NOVEL NEXT Chapter 519: The Great Chief 37
Looking at Da Shi resting his face on his hands with the appearance of a wistful young girl, Yan Shuangshuang couldn't help but feel the goosebumps all over her body. A face that was undoubtedly handsome yet exuding manliness, making such an expression caused Yan Shuangshuang's hands to itch with a sense of urgency.
What puzzled Yan Shuangshuang even more was how these two had taken a liking to each other. Was it possible that Da Shi and Feicao had secretly developed feelings for each other without her knowing? That couldn't be, Feicao was always hanging around her. If something had happened with Da Shi, it would be impossible for her not to know!
Yan Shuangshuang scratched her chin, pondering for a long time but couldn't recall any ambiguous or intimate gestures between Feicao and Da Shi. Looking down at Da Shi's somber demeanor, a thought stirred in her heart. She couldn't help but speculate: could it be that Da Shi has a secret crush on Feicao, while Feicao doesn't like him back?
Thinking of this, Yan Shuangshuang tentatively asked Da Shi, "Brother Da Shi, do you like Sister Feicao? Does Sister Feicao also like you?"
Da Shi gave Yan Shuangshuang another melancholic look, speaking in a helpless tone, "Yes, I like Feicao, I've liked her for a long time. I just don't know whether Feicao likes me or not, which is why I'm so troubled. The last time I went to the Lanshan Tribe, there was a very excellent man who also liked Feicao. Now, I can't even defeat Feicao, so I certainly can't compare to that man in her heart. From now on, Feicao will never like me back."
Yan Shuangshuang...
Yan Shuangshuang had no idea how to console Da Shi. Was this unrequited love, a budding romance, or impending heartbreak? What could she do? Although she didn't mind playing matchmaker, it was only on the condition that both Da Shi and Feicao had feelings for each other, otherwise, she would just end up pairing a couple of mismatched lovers.
In the end, Yan Shuangshuang couldn't stand Da Shi's gloomy vibes anymore and directly sought out Feicao, informing her of Da Shi's feelings. Nonetheless, Feicao handled the matter in a way completely different from the shy demeanor she usually displayed in front of Yan Shuangshuang.
Feicao didn't say anything. She just grabbed Da Shi, carried him to her stone dwelling, and then the next day, Feicao, with a face full of romantic bliss, pulled Da Shi to see Ben and Yu, announcing that she and Da Shi were together and they wanted to hold a torch festival.
The torch festival in this world is a ceremony symbolizing the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, akin to a wedding in modern society. However, not all men and women have a torch festival to declare that they already have a partner, signaling they won't accept others in the future.
In this world, there are two ways men and women live: one is when two people fall for each other, they hold a torch festival and declare they will be together forever.
The other is when two people fancy each other during a tribal gathering, then engage in a brief affair, afterward going back to their separate ways. The children from such unions take their mother's surname and belong to the mother's tribe.
Yan Shuangshuang's Father Tieh and Ah Ma Grass were of the first kind, falling for each other at first sight. Yu's Mother Yun and Lanshan Tribe's Zhi initially engaged in a one-night affair, going their separate ways afterward.
It wasn't that Yun didn't want to find someone to be with for eternity, but at that time, Yun was a witch and couldn't leave her tribe. Her only choice was to have brief affairs. Fortunately, Zhi was thoughtful and waited until their daughter Yu grew up before relieving Yun of her responsibilities and taking her away.
Now Feicao and Da Shi have chosen the first way, holding a torch festival to declare that they will be together forever. Yan Shuangshuang watched the whole intense scene of a domineering female boss forcibly taking a gentle husband in jaw-dropping awe!
Yan Shuangshuang always thought Feicao was a very shy girl, timid and delicate. Little did she expect her to be so wild and domineering in love! Putting her jaw back in place, Yan Shuangshuang gave Feicao a double thumbs-up. She liked this bold personality.
Feicao and Da Shi's torch festival was a lively event. There hadn't been a torch festival in the tribe for a long time. Originally, Yu and Ben wanted to postpone the festival because it was impossible to light fires inside the cave, which would be suffocating, and charcoal couldn't be made into torches.
Finally, Yan Shuangshuang came up with a clever trick: using the oil rendered from fat to smear on beast skins to make torches. They burned well and were quite durable, and everyone was very pleased.
After the torch festival ended, everyone finally returned to their senses from the excitement, and then they started training again to improve their physical strength. This time, the main focus of the training was on the ten or so individuals in the tribe who hadn't joined the hunting team, whose physical condition was slightly weaker.
Among these people, two were children, and the rest were primarily frail women and adolescents. However, judging by the rate of improvement of these people's physical conditions, reaching the physical standard required to join the hunting team was a promising outlook.
It was the first time Yan Shuangshuang realized that being able to eat until full was such an important matter. Only by eating enough could one have abundant energy and stamina for high-intensity training, and only through such rigorous training could one's skills improve.
No wonder most warriors come from great tribes; it's probably because the great tribes can provide enough food, whereas smaller tribes cannot.
Since everyone's good days are thanks to Yan Shuangshuang, her status in the tribe is no longer just because she is the Divine Favored and equated with Leader Ben and Witch Doctor Yu, but also because of her own capabilities, receiving respect similar to that afforded to the leader and the Great Witch.
The days continued in bustling yet peaceful chaos. What the people of the Power Tribe didn't expect was their hopes to quietly pass through the entire cold season were shattered within a few days by another visit from the Lanshan Tribe. This time, many people came.
The one leading the group was Yan Shuangshuang's maternal uncle Jian, who had visited before. This time, Jian carried intense sorrow and anger.
Because previously, Yan Shuangshuang had specifically pulled Jian along, giving him credibility with the Earth King Beast, repeatedly reminding the beast that this person was not an enemy, so it wouldn't attack him during future visits.
The Earth King Beast, being quite intelligent, leisurely walked over and lay at the cave entrance once Jian brought a large group this time. Its protective stance was obvious, but it didn't, as it did last time, playfully toss him around.
Rushing to open the cave, seeing Jian and the throng of sorrowful old and young people behind him, Yan Shuangshuang's heart skipped a beat, sensing something ominous!
Sure enough, seeing the people of the Power Tribe, Jian's eyes reddened immediately. He glanced at the group behind him, his tone carrying grief tinged with pleading as he asked the Power Tribe to take care of these children, seniors, and women from the Lanshan Tribe.
The people of the Power Tribe were startled and quickly asked what happened. With Jian's sorrowful recounting, the Power Tribe learned that the hyenas that had previously been devastated by the Lanshan Tribe had rallied many others to retaliate against the Lanshan Tribe!
Although the Lanshan Tribe had been prepared, these hyenas came solely for revenge, targeting the children of the tribe directly once they arrived. Even though the Lanshan Tribe's people fought desperately to protect them, still, under the relentless attacks from the hyena pack, another seven or eight adults and two children were killed!