Chapter 26: News from the Small Town

Faced with the encirclement of thirty or forty natives, a shadow of gloom fell over Jiang Li’s heart.

With so many of them, even if Chu Chunqiu and Su Yang had three heads and six arms, they would be utterly unable to cope. Perhaps the two of them could rely on their martial prowess to break through, but Jiang Li, Qiu Yue, and Su Yan would never escape.

*Clang!*

Su Yang drew his long blade without hesitation. "Whoever comes, dies!"

"That’s right! Whoever dares to approach, I’ll kill them first!" Chu Chunqiu’s eyes were bloodshot; with so many enemies, there was no choice but to fight for their lives.

Seeing no other way, Jiang Li could only offer a bitter smile and grip his wooden spear tightly. If they fought, they might manage to take a few down; if they didn't, they were just waiting for death. Of course, even at the moment of death, Jiang Li would use the dagger in his breast pocket to end it quickly. These natives were cannibals; falling into their hands would be a fate worse than death.

"Arimosi!"

A native wearing a necklace stepped forward, pointing his wooden spear at the group. Jiang Li exchanged glances with Chu Chunqiu and Su Yang. The principle of capturing the leader to defeat the bandits was well understood by all. It seemed this fellow was the chief; if they could capture him, there was a slim chance they might escape.

However, the moment their eyes met, the necklace-wearing native waved his hand. The surrounding tribesmen immediately lowered their spears, and dozens of wooden bows were aimed at Jiang Li’s group. Seeing this, Jiang Li’s heart sank completely. No matter how fast the three of them were, they couldn't outrun arrows. The moment they showed any sign of moving, they would be turned into hedgehogs.

"Gulu Gulu!" The chief pointed at Jiang Li again.

Jiang Li pondered for a long moment before slowly shaking his head at the native. "Dropping our weapons is impossible. Kill us if you must, but don't expect me to surrender without a fight!"

The native chief paused, then waved someone over. After an exchange of unintelligible grunts, one of the natives turned and ran into the tall grass.

"Young Master, I fear he’s gone to call for reinforcements," Su Yang whispered.

Jiang Li gave a nonchalant shrug. "I don’t know. Let them come, it doesn't matter."

"Young Master, you aren't worried?" Su Yang asked, looking at him in surprise.

Jiang Li spread his hands helplessly. "We can't even beat these thirty or forty people. If he calls for three hundred or three thousand, does that change the outcome?"

"To put it bluntly, if he brings more people, we’ll just end up being carved into smaller pieces."

***

Su Yang’s mouth twitched. Although it wasn't pleasant to hear, what Jiang Li said was the goddamn truth.

A moment later, the native who had left returned with a man dressed in cloth garments.

"Young Master, this person!" Su Yang stared at the newcomer in disbelief.

The natives were all dressed in animal skins; how could someone in cloth clothing suddenly appear? This man was likely from that small town, but why was he mixed up with these natives?

Under Jiang Li’s bewildered gaze, the man in cloth hurried over to his side.

"Brother! Where are you from?"

Jiang Li couldn't help but gape. "Wait, what are you?"

"Are you from the Great Qian?"

"Yes, brother! The Great Qian sent us to develop this island, and I am one of them."

Jiang Li looked him up and down, taking a long moment to steady himself. "What is your name?"

"I am Ma De."

"What? Ma De?" Jiang Li repeated involuntarily.

"No, no. The 'Ma' as in 'the old horse knows the way,' and the 'De' as in 'morality.'"

"Ma De, right. I see." Jiang Li remained somewhat stunned; what kind of parents would give their child that name?

"Brother Ma De, may I ask what is going on? Why are you mixed up with these natives?"

Ma De looked at Jiang Li and the others, his eyes filled with confusion. "Brother, you’ve been here for so long, and you don’t understand the situation here?"

Jiang Li slapped his forehead and quickly spoke, "Brother Ma De, I just arrived. My name is Jiang Li, son of the Imperial Preceptor. His Majesty ordered me to serve as the Prefect to lead the development of this island. However, a storm hit on the way, leaving our ship stranded on the beach. I’ve traveled through mountains and rivers to finally find this town."

"Brother Jiang, stop bragging, will you?" Ma De said, speechless.

Jiang Li sighed. "Brother Ma, I’m telling the truth. We walked for over half a month to get here, facing countless dangers and hovering on the edge of death many times."

Hearing this, a hint of suspicion began to fade from Ma De's eyes. "Are you truly Jiang Li, son of the Imperial Preceptor Jiang Tian?"

"And you really walked here after your ship was stranded?"

"It is true. I have my personal seal here as proof." As he spoke, Jiang Li flashed the seal at his waist.

Ma De’s eyes widened. "This... you really walked from over there? Just the few of you?"

"Brother Ma, I’ve said it many times; you must trust me," Jiang Li replied helplessly.

Ma De looked at Chu Chunqiu and the others, then asked, "Did you not encounter any dangers along the way?"

"Did you run into the cannibal tribes?"

"We did," Jiang Li replied honestly.

"Then how did you escape?" Ma De asked.

Jiang Li pointed to the leg of lamb and other meats in the baskets on their backs. "We didn't escape. We went in, took some food, and walked out."

"This! How is that possible!" Ma De cried out, then asked again, "Then did you not encounter the Flowers of the Other Shore?"

"Flowers of the Other Shore? You mean those red flowers with the strange fragrance that make people lose their minds?"

"Yes, yes, that’s it!"

"We did."

"Then how did you run away?"

"We didn't run. We walked out."

"And the flowers?"

"Burned them with a fire."

"What?!"

Ma De looked at Jiang Li in shock. "What about the monsters affected by the flowers? Didn't they stop you?"

"They tried. We burned them too," Jiang Li added.

"What about the miasma? How did you get through that?"

"Miasma? That didn't have much of an effect. We ate a couple of medicinal herbs and walked right through."

"And you didn't run into any cliffs or anything?"

"We built a bridge. How else would we get across?"

After a long silence, Ma De shook his head and gave Jiang Li a thumbs-up. "Brother, you are truly something else. To have encountered all that and still made it here without losing any limbs..."

Jiang Li grew impatient. They had been talking for ages, yet Ma De hadn't offered to take them into the town. Furthermore, Ma De was hanging out with these natives—what exactly was going on with this guy?

"Brother Ma, would you be so kind as to take us into the city?"

Ma De turned to look into the distance and sighed. "The situation is complicated. Come with me first, and I will explain everything slowly as we go."