Chapter 207: Back to the Cave, Ride Away
A-Mang’s words made the savages burst out laughing.
“We used to think you were joking, A-Mang. Now that we’ve seen this woman, we believe every word!”
Listening to the savages banter with each other, Nan Xun’s courage swelled. Sitting astride A-Mang’s shoulders, she lightly tugged at his ear and scolded him with a smile, “Shameless. You really tell everyone about things like this.”
A-Mang caught her mischievous hand and brought it to his mouth, planting a loud kiss on it. Laughing heartily, he said, “I just want all the clansmen to know that the woman I, A-Mang, traded for with twenty long-fur beast hides is far more precious than all those things!”
Nan Xun secretly tugged a handful of his hair, her face flushing red.
They had finished crossing the open ground and were about to enter the dense forest where branches and leaves intertwined. Reluctantly, A-Mang set the woman riding on his neck back down.
Nan Xun twisted his arm, leaned in, and laughed as she scolded him, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll ride your neck clean off?”
A-Mang lightly nipped her ear, his voice low and hoarse. “My little wild leopard, do you want to ride it off? Then when we get back to my stone cave, I’ll let you ride to your heart’s content.”
Nan Xun shot back with a single word, “Scram~”
The cannibal tribe truly did have physiques far superior to ordinary people. They could sprint swiftly through the forest, perfectly weaving around the twisted, interlaced branches. Their seemingly burly bodies were astonishingly agile.
From Ala Mountain back to the cannibal tribe, the whole group took only six days. Nan Xun couldn’t help but suspect that if they hadn’t been taking her into account, they could have gone even faster. Though she felt she had already been walking quickly, she still worried she might have slowed everyone down.
As soon as they returned to the tribe, A-Mang and the others were greeted with warm enthusiasm from the clanspeople.
All the men and the few women present turned their gazes in unison toward Nan Xun, examining her openly and without restraint.
The news that the young new chieftain was trading twenty long-fur beast hides for a woman had long since spread throughout the tribe. All those hides had been hunted by the new chieftain alone when he went out by himself. Back then, he had risen before dawn and worked late into the night, relentlessly hunting ferocious beasts.
He was the strongest warrior in the tribe, capable of killing the fiercest wild animals alone. Yet the clanspeople couldn’t understand why the young chieftain had suddenly begun hunting so desperately. Many of the beasts’ carcasses rotted before they could even be eaten—it was such a waste.
Only after the new chieftain had skinned and bundled all those long-fur hides did they finally understand his intention.
They truly couldn’t imagine how noble a woman would have to be to be worth the chieftain trading twenty fur hides for!
Now they finally saw her. Nothing special—one nose, one mouth. At most, she was prettier than ordinary women: fuller breasts, a slimmer waist, straighter legs, lighter skin that looked healthy and more pleasing to the eye.
A-Mang waved a hand, sending his brothers off to rest. Then he scooped Nan Xun up in his arms and hurried into his stone cave.
Behind them came the clanspeople’s knowing laughter. Enraged, Nan Xun leaned over and bit A-Mang hard on the shoulder.
Damn it—his skin was so tough it made her teeth ache.
A-Mang hadn’t been the cannibal tribe’s new chieftain for long, and the stone cave assigned to him was quite large. Inside was even a big stone with the top ground flat, which could serve as a table. In one corner of the stone wall were several stone knives and axes, along with two spears, while five or six fluffy beast hides hung on the walls.
Against another section of the wall, thick layers of dried grass had been laid down, topped with at least two smooth-textured beast hides. At one end of the hide bed, three or four beast-skin aprons were neatly folded, some thin, some thick.
A-Mang couldn’t wait—he pressed Nan Xun down onto the beast-hide bed. With a light tug here and a gentle pull there, her little camisole and apron were completely torn apart.
“Bastard, you ripped my camisole and apron—mmph!”
Her mouth was sealed shut.
The serrated rogue tiger said he was roasting meat, and he meant it. Without even preheating the stove, he tossed in firewood and lit it. At first the fire didn’t catch, but before long, a blazing inferno was burning inside the stone cave.
The rogue tiger roasted his little wild leopard, flipping her over and over, adding firewood, turning up the heat, roasting again—over and over, never satisfied.
After finishing his roasted meat, the rogue tiger hugged his little wild leopard, lying contentedly on the beast-hide bed, savoring the lingering flavor.
Nan Xun was completely limp, so soft she didn’t even want to move a finger.
After resting for a long while, Nan Xun finally reached out a finger and poked him. “A-Mang.”
“Hm?” The man replied lazily, lifting his eyelids slightly from eyes that had just closed.
“A-Mang, did you really hunt beasts day and night just to trade hides for me?” Nan Xun asked softly.
A-Mang rumbled in his throat. He seemed utterly exhausted. Pulling Nan Xun tightly into his arms, his shallow, even breaths brushed her forehead as he spoke in a low, languid tone, “Once I was surrounded by two beasts and almost lost a leg to their jaws. Another time, my arm was clawed badly. A Xi, do you know how badly I wanted to secretly go see you again? But there wasn’t time. I had to be ready before the trade. I had to make sure I could exchange for you. A Xi, you’re worth far more—far more than twenty hides…”
At first, hearing about the dangers he faced made Nan Xun ache with worry. By the time she heard the rest, a smile welled up in her eyes, growing brighter and warmer until it filled the entire stone cave.
“A-Mang, am I really that important to you? You’ve only seen me a few times…”
A-Mang didn’t answer. His breathing grew steady—he had already fallen asleep.
Nan Xun gazed at the man’s handsome face for a long time. Then, thinking of something, she couldn’t help but giggle softly.
She draped one leg over his waist, clinging to him tightly. Closing her eyes, she followed the gentle rise and fall of his breathing, and slowly drifted into sleep as well.
Early the next morning, Nan Xun was awakened by a rich, fruity fragrance.
She opened her eyes and stretched. The thin beast-hide blanket covering her slid down to her waist.
Her not-so-delicate skin was covered in bluish-purple hickey marks. Even after a whole night, they hadn’t faded.
Nan Xun figured she probably wouldn’t be able to face anyone today—there were marks on her arms and shoulders too.
The man beside her was already gone. On the stone table lay a large leaf piled high with red fruits. It was the season when these fruits ripened. Though they weren’t as crisp anymore, they were especially sweet. Beside them was a big chunk of roasted beast meat—the tender thigh cut.
Nan Xun didn’t hold back, eating all the meat and most of the fruit.
Little Eight suddenly piped up, “You can really eat. That’s such a big piece of meat—it’s basically a man’s portion.”
Nan Xun: “…Being able to eat is a blessing.”
Little Eight: “Then I wish you an early day of eating yourself into a big fatty and getting eaten by the cannibal tribe.”
Nan Xun’s heart skipped. “Little Eight, you’re joking, right? Do people in this tribe really eat humans?”
Little Eight chuckled slyly. “Of course they do. Otherwise why would they be called the cannibal tribe?”
Nan Xun: …
