TRWSB – Chapter 239 Return to the Tribe and Rising Tensions

Mill’s shoulder had been wounded by the mountain eagle’s talons, and she felt deeply aggrieved. Xindolei, however, had no concept of pampering or chivalry—he just kept walking ahead with his head down.

Looking at Xindolei’s back, Mill felt increasingly frustrated.

Xindolei turned around, glanced at Mill, and urged, “Walk faster! At this pace, we won’t reach the tribe before nightfall. If it gets dark, you’ll be in real danger.”

Mill bit her lip and said with some resentment, “I can’t walk anymore. Carry me.”

Xindolei snorted and said irritably, “I’m not carrying you. You’re a female; only your own mate should carry you. Me carrying you wouldn’t be good for your reputation. And even if you don’t care, I still have to find a mate someday.”

Mill turned red with anger at his words. She had always been spoiled and had never been treated this way before.

Knowing Xindolei didn’t like her, she didn’t dare make a bigger scene.

“I think someone’s coming,” Xindolei said.

Mill’s face lit up with joy. If it was someone from the tribe, she wouldn’t have to endure Xindolei’s attitude any longer.

Xindolei dragged Mill in the direction of the approaching figures. Upon seeing a few warriors from the tribe, he let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness it’s you. Take this woman back with you.”

Jesse’s face darkened when he saw Mill with Xindolei.

“Xindolei, why are you with Mill? Did you save her?” asked Raymon.

Xindolei shook his head and said bluntly, “No, it was my brother.”

“Oh, I see. It was your brother,” Raymon said in realization.

Xindolei looked at them and said, “It’s getting late. Hurry and take her back. It’ll be troublesome once it gets dark.”

Jesse glanced at Xindolei, then left with Mill.

Looking at Mill, Jesse’s eyes were filled with suspicion. “Frederick saved you?”

Mill nodded and replied, “Yes.”

“But you were taken by a mountain eagle. Frederick can’t fly. How did he rescue you?” Jesse asked, somewhat accusingly.

“He had a bow—an incredibly powerful one,” Mill said.

Kaifeng narrowed his eyes. “Since when did Frederick start using a bow?”

Jesse looked at Mill, confused. “Is it better than Jada’s heavy bow?”

Jada’s bow was extremely powerful, something he had exchanged from a major tribe for a high price. Many in the tribe envied him for it.

Mill thought for a moment and replied, “It seemed even better than Jada’s.”

Jesse said firmly, “That’s impossible. Jada’s bow came from a major tribe, and there haven’t been any recent exchanges with them. How could Frederick have a better one?”

“Not necessarily,” another warrior suddenly recalled, “Didn’t Xindolei say they met a wandering healer? Wandering healers are often accompanied by warriors.”

Jesse lowered his head, thinking to himself: Frederick really got lucky—not only did he get healed, but he also ended up with a heavy bow.

Mill wanted to ask Jesse to carry her, but seeing his unpleasant expression, she kept silent.

…

Zhuang Hao moved nimbly through the jungle. Frederick turned to him and said, “You’re improving really fast.”

Zhuang Hao smiled. “I guess.”

Frederick’s eyes flashed with a peculiar light. Zhuang Hao’s strength was now on par with the youths of the tribe, but unlike them—whose skills had plateaued—Zhuang Hao’s power was still rising rapidly.

Yifan suddenly twisted in midair and caught a multicolored snake in his hand. Frederick frowned at the sight.

The five-colored snake was something everyone feared in this area, yet this man who came with the healer seemed to like them.

This wasn’t the first time Yifan had caught such a venomous snake. Every time he did, Frederick felt uneasy.

When Yifan arrived, he had brought his contracted beast with him. Although magic and battle energy couldn’t be used here, he still had control over the blood-red snake thanks to their contract.

The snake had a talent for locating poisonous creatures and had helped them avoid dangerous snakes and insects several times. It was extremely useful.

Frederick looked at the snake in Yifan’s hand, feeling a wave of unease. The five-colored snake’s venom was so strong that even a powerful totem warrior like himself would be at risk if bitten.

“Be careful,” Zhuang Hao said to Yifan.

Yifan smiled slightly. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

“You better. You’ve got a partner now. If anything happens to you, Mu Tingxuan will have to find someone else,” Zhuang Hao teased.

Yifan shot Zhuang Hao a cold look. “That day will never come.”

Fred and the others returned with a mountain leopard. Qi Shaorong saw them come back and smiled.
“You’re back!” Qi Shaorong said.

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Yeah. What are you up to?”

“I made hotpot, with lots of blood tofu in it,” Qi Shaorong said.

“That smells amazing!” Sindoray exclaimed, eyes wide.

Qi Shaorong smiled at him. “Then dig in.”

Sindoray couldn’t wait—he picked up a piece of blood tofu and praised, “It’s delicious! I’ve never had anything this good before. Healer, your cooking is incredible. Even the weakest, ugliest males in our tribe could definitely find mates if they could cook like you!”

Qi Shaorong: “…” This idiot, what is he even saying?

“Fred, I heard from Sindoray that you need to start preparing meat and fresh blood for winter?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Fred nodded. “It’s already autumn. When winter comes, the mountains will be sealed with snow, and beasts will hide away. Hunting will become extremely difficult. People in the tribe need to drink blood every day—without it, they lose strength. So, we need to start stockpiling.”

Qi Shaorong nodded. “I see. How long until winter starts?”

“About a month. With my brother around, we’ll have all the supplies ready before winter hits,” Sindoray said, smiling with renewed confidence about the future. Things were already going much better than he had once feared.

When Sindoray left the tribe with Fred, he hadn’t planned to return. Back then, he couldn’t even imagine the future. But now, Fred had recovered.

Qi Shaorong folded his arms. “We brought a lot of supplies with us when we came. Let’s find time to unpack it all.”

Since space rings couldn’t be used in this realm, they had preemptively taken out some supplies before entering the dimensional passage.

Sindoray nodded excitedly. “Great!”

Spending time with Qi Shaorong and the others, Sindoray had seen many strange and wonderful things. Now hearing there were more supplies made him even happier.

—

With the elven bow, hawks that once flew high and unchallenged now became easy targets.

As winter approached, people in the tribe began moving around more frequently. Fred sometimes ran into them while hunting, but Zhuang Hao was always on alert and managed to steer clear of members from the Flying Tiger Tribe.

One day, as Fred returned from a hunt and walked toward Hawk Ridge, he was stopped by a few warriors from the tribe.

“Fred.”

Fred looked at Xin Ya and frowned. “What is it?”

Xin Ya, the tribal chief’s son and a warrior himself, had once been on good terms with Fred.

“Fred, that’s a pretty nice bow you have.”
Everyone in the tribe had heard from Mill that Fred possessed a powerful bow, but no one had seen it firsthand. Many thought Mill might’ve exaggerated.

Xin Ya stared at Fred’s bow with clear envy in his eyes.

“It’s not bad,” Fred replied.

“Can I take a look?” Xin Ya asked.

Fred hesitated briefly, then handed the bow to him. Xin Ya examined it closely, his eyes burning with desire. “What a fine bow!”

Fred took it back firmly. “It’s mine.”

Xin Ya, a bit awkward, said, “I know it’s yours—I’m not trying to take it.”

Fred looked at him. “Did you come all the way here just for this?” Fred frowned. With Zhuang Hao and the others needing to remain hidden, he had avoided all tribal contact. But now Xin Ya seemed to have come deliberately.

Xin Ya awkwardly replied, “I came to ask for your help—there are two people I hope you can save.”

Fred responded irritably, “I’m not in the tribe anymore.”

“I know,” Xin Ya nodded, “but you were once one of us.”

Fred laughed coldly. “The medicine the wandering healer brought back—did it work? Everyone possessed by the demonic force is cured now, right?”

Kai Feng frowned. He had been the one who delivered the medicine back to the tribe. After the priest tested it, it was given to the sick, and they recovered one by one. However, the priest credited Jesse and his group for discovering the medicine and made sure Fred received no recognition.

Xin Ya smiled awkwardly. Though the priest forbade them from mentioning Fred, the truth had already spread privately. The tribe owed Fred a huge debt.

“About the medicine… thank you,” Xin Ya said.

Fred smiled faintly. “Don’t mention it. That recipe is all I can offer the tribe now.”

As Fred turned to leave, Xin Ya suddenly grabbed his hand. “Fred, please help me just this once.”

Fred frowned deeply.

Xin Ya took a deep breath. “Tell you what—help me this once, and I’ll never ask you for anything again.”

Fred fixed his gaze on him. “Tell me what it is.”