Now, he has to face reality.
Should he leave? The voice inside Fox Five kept asking himself this question.
The joyful faces of the elderly and children of the mountain tribe, the tragic deaths of the elderly and children of the vine tribe, and the faces of his father and mother kept switching back and forth in Fox Five's mind, lingering there.
Lu Shi's words echoed in his ears, "It's different, the Wood Tribe is different..."
Fox Five didn't want to leave like this. Although his tribesmen hadn't told him they were willing to come to the Wood Tribe, they hadn't said they weren't either. The Wood Tribe was their only chance to survive, and Fox Five didn't want to give it up so easily.
But despite his persistence, he was helpless. All he could do was shout at the top of his lungs, hoping his voice would reach the ears of the Wood Tribe priest, "Please let me see your priest... please let me see your priest..."
Fox Five's voice grew increasingly hoarse, and the orc guards of the Wood Tribe sighed, "If you keep yelling like that, you'll never be able to speak again. Stop yelling and go back."
Another orc warrior on the watchtower said, "Let me make this clear to you, this is an internal matter of your tribe, and our tribe has no way to interfere."
“Unless your chieftain also disagrees with the fire sacrifice and comes to ask for help, if our tribe only listens to one orc and sends orc warriors to another tribe to rescue people, how can the other tribes sleep peacefully? Apart from cannibals, no tribe will lead orcs to charge into another tribe.”
Fox Five was already in tears, his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, he wouldn't move an inch, and he pleaded again and again, trying to get a way out for his father, mother, the old people and children.
He just wants to see the Wood Tribe, even if the result is still no saving him, at least he'll know he really did his best.
"Please let me see your priest..."
The two orcs on the watchtower remained wary, their eyes fixed on Fox Five, but they were speaking in hushed tones, "Didn't our caravan's Captain Leopard Autumn save a child who was almost burned to death in the Wushan tribe before?"
"He went to see Quanfeng secretly for a deal, not specifically to save the child. Besides, Quanfeng's attitude at the time was very clear: he didn't want to burn the animal, and he was forced to act. In the end, it was Quanfeng who helped Captain Baoqiu escape. Our tribe is far from the Wushan tribe. This Vine Tribe only had one orc coming over, while Quanfeng was the chieftain at that time. Can the situations be compared?"
"Then what do we do? Just wait here until the vine tribe's place is burned down?"
The two fell silent for a moment, then one of the orcs said, "Let's go find the priest and see what he says. Hurry up."
Another orc flipped off the watchtower, saying, "I'll be right back."
…
“Nonsense, nonsense.”
"Teacher? Is that you, teacher?!" Shen Nong's vision went completely black. In both his past and present lives, the only people who called him "Nong Nong" were his teacher and his teacher's wife.
This is a term of endearment used by the teacher for children in their hometown.
“Nongnong, it’s me. Open the door and let the teacher see you.”
Open the door?
Shen Nong was puzzled. It was pitch black and there was nothing here, so where did the door come from?
Thinking this to herself, the next second, a beam of light suddenly appeared in front of Shen Nong's eyes, revealing an ancient wooden door with intricate carvings.
"Teacher, I see the door! I'll open it right away! Teacher, wait for me!"
Shen Nong placed his hand on the door; with just a little force, he could open it and see his teacher. At that crucial moment, a series of loud knocks came from outside the courtyard, followed by urgent shouts, "Priest! Priest!"
Shen Nong opened her eyes with a displeased expression, but Ze woke up even faster than him. He told Shen Nong to continue sleeping while he went downstairs to check on the situation. Shen Nong was in a terrible mood and didn't refuse.
After Ze got up, Shen Nong stared blankly at the roof beam. After some time, he heard the sound of the door being pushed open. Then, he felt a warmth on his cheek, and Ze's face appeared before him. "Priest, what's wrong?"
Looking at the worry filling Ze's eyes, Shen Nong couldn't even muster the energy to fake a smile.
He really misses his teacher.
"Why are they shouting so urgently outside? What happened?" Shen Nong gently rubbed Ze's palm to divert her attention and asked.
Ze Jiang told Shen Nong about the Vine Tribe.
Upon hearing this, Shen Nong sat up, her intention clearly to go to the Vine Tribe to rescue the people.
Ze didn't say much. No matter what the priest wanted to do, he would stand firmly behind him. "I'll go call Leopard Autumn and the others."
Shen Nong nodded, quickly tidied up, left the courtyard, and headed straight for the tribe's gate.
After the Wood Tribe moved to the former Salt Tribe site, Shen Nong no longer stayed in the cave at the original site of the Wood Tribe for the sake of spiritual energy. At his current level, whether he absorbed that spiritual energy or not had little impact.
He now lives in a courtyard house, and the one in the middle is two stories high. The top floor is unbuilt, so in the summer, he can live inside with the windows open and feel cool and breezy. In the winter, he moves downstairs to live on a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).
To keep things quiet, Shen Nong's priest's courtyard was built in a rather secluded spot. When he arrived, Ze happened to be there with Bao Qiu and the others.
When Bao Qiu saw Shen Nong, he said, "Priest, let's go first. Lang Yu has already gone to the military guard to find Hu Xiao. They'll be there later."
Time waits for no one. A lot of time had already been wasted. Shen Nong didn't speak to Fox Five and directly ordered the beastmen to transform and rush to the Vine Tribe as quickly as possible.
Fox Five's voice was already hoarse and he couldn't speak. He was extremely anxious, and in the end, he could only look at Shen Nong gratefully before leading the way.
He sprouted wings, picked up Shen Nong, and followed the group.
The orcs were very fast. When they got close to the vine tribe, they chose to be in mid-air for a wider view. Seeing the firelight ahead, they quickly increased their speed. Leopard Autumn and his group were left far behind.
Fox Five realized something, suppressed the metallic taste rising in his throat, and ran forward with all his might.
Faster, faster, we're almost there.
A raging fire burned inside the large cave. The old priest, standing in front of it, roared in exasperation, "Quickly block the entrance to the cave with huge rocks! It's all your fault for wasting time; the Enchanting Leaf has lost its effect!"
This time, the boulder did not completely block the cave entrance, but left some space. The screams from inside the cave continued incessantly, then quickly subsided.
The old priest looked at Wolf Leaf, the hunting team leader, and Deer Ten, who were lying on the ground, and said coldly, "You almost killed the tribe! I don't understand, what benefit did stopping the fire sacrifice bring to your hunting team!"
Lu Shi was badly injured; one of his antlers had broken off at the base, and blood stained his entire face. He tried to move his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
Wolf Leaf lay on the ground, his limbs limp and twisted. He felt that the priest's words made him want to laugh, but he didn't know why. "There's no benefit to it. I just want to save Foxwood and Wolf Five."
Fujiki's face was grim. Just as he was about to say something, a burst of golden light swept across the sky, and then the huge rock blocking the entrance to the hole was quickly pushed aside from the inside with a rumbling sound.
The vine tribe members outside the cave were stunned. They had struggled to push it, so how could the orcs inside, who were burned, possibly move it? Not to mention, they had smelled the scent of the bewitching leaves beforehand, and even if they woke up, they would be unable to exert their strength for a while.
He soon realized why the boulder had been pushed aside from the inside; vines, like a giant hand, stretched out from the hole as the boulder moved rapidly.
This scene caused the orcs of the Vine Tribe to shrink in terror.
The fire inside the large cave had not yet gone out and was still burning fiercely, and the vines seemed to be growing out of the fire.
After the boulder was pushed away, the giant vine hand retracted into the large hole, and then one large fireball after another rolled out of it. The orcs of the vine tribe were so frightened that they scattered in all directions.
Fujiki was chased far away by a fireball, which seemed to have a mind of its own, and completely bypassed Wolf Leaf and Deer Ten, who were lying on the ground unable to move.
After the fire on the vine fireball rolled around a few times, it gradually shrank. At this moment, the vines seemed to have a life of their own, and they all retracted into the ground, revealing the person inside the fireball.
It was the old man and children from the big cave, along with Foxwood and Wolf Five.
Each of them had burns to varying degrees, and the terror on their faces had not yet subsided. But upon feeling the air, a surge of elation at surviving the ordeal welled up within them. The collision of these two extreme emotions made their expressions somewhat ferocious and terrifying.
This terrified the other beastmen of the Vine Tribe, who cried out in horror, "Monster! Monster! The old man and child of the Big Cave, and Foxwood Wolf Five, have all turned into monsters!"
"It's terrible, Priest! Fox Five has led the Wood Tribe's orcs in and they've invaded!"
Tengmu peeked out from behind a rock, thinking he had misheard. "You said someone led the Wood Tribe orcs in?"
"Fox Five!" the orc messenger stamped his foot anxiously, "Foxwood and Wolf Five's cubs!"
Tengmu gripped the wooden stick tightly and stood up. "Don't you know how to stop Xiong San and Xiong Si?"
The orc gritted his teeth and said, "At first we tried to stop them, but then I don't know what they heard from Fox Five, they came along too."
A commotion came from behind, and the orc who was relaying the message felt a chill run down his spine. "The priests are here!"
They're here? What's here? What's here?
Fujiki's mind was in a mess, and his head went completely blank when he saw the Wood Tribe orcs.
Any one of them could easily send Cat Vine flying. When did Fox Five get to know the Wood Tribe and manage to persuade them to come to the Vine Tribe?
Tengmu glared fiercely at Maoteng. It was him! He was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes! Why did he have to call Lushi over? Everyone in the Tengman tribe knew that Lushi and Huwu were close friends.
Cat Vine deliberately sent Deer Ten to find Fox Five! They were about to knock Deer Ten unconscious and then perform a fire ritual, but Wolf Leaf somehow showed up. Now that they think about it, what else is there that they don't know?
It's Cat Vine! Cat Vine must have secretly called it!
In this vine tribe, who doesn't know that Wolf Leaf and Foxwood are close friends?
Catvine is going to kill the Vine Tribe!
Upon receiving the old priest's venomous gaze, Cat Vine lowered her head and gave a bitter smile.
He didn't know whether what he was doing was right or wrong.
After Shen Nong withdrew the vines, she did not immediately go out with Ze, but planned to wait until Hu Wu and the Wood Tribe beastmen arrived before they appeared from the bushes.
Shen Nong was observing the movements in front of the large cave when Ze suddenly took his hand. He turned around and heard Ze ask softly, "Priest, are you still sad?"
Shen Nong paused for a moment, then raised her hand to smooth her furrowed brows. "Don't worry about me, I just dreamt of my father."
"The priest's father?"
"Yes, my father." This was the first time Shen Nong had mentioned his teacher since he transmigrated. He gently rubbed his dry, warm palm against hers. "I thought I would never see my father again, but I almost saw him in my dream today. But in the end, I didn't see him. But I miss him so much, so very much."
Ze now understood why the priest had helped Fox Five without considering the consequences when he heard Fox Five's plea for help: "Priest, you have saved Fox Five's father and mother."
Shen Nong smiled slightly, "Yes, I saved them. I also saved those elderly people and children. Although it may be a bit unrealistic, I still pray that if my father were to encounter a life-threatening situation in another world, someone could save his life."
Ze held Shen Nong's hand tightly, awkwardly comforting her, "The priest's father must be with the Beast God, he'll be alright."
Unable to explain his situation with the teacher, Shen Nong tacitly agreed with Ze's words. The moonlight was hazy and alluring, and Shen Nong longed to kiss Ze at that moment.
When the Wood Tribe orcs arrived at the cave, they didn't see their priest. Leopard Autumn looked around but couldn't find him. The Vine Tribe orcs were so intimidated by the aura of the high-level orcs that they dared not breathe and stood there trembling.
Leopard Autumn didn't know what to do next—whether to take the old people and children away directly, or to beat up the vine tribe orcs before taking them away. So he simply stopped looking and shouted, "Priest! Where are you and Ze? We can't see you!"
Shen Nong stopped mid-motion at Bao Qiu's shout. Just as he was about to respond, a large, warm hand gripped the back of his neck, and a soft touch came from his lips.
The tension and shame of being discovered made Shen Nong blush, and his breathing became much lighter. Fortunately, Ze did not go too far, and after a moment he released his hand from Shen Nong's neck.
“We’re here.” The deep, magnetic voice instantly drew everyone’s attention. Under the moonlight, the tall orc led another slender figure out of the bushes.
The orcs of the Vine Tribe looked at each other, and although they did not communicate verbally, they all understood each other's meaning.
When did two people get into the bushes? How come they didn't notice at all!
Leopard Autumn didn't waste any time and immediately asked Shen Nong what to do next. Shen Nong looked at the elders and children of the Vine Tribe and asked, "Do you want to go to the Wood Tribe?"
Shen Nong didn't want to stay here any longer. He had done all he could. After giving the elderly and children a short time to process the news, he said directly, "Those who want to leave, come with me now. Those who don't want to leave, it's up to you."
Fox Five supported his father with his left hand and his mother with his right, and the three of them stood neatly on the side of the Wood Tribe beastmen.
Foxwood and Wolf Five exchanged a glance but said nothing.
They're not stupid. The vine tribe was about to burn them to death, why would they leave them here to be burned again?
Not to mention the elderly and children; the elderly live longer and think more deeply. They would go out with the gathering team. The mountain tribe was just a subordinate tribe of the wood tribe, and the elderly and children could all get something called candy.