Bei Ling

The morning wind carried a hint of chill, sharp as a knife in this cold winter season.

However, as the bonfires flickered throughout the tribe, they seemed to dispel the cold, allowing warmth to permeate the entire settlement.

For the Barbarian Warriors, the circulation of blood and energy within their bodies could resist the cold, but since ordinary tribespeople made up the majority, most would reduce their outings every winter.

Even when they did go out, they were usually draped in thick animal hides to ward off the chill. This season was also the busiest time for the tribe's healers, who had to prepare large quantities of medicinal decoctions for the tribespeople to consume, increasing their resistance to the cold.

Even Grandpa would personally intervene during the coldest days, sparing no effort to circulate his own blood and energy to help the entire tribe withstand the winter's icy winds.

Treading on the snow-covered ground with a crunching sound, Su Ming walked through the tribe wrapped in a fur-lined garment. Looking at the familiar surroundings and the tribespeople who smiled and nodded at him, that sense of warmth seemed entirely capable of dispelling the winter's chill.

The tribe's dwellings were mostly simple structures; they were fine under normal circumstances, but in winter, they struggled to block the wind. This necessitated sticking large amounts of animal hide to the exteriors to prevent the cold from seeping in.

However, the hides sometimes wouldn't stay attached for long and required re-securing, and the bonfires inside the huts needed constant replenishment with branches. Thus, winter was an ordeal for most of the tribe.

Fortunately, no one would freeze to death; it was merely a nuisance.

As Su Ming walked, he arrived outside the fenced-off hut that the tribespeople guarded at all times. This was where their Wu Mountain Tribe stored medicinal herbs. The hut was wrapped in thick animal hides, and several bonfires burned nearby, causing a wave of warmth mixed with the biting wind to drift toward him as he approached.

Su Ming was very familiar with this place. For the past few years, he had delivered herbs here almost every time he returned from gathering, so the guards merely smiled at him and did not stop him.

Su Ming smiled back, greeted the tribespeople, and walked into the enclosure. Just as he was about to push the door open, a surprised call came from behind him.

"Su Ming, when did you get back?"

It was a woman's voice, sounding as melodious as a lark.

Su Ming paused and turned around, his eyes softening. It was a tall woman wrapped in thick animal hides, her long hair tied with a grass rope. She wore two exquisite white bone rings in her ears, and though her skin was slightly rough, it could not hide her beauty.

Her eyes were large, clear as a pool of water, and filled with innocence. At this moment, they sparkled with joy as she hurried a few steps toward Su Ming.

"I returned yesterday." Su Ming smiled. This woman was Chen Xin, who often tidied his hut when he was away. Suddenly, Su Ming's smile froze, and his gaze shifted slightly.

She was not alone. Following behind her was a youth of about eighteen or nineteen. This youth was quite robust, appearing even more formidable than Lei Chen. In this winter weather, he wore only a thin animal hide garment. His hair was disheveled but not dirty, and combined with his chiseled face, he exuded an air of sharp, arrogant intensity.

His eyes, in particular, were like stars, with some strange totem seemingly flickering within his pupils. They gave off an invisible sense of pressure that made one instinctively alert, as if looking at a wild beast.

He stood there with a large bow on his back, his gaze like an arrow fixed on Su Ming.

"Su Ming!"

"Big Brother Bei Ling." Su Ming addressed the youth, a flash of complexity crossing his eyes as he spoke respectfully.

The youth before him was the strongest of the younger generation in their Wu Mountain Tribe. His Barbarian Body was so impressive that even Grandpa sighed in inferiority, and it was only after Lei Chen was discovered to possess a Barbarian Body that he could vaguely compare to him.

As the strongest of the younger generation, his cultivation progressed rapidly. Su Ming had once heard Grandpa mention in passing that this person was the most likely in their tribe to break through the Blood Condensation Realm and become a legendary figure of the Dust Opening Realm!

This person's name was renowned in the surrounding tribes, and even the Fengzhen Tribe had heard of him, sending people to take him away to study under them. Su Ming had not expected to see him today.

The reason for the complexity in his eyes was that when he was young, Bei Ling had looked after him like a true older brother. Even his archery skills had been taught to him by Bei Ling back then, as Bei Ling, being the son of the tribe's leader, naturally possessed extraordinary skill with the bow.

But all of this changed when Chen Xin turned twelve. Perhaps it was because Chen Xin and Su Ming were too close, but gradually, the way Bei Ling looked at Su Ming became strange and hesitant, eventually turning cold, until finally, he became completely distant and would even ignore him upon meeting.

Later, Su Ming learned this was because the Chief and Bei Ling's father had arranged a marriage between them.

Su Ming had wanted to explain, but all his words were met with that same cold gaze. Eventually, he could only sigh in secret, and his contact with Chen Xin became intentionally or unintentionally distant.

He knew his own status; he knew he was just an ordinary tribesman, and he knew that if not for Grandpa, he likely would never have been accepted by this tribe in the first place.

Everything was because he, Su Ming... was a foundling Grandpa had picked up while traveling over a decade ago. Although most people in the tribe were kind to him as he grew up, it could not change the fact that there was an inexplicable difference between him and the tribe.

"Why didn't you tell me when you got back? I went to look for you several times, but you were never there," Chen Xin said, wrinkling her nose in a pout.

Su Ming rubbed his nose and avoided Chen Xin's gaze. He felt only a familial affection for her, nothing more, and he did not want to cause any further misunderstandings with the Big Brother Bei Ling who had been so good to him in his childhood.

"Big Brother Bei Ling, when did you return?" Su Ming looked at the imposing Bei Ling. At such close range, he could clearly feel the surging power of blood and energy emanating from the other man's body. It was a level of strength that, aside from Grandpa, the Chief, and a few others, was the greatest Su Ming had ever seen in the tribe.

Yet, the sharp, arrogant aura about him was just as intense as his blood and energy, giving Su Ming the suffocating illusion of standing before a predator.

"Yesterday." Bei Ling's expression remained as indifferent as ever. His words were brief, seemingly dismissive, as he turned to look at Chen Xin beside him.

"Xin'er, weren't you going to get herbs for your mother? Let's go in." As Bei Ling spoke, he took Chen Xin's hand, walked past Su Ming, pushed open the door to the herb storage hut, and went inside.

Chen Xin wanted to say something, but after hesitating, she remained silent, nodded at Su Ming, and followed Bei Ling into the hut.

Su Ming stood there in silence for a long while, sighed softly, and followed them in.