Han Cheng scolded for a while, then changed his tone: “It was correct to capture the enemies; that is commendable. However, acting recklessly despite previous warnings will be punished.”
“After some time, all of you will be punished—run ten laps around our farmland!”
Upon hearing the Divine Child’s reprimand and the punishment, the group felt a sense of relief. Some were indifferent, but Eldest Senior Brother and the others felt a pang of fear.
As Eldest Senior Brother had said, if the people in the forest had been more numerous and they had recklessly rushed in without any reconnaissance, the consequences could have been severe.
From their previous deductions, they knew that the evil tribe had a large population. It was very likely that there were many people inside.
“Divine Child, I was wrong. I will run twenty laps…”
The Eldest Senior Brother came to Han Cheng in the courtyard and said sincerely.
Han Cheng was delighted with Eldest Senior Brother’s response. The tribe's safety was paramount, and one could not be careless.
“A slight mistake could cost lives.”
Han Cheng patted the Eldest Senior Brother’s shoulder and said, “Let’s see these captives.”
The former leader of the Donkey Tribe, now known as Mao, was highly agitated. His eyes were red with anger as he glared at the injured and trembling captives bound together.
If not for the restraint of others, he would have already killed all four of them.
He had already killed one in the woods. Initially, all five could have been captured alive, but that person was viciously attacked by Mao, who, like a beast, had bitten his neck open.
He could now speak a few simple phrases in Mandarin. Seeing Han Cheng approach, he hurried forward, wanting to kill the remaining captives to avenge his tribe.
The captives, shivering in fear, were terrified of being killed and eaten by this tribe.
Despite their previous fierceness, they had only acted that way because of the presence of their tribe members. Once separated from their tribe, they became meek.
This was similar to piranhas; while a group of them is fearsome, an individual piranha is much less so when isolated.
Han Cheng nodded and refused Mao’s suggestion: “No killing. We still need to obtain information from these evil tribe members.”
After Mao understood Han Cheng’s meaning, he ceased insisting and had the Eldest Senior Brother attempt to question the captives. When Eldest Senior Brother saw their terrified and confused responses, he realized they didn’t understand his questions.
After waiting a while, Han Cheng had people call Ru Hua, Left Lame, and Right Lame.
He wanted to use them to confirm if these captives were from the tribe that had attacked them previously.
Before Ru Hua and the others arrived, Shang, who was standing with his weapon and also glaring at the four captives, looked at the captive’s pierced calf and showed a thoughtful expression.
After observing for a while, he finally spoke tentatively.
The terrified captive, Tu Mao, looked up in surprise when he heard the voice, glanced at Shang with confusion, and then quickly looked down again.
Inside, Tu Mao was filled with doubt. It had been a long time since he heard his original tribe’s language, and he was surprised to hear someone speaking it here.
Seeing Tu Mao’s reaction, Shang felt a surge of joy. His voice trembled with excitement as he called out again with increased volume.
In his panic, Tu Mao looked up again at the strange person. After a while, he showed signs of confusion, feeling that the person looked familiar but unable to recall where he had seen him before.
Shang had already confirmed Tu Mao's identity as one of the people captured from their tribe!
He threw away his weapon, crouched down, and grabbed Tu Mao’s shoulders, shaking him vigorously with great excitement. While shaking him, he spoke in the less-developed language of his former tribe.
Tu Mao, whose face had gone pale, gradually showed less fear in his eyes.
As Tu Mao began to understand Shang’s words, his expression became excited. He hadn't expected to encounter his former leader in such a strange tribe at such a moment!
Shang eagerly asked Tu Mao how many people from their tribe were still alive. Tu Mao drew three curved vertical lines in the dirt with his finger.
Shang felt a mix of joy and sadness. After a while, he remembered other matters and quickly began to explain to Han Cheng and the others.
From Shang’s earlier reaction, Han Cheng had already guessed what had happened. Hearing Shang’s confirmation now, Han Cheng smiled and congratulated Shang.
Han Cheng was in a good mood for several reasons: first, Shang had reunited with his former tribesmen today; second, this reunion proved that the evil tribe they were dealing with now was the same one that had appeared years ago. This meant that his initial assumption of two hostile tribes had turned into one, which was a relief. Third, with the presence of Shang’s former tribesmen, they could gain more information about the evil tribe.
They could also get some information from Ru Hua and the others, but since they had been away from that tribe for several years, they didn’t know the tribe's recent developments.
Shang pointed at Tu Mao, indicating that Tu Mao should be released and treated as soon as possible.
Han Cheng agreed. This person was valuable to their tribe and couldn’t be allowed to die just like that. In consideration of Shang, Han Cheng announced that if Tu Mao was willing to join the Green Sparrow Tribe, he could become a Level 2 citizen with a wooden identity card.
When Tu Mao realized that he didn’t have to die and could survive in this tribe, he was overwhelmed with relief and began to cry. He expressed his gratitude to Han Cheng in a torrent of words.
Han Cheng waved his hand, telling Shang to take Tu Mao to Liang for treatment.
The other three captives, seeing their ropes being untied and realizing they wouldn’t be killed, immediately pleaded for mercy and lay prostrate on the ground.
“Divine Child, kill them!”
“Divine Child, don’t let them live with us…”
“Divine Child, they are all evil…”
The elders of the Green Sparrow Tribe were alarmed at Tu Mao’s release and the three captives’ pleas for mercy. They were afraid Han Cheng might soften and keep the remaining three.
Such people who intended to attack their tribe were not welcome at all!
Even Shaman did not want to keep the remaining three captives.