Chapter 20: Uncomfortable

Something was tapping her face, and there seemed to be faint sounds in her ears. She felt awful—her ears, nose, throat, and head all hurt.

Nagu half-opened her eyes in a daze, her blurry vision filled with smooth, cold, gray river stones. Her ears, filled with water, made everything sound like a buzz. It seemed like her body below the chest was still submerged in an icy pool.

What had happened before? Flowers… Right, it had rained heavily, and then she had collapsed into an underground river along with the loose soil. After that, she was swept away by the overwhelming current, spinning like she was in a washing machine until she lost consciousness.

So, am I still alive?

Nagu coughed a few times, spitting out some muddy water she had swallowed. At this point, instead of lamenting her bad luck, she was more amazed at how tough her life was.

Hamoyin probably didn’t fall down like she did. He seemed to be farther away at that time… That’s good.

Nagu lay on the rocky shore for a while, resting until the roaring in her ears subsided. She needed to see where she was and figure out how to get back to Hamoyin’s treehouse.

However, when Nagu finally lifted her head, she found herself staring directly into the eyes of a man squatting in front of her.

“Ugh…!!” Nagu was so startled by the unexpected situation that she hiccuped, her attempt to prop herself up freezing in place.

Come to think of it, she did vaguely feel something tapping her face while she was unconscious. Could it have been this person?

“You finally noticed there’s someone else here.” The stranger said teasingly. “Can you stand up on your own?”

“…”

“Don’t look at me so warily. After all, I was the one who dragged you out of the middle of the pool.”

The man in front of her had a muscular torso that would undoubtedly make any woman’s blood race. His brown skin was adorned with intricate golden-painted totems, and three peacock-green stone rings were fastened to his incredibly muscular arms. His white, medium-length hair was casually tucked behind his ears.

“Th-thank you…” Nagu averted her gaze from the man’s somewhat rugged yet strikingly handsome face. Judging by the totems and the stone rings on him, he was undoubtedly a member of the Azulan tribe. Even though he had saved her, it wasn’t a good omen for her.

The man chuckled twice upon hearing her thanks, “This place often sees animals like you being washed here during the rainy season. You’re lucky you didn’t drown.”

The “place” the man is talking about is a large underground cavity. The light in the cave comes from numerous plants growing on the cave’s ceiling that emit a greenish glow. Directly beneath these plants is a deep pool that occupies almost half of the cave’s area. On the left side of the pool, there are many crevices in the cave’s stone wall. These crevices vary in size, but they all have in common that they continuously flow water outward.

The water column flowing from the stone wall crashes onto the surface of the otherwise calm pond, causing gentle ripples to occasionally wash over the shallows. The fallen leaves of glowing plants that drift onto the water’s surface are also carried by the ripples, circling the edge of the pond.

On the shore, there were numerous strange stone statues. The tops of these statues glowed with a peculiar deep red, and at their bases lay many skulls. Most of them appeared to be animal skulls, but upon closer inspection, one could see a few human skulls mixed in with the pale bones.

“What a magical place…” Nagu withdrew her gaze and stopped looking around, instead focusing on the glowing plant leaf stuck to her arm.

“You flowed out from that lower gap over there.” Seeing Nagu still in a daze, the man kindly pointed in a direction. “I think you were washed over from the southern forest. By the way, who are you? I’ve never seen you in the tribe.”

Nagu pondered for a few seconds on how to respond. She definitely couldn’t mention Hamoyin’s name, but how should she explain her situation to this man?

“My tribe and I were attacked by monsters. I ended up here alone, looking for a place to stay.” Nagu felt her lie might be a bit clumsy, but it should be plausible. “Then there was heavy rain and a landslide, and I ended up like this.”

“Oh?” The man squinted his eyes and looked up and down at the thin, pale girl in front of him. She indeed didn’t look like someone from their region. “So you want to seek refuge with Azuran?”

Nagu nodded and then shook her head. “If it doesn’t work here, I’ll go to the sea people…”

“What’s good about the sea people? They have little food and are constantly battered by the sea wind.” The man grabbed Nagu’s arm and pulled her up from the shallow water. “Besides, a skinny girl like you wouldn’t be welcomed by them.”

“Uh…” Nagu wobbled as the man pulled her up from the rocky shore. Once she stood up, she realized the man was almost as tall as Hamoyin, lifting her like a chick. “I just thought if Azuran’s tribe found me suspicious and didn’t want me to join, I would have to go to the sea people.”

“So, are you a suspicious person?” The man asked with a hint of amusement in his voice, pulling Nagu towards a dry spot on the shore. “First, tell me your name.”

“My name is Lali,” Nagu randomly made up a name. “I’m definitely not a suspicious person. I just want to seek shelter…”

While saying she needed shelter, Nagu was actually thinking about how to escape from this man and find Hamoyin. She had already seen a hidden stone staircase behind the half-human-high stone statues, near some giant stalactites. That must be the exit to the surface. As long as she could divert the man’s attention, she might be able to run out.

“Lali, is it?” The man nodded thoughtfully. The girl in front of him had many fresh scars on her legs and arms, indicating she had suffered a lot. She looked like she had just reached adulthood, or maybe she wasn’t even an adult yet. “Alright, I’ll take you back to the tribe first. You can stay there for a while to adapt.”

Wait, you agreed just like that!?

Nagu looked up at the man in a daze. Were primitive people really this hospitable? “Isn’t it a bit too much to take me back just like that…” She still needed to find Hamoyin!

“What’s wrong with it? As the chief, do I need to ask others for their opinion on what I do?” The man bent down with a smile to look Nagu in the eye. “Besides, how can I let a little girl like you stay alone in the rainforest? Even a kitten could tear you apart.”

Nagu’s mind started to stall. What did he just say? Chief? He’s the chief?

So this man is Azuran?

Author’s note:

Nagu: No, actually, I’ve fought a leopard before.

Chapter 21
Inspection

“You’re quite lucky. This place, used for water sacrifices, is usually sealed off. Only occasionally does someone come down to inspect it. Today, I just happened to want to come.”

“…Thank you very much.”

“Thank the Mother Goddess for letting you survive.”

“Oh, oh…”

Azulan slowly walked up the stone steps, with Nagu cautiously following behind and giving perfunctory responses. The staircase leading upwards was steep and very narrow between the rock walls. The grayish-blue stone walls had many rough holes carved into them, from which rustling sounds of crawling creatures occasionally emerged. Nagu refused to imagine what might be making those sounds.

The staircase was exhausting and oppressive to climb. Knowing that the pool below was actually used for ‘sacrifices’ made Nagu even more eager to leave the passage. Unfortunately, her ankle was starting to hurt more and more from overexertion. She felt that if she took a few more steps, she might have to use both hands and feet to continue.

Azulan stopped when he heard the weak response behind him. He looked back at the girl who had fallen many steps behind: “What’s wrong, tired?”

“No… How much longer do we have to climb to reach the surface?” She wanted to leave Azulan quickly to find Hamoyin, even though she knew Azulan couldn’t possibly recognize her as the woman who escaped from the execution ground that night.

Moreover, being taken to the tribe like this, Nagu felt she could maintain her true identity undiscovered for a long time, as it had been months since the ‘escape,’ and few people had noticed her back then. But she still felt guilty. Whenever Azulan spoke to her, she felt her heart pounding in her throat.

“We’re almost there.” Azulan turned his head and continued walking. He sounded quite cheerful. “Gongduo and the others will be very surprised that I managed to find a woman in the water sacrifice site.”

“Haha,” Nagu laughed weakly. But Gongduo probably wouldn’t get a chance to see her. As soon as she got out of this stone passage, she would find a way to escape. Hamoyin’s treehouse was near the waterfall area. As long as she found the waterfall, she could find Hamoyin. But there was one problem. Did Hamoyin really want her to come back?

Staying at his house would only cause him trouble. Hamoyin originally planned to heal her wounds quickly and then send her away. Her injuries were almost healed, though walking still caused occasional sharp pain.
If she stayed in Azulan’s tribe for a while until she was fully healed and then left secretly, it wouldn’t be impossible. She was fairly confident she wouldn’t be discovered, and even if she was, it wouldn’t cause Hamoyin any trouble.

What should she do? Run or not? Deep down, she didn’t want to live with someone who had removed Hamoyin’s scales, but she also didn’t want to burden Hamoyin, who had been so kind to her. Recently, she had increasingly felt the food shortage.

Before the rainy season, they had meat for almost every meal, with extra made into jerky for storage. After the rainy season, they mostly ate tree fruits and roots. But Hamoyin’s appetite was small; he could be satisfied with two or three fruits and a few bones. So, without her, there wouldn’t be a food shortage.

At this moment, Nagu’s desire to run wavered. Rather than troubling the kind-hearted Hamoyin, it was better to trouble Azulan and his oppressive tribe. Her leg should be fully healed in a little over a week, and then she could find out if there were other ways to leave Azulan’s territory besides the waterfall.

Then, should she go to the sea people?

Nagu sighed silently. She just wanted a place to live peacefully, sleep, and eat. Why was even that so hard? Life was tough.

“Why did you suddenly sigh? Are you tired?” Azulan extended his hand to Nagu. “Do you want me to carry you?”

“No, I’m not tired.” Nagu shook her head, refusing Azulan’s offer. “We’ve been walking for so long, haven’t we reached yet?”

“Almost. Look ahead.” Azulan stepped aside, revealing the scene ahead. About fifty steps up, a closed stone door could be seen faintly, with some white light seeping through the gap, appearing quite dazzling.

Azulan continued walking: “Once we get out, we’ll be in our tribe. You can soak in hot water, eat something, and rest well. I’ll leave you at my sister’s house. She has many girls your age.”

Nagu didn’t expect the tribe to be right outside. She thought the sacrificial site would be deep in the forest, far from the tribe. Now, even if she wanted to run, it wouldn’t be easy.

“But are you really okay with letting me stay just like that?” This man had previously ordered the killing of all women who had been imprisoned by monsters, supposedly because they couldn’t be trusted after living with monsters. Actually, it was probably because he despised women who monsters had touched.

Now, this suspicious person who had suddenly been washed up by water could stay with his sister? How strange.

“Why, do you have some secret that could threaten us?” Azulan looked at Nagu with a half-smile. “If you do, I’d be very interested to hear it.”

“No,” Nagu turned her head slightly, avoiding Azulan’s gaze. “I just think I should at least be checked…”

“Checked? Checked for what?”

“Just checked.”

Nagu’s words made Azulan laugh against the stone wall for a while before he regained his composure: “You’re a strange girl, so eager to be checked?”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

“Alright, don’t worry so much. You’ve been looking worried since you woke up. The girls at my sister’s house never show such expressions. They’re always causing trouble everywhere.” Azulan walked the remaining steps and placed his hand on the heavy stone door. “But Gongduo and the others will probably ask you some questions. I’ll go with you.”

“Yes, the check you mentioned.”

As he spoke, Azulan began to push the stone door with force. The dazzling white light gradually poured out from the gap in the door, forcing Nagu, who was standing behind him, to raise her hand to shield her eyes. For some reason, she felt a bit restless.

Outside was the tribe that Hamoyin was so unwilling to leave, even though he was ostracized and targeted by everyone and would obediently pull out his scales when asked.

“…”

Hamoyin wouldn’t tell her the things she wanted to know, no matter how much she asked. But now that she had come to the source of the ‘problem,’ was it possible…

Could she get Azulan to reveal why Hamoyin was unwilling to leave?