"Heh, chieftain?" A trace of contempt appeared on You Si's face. "What right do you have to strike a bargain with me?"
"That's right, Father Chief!" a tribesman shouted. "Why talk to this woman? Let us tear her apart and make meat out of her!"
The chieftain slowly shook his head. Perhaps he alone knew how dangerous the woman before them was.
"You Si, I'll fight you one-on-one. If I win... I'll let you leave. If you win, I'll have my people hand over their food. But whatever happens, you must not take any of my people's lives. Will you agree?"
You Si considered it briefly. His words were not without reason. If even he, the strongest among them, could not become "Time," none of the others in his tribe stood a chance.
"Fine, but I don't want food," You Si said. "If I win, I want you to agree to do one thing for me."
"One thing?" The chieftain was puzzled. "You've been slaughtering tribes along your way just to find someone to do something for you?"
"Correct," You Si said. "Unfortunately, no one has agreed so far."
The chieftain suddenly broke into a smile that shook everyone to their core. "Hahahaha! You really make me laugh! Are you saying the lives of those dozens of tribes' people matter less than this 'one thing' of yours?!"
The burly man's earth-shaking presence forced You Si half a step back. Then she said coldly, "I don't even know them. What do their lives or deaths have to do with me?"
"Exactly! I just can't figure you out. If you don't even know them, why wipe out every last one of them?!"
The burly man thrust his hands into the ground and, with a slight exertion, lifted an enormous rock. In his