Han Cheng cannot be blamed for this matter.
Like the others from the Fire Tribe, this guy's hair is messy, and the chest exposed under the animal skins is flat—not much different from other boys.
Who could have imagined a hidden surprise beneath the animal skins in such a situation?
Han Cheng took several deep breaths, finally clearing his confused mind.
On the other boat, Liang who had been watching them all along, thinking this was necessary to treat the illness. So he imitated Han Cheng's actions, facing downstream with hands on their backs and taking deep breaths.
Feeling calmer, Han Cheng turned around, gesturing for Milk Tea to clean the remaining parts herself. After waiting and stealing a glance, he saw that she was cleaning too slowly.
Moreover, with the illness on her body, being exposed for too long could worsen her condition. So Han Cheng turned around, helping her put on her upper garment, then changing the water basin and taking the animal skin from her hands to clean Milk Tea, who had suddenly changed.
Primitive people didn't care about this, and Milk Tea's body was smaller than Han Cheng's, still a child, so Han Cheng repeated in his mind the phrase "a doctor has a parent's heart" several times, finally feeling less embarrassed...
After the cleaning, Han Cheng heated some water and gritted his teeth as he soaked his hands in the hot water.
With food in his belly, knowing she wouldn't be burned to death, wearing soft clothes she had never seen before, Milk Tea felt much lighter. She stroked her soft clothes for a while before leaning against a corner of the small boat and falling asleep.
Thinking momentarily, Han Cheng found a piece of animal skin to use as a blanket and covered her with it.
He reached out to touch her forehead, which was still very hot.
People rushing home always seemed to have endless energy. With the sun still far from setting, they had already reached the place they had departed from that morning, rowing against the current.
They didn't rest here but continued to push forward.
They stopped at the riverbank when the sun finally set, painting the sky with varying shades of fiery clouds.
Milk Tea was still asleep. Han Cheng put his hand under her nose for a while and found her breath slightly scorching.
First, they removed the fish from the cage and put the cage back into the water before starting to cook it.
Han Cheng didn't share his meal with the senior brothers, fearing he might pass the illness to them.
After eating, Han Cheng asked the senior brothers to boil plenty of willow branch water again. He instructed them all to clean themselves, especially the parts that had intimate contact with the people from the Fire Tribe today.
Han Cheng's meal was eaten on the boat, sharing the same pot with Milk Tea, but of course, Milk Tea's utensils were kept separate from Han Cheng's.
After waking up the groggy Milk Tea, he made her drink a bowl of meat porridge with some vegetables, followed by half a bowl of soup made from what seemed to be bupleurum, before letting her sleep again.
This time, they didn't wash their faces, so they didn't drink face-washing water either.
The night was quiet, and the small boat gently swayed with the ripples, like sleeping in a cradle.
Sometimes, not far away, the gentle sound of water waves would be heard as startled fish flicked their tails, leaving a shimmering trail.
There were faint flickers of fireflies dancing on the water's surface, slightly overshadowed by the stars in the sky and the water below.
Perhaps feeling the chill of the night, the drowsy Milk Tea kept leaning towards Han Cheng, eventually snuggling next to him...
Let's push the timeline forward a bit and switch perspectives.
The setting sun gradually descended towards the mountains, and birds eager to return home flapped their wings across the sky.
The Bone Tribe, who had been on their way, finally saw the silhouette of the deer, and someone shouted excitedly in their tribal language.
Following his pointing direction, more people saw the group of deer, large and small, numbering about thirty.
The leader of the Bone Tribe looked at the deer, raised his hand, and then waved it down.
The guy excitedly shouting at the deer stumbled momentarily, and his excited shouts stopped.
He looked puzzled at the leader. The leader of the Bone Tribe restrained the urge to hit him again and pointed forcefully at the group of deer.
Following their gaze, they saw the deer had already arrived in front of the tall, envy-inducing wall, walking elegantly and entering one by one.
It was obvious that these deer had been raised by the entire tribe. How could this guy still be shouting with excitement?
The leader of the Bone Tribe looked indignant and frustrated, wanting to continue hitting someone.
Shouts came from the opposite wall from far away, faintly mixed with the sound of something being struck.
Under the gaze of the leader of the Bone Tribe, several people not far from the courtyard quickly ran towards the courtyard, accompanied by the wolf that lived with them.
The open gate was quickly closed, and other people's figures appeared on the wall where only one person could be seen.
The leader of the Bone Tribe, who had seen similar scenes several times, waved his hand and shouted, leading the tribe towards the tribe.
The leader of the Bone Tribe was puzzled because the one who came out to negotiate with him this time was not the leader of this tribe but the old shaman, whose status was above the leader.
Where was the leader of this tribe?
He thought this way and carefully searched the wall with his eyes, only to find that many familiar figures were missing among the people on the wall.
Did these people go hunting and not return?
He thought this way and began to convey his thoughts.
However, what surprised him was that this time, the people of this tribe did not ask them to wait outside. Instead, two strange ropes with wooden hooks were lowered from the wall, pulling them and their fur up.
After a while, two jars of salt needed by their tribe and a large pot obtained with many furs were sent down with the ropes.
After the trade, the western sky was already covered with fiery clouds.
Dusk had descended, and it wouldn't be long before it turned dark.
Camping in the wilderness was naturally unsafe, so the leader of the Bone Tribe proposed, as before, to rest in front of the walls of the Green Sparrow Tribe, which the shaman agreed to.
However, the number of people guarding the wall increased accordingly.
As night fell, the shaman did not sleep. He sat not too far from the wall.
The rest of the Green Sparrow Tribe, except for the ignorant children, remained alert.
After the Divine Child and leader left, they all felt uneasy sleeping.
Even the previously lazy Second Senior Brother stood on the wall with a stone-throwing sling in hand, keeping a close watch on the people camping outside the wall.