Cheng Shi turned his head in terror, dropping the longbow in his hand, his face turning pale with fright.
“It’s me. What just happened?” Shu Feng asked. He had rushed over immediately after hearing the scream.
“You scared me to death! I thought it was someone else!” Cheng Shi sighed in relief, the colour slowly returning to his face.
“What happened?” Shu Feng pulled him up from the ground.
Cheng Shi shook his head vigorously, saying, “I don’t know. I think I shot something else.”
“What did you shoot?” Shu Feng frowned.
Ai’er ran over with small steps, fearfully saying, “Brother Shu Feng, that scream just now was so miserable. It wasn’t a person, was it?”
Shu Feng’s brow furrowed even more as he held the two back, cautioning. “Don’t get close. I’ll go check.”
“Okay,” Cheng Shi and Ai’er responded in unison.
An arrow shot by Cheng Shi had pierced his chest, and blood was continuously flowing from the wound. It looked fatal.
“You really shot someone.” Shu Feng’s brown eyes widened as he immediately ran over. The other two saw this and ran over as well.
“Brother Shu Feng, what should we do?” Cheng Shi asked worriedly. He felt guilty, as this person was injured because of him.
Ai’er saw that blood was still flowing from the person’s wound, and her purple eyes were filled with fear. This was her first time seeing a Human wound up close. During the Black Snake Tribe’s attack, she was among the first to evacuate, so she had not seen any bloody scenes.
Shu Feng slipped one hand under the person’s neck, resting him on his feet, while using his other hand to check for signs of life.
“It’s okay, he’s still alive.” Shu Feng sighed in relief.
As he brushed aside the man’s scattered hair to reveal his face, Shu Feng froze.
The man who had been shot had long blue hair and wore a necklace of Beast Teeth around his neck. In the middle of his forehead was a single blue horn, and his face showed a sense of world-weariness, though he appeared to only be about thirty years old.
“Isn’t this Qing Yan?” The usually composed Shu Feng suddenly became excited, afraid he might be seeing things.
“It’s Uncle Qing Yan! It’s really him!” Ai’er said with certainty. Back in the Ancestral Land, she and Cheng Shi had trained under Qing Yan, so they could not possibly have mistaken him.
Shu Feng rubbed his eyes and nodded firmly. “It’s him! It’s really him! We’ve finally found someone from the Tribe!”
“Let’s use a Shaman Bone Tablet for Uncle Qing Yan!” Cheng Shi guiltily said.
Shu Feng nodded and took out a Healing Shaman Bone Tablet from his Animal Hide Bag.
He clutched the Shaman Bone Tablet in his palm, activating his Totem Mark. His red Totem Mark immediately lit up, and the Shaman Bone Tablet began to emit a verdant glow.
“Brother Shu Feng, should I remove the arrow from Uncle Qing Yan first? Otherwise, it won’t heal properly, right?” Cheng Shi suggested.
“Yes, quickly.” Shu Feng urged.
Cheng Shi nodded heavily, reached out to grasp the arrow shaft, hesitated for a moment before forcefully pulling it out.
“Ah!” As the arrow was pulled out, Qing Yan cried out again, likely from the renewed pain. This caused him to slowly open his green eyes.
Qing Yan looked very haggard, his lips dry and peeling, appearing on the verge of death, as if he might faint at any moment.
“Brother Shu Feng, quickly use the Shaman Bone Tablet!” Cheng Shi urged.
Shu Feng brought the Healing Shaman Bone Tablet close to Qing Yan’ wound. The verdant light covered the wound like spring bamboo shoots after rain.
A few minutes later, as the verdant light slowly dissipated, the wound visibly began to heal. Qing Yan’ complexion was no longer deathly pale. He slowly regained his usual colour, and his lips began to redden.
“Great! The Shaman Bone Tablet is working!” Cheng Shi felt the weight lift from his heart. If Uncle Qing Yan had died because of his arrow, he would have felt guilty for the rest of his life. After all, this was someone from his own Tribe! Someone who had trained him! How could he have killed a member of his own Tribe with his own hands!?
Shu Feng immediately looked at the other person, his brown eyes full of concern, as he softly asked, “How do you feel?”
Qing Yan frowned, reaching out to touch the wound site, and after a long while, managed to say, “That was quite a fierce shot.”
Hearing that the other person could still joke around, Cheng Shi finally felt completely relieved. “I’m sorry, Uncle Qing Yan. I didn’t know it was you. It’s good that you’re alright. Otherwise, this kid would have been devastated,” Shu Feng also sighed in relief.
Qing Yan rested for a good while before struggling to sit up straight. His deep voice sounded, “If it weren’t for the Shaman Bone Tablet, I might have really died.”
Cheng Shi pounced in front of Qing Yan, carefully examining the wound, and exclaimed, “The Shaman Bone Tablet is really amazing!”
Qing Yan lowered his hand from the wound site and reached out to rub Cheng Shi’s head, saying, “It’s been a long time, You’ve become much stronger.”
“Of course, I’ve been training hard while you were not looking! I follow everything Uncle Qing Yan has taught me!” Cheng Shi proudly said.
“It’s good that you haven’t slacked off. But what weapon did you use? It was able to wound me so severely!” Qing Yan did not seem to have any intention of blaming him.
Cheng Shi brought over the longbow, excitedly saying, “This was made by Uncle Gu Mu at the Shaman’s request. It’s very powerful!”
“It’s great that the Shaman and Uncle Gu Mu are alright,” Qing Yan’ weathered face broke into a smile. He continued to ask, “Is everyone in the Tribe okay?”
Cheng Shi’s previously smiling face suddenly fell, his slender black eyes filled with sadness.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Qing Yan clearly noticed the change in his expression.
Shu Feng sighed, handing over the Animal Hide Bag hanging at his waist, and said, “Many of the Tribe’s people are gone.”
His usually refined face was now covered in sorrow, and he kept sighing.
Qing Yan took the Animal Hide Bag but did not have the heart to drink. He asked repeatedly, “How many people are left? How many did the Black Snake Tribe take with them?”
At the time, he had been protecting others as they fled, and did not know the subsequent situation of the Tribe. As he ran, he became separated from most of his Tribesmen.
“Our Tribe only has about seventy people left. Fortunately, the Shaman is alright. Otherwise, we would have truly lost our final pillar of support…” Shu Feng sorrowfully said.
“Only about seventy people left!?” Qing Yan widened his green eyes, his face full of disbelief. He knew that previously, the Tribe had many people.
“Yes, only about seventy people are left. This time, I came out on the Shaman’s arrangement to look for any scattered Tribe members/” Shu Feng said in a low voice.
Qing Yan could not process everything for a moment. The feeling now was even worse than when he had just been shot.
[noscript][/noscript]