"Uncle, I have killed it... but the other two died." Wu Teigu answered, still drenched in blood.
Someone had just pulled him out of the bloody pool, staring at him with an indifferent face.
"Hmph, don’t call me uncle. Alright, I don’t care about them. Carry them with you, the Chief will handle them. I will take this wolf."
As he said so, he threw the boy away, reaching his hand out and putting the wolf on his shoulder.
The hunt, which would’ve escaped without Teigu’s intervention, now suddenly became the man’s hunt.
But Teigu, who heard this, was elated instead of saddened, the former hidden, sadness spread across his whole face.
A thought inspired his action ’The tribesmen are all cautious and suspicious... if I reveal too much and get their attention, I might be sacrificed in an instant, without the chance to survive.’
His previous drive and hope had been upturned, now all he hoped for was to not be noticed.
"One last orphan, only one", his previous thoughts echoing in his mind ’I’ve made a joke of myself’ the boy said as he imagined the echo spreading across his mind.
Heh, why would the village care if there was three, five or one?
They could easily feed him.
His guess that three people was too much was merely a guess, founded on things he heard occasionally. But instead of understanding that the village had a deep-rooted dislike for orphans, he thought it was the number of orphans that caused this issue, which led to his action.
Now he didn’t have any fellow orphans, left on his own to face these adults hiding their true thoughts from even a young boy.
He calmed down and looked at the two corpses – one at his feet, the other a few metres away.
Carrying the one in front of him, he put all his effort to raise him just a few centimetres above the ground, before he lost his strength.
The previous fight caused his body to churn, adrenaline to propel his actions. He wasn’t strong enough to fully raise a person weighing the same as him above his head.
At this moment, another thought spread across his mind, telling him to bind the boy on his back.
He listened and took a small rope he had – used to carry the hunt usually, now he had to bind the corpse on his back.
The rope was only so large, not enough to fit a second corpse, so he still had to carry a corpse.
It was difficult at first, but as the blood of the corpse flew on his body, some weird power seemed to come out of nowhere, supporting his movement.
It was incredibly weird yet also helpful, allowing him to walk the way back to the village.
Fortunately, the men also wasted some time clearing the field to make sure no predator would enter this outer region of the nearby wild forest.
In the meantime they cleaned and carried the wolves, he was able to get in a few steps out of the forest, back to the village.
Gradually, most men overtook him, only two hunters remaining further behind, covering them.
Although he was burdened, the mysterious power mostly improved his stamina, which was a huge improvement compared to his weaker self before.
Their village, the Wu Tribe Village, was outside the forest, just a few kilometres north.
It had a circular fence formation, standing on a slightly taller hill, overshadowed by some of the nearby hills... but the combination of a lower hill and a wooden fence offered some protection against straying beasts, but against a large pack or a beast tide, it offered no protection, instead becoming a lonely island in the sea.
When the families heard the hunting group outside return, they all entered the flat road leading up their hill, looking at their husbands and sons with cheering expressions.
Meanwhile, there was another group going around the hill, entering from the back.
Those women and children who didn’t see their husband and father returned back into their wooden houses, their expressions solemn.
’Heh, this village is so garbage. Those widows will seek the protection of another family, while the lonely children either go with them or end up as orphans.
If only mother had done the same – seek the protection of others. Instead, she stayed, heh, in the end, didn’t she also die of poison, leaving me to face the danger that would’ve come anyways.’
Teigu sneered in his heart, the thoughts slightly different from his usual thoughts, but his inner self seemed to reveal itself, or maybe someone was whispering these words in his ear.
He didn’t think he was wrong.
From what he had heard, only their village was like this.
Sure, there were sacrifices and deaths in other villages... but in those cases, the orphans would be raised by the group, or at least be taught how to hunt, so they could fend for themselves.
In this village, getting a single piece of bread was the greatest mercy others could give.
Even when taken to the hunt, they only did chores or were used as bait, not taught how to hunt, not even how to train their bodies.
How could it not feel off?
It was like the children were taken so they could die a "natural" death...
Right as he thought so, Teigu realised he had already arrived at the Tribe Chief’s Hall at the back of the village.
The hunters were already talking with a person at the front entrance of the main square, while they, the corpse collectors – Teigu and two others who were carrying the bodies of three adult men – had to wait at the back.
A few moments passed before a person came out. He was old, his skin shrivelled, eyes drooping low, various pockmarks on his body and an indifferent expression on his face.
He only looked at the foremost corpse collector.
Without saying anything, he seemed to have commanded him.
In an instant, the corpse collector bowed, putting his hands on Teigu’s, who hadn’t yet bowed, forcing him to bow. The other man had already bowed, seemingly used to it.
"Tribe Chief!" he called out.
Teigu, who heard this, was initially shocked, but reacted quickly and also called out.
Why was he shocked?
Because the tribe chief he saw usually was a whole different person!!!
He was a strong middle-aged man, not this old bag of bones!!!!!