Chapter 203: Moving Away

A few days ago, the Black Pig Tribe had gone out hunting as usual.

No one had expected anything unusual to happen.

The hunters had returned with several pieces of prey, including a Wild Chicken. The Tribe members happily prepared the meat, completely unaware that the seemingly ordinary meal would soon turn into a disaster.

After eating the Wild Chicken, people in the Black Pig Tribe began falling ill one after another.

At first, everyone thought it was merely some kind of stomach sickness.

Then someone suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Before anyone could react, the person collapsed to the ground.

Dead.

The sudden death terrified everyone.

Then another person fell.

And another.

Within a short period, several Tribe members had died in succession.

Panic spread through the Black Pig Tribe like wildfire.

The Beastmen no longer dared to eat the remaining food. Some were afraid to even touch those who had fallen ill, while others frantically searched for an explanation.

With so many consecutive deaths, everyone became convinced that they had offended the gods.

They gathered before the Holy Fire, kneeling and praying desperately.

"Please, gods, don’t punish us!"

"We didn’t do anything wrong!"

"Please protect the Tribe!"

"Have mercy on us!"

Seeing the chaos, Henry, the leader of the Black Pig Tribe, immediately organized a grand ceremony.

He personally stood before the Holy Fire and led the Tribe members in prayer.

He expressed his repentance to the gods and promised that from then on, he would worship them with even greater devotion.

The ceremony continued for three days and three nights.

Yet despite all their prayers and offerings, the situation didn’t improve.

Instead, the death toll continued to rise.

The people Henry had sent out to search for a Witch Doctor had not returned either.

The entire Black Pig Tribe had fallen into complete chaos.

Watching everything unfold, Serena couldn’t help but feel disdainful.

If this had happened in the Wolf Tribe, Martin would have dealt with it long ago.

At least he would have immediately thought of ways to investigate the cause instead of simply gathering everyone together to pray to the gods.

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

She was truly unlucky.

She hadn’t even enjoyed her good days for very long before another disaster had fallen upon her.

What was the use of seeking the gods whenever something happened?

The last time she had prayed so sincerely for the gods to help her, hadn’t they failed to help her anyway?

It was better to rely on herself than on others.

Although she didn’t know exactly how those people had died, the situation was clearly abnormal.

They were falling one after another.

Something was obviously wrong with their bodies.

They weren’t dying ordinary deaths.

That evening, while the entire Tribe remained tense and frightened,

Henry once again approached Serena.

His stinking mouth tried to get close to her.

Serena immediately raised her hand and blocked him.

At a time like this, he still had the mind for such things.

She couldn’t understand how someone like Henry had become a Tribe Leader.

Seeing Serena stop him, a trace of displeasure appeared on Henry’s face.

"What’s wrong? Unwell again?"

Ever since he had formed a Totem Contract with Serena, she seemed to become sick every few days.

Henry didn’t know whether she was genuinely unwell or merely making excuses to avoid him.

Every time they mated, it could only happen once every three days.

Henry felt that there probably wasn’t another Beast Husband in the entire Tribe who was as frustrated as he was.

He had finally endured those three days.

And now Serena was stopping him again.

Serena wasn’t deaf to the impatience in his voice.

But she genuinely didn’t want to smell that stinking mouth of his.

Every time she mated with Henry, she felt as though her entire body had become foul-smelling.

His scent seemed to cling to everything.

Her mouth.

Her skin.

Even her hair.

It was as though she had been marinated in his scent and couldn’t wash it away no matter how hard she tried.

She had to bathe for a very long time afterward, practically scrubbing her skin raw before the smell would finally fade.

The problem was that she couldn’t fully wash her face with water in her current condition.

Therefore, she usually waited until Henry went outside before bathing.

But because she took such a long time, there were occasions when Henry returned before she had finished.

That made her extremely uncomfortable.

To minimize contact with Henry as much as possible, she could only use her physical weakness as an excuse.

An ordinary Female who repeatedly made such excuses to her Beast Husband would surely face his reluctance.

But Serena was confident that she was the most beautiful Female in the entire Tribe.

Henry didn’t care for any other Female.

Because of that, she believed he had no choice but to tolerate her.

And she had been right.

Knowing that Serena was in poor health, Henry didn’t force her, even though resentment had accumulated in his heart.

This time, however, Serena didn’t immediately nod or shake her head.

She fell silent for a moment.

Her expression gradually became more solemn.

"Henry, there’s something I don’t know if I should tell you."

Seeing that her expression wasn’t quite right, Henry immediately became serious.

"If there’s something, just say it."

Serena looked toward him.

"With so many people in the Tribe passing away one after another, why don’t we move somewhere else to live?"

She had a faint suspicion that there was something wrong with the location of the Black Pig Tribe.

Perhaps the land had bad karma.

Otherwise, why would people keep dying one after another?

"Move somewhere else?"

Henry frowned.

"Where we live is very good. Why would we suddenly want to relocate?"

Very good?

Serena nearly rolled her eyes.

Eight people had died in a single day.

And he still had the nerve to say that the place was good?

She suppressed her irritation and continued speaking gently and patiently.

"Eight people died today alone. It looks like some kind of poisoning. If we change locations, perhaps fewer people will die."

Henry’s expression changed slightly.

He was clearly shaken by her words.

But reluctance soon appeared in his eyes.

He had grown up on this land.

After his father passed away, he had inherited the position of Tribe Leader and continued living here.

He had spent a full twenty years on this land.

How could he simply abandon it because of a sudden disaster?

"If we leave without any preparation, we won’t even know where to go," Henry said. "Besides, with so many people in the Tribe dying, I haven’t even held burial ceremonies for them. Leaving now is too rushed."

Serena frowned.

"Don’t worry about those who died. We’ll leave tomorrow."

She spoke as though the matter had already been decided.

"As for where to go, this continent is so vast. There has to be somewhere suitable for us."

Henry stared at her in disbelief.

"Serena, how can you say such things?"

His expression became somewhat shocked.

"Those who died were my Black Pig Beastmen. They were like my own kin!"

Serena sighed inwardly.

She knew Henry was stubborn, but she hadn’t expected him to be this difficult.

Still, she maintained a patient expression.

"I know you’re reluctant."

She paused before continuing.

"But several people dying at the same time means there must be something wrong with their bodies. If you keep touching them, you might catch the disease yourself."

Her voice became more serious.

"I’m thinking of everyone. If everyone gets sick, the entire Tribe will be gone."

Serena remembered how Martin often handled difficult situations.

When floods came, he always instructed everyone not to bring too many unnecessary things.

Because of those decisions, the Wolf Tribe was rarely hit as hard by floods as other Tribes.

She had learned from him.

Sometimes, protecting the majority meant sacrificing something for the greater good.

"Sometimes we have to sacrifice the few to save the many."

Henry remained silent.

"But then we won’t have any food."

Despite Serena’s long explanation, Henry was still stubbornly focused on the same problem.

Serena’s patience finally began to wear thin.

"If you don’t agree, then I will leave the Black Pig Tribe."

Her words immediately changed Henry’s expression.

"Don’t!"

He quickly grabbed her hand.

"I understand."

He had no choice but to compromise.

"I’ll notify the people of the Tribe tomorrow."

Seeing that Henry was still somewhat angry, Serena closed her eyes.

She summoned the greatest courage she could find.

Then she leaned forward and kissed Henry on the cheek.

Serena rarely took the initiative.

The moment she did so, Henry’s anger gradually disappeared.

His eyes immediately lit up.

He became excited and moved closer to kiss her mouth.

"Serena, you’re so beautiful. Let me light a fire so I can see you!"

Serena immediately refused.

"No. You know I’m shy. If you light a fire, I won’t be able to go through with it."

Henry could only give up.

Every time they mated, she refused to let him light a fire.

She was always particularly pure and shy.

At least, that was what Henry believed.

The next day, when Henry announced that the Black Pig Tribe would relocate, the reaction was exactly as Serena had expected.

Many people immediately opposed the decision.

They especially objected because relocation meant leaving behind their dead companions.

To them, abandoning their dead was almost equivalent to betraying their own race.

The voices of opposition grew louder.

"We can’t leave them behind!"

"They are our Tribe members!"

"How can we abandon their bodies?"

Serena stepped forward.

She pointed toward the dead Beastmen.

"Look at them."

Her voice was calm but firm.

"These few were very close to each other yesterday, which is why they were infected together."

The Tribe members slowly quieted.

"If we don’t leave, we might catch the disease just like them."

She looked around at everyone.

"When that happens, the entire Black Pig Tribe could be wiped out."

Her tone became solemn.

"I’m doing this for everyone’s sake."

The people began exchanging uncertain glances.

The anger in their voices gradually softened.

Henry saw that the situation had calmed down and finally spoke.

"If you all still recognize me as your leader, then listen to me."

Everyone looked toward him.

"We’ll move out first."

Henry paused.

"Once the poison has vanished, we’ll come back and bury our fallen companions properly."

With things put that way, the Tribe members had no choice but to agree.

And so, the entire Black Pig Tribe began preparing for migration.

They gathered whatever necessities they could carry.

They left behind their homes.

They left behind the land where they had lived for generations.

And, most painfully of all, they left behind their dead companions.

The Tribe slowly departed from Fengqi Mountain.

Under Henry’s leadership, they began moving south.

No one knew what awaited them.

No one knew whether they would find a safe place to settle.

And no one knew whether the strange poison would disappear as Henry had promised.

But at least they had escaped the source of the disaster.

As the Black Pig Tribe disappeared into the distance, Serena couldn’t help but feel that her decision had been correct.

She had no idea that far away, in another Tribe, Sora was already systematically investigating the same plague toxin.

And unlike the chaotic Black Pig Tribe, Sora was slowly uncovering clues that might reveal exactly where the terrifying disease had come from.