"Could Hardway have run off after the Great Elder stripped him of his dignity?"
Bu Er still remembered how the Great Elder had spoken of Hardway earlier.
A hint of amusement touched Yang Qing's eyes. "Run off? This is the Hard Tribe, and he's its chief. Where could he run?"
"In any case, his heart isn't in the right place," Bu Er said.
As they spoke, Ouyang Lin said, "He's back."
Yang Qing looked up and saw Hardway staggering toward them with a stone held in his bare arms.
When he reached them, he gave a "Heave-ho!" and set the stone on the ground.
It landed squarely on the spot Yang Qing had pointed out earlier.
The stone looked rather unusual. It was nothing like an ordinary mountain rock, and could almost rival the extraordinary stones polished a thousand times over in the Strange Stone Pavilion.
Yang Qing's gaze rested on the stone for a moment before he quickly looked away.
"Sorry for the trouble, Chief."
Hardway raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Since the young master asked, I naturally had to make some effort."
"Besides, it's only a stone."
Yang Qing nodded slightly, then turned to watch only the ground beneath the stone.
Bu Er and the others naturally watched closely as well.
At first, nothing happened after the stone touched the ground.
But half an incense stick later, they noticed that it had shrunk to less than half its original size.
"Could there be something in the ground gnawing at this stone?"
Seeing more than half the stone vanish right before his eyes, Bu Er could not help exclaiming in astonishment.
"To find out what's happening, we'll have to see what becomes of the stone," Yang Qing said.
Tales of the Blood Sacrifice had