Chapter 159
Chapter 159
The red sandstone terraces had been scoured for ten thousand years by the westerlies, their strata stained crimson by precipitated hematite powder.
The Kuxi Tribe was situated just south of those terraces, beside the dried remains of the Ancient Chishui Riverbed.
The entire village followed the slope of the mountain, with many semi-subterranean cave dwellings dug into the earth.
The arched roofs of the caves were built with honeycomb frames woven from sand willow branches, then covered with alternating insulating layers of Sand Lizard dung and red clay.
Under the night sky, those arched cave dwellings looked rather ominous.
Once the hot evening wind cooled, the Milky Way flowed and shimmered above the red river valley.
In the blood-rust glow, magnificent clusters of stars crowded the violet-blue sky until it seemed too full to contain them, as if they might come crashing down at any moment.
Wrapped in a thick felt blanket, Qin Ying sat before an oxblood-red cave dwelling.
Even with her toes numb from the cold, she stubbornly remained where she was, head tilted up to watch the sky.
For a modern person, a starry sky this vast was a sight worth freezing for.
In the bonfire before her, Sand Lizard dung crackled and popped in the flames.
Amid the stillness, she suddenly said, “Where did you go?”
As she spoke, she kept her face lifted toward the sky.
But the Shadowy Figure creeping along through the darkness went stiff.
A moment later, Han Lie stepped into the firelight.
His eyes darted away. Before answering, he saw the fire was too low, so he first added a bundle of sea-buckthorn thorns, then used wooden tongs to pick two pieces of wind-dried Sand Lizard dung from a sand willow basket.
With more fuel, the flames shot up with a whoosh.
After busying himself for a while, Han Lie finally confessed honestly.
He stood beside the bonfire with his head lowered like a schoolboy. “I… went to kill someone.”
Qin Ying drew her gaze away from the stars and looked deeply at Han Lie.
Ever since he killed Huang Jun last time, Qin Ying had realized this boy was also the type who did not hesitate when it came to killing.
Who else could he have gone to kill this time? Hei Gong, of course.
Sensing Qin Ying studying him, Han Lie grew as uneasy as a dog caught at the doorway by its owner after staying out all night, waiting to be beaten with a stick.
Did the Supreme Deity dislike killing?
Before he could say a word in his own defense, Qin Ying said, “That was a little risky.”
Qin Ying was not opposed to him cutting the weeds and pulling out the roots to eliminate future trouble. It was just that the Fengshan Elite Cavalry was, after all, a military camp.
Han Lie had infiltrated it after transforming into a Monstrous Beast. What if something dangerous had happened?
Seeing that she was not blaming him, Han Lie relaxed quite a bit.
He said quietly, “I know the layout. It wasn’t dangerous.”
Qin Ying, who had come out in the middle of the night to catch someone, had now seen enough of the starry sky and yawned.
“Fine. You pass this time.”
Grabbing the felt blanket draped over her shoulders, she stood and turned back into the cave dwelling to sleep.
Han Lie did not leave at once. Instead, he kept silent watch beside the bonfire until daybreak, then departed as the vanguard guide, leading the group toward Golden Saddle Mountain.
Compared with the Blackstone Tribe, which had a spring and could indulge in baths, life in the Kuxi Tribe was a bit harder.
Early the next morning, Qin Ying was woken by waves of children chattering noisily.
Her back and waist ached from sleep. Rubbing her numb arm, she opened the door and looked outside.
Three or five children from the Kuxi Tribe ran past below the terrace, earthenware jars balanced on their heads.
Seeing Qin Ying come out, Aman, who had been eating something in front of the door, quickly straightened up.
Only on closer inspection did she realize he was holding a flatbread that looked dry as dust.
He stuffed the flatbread into his clothes, then went to move a water jar and pour washing water for Qin Ying.
All the water in the Kuxi Tribe came from a cellar well dug five levels downward in the center of the village.
It had a rusty smell.
Qin Ying could not help frowning as she rinsed her mouth with it, worried for the health of the Sand People here.
Cries drifted over on the wind.
Qin Ying looked over and saw many people gathered before an oxblood-red cave dwelling halfway up the mountainside.
The Old Shaman Qin Ying had once seen, the one whose face was covered in metal studs, was holding a section of leg bone from some unknown animal.
From the look of it, he was performing some sort of ritual. Beside him, a married couple sobbed uncontrollably.
On the grass mat in front of them lay a child.
The child looked about six or seven, clutching his stomach as he rolled around.
Qin Ying frowned at the sight. She called Aman over and asked, “What’s going on over there?”
At the moment, Aman was the only one around who could speak the Great Xia language, so he had been staying by Qin Ying’s side the entire time.
At her question, he sighed, sounding as if he had long since grown used to it. “That child has come down with a diarrheal illness. He’s about to die.”
“They say this land of the Kuxi Tribe was once cursed. The people of the tribe often suffer from strange diseases.”
“Adults and children alike have skin colors unlike ordinary people. They often vomit and have diarrhea. Those who can’t endure it die.”
When he spoke of death, Aman’s tone was numb. “The people of the Kuxi Tribe smear their faces in all those bright colors precisely because their skin is abnormal.”
“They’re a bit wrong in the head most days too.” He thought for a moment, then muttered under his breath, “Kind of mad.”
Qin Ying, whose mouth was filled with the taste of rust, only knitted her brows tighter.
Abnormal skin color, abdominal pain, diarrhea…
She looked more closely at the people of the Kuxi Tribe and found that all of them were very thin.
Adding in the strange taste of the water, Qin Ying felt more and more that this was not some mysterious illness. It seemed more like a physical problem caused by years of drinking water with an excessively high iron content.
As she thought, Qin Ying said to Aman, “Let’s go take a look.”
The two of them walked over, and the crying grew louder.
The Old Shaman with the face full of metal studs was crying too.
After surviving all those calamities, the village had not had many newborns to begin with. Now this child had been raised with such difficulty to the age of six, only to be on the verge of death again.
Grief filled his heart. Silently, he prayed to the god of their new faith, while his fingers traced a symbol in front of his chest.
The next second, he heard Qin Ying ask, “What’s wrong with the child?”
The Old Shaman jolted. That was right. The Divine Envoy was here in their Kuxi Tribe!
His gaze, brimming with hope, fell on Qin Ying.
Qin Ying did not disappoint him. After stepping closer, she carefully examined the child on the grass mat.
The child’s face was also painted with the crimson patterns of the Kuxi Tribe. He wore a double-layered ramie garment, but no pants.
His two thin, wasted legs hung limply, and the grass mat was covered in watery stool. Perhaps because he had been passing it for too long, there was barely any smell left.
There were some red patches on the child’s exposed thighs.
Qin Ying looked around. Only after taking a closer look did she realize that many of the Sand People had similar patches on their necks and behind their ears.
Her mind settled. It was definitely iron overload toxicity caused by excessive iron intake.
The Kuxi Tribe had been built on crimson sandstone to begin with, and their water storage cisterns were dug deep underground.
The water they drank year-round contained far too much iron.
Even if Qin Ying was no professional, she still knew that this could cause pigmentation, liver and kidney abnormalities, and digestive tract diseases.
Her expression was hidden behind her veil, but the Old Shaman of the Kuxi Tribe was very sharp. With a shift of thought, he moved closer with a hint of joy.
Through Aman, he asked, “God… no, Shaman Ah Ying, do you have a way?”
Qin Ying had not widely publicized the Divine Envoy guise she had put on for herself, so the Old Shaman changed his form of address at the last moment.
Qin Ying nodded quickly.
The child on the ground was still suffering nonstop diarrhea. A life was at stake, and even her speech sped up considerably.
“I have some idea.”
She signaled for the Old Shaman and Aman to walk with her as they talked.
Once they reached a deserted spot, she said, “Find me an earthen kiln without a roof.”
“I’ll first think of a way to get medicine to stop the child’s diarrhea.”