Chapter 161
Chapter 161
Woooo…
Hollowed-out Sand Lizard leg bones jutted from the red cliff outside the Kuxi Tribe’s village.
Wind holes had been bored into the tops of those thick bones, causing them to release a shrill wail whenever the wind shifted in an unusual direction.
Beneath the steadily rising sun, horse-sized mounts with four ratlike, clawed feet raced across the gravel at full speed, unhindered in the slightest.
The red sand kicked up beneath their paws resembled a mist of blood.
Qin Ying came outside with Aman and the others just in time to see the cloud of dust in the distance.
There were not many cavalrymen approaching, only thirty or so riders.
But no one dared underestimate them.
The Kuxi Tribe’s Village Chief had died in the great disaster. Now the Old Village Chief, whose back was so bent he could no longer straighten it, was negotiating with the Fengshan Elite Cavalry.
Unfortunately, the Old Village Chief was nearly blind and deaf, and the language barrier made communication painfully slow.
When Qin Ying and the other two arrived, the Old Village Chief breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside with the aid of his cane.
The man negotiating with the Old Village Chief had probably long since lost patience with the old man and seemed pleased to see someone else take over.
But after sweeping a glance over Qin Ying and her companions, his expression immediately fell again.
The Kuxi Tribe’s Old Shaman had garish paint slathered over his skin and metal nails piercing his face.
Aman’s face was wrapped in strips of bandage, while his black robes made him look decidedly sinister.
As for Qin Ying, her newly changed beige windproof hooded robe and veil concealed her face entirely.
Judging by appearances alone, the three of them together looked like a thoroughly disreputable bunch.
The soldier who knew the language of the Sand People and had come along as an interpreter looked thoroughly impatient. In the end, his gaze settled on Qin Ying.
“Yesterday, some of our soldiers ate food here in the Kuxi Tribe. Since this morning, they’ve been vomiting and suffering from relentless diarrhea, along with violent hallucinations.”
“We examined their vomit and excrement. Every silver needle the army physician used turned blue.”
“What exactly caused this? We expect an explanation!”
His voice dropped on the final sentence, making the threat in his words unmistakable.
Qin Ying had no idea why he had inexplicably chosen to direct all this at her, but the man was not lying.
Soldiers from the Fengshan Elite Cavalry really had been poisoned by something they ate in the Kuxi Tribe, and silver needles had confirmed the presence of poison.
Since he was shouting at her, Qin Ying was not about to hide behind the others.
With her hands tucked into her sleeves, she said softly, “We are already aware of the situation. Please wait a moment while I ask around the tribe and find out what happened.”
Hearing her speak the language of Great Xia fluently and answer in a clear, organized manner, the soldier softened his tone slightly. “Hurry up!”
Qin Ying acknowledged him, then turned and sought out members of the Kuxi Tribe who knew what had happened.
Only after questioning them, with Aman interpreting in real time, did she learn that two soldiers from the Fengshan Elite Cavalry had indeed come by the previous day.
Whether out of contempt or because they did not want to cause trouble, the Fengshan Elite Cavalry had not stationed troops within the Kuxi Tribe.
They did, however, send people to inspect the village every day.
Despite such high-handed behavior, no one in the Kuxi Tribe dared voice a word of protest. After all, that enormous encampment ringed by giant beasts was simply too terrifying.
They had parked an entire mobile fortress right outside the tribe’s front door. Were the tribespeople supposed to charge out with scimitars and risk their lives for the sake of pride?
The Kuxi Tribe had simply thrown its gates wide open and cooperated fully with every inspection.
The inspectors on the first day had been harmless enough. They merely circled the village once before leaving.
But yesterday, two army louts had arrived.
Once inside the village, their shifty eyes roved over the women. When they discovered that the Kuxi women all tended to smear their faces until they looked filthy, the soldiers began demanding money instead.
But most of the Kuxi Tribe’s gold and silver had already been gathered and sent to the Blackstone Tribe as offerings. There was no spare money left.
The two army louts cursed up a storm before forcibly taking two dry flatbreads made from camel-thorn flour and a bag of sand-rat jerky from the Village Chief’s home.
Qin Ying frowned upon hearing this.
For one thing, she felt it was wrong for these Sand People to empty their coffers to make offerings to her, and she resolved to return those small gold trinkets later.
For another…
“Did those two drink any water while they were in the tribe?”
Qin Ying had initially guessed that the two men might not be accustomed to the Kuxi Tribe’s water, resulting in some sort of gastrointestinal distress.
But from the sound of things, that did not seem to be the case.
The Old Village Chief’s brows had drooped with worry. When he heard Aman relay the question, he smiled bitterly.
“Their water is better than ours. They don’t drink ours.”
The gap-toothed Old Village Chief was truly terrible at explaining himself.
Still, Qin Ying managed to confirm one thing: the two soldiers had indeed never drunk the Kuxi Tribe’s water.
As for the accusation of poisoning, that was absurd. The Sand People would never have the nerve.
She sighed and went back to find the men of the Fengshan Elite Cavalry.
“Officer, to tell you the truth, a child in the Kuxi Tribe nearly died today as well.”
“He also suffered from nonstop diarrhea.”
There was no guarantee the two incidents were related. Qin Ying only said this to establish that the tribe was suffering too and dispel as much suspicion of poisoning as possible.
Afraid they would not believe her, Qin Ying took them to the child’s home.
Everything had happened so quickly that the child’s bottom was still bare, and no one had even had time to clean the mess from the straw mat beneath him. His wretched condition could not have been staged on such short notice.
The expression of the Fengshan Elite Cavalry soldier sent to negotiate softened somewhat.
He crouched down and felt the child’s pulse. Finding it weak enough to confirm that the boy had indeed nearly died, he finally stood again.
Seeing the child’s mother holding a wooden bowl, he asked, “What medicine is he taking?”
The woman from the Kuxi Tribe did not understand the language of Great Xia. She stood there helplessly, holding a bowl of water mixed with Rehydration Salts.
Only after Aman translated did she explain that Qin Ying had given her the medicine to keep her child from dying of diarrhea.
The Fengshan Elite Cavalry soldier’s gaze naturally shifted to Qin Ying.
He straightened up, dipped a finger into the bowl, and tasted the liquid.
The sweet and salty flavor touched the tip of his tongue. He immediately ordered, “Hand over all of this medicine.”
There was no reasoning with brute force. The soldier acted overbearingly and jabbed a finger toward Qin Ying. “You’re coming with me.”
Aman immediately grew anxious.
Qin Ying, however, nodded. “All right.”
“As it happens, I’ve prepared a modest gift to thank General Chen for giving me medicine.”
Qin Ying had brought the two Yao Grass plants Han Lie had exchanged military merit for, and was now brazenly claiming that General Chen had gifted her medicine.
That shameless bit of name-dropping immediately took the wind out of the formerly domineering soldier’s sails.
“You know General Chen?”
Qin Ying replied calmly, “I do.”
Whether General Chen knew her was another matter entirely.
Sure enough, the soldier’s expression improved considerably. “Then please come with us. If this is a misunderstanding, it would be best to clear it up as soon as possible.”
He stepped aside and gestured for her to proceed.
Qin Ying followed them back to the Fengshan Elite Cavalry camp and was escorted all the way into the rear encampment.
Inside a tent in the infirmary, the two soldiers lay with sticks clenched between their teeth. Their teeth had sunk so deeply into the wood that blood seeped from their gums.
Their tongues kept retracting into their throats, and from time to time, they let out indistinct, delirious murmurs.
As Qin Ying approached, the sour stench nearly knocked her off her feet.
For once, she was grateful for the veil over her face. It could not block much of the smell, but at least she did not have to face it completely unprotected.
She complained inwardly but maintained a calm expression as she stepped forward to examine them.
The Fengshan Elite Cavalry had fifteen military physicians. All of them were skilled at treating the lacerations and bite wounds sustained in fights with wild beasts, and they were also adept at treating poisons.
This time, however, the two groaning soldiers had left them at a loss.
They had already tested for poison with silver needles and administered antidotes, yet neither man showed any improvement.
They had not even managed to determine what kind of poison it was.
How could they not be at their wits’ end?
It was amid this strange, oppressive atmosphere that Qin Ying was brought inside.