Qingfeng clutched his wooden stick, his throat bobbing.
His shoulders trembled.
Hu Niu ran over and pressed a bowl of steaming beast-bone soup into his hands.
"Drink first. We can talk afterward."
Shi Qingfeng looked down at the bowl. A sheen of oil floated on the soup, and steam washed over his face.
His nose stung, and his eyes ached with swelling tears.
He sniffed hard, tipped his head back, and gulped the soup down.
Shi Hao patted Qingfeng on the back.
"Grandpa Chief, Qingfeng is from the Shi Clan too."
"After I was sent to Stone Village back then, over at the Second Ancestral Land... they were afraid someone would investigate, so his grandfather named him Shi Hao. He's been living in the ancestral land ever since."
Shi Yunfeng drove his walking stick hard into the ground.
"A stand-in?"
Shi Hao nodded.
"He suffered so much in my place all these years."
Shi Qingfeng kept his head lowered, his wooden stick planted in the dirt, both hands gripping it until his knuckles turned white.
Shi Yunfeng walked over. The old man's palm settled on Qingfeng's head and lingered for a moment.
"Where's your grandfather?"
"...He's gone."
His voice was very quiet.
Shi Yunfeng pressed his hand down on Qingfeng's head, firmly and steadily.
"Good child, you've suffered. From now on, this is your home."
The old man turned toward the villagers behind him and raised his voice.
"Listen, all of you. This child endured years of suffering for our Little One. Stone Village owes him. If anyone dares bully him, I, Shi Yunfeng, will be the first to object."
"Chief, what are you talking about?"
"He's one of our own! You don't need to tell us that!"
Ermeng sidled up.
"How old are you? Stick with me from now