead set up camp to rest on the spot. They would pursue again tomorrow; by tomorrow, they would be able to catch up to their target relatively early.

All day long, the cattle, sheep, and people of the Tuomao Tribe were lying down and sleeping. Before falling asleep, Tuomao had arranged for people to keep watch and not fall asleep.

But he needed to sleep, and naturally, others did too. Tuomao's order did not reach very far. These savages all thought that since there were so many people here, there must be someone who hadn't fallen asleep who could provide a warning, right?

But the fact was that almost everyone just found a place to lie down and fell asleep. The cattle and sheep also found some damp, cool places to lie down, rest, and ruminate.

It was not until the afternoon that they woke up one after another. Fortunately, nothing had happened. When Tuomao woke up, the others had basically woken up too, so he did not ask anything further, as he assumed his tribesmen had been honest and obedient.

At this time, the cattle and sheep also began to graze again, but they were now more desperate for a water source to drink from. Therefore, the route of the cattle and sheep gradually began to deviate, not following the route planned by Tuomao.

This was not the first time these cattle and sheep had come to this land. They had routes in their heads, especially regarding where the water sources were, which they remembered very clearly. One by one, they ate as they headed toward the water; they could not stand it if they did not drink.

Tuomao and his people could not stand it either. They did not have any good containers for water. They usually used processed sheepskins to carry water—yellowish, slightly disgusting-looking sheepskin water bags with the necks and limbs tied tight so they would not leak.

Although they looked disgusting, their storage capacity was quite decent. This was something they had made by adapting to local conditions, as they had no better way to store water.

In order for the cattle and sheep to survive, Tuomao had no choice but to follow them. These people would not die if they went two days without water, but the cattle and sheep might not survive. They also could not bear to watch the cattle and sheep die of thirst, so they had to turn toward the water source.

However, Tuomao also felt that since they had not seen any pursuers for a day, their tribe must be lucky and would not be caught, so he became a bit bolder.

The water supply on the Huaxia side was also running low. Although they had more containers to store water and everyone could carry some, and they had also carried some for the cattle and horses, they had not replenished their water source for two days, and their water was about to run out.

In such dry and hot weather, they were truly lacking water and were in great need of replenishment.

They also knew where there was water here, as they had been here once before. They just did not know if the tribe they were chasing would go to the water source. If they did, that would be great, as they would not need to take a detour to get water.

It was nearly midnight when they finally reached the water source, a very small stream that had not dried up due to the heat. It flowed from a point far upstream and then merged into the river valley downstream.

Although the water was quite clear, there were no fish or shrimp in it, only some small, unrecognizable insects that did not look edible. The water was also very shallow, so both the people and the cattle and sheep went down to wade and escape the heat.

That night, Tuomao did not require his tribesmen to travel; instead, they rested on the spot. He also became bold; after all, the Huaxia people would not travel at night, would they?

Early the next morning, they drove the cattle and sheep and moved forward slowly, completely devoid of the panic of being pursued.

The Huaxia people also set out early in the morning to replenish their water. Wulian and his men could not understand them and did not know how to speak, and they were all incredibly thirsty. In the mornings of this season, there was no dew; unless it had rained, it was impossible to have any the next morning, so they could not even drink dew.

The Huaxia people did not give them any food either, because they all felt that these men were sturdy and would not starve to death for a while, and for now, the priority was to conserve rations.

Wulian and his men had never been here before and did not know where the water source was, so they could only silently follow the Huaxia people, but they felt as if they were about to die of thirst.

Along the way, the piles of cow dung and sheep droppings were pointing the way for them, and they all looked quite fresh. The pursuit was correct, and the pace was relatively relaxed, because the direction these people were heading was the water source.

Upon arriving at the water source, they saw there was no one there, but the traces were all present, and it was clear they had not gone far. So, after hurriedly drawing water to replenish their supply, they prepared to continue the pursuit.

Wulian and the others knelt on the ground and buried their faces into the water to drink, because their arms were tied behind their backs and they could not support themselves. At first glance, one might even think they were preparing to drown themselves.