Chapter 22: South

“Don’t stand behind me,” the man said as he pushed open the stone door and stepped aside for Nagu to come forward. “Come closer, stand beside me.”

Nagu nervously listened to the sounds outside the stone door.

As Azuran pushed open the door, the noisy sounds outside flooded in like a torrent. Outside the stone door was a bustling market, not large but crowded with simple shelters made of animal skins and branches. There were no green plants in sight, only gray rocks. The stone door they emerged from was at the base of a huge cliff. Looking up, some tree crowns could be seen. The market was built among the rocks, with a clear, shallow beach in front, about the size of a football field. Across the beach was a forest, with many brown-yellow cows with large horns lying at the edge, covered with colorful blankets and carrying bulging leather bags. These animals, used for transport, were leisurely sunbathing, undisturbed by the noise.

The market was crowded, with everyone talking loudly, and their attention was drawn to the suddenly opened stone door.

“I’ll just stand behind you…” Nagu felt very uncomfortable with the crowd approaching them. She had been with Hamoyin in the forest, surrounded by the sounds of wind, birds, rain, and Hamoyin’s murmurs. She hadn’t heard so many people talking at once for a long time.

So noisy…

“No, stand beside me,” Azuran urged softly as the crowd approached. “Don’t be afraid.”

Nagu had no choice but to comply. “It’s so lively outside.”

“Of course, people from several villages come here to trade,” the man said, looking at the girl limping slowly to his side.

She looked like a frightened puppy, eyes wide as if ready to hide in a shadowy corner at any moment. She was thin and frail. “You are forgiven by the Mother Goddess, so don’t hunch over. Lift your head.”

“Forgiven?” Nagu was puzzled. After Hamoyin’s teachings, she wasn’t sure if the Mother Goddess was real or some mysterious entity. “When did that happen?”

“I told you, you were washed into the sacrificial pool and didn’t drown. That’s Tuva’s forgiveness. You are lucky, so look happier. I need to explain to Gongduo.”

“Okay… By the way, who is this Gongduo you mentioned?” Nagu forced herself to stand tall. “You’ve mentioned him many times.”

“My brother, and I am…”

But before he could finish, the tribesmen crowded around the stone door interrupted. They all had dark skin, and whether men or women, none wore shirts. They had peacock green decorations on their wrists, necks, ankles, or ears.

“Chief! Can we really hold the sacrifice early this time?”

“The sacrifices from the south are ready…”

“Who is this girl beside you?”

“If we don’t hold the sacrifice soon, my child won’t make it! Please save him!”

“We already…”

Nagu was frightened by the crowd and stepped back. If the man beside her hadn’t grabbed her arm, she might have fallen down the stone steps.

“Quiet, everyone step back!” Azuran raised his voice, and the tribesmen obediently quieted down. “Where is Gongduo?”

“I’m here,” a deep voice came from the back of the crowd. Nagu saw the crowd parting to make way for a middle-aged man with white fur tied around his waist. “So, what’s the situation in the sacrificial site, and why did you bring a girl out?”

The man beside Nagu laughed and patted her shoulder. “She was washed out of the underground river and landed in Tuva’s pool without drowning, so I brought her out. Don’t you think this is a sign from the Mother Goddess?”

“A lucky person…” Gongduo looked at Nagu with his narrow eyes, his big beard making him look intimidating. “What’s your name?”

“Her name is Lali. Her tribe was attacked by monsters, and she ended up here seeking our protection.”

Nagu glanced at Azulan, who had answered for her and began to think he was different from what she had imagined. He seemed pretty nice? Or was it just an illusion?

Gongduo bent down to look closely at Nagu’s pupils, then turned to his brother: “Are you sure she’s not like that monster Hamoyin? What if she’s hiding scales?”

Hearing Hamoyin’s name from an outsider made Nagu a bit nervous: “I’m not a monster…”

“Monsters trying to infiltrate us would say that.” Gongduo waved his hand, and a few women from the crowd stepped forward to pull Nagu away from Azulan. “Check her for anything unusual.”

“I’ve already checked her. She’s just a human girl.” The tall man stepped in front of Nagu. “And Hamoyin, he is…”

“Don’t talk to me about Hamoyin. The Great Chief never liked it when you did that, and I don’t want to hear it either.” Gongduo shook his head, signaling the women to step back. “Since you’ve checked her, I won’t ask more. If anything happens, you’ll take responsibility.”

Nagu stood behind Azulan, a bit dazed. When had she been checked?

“When you were unconscious, I took a look, just in case.” Azulan turned and winked at Nagu, whispering, “But it’s better than being stripped in the market, right?”

That was true. No wonder Azulan had laughed when she asked to be checked earlier. But who was this Great Chief Gongduo mentioned? Besides Azulan, were there other chiefs? Like a group of five leaders?

“It won’t be a problem. I wouldn’t joke around during the sacrificial period.” Nagu watched as Azulan walked up and put his arm around Gongduo’s shoulder, smiling. “Now, let’s talk business, dear brother. I think since the Mother Goddess has sent us such a lucky person, there shouldn’t be any issues with holding the sacrifice early. We just need to prepare a bit more than usual.”

So, she was being treated as a lucky omen. Honestly, she felt she had more bad luck than good.

“And what about her?” Gongduo pointed at Nagu. “Where will she stay? And since she’s a sign from the Mother Goddess, she should be present at the sacrifice.”

“I’ll discuss it with our sister later. If that doesn’t work, then…”

“Don’t look at me. I won’t take care of the things you pick up.”

“This wasn’t picked up; it was sent by the Mother Goddess.”

“The Mother Goddess sent her to you, meaning you should take care of her.” Gongduo’s mouth was clearly faster than his brother’s. “Besides, during and after the rainy season, you won’t be going out to fight the southern monsters. You’re free, so don’t push things onto me and our sister. She’s pregnant now.”

“No worries, we’ll find a suitable place for you to stay.” Azulan shrugged and looked at Nagu. “We have plenty of people here.”

“Haha… I can stay anywhere, don’t worry about it.” Nagu forced a laugh, unsure of what to say. After spending so much time with Hamoyin, she had forgotten how to interact with talkative people. “By the way, about the sacrifice… I don’t really understand your rituals, but I can stand there if you need me to.”

“Just standing is fine. There’s nothing you need to do.” Azulan patted Nagu’s head, still looking at Gongduo. “Speaking of attendance, Hamoyin will come this time, right? He hasn’t been to the market recently.”

“Who knows what that monster is doing all day.” Gongduo snorted. “The Great Chief sent the witch to find him, but he didn’t say if he’d come. Honestly, it’s better if he doesn’t.”

“Azulan just wants the witch to pull his scales.”

“Hamoyin is a monster. Azulan… The Great Chief allowing him to live in the territory is already very generous. It’s only right for him to give up some scales.” Gongduo’s tone became severe. “And you, stop calling the Great Chief by his name!”

“I’m his brother. What’s wrong with calling him by his name?”

“His status is different. When will you understand that?”

“Why should I listen to you? Your status is different from mine too.”

“Duogaluo, watch your tone.” Gongduo’s face turned completely dark as he stepped closer to his brother. “Mother dislikes your attitude the most.”

The entire market fell silent, everyone watching the two men at the stone door.

Nagu was processing the information in a daze. What had she just heard? She had always thought this man was Azulan, but he was called Duogaluo? But who was Duogaluo? They also called him Chief, but didn’t Hamoyin say this was all Azulan’s territory? Azulan was supposed to be the Chief here, so what did Duogaluo and Gongduo mean?

While Nagu was confused, the man she thought was ‘Azulan’ ended the argument unilaterally. He looked down and said, “I shouldn’t have said those things. My mistake.”

Gongduo didn’t respond, just glared at Duogaluo.

Duogaluo then pulled Nagu over. “I’ll take Lali to find our sister first. You get the main sacrificial items ready. I need to discuss the exact date of the sacrifice with the witch.”

With that, he led Nagu through the crowd towards the shallow beach. Once they were some distance from Gongduo, Duogaluo sighed heavily. “What a hassle.”

“…” Nagu didn’t know how to respond. “Yes, yes. It is.”

“Why do you always stutter when you speak?” After leaving the market, Duogaluo slowed his pace to let Nagu catch up. “It’s like something scared you. Am I that frightening? Or is Gongduo’s big beard scary?”

“No… I just, I was just thinking that you’re not Azulan.” Nagu wanted to understand this, so she asked, “Because you told me you were the chief, but I remember the chief of the humans in the rainforest area is Azulan, right?”

“I said I was a chief, but when did I say I was Azulan?” Duogaluo shook his head and laughed, feeling a bit stifled by the misunderstanding. “I’m Azulan’s brother. We share the same mother, and he is indeed the Chief of all of us.”

Perhaps fearing that Nagu, being new, didn’t understand their tribe’s situation, Duogaluo explained further: “Besides me, Azulan has five other brothers from the same mother. Each of us manages a village, so we are also chiefs. Azulan is the Great Chief who oversees all of us.” So it really is like the Four Heavenly Kings, Nagu thought, and she vaguely felt that Duogaluo seemed to care about Hamoyin, making her think he might actually be a good person.

“So you are a chief, and Azulan is also a chief?” Nagu said as if she understood.

“Yes, but when facing me, you should call Azulan the Great Chief instead of just Chief. When talking to ordinary tribesmen, ‘chief’ is understood to mean Azulan. This is basic. You don’t want to cause trouble with titles right after joining our tribe, right?” Duogaluo thought for a moment about what else to tell Nagu. “Also, the names of the witches in the tribe are taboo. Don’t ask for their names out of curiosity or politeness. Just call them witches.”

“Okay, I understand…”

Duogaluo stopped and looked down at the yawning girl beside him: “Are you tired?”

“No, I just yawned.” Nagu tried to hide her fatigue. “I heard everything you said. Don’t ask the witches’ names, right?”

“Right. Besides that, there’s something else important I need to tell you.” Duogaluo led Nagu slowly across the exposed rocks on the shallow beach to the other side. “You probably heard earlier that there’s a monster living in our territory called Hamoyin.”

“…So why do you allow a monster to live in human territory?” Nagu pretended to be incredulous. “Won’t he attack you?”

“No, he can communicate normally and behaves like a human.”

At this moment, Nagu felt her chance had come. She could ask Duogaluo why Hamoyin was unwilling to leave. She had to ask!

Nagu hid her excitement and asked Duogaluo in a puzzled tone: “But why does he live here? Is there some benefit for him to live among humans?”

“…That’s his own business.” Duogaluo seemed unwilling to say more. “Don’t ask about him, and don’t listen when others discuss him to avoid trouble. Understand?”

The topic was dodged, and Nagu felt deflated, but she knew there would be more opportunities in the future: “I understand.”

Chapter 23: Mixed Eating

“Once we pass this road, we’ll almost be there.” Duogaluo looked at Nagu, who was dozing off on the big-horned ox, nearly falling off several times. “Do you want to come over to my side?”

They were riding the ox down a damp, sloping path in the middle of the forest. The path had a significant drop on both sides and in the middle, seemingly carved out to allow oxen or other pack animals to pass smoothly.

“No…” Nagu pinched her arm to stay awake. She was tired, hungry, and anxious, her mind filled with thoughts of Hamoyin and the fruit paste and meat stew he made for her. “I’m fine like this.”

“Really? You look like you’re about to faint.”

“No, I’m very awake.” She said, though she was close to slapping herself to keep her eyes open. “Really.”

Duogaluo found it amusing how stubborn she was. “Since you’re awake, why don’t you chat with me? I’m a bit sleepy.”

Do you look sleepy?

Nagu looked at Duogaluo’s bright smile, feeling less intimidated now that she knew he wasn’t Azuran. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Well… how old are you?” Duogaluo asked casually. “You seem young, but your people might age differently than ours.”

Nagu realized she hadn’t thought about the age of her ‘body’ but was sure she was an adult. “How do you count age?”

“A girl is considered an adult when she starts bleeding.”

Bleeding… that must be menstruation. Nagu remembered she hadn’t had her period since staying with Hamoyin, possibly due to her injuries. “Then… I’m not an adult yet.”

“I thought so. You might be just a season or two older than Momoli,” Duogaluo said lightly. “I was wondering what to do if you said you were an adult. If Gongduo knew, he’d make you choose a man.”

Thank goodness I said I wasn’t an adult!

Nagu felt like she had dodged a bullet. “So, once you’re an adult, you have to choose… choose someone?”

“Yes, you can choose anyone you like. Azuran and I are also options. Recently, the newly adult girls in the tribe have been chattering about this.”

Nagu sensed a hint of complaint in Duogaluo’s tone. Even the chief was among the choices for women. It made sense, though; in this era, children were vital for the future workforce, and women who could bear children naturally had more rights. In the Sea People, the more children a woman had, the higher her status.

Realizing this, Nagu understood she was back in the food chain. She felt a bit unwilling but had no choice. She couldn’t rely on Hamoyin to take care of her anymore. “When we get to the village, I’ll take you to my sister. If she doesn’t want to take you in, you might have to stay with me until another woman is willing to take you.” Seeing Nagu’s face turned bitter, Duogaluo changed the topic. “And your leg injury isn’t healed yet, right? When we get to the village, you can’t rest. We need to see the witch.”

“Okay…”

“Why do you look so down?” No matter what he said, the girl in front of him always ended up looking bitter or scared. Duogaluo wanted to know what she had been through. “What are you worried about?”

There were too many things to worry about. Nagu sniffled. It felt weak, but she really wanted to curl up in Hamoyin’s treehouse. Only with him did she feel safe.

To Duogaluo, she was a human girl who had found refuge with the Azuran tribe after being attacked by monsters. But she still didn’t see herself as part of this world.

Nagu felt she couldn’t belong anywhere here, always in a state of fear. The time with Hamoyin had given her a false sense of stability because he cared for her so well and seemed reliable.

Now, separated from Hamoyin, Nagu was panicking. She knew nothing and understood nothing. Duogaluo was just a semi-familiar person leading her to a tribe that once wanted her dead. She couldn’t be sure if anyone in Duogaluo’s tribe would remember her as one of the caged ones. Although she had thought about staying in Duogaluo’s tribe unnoticed, eating and drinking until her wounds healed, she was still anxious. She wasn’t reliable; she couldn’t even cook properly.

Seeing Nagu lower her head without answering, Duogaluo didn’t press further. He pointed ahead. “We’re almost there.”

The surrounding forest was thinning out, with low shrubs and ferns growing nearby. Following Duogaluo’s finger, Nagu saw a huge brown-black ‘fortress’ lying on the uneven grassland.

Unlike the crowded, chaotic market built among the rocks in front of the sacrificial site, Duogaluo’s village was at the forest’s edge. The terrain was a mix of plains and small hills, with the village built on several high mounds spreading upwards in a terraced shape. Tall, thick wooden walls surrounded the village, completely isolating it from the forest. From the outside, only the smoke rising into the sky could be seen.

If Hamoyin’s treehouse deep in the forest was the countryside, then the village surrounded by wooden walls was a big city.

“We need to go around to the back to enter,” Duogaluo said, patting the ox to turn left. “There are too many people at the main gate.”

“Are they guards?”

“No, people asking about the sacrificial site. You saw the crowd there earlier.” Duogaluo looked tired. “If we go through the main gate, we’ll be stuck. Gongduo isn’t here now.”

Nagu nodded, half understanding. “But don’t you need to tell the tribe about the sacrificial site? I heard someone say if they don’t perform the sacrifice soon, her child won’t make it.”

“There’s no rush,” Duogaluo said calmly. “Everything is the will of the Mother Goddess.”

Nagu didn’t understand what he meant. Sacrifices and the Mother Goddess were too complicated. She decided not to say more. She had enough of her own problems.

Duogaluo led her out of the forest path, along the village’s high wooden walls, to a small gate at the back. He planned to sneak Nagu in, talk to his sister about taking her in, see the witch, and prepare for the pre-sacrifice rituals. But the person at the small gate surprised Duogaluo. He didn’t notice Nagu’s shocked face behind him.

“Hamoyin, what are you doing here?” Duogaluo jumped off the ox and walked towards the tall, thin man at the gate. “I was just telling Gongduo this afternoon that you haven’t been to the market in a long time.”

“I came to find something,” Hamoyin said calmly, his gaze never shifting to the stunned Nagu on the ox.

“Find something? What are you looking for, in our village?” Duogaluo asked enthusiastically, like seeing an old friend. “Why not come in?”

“No one opened the door for me.”

Duogaluo’s face darkened. “How long have you been standing here?”

“Not long.” Hamoyin finally glanced at Nagu, who was staring straight at him. “I’m leaving.”

“Weren’t you looking for something? Why are you leaving?” Duogaluo asked, puzzled. “Tell me what you’re looking for. I can help you.”

“No need, I’ve found it.” With that, Hamoyin quickly walked away along the stone path.

“I didn’t even get to introduce you,” Duogaluo sighed, watching Hamoyin’s retreating figure. “That black-haired guy is the monster living in Azuran territory. Doesn’t he look just like a human?”

Nagu didn’t hear a word Duogaluo said. Her mind was repeating one thought:

Hamoyin was looking for her.

Hamoyin was looking for her.

Hamoyin… was looking for her!?

But how did Hamoyin know she was in Duogaluo’s territory…?

Never mind, the important thing was that Hamoyin was looking for her. Nagu felt a warmth in her chest, something stirring inside. Even her eyes regained their sparkle.

Author’s Note:

Duogaluo: Are you listening to me? Hey?

Nagu: Ah, ah, I am listening.