TRWSB – Chapter 253 News about Heguo

Mil returned to the Flying Tiger Tribe’s stall in tears.

Xin Ya saw Mil running back with a tear-streaked face, frowned, and asked a nearby warrior, “Did Mil cry from anger?”

“Maybe. I didn’t really notice,” the warrior replied casually.

Kaifeng, who happened to be returning to the tribe’s stall, said, “She probably did cry from anger. I heard she went to find Fred, but apparently Fred now likes males and isn’t interested in females anymore.”

Xin Ya squinted slightly and thought to himself: he had already sounded Fred out before and had told Mil that Fred wasn’t interested in her anymore—turns out she still couldn’t let it go!

Jesse walked over with a fake smile and said, “Mil couldn’t hold back in the end and still went to find Fred, huh? After that illness, Fred even changed his orientation. Looks like Mil wants to patch things up, but that’s impossible now.”

Kaifeng patted Jesse on the shoulder and said, “Don’t be sad. Even if Mil doesn’t like you, there are still plenty of females in the tribe who might.”

Jesse gave a light smile. He had chased after Mil originally only because she was someone Fred liked. Now that Fred no longer liked her, Jesse found he didn’t have much feeling for her either—so it wasn’t much of a loss.

…

Qi Shaorong looked at the returning group, smiled, and asked, “You’re back. Any findings?”

Fred shook his head and said, “Apologies, Healer. We didn’t find any Harmony Fruit or Yin-Yang Grass.”

Qi Shaorong smiled and said, “Seems like these two items really are hard to find. But it’s alright—we have time.”

Fred smiled back and said, “Healer, I’ll go get some rest first.”

Qi Shaorong nodded, “Alright.”

He looked at Xin Duolei with some confusion and asked, “Xin Duolei, your brother seems a bit worn out, doesn’t he?”

Xin Duolei thought for a moment and said, “Maybe it’s because my brother said he likes males now, and then a bunch of people from different tribes kept asking him if it was true that he’s no longer into females. So he’s probably annoyed.”

Qi Shaorong: “…”

Fred could now be considered a wanderer. Normally, those banished from their tribes would be shunned by others, but Fred was different—he was a three-star totem warrior. Many tribes wanted to recruit Fred and Xin Duolei into their fold.

A tribe’s strength largely depends on the number of totem warriors it has.

Qi Shaorong looked at Xin Duolei, puzzled, and asked, “Does your brother really not like females anymore?”

Xin Duolei nodded, “That’s what he said.”

Qi Shaorong: “…”

…

Bill walked in with a complicated expression and said, “Healer, there’s news!”

Qi Shaorong perked up and asked, “Really? Someone has Yin-Yang Grass or Harmony Fruit?”

Bill shook his head and replied, “Not exactly. Someone from a tribe claims to know where there’s Harmony Fruit, but they haven’t acquired it yet.”

Qi Shaorong nodded, “That’s still something.”

“But they want thirty Blood Spirit Pearls just to share the location,” Bill added.

Qi Shaorong rolled his eyes. “Thirty Blood Spirit Pearls just for a lead? Do they take me for a fool?” From what he knew, while Harmony Fruit was rare, it wasn’t that rare.

Bill nodded, “Yeah, it’s a bit much.”

Qi Shaorong shook his head, “Let’s wait.”

Bill nodded again, “Alright.”

Qi Shaorong squinted and thought: thirty Blood Spirit Pearls—he could afford it, but the asking price was so high it didn’t seem sincere. He had a feeling they might be testing how many Blood Spirit Pearls he actually had.

Bill agreed, “The price is really steep.”

Qi Shaorong smiled faintly. They weren’t heading back anytime soon anyway, so they could take their time with the Harmony Fruit and Yin-Yang Grass. The more urgent matter was strengthening their abilities—after all, those items supposedly grew in very dangerous areas. Even if they got the lead, it’d be useless if they couldn’t handle the threat.

For now, they put aside their search for Harmony Fruit and Yin-Yang Grass and turned their focus to other things.

There were plenty of good items at the tribal gathering. Under Qi Shaorong’s instructions, Fred traded for a good number of supplies and used over twenty Blood Spirit Pearls.

Blood Spirit Pearls were extremely valuable and in high demand. Fred used them to trade for materials from other tribes, stirring up a lot of interest. Wherever he went, people tried to cozy up to him.

…

Fred walked into the room and said to Qi Shaorong, “Healer, the tribal gathering is almost over. I think we should get ready to leave.”

Qi Shaorong nodded, “Alright.”

“Healer,” Bill interjected, “the tribal chief who said he knew where the Harmony Fruit was has dropped his price to ten Blood Spirit Pearls. Are you still interested?”

Qi Shaorong rolled his eyes again. That tribal chief had originally asked for thirty pearls—he had flatly refused. Harmony Fruit was rare, yes, but not that rare. Especially since the chief didn’t even possess it—he only knew where it might be.

“Ten is still a bit much,” Qi Shaorong said.

Bill nodded, “Yeah.” Even though it was down to a third of the original price, it was still high—ten Blood Spirit Pearls could buy ten females.

Qi Shaorong told Bill, “Let’s wait a bit more.” Business negotiations were sometimes all about patience.

Bill nodded, “Alright.” He thought to himself: their tribe had lost five warriors just to bring back six Blood Spirit Pearls from the Bat Cave. For the Dahe Tribe to want a massive trade for just a lead on Harmony Fruit—it was a bit shameless.

On the road, Xin Duolei was stopped by Jesse.

Xin Duolei looked at Jesse and asked with displeasure, “What do you want?”

“The tribe wants to trade for a few Blood Spirit Pearls,” Jesse said coldly.

Xin Duolei replied firmly, “No.”

Jesse looked at Xindorei unhappily and said, “Xindorei, you used to be a member of the Flying Tiger Tribe. You do business with so many other tribes, but you’re not willing to trade with the Flying Tiger Tribe? After all, the tribe raised you!”

Xindorei rolled his eyes and thought to himself: When we were in the tribe, my brother always gave more than he received. Yet Jesse talks like the tribe did us some great favor.

“The Flying Tiger Tribe doesn’t have what my brother and I want. Even if I wanted to trade, I couldn’t,” Xindorei replied.

“What is it that you want then?” Jesse asked.

Xindorei replied irritably, “Heguó and Yin-Yang Grass. Do you have them?”

Jesse said with displeasure, “You’re being unreasonable.”

Xindorei shrugged and said, “Then there’s nothing to be done. You can’t expect me to trade something as precious as Blood Spirit Beads for a pile of junk.”

Jesse looked at Xindorei angrily. “What did you say?”

Xindorei raised his fist and said, “You know I’m telling the truth! Enough with the tough talk, Jesse. You’re not even my match now.” He smiled, revealing a row of white teeth.

Jesse suddenly felt a rush of blood to the head and his vision turned red.

“I’m leaving now,” Xindorei said with a grin.

Jesse stared at Xindorei’s back, filled with frustration.

He clenched his teeth and muttered to himself, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west! That brat Xindorei dares to talk tough to me now.”

———

Xindorei came in with a young boy. Qi Shaorong looked at the boy and said with a teasing smile, “Xindorei, who’s this? Your lover? He’s quite good-looking!”

Xindorei blushed. “Doctor, please don’t joke like that!”

Qi Shaorong shrugged. “Alright then, who is this guy?”

A glint of curiosity flashed in Qi Shaorong’s eyes. The boy looked about the same age as Xindorei, but the aura he exuded was shockingly intense. When the boy looked at him, Qi Shaorong felt slightly intimidated. The boy had a pair of blood-red eyes that looked rather frightening.

“Greetings, Doctor. I’m Loga,” the boy said calmly.

Xindorei quickly added, “Loga says he knows something about the Heguó.”

Qi Shaorong looked at Loga. “Oh? How many Blood Spirit Beads do you want for the information?”

Loga frowned. “I don’t want any Blood Spirit Beads.”

Qi Shaorong was confused. “You don’t? Then what do you want?”

“Xindorei said your medical skills are incredible. His brother was on the brink of death, and you saved him. I want to ask you to save my brother too,” Loga said.

“Why don’t you ask the priests from the other tribes?” Qi Shaorong asked, puzzled.

He thought to himself: Although I’ve saved a few people, I’m not exactly a priest. If someone needed divine healing, I wouldn’t be their first choice.

A troubled expression crossed Loga’s face. The truth was, he had already asked many people, but no one was willing to help.

“Loga and his brother are wanderers,” Xindorei explained.

Qi Shaorong looked surprised. “Is that so?” Wanderers had a bad reputation—most people wouldn’t accept them.

What Qi Shaorong didn’t know was that in the Divine Blood Tribe, people with red eyes were considered cursed by the gods. That’s why Loga had always lived outside the tribes.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “What happened to your brother?”

“He was bitten by a venomous snake, and his condition keeps worsening,” Loga said.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “Snake venom, huh… I can’t say for sure if I can handle that.”

“Doctor, would you be willing to come with me to see my brother?” Loga asked with anticipation.

Qi Shaorong looked at him and said, “I can, but you should know—I can’t make any guarantees.”

“I understand. If you’re willing to try, I just hope you can come as soon as possible. He doesn’t have much time left,” Loga said earnestly.

Loga had been at the tribal gathering for many days already. He had paid ten-odd beast hides just to get into the city. After that, he’d visited several priests, but no one was willing to help. He was close to despair.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “Alright.”

Loga’s face lit up. “Thank you, Doctor!”