The days rise very early in the rainy season. Perhaps the feeling of reuniting with his lover was too hard to suppress, Xu Nuo opened his eyes early and could not fall asleep again.
When Xu Nuo packed his small backpack and put it on his shoulder to go out, he found that the outside was already crowded with people. Seeing him come out, the tribe leader Fen signaled a few orcs to take out the supplies for exchanging salt and give them to Xu Nuo.
The sea tribes disliked the land-based orcs' prey and even scoffed at the dried meat offered in exchange. Since they mostly lived in the sea, the hides of land-based animals naturally lost their value. However, they favored shiny objects and ivory, so the land-based tribes often sought out and collected glittering gems. As for ivory, it was only available to larger tribes with large and well-equipped hunting teams.
The supplies that the Giant Tree Tribe prepared to exchange for salt were a few pieces of ores. Xu Nuo didn't recognize what they were, but they looked pitifully small. The Orc Tribe was technologically backward, so they could only pick up some exposed ore fragments on the surface.
Fen obviously knew that the tribe did not have enough supplies to exchange for salt, and he felt a little embarrassed, so he saw Xu Nuo repacking the things he had treasured.
"Thank you, Chief. I will come back with salt." The young man smiled brightly in the sunlight, which was even more dazzling than the gemstone ore in the package just now.
A slight pulling sensation came from the corner of Xu Nuo's clothes. Xu Nuo lowered his head and saw the two little leopards from last night. The two children were carrying a vine bag filled with berries.
Xu Nuo squatted down to take the bag of berries. Looking up, he saw Qila and Lan not far away. Qila, leaning against Lan's arms, smiled shyly when he saw him looking at her. Xu Nuo stroked the two little leopards' ears, and the children couldn't help but purr like cats, then, as if realizing their shyness, ran back to their two fathers with blushing faces.
Xu Nuo had a good impression of Qila, and this bag of berries was probably picked by him early in the morning.
"But Kira is a cat, and Nono is a rat~" 666 said suddenly.
"You are still a dog," Xu Nuo retorted, "66 Na Nuo Nuo—meddling in other people's business."
666 made a "tsk" sound, and then there was no movement.
Xu Nuo carried the package and took out a berry to eat while walking. Maybe he didn't eat enough last night, he always felt weak and his stomach was empty.
"66... How long until it arrives?"
There was a stream by the roadside, which was narrow but looked very deep, and the water was very clear. Xu Nuo found a huge rock in the stream and lay on it with his limbs spread out.
"Following this stream...it will take another four to five hours!"
Xu Nuo wailed, and the ore in his bag rolled out, landing squarely on his chest. The ore, caught in the light, shone strangely, adding a touch of charm to the boy's dazzling pale skin. Thinking of his tribe, Xu Nuo felt motivated again. He had to get to the beach to exchange salt. "If only I could fly! I could reach the beach in a flash..."
Before he finished speaking, he flew up from the boulder, but he didn't fly, he was picked up by someone.
The man who held him up had cold pale skin, with wet water droplets still on his face as he had just emerged from the water. His hair was a rare black color in the orc world. His half-long black curly hair was wet with water and hung down to his neck like algae in the deep sea, making the contrast between black and white even more striking.
The man's eyes were the same pure black as his hair, and he was staring at Xu Nuo without blinking. His pure pupils seemed to contain black holes, wanting to suck people in. Xu Nuo froze in his arms, forgetting to move for a moment.
Until the man suddenly held him and sank to the bottom of the water, and the cool stream water rushed into his nostrils and mouth. The sudden feeling of suffocation brought him great panic. Xu Nuo struggled desperately, using both hands to get out of the water.
The man holding him also noticed his discomfort and brought him back to the surface. Xu Nuo leaned in his arms, breathing rapidly and coughing up water from time to time, his eyes stained red from suffocation and fear.
"Ding! Host, please complete the plot mission - offend the lord of the sea tribe!"
In fact, Xu Nuo was about to explode with anger even without the system issuing the task. Looking at the guiltless face of the man in front of him, the little ears on Xu Nuo's head moved, revealing two porcelain white front teeth that bit the man's shoulder hard.
The little hamster's teeth were sharp, but Xu Nuo softened his heart and restrained his strength, leaving only a deep little tooth mark on his cold white shoulder.
"Ding! Mission accomplished!"
"Ding! Heart rate 65!"
Xu Nuo was stunned, but after taking a bite, his heart rate went up. What was the setting?
There was no reaction on the man's face, not even a ripple in his expression. Instead, he reached out and clamped Xu Nuo's little face and touched it.
"What are you doing?" Xu Nuo protested with difficulty, pushing his hands against his solid chest, but it was useless. After the man had touched his face enough, he reluctantly let go.
Looking at the man who had the same expression from beginning to end, Xu Nuo once again pushed aside his hair in disbelief and confirmed that there was indeed a small red mole on his Adam's apple.
"66! Does my husband in this world have...intelligence problems?"
666 immediately rejected it, "Absolutely not. The male protagonist in the original novel is very thoughtful and cruel!"
As if to verify 666's words, the man reached out and patted Xu Nuo on the back, as if to help him calm down.
"My...bride."
The man in front of her opened his lips, and what he uttered was clearly an ordinary whisper, yet it was as bewitching as a siren in a fairy tale. His voice was low, like the rolling waves hitting the rocks, or like the surge of the tide under the moonlight.
Xu Nuo stared at him with some obsession, unconsciously immersed in it, until 666 reminded him loudly in his mind and he came to his senses.
"You...what did you say?" Xu Nuo asked him stutteringly with a flushed face.
"You are my bride," the man repeated, and pulled him out of the water onto the shore. Xu Nuo then realized that his lower body was not human legs, but a fish tail covered with black scales. The black scales shone brightly in the sunlight, like the most precious obsidian.
"Are you... a mermaid?" Xu Nuo opened his mouth and found his voice with difficulty.
"I am a Siren." The black mermaid remained calm and looked straight into Xu Nuo's eyes.
"Why did you let me choke on the water just now!" Xu Nuo regained his senses and thought about what happened just now. He frowned and questioned him.
The mermaid kept repeating the words, "You are my bride."
Xu Nuo had completely given up trying to communicate with him, but then he saw a piece of ore rolling off his body and onto the ground, and an idea struck him. The young man picked up a piece with his slender fingertips, lifted it up, and asked him.
"Are you trying to say these are yours?"
Siren glanced at him, then looked away without any regrets. She then looked back at Xu Nuo with a frank and straightforward look, "No, I want you."
Xu Nuo's heartbeat quickened, his chest felt like it was on fire, but he still managed to stay rational and said, "I am a priest of the Giant Tree Tribe. I am here to exchange salt with you."
When Siren heard the word "Yan", she raised an eyebrow and tightened her arms around Xu Nuo's waist a little more.
"Salt is for you, you give it to me and become my bride."
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