Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Bonus Chapter for Yue Nuo’s Reward

“Da Ya?” Chang Xia came over, curious.

Feng Ye and Nuan Chun both covered their mouths, trying not to laugh. Shan Kun and Kong Shan just coughed awkwardly, not daring to chime in. Honestly, they couldn’t understand it either—Da Ya was pretty nice, so what was Ya Dong so reluctant about?

He kept saying he wanted to find a female mate, but whenever one showed interest, he ran away like she was the plague.

Ya Dong was like two completely different people—no one could figure him out.

“Da Ya is a female from the Bear Tribe of the Great Earth Tribe. A few years ago, she met Ya Dong by chance at the Normandy Market and took a liking to him. She asked if he wanted to go back to the Great Earth Tribe with her, but Ya Dong refused. Later, Da Ya said she’d be willing to come to the Heluo Tribe for him…”

While Nanfeng explained, she was clutching her stomach and laughing.

Except for the little ones like Shanjue, everyone else at the table was eyeing Yadong with curiosity.

“Daya—is she not good-looking?” Changxia asked. Yadong had often said he wanted to find a mate, so why had he turned Daya down?

Nanfeng thought for a moment before replying, “Daya looks about sixty percent like Maple Leaf, very pretty. She’s from the Bear Tribe, and she’s also a totem warrior.”

“Daya is really strong,” Maple Leaf confirmed. If Daya hadn’t set her sights on Yadong from the Heluo Tribe, the Earth Tribe would never have agreed to let her marry out.

Usually, strong beast tribes rarely let their people marry outside, and when they do, it’s usually to weaker tribes. Even intermarriage between strong tribes is uncommon, since to survive in the Twilight Forest, a tribe must maintain its own strength. Marrying into a weaker tribe could dilute their bloodline.

Back then, all the males from the tribes had rejected Changxia—not just because she was frail, but also for these reasons.

Offspring and inheritance are eternal concerns for any tribe.

“Yadong, why?” Changxia stared at him, asking.

Everyone else was curious too. Whether in looks or strength, Daya was top-tier. On what grounds had Yadong refused her?

When the tribe first learned Yadong had turned down Daya’s proposal, Elder Yami had personally given him a beating. Usually, it was Elder Pukang who did the scolding, but that time, Elder Yami had stepped in herself, showing just how angry she was.

“…” Yadong’s face twisted.

He must have been out of his mind earlier to provoke Nanfeng.

Daya—

That female was terrifying, okay?

Every time he thought of her name, Yadong felt a chill run down his spine. He, a dignified totem warrior of the Heluo Tribe, had actually been pinned down and wrung dry by a female!

Who would believe such a thing?

They’d met at the Normandy Grand Market and hit it off at first sight.

But actually, they’d met before that—and had even spent an indescribable night together.

If Yadong had known she’d show up at the Normandy Grand Market, he wouldn’t have gone for anything in the world.

Why go?

To be mocked? Or humiliated?

Yadong was in such a rush to find a mate, all because he wanted to wash away that humiliation as soon as possible.

But ever since Daya shamelessly declared she wanted to come to the Heluo Tribe with him, all the females in the tribe who’d been interested in him had disappeared.

Now, whenever they saw him, it was like they were looking at a heartless scoundrel.

Damn it—

He was the one who’d been wronged the most!

“…Can’t you tell us?” Changxia whispered.

Yadong’s expression was so fierce it was scary, and Changxia was a little intimidated. But she couldn’t help wondering if something had happened between the two of them.

The more she thought about it, the more her mind ran wild, all sorts of love-hate entanglements flooding in.

Yadong said, aggrieved, “No, nothing happened. Nothing at all.”

Right!

He and that violent she-bear had absolutely nothing between them.

Taking a deep breath, Yadong forced down his irritation and managed a smile at Changxia, though he didn’t realize that his smile was even scarier than a grimace.

Luckily, he was only smiling at Changxia.

If he’d smiled at Shanjue and the others, he probably would’ve scared a few of the timid little ones to tears.

“Yadong, stop smiling,” Chen Rong said, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter. He reached out to straighten Yadong’s face and reminded him, “You look terrifying when you smile, you’ll scare people. Anyway, where were we with Mount Wei? Let’s keep going—I’m really curious about what kind of poisonous mists could make people sick, and that ‘poison ring’ sounds fascinating.”

After leaving the Western Lands, Chen Rong had traveled to many places.

He’d seen and heard all kinds of strange things.

But he’d never come across anything quite like Mount Wei.

Chen Rong had witnessed the terrifying strength of the Heluo Tribe’s elders, and had even sparred with some of their young totem warriors.

There was no denying it—the Heluo Tribe as a whole was incredibly powerful.

And yet, even such a strong tribe was helpless in the face of Mount Wei right on their doorstep. How could Chen Rong not be curious, or resist the urge to investigate?

“…We were talking about the third barrier of Mount Wei,” Yadong said quickly.

He couldn’t wait for the topic to shift away from himself. He’d never talk about what happened with Daya—too embarrassing, too awkward.

“The unknown third barrier of Mount Wei,” Changxia said, withdrawing her gaze from Yadong. “Have even the tribe elders never entered the depths of Mount Wei?”

With the abilities of Elder Pukang and Elder Yami, could a mere Mount Wei really stop them?

“I heard the elders tried going there when they were young,” Maple Leaf said.

She’d asked Elder Pukang about it.

He was thick-skinned enough to admit he’d gone to Mount Wei in his youth.

But even so, he’d never managed to get into the mountain’s depths. He said Mount Wei was strange—if you tried to leave the poison ring and enter the third barrier, no matter which direction you went, you’d always end up back in the poison ring.

No matter how many times you tried, the result was always the same.

“So what happened in the end?”

Everyone stared at Maple Leaf, curious.

None of them knew about this.

Maple Leaf knew, probably because Elder Pukang had told her.

“They failed. The poison ring is like a circle—no matter which way you try to enter the mountain’s depths, you always end up back in the ring,” Maple Leaf said.

That was what Elder Pukang had told her.

So, to this day, no one has ever conquered Mount Wei.

Naturally, no one knows what treasures might be hidden deep inside.

For hundreds and thousands of years, the only constant has been the ever-present poisonous mists of Mount Wei, and the endless stream of poisonous creatures.

“That’s incredible!” Changxia exclaimed, shocked.

Chen Rong’s eyes were wide with curiosity as well.

A mountain that even the tribe elders couldn’t conquer—now that was fascinating. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to venture into Mount Wei and uncover its secrets.

"Even if the ending is failure!

“I want to go!” Chen Rong sighed, exchanging a glance with Chang Xia. In that moment, they both realized they were thinking the exact same thing.

Maple Leaf shot the two of them a glare and warned, “Don’t go courting death. Wei Mountain is dangerous!”

“Don’t worry, we know our limits,” Chang Xia replied with a cheerful smile.

Nuan Chun added, “I hope you really do know your limits. Chang Xia, if you ever truly want to go to Wei Mountain, you must tell us. Absolutely no sneaking in on your own.”

“That’s right, Chang Xia, don’t do anything reckless,” Nan Feng chimed in.

The dangers of Wei Mountain were no joke.