| GB | A Kiss | 95
Huangyuan Tribe.
Old Hei led a team back in disgrace, rubbing his dry, cold face as he faced the questioning gaze of the chief, looking sheepish.
The chief, Hu, asked coldly, "Where's the meat?"
Old Hei scratched his head, "Chief, when we got to the hunting grounds, it was completely empty. We managed to catch a nearby ground rabbit orc and asked him. He said a group of tall, burly orcs had already taken all the carnivorous beasts and short-legged beasts from there."
As soon as he finished speaking, both the chief and Old Hei fell silent.
Old Hei continued, "If I'm not mistaken, it was the orcs from that tribe who cleared out our wetland hunting grounds."
Huangyuan had long since annexed the larger tribes in the surrounding area. The male orcs who submitted were kept as slaves, doing hard labor, while those who resisted were killed.
The female orcs were all kept as slaves, used for work during the day and provided with grass at night.
The only ones who could steal their food were the orcs from that newly risen tribe.
The southern continent didn't get cold in winter, so every year when winter approached, they would send orcs out to hunt as usual.
The wetlands were a large hunting ground they frequented, reachable in half a day. Each hunt would yield enough meat for at least a month.
This time, they came up empty. If they wanted to catch more beasts, they would have to travel for two days to reach another hunting ground. The round trip would take at least five days.
The orcs of Huangyuan were furious, "When have we ever been treated like this? They dare to steal from us? Let's wipe them all out."
Old Hei hesitated, "They have orcs with special powers."
"Chief, we have more orcs, surely we can defeat them, right? Let me take the brothers over there, and we'll bring the slaves too. If the slaves kill them, we'll give them meat!"
The slaves working nearby, who were always hungry, twitched their ears, their eyes dull.
Chief Hu patted the male orc who had spoken, "Big He’a, I'll leave this matter to you."
Big He’a raised an eyebrow at Old Hei, showing a contemptuous smile, then gathered the orcs and slaves and set off.
—
"Slaves..."
Yu Bai murmured, his gentle gaze offering silent comfort to the two female orcs. He exchanged a glance with Huo Duo'er.
"Let them out, give them some food and water, and take them into the shelter to avoid the wind."
A’Li asked, "Bai, weren't these two female orcs here to steal? Why are we letting them go?"
"Right, we can't let them go!"
"They're both female orcs, and they look so thin, with so many wounds on their hands. They probably wouldn't harm us..."
Yu Bai explained the confusion of the orcs.
"That other tribe is called the Huangyuan Tribe. They've annexed all the orc tribes nearby, killing the male orcs who didn't submit and keeping the rest as slaves."
"Slaves?"
"What are slaves?"
Yu Bai briefly explained the concept of slavery. After hearing it, Huo Duo'er frowned, A’Li rubbed his arms in anger, and said, "That's too much, isn't it? Isn't that humiliating them?"
"If it were me, I'd rather die than work for them."
A more rational voice chimed in, "What if they took your cubs?"
The female orcs spoke up, "I'd want my cubs to live. It's okay if I suffer a bit. Only by living is there a chance..."
"Right, only by living is there a chance!"
Seeing that the two female orcs who had escaped from the Huangyuan Tribe were pitiful, everyone stopped giving them a hard time.
The two were taken into the shelter and given a bowl of steaming hot food.
Yu Bai instructed the female orc beside him, "When Mian is free, please ask her to come over and treat their external injuries."
With that, he took Huo Duo'er's hand and said, "There are still some things I'd like to discuss with you."
Upon returning to the courtyard, Yu Bai entered the house and sat on a wooden chair, relaying the information he had gathered from the female orc to Huo Duo'er.
The female orc had told him that the leader of the Huangyuan Tribe was named Hu, who had been secretly observing their tribe for the past two months.
However...
Yu Bai continued, "The Huangyuan Tribe is running out of food. A few days ago, they went to the hunting grounds and found no wild beasts. It was the area we walked through after going ashore, which was regarded as a hunting ground by them."
"Now they believe we've taken their resources and will surely seize the opportunity to attack, aiming to capture more slaves."
The escaped female orc also mentioned that the leader of Huangyuan had already begun gathering the existing slaves, preparing to lead the male orcs to attack their tribe.
When asked about the numbers, the female orc had no concept of counting and couldn't tell him how many orcs were on the other side.
Huo Duo'er squeezed his hand and said, "Don't worry, we have a way to deal with it."
With that, he picked up a fruit from the table, peeled it, and fed the flesh to Yu Bai's lips.
Yu Bai ate half of it and pushed the other half back.
"You eat too."
Huo Duo'er stared at those moist lips, then leaned down and licked them.
After savoring the warmth and sweetness in Yu Bai's mouth, Huo Duo'er gently rubbed his nose against Yu Bai's slender neck and whispered, "Bai is so sweet."
Yu Bai blushed, holding the male orc who was nuzzling his neck, and said hoarsely, "You... you've been like this a lot lately."
There was still work to be done during the day; how could he always be thinking about such things?
Huo Duo'er responded with a low hum, but it got too hot, so he stuffed the remaining half of the fruit into his mouth to cool down.
—
After that day, A’mi, who was in charge of making tools, selected another group of orcs to work day and night on crafting wooden spears. The goal was to first equip each male orc with one, and then provide them to the weaker female and sub-female orcs.
Yu Bai wasn't idle either. If the tribe went to war, injuries would be unavoidable.
The plants in the mountains hadn't completely withered yet, so he took the sub-female orcs out every day to gather medicinal herbs. Those who followed him were divided into two groups: one for gathering and the other for processing the herbs.
After noon, the clouds dispersed, and the sun emerged.
Yu Bai and Huo Duo'er finished their lunch and, taking advantage of the warmth, hurried out again to collect herbs.
On their way through the square, they noticed the orcs who had escaped from Huangyuan basking in the sun by the roadside.
Their thin bodies were huddled under thin animal hides. Although they were a bit cold, their faces showed no dissatisfaction; instead, they seemed somewhat joyful.
Now that the two female orcs had been settled in the Tribe, they couldn't believe that no one around them was forcing them to work!
Moreover, before their bodies had fully recovered, they were able to eat warm food every day, and every three days, the tribe's priest would treat their injuries!
The two female orcs looked up and saw Yu Bai passing by. They quickly knelt down and prostrated themselves.
"Thank you, Priest Bai, for saving us!"
Yu Bai stood still and smiled gently, "Please rise. There's no rule here about kneeling."
Looking at the pure and beautiful priest Bai, the female orcs rubbed their dirty hands. Due to long-term abuse and hard labor, their skin was dark and dry, and no matter how much they rubbed, it wouldn't come clean.
Their heads hung even lower, not daring to come into contact with such a beautiful priest.
Yu Bai sighed softly and asked kindly, "I didn't get your names last time."
"I... I'm Xiao He, and she's Da He."
Yu Bai smiled, "Fantasy Land is short on hands. If you're willing to stay after your injuries heal, you can remain here. However, you must never betray the tribe. There are no slaves here; no one will beat or scold you, and the orcs' freedom is not restricted. But if you want to eat and live in a house, you'll have to work and earn your keep with your own hands."
"Priest Bai, can we... can we really stay?" one of the orcs asked hesitantly.
Yu Bai nodded, "Yes."
The tribe was severely imbalanced in terms of gender, with too many single male orcs. Leaving them unattended wasn't a solution, so keeping these gentle female orcs wasn't a bad idea.
The two female orcs' eyes immediately welled up with tears, and they wanted to kneel and kowtow to Yu Bai again.
Huo Duo'er passed by carrying a log, "Bai."
Yu Bai responded with a nod towards Xiao He and Da He, then hurried over to Huo Duo'er.
After a brief conversation, Yu Bai glanced at the sky. He needed to hurry and gather herbs, so he couldn't stay long.
As he turned to leave, Huo Duo'er wrapped an arm around his waist.
The tall orc crouched slightly and planted a warm kiss on Yu Bai's forehead.
"Go on, don't overwork yourself. Come back early for dinner."
The orcs working nearby all sneaked glances, especially the single ones, filled with envy.
Huo Duo'er, brimming with possessiveness, kissed Yu Bai's soft cheeks symmetrically.
Yu Bai covered his face, feeling shy, his ears hidden under his hood heating up.
He adjusted his fluffy fur coat and ran off quickly in his fur boots.
The orcs watched Yu Bai's disappearing figure, slowly turning their attention back to their work.
The priest was indeed the most beautiful orc they had ever seen, with fair skin, rosy cheeks, and clean, finely made clothes. He was so well taken care of by Big Huo.
The single orcs looked at their chief with envy.
Huo Duo'er, changing his earlier demeanor, expressionlessly hoisted a large bundle of logs half his height.
"Get back to work."
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