Chapter 481 (1/2)

Chase Or Don't Chase

“Roar---”

A ferocious roar rang across the forest.

There was the sound of impact from a metal weapon and the roaring stopped. Rugged breaths slowly faded.

Shao Xuan ripped off some tree leaves to wipe the blood off his sword.

The warriors nearby went to clean the fearsome beast, draining its blood into a flask.

In the past, they would do their best to preserve the entire animal hide after a hunt. Now, they did not need to do this because they were not going to save the hide for trade. They just wanted food and this would be their lunch.

Eight people cleaned the beast together, removing the internal organs, slicing off the flesh. Bones and skin were left on the ground.

Duo Kang passed the flask around. “Drink some?”

Shao Xuan waved. “No, I didn’t spend much energy. Let the others have it.”

Duo Kang grinned, took a gulp and passed it to the rest.

The thick liquid, with a strong smell of copper, flowed down their throats into their stomachs. The energy spent this morning was slowly replenished with warmth.

Sweat sprouted from his pores. Duo Kang rubbed his hands on some leaves, rubbing off coagulated blood.

“It’s been two days and we haven’t met anyone who tried to kill us.” Duo Kang looked at Shao Xuan, waiting for news. He saw Shao Xuan fidgeting with some rope. This was not the time to fumble with the rope out of boredom so he must be conducting his reading. However, Duo Kang had been leading the rest of the guards to protect the tribe so he didn’t have time to ask. Now that he had the chance, he came over to ask.

“We’ll meet them soon. Not everyone thinks we’ll take the original path, not everyone will choose to hide. Some might attack directly. Perhaps some people can predict our path too,” said Shao Xuan.

“They can even predict our path?!” Duo Kang was shocked. However, with the Yi family involved, this was possible. Although there were many idiots there, there were still members who had true talent.

“Then what should we do?” asked Duo Kang.

“Just proceed with the journey. Right, did you all do the things I told you to do?” asked Shao Xuan.

As they left, Shao Xuan delegated tasks to the warriors who were free. With children and older tribespeople, they would definitely be slower than when they travelled during hunts. Naturally, there would be people with time. Shao Xuan gave them small tasks.

“They made a lot, all here.” Duo Kang pointed at a wicker basket.

“That’s good. You all leave first, I’ll stay behind to prepare the place.” Shao Xuan opened the basket and was satisfied with the stuff inside.

Xiang Chen saw Shao Xuan staying behind alone and asked Duo Kang, “Elder isn’t going?”

“Our Elder has something to do.” Duo Kang gestured for him to return to the line.

Xiang Chen had many questions for he wasn’t with Duo Knag for the trade. He didn’t know much about the incident, only from some stories.

Duo Kang picked up his tiny daughter in his arms and then his wife on his back. He also hung things around his neck and hips. Then, he followed Xiang Chen and the rest.

Very soon, the place that reeked of animal blood was quiet once again.

The coppery smell of blood lingered in the humid air. Consecutive animal roars sounded far away. Shao Xuan looked up at the sky. Through the leaves, he saw flying shadows pacing around.

These scavenger birds were impatient. The first one dove through the leaves straight to the remains of the beast. Shao Xuan slashed at it. It flopped twice and died.

The rest of the scavenger birds flew to a nearby branch for rest after witnessing this. They watched Shao Xuan closely.

More than twenty of them landed on the tree, staring at him. There were more in the sky.

Shao Xuan was alone here. Anyone timider would be afraid. Shao Xuan ignored them all. He fussed over the beast's remains for a while, slashing a few birds that attacked to the ground. When he was done, he left and continued setting up the surroundings.