Chapter 673 Who Stole The Thousand Grain Gold (2/2)

What do bones contain?

Bone marrow!

Shao Xuan picked up a knife, preparing to cut one open.

At this moment, there was a knock on the stone door.

“What is it?” Shao Xuan opened the door, surprised to see Ao. Usually, Ao would be guarding the village, while Zheng Luo would guard this place. Why would Ao be here? And he looked anxious.

Ao saw the knife in his hand but it was not the time for questions.

“There’s a problem with the Thousand Grain Gold,” said Ao.

When he heard that it was the Thousand Grain Gold, Shao Xuan left his work at the underground chamber and rushed back to the village with Ao.

There were special guards assigned to guard the place where they planted Thousand Grain Gold. The Thousand Grain Gold would compete for resources with other crops, hence they were only planted within a specific area with no other plants nearby. Even a weed could not be seen. The guards were stationed right next to the field. Any suspicious character would be seen immediately

The patch of field with the Thousand Grain Gold was also surrounded by tall wooden poles so they could not be seen from the outside.

The plants were making huge progress, neat rows of grains could be seen growing on the stalls. To prevent insects, animals and ill-intentioned people from ruining the crops, the tribe added fifty more guards to the area to kill insects. It was the most tightly-guarded crop field in the tribe.

The Thousand Grain Gold was important to the Flaming Horns. When they merged with the fire seed, it helped complete the process better. And it had other helpful properties too. It was the tribe’s favourite crop and Ao placed much emphasis on it.

This year’s harvest was much more than in the past. Ao was initially ecstatic but he recently observed something that made him furious.

“We’re nearing harvest period, I check on the crops every day. The day before, I found that a row of grains was missing from one of the plants. I did not know why and I talked to the guards. They said it wasn’t them and I believe it. I told them to guard the place tighter and they did not find anything. But!” Ao’s face darkened. “Yesterday, when I came over, I found another plant with grains missing. I had watched the farmers personally, and tightened security during the night. Yet it happened again. Come and take a look at this, Ah Xuan.”

Shao Xuan went over to see heavy grains hanging off the plants. They were still green as they were not ripe yet.

Ao pointed to a plant. Since these plants were taller than humans, he looked up at the plants to check on their grains. Anyone less familiar with the crops would not have noticed that a portion of the grains had been sliced off.

They were not ripped off but obviously sliced off using a sharp object.

“Is it the ‘Robbers’ again?” Ao was frustrated, not sure who could do this right under their noses. The ‘Robbers’ had a bad history with them.

“I can’t tell for the moment. Maybe yes, maybe no.” Even Shao Xuan did not know.

“Unless it’s someone from the other side of the ocean?” guessed Ao.

“They might not be as skilful as the ‘Robbers’ but it’s possible. There are also many gangs there,” said Shao Xuan.

Since fire seeds had not existed on the other side of the ocean for a long time, the way tribes were organised had changed greatly. Some people maintained their tribal organisations, others grouped together to form special organisations based on shared interests. These organisations consisted of people from different tribes, perhaps they aimed to rob or steal. Of course, there were also organisations that specialised in trade or other types of businesses. There were many groups like that of thieves and robbers so this was a possibility.

Ao’s brows remained tightly furrowed, extremely worried. The grains were not even ripe yet, and it was being stolen. They had no clues at all. If the grains ripened, would the situation worsen? He was not afraid of confrontation, but he was frustrated at the lack of targets. Who would he vent his anger at?

“You were here during the day yesterday?” asked Shao Xuan.

“Yes, I personally watched Qi Qi and the rest applying fertilisers. There were no suspicious people, nor did I notice the cut grains after that.” Ao did not suspect his own tribesman. He was just watching to prevent outsiders from slipping in. Some people could imitate another tribesman’s looks and even aura. Anyone weaker or less observant might not notice. Hence Ao had to personally be there.”

“I’ll guard the area tonight with Caesar,” said Shao Xuan.

“I’ll be here tonight too, I want to see who has been stealing the grains without leaving any traces!” Ao’s knuckles crackled as he clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. “I’ll kill them when I catch the culprit!”