Chapter 244: Set out again

She asked nervously, "Chief Xuan, are you... leaving?"

Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "Yes, now that we are in the central region, I want to visit the various tribes."

Qingye said inexplicably: "Can't you stay a few more days?"

Jiang Xuan was stunned for a moment, then said: "No, I have been out for a long time this time. I can't leave the tribe for a long time. I may go to other places and then go back."

Qingye's eyes were obviously filled with disappointment. Although they had spent a short time together, Jiang Xuan was so special that he left a deep impression on her.

Now, Jiang Xuan was leaving, and she actually felt a little reluctant.

"Then...will you come to the Crocodile Tribe next time?"

"Yes, I will definitely come if I have the chance."

Qingye took a deep breath and said, "Okay, next time you come, I'll treat you to delicious food."

For the tribesmen, food is the most precious thing. If they do not regard the other person as a friend, they will never invite someone to eat.

"Okay. I'm looking forward to it."

After Jiang Xuan finished speaking, the two fell silent again, as if they wanted to say something but didn't know what to say.

The sky was getting darker and darker. The big crocodiles from the crocodile tribe swam out of the Black Water Swamp before dark and entered the normal river channel.

Although the river was also dangerous, with hundreds of big crocodiles moving at the same time, the big fish and water beasts in the river did not dare to come over.

Therefore, the group of crocodiles carried the warriors of the crocodile tribe and swam back all the way under the moonlight. In the middle of the night, they returned to the river beach where they had camped before.

They made a fire and barbecued in the camp on the river beach, took a nap after eating, and continued their journey early the next morning. In the evening, they returned to the crocodile tribe on time.

When the warriors of the Crocodile Tribe stepped onto the familiar land, relaxed smiles appeared on everyone's faces. They finally returned home safely.

Every time the tribe’s hunting team goes out, it is a test of life and death for everyone. The happiest thing is to be able to return home safely.

"The hunting party is back!"

In the crocodile tribe, a child shouted loudly.

Then, a large group of children ran excitedly towards the hunting team.

Members of the Crocodile Tribe also came out of their homes to greet the hunting team.

When they saw the hunting team returning with a full load, they all began to eagerly discuss the large and small, strange-shaped prey, as well as the various herbs.

Of course, where there are happy people, there are sad people.

For example, the families and friends of those soldiers who will never come back and those who are seriously injured are very sad.

The witch of the Crocodile Tribe also became busy, using various witchcraft medicines to heal the injured warriors.

Jiang Xuan looked at all this and naturally thought of the Teng Tribe, because when the Teng Tribe hunting team came back before, it was a similar scene.

No matter how good the outside world is, it’s not as good as your own home.

Jiang Xuan returned to the stilt house again. This time, the building felt a little more familiar to him, not as strange as it had been in the previous few days.

He first hung the snake gallbladder as big as a bowl in a ventilated place, and then sorted out the things he collected this time one by one and packed them properly in animal skin bags.

These things were the gifts he was going to give to Chishao and the old witch after he returned to the Teng tribe.

After finishing all this, he started to barbecue. He had been so busy these past few days that he had no time to have a good meal.

There was the sound of someone going up the stairs outside. Jiang Xuan looked up and soon saw Qingye coming over carrying two large animal skin bags.

“Boom, boom!”

Qingye placed two large animal skin bags on the ground.

"Wu heard that you were leaving tomorrow, so he asked me to bring these two large bags of fish scale grass to you."

"Thank Wu for me."

Fish scale grass is a very important food crop of the Crocodile Tribe. When Jiang Xuan saved Shi Ya, Wu promised to send him two big bags, and now he has indeed delivered them.

From this incident, we can see that the crocodile tribe witch is a man who keeps his promises.

Qingye also instructed: "I stuffed some water plants in the animal skin bag. You have to sprinkle some water on it from time to time, otherwise the fish scale grass will dry up."

"Also, don't tie the bag too tightly. Allow for proper ventilation. Plus, the weather is quite cold right now, so as long as the fish scale grass isn't pressed too tightly, it shouldn't get damaged."

Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "I'll pay attention. Thank you, Qingye. You haven't eaten yet, right? Sit down and eat together."

Qingye did not refuse and sat next to the fire pit.

Jiang Xuan lighted the charcoal fire, then put the skewers of meat on it, and then took out the salt and spices he brought with him, as well as the most important thing - oil.

Grilled meat without oil not only burns easily, but also tastes tough.

Brushing grilled meat with oil can preserve the moisture in the meat, making the grilled meat more tender.

Jiang Xuan said confidently: "You finally caught up today. The barbecue of our Teng tribe is a unique skill. You must have never tasted it."

"Really? Then I'd like to try it."

Qingye watched Jiang Xuan grilling meat with great anticipation. She had never seen anyone grilling meat so seriously, nor had she ever seen anyone using so many things to grill meat.

Because the tribesmen had trouble even getting enough food, who would have the energy to study these things? Jiang Xuan skillfully used an animal hair brush to brush the meat with oil, and when both sides turned slightly golden brown, he sprinkled some fine salt on it.

When the meat is roasted to a certain degree, sprinkle some lighter spices on it. For a moment, the whole stilt house is filled with the aroma of barbecue.

“It smells so good!”

Qingye's eyes lit up. Not to mention how it tasted, just the smell was enough to make people salivate.

The meat of animals in this world is so good, so Jiang Xuan only brushed it with oil, sprinkled salt, and two lighter spices to increase the taste.

In this way, the taste of the meat itself will not be masked by the smell of spices, and it is more in line with the eating habits of the tribesmen.

"Here, try it. Be careful, it's hot."

Jiang Xuan handed the two grilled skewers of meat to Qingye, and then continued to grill the remaining meat on the charcoal fire.

Qingye took the skewer of meat, blew on it first, and then gently took a small piece.

As soon as Qingye took a bite of the barbecue, her eyes lit up because she had never eaten such delicious barbecue.

The meat is very tender, and with the combination of salt and a little bit of spices, the taste is really great!

"tasty!"

Qingye ate while praising from the bottom of his heart.

Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "If it tastes good, eat more. There is still a lot here."

As they grilled and ate, they chatted about Black Water Marsh and the Central Region, completely forgetting the passage of time.

After Jiang Xuan finished grilling the last skewer of meat, it was already late at night and all the members of the Crocodile Tribe had fallen asleep.

Qingye looked at the moonlight coming in through the window and knew it was time for him to leave.

"Chief Xuan, I should go back to sleep. I hope I can eat your grilled meat next time."

Jiang Xuan said: "There will definitely be opportunities in the future."

Qingye stood up, looked back at Jiang Xuan again in the light of the fire, then turned and left.

She walked slowly, feeling very conflicted. She thought, if Jiang Xuan asked her not to leave at this moment, maybe she would stay? However, Jiang Xuan sent her to the door, but never asked her to stay.

For some reason, Qingye felt a little disappointed.

However, she is different from other tribal women. She will not take the initiative to approach someone just because she likes him.

She has her own pride.

Qingye took a breath and quickly walked down the wooden stairs. After reaching the bottom of the stairs, he even turned back and smiled at Jiang Xuan, waved, and then walked towards the stilt house where he lived in a free and easy manner.

After Qingye left, Jiang Xuan closed the door and lay down on the bed which was padded with reeds and animal skins.

He is not a novice in emotions, and he can clearly feel that Qingye has some feelings for him.

To be honest, he also admires girls like Aoba.

However, he will not stay in the Crocodile Tribe for long, and it is completely unknown when he will come back to the Crocodile Tribe in the future.

He can't show mercy here just because of someone's good impression of him, and then run away irresponsibly. That is the behavior of a harmful person.

Jiang Xuan doesn't want to be a troublemaker.

He closed his eyes, listened to the whistling of the wind outside and the crackling of the burning wood in the fire pit, and gradually fell asleep.

The next morning, after Jiang Xuan got up, he simply washed up, ate something, packed his luggage, and said goodbye to the Crocodile Tribe.

The leader and witch of the crocodile tribe tried to persuade Jiang Xuan to stay, but seeing that he was determined to leave, they had someone send him away.

"I'll take Chief Xuan over there."

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Qingye volunteered to take on the task, and then took the crocodile named Xiaoqing to transport Jiang Xuan and his luggage to the sandbar where they arrived.

"Eer..."

Tangyuan flew over from the forest not far away and landed in the middle of the sandbar.

Jiang Xuan tied up everything with ropes and placed them on Tangyuan's back.

"Where is Chief Xuan going to go next?"

"I want to visit the Red Ant Tribe."

Qingye pointed to the river on the left and said, "If you follow this river all the way down, you will find the Red Ant Tribe."

"Okay, thanks for the directions."

Qingye warned again: "After you find the Red Ant Tribe, you must be careful. The people of the Red Ant Tribe are very greedy and difficult to get along with."

"Thanks for the reminder. I will be careful."

Aoba stood there for a while, wanting to say something else, but he couldn't find the words.

Jiang Xuan climbed onto Tang Yuan's back and said to Qing Ye, "I'm leaving now. I'll come to visit your Crocodile Tribe if I have the chance in the future."

"Go back, let's go!"

Jiang Xuan waved to Qingye and let Tangyuan take off.

“Huff, huff, huff…”

Tangyuan kicked his legs, creating a gust of wind and flew into the sky.

Qingye watched Jiang Xuan and Tang Yuan go away, and whispered: "Don't lie, see you next time..."

…

In the sky, Jiang Xuan sat on Tangyuan's back, overlooking the winding river below and the dense forests on both sides of the river.

Jiang Xuan had been flying for two days since leaving the Crocodile Tribe.

Along the way, in addition to drawing river topographic maps as usual, he would land on the ground from time to time to collect some special plants.

He may not be able to use these plants himself, but they are very precious to the old witch and Red Peony.

Jiang Xuan saw many more tribes. The density of these tribes was far greater than that in the northwest of the Southern Wilderness, but these tribes were all medium-sized and small tribes, so Jiang Xuan did not stop.

It was not until the third day that Jiang Xuan saw a spectacular scene from afar!

In an open space not far from the river, the trees are so sparse that it can't even be called a forest.

There are rows of strange ochre-colored buildings connected together in this place, like a huge castle.

In the sky, big red ants with wings are flying around constantly, which is very lively.

On the ground, teams of giant wingless red ants lined up neatly, working together to move various things towards the castle-like building.

Jiang Xuan also saw a strange kind of big red ant. Their heads were twice as big as other red ants, and their jaws were very developed, like a pair of giant pincers.

In addition to these giant red ants, Jiang Xuan also saw a large number of tribesmen.

Tribal people are usually scattered, and only when hunting do they divide the work and cooperate, which is more pleasing to the eye.

Whether these tribesmen are working or walking, they are very orderly and look well-trained.

"This should be the Red Ant Tribe."

Jiang Xuan looked at the Red Ant Tribe from afar. He was very curious about what this big tribe, which was said to be evil by the Mountain Turtle Tribe and extremely greedy by the Crocodile Tribe, was like.

“Buzz buzz buzz…”

Just as Jiang Xuan was looking at the red ant tribe, a team of giant winged red ants carrying a dozen warriors flew over.

The man in the front sat on the red ant's back and asked, "Which tribe are you from?"

Although Jiang Xuan is a five-color warrior and is riding a huge purple ferocious bird, the warriors of the Red Ant Tribe are not afraid at all because this is the territory of the Red Ant Tribe.

Jiang Xuan said calmly, "I'm from the Teng tribe."

"The Teng Tribe?" The warrior thought about it and realized that he had never heard of it. It should be some unknown medium-sized tribe, or even a small tribe.

"This is the territory of the Red Ant Tribe. If you want to enter, you must walk. Also, this big bird cannot enter."

Jiang Xuan felt speechless. Why was Tangyuan not allowed to enter any tribe?

However, he did not realize that a ferocious bird like Tangyuan was a threat to people of any tribe.

Under the watchful eyes of the Red Ant Tribe warriors, Jiang Xuan could only let Tang Yuan land. After all, he could not directly conflict with the Red Ant Tribe, otherwise the divine vine might not be able to protect him.

The Red Ant Tribe is a large tribe after all, and their totem god is also a great god.

Tangyuan landed in a forest outside the Red Ant Tribe. Jiang Xuan took down some useful things and let Tangyuan carry the rest.

"You are nearby, don't run around, come here quickly when you hear me blow the bone whistle, understand?"

Tangyuan nodded to show that he understood.

"Okay, go ahead, find a place to hunt first, and when you're full, find a hilltop to sit on, and don't run around."

Jiang Xuan patted Tangyuan's thick bird legs, then retreated to a farther place.

Tangyuan flew up again and followed Jiang Xuan's instructions to look for food near the Red Ant Tribe. After filling his stomach, he found a hill to squat on.

Jiang Xuan walked to the Red Ant Tribe.

Walking in the forest, Jiang Xuan could feel more clearly the power of the Red Ant Tribe.

Every time he walked a short distance, he would see a totem pattern of the Red Ant Tribe.

Some are on trees, some are on stones, painted with red paint and are very conspicuous.

However, unlike other tribes, Jiang Xuan did not see any tourists outside the Red Ant Tribe, and there were not even any simple houses.

"What's going on?"

Jiang Xuan was puzzled, because even in a place like the Crocodile Tribe where one had to wade through water, there were many tourists and people from other tribes living there temporarily, and they even established a trading area.

Why is it that the Red Ant Tribe is located in the forest and is so famous, but there are no tourists gathering there?

With such doubts, Jiang Xuan did not move forward, but walked further away. He wanted to find a few tourists to ask.

(End of this chapter)