"Because we don't know the situation of the Sifang tribe, we don't dare to go there rashly, so they stayed here and waited. I went out alone to get information, and happened to encounter your situation."
When Yue mentioned the Sifang tribe, hatred flashed in her eyes. Her fist clenched, and it just happened to touch the bronze sword at her waist.
She lowered her head and glanced at the bronze sword that was still on her body after she woke up. Her expression softened and she said to Qiao Yu, "Okay, I'll tell you."
"The Sifang Tribe is large and has many people. I've heard they number five to six thousand. They have a large population and a very sharp weapon called the bronze sword. We in the Water Tribe used to have over a thousand people, and when they attacked us, we had no way to resist."
"Are you called the Water Tribe because you live by the sea? Is it far from here?" Qiao Yu asked. "Were you attacked because of a conflict between two tribes?"
Yue shook her head. "We live by a lake, a very big lake. We make a living by drawing water from the lake, so we're called the Water Tribe. It's about ten days' walk from here."
When she asked the last question, her face was filled with hatred. "Someone from their tribe accidentally came to ours. We were very hospitable and let them stay for a few days. Later, our two tribes started trading, and the result was..."
She trembled. "My sister was accidentally seen by their king, Ji You, and he asked our leader for my sister. My sister was the leader's wife. How could the leader give his woman to them? So they attacked us, the leader died, and we were taken captive and enslaved."
At this point, her eyes were red, her teeth were gnashing, her whole body was shaking, and her voice was changing: "My elder sister would rather die than obey, but Ji You used my elder sister's one-year-old child and me as hostages and forced her to follow Ji You. For our sake, my elder sister had no choice but to follow Ji You."
"Some time ago..." Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her voice choked. "My sister accidentally found out that her son had died, and I was tortured and forced by Ji Chang, so she..."
When she said this, she covered her face and burst into tears.
Qiao Yu sighed and didn't disturb her. When Yue's emotions calmed down a bit, she asked, "Is your sister's name Feng?"
"You..." Yue grabbed the animal skin on Qiao Yu's body, "How did you know?"
"I heard from those people that it was the wind that started the fire."
Yue, who had just calmed down, covered her face and started crying again, mumbling, "Sister, sister..."
Obviously, she knew that Feng would die after setting fire to Ji You's palace. Since Feng had already made up his mind to die, he might just die in the sea of fire to avoid being slowly tortured by Ji You.
Qiao Yu was worried that she didn't want to live anymore, so when her crying subsided, he advised her, "Since your sister risked her own life to save you, don't let her down. You must live. As long as we don't leave, you should stay here and recuperate. Xiaoli will bring you some dried meat or fish to eat."
With that, she stood up and left.
Yue is very emotional, so it's not appropriate to ask too many questions right now. Let her calm down first.
The biggest advantage of hiding in this valley was that we could cook in the cave near the river, where people outside wouldn't be able to smell or see the smoke. The advent of the iron axe made it much easier to cut bamboo. When we emerged, everyone had a bamboo tube hanging from their waist, which they used for drinking water and cooking soup.
Qiao Yu drank the broth cooked by the men, and asked Xiaoli to give Yue a bamboo tube.
After Xiaoli came back, he said to Qiao Yu, "Yue asked you to come over."
Qiao Yu went to Yue again.
This time, Yue told Qiao Yu everything she knew.
She wasn't actually familiar with the Sifang Tribe either. After all, the Sifang Tribe had discovered the Water Tribe by chance, and soon attacked the Water Tribe and captured her. She only knew that there was only one Jiangyuan Tribe near the Sifang Tribe.
The Jiangyuan tribe was small, perhaps half the size of the Sifang tribe. Upon being discovered by the Sifang tribe, they immediately surrendered, offering their leader's daughter in marriage to the Sifang king. They also provided the Sifang tribe with a large annual tribute, which allowed them to survive. It can be said that the Jiangyuan tribe depended on the Sifang tribe for its existence.
Qiao Yu pointed at the bronze sword that Yue had placed under her animal-skin skirt, with only a trace of it showing. He asked, "Do you know where this weapon came from?"
Yue was startled and subconsciously hid the bronze sword, looking at Qiao Yu with a wary look.
"Don't worry, I won't steal it from you," Qiao Yu said. "I'm just interested in it. I saw you using it to poke that guy named Black Stone that night. It seemed very sharp."
After hearing Qiao Yu say that he would not snatch her bronze sword, Yue looked much better, although she had not yet relaxed.
She said, "This weapon is called a bronze sword. It was forged from a stone that the Sifang tribe accidentally discovered, burned in a fire, and then forged. I don't know the specifics of how it was made. These are not things that we slaves can know. And this weapon was secretly given to me by Feng. It seems that there are not many people in the Sifang tribe who have this weapon. Only those who are favored by the king are rewarded."
Qiao Yu nodded.
Yue's knowledge was limited, which was within her expectations. However, to learn from Yue that the Sifang Tribe had discovered the ore "accidentally," rather than having learned the smelting technology from another tribe, was crucial information for Qiao Yu.
"Okay, then you should have a good rest. If you need anything, tell Xiaoli. If we leave in a few days, you can also recuperate here. I will ask them to leave some food for you." Qiao Yu nodded to the moon and stood up.
"You... are planning to leave?" Yue asked in surprise.
Before Qiao Yu came, she was afraid of these men and wanted to leave early and escape from their control.
But now Qiao Yu said they were leaving, and Yue felt lost and confused again.
She didn't know where she was going.
"Yes, we're here to exchange for salt. Now that the Sifang Tribe is canceling the trade fair, we have no choice but to go back," Qiao Yu said. "But the Sifang Tribe is searching everywhere, so it's not convenient for us to leave right away. We need to stay here for a few more days."
Of course, I couldn't tell Yue the truth about stealing minerals.
Her sister Feng was still in the Sifang Tribe. Who knew if she would eventually return? In fact, if Qiao Yu had been more ruthless, he shouldn't have let Yue leave. Even if he didn't kill her, he would have taken her back to the Dragon Tribe and imprisoned her to prevent her from revealing the Dragon Tribe's existence.
Given the aggressive nature of the Four Tribes, if they learned of the Dragon Tribe's existence, they would surely search extensively for its location. At that point, the Dragon Tribe would be faced with a war between the two tribes.
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