The blood-stained and gutted fangs of a snake were roasting over the campfire, dripping with oil.
Wu Tie sat on a small mound, grilling snake meat while gazing at another small mountain several li away.
Several subordinates of Shi Lingqing had chopped a large quantity of fern branches and built a shaky and unstable wooden shed on the small mountain.
After temporarily hunting and killing a large gray rock lizard, the skin was removed and smoked clean, then laid on a thick stack of branches.
Shi Lingqing was lying on the skin of the gray rock lizard. Her body convulsed repeatedly, her small face pale and pitiful.
She had already taken the antidote and removed the remaining broken fangs inside her body.
Perhaps because of shyness, Shi Lingqing did not let her eight human subordinates take any action. Instead, she chose to have a burly and clumsy Niu Tribe bodyguard help her extract the broken fangs.
While Wu Tie was grilling snake meat, he could clearly hear the screams coming from the direction of the wooden shed.
The screams were high-pitched and piercing, audible several li away.
The Niu Tribe people were honest, loyal, simple, and upright, but they were a bit rough and did not know how to handle delicate matters.
Wu Tie imagined a scene where a five-zhang-tall and three-zhang-wide Niu Tribe warrior pulled out the broken fangs with all his strength, causing the densely spiked fangs to be violently torn out. He couldn't help but shudder.
"Quite pitiful." Wu Tie sighed and tore off a strip of snake meat, carefully chewing it.
Two metallic spiders crouched behind him in the mushroom grove. Upon hearing his words, the stiff voice of Lao Tie echoed softly, "Pitiful? Bah, enough nonsense. If you really care about her, as a man, you should charge up."
The stiff voice suddenly became somewhat excited, "While she is in a state of weakness due to her family's downfall, when she is most vulnerable and helpless. As a true man, you should seize her completely with the most fierce attack, taking possession of her body and soul..."
Wu Tie could barely comprehend Lao Tie's words, but based on his understanding of Lao Tie these days, Wu Tie knew that this was definitely not a good thing.
He coughed several times heavily and took a piece of snake meat from the campfire, gobbling it up.
A gleam of blood flashed in the crimson eyes of the metallic spider as Lao Tie's voice lightly echoed, "No guts? Then just watch from afar."
In the distance, several li away, a campfire was rising, emitting wisps of green smoke.
Wu Tie stood up and saw that Luo Lin and his two companions also had a campfire. They had hunted a large white fish measuring two meters in length, chopped it into chunks, and skewered them on branches to smoke.
While busy, they remained vigilant, looking around in all directions, resembling three prairie dogs acting as lookouts.
After a while, Shi Lingqing's subordinates had already roasted the unlucky gray rock lizard. The man in a black robe, who could release electric sparks from a wooden staff, respectfully brought a piece of roast meat into the wooden shed.
The four Niu Tribe warriors and several human guards each took a piece of roast meat and sat by the campfire, hungrily swallowing it down.
They ate in silence, occasionally lifting their heads to look in the direction of Luo Lin and his companions.
After about half an incense stick of time, the man in the black robe walked out of the wooden shed. He took a casual bite of a bone, wiped his hands clean, then picked up a wooden staff and strode towards Wu Tie.
A visible green wind circle surrounded the man's feet, and he walked at an extremely fast speed, his relaxed pace even comparable to that of Wu Jin and Wu Yin's full-speed running.
Wu Tie stood up and tightly grasped his long spear, vigilantly watching him.
The man stopped below the small mound, looked up at Wu Tie standing on it, and respectfully bowed deeply to him.
"Respected Lord, we did not intend to trespass into your territory. It was due to the pursuit of cruel enemies... We did not mean to offend," the man said.
"Please understand that due to unforeseen circumstances, my young lady is unable to personally apologize to you."
Wu Tie stared silently at the man.
The man straightened his body and glanced at Wu Tie before speaking in a deep voice, "I am Shi Dian, the deputy leader of Qianyu City's guards. We are well aware that we should not use force in your territory..."
Wu Tie nodded, Shi Dian's words pleased him. This feeling of being respected and feared felt good.
"But... our enemies have also entered here." Shi Dian looked at Wu Tie sternly. "If they use violence against us?"
Wu Tie looked towards the direction of the wooden shed and vaguely saw Shi Lingqing lying on the skin of the gray rock lizard. After seriously considering for a while, he fiercely stamped the ground with his long spear, causing large rocks to rise from the ground and rain heavily towards Luo Lin and his companions.
"This is my territory... You are not allowed to take action here!" Wu Tie declared.
(End of this chapter)