After Being Stranded in the Wilderness, I Became the Bride of the Giant Tribe - 57

 

| GB | The Power to Protect Others | 57

Yu Bai's legs were weak as Huo Duo'er carried him down the mountain, his lips red and moist.

A’Li and Tata's third brother had almost finished trading the items they wanted at the fair and were now searching for Yu Bai to see what he had exchanged.

The giant clan was quite conspicuous, and with a little inquiry, they quickly found their way to the stall of the feather tribe.

Huo Duo'er was packing the millet beans Yu Bai had bought, while Yu Bai was whispering something to the feather orc. After they finished speaking, both nodded in agreement.

A’Li and Take widened their eyes, staring at Yu Bai in disbelief as he turned around.

"Bai, you actually traded pottery and linen for these millet beans?"

"I've tasted this kind of millet bean before; it's too hard, it hurts my teeth, and it's not tasty at all!"

Yu Bai's eyes curved into a smile, his lips a vibrant red and moist.

"We need to try a different way to eat millet beans."

He was in a good mood because the feather orc had agreed to trade with him every year during the millet bean harvest season.

Since it was unclear whether the soil conditions of the Yuan tribe could successfully grow these millet beans, and given the uncertain cost of trial and error, it was best that the feather orc was willing to provide him with more millet beans.

A’Li seemed to understand but not fully, his eyes fixed on Yu Bai's mouth, while Take also stared blankly.

"Bai, why are your lips so red?"

They were a strange, beautiful red, like a ripe fruit wrapped in a crimson skin, as if a bite would release sweet juice.

Yu Bai fell silent, his gaze flickering towards Huo Duo'er before quickly looking away.

He stammered, "The food I just ate was too hot, it burned me..."

A’Li mouth watered at the thought.

Although they had learned from Yu Bai how to use onions, garlic, and spicy roots as spices, the food they made was never as delicious as Yu Bai's.

Seeing their craving, Yu Bai smiled and handed them the homemade fruit jam and spicy sauce he had brought. He added, "This jar of spicy sauce has chopped crying fruit in it, it's a bit spicy. If you can't handle the spiciness, don't force yourself."

The orcs had no concept of spiciness and could only judge by how much they cried after eating.

They took the two jars of sauce back to dip their roasted meat in, the unique aroma attracting the attention of many orcs.

The nearby orcs, intimidated by the presence of the giant orc, dared not speak to Yu Bai and instead surrounded A’Li.

"What is this sticky stuff in your jar? It looks delicious on meat. Can I trade you some fragrant beans from my tribe for it?"

A’Li shook his head, clutching the jar tightly.

"This belongs to Bai. Without his permission, I can't give it to you."

"These fragrant beans are something other orcs would love to have more of. If you get dirty, just rub them on, and in the time it takes to cook two bowls of rice, you'll be clean!"

A’Li chuckled, and Take said, "Isn't that just soap?"

"Our tribe has soap. If your hands get dirty from handling meat, just wet the soap and rub it on, and you'll be clean in less time than it takes to cook two bowls of rice!"

Moreover, their soap had been improved. Yu Bai had added several fragrant herbs as new ingredients, making the improved soap emit a faint aroma, much better than the rough version they first made. Used sparingly, one bar could last a long time.

"I don't believe it. Since when does your Yuan tribe have such good things?"

"Have you not seen our linen and pottery? As for soap, Bai can make more than just that. Naturally, compared to that..."

A’Li, who had accidentally let slip, quickly shut his mouth.

The orcs handling the meat had oil on their hands. They immediately pulled out a piece of hemp cloth from their robes, slightly dampened it with water, applied it to their hands, rubbed a few times, and rinsed it off. The grease was instantly gone, leaving behind a faint scent.

The more observant orcs noticed that the orcs of the Yuan tribe were quite protective of the young sub-female orc and treated him with respect.

"They treat that sub-female orc differently."

"I saw that sub-female orc exchange a lot of millet with the orcs of the feather tribe using hemp cloth. Could it be that he knows more than we do?"

"That hemp cloth feels really good. Look at the short robe of the sub-female orc, compared to the other orcs..."

It was truly unique, it appeared very refined.

"No wonder the chief of the Yuan tribe was so arrogant recently. Could it be related to this sub-female orc?"

The orcs of the Brown tribe wanted to investigate further. They suspected that the hemp cloth, pottery, and soap were all related to the sub-female orc, but they refrained from acting rashly due to the presence of the Giant orc guarding him.

Their warriors had suffered losses at the hands of the Giant orc before, and today they wanted to reclaim their honor through a competition.

The atmosphere of rivalry among the orc tribes suddenly intensified. Yu Bai, who had exchanged the method of making hemp thread with the orcs of the feather tribe for the way to plant millet, seeing the situation ahead was not favorable, also kept his mouth shut.

The orcs gathered towards one direction in unison, finally stopping around the largest open area of the trading fair.

Yu Bai sat in Huo Duo'er's arms, taking advantage of the height to clearly see the situation inside.

"What are they planning to do?"

A’Li squeezed over and said, "Have a competition."

As previously understood, the tribes would take advantage of the trading fair to hold competitions, comparing which tribe's warriors were stronger, whose priests were more capable, and also using this opportunity to showcase the tribe's strength and recruit new orcs.

At the trading fair, besides goods, orcs were an important resource.

—

The Giant tribe lived in seclusion, and Huo Duo'er was seeing such a scene for the first time, but unlike the other orc tribes, he was not curious, he focused all his attention on his mate.

Who was the strongest, who had the best skills, none of it mattered to him as much as Yu Bai in his arms.

The growth of a tribe mainly depended on strength, and the competition of power and combat ability became the main attraction of today's event.

The conflicts among the small and medium tribes were quickly interrupted by several large tribes. The Brown tribe sent out fierce and strong male orcs, followed by the Yao tribe, and the Yuan and Chi Zu tribes were not to be outdone.

The cheers and roars around the open area rose and fell, in a world where strength was paramount, fists could best stir the combative nature of the orcs.

The Brown tribe had brought nearly a hundred warriors this time, and in a battle of attrition, the warriors of other orc tribes could not match their backup.

A’Li gritted his teeth, ready to send a few more warriors into the field, but Huo Duo'er said, "No."

A’Li was full of defiance: "They're just relying on having more warriors than us... I can still take on two at once!"

Huo Duo'er: "Half of our orcs are injured. We must keep the uninjured warriors for the return journey."

Their team still had half of the female and sub-female’s to protect.

A’Li hot-filled mind calmed down slightly.

"Huo Duo'er, you're right."

But seeing the smug look of the Brown tribe, he couldn't help but get angry.

"Huo Duo'er, do you want to..."

Even Yu Bai looked at Huo Duo'er.

"I'll go up and compete in a few matches."

The one who spoke was Jiu Fe, who walked onto the field.

A’Li said, "But your injuries..."

Jiu Fe glanced at Yu Bai, noticing the cold stare from the giant orc. The male orc calmly shifted his gaze away.

"After applying the medicine, I recovered a lot."

Even sub-females orcs have the right to choose their mates.

Jiu Fe watched how Huo Duo'er protected Yu Bai. Though jealous, he didn't think of pushing the other aside.

He had fallen from a great height into the cliff, and landed in the territory of the Yuan tribe. His wings were nearly broken, but fortunately, Yu Bai had helped him recover.

Jiu Fe was the first eagle orc to stay with the Yuan tribe. Because he could fly, the chief had specially recruited him and promised to assign him a female orc.

Jiu Fe stayed with the Yuan tribe but refused the assigned female orc.

He liked that little sub-female orc. Upon learning that the sub-female orc had a mate, he had thought of challenging and taking Yu Bai for himself.

But Yu Bai's mate was a giant orc with the power of the mountain god.

Jiu Fe had been depressed for a while.

Until this trip, when he cooperated with Huo Duo'er to kill a large group of multi-toothed beasts. He then thought, what harm would it do for a sub-female orc like Bai to have another strong orc by his side?

He decided to seize his opportunity.

Jiu Fe stepped onto the field with a wooden spear and bow.

—

In the clearing, a wounded eagle orc was seen flying in the air with a bow and spear, facing off against four brown orcs.

Just the one versus four was enough to make many of the spectating orcs gasp in surprise.

The eagle orc continuously attacked the brown orcs by flying, but those orcs were no pushovers. They had rich combat experience, and in about the time it takes to eat a meal, several orcs were injured by arrows, their shoulders bleeding profusely.

Jiu Fe, who had successfully ambushed them, wasn't in much better shape. One of his previously broken wings was immobile, and he crashed hard into a tree stump.

Seeing that his four tribesmen hadn't killed the eagle orc, the brown orc leader grimaced and called for two more orcs to enter the field.

Before they could act, the forest trembled slightly, suddenly separated by vines rising from the ground.

Huo Duo'er's left hand, covered in totems, controlled the vines converging from all directions, isolating Jiu Fe, the four injured brown orcs, and the entering brown orcs into three separate areas.

The branches were flexible, swaying lightly in the air like snakes, causing the surrounding orcs to gasp.

The roots aimed at them were sharp, leaving no doubt that these vines and sharp branches could pierce their bodies.

Huo Duo'er slightly curled his fingers, and the vines in the air formed a giant hand.

"That's enough."

The leader of the Chi Zu tribe stepped forward with a friendly smile: "A proper competition is fine, but if lives are harmed, it would go against the original intention of it."

Then he changed the subject: "Since everyone is quite seriously injured, why not have the next contest be about which tribe's priest has the ability to heal and stop their bleeding, how about that?"

The brown tribe's priest disciple came forward, touching the bone chain around his neck.

"Agreed."

He then asked: "Does the Yuan tribe have an orc who will accept this challenge?"

A group of orcs, including A’Li, all looked towards Yu Bai in Huo Duo'er's arms. He softly said, "Put me down first."

The sunlight filtering through the trees fell on Yu Bai, his lips red and face pale, his eyes curved in a smile. He wore a short linen shirt, a bag slung over his shoulder, and cloth shoes.

He looked tender, with soft, fair skin, and was only slightly taller than a grown young orc. He didn't look like an orc who could heal at all.

The surrounding orcs murmured: "What can such a small sub-female orc do?"

"The brown tribe sent a priest disciple, but this sub-female orc isn't a priest disciple, is he?"

Yu Bai patted the burlap sack and asked A’Li to fetch some clean wood and planks for him, saying, "I only treat external injuries for the orcs of the Yuan tribe."

He then revealed a faint, shy smile.

"A person's ability cannot be judged by their appearance. Even the weakest orc can harness their own strength."

He crouched in front of the eagle, examining its wing, and said, "Your wing was broken once before, and now it's injured again. I need to reconnect it entirely, or you might never be able to use this wing again."

The eagle nodded slightly, its face drenched in sweat from the pain, yet it didn't furrow its brow.

"I believe in you."

Other orcs wanted to gather around to watch, but with a flick of Huo Duo'er's fingers, sharp branches formed a circle, creating a clean, undisturbed space around Yu Bai.

The chanting of the Brown Tribe's priest disciples could be heard nearby, as they danced and burned some branches, then used the resulting ashes to sprinkle on the bleeding shoulder of a Brown Tribe warrior.

The eagle had attacked with full force, and the blood from the Brown Tribe warrior's wound had not stopped.

In contrast, Yu Bai, after cleaning the eagle's wound, pressed on several arterial acupoints and then bandaged it with herbs and linen. The bleeding gradually ceased.

The broken wing was also fixed with wood and planks, looking rather comical, but none of the watching orcs laughed.

Compared to the usual priestly healing methods, this was the first time they had seen such a treatment. It was strange, but the eagle's wound had indeed stopped bleeding, and the broken wing no longer looked so pitiful.

"Is this sub-female a witch doctor?"

"Is a witch doctor really that powerful?"

"Um... witch doctor of the Yuan tribe, could you take a look at our chief’s wound? He's been bleeding since being attacked by a multi-toothed beast a few days ago. We can trade something with you."

Any orc with eyes could see that Yu Bai's treatment was more effective than the priest disciples' methods.

Many orc tribes had been attacked by wild beasts on the road and now wanted Yu Bai to treat their injured members.

After working for a while and finishing the eagle's wing, Yu Bai retreated behind Huo Duo'er.

He said softly, "I can help, but the terms of exchange need to be discussed with the leader of the Yuan tribe."

Huo Duo'er took out a bar of soap from his pocket, wet it, and carefully washed Yu Bai's blood-stained hands.

The orcs were stunned, watching the giant orc gently clean the small sub-female orc's hands...

After finishing, Huo Duo'er spoke unhurriedly, "If you have any issues, come to me to discuss."

While Yu Bai was busy treating the orcs, several small tribes took the opportunity to approach Huo Duo'er, expressing their desire to join the Yuan tribe.

The strength of a tribe doesn't just rely on absorbing warriors.

Yu Bai's ability to treat injured warriors and mend broken bones was enough to win over many orcs.

Who wouldn't want their wounds treated by a fellow tribesman after charging into battle?

The survival of the fittest, where the strong prevail, is indeed the law of the jungle.

Abandoning the weak and the injured is common in tribes, but such actions... inevitably chill the hearts of the orcs.

But the Yuan tribe had a sub-female orc who was different from the rest.

The small tribes that came to pledge allegiance sat on the ground discussing with Huo Duo'er, but their eyes couldn't help but drift in the same direction.

They were watching Yu Bai as he bandaged the wounded.

The orcs' eyes subtly revealed a glimmer of hope, and Huo Duo'er did not miss the gazes of these orcs.

Including that of the eagle.

His Bai...

Just as Bai had said, a frail appearance does not signify a lack of capability.

Yu Bai also possessed the strength to protect others.

Huo Duo'er gazed at that slender figure, his beastly eyes darkening, knowing that more and more orcs would inevitably be drawn to his mate.

 

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