Chapter 28

It had been three days since Hamoyin secretly went to find Nagu.

Hamoyin was alone in his treehouse, packing things to take to the market for exchange. He was hesitant about going today. When Nagu refused to return with him, Hamoyin thought she was still wary of his monstrous identity and didn’t want to live with him. However, Nagu later asked him with anticipation if they could meet again in the future.

Hamoyin didn’t understand what the girl was thinking. He hoped she could live peacefully in the village of Duogaluo for a while. If she could stay there unnoticed for a long time, that would be even better. Hamoyin sighed unconsciously, knowing he shouldn’t care too much about Nagu. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had enough to eat today and if her wounds still hurt. As he pondered his recent unusual thoughts, Hamoyin packed the items into a leather bag and hurriedly left the treehouse. It took about half a day to walk from his treehouse to the market outside the water shrine, and with the rainy season, he had to hurry to avoid getting caught in the rain.

Thinking back, if he hadn’t miscalculated and encountered a rainstorm while digging for bait, Nagu would still be living in his house. These past few days, Hamoyin found the silence around him unsettling. Sometimes, lying in bed at night, he would recall the sound of Nagu’s snoring.

Walking along the familiar path and checking the hunting traps, Hamoyin began to wonder if Nagu would come. She had asked about the meeting time and place, but that didn’t mean she would come. She might change her mind after spending time with people her age in the village. She might decide there was no need to interact with him, the monster.

When Nagu fully remembered her time being imprisoned by the monster, she would never want to see him again. She would start to hate him like the others in the tribe because he wasn’t human.

Hamoyin stopped, looking at the decaying leaves on the ground, feeling confused. What was he thinking? Did he want Nagu to come back? He felt a sense of loss but couldn’t explain why.

“…”

Thinking so much was useless. Nagu would have her own plans, and they had nothing to do with him. Hamoyin put aside these chaotic thoughts and continued on his way. By the time the sun was directly overhead, he finally reached the market outside the shrine.

There were more people than usual today. Many were transporting live animals, large but oddly shaped clay pots, and various withered crops to the shrine for the ceremony, not for exchange. Hamoyin saw Duogaluo and his brothers among the people moving items.

They seemed to be arguing, but Hamoyin couldn’t hear or care about the details. He climbed to a high spot in the market, looking around for a good view. He didn’t see her.

In the crowded market, filled with dark-skinned men and women, the market area was small with only a dozen or so tents. Had the fair-skinned Nagu walked among them, Hamoyin would have spotted her quickly. Not seeing her, Hamoyin felt relieved; it was better this way. Now, he just needed to exchange his items and head home quickly. He didn’t want to travel at night and risk getting caught in a rainstorm in the forest. He swiftly climbed down from the pile of rocks and walked quickly towards the market. Everyone he passed looked at him with disgust, but because Duogaluo was present, no one said anything nasty out loud as they usually did.

“I want to exchange for three bundles of insect-repelling herbs and five of these,” Hamoyin said, keeping his head down as he circled the market twice before finding what he needed at a woman’s tent. He took out animal teeth and three bird eggs from his leather bag and handed them to the woman.

The woman initially wanted to refuse Hamoyin, but she held back her words when she saw the brown-speckled bird eggs. She roughly threw the five roots used for making poison arrows to Hamoyin and then took two bundles of herbs hanging from the branches above her.

Hamoyin looked at the two small bundles of herbs: “One bundle is missing.”

The woman, without looking directly at him, impatiently threw the herbs at Hamoyin: “That’s all there is, take it and go.”

“…” Hamoyin silently looked at the woman, but she just started talking to someone else, ignoring him.

Hamoyin didn’t say anything more. He packed the items into his bag and turned to leave the market. As he turned, he saw Nagu standing next to Duogaluo not far away, staring at him with wide eyes.

Next to Nagu stood Duogaluo’s sister, Momoli, who pointed at Hamoyin and told Nagu, “That’s the monster living in our territory!”

At that moment, Hamoyin felt a sudden sense of embarrassment. He quickly averted his gaze from Nagu and hurried to leave the market, but Duogaluo called out to him after a few steps.

“Didn’t expect to see you at the market today,” Duogaluo said, no longer arguing with his brothers about the date of the ceremony. He was just strolling around the market with Momoli and Nagu. “What did you come to exchange?”

“I got what I needed,” Hamoyin replied, glancing again at Nagu standing behind Duogaluo. Nagu was quietly talking to Momoli, and they seemed to be quite familiar with each other.

After a few words, Nagu suddenly turned and disappeared into the crowd. Momoli didn’t seem surprised; she just stood with her hands behind her back, watching Hamoyin and Duogaluo.

“Are you going home now? Why not stay in the village for a night? It takes a long time to walk back from the market to your house, and the forest paths are hard to navigate in the dark,” Duogaluo said, still trying to persuade Hamoyin, not noticing that Nagu had run off alone.

“No.” Hamoyin took two steps back, rejecting Duogaluo’s kindness. “I’m going back.”

“Brother, you’re so annoying. Even the monster doesn’t like you,” Momoli shouted, standing beside them. Duogaluo immediately grabbed her ear.

“Shut up!”

“I’m going to tell Mom you pulled my ear!”

At that moment, Duogaluo realized that the girl behind him was missing. He looked around. “Where’s Lali?”

“She went to exchange things for the witch. That’s what she came here for today,” Momoli said, covering her ear and dodging Duogaluo. “And the monster has already left. Aren’t you going to try to persuade him again?”

Why do these people run so fast? Duogaluo thought, annoyed, watching Hamoyin’s figure disappear behind the rocks. He shook his head in frustration. “Let’s go find Lali, and then you two follow Gongduo back to the village.”

…

Walking home, Hamoyin’s mind was in turmoil. He was happy to see Nagu, but she quickly ran away. Why? Why did she run away?

So she didn’t come here willingly but was brought by Duogaluo? It’s possible. After all, Nagu had just moved into their village, and Duogaluo would definitely show her around. As Hamoyin’s thoughts grew more negative, he heard a rustling sound in the dense bushes beside him.

Realizing something was approaching, Hamoyin quickly drew his bone knife, but he soon had to lower it. Emerging from the bushes was not a sharp-toothed animal but Nagu, holding a bunch of items.

“Hamoyin…!” Nagu crouched beside the bushes, waving at Hamoyin. “Come here, come here.”

“…” Hamoyin hesitated for a moment before following Nagu to a hidden spot in the bushes. “You shouldn’t have come to find me.”

Nagu scratched her cheek awkwardly. “We can talk here where no one can see us. No one will find out.”

“Duogaluo is looking for you at the market.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just say I went to pee when I get back,” Nagu said, blushing as she handed Hamoyin several plant roots she was holding. “Here, these are for you.”

“?” Hamoyin looked at the roots in confusion. They were the same ones he had exchanged for at the woman’s stall, used to make poison. “Why are you giving me these?”

“I saw that the woman shortchanged you. I didn’t hear everything, but I know she didn’t give you enough,” Nagu said, recalling the countless novels and TV shows where she had seen such bullying tactics. “So I secretly stole some to give to you.”

“…”

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want them?”

Hamoyin wanted to say that the woman had shortchanged him on herbs, not roots, but seeing Nagu’s bright eyes, he swallowed his words and took the roots. “You shouldn’t have stolen them. It would be troublesome if you were caught.”

“But I wasn’t caught.” Nagu was even happier seeing Hamoyin accept the roots. “By the way, does your back still hurt? How are your wounds healing?”

Nagu actually wanted to ask if she could see his wounds, but she knew Hamoyin would refuse, so she didn’t say anything.

“It doesn’t hurt.” Hamoyin put the stolen roots back into his bag and looked outside the bushes. “You should go back.”

“I…” Knowing that Hamoyin was afraid of being discovered, Nagu didn’t dare to ask him to stay. But honestly, she had many questions. She wanted to ask about his tail and his desire to become human. “I’ll come back in three days. I’m staying with the village witch now, taking care of her… No one in the village has recognized me as the woman who escaped.”

Seeing Hamoyin nod slightly, Nagu felt he was in a hurry to leave. “Then I’ll go back to the market now?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll come here again in three days, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m leaving. Hurry home, and don’t get caught in the rain!”

“Yes.”

Hamoyin watched the girl run out of the bushes until her figure completely disappeared, then he turned and left.

Author’s Note:

Nagu: Did I mess something up again? (Confused)

Hamoyin: No.

Nagu: Really?

Hamoyin: Yes.

Nagu: (Happy)