TRWSB – Chapter 252 Purchasing the Fruit of Harmony

Qi Shaorong and the others retrieved around 120 Blood Spirit Beads from the Bat Cave. They gave eight of them to the Dashishi Tribe, which made the tribe chief deeply grateful to Qi Shaorong.

“Bill, what kind of good stuff is available at the Grand Tribal Gathering?” Sindorei asked excitedly.

“Oh, there’s plenty—animal hides, weapons, pottery, jewelry, spirit fruits… everything you can think of. Oh, and some tribes also sell females.”

Sindorei’s eyes flashed with a bit of confusion. “Females, huh?”

“Yeah! Some small tribes often face shortages after a harsh winter and have to sell off their females,” Bill explained.

Sindorei nodded. “So that’s how it is.”

Bill looked at Sindorei with a teasing smile. “With your current wealth, you could probably afford to buy a few females.”

Sindorei, being a totem warrior, had indeed stockpiled quite a bit of resources over the winter.

Looking slightly annoyed, Sindorei said, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Bill laughed. “Alright, I won’t. But seriously, Sindorei, you’re so outstanding—there are plenty of females who would chase after you. No need to buy any.”

“Sindorei, what are you two talking about?” Qi Shaorong walked over and asked.

“Talking about females,” Bill replied.

Qi Shaorong rolled his eyes at Sindorei. “You little brat, already getting lovesick at your age? Tsk tsk…”

Sindorei lifted his chin and said unhappily, “Doctor, if we stand next to each other, you definitely look more like the little brat.”

Qi Shaorong: “…”
This Sindorei guy has grown bold—he’s even teasing me now!

…

Bill and the others were walking on the road when they encountered people from the Flying Tiger Tribe.

The Flying Tiger Tribe members looked surprised to see Sindorei and his group.

Qi Shaorong tilted his head and asked Fred, “The Flying Tiger Tribe brought their females along too. Are they planning to sell them?”

Fred lowered his voice helplessly. “Doctor, the Flying Tiger Tribe hasn’t fallen that far. They’re probably just coming along for the spectacle.”

Qi Shaorong nodded. “I see.”

Sindorei glanced toward the Flying Tiger Tribe and noticed that Mill was among them, which made him a bit uncomfortable.

Given the awkward relationship between the groups, Sindorei and the others found a place to rest and didn’t greet the Flying Tiger people.

Qi Shaorong sat on a rock, watching Zhuang Hao cook chicken soup.

Xinya from the Flying Tiger Tribe came over with some others. “Fred, you’re also heading to the gathering?”

Fred nodded. “Yes.”

Xinya looked at the three-star totem mark on Fred’s body and smiled bitterly. “You’ve become so much stronger than us. You really are impressive.”

Fred replied calmly, “Not really.”

Xinya asked, “What are you looking for at the gathering?”

“Heguó (Merging Fruit),” Fred answered.

Xinya was surprised and asked, “Why would you want that?”
The merging fruit is only useful to males, particularly for male-male pairings wanting to have offspring.

Fred nodded without further explanation. “It’s needed.”

Xinya was stunned for a moment and glanced toward Mill. “Mill and Jesse’s engagement has been called off.”

Fred looked at Xinya, somewhat surprised. “Oh? Really?”

“You’re not going to ask why?” Xinya asked.

Fred shook his head. “There’s no need. It’s not my business.”

Xinya looked at Fred’s expression and gave a strained smile. “Mill still likes you.”

Fred chuckled. “Xinya, don’t joke around.”

“You know I’m not…”

“Xinya, some things don’t need to be said—you should already understand,” Fred said.

Fred sneered coldly to himself:
Did Xinya think that after such a betrayal, he would still hold feelings for Mill? They really overestimated his attachment to her.

Xinya forced another smile. “Yeah, I understand.”

Fred glanced toward Qi Shaorong beside Zhuang Hao. The two were chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere between them was unusually warm.
A hint of envy rose in Fred’s heart.

Sometimes the physician could be a little willful, but he never made any excessive demands. When Zhuang Hao needed help, Qi Shaorong would do his best to assist instead of just enjoying the benefits. A partner like that might be exactly the kind he should pursue.

Qi Shaorong glanced toward Fred and said, “Fred, the chicken soup is ready. Want some?”

Fred nodded. “Sure.”

“Brother, what did Xinya talk to you about?” Sindorei asked while gnawing on a chicken leg.

“He said that the engagement between Mir and Jesse is off,” Fred replied coolly.

Sindorei blinked and nodded. “Oh, I figured those two wouldn’t work out. Mir’s temper is so big—how could someone like Jesse possibly tolerate it?”

Fred shook his head. He used to think Mir was the one he’d spend his life with, but now that just seemed laughable. For someone so fickle, he had even neglected his own brother.

Qi Shaorong looked at Fred and said, “Fred, someone from the Flying Tiger Tribe keeps looking your way.”

Fred lowered his head. “Really? There’s nothing much to look at.”

…

Kaifeng looked at Xinya. “You invited Fred to travel with you?”

Xinya nodded. “Yeah, but he turned me down.”

“The people around him seem to be from the Dashi Tribe,” Kaifeng noted.

Jesse sneered, “Fred’s all chummy with those Dashi people now—doesn’t have time for us.”

Kaifeng asked curiously, “Fred’s going to the exchange meeting too, right? I wonder what he’s after.”

“He said Heguó,” Xinya said.

Kaifeng looked shocked. “Heguó? Why would it be Heguó?”
(Note: Heguó is a rare fruit used for procreation between males.)

Xinya shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe Fred likes males now, or maybe it’s for someone else.”

…

After a month of travel, they finally arrived at a large tribe.

“This is the Tianfeng Tribe—the biggest one around here,” said Bill. “They’ve even built tall walls outside the tribe to fend off wild beasts. Building those walls must’ve taken a lot of effort.” Bill looked up at the walls, admiration in his eyes.

The walls of Tianfeng weren’t glamorous, but they looked imposing.

Qi Shaorong gazed up and said, “Let’s go in.”

Bill negotiated with the gatekeepers, and after paying three animal pelts, the group entered the city.

Inside, Qi Shaorong saw all kinds of people and many already set-up stalls.

Most stalls had pretty ordinary goods, but some displayed rare spirit herbs and fruits—items highly prized in the magical world, though here they were treated like common fruit.

Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao browsed for a while. They found many useful things, but no sign of Heguó or Yin-Yang Grass.

With no choice, Zhuang Hao asked Fred to post a reward using Blood Spirit Beads.

These beads were valuable, and their appearance immediately sparked a buzz at the exchange.

…

Flying Tiger Tribe.

“Fred’s group is offering Blood Spirit Beads as a reward—eight for one Heguó! That’s not a low price,” Xinya said.

Although the beads weren’t as effective as Half-Moon Lotus Seeds, they were still very good. Eight beads could possibly help two warriors become totem warriors.

“Is Fred crazy? Offering Blood Spirit Beads as a bounty?” Jesse said.

The beads were useful even for totem warriors.

Compared to the Dashi Tribe, the Flying Tiger Tribe was already large, but it was still much smaller than Tianfeng.

They hadn’t brought much with them this time. Jesse and the others had their eyes on several items at other stalls but didn’t have enough to buy them.

“Where did Fred get those Blood Spirit Beads?” Kaifeng asked in confusion.

Jesse shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he got them long ago and just kept it secret. That’s probably why his strength improved so fast. He just acts like an honest guy on the outside.”

Xinya gave Jesse a glance but said nothing.

…

Qi Shaorong rested his chin on his hand. “Any news yet?”

Zhuang Hao shook his head. “Not yet, but Fred went out to gather information. Maybe he’ll bring something back.”

Fred and Sindorei were hurrying along when Mir blocked their path.

Sindorei frowned. “Mir, what do you want?”

“Fred, you had Blood Spirit Beads? Why didn’t you ever mention it?” Mir asked.

Sindorei rolled his eyes. “We only got them recently. Why would we tell you?”

“What do you need Heguó for? With those beads, you could get more practical stuff,” Mir asked.

Sindorei crossed his arms. “My brother doesn’t like females anymore. He likes males now. That’s why he needs Heguó—desperately.”

Mir’s expression changed. “Fred, you don’t like females anymore?”

Fred glanced at Sindorei and nodded. “That’s right. After everything that happened, I realized what I need is someone who’ll stand by my side when I’m in trouble.”

Mir looked wounded. “How could you say that? I rejected Jesse because of you!”

Sindorei cut in, “What does that have to do with my brother? You and he already broke off your engagement long ago.”

Mir looked at Fred. Fred’s face was cold and unreadable.

Angrily, Mir turned and stormed off.

Watching her leave, Sindorei let out a sigh of relief.

“Big bro, you responded so fast. I only said you liked males so Mir would back off, but I didn’t expect you to go along with it so smoothly,” Sindorei laughed.

Fred turned and looked at him. “I wasn’t joking. I really do like males now.”

Sindorei: “…”