Qiao Yu looked at the wound on his arm and asked, "You got hurt because you were trying to save my father?" Shu nodded, his face full of self-blame: "I was a step too slow and let my brother bite my foot."

"Thank you, uncle." Qiao Yu looked at Shan, who was lying on the stone bed with a pale face, with cold eyes. "I will make Qinglang pay the price."

Shu probably didn't expect Qiao Yu to say that, and looked at her in surprise.

His niece had been a bit spoiled by her brother, but now she seemed to be quite capable of taking on responsibilities.

He felt somewhat relieved.

In my brother's situation, if Yu couldn't take responsibility and just cried, the family would be in trouble.

He said, "No need. I told you this just to warn you against the Qinglang family. I'll take care of my brother's revenge."

Hearing the sound of children running at the door, the uncle and nephew shut up.

Koizumi is still young and impatient, so it is not appropriate to let him know about this.

It was late autumn, and the weather was already quite chilly. The small spring water flowing down from the mountain was refreshing. Qiao Yu applied the moistened animal skin to Shan's forehead, and Shan's frown relaxed a little.

"Uncle, you are injured too, go back and rest. Don't worry, Koizumi and I will take care of your father." Qiao Yu said.

Shu didn't insist, but stood up and said, "Okay, I'll let Lin replace you later."

Shu had three children. The eldest was a daughter, Miao, two months younger than Qiao Yu, and fourteen years old. His second son, Lin, was twelve, and his third, Yu, was only six. Besides these three, his family had also lost two children in infancy.

I don't know if the witch's medicine was effective, or if Shan was just strong. The next morning, Shan's fever finally subsided a little, and the temperature wasn't as alarming. If the fever didn't recur at night, or if it wasn't so high, he would probably be able to survive these two nights.

Although Lin came last night, Xiaoquan refused to rest. Qiao Yu was worried about the two of them, so she stayed on guard all night, changing animal skins and feeding them water and medicine. She only went to sleep for half a day when Shu and his wife Ahua came over in the morning.

After waking up from a nap, she saw the barbecue and wild fruits Ah Hua handed over, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is there no other food for my father?"

The tribe lived on hunting. The men grilled the meat they hunted. While the men hunted, the women would go out in groups to gather wild fruits as a side dish.

Before going to bed in the morning, Qiao Yu ate the barbecue stored at home and the wild fruits that Ahua brought her.

Shan had been drinking medicine and water since he was brought back, so he couldn't eat barbecue. Before going to rest in the morning, Qiao Yu squeezed the juice of wild fruits onto leaves, diluted it with water, and fed it to him.

But for a man as tall as Shan, this amount of food was far from enough. He was still battling illness, so how could he not eat?

Ah Hua shook her head and asked doubtfully, "Is there anything else to eat?"

Qiao Yu didn't answer. She took the original owner's bone knife, cut off a piece of the meat she'd been given yesterday, and said to Ah Hua, "Auntie, I'm going to be out for a moment."

With that, she walked out of the cave.

The tribe lived in a valley, nestled against the mountain. People used natural or artificially excavated caves around the mountain to create their own dwellings. Guarding the entrance to the valley provided protection from wild beasts. In winter, the valley provided shelter from the harsh winds, making it relatively warmer.

The valley is not big, and the open space of four or five acres in the middle is the public area for everyone's activities.

Shan was the leader, living in the largest and innermost cave. Qiao Yu walked along the path worn by people in front of the caves, passing each cave entrance, occasionally greeting the people squatting at the door and answering their greetings to Shan.

When she passed by Elder Lu's cave, she heard a quarrel.

According to the original owner's memory, these should be the four elders of the tribe speaking.

"...Except for Shan, Hei is the most powerful person in the tribe. If the most powerful person doesn't become the leader, who will become the leader?" This was Lu's voice.

"Hei is strong but very stupid. Do you really think such a person is suitable to be a leader?" This is Fire.

Hearing this, Qiao Yu sneered inwardly. Huo had a quarrel with Shan's father when they were young, and the two families had always been at odds. When Shan competed for the leadership, Huo had always opposed him.

Now that Shan Yi was injured, these elders couldn't wait to nominate a new leader. It went without saying that it would definitely be Huo Chuanduo.

He had always wanted his son Qinglang to replace Shan. Yesterday, Qinglang took the opportunity to trip Shan, probably aiming for the position of leader.

But ahead of Qinglang was a nineteen-year-old named Hei. Hei was dark and strong, probably about two meters tall, like an iron tower. He was a guy with strong limbs and a simple mind.

Qinglang once jokingly instigated a fight between Hei and Shan. Shan was slightly weaker than Hei, but he was more clever and in the end he defeated Hei with his skills.

The tribe has always respected the strong. Huo wanted Qinglang to be the leader, but the first thing he had to do was to defeat Hei. Qinglang was definitely no match for Hei.

"Don't we elders still have us here? With our help in giving advice, we can't go wrong no matter what." This was the voice of Elder Shi.

Compared to Lu's hot temper, Shi is much gentler and speaks in a very calm and unhurried tone.

"You follow me when I go hunting?" Huo asked aggressively.

Lu was annoyed by what he said. His voice became louder and more angry. "Who do you think is suitable? Your son Qinglang? If he becomes the leader, Hei Daiyi will not accept it. How about you let them fight each other?"

Hearing footsteps coming from far behind, Qiao Yu did not stop and walked out quickly.

She frowned in thought.

Half of the mountain's foot was gone, and even if he survived, he would no longer be able to lead everyone to hunt. Therefore, he would definitely lose his position as leader.

She searched through the original owner's memories but did not find a suitable candidate for leader.

Hei is naturally not suitable, and Qinglang, whose strength is second only to his, is even less suitable.

Putting aside the conflict between the two families, Qinglang himself has completely inherited his father Huo's temperament: selfish, narrow-minded, and vindictive. From this petty plot to frame Shan, it's clear that he has no regard for the overall situation.

The three-month-long winter with heavy snow is the most difficult time for the tribe. Due to the cold weather and lack of food, many frail elderly people, children, and women die of cold and hunger. If a disaster occurs, the death toll is even higher.

The number of children born and raised is far less than the number of deaths, so the population of the tribe has been decreasing, with the number of deaths each year ranging from twenty to thirty or as few as a dozen.

Eight years ago, Shan became the leader. Because of his high martial arts skills and quick mind, he led everyone to hunt and obtained relatively more food, which was distributed fairly, taking care of the elderly, the weak and the disabled. As a result, the number of people in the tribe was reduced to less than ten.

If the simple-minded Black or the selfish, cruel Blue Wolf were to be the leader, the tribe would be doomed.