CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 46: THE HUSBAND-WATCHING STONE AND THE RED FOX

The numbers on the map kept changing continuously. The terrain of the back mountain of the Tushan Tribe was more complex than Zero had imagined.

When entering the mountain, the road was relatively easy to navigate, but as they moved towards the summit, the vegetation obscured their view and the path underfoot became increasingly difficult. The soil at the back mountain was a mix of sand and clay, mostly interspersed with earth-brown stones. Larger stones were covered in moss, and Zero, after searching around, did not find the red stone mentioned by the craftsmen.

Zero noticed it was getting late and was about to head back when, after walking a few hundred meters more, she heard the noise of a group of children.

"Tushan Qi, you’re just an unwanted wild child," a few older children from the Tushan Tribe shouted, standing on a slope nearby. Surrounded by these children was Qi, who had gone out to play earlier.

Qi’s face bore scratches from being clawed and hit. He looked like a trapped beast that had fallen into a pit, angrily gazing at the larger children surrounding him.

Qi was still just a youth without the strength to truss a chicken. In the Tushan Tribe, because of his mother, Nu Jiao of Tushan’s high status, people treated him politely on the surface. However, once he was out of his mother’s sight, he became the unwanted wild child with no father.

In the matrilineal Tushan Tribe, husbands who join the family would fend off attacks from other tribes, hunt outside, or take care of heavy labor at home. Only Qi’s father, Yu, had never truly exerted himself or accomplished any tasks for the Tushan Tribe. Every year, Nu Jiao had to hire temporary workers to help with farming and household chores. As Qi grew older and more aware, the bullying he endured planted seeds of hatred in his heart, taking root and leading to his tyrannical nature as a slave master in adulthood.

"Who says he’s an unwanted wild child," Zero emerged from the bushes, seeing several older children bullying Tushan Qi, which inexplicably tightened her chest, a blurry scene flickering through her mind. When had she seen this before?

The sudden appearance of a stranger on the seldom-visited back mountain startled the audacious children. However, upon seeing Zero clearly, they burst into laughter. What could a frail woman do? The Tushan tribe’s teenagers, already part of several tribal hunts, had broad shoulders and strong arms; a simple slap from them could disorient a woman like Zero.

"You’re no match for them," said Tushan Qi, aware that Zero wanted to help him. Despite his young age, he already knew how to feign weakness. These children wouldn’t get much advantage over him; as soon as he returned home, he’d tell his mother everything.

"Fighting isn’t about size; it’s about using this," the signal officer who was just a bit taller than himself shielded Qi behind her, reaching into her bag.

The handmade slingshot, long since devoid of jagged stone edges, was the self-defense weapon Zero pulled out, making the older children even more reckless. The beast tendons were tight, and the air seemed to rip with strength. Apparently empty bushes hosted several perched partridges that took flight—the birds understood the danger of slingshots sooner than humans.

Before the closest child to Tushan Qi could see what was flying towards him, he screamed in pain, a bump swelling on his forehead. A second stone quickly followed; due to her hit rate, Zero still missed several times, but it was enough to send the children running scared.

Zero hadn’t planned to seriously harm these rough tribal children; a lesson was enough. This was Tushan Qi’s first experience seeing someone fight like this. He had seen the tribesmen surround wild boars and capture wild horses, but no one had ever dispersed a group clearly stronger than themselves with such ease.

"That still works well," Xia You thought to herself. According to her hit rate, her accuracy was 25%, meaning out of every four shots, likely only one hit its mark. However, her high spiritual power, along with the fact that these were untrained children, compensated somewhat for her lack of accuracy. Out of every four shots, she only missed once.

"Saving NPC Tushan Qi, Tushan Qi’s favorability +10." Favorability again? What use is that, for now, No.0 isn’t in the mood to analyze. At the moment, she is content just enjoying the fervor in Tushan Qi’s eyes.

No.0, who initially planned to lead Tushan Qi down the mountain, asked, "Qi, do you know where nearby we can find red stones?" Since the probability of finding red stones through the system map was too low, No.0 looked at the children in the Tushan Tribe, who should be familiar with the back mountain, and quickly seized the opportunity while Tushan Qi still felt some gratitude towards her, pressing him for an answer.

First, Tushan Qi shook his head, but soon nodded, "You saved me today, so I’ll take you to find those red stones, but you cannot tell mother." Tushan Qi felt quite favorable towards No.0 at this moment.

Thus, Tushan Qi led No.0, deviating from the main mountain path, heading deep into the mountains. It took most of the afternoon before the two reached a bare mountaintop. Unlike the back mountain forest, there was no grass or trees on this entire mountaintop, only a huge boulder.

No.0 glanced at it and saw that the boulder was indeed the red stone she was looking for. But now there was another problem, wasn’t this red stone a bit too large?

The red boulder, seen from afar, looked like a small hillock, big enough that it would take four or five adults to wrap their arms around.

It weighed a few tons, a huge red copper-containing stone. No.0 walked around it and approximately figured out the basic situation of the stone block.

The problem was, in the ancient times without conditions like explosives for mining, how could such a huge boulder be moved down the mountain. What was most annoying was that the craftsman’s condition was to get a piece of red boulder.

"This huge stone was discovered when mother and I went up the mountain. Mother said this stone is just like her, watching the north day and night; father is in the north, and if he ever comes back one day, the stone will see him for my mother and me first," Tushan Qi’s words made No.0 take a few more looks at that mountain stone, humanly impossible to budge.

In myths and legends, there is a tale of the Tushan Clan’s wife-turning-into-stone. This boulder, from afar, looked like a woman in red, tearfully gazing into the distance.

"Your father will return soon," No.0 comforted Tushan Qi. This resilient mother and son lived alone by the Tushui River. The reputed hero of flood control, in the end, turned out to be a heartless man who couldn’t even care for his own small family. "In a while, I will take the news of you and the lady back, and he will soon return."

"Look quickly, a red fox," a red fox emerged from beside the boulder. Its fluffy tails stood erect in the mountain wind. No.0’s mind went "boom."

(Nine-tailed red fox?) Little Eight identified the fox’s name.

But No.0 saw more than just that. Physical Strength 399, Spiritual Power 50, Special Skill One, Entanglement. Special Skill Two, Copper Skin and Copper Bone.