Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Gu Poison

At the long table—

The minced meat, bird egg, wild vegetable, and fruit flour pancakes were steaming hot, their aroma irresistible. The fresh, sweet bone broth filled the air with deliciousness even before anyone took a bite.

If anyone had doubted Nan Feng’s praise before, they didn’t now.

Su Ye and Baiqing were completely convinced—Changxia’s cooking was both delicious and mouthwatering.

“Baiqing, have some soup first,” Muqin reminded him.

Changxia smiled and pointed to the stone pot simmering with bone broth. “Ever since Nan Feng and the others first tasted bone broth, this pot hasn’t stopped simmering. Last night, after dinner, I added a few more bones and let it cook all night—the marrow’s all come out.”

Mentioning the marrow, Nan Feng couldn’t help licking her lips.

“Wu, Baiqing, take a bone and suck out the marrow—it’s delicious. Nuan Chun’s been craving it lately, so Changxia saves the marrow for her,” Nan Feng said.

She regretted that in the past, they used to throw away bones and offal.

Since Changxia arrived, the tribe realized there was nothing that couldn’t be eaten—what they thought was inedible was just what they didn’t know how to eat!

“Nan Feng, are you talking about me again?” Nuan Chun, cradling her round belly, ambled over from the tribe. Climbing the slope, she saw Wu and Baiqing eating and smiled, “Wu, Baiqing, when did you get here? Why didn’t anyone say anything?”

“Come, sit,” Su Ye said, having Baiqing pull out a chair for Nuan Chun. As they sipped soup and ate pancakes, she asked Nuan Chun how she was feeling.

Muqin set aside a portion of breakfast for Nuan Chun.

Nan Feng finished cleaning the fish, sliced them, and put them in the pot to stew. Changxia steamed the noodle sheets, planning to make fish noodles. Once the noodles were ready, Nan Feng would go call Chenrong and the others from the next hill for breakfast.

Judging by Chen Rong and the others, it seemed they wanted to finish building the cave dwelling in a single day.

That way, they could free up time to plaster the mud walls, build the heated bed, and install the doors and windows.

Once that was done, after airing it out for another day or two, they could start moving things in.

After all, the rainy season was approaching and the weather was hot, so the cave would dry quickly. There weren’t any harmful substances to worry about, so it would be safe to move in right away.

“Eh?” Su Ye suddenly exclaimed, looking at Nuanchun in surprise.

She reached out to check on Nuanchun again, repeating the process twice.

Su Ye focused her attention on Nuanchun, pressing her hand gently against Nuanchun’s round belly, occasionally pressing lightly. Then, a genuine smile of joy spread across her face.

Su Ye’s actions startled the people nearby.

Changxia’s hand, which had been stirring the fish soup, unconsciously slowed down.

Su Ye’s cautious movements made everyone nervous—was something wrong with Nuanchun?

Even Chen Rong and his group, who were approaching from a distance, held their breath. Shankun was so frightened his legs went weak; thankfully, Yadong and Kongshan were quick to catch and support him.

“Calm down!” Chen Rong barked, snapping Shankun out of it.

“Don’t worry, Nuanchun is fine.”

Hearing this, Su Ye looked up at Shankun.

“If I’m not mistaken, Nuanchun is carrying twins. She’s been a bit undernourished, which is why she’s been so sleepy lately. Just make sure she eats a bit more and she’ll be fine.”

“Twins? The last time twins were born in the Twilight Forest was a hundred years ago.”

“That pair was born in the Sky Wolf Tribe, to the wolf clan.”

At the mention of the wolf clan, Su Ye’s deep gaze fell on Chen Rong.

There was nostalgia, remembrance, and a touch of melancholy in her eyes—ultimately, her emotions were complicated.

Su Ye sighed softly and said to Chen Rong, “Child, welcome home.”

“Chen Rong greets the shaman,” Chen Rong said respectfully.

At the same time, he took out the wolf fang pendant he wore around his neck. Unlike the miracle necklace, this wolf fang pendant was a coming-of-age gift from the shaman to his mother. Previously, when he had the miracle necklace, he wore the wolf fang on his wrist. After giving the miracle necklace to Changxia as a token of their bond, he started wearing the wolf fang around his neck.

That’s right—Chen Rong’s mother, Xingya, knew Su Ye.

In fact, they seemed to have been quite close.

Shamans lived much longer than ordinary beastfolk.

“Grandma Su Ye, you know Chen Rong?” Changxia asked in surprise.

The others all looked equally astonished. Clearly, none of them had expected the shaman to know Chen Rong.

“I do. The first time I met him, he was just this little—just a bit bigger than you. He was covered in soft fur, a very handsome little wolf cub.” Su Ye smiled, gesturing in the air to show his size.

Chen Rong looked a bit embarrassed and rubbed his nose with a smile.

That was when Yuanhou took him away from the Twilight Forest, and Su Ye happened to be visiting the Sky Wolf Tribe. Xingya had died in childbirth, passing too quickly. By the time Su Ye arrived, Xingya was already gone.

It was Su Ye who helped name Chen Rong, hoping he would stay far from war and chaos and live a smooth life. Ironically, Chen Rong ended up on a path completely opposite to Su Ye’s blessing. If he hadn’t been poisoned and gravely injured this time, the Yuan family would never have let him leave.

Seeing Chen Rong’s embarrassed expression, Su Ye asked, “Now that you’re back in the Twilight Forest, have you visited your great-grandfather in the Sky Wolf Tribe?”

“No,” Chen Rong replied with a wry smile. “Coming to the Heluo Tribe was an accident.”

“Grandma Su Ye, I picked Chen Rong up at the Normandy Market. He’d been poisoned and was close to death,” Changxia explained, pouting.

When she first met Chen Rong, Changxia had sensed the aura of death around him.

Death was something Changxia had once been all too familiar with.

She chose Chen Rong as her mate not just because of his looks, but also because she wanted to save him. Back when Su Ye and the Heluo Tribe had helped her, Changxia wanted to pass on that kindness.

After spending time together, their relationship had grown deeper.

Perhaps, it was all destined.

Their meeting and connection were the result of fate’s intricate weaving.

“Poisoned—” Su Ye’s expression changed. She motioned for Chen Rong to sit down. The news about Nuanchun’s twins was momentarily forgotten as everyone, even Nuanchun, turned to look at Chen Rong curiously.

“Gu poison, a trick of the Nan Yue barbarians from the western lands. The Tianyuan Tribe is the strongest in the west—how did the remnants of the Nan Yue barbarians dare use gu poison on you?” Su Ye’s face darkened as she looked at Chen Rong in confusion. Back then, Yuanhou had taken Chen Rong back west with the approval of both her and the Sky Wolf Tribe, promising to take good care of him. After all, with Chen Rong’s awakened wolf bloodline, the Yuan family would never have let him wander outside.

The others present didn’t know what kind of power the Tianyuan Tribe held,

but Su Ye knew very well.

The strongest tribe in the west wasn’t just an empty title.

Over a third of the western tribes answered to the Tianyuan Tribe. Chen Rong was from the Yuan family, a noble house of the Tianyuan Tribe—his status was extraordinary.

To use gu poison on Chen Rong was to challenge the Yuan family itself.

If this ever came to light, it would surely bring the Yuan family’s and the Tianyuan Tribe’s wrath. The remnants of the Nan Yue barbarians must have been incredibly bold to provoke even the Tianyuan Tribe.

“Gu poison—no wonder so many shamans couldn’t do anything about it.” Chen Rong smiled faintly and shook his head. “Shaman, the poison was administered by someone from the Yuan family. The Nan Yue barbarians must have sided with certain members of the Yuan family.”

The Nan Yue barbarians weren’t well-known in the west,

but those who knew them, knew their sinister use of gu poison.

That’s why many shamans had little knowledge of it.

Because of its insidious nature, the western lands had once issued an extermination order against the Nan Yue barbarians. The Yuan family probably sent him away to keep the gu poison incident a secret. The only reason he’d made it safely from the west to the east was because the Yuan family had spared his life.

No—

Perhaps, those in the Yuan family who plotted against him never expected he’d survive and make it back east.