Chapter 17: Escape to the Qiang Tribe - Ah? The Wives I Abandoned Turned Out to Be Real

2025-02-28 Author: Icy Winter Chapter 17: Escape to the Qiang Tribe [You chose to jump into the sacrificial pit.] [Upon seeing the torrential rain, you seized the opportunity when everyone was taking shelter, unnoticed, and leapt into the sacrificial pit.] [Simultaneously, you piled the bodies of women and children on top of yourself.] [Despite your great strength, your slender physique allowed you to hide effectively in the narrow crevices.] [The rain came swiftly and left just as quickly. The ritual resumed, and your absence went unnoticed.] [Bodies continued to be thrown down from above, filling you with dread. You feared being buried permanently beneath the heap.] [This ritual lasted for three days and nights, during which thirty thousand slaves were killed. The darkened blood soaked you completely.] [Hunger gnawed at you; despite the unbearable stench of the blood, you had no choice but to consume it to survive and hold out for the day of escape.] [One particular day, you dreamt of transforming into a free raven, only to be struck by an arrow and plummet from the heavens.] [You awoke with a start.] [Upon waking, you had an inexplicable premonition that this three-day, three-night massacre of over thirty thousand had finally ended.] [Using your brute strength, akin to that of a wild ox, you clawed your way through the layers of corpses, emerged from the blood-stained pit, and returned to the alley of slaves under the moonlit night.] [Your father, Su Yin, was overjoyed and terrified to see you.] [If your survival were to be discovered, your fate would be even more horrendous than being sacrificed.] [Your father led you to a sewer entrance, perpetually reeking with waste and foul sewage, the channel through which Morning Song city disposed of its foulness.] [The powerful stench made you nauseous, but it was your sole route to freedom.] [Before leaving, you glanced back at your father, uncertain whether you'd see each other again.] [With your father's urging, you crawled into the ceramic conduit.] [After a grueling three-hour journey, you emerged beyond the city of Morning Song, only to find a blackwater swamp, forever receiving the city's filth.] [Swimming out of the swamp, unsure of your next destination, your instinct was to flee as far from Morning Song as possible.] [After wandering for an undetermined period, you encountered a clear river. Laden with the sewage and blood, you felt unbearable discomfort and leapt into the river to cleanse yourself.] [The clear river briefly transformed into a river of filth.] [After catching and eating some raw fish, you proceeded upstream, though faint cries for help caught your attention.] [Focusing intently, you spotted a girl, about your age, being swept downstream, struggling in the river's midstream, on the verge of drowning.] [Without hesitation, you dove in, swimming towards her, having honed excellent swimming skills from catching turtles.] [Upon rescuing the girl and carefully observing her, you noted her remarkable beauty—a living fairy tale, with features delicate as a carved jade.] [Her silk garment indicated a notable status.] At this moment, the narrative shifted from a third-person to a first-person perspective, allowing Su Mo to see the girl clearly. A ten-year-old girl, her skin white and rosy, eyes closed, with long, thick eyelashes and vivid, cherry-like lips—her beauty was striking. Seeing her, Su Mo felt an immediate, sinful impulse arise within himself. Amitabha. Sinful, sinful. The thought alone was forbidden. [As you admired her, the girl awoke, her watery eyes staring straight at you.] [A soft, tender voice reached your ears.] "Did you save me?" [Just as you were about to reply, the sound of hooves approached from a distance.] [Assuming it was someone in pursuit of the escaped slave that you were, you abandoned the girl and ran towards the distant woods.] [Hiding carefully in the forest, you peered through the undergrowth.] [A cavalry unit arrived from the river's upstream; their leader, seeing the girl unharmed, sighed in relief before dismounting with others to kneel before her, muttering something inaudible.] [The girl pouted, glanced in your direction, but said nothing, leaving with the cavalry.] [With her departure, a sense of loss overcame you.] [It felt like a piece of your heart had departed with the girl.] [Avoiding the riverbank for fear of encountering others, you set forth into the endless wilderness towards the southwest.] [When thirsty, you drank from small puddles, and when hungry, you picked berries or set traps for small animals.] [Fortunately, your innate strength and robust constitution prevented illness despite continuous exertion.] [Eventually, you reached a mountain range, extensive and continuous, with depths, lengths, and widths unknown from the outside.] [You were elated; here, you could build a secret sanctuary for yourself, sustained by the area's abundant wildlife.] [However, just as you were filled with hope, stepping into the mountains, you triggered a trap, and a rope snare suspended your legs from a tree.] [Despite your strength, freeing yourself proved impossible.] [After hanging for two days and nights, a group of Qiang people found you.] [Noting their trap for catching beasts had captured you, they were concerned for your wellbeing, quickly freeing and feeding you water and rice cakes.] [Revived, you opened your eyes to the kind-hearted Qiang people.] [Initially alarmed, their goodwill calmed you gradually.] [The Qiang spoke the same language as the merchants.] [Their leader inquired about your origins, and you confessed escaping as a slave from the Shang dynasty.] [Upon learning your status, empathy filled their eyes.] [The Qiang despised the merchants, who treated them as livestock, hence their empathy for a fellow slave.] [The Qiang leader spoke.] "There's no going back to the merchants. From now on, come with us." [Upon hearing this, you knelt heavily before the Qiang leader, for his words offered you a path to life.] [An endless debt of gratitude!] (End of Chapter)