Debts Must Be Paid

Su Ming had not been gone for long before he hurried back. He stood beside the unconscious Sikong, pacing back and forth in hesitation. He looked up at the sky, where the bright moon cast a soft, gentle light across the earth.

"To simply take such a precious Barbarian Artifact is still somewhat improper. Without a proper justification, the Black Dragon Tribe could demand it back at any time, and they might even brand me a thief... Should I kill him, or not?" Su Ming pondered for a moment, glanced at Sikong, and reached a decision.

He took several types of herbs from his robe, crushed them, and smeared the juices onto Sikong's lips several times. He then crouched beside him and patted Sikong's head with his left hand, over and over, as if trying to wake him up.

Before long, Sikong's entire body twitched, and he snapped his eyes open. His vision was initially blurry, but through that haze, he saw Su Ming's smiling face.

Sikong froze, his eyes widening. His pupils contracted, lingering with confusion and disbelief at the scene he had just witnessed. His mind was a blank slate; it felt as if he had seen something before losing consciousness, yet also as if he had seen nothing at all—a vague, disorienting sensation.

But just as he moved to stir, the black spear in Su Ming's right hand suddenly arced through the air, its tip coming to rest three inches from Sikong's throat. It seemed that the slightest pressure would pierce his windpipe and kill him on the spot.

"Don't move."

The golden glint at the tip of the spear appeared to Sikong like the light of a soul-reaper. His body trembled faintly, and the look he gave Su Ming was filled with terror and shock.

"You... what are you doing! I am the son of the Black Dragon Tribe's chieftain. If you kill me, the Black Dragon Tribe will never let you go. I know you are from the Wu Mountain Tribe; if you kill me, the Wu Mountain Tribe won't tolerate you either!" Even now, he could not understand how he had failed. He only remembered the other boy waving a hand, followed by intense pain and then unconsciousness. The more he failed to fathom it, the more mysterious the smiling youth before him became. This mystery transformed into fear, especially with the spear pressing against his throat, causing him to instinctively shuffle backward in his fright.

But the moment he moved, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He instinctively licked his lips, and the bitterness intensified, draining the color from his face. A dark premonition surfaced in his heart. In terror, he wiped his mouth with his hand, only to find it stained with a brown liquid.

"You!! What did you feed me!!"

"Nothing much, just some common herbs, slightly poisonous," Su Ming said with a mysterious, playful smile.

Hearing this, Sikong's eyes filled with despair. His body shook, and the bitterness in his mouth grew more pronounced, to the point where he felt his tongue going numb.

"I don't believe you would dare kill me!" Sikong suddenly looked up, staring fixedly at Su Ming.

"Believe it or not, that's up to you. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. But I do have the antidote. So, you're the son of the Black Dragon Tribe's chieftain? What is your name?" Su Ming felt a bit guilty, but he had always been one to hide his nerves behind a calm facade. He smiled as he spoke.

"You... I... my name is Sikong. You cannot kill me; it will bring trouble to your tribe, you..." Sikong's expression was frantic, but in reality, he was deeply anxious. He felt not only his tongue going numb but a dull ache in his chest as well. Seeing no trace of deception in Su Ming's expression, he grew even more terrified.

"Sikong, how about we discuss something?" Su Ming looked up at the bright moon and spoke leisurely.

Sikong, his face pale and his terror unconcealable, nodded immediately.

"I've taken a liking to this broken spear of yours. Let's make a deal—will you sell it to me? Five thousand Stone Coins, I'll buy it." Su Ming blinked, looking at Sikong with anticipation.

Sikong paused. Looking at the spear gripped tightly in Su Ming's right hand and the tip still pressed against his throat, how could he dare to refuse? Especially with the bitterness in his mouth and the memory of his own pursuit, he was convinced the other had fed him some kind of poison.

He wanted to gamble that this person wouldn't dare kill him—after all, his status was noble, and his death would surely trigger a war of vengeance between the two tribes. He could even gamble that even if the spear were taken, he had countless ways to have his father retrieve it for him.

But now, the bitterness in his mouth made him afraid to gamble. He was afraid that if... just in case...

Especially since his head still throbbed from the earlier blows, Sikong hesitated for only a moment before nodding quickly.

Su Ming grinned happily and tore a large piece of fabric from Sikong's clothing. This action made Sikong's heart skip a beat, and his pale face lost even more color.

"Since this is a transaction, we should write a receipt. Write it like this: 'I, Sikong, due to a lack of Stone Coins, sell this spear for five thousand stones...'" Su Ming stopped, hesitated, and shook his head.

"No, no, write it like this: 'I, Sikong, as the son of the Black Dragon Tribe's chieftain, swear that due to an urgent matter, I have borrowed five thousand stones from the Wu Mountain Tribe for a term of ten years. I offer this Barbarian Artifact spear as collateral, and I promise to repay ten thousand Stone Coins after ten years to reclaim it. I will not repay it early, and should I break this vow, may the Barbarian Statue punish me!'" Su Ming finished and looked at Sikong.

Sikong listened to these words, especially the last sentence, with a bitter expression. Just as he hesitated, he saw Su Ming pull a piece of herb he had never seen before from his robe, and heard his voice.

"This is the antidote."

Sikong stared at the herb, gritted his teeth, bit his finger until it bled, and began writing on the strip of cloth. Soon, the entire statement was written out.

Su Ming snatched the strip of coarse cloth, examined it carefully, and his eyes lit up with excitement. He blew on it carefully to dry the blood, folded it, tucked it into his robe, patted it, and looked at Sikong with a beaming smile.

"Sikong, remember: debts must be repaid. I'll only wait ten years!" Su Ming's eyes glinted with cunning. He set the herb down, flickered, and sped off into the distance.

He left behind Sikong, who sat on the snow with a bitter expression. Sikong quickly picked up the herb, hesitated, but didn't dare eat it. Instead, he scrambled to his feet and ran toward his tribe.

After he left, a blurry figure gradually appeared out of thin air on the quiet, snowy ground. It was a grim-faced old woman holding a massive bone staff, topped with a human skull that emitted a faint, ghostly light.

"Is he that infant from back then... What Barbarian Art did he use? Even I cannot see through it... I have never seen it before." The old woman stared in the direction Su Ming had vanished, her eyes flickering in thought. After a long while, she turned and walked toward the Black Dragon Tribe, slowly disappearing into the snow.

Su Ming ran through the mountain forest, occasionally looking at the spear in his hand and giggling, clearly delighted. Even Little Monkey on his shoulder kept eyeing the spear, letting out low hisses; it could faintly sense the incredibly powerful energy contained within the weapon.

"That'll teach you to stop me from seeing Bai Ling. Judging by his reaction, he must like her. That means many in the Black Dragon Tribe must know I saved her..." Su Ming slowed his pace, his eyes thoughtful.

"I wonder how much of the process Bai Ling told them... If she told them everything, my Powder Refining Cave won't be safe anymore..." Su Ming suddenly felt a sense of agitation. He frowned, pondered for a long time, and continued silently through the night forest, weighed down by his thoughts.

Little Monkey blinked, watching Su Ming's troubled expression. Its eyes rolled, and it seemed to realize something. It grinned, baring its teeth, and leaped from Su Ming's shoulder, disappearing into the forest in a few blurs.

"Remember, don't go back to Black Flame Peak, and don't go back to the cave!" Su Ming called out after it.

The forest was Little Monkey's home, so he wasn't worried about it being in danger. They were not far from his tribe now. As he moved, Su Ming forced himself to stop thinking about his worries and steeled his spirit to run toward the tribe.

When late night arrived and the moon in the sky was at its brightest, Su Ming saw the faint glow of campfires in the distance. He was about to emerge from the forest when he heard a rustling sound behind him. He turned to look and saw Little Monkey chasing after him, looking excited and proud.

It held a large clump of black hair in its hand. Upon catching up, it forcefully shoved the hair into the hands of a bewildered Su Ming. Then, it stepped back, pointed at the hair, then at its own lower abdomen, and performed a series of strange gestures, as if teaching Su Ming how to use the hair...

It then patted its chest and hissed triumphantly, as if telling Su Ming about the effectiveness of the item.

Su Ming looked at Little Monkey and burst into laughter. Seeing that Su Ming was no longer frowning, Little Monkey also bared its teeth in a smile, seemingly satisfied that its guess had been correct—that Su Ming had been worrying about this very thing.

"Little Monkey." Su Ming crouched down and beckoned to the little monkey, which immediately ran to his side.

Su Ming looked at Little Monkey with a soft gaze, gently patting its fur, a warm feeling rising in his heart.

"While I'm away, you must remember not to go back to Black Flame Peak or that cave. Go somewhere else. When I return, I will come find you. Also, don't think those Medicine Stones I gave you taste bad. You must eat one every day, along with the herbs I taught you to recognize. You must remember this." Su Ming said with a gentle smile, took one last look at Little Monkey, and stood up to walk toward the tribe.