Chapter 61: The Signboard Advertisement

When Chief Masa of the Tengu Tribe arrived with the messenger and a crowd of curious tribespeople, they saw the Black Tiger Tribe members storming off, carrying two large crates on their shoulders.

“Oh my, why did Blackbeard leave so abruptly? Is he looking down on Shakela?”

A voluptuous, beautiful woman beside Chief Masa craned her neck and swayed her hips as she mocked in a sweet, delicate voice.

She wore a dark red dress cinched at the waist with two cords, perfectly accentuating her figure. Her complexion was fairer than the other women’s, making her stand out as the most striking woman in the tribe.

“Mana, watch your mouth,” Masa said, his face stern as he shot her a glare.

“Hmph, big brother, I’m just telling it like it is. Blackbeard was going to marry Shakela with two crates of low-grade nutrient solution—two whole crates! That’s enough to feed our tribe for half a month. Trading something so valuable for just Shakela? If you ask me, it’s not worth it. Now the Blackbeard Chief has changed his mind, hasn’t he?”

“Mana, that’s enough. Be quiet!”

Masa barked again, making Mana freeze in fear. She stomped her foot in frustration.

Hmph! Her big brother always favored Shakela. Clearly, she was the true jewel of the tribe.

But Masa ignored her. His sharp, shrewd eyes had already spotted Luke standing at the back of the crowd.

Luke’s face was a bit plumper and paler than before, not at all like someone who had just survived a disaster. But the sudden darkness clouding his expression was intimidating.

“Uncle, is what Mana said true? You were going to send Shakela away in exchange for two crates of low-grade nutrient solution?”

His rough, heavy voice was thick with anger as he glared at Masa through the crowd, jaw clenched so hard it ached, his whole body trembling.

Masa looked away, a flash of embarrassment and guilt crossing his stern face. “Luke, don’t be angry. After the magnetic core storm, we lost all contact with your tribe. We couldn’t even find your bodies—we thought you were all gone. That’s why we considered letting Shakela remarry.”

The surrounding tribespeople parted as Masa walked up to Luke and his family, casting a pained glance at the child in Luke’s arms.

He looked back at Luke and sighed heavily. “You know as well as I do—recently, there have been far fewer ships dumping trash in the northern zone. We can’t go to the big cities to buy nutrient solution anymore. And the magnetic core storm hit us out of nowhere—we weren’t prepared. Now, even our own tribe is running out of food, let alone Shakela and Little Mao, who are no longer part of our tribe. We have our rules. Our supplies can’t be given to them.”

“Shakela and her son, plus the two kids from your tribe who came with you, barely have anything left. They lost their supplies on the road. If things go on like this, they won’t survive. I only suggested she find another husband for her own good.”

“It just so happened that Blackbeard wanted a chief’s wife and was willing to offer two crates of low-grade nutrient solution as a bride price. If Shakela married him, she’d have a good life. But whether she agreed or not was entirely up to her. We didn’t force her. If she refused, there were plenty of girls in our tribe willing to take her place.”

Shakela quickly tugged Luke’s sleeve and explained, “Uncle isn’t lying. He didn’t force me. These past few days, we only survived thanks to Uncle’s generosity—he shared two bottles of nutrient solution with me, Little Mao, and the two kids from our tribe. Many girls in the Tengu Tribe envy me for Blackbeard’s two crates of nutrient solution and want to take my place. Uncle only persuaded me for my and Little Mao’s sake.”

Luke’s expression softened a bit at her words.

He silently took three bottles of nutrient solution from his coat and handed them to Masa.

“I was wrong to blame you, Uncle. Thank you for taking care of my wife, child, and our tribespeople these past few days. These two bottles are to repay you, and the third is a token of my gratitude.”

Masa’s eyes widened in astonishment as he looked at the bottles of pure, crystal-clear orange nutrient solution in his hands. His eyes lit up. “This… this is premium—no, top-grade nutrient solution! I’ve found premium nutrient solution in the trash before, but even then, there were still white particles floating in it, making it look cloudy. But this… there’s not a single impurity!”

His hands trembled with excitement, not daring to take the bottles right away.

The surrounding Tengu tribespeople erupted in shock.

“Luke actually took out three bottles of top-grade nutrient solution!”

“Amazing! Where did he get them? Was it from the berserk beast horde? No wonder he risked his life to lead the tribe through the magnetic core storm.”

“Hahaha… No one will look down on Luke now. He’s even more impressive than our tribe’s top warrior, Awa!”

“Yeah, Shakela really married the right man.”

In the crowd, the one who couldn’t accept this the most was Mana.

She stared in disbelief, pushing through the crowd and shrieking, “Impossible! Impossible! How could that useless Luke possibly have top-grade nutrient solution?!”

Awa, his bronze face heavy, pulled the hysterical woman away in disgust. “Enough! It’s true. Are you really that jealous that Shakela married well? After all these years, your heart is still so vicious.”

Mana turned to glare at her husband and roared, “Why would I be jealous of her? Isn’t it because of you? You like her! Even though you’re my husband now, you still think about her, don’t you? How am I any worse than her? She’s not as pretty as me, her status isn’t as high as mine—I’m the chief’s own sister! She’s just an orphan, my brother’s niece by a distant bloodline!”

“Because she’s kinder than you.”

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Yun Qimu never expected to witness such a melodramatic scene.

Watching Mana’s hysterics, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Mana immediately turned and glared at her, but the moment she saw Yun Qimu’s face, she froze.

Her eyes bulged, her twisted, ferocious face suddenly looking ridiculous. She pointed at Yun Qimu, but couldn’t get the words out. “You, you, you…”

Yun Qimu blinked innocently at her. “I’ve been standing here the whole time. I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose. Just pretend I’m not here—go on, keep arguing! I think this drama’s pretty good. In fact, I even brought a cucumber so I can be a proper spectator.”

As she spoke, she really did pull out a fresh, green cucumber and started munching on it with a loud, satisfying crunch, clearly enjoying herself.

Mana was so furious her chest heaved violently. She nearly fainted from lack of air.

Awa, ever the calm one, just shot Mana a cold glance, not bothering to help or comfort her.

Instead, his sharp eyes drifted to the cucumber in Yun Qimu’s hand, and he swallowed almost imperceptibly."