TRWSB – Chapter 243 Suspicion, Secrets, and the Coming Winter

Mutingxuan walked into the cave. Qi Shaorong looked up and asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“Someone came looking for us,” Mutingxuan replied.

Qi Shaorong’s gaze grew cold. “Who was it?”

“People from the Flying Tiger Tribe. It seems they’re searching for the wandering healer,” said Mutingxuan.

Qi Shaorong lowered his head. “So they’ve started to suspect after all.”
Fred becoming a Two-Star Totem Warrior had clearly made the Flying Tiger Tribe uneasy.

Mutingxuan looked at Qi Shaorong and said, “Young Master, I think we won’t be able to stay here much longer.”

Qi Shaorong smiled faintly. “No need to worry. Things might not be that bad. Right now, I look exactly like someone from the Divine Blood Clan. Even if they find us, it doesn’t matter.”

The Divine Blood Clan bore a strong scent of blood from years of absorbing beast blood to increase their power. When Qi Shaorong and the others had first arrived, they had clean auras and strange clothing, which had immediately raised Sindorei’s suspicion. But after practicing the clan’s techniques, they now carried the same blood scent.

“If they ask, we’ll say Zhuang Hao seduced a priest’s apprentice—me—and we ran away together. That’s why we ended up here,” Qi Shaorong explained.

In this region, priests—regardless of gender—were forbidden from pairing up. A romantic relationship with someone else was considered a serious taboo. But even so, being from an outside tribe would still be a worse offense.

“And what about me and Yifan?” Mutingxuan asked.

“Just say the tribe tried to force you both to marry, and you didn’t want to, so you eloped,” Qi Shaorong said.

Mutingxuan gave a dry laugh. “Will that really convince them? This place worships muscleheads. Sindorei always makes fun of how skinny Zhuang Hao is.”

Qi Shaorong shrugged. “It’ll work. I just have… peculiar tastes.”

Mutingxuan: “…”

By evening, Fred and the others returned to the cave carrying the massive body of a defeated Ao Dragon.

Qi Shaorong clapped his hands. “Nice job, everyone! You actually brought this huge thing back.”

“Major Yi drugged the Ao Dragon. It didn’t take much effort,” Sindorei said. He had initially thought Yifan’s methods were sneaky, but catching the beast so easily had made him appreciate the healer’s cleverness.

“People from the tribe came by,” Qi Shaorong said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Qi Shaorong shrugged. “Mutingxuan and I hid before they got here. They didn’t find us.”

Fred nodded. “That’s good.”

Unable to locate Qi Shaorong, Xin Ya and the others returned hastily to the tribe.

Jesse frowned. “How can there be no one? There were clear signs of recent activity.”

Xin Ya thought for a moment. “Maybe they just didn’t want to see us.”

“Why?” Jesse asked, clearly baffled. “What could Fred offer that the tribe can’t?”

Xin Ya took a deep breath. “Winter is almost here. We can’t waste time on distractions. We need to focus on stockpiling supplies.”

Jesse nodded, though his heart still felt uneasy and unreconciled.

It felt as though winter had arrived overnight.

Qi Shaorong curled up inside the cave, shivering, while Zhuang Hao hugged him tightly.

“This damned place. Why is it so cold?” Qi Shaorong grumbled.

“It’s always like this,” Sindorei replied. “And this isn’t even the dead of winter yet. It gets worse.”

Qi Shaorong glared at him, wanting to shut him up.

He turned to Zhuang Hao. “Aren’t you cold?”

Zhuang Hao smiled. “Not at all.”

Qi Shaorong stared at him in disbelief. “Are you secretly a pig or something? How do you not feel this cold?”

“I have to be warm to keep you warm,” Zhuang Hao chuckled.

Qi Shaorong shot him a look and muttered inwardly: This brat… he’s teasing me!

Snuggling closer into Zhuang Hao’s arms, Qi Shaorong said quietly, “You’re really warm.”

“Probably because I’ve got strong blood energy. You’re picky with food and don’t like drinking beast blood. That’s why you’re freezing,” Zhuang Hao replied.

The next morning.

Mutingxuan was stirring a pot of meat broth and glanced at Yifan. “Where’s the Young Master and Young Zhuang?”

Yifan smiled slyly. “No idea. Probably still… doing couple’s exercises.”

Mutingxuan: “…”

Yi Fan chuckled and said, “In weather this cold, it’s the best time for two-person exercise.”

Mu Tingxuan: “……”

Yi Fan walked to the cave entrance, glanced at the falling snow outside, and tilted his head. “It’s snowing.”

Mu Tingxuan nodded. “Yeah.”

Xindoré looked worriedly at the falling snow outside the cave. “It’s snowing quite early this year. Luckily, we prepared supplies in advance.”

Qi Shaorong emerged from the cave slowly, wrapped up like a dumpling. “It’s snowing. So cold! Colder every day. If I’d known this godforsaken place was this freezing, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Good thing you did,” Xindoré said with some emotion.

Qi Shaorong glanced at him without replying.

Xindoré lowered his head, a gleam flickering in his eyes. If Qi Shaorong hadn’t shown up, maybe his older brother would’ve just died of illness, and he himself might not have survived either.

Zhuang Hao walked toward the cave entrance. Qi Shaorong grabbed his hand. “Where are you going?”

“To build a snowman.”

Qi Shaorong looked confused. “It’s freezing and you want to build a snowman…”

Zhuang Hao nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Shaorong, you know, extreme conditions are the best way to train the body. Practitioners from icy, harsh places are usually stronger than those from mild climates.”

Qi Shaorong stared at Zhuang Hao’s retreating figure and thought: I don’t know about that, but plenty of people froze to death in my previous life.

Mu Tingxuan walked over to Qi Shaorong and said, “Young Master Zhuang really knows how to enjoy life.”

Qi Shaorong laughed. “That guy just loves torturing himself.”

Mu Tingxuan: “……”

“Young Master, Zhuang Hao built one snowman of himself, and one of you,” Mu Tingxuan said.

Qi Shaorong curled his lips. “Didn’t know he was into childish things like this.”

Fred came out, stretched his limbs, and said, “I’m heading out.”

Qi Shaorong looked at him. “It’s snowing, and you still want to go out?”

Fred nodded. “It’s just the first snow. It’s still fine. In a little while, we won’t be able to leave at all.”

Zhuang Hao paused his snowman-building and said, “I’ll go too.”

Fred glanced at Qi Shaorong, who rolled his eyes. “Fine, go, but come back early.”

…

Fred and Zhuang Hao didn’t return until sunset—and they didn’t come back alone. They brought with them an unconscious, injured man.

“Raymond!” Xindoré exclaimed when he saw who it was.

Qi Shaorong looked at the man Zhuang Hao brought back. “What happened?”

“We ran into him on the road. His leg was messed up and a wolf was chasing him. His chest was clawed open. He was in serious danger, so Fred saved him.”

Qi Shaorong examined Raymond. “His leg’s broken, and the injury on his waist and abdomen is serious.”

“Doctor, can he be saved?” Fred asked.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “Yes, but… are you sure you want me to save him?”

Fred nodded. “Yes.”

Fred looked at Raymond with a hint of sympathy.

Raymond’s grandfather had joined the Feihu Tribe at the same time as Fred’s and Xindoré’s grandfathers. Raymond had also been treated unfairly, but because he wasn’t particularly strong, he didn’t pose much of a threat to the priests or chieftain.

Qi Shaorong looked at Fred and thought for a moment. “I can save him—but after he recovers, he can’t go back to the tribe. He knows too much.”

Fred nodded. “Once he’s well, I’ll persuade him to stay.”

Qi Shaorong nodded, applied medicine, bandaged the wounds, reset the bone, and splinted it.

Xindoré sat beside Qi Shaorong near the fire, hesitated a bit, and asked timidly, “Doctor… will Brother Raymond’s leg never heal properly again?”

Qi Shaorong was puzzled. “Why wouldn’t it?”

“In the tribe, if your leg breaks, it just doesn’t heal,” Xindoré said forlornly.

Qi Shaorong thought: The tribe’s medical standards are really primitive… can’t even treat a fracture.

“Brother Raymond is a good man. When my brother got sick, everyone avoided us. Only he came to help,” Xindoré said.

Qi Shaorong smiled. “Is that so? He seems nice… but not very bright. His leg was broken—what was he doing outside?”

“Maybe the tribe didn’t give him enough food,” Xindoré said sadly.

Qi Shaorong looked at him. “Not enough food?”

Xindoré nodded. “Yes. During the long winter, if there’s not enough to go around, the tribe has to abandon some people—the old or the injured are left behind.”

Qi Shaorong: “……”

“You’re saying… Raymond was abandoned because of his injury?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Xindoré nodded. “Very likely. If you can’t hunt, you become a burden.”

Qi Shaorong: “……”

Xindoré took a deep breath. “Some of the elders in our tribe go out to feed wild beasts voluntarily during the winter.”

Qi Shaorong: “……” Wow. The Divine Blood Clan really practices ultimate self-sacrifice. Buddha only offered his flesh to an eagle—these people offer their whole bodies.

Mentioning the past left Xindoré looking a bit gloomy.

“It’s only early winter. Food shouldn’t be that tight yet, right?” Qi Shaorong asked, puzzled.

“Raymond lost both parents. If he had family left, things might be different,” Xindoré said.

Qi Shaorong rubbed his chin. “So Raymond’s really not doing well, huh?”

“Our grandfather only joined the tribe later. The priests are very wary of outsiders—so is the chieftain,” Xindoré said, frowning with confusion. “No matter how much my brother contributes, it doesn’t change the prejudice they have against us.”

“What are you thinking about?” Qi Shaorong tilted his head and asked.

Xindoré gave a pale smile. “Nothing.”