Chapter 105
Ian was originally driven out of his tribe because of his identity as an unknown orc. However, unlike other unknown orcs, he couldn't transform into his beast form. For an orc who couldn't transform, surviving in the dangerous forest was extremely difficult.
In order to survive, Ian followed other unknown orcs. At that time, there was a group of them. Although Ian was often mocked and bullied by others, they still shared food with him.
Until one day, when a female named Luoxi appeared, everything turned into a nightmare. Luoxi had been kidnapped by the unknown orcs. His tribe was weak, and even though they knew it was the unknown orcs who took Luoxi, they didn’t have the strength to fight against such a large group.
Ian was still young at the time. Although he had witnessed all kinds of cruelty, it was the first time he had met a female like Luoxi who didn’t despise him. Later, as mentioned before, Ian was deceived by Luoxi. Luoxi told Ian that he liked him and wanted to be with him.
In order to protect Luoxi from being humiliated, Ian secretly helped him escape. The unknown orcs were furious and vented all their anger on Ian. At that time, no matter how much humiliation Ian endured, he felt it was nothing. He could bear it all for the sake of the person he loved. But later, Ian realized how foolish he had been.
He was abandoned by the unknown orcs in the forest. At that time he was both physically and mentally traumatized, the only thing that kept Ian going was the hope of finding Luoxi, whom he had helped escape.
After returning to his tribe, Luoxi was constantly worried that Ian would come looking for him. He was afraid that Ian would reveal the truth that Luoxi had pretended to like him and tricked him into helping him escape. Luoxi could never be with an unknown orc, especially one like Ian who couldn’t transform. If the tribe found out, they would surely banish him.
Luoxi knew he couldn’t lose everything he had, so he made up his mind: if Ian ever showed up, he would make sure Ian never got the chance to speak the truth.
When Ian, on the brink of death, appeared near Luoxi’s tribe, he left a mark outside the tribe as they had agreed, waiting for Luoxi to come find him.
Luoxi had been waiting every day for Ian to appear, so he would often check the area around the tribe. Finally, he found him.
Jero didn’t explain what happened next, but with Su Yi’s intelligence, he could more or less guess. If it hadn’t been for Dilson saving him, Ian would have died in the forest long ago.
Su Yi sighed. Although he had known the general outline of the story before, he hadn’t realized just how terrible Luoxi’s actions were. To think that Luoxi, in order to hide his own ugliness, had even tried to kill Ian.
“I know you all want to avenge Ian, and I want to as well. But the newcomers don’t know what we know. If we openly go after Luoxi, it will only make them resentful. The snow season is almost here, and the valley will be very dangerous during that time. We can’t let personal grudges destroy the tribe we’ve worked so hard to build. Of course, we will take revenge, but it doesn’t have to be out in the open.”
Jero had come to find out how Su Yi planned to take revenge. Everyone knew Su Yi’s personality, he was extremely protective of his own and wouldn’t let things slide.
“So what do we need to do?” Jero asked, his spirits lifting at the thought of revenge.
Su Yi smiled. “Leave it to me. Too many people involved will only raise suspicions.”
With Su Yi’s promise, Jero left happily. Su Yi had originally planned to comfort Ian, but seeing the direction Jero was heading, he knew Jero would likely tell Ian about their plan.
Today’s events had been a setback for Su Yi, but the situation had been too unfavorable. Ian had struck first, and as an orc attacking a female, even if they had the truth on their side, people would still see Ian as the one in the wrong.
Sinoer walked over and patted Su Yi’s shoulder. “Don’t overthink it. Remember, you got sick last time because you were too exhausted.”
Su Yi turned and took Sinoer’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not overthinking it.”
Later that evening, Tang Yu came over, accompanied by Jells.
Tang Yu had been too sleepy from his pregnancy to follow Jells out during the day. When he heard what had happened later, he couldn’t help but get furious. Jells, not wanting Tang Yu to get upset, took him out for a walk.
But they hadn’t gone far when Tang Yu saw Luoxi, who greeted him warmly. Jells had expected Tang Yu to ignore him, but instead, Tang Yu smiled and chatted with Luoxi for a while.
After Luoxi left, Tang Yu’s expression darkened. “Let’s go to Su Yi’s place.”
“We can’t openly show hostility toward Luoxi. In fact, we need to be very friendly with him,” Tang Yu said as soon as he saw Su Yi.
“I understand that. Luoxi can pretend to be magnanimous, and we can pretend to be friendly. As for revenge, we’ll handle it privately.”
The next day, the Impreza tribe left with the females and children who were willing to go with them. The only ones who stayed were Luoxi, who was originally from the Jill tribe, and Veil and Redra, who were temporarily staying with Su Yi.
The young female who had been close to Su Yi also wanted to stay, but after seeing how many children Su Yi had, he realized that even if he stayed, he wouldn’t be able to monopolize Su Yi’s attention. So in the end, he chose to go with the Impreza tribe.
Going to the Impreza tribe was undoubtedly the best choice. The tribe was strong, and they had the powerful Ed to protect them.
Su Yi watched them leave, not at all surprised. This outcome was exactly what he had expected.
After the Impreza tribe left, Hunter suddenly visited Ian’s home. Ian had been sitting in the yard, lost in thought. His spirits had been low for the past few days.
Hunter called out softly, but Ian didn’t respond. Hunter had no choice but to stand nearby and wait for Ian to notice him. He waited for a long time, so long that his legs began to go numb.
When Ian finally came back to his senses, he saw Hunter’s handsome face, now slightly twisted.
“Leader, what are you doing here?” Ian quickly stood up, but due to sitting for so long and not eating properly for several meals, he felt dizzy and his vision went black.
Luckily, Hunter reacted quickly and caught him, preventing Ian from falling. Ian took a moment to recover, and when his vision cleared, he lowered his head in embarrassment. As an orc, he felt ashamed of being so weak.
Feeling the warmth of Hunter’s hand on his arm, Ian struggled slightly. Hunter, though concerned for Ian, had heard from others that Ian was very sensitive, so he didn’t dare hold on too tightly.
Ian glanced at Hunter. Hunter was like a “smiling tiger,” a term Tang Yu had once used to describe him. At the time, Ian hadn’t understood what it meant, but when he saw Hunter, he couldn’t help but think of that phrase.
Hunter was the complete opposite of Sinoer. Sinoer was cold on the outside but warm-hearted, while Hunter always wore a smile, though it never reached his eyes.
“What did you need me for?” Ian asked again.
Hunter, reminded by Ian’s question, suddenly coughed lightly. “I believe you,” Hunter said abruptly.
Ian looked at Hunter in confusion, then his eyes reddened, and he quickly lowered his head. For a moment, Hunter was stunned. Hunter knew Ian was a beautiful orc, but the sight of Ian’s slightly reddened eyes was unexpectedly striking.
Though he knew it was wrong, Hunter couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.
“What good does your belief do?” Ian said, turning to walk back into the house, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.
Hunter, however, didn’t take the hint to leave. Instead, he quickly followed. Ian turned and glared at Hunter, who looked slightly embarrassed.
To break the awkwardness, Hunter said, “Ian, Su Yi did the right thing. Only we know what happened back then. If we openly go after Luoxi, the newcomers will think we’re bullying them.”
Ian lowered his eyes and nodded. Jero had already explained this to him, and he knew Su Yi was acting in his best interest. Though he was still upset, he followed Su Yi’s plan and didn’t confront Luoxi again.
“Aren’t you one of them too?” Ian asked, glancing at Hunter, who smiled wryly, his handsome face showing a hint of helplessness.
“I only met them by chance. They were attacked by unknown orcs, and I happened to pass by and saved them. That’s the extent of my relationship with them.”
As he spoke, Hunter looked at the slightly nervous Ian, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. This time, Hunter genuinely felt happy, though he wasn’t sure why.
Seeing Ian silently watching him, Hunter couldn’t help but continue, “To show my sincerity, I want to help you get revenge.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, both Ian and Hunter himself felt it was inappropriate. Ian frowned and said unhappily, “Leader, you’re new here. Are you mistaken? I’m an orc, not some fragile female. I have many friends who are willing to help me. I don’t need your concern.”
Hunter inwardly sighed. Before coming, he had done his homework with Dilson and the others, knowing how sensitive Ian was. Yet, he had still blurted out such a thoughtless remark. For one orc to help another wasn’t unusual, but given Ian’s unique situation and their lack of familiarity, it could easily be misinterpreted.
When Hunter was politely shown the door, the last rain of the rainy season suddenly began to fall without warning. Everyone around hurried to gather their belongings and head home. Only Hunter walked leisurely through the valley, seemingly unbothered. Many people greeted him from a distance, and some even ran over to offer him shelter from the rain. Hunter maintained a patient smile, though his mind was far away.
He hadn’t gone far when he saw Jells.
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