Chapter 8 Spring Grass

These dozens of tribesmen looked at the youth before them, but felt a tremor of fear. They sensed that everything around them seemed to be quaking. Kill the great demon winged snake?

The youth before them wanted to kill the great demon winged snake?

“You haven’t deceived me.” Ji Ning swept his gaze over this group of tribal men. “Miwa is really dead?”

“How would we dare deceive you? Ask anyone in the entire Black Tooth Tribe, and they all know about this.” These tribal men were terrified. Whether it was the youth’s aura or the Ji-inscribed token he carried, both filled them with fear.

“Let’s go.”

Ji Ning rode his black jiao beast and headed directly toward the distant Black Tooth Tribe.

Qiuye and Mowu also mounted their black jiao beasts and followed.

…

On the two arrow towers beside the wooden gate of the Black Tooth Tribe’s palisade, over a dozen tribal warriors stood guard.

“Outsider, halt!” a warrior immediately shouted angrily.

Ji Ning, his face dark, directly took out his token and shouted, “Have Black Tooth come see me!”

Seeing the token, the warrior above was startled and quickly called out, “Please wait, I’ll go report to the chief at once.” With that, the warrior leaped from the arrow tower, landed on the ground, and dashed into the tribe. In just a moment, a middle-aged man in black animal hide with a scarred face, surrounded by some warriors, ran out. It was Black Tooth, the chief of the Black Tooth Tribe.

As soon as he saw the three people riding black jiao beasts outside, especially the appearance of the one in front, he shuddered and shouted, “Open the gate quickly! Welcome the young master of the Ji clan!”

“Young master of the Ji clan?” The tribesmen of a small tribe like Black Tooth were naturally startled and hurried to open the heavy gate.

Black Tooth was the first to kneel directly: “Black Tooth pays respects to the young master.”

The other tribal warriors also knelt.

“To your dwelling.” Ji Ning, still riding the black jiao beast, ordered directly.

“Yes.” Black Tooth led the way swiftly.

Ji Ning looked at Black Tooth ahead of him, and a trace of hatred welled up in his heart. He understood that Spring Grass’s death could not really be blamed on Black Tooth; he believed Black Tooth was also very sad. But Ji Ning couldn’t help hating… At that time, he had entrusted Spring Grass to her father’s hands, but before he knew it, Spring Grass had died. If Spring Grass had stayed with him…

Ji Ning’s left hand involuntarily clenched, his knuckles turning white.

“Young master, this is my dwelling.” Black Tooth arrived at a relatively large stone house in the tribe. At the entrance stood two women and a young child, all looking very uneasy and nervous.

“He is?” Ji Ning looked at the young child. The child’s appearance was so much like Spring Grass… it touched Ji Ning’s heart.

“He is my son,” Black Tooth said respectfully, then immediately shouted to his women and child, “Withdraw!”

The two women and the child quickly withdrew.

“Let’s talk inside. Mowu, stay at the door and don’t let anyone in.” Ji Ning dismounted from the black jiao beast and entered the house with Qiuye. Black Tooth, somewhat fearful, followed them in.

…

Inside the house.

Ji Ning looked at Black Tooth, sat directly on a stone chair, and said coldly, “Black Tooth, when I entrusted Spring Grass to you, I hoped she could reunite with you, her biological father, and live a good life! But when I entered this tribe, I didn’t see Spring Grass. Why?”

Black Tooth quickly said, “Young master, Spring Grass is not in the tribe right now!”

“Not in the tribe?” Ji Ning frowned and scrutinized Black Tooth. Was Black Tooth still lying at this point?

“Soon after returning to the tribe, Spring Grass met a young traveling merchant and fell in love with him. I also knew this young traveling merchant and trusted him.” Black Tooth spoke very fluently. “When a girl grows up, she should marry. So I married my daughter to this traveling merchant. Before Spring Grass left with the merchant… she left a letter for you, young master.”

Ji Ning was initially annoyed—this Black Tooth was deceiving him! But when he heard the last sentence, he said softly, “A letter?”

“I’ll get it right away.” Black Tooth hurried into the adjacent room.

“Young master?” Qiuye looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning said softly, “Don’t rush.”

Ji Ning’s intelligence was not low; he was not a fool who only knew how to cultivate. From the information he had gathered, it was clear that Spring Grass was probably dead. First, the group of people he had questioned outside the tribe all said the same thing, and they even said he could ask anyone in the tribe and get the same answer.

Those people had no reason to lie to him.

Also, Spring Grass had been separated from her father for so long. She had even left Ji Ning to reunite with her biological father. How could she marry and leave so soon after reuniting with him?

“Young master, this is the letter Spring Grass left for you.” Black Tooth handed over a piece of white animal hide.

Ji Ning took a deep breath. A letter? This was likely a last testament, a final message Spring Grass had left when she was gravely ill… Ji Ning extended a slightly trembling hand to take the white animal hide and unfolded it to read carefully.

The delicate pictographic script appeared before his eyes. The handwriting was very familiar. The moment Ji Ning saw it, his heart trembled. It was Spring Grass’s handwriting!

“Young master, after I returned to the tribe, I was really, really happy. I saw my father, and I even gained two younger brothers… I felt like I was back in my childhood, together with my parents as a family…”

She went on about various trivial matters.

The letter was filled with Spring Grass’s heartfelt joy. Ji Ning could feel that joy between the lines. Spring Grass had indeed been very happy to return.

“Two younger brothers?” Ji Ning’s heart stirred. Earlier, he had only seen one son of Black Tooth, and the tribesmen had also said that when the great demon winged snake ran rampant, more than half of the Black Tooth Tribe’s people died, including one of the chief’s sons.

Ji Ning continued reading.

“I met him.”

“Every woman has a man destined for her. The moment I saw him, I knew he was that man. Seeing him smile makes me happy; seeing him frown makes me worry; seeing him practicing his sword techniques hard, I watch from the side. Just watching him is a gift from heaven. So I decided… to marry him!”

Ji Ning could clearly see spots on this part, as if tears had fallen and left stains.

Ji Ning’s heart trembled.

Marry?

Was the man Spring Grass spoke of himself? Seeing him at first sight and knowing he was the destined man, happy when he smiled, worried when he frowned, watching from the side as he practiced sword techniques…

If you wanted to marry me, why didn’t you tell me yourself!

Ji Ning closed his eyes, and tears could not help but fall.

Although Spring Grass was only a maidservant, most men around him took multiple wives. In his previous life, Ji Ning had never loved a woman, and in this life, he had long grown accustomed to such customs. Even if he married several women, it would be fine, but they had to be women he cherished and loved.

If Spring Grass had become his woman, Ji Ning would have agreed.

“Young master!” Qiuye beside him saw Ji Ning’s tears and felt a pang of worry. Having been a maidservant since childhood, she naturally did not read the letter while Ji Ning was reading it. But when she saw Ji Ning crying… Qiuye also panicked.

Ji Ning opened his eyes.

He continued reading.

“Young master, if you see this letter, it means you came to the Black Tooth Tribe to see me.”

“I am really, really happy. Spring Grass is just a maidservant, but the young master came to the Black Tooth Tribe to see her. At least… Spring Grass occupies a small place in the young master’s heart… Spring Grass is very, very happy, really, very happy.”

The letter ended there.

Ji Ning’s eyes were moist.

Very happy?

Were you really very happy?

“Hahaha.” Ji Ning laughed loudly, a laugh of sorrow. The family who had always been with him.

“Young master.” Qiuye grew worried.

“Young master.” Black Tooth was also fearful and uneasy.

Ji Ning turned his head and stared at Black Tooth, his eyes like sharp swords. He growled, “Black Tooth, at this point you still want to deceive me? Speak! Tell me, tell me everything!!!”

Black Tooth’s face changed drastically, and then his whole body began to tremble.

Thump!

Black Tooth’s knees slammed onto the stone floor. His body trembled in pain, and he let out a most piercing wail of anguish that had been suppressed for a very, very long time: “Miwa!!!”