Chapter 46
Fruits

Feeling like she might have said too much, Nagu was relieved that at least Hamoyin didn’t immediately grab a knife and go on a rampage.

Nagu squatted beside him, holding her face in her hands and watching Hamoyin drink his medicine with a happy expression. “Do you want to eat something after this? You haven’t had any meat for the past few days. There’s some leftover dried meat from yesterday. Should I stew it for you?”

“No need.”

“Then how about something else?”

Hamoyin placed the empty medicine bowl back on the ground. “I’m not very hungry.”

“It seems like you never eat much.” Maybe Hamoyin’s stomach was different from hers, but could he sustain himself on just fruits every day with his tall stature?

Thinking about this, Nagu suddenly remembered something. She had always assumed Hamoyin had snake blood mixed in, but what if he didn’t? If he was more like a lizard, wouldn’t that mean… wouldn’t he need to eat insects?

Nagu swallowed nervously. “You, um, if you need to eat, uh, insects, I can catch them for you. There are plenty of insects in the backyard grass.”

“I don’t eat insects.” Hamoyin looked at Nagu helplessly. “I’m not a lizard either.”

To Nagu, Hamoyin’s mixed heritage was a mystery. His scales didn’t resemble the bumpy skin of lizards, and only a few types of snakes had scales arranged like fish scales. But it wasn’t very important. Maybe there were many other species she didn’t know about in this era, considering all the strange creatures that had appeared.

“Then how about wiping your body?” With her suggestion of food rejected, Nagu naturally picked up a coarse cloth hanging on the dry wood nearby. She happily held it up to Hamoyin. “You’re sweating a lot. I’ll heat some water and help you wipe down.”

“…No.”

“It’s uncomfortable to be sweaty. If you clean up, you can rest better.”

Seeing Nagu gradually approaching, Hamoyin instinctively clutched the edge of his pants. “I can wipe myself. I’m almost better now.”

“Is that so…” Nagu lowered her hand holding the cloth, feeling a bit disappointed. Hamoyin’s fever had subsided, and he wasn’t coughing much anymore. He did seem much better. “So, will you go back to the treehouse in a few days?”

Hamoyin nodded. “There’s a lot to do back there.”

It had been raining heavily, and the leaves and bird feathers on the treehouse roof must have deteriorated. Plus, the traps he had set up nearby needed checking. If any animals had died and started to rot, they needed to be cleaned up. There was indeed a lot to do.

“Okay…” Nagu actually wanted to ask if she could go back to the treehouse with him, but now she had an even stronger reason not to, which was Azuran. “By the way, I think there’s something we need to discuss.”

“What is it?”

“You remember Gongduo, right? Duogaluo’s brother.” She gestured to her chin, indicating a bearded man.

“I know.”

“The monster that escaped from the sacrificial site, you said he released it…” As she mentioned this, Nagu’s voice lowered as if she were doing something sneaky. “Duogaluo told me not to tell anyone, but I think you need to know. He did it to ruin Azuran’s reputation.”

Hamoyin looked at Nagu, puzzled. “Why do I need to know this?”

The fact that Gongduo released the monster was surprising, but why he did it didn’t concern him.

“Of course, you need to know! His goal in releasing the monster was to target Azuran, to lower his authority in the tribe. That means we all have… uh, issues with Azuran.” Nagu chose her words carefully.

At this point, Hamoyin understood what Nagu was getting at. He shook his head. “I don’t need his help. I’ll deal with Azuran’s issues myself. You don’t need to worry.”

“No, I’m not asking you to seek his help. I just… let’s put it this way, I’ll observe more and then talk to you about it.”

“Don’t do anything dangerous. Don’t get involved in the tribe’s affairs.” Hamoyin felt Nagu had learned too much about things she shouldn’t know. If untrustworthy people found out, her situation could become precarious. “Come back to the treehouse with me. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
As he spoke, he grabbed Nagu’s wrist. “Staying here, you’ll be recognized sooner or later. It’s not safe.”

“But…”

“Come with me.”

The next second, Nagu threw herself into his arms.

“??”
Did he say something worth hugging?

Ignoring Hamoyin’s confused expression, Nagu just snuggled against his chest. She never thought she would hear such sweet words from him, so she couldn’t help but hug him. “It’s not dangerous. Only Duogaluo and I know about Gondo. I’ll be careful.”

“…This isn’t something you can avoid just by being careful.”

Hamoyin’s words certainly made sense. Nagu knew she didn’t have the ability to get involved in Gongduo’s affairs, but letting Hamoyin go alone to deal with Azuran would also be very risky.

People like Azuran and Duogaluo had gained physical abilities comparable to monsters through rituals, which meant Hamoyin might not have much of an advantage in a one-on-one fight. The big problem now was that as the leader, Azuran not only had a strong physique but was also rarely alone, usually surrounded by many guards. Letting Hamoyin handle this alone would undoubtedly be more dangerous than her staying in the village and gathering information.

“Really, it’s fine. Besides, we don’t know what Gongduo’s next move will be. If anything happens, I’ll come to the treehouse to find you.”

“No.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything until your tail injury is fully healed, so you can relax for now.” Since they still needed Azuran to supply medicine, they couldn’t deal with him before the ritual.

“…”

At this point, Hamoyin’s attitude seemed less firm. Nagu knew he had probably accepted her reasoning, so she gently patted his arm to reassure him. “I need to go back to the house and see what Granny is doing. If I’m away too long, she’ll get suspicious.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll bring you some food later. Still just fruits?”

“Yes.”

Nagu happily patted her backside and stood up from the ground. “Alright, see you later.”

Chapter 47
Horn

“…”
Nagu hurriedly walked towards the center of the village, carrying a bundle of miscellaneous items. She hadn’t expected to be sent on an errand by the witch as soon as she returned to the front house. The things in the bundle smelled terrible, like damp, dirty cloth, and the musty smell made Nagu keep turning her head away. She didn’t have the courage to open it and see what was inside. It could be medicine or some strange ritual tools. After living with the witch for some time, she had roughly figured out that the witch wasn’t overly mysterious. Most of the time, the witch acted like a ‘doctor’ in the village, but as the sacrificial ceremony approached, she would start preparing for prophecies and rituals.

However, the witch Nagu was taking care of was too old. The chief no longer bothered her with too many prophecies, only asking her to help prepare ritual tools, like soaking bones in medicine, which could be done easily at home. Other tasks were handled by the village’s two younger witches. It was said that to communicate with the Father and Mother gods, the witches used their ‘identity,’ or name, as an exchange to gain the right to speak with the gods. After that, they could be called the messengers of the gods, which was why a witch’s name was kept secret.

In the past, Nagu would have thought that such a messy excuse was just a scam… but now it’s different. She actually believes there might be something to it. After all, healing Hamoyin’s injury relies on the witch and the unseen Mother Goddess.

Speaking of which, if the Mother Goddess is so omnipotent and responds to the corresponding offerings, could she also help Nagu remember her past? Not the past of this body named ‘Nagu,’ but her own past, her own name.

Is that possible?

Thinking about this, Nagu slowed her steps a bit. Recently, she learned to recognize more characters, and some of the content on the stone tablets was about preparing sacrificial items. Maybe she could find a way to restore her memory from there. She would ask Duogaluo when he returned in the evening; perhaps he would be willing to help.

It had been about three hours since Duogaluo and the others left for the market. Nagu looked up at the sky. Since Duagaluo still had to go to the treehouse to get Hamoyin’s scales, he would return later today. So, she decided to check on him tomorrow morning.

As Nagu quickened her pace along the road again, she heard that familiar girl’s voice.

“La———li!!!”

Why does Momoli always find her as soon as she leaves the witch’s house? Does she wander around the village all day?

Nagu turned to look at the girl running towards her. Today, she wasn’t surrounded by those little boys: “Good afternoon, Momoli…”

“Not good!!” Momoli rushed to stand in front of Nagu. “Mom scolded me again; it’s so annoying! What are you doing now? If you’re free, play with me.”

“I’m delivering something for Granny, so I might be unable to.”

Momo pouted at the package in Nagu’s hand: “What’s this? It smells awful.”

“I don’t know either, but I must deliver it to Asu’s house.”

“Then I’ll go with you!”

This request was hard to refuse, so Nagu had to listen to Momoli complain about her mom all the way. Basically, her mom was annoyed that Momoli was always thinking about coming of age and scolded her to do more proper work, like helping the village women process animal skins and food.

“Who wants to do those things? It’s so troublesome,” Momoli pouted. “Anyway, if I don’t do it, someone else will!”

“Haha… but if you help out a bit, you might get scolded less, right?” Nagu didn’t know how to respond to Momoli’s willful words. If Duogaluo were here, she would probably pull Momoli’s ear and argue with her.

“Why are you talking like those adults? Have you been spending too much time with Duogaluo? So annoying!” Momoli was even more upset when Nagu disagreed with her. “I can do things, but I don’t want to do them now! I just want to come of age and play with Wa.”

“But you don’t even know exactly when you’ll come of age.”

“It’s these few days! The witch said so!”

Can the witch even predict a girl’s first period? Really?

Nagu’s expression was subtle upon hearing this strange thing. “Which witch told you that?”

“The one with the big chest.”

Oh, that would be the young witch living to the right of the old witch’s house. Nagu nodded thoughtfully. “But I think you should still listen to your mom and do some things these days. You’ve seen how troublesome things have been in the village lately, and many people are injured.”

“It’s all Azuran’s fault, not mine. And now he’s sent people to help our village, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t do anything!”

“…What do you mean?” Nagu instinctively felt a bit panicked. “There are people from Azuran in our village now?”

“Yeah, didn’t you know? They came two days after the incident, about fifteen men and five women to help.”

She felt uneasy. She was once captured by people from Azuran, and with her distinctive white skin, could any of the men sent here be the ones who guarded her? Would they still remember her?

Thinking of this, Nagu wanted to run back to the witch’s house, but she hadn’t finished delivering the items.

“What’s wrong? Suddenly walking so slowly. Hurry up, finish delivering so you can play with me,” Momoli grabbed Nagu’s arm and urged her. “Otherwise, we won’t be able to play once the adults return from the sacrificial site.”

“No, I think I’ll return to the witch’s house after delivering this because there’s still other…” Before she could finish, a hurried horn sounded from the distance. Nagu closed her mouth and stared at Momoli. She couldn’t understand the meaning of the horn’s pattern and could only rely on Momoli.

Although Momoli had been clamoring to play just now, she focused on listening to the horn after hearing it. When the horn stopped, her face turned grim. “Oh no, something happened at the sacrificial site again.”

“What happened??”

“The remaining monster escaped, and now the village is going to be sealed off again.”

“…”

Gongduo was the first thought that came to Nagu’s mind. But she didn’t see Gongduo among the people who left the village this morning. Could it be his other accomplices?

“You should finish delivering and go home quickly. I need to go back, too.” With that, Momoli changed direction and ran down another path. “Remember to go back quickly!”

Nagu didn’t need Momoli’s reminder. After handing the package to the designated person, she ran all the way to the witch’s house, hearing the urgent horn sound twice more along the way.

Even from her standpoint, she couldn’t help but complain about Gongduo. Letting the monster escape twice in a row would make anyone start to feel something was off. After the first escape, Azuran must have tightened the guard on the second one, so if it escaped again, wouldn’t that seem very suspicious?

Even those in the village who weren’t involved in the sacrificial arrangements would think it was Azuran’s fault, but Azuran would definitely become suspicious!

If he became suspicious, wouldn’t things get difficult??

Nagu returned to the witch’s house, troubled, and roughly explained the situation to her. Then, she helped the witch lock the windows before returning to the backyard’s small storage room. Hamoyin was still sitting inside, and he had clearly heard the horn as well.

“Azuran will definitely be more vigilant now…” Nagu sighed. “Seriously, don’t they know when to quit while they’re ahead?”

“If the horn doesn’t stop tonight, I’ll have to go back to the treehouse.”

“Huh? Why?”

“As long as the monster’s whereabouts remain unknown, the village’s alert won’t end. So, to find the monster, they’ll definitely come to the treehouse to ask for my help.”

There was no way around it. If people found out he wasn’t in the treehouse, it could cause trouble. Although he no longer wanted to work for Azuran, Nagu hoped he would wait until he was fully recovered to take revenge, so for now, he had to continue as before.

“But your body hasn’t healed yet.” Nagu was even more annoyed with Gongduo. Couldn’t that bearded man be a bit more meticulous?

“It’s nothing serious anymore. I’ll stay here until tomorrow morning to see how things go.”

“Alright… I hope they find that monster before nightfall.” Nagu sighed.

There had been a pile of troubles recently, and it seemed like nothing ever got sorted out. She started to miss the relatively leisurely days she spent at Hamoyin’s house.

Hamoyin looked at Nagu, who had sat down next to him, leaning against him with a tired expression on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just… wonder if we can live together in the future?”

“We can.”

“Really? Still in your treehouse?”

“Yes.”

After a while, Hamoyin added, “Other places are fine, too.”

This made Nagu’s eyes light up. “You’re willing to leave here?”

“Yes, once Azuran is dead, I’ll leave. Because now, besides him, I have no other reason to stay here, and it’s not safe for you to stay here either. So when I leave, I hope you can come with me.”

The fatigue from earlier almost vanished. Nagu snuggled against Hamoyin’s shoulder, feeling like a plant basking in the sunlight. “Okay!”

She wished Azuran would die today, but that was impossible…

The two chatted in the storage room for a while, and then Nagu fed Hamoyin some medicine before returning to the front room. By the time she went back, it was already getting dark, and the horn had sounded again not long ago. It seemed the monster hadn’t been found yet, and the men in the village wouldn’t go out to search at night.

So Hamoyin might have to go back tomorrow morning. Thinking of this made Nagu feel bad. On one hand, she thought Hamoyin should rest a bit longer; on the other hand, she didn’t want Hamoyin to exert himself for the tribe.

An angry Nagu started packing her things more forcefully, causing the miscellaneous items to clatter loudly. Just as she was about to dump the ashes from the fire basin, there was a knock on the door: “Who is it? The witch is already asleep.”

“It’s me, Duogaluo.”

He’s back? Nagu immediately put down the basin and ran to open the door. She saw Duogaluo’s dirty and tired face, filled with complex emotions. His appearance made Nagu worried: “Are you okay?”

Duogaluo nodded and then took out a small bag from behind him: “I brought back Hamoyin’s scales. Keep them safe for now, and secretly bring them with you to the water altar on the day of the ritual.”

“Okay.” Nagu took the bag, and as she saw Duogaluo turning to leave, she called out, “Wait… Did something happen? I know the remaining monster escaped too, so Gongduo is…”

“No.” Duogaluo, stopped by Nagu’s voice, licked his dry lips, “Don’t worry about these things for now.”

“But you don’t look well. Is it because you can’t find the monster? Or did something else happen? I’m really worried.”

The man looked lost, and Nagu couldn’t ignore it. Besides, she and Duogaluo were now in the same boat. “If you have any troubles, you can talk to me. I won’t tell anyone.”

Duogaluo hesitated, then stopped and turned to look at Nagu. The concern in her eyes was genuine: “I…”

“Did Gongduo let another monster go? Did anyone get hurt this time?”

“No.” Duogaluo shook his head. He knew he shouldn’t tell Nagu these things, but he felt stifled. There was no one else in the tribe he could talk to about this. Honestly, he didn’t even know what he was doing anymore. “It wasn’t Gongduo who let it go…”

“Then who?”

“…”

“Was it one of Gongduo’s accomplices?”

“No…”

“Then who else would do such a thing?”

“…Me.”

Nagu’s eyes widened: “What?”

Duogaluo grabbed his hair in pain and squatted on the ground: ‘It’s me.”