"Could they have gone back for a meal?"
Right, Xiu Yan’s arm hasn’t fully healed yet, he must have been called home for a meal by Aunt Ge Rou, who is so looking forward to his recovery.
Ji Nuan thought for a moment, and decided not to go to Uncle Xiu Li’s house to look for Xiu Yan. After all, he would return once he finished his meal. She could go back first and come back later.
Thinking this way, she let the two wooden sticks lean against the outside of the cave, and she turned to leave.
It was almost noon, and Ji Nuan went to the adjacent cave again, but there was still no sign of Xiu Yan.
She finally felt that something was wrong.
Although Xiu Yan didn’t show any reaction when they talked about resetting his bones yesterday, his suddenly tense muscles showed that he was indeed looking forward to the recovery of his arm, so it wasn’t normal for him to be missing by now.
Thinking this, Ji Nuan began to walk towards Uncle Xiu Li’s house.
"Aunt Ge Rou, are you there?" Ji Nuan didn’t go straight in but asked from outside.
She felt a bit puzzled. Normally at this time, Uncle Xiu Li would be processing beast skins outside the cave, and even the lively little wolf cubs were nowhere to be seen.
After a while, steady footsteps sounded from the cave, and a slightly tired handsome face entered Ji Nuan’s sight.
Ji Nuan recognized this warm and tall Orc. It was Xiu Ming, the eldest child of Uncle Xiu Li and Aunt Ge Rou.
The Orc looked at her for quite some time before he hesitantly asked: "You are... Shan Zaizai?"
Ji Nuan nodded awkwardly, not expecting him not to recognize her after she had taken a bath.
"Shan Zaizai, do you need something?" Xiu Ming’s voice was noticeably hoarse, as if he had been shouting for a long time.
Ji Nuan finally sensed something unusual, she steeled her small face and cautiously said: "I came to find Brother Xiu Yan today, but there was no response after I had been calling for him for a while. I wondered if he had come back, so I came over to see if there’s anything he needs help with."
A hint of sorrow flashed in Xiu Ming’s eyes, his voice became even lower: "Our little brother is gone. Yesterday afternoon, some Orcs saw him leaving, but he didn’t come back by nightfall.
All the Orcs in the tribe set out to look for him, and they only returned this morning. They found a piece of beast skin with his blood on it near the tree. There were corpses of the Sharp Teeth Beast and some scattered flesh around, and the blood on the ground was his."
A buzzing sounded in Ji Nuan’s head, as if a bell was ringing, her face turned pale instantly, her lips shivering uncontrollably: "Gone ... gone?"
Her heart seemed to stop for a moment, despite the scorching heat, she felt as if she was in the depth of winter.
She remembered how Xiu Yan had emotionlessly torn off a leg of the Humming Beast for her, and how he asked Lei Er to make a wooden barrel for her.
Ji Nuan’s eyes couldn’t help but get misty. How could he be gone? He was such a powerful Orc, one of the strongest Orcs in the tribe.
It must have been because he tried to save me and hurt his arm... that’s how the Sharp Teeth Beast got him...
At this thought, Ji Nuan couldn’t help but burst into loud sobs.
As Xiu Ming looked at the little cub crying with snot running down her face, he felt at a loss.
If anyone didn’t know better, they would think he had bullied her.
Maybe Ji Nuan’s cry was too sharp, it finally alerted the people in the cave.
Ge Rou walked out, held in Xiu Li’s arms, her eyes red and voice hoarse: "Whose little cub is this? She’s crying as if her heart is broken."
Then, she looked at Xiu Ming, who stood there with a dark face: "Cub, did you bully this little girl?"