Chapter 78: The Clothing Shop Lady

After changing into a crisp white ruffled blouse and brown plaid wide-legged overalls, Yun Qimu once again looked every bit the refined lady. She walked out of the earthen house with elegance and composure.

She greeted Aunt Meifang next door, who was excitedly dragging her son along, with a gentle smile. Even as Meifang showered her with exaggerated praise, Yun Qimu maintained her graceful poise.

Only when no one was looking did she quietly twist her aching waist and arms in a hidden corner, swallowing her exhaustion and bitterness.

Yun Qimu thought: As long as she kept up the act, fatigue wouldn’t be able to catch up with her.

“Village Chief Yun.”

“Village Chief Yun, you’re here! We can set off now.”

The Tengu tribespeople in the square, upon seeing Yun Qimu arrive, immediately hoisted their bags, eager and impatient to depart. There was no trace of sadness about leaving the land their ancestors had inhabited for generations.

Only the chief, Masa, cast a few lingering, nostalgic glances at the caves and earthen houses of the tribe, expressing his fondness.

Yun Qimu raised her hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. She spoke gently, “It’s not quite eight o’clock yet. Please check your headcount and luggage to make sure nothing and no one is left behind. Once we set off, we won’t be turning back.”

“Yes, yes, Village Chief Yun is always so thoughtful.” Masa shot a glare at his tribe, who seemed to have no sentimentality at all, and grumbled, “Go on, everyone double-check your families and belongings for anything you might have forgotten.”

“Hehe, got it, Chief.”

“We’re just too excited! Don’t you want to get to Earth Village early and eat that delicious roast chicken?”

Masa, who still had a chicken bone hidden in his pocket, blushed and glared at the joking tribesman. “You glutton! Fine, you’re in charge of the headcount.”

“Alright, alright, Chief, we’ve already counted. Everyone’s here except for Mana.”

“Mana—” Masa seemed to suddenly remember he had a sister. He awkwardly looked away and glanced at Awa, who stood there like a wooden post—his face stern, but his eyes blank, his mind clearly elsewhere.

“Awa, Awa, do you know where your wife’s gone? Why are you just standing here? Go home and check!”

Awa snapped back to reality, slinging his small bundle over his shoulder and walking over with a look of grievance and confusion. “Chief, she wasn’t at home. She often doesn’t come back at night, just like before. You never told me to look after her.”

The tribespeople erupted in an uproar.

“What? Mana often doesn’t come home at night? Don’t tell me she’s sneaking into some man’s bed?”

“If she’s not in our tribe, maybe she’s in another.”

“I always knew that woman was no good. Only the chief protects her. Poor Awa, putting up with her for so many years.”

“Yeah, Chief, that’s not right. You know what kind of person Mana is, and you’re just taking advantage of Awa not having parents. Otherwise, someone like Mana would have been divorced long ago.”

“Finally, it’s out in the open! I’ve been holding this in for ages. Ever since Awa married Mana, he’s always hungry on hunting trips. Poor thing.”

“Yeah, Awa’s so pitiful. His wife won’t even warm his bed, and she won’t let him sleep in it either.”

Masa’s face turned red with embarrassment. He hadn’t realized Mana was so outrageous. He glared at the blockheaded Awa. “Why didn’t you say something sooner? If you had, I—I…”

Awa’s eyes lit up. “If I’d said something sooner, would you have let me divorce her?”

“I…” Masa was instantly at a loss for words.

Given how obsessed Mana was with Awa, if he agreed to their divorce, she’d probably tear his house apart.

But if he didn’t… Looking at the indignant tribespeople, then at Awa’s hopeful eyes, Masa huffed and puffed but couldn’t come up with a solution.

“Village Chief Yun, Village Chief Yun…”

A voice, weary and anxious, called from outside the tribe.

Yun Qimu, who was sneaking a bite of pumpkin while everyone was distracted, suddenly choked.

She grabbed a bottle of strawberry-flavored nutrient drink and took a few gulps to wash down the sticky pumpkin, then looked toward the entrance.

There she saw the delicate young lady she’d rescued yesterday—Dailisi—her face flushed, breathless, supporting a tall, thin, soot-covered man as they struggled toward the group.

Masa let out a sigh of relief and hurried over with enthusiasm. “Why, if it isn’t Miss Dailisi! What brings you here?”

Awa, left to the side, looked even more dejected, his stern face full of disappointment and grievance, though he said nothing.

Yun Qimu glanced at him, then followed Masa over.

“We’ve come to join Village Chief Yun. We want to go to Earth Village too.”

Before Yun Qimu could reply, Dailisi, teary-eyed and emotional, quickly explained their intentions.

She also angrily recounted what happened after she was rescued yesterday and went back to find Agulai.

It turned out that after being separated from her father during the magnetic storm, she was saved by Agulai, who secretly hid her in the Red Fox Tribe. But Agulai’s only close relative there discovered her and told the Red Fox chief.

The Red Fox chief was a nasty old man, and immediately sold her whereabouts to Blackbeard in exchange for a crate of nutrient drinks.

That’s why those three space pirates came for her yesterday.

The Red Fox tribespeople even helped the villains, blocking Agulai when he tried to save her, and he was badly injured by the three pirates.

When she returned after being rescued, she found that no one in the tribe had helped Agulai—they just left him lying on the ground, unattended.

In the middle of the night, while Agulai was too badly hurt to resist, they brazenly broke into his house and stole everything he owned.

With no other choice, Dailisi gritted her teeth, wiped her tears, and escaped with Agulai at dawn to seek refuge with Yun Qimu.

Yun Qimu patted her drooping little head. What an unlucky kid.

“Alright, you can come with us to Earth Village.”

“But your savior Agulai is pretty badly hurt. The journey won’t be easy.”

Agulai, lips pale, was biting back the pain. Though barely conscious and muddled, he still refused to put all his weight on Dailisi. Sweat poured down his forehead, a testament to his determination.

But looking at his still-bleeding stomach, Yun Qimu thought, this is more than just a tough journey—if he doesn’t get help soon, he might not make it at all."