Chapter 243: Deep Contract

A person who had been picked up from the roadside, yet happened to be good at almost everything, was bound to make people suspicious.

If Red Frost wasn’t interested in Mark, then there was a possibility that she was interested in the Tribe itself.

Sora couldn’t help thinking about it.

Martin had always maintained good relationships with the surrounding Tribes. There was no reason for Red Frost to have come here seeking revenge.

If revenge wasn’t the reason, then what else could she want?

There had to be something.

And if she had her eyes on something in the Wolf Tribe, there weren’t many things worth targeting.

Aside from the Pox Scabs treatment and pottery, the only other thing that could attract someone’s attention was the Salt Well Cave that Sora had discovered.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became.

With that thought in mind, Sora immediately went to find Martin.

Martin was slightly surprised when he saw Sora approaching, but his expression quickly softened into a happy smile.

"What made you think of visiting your Father today?"

Sora didn’t waste time with pleasantries.

She went straight to the matter that had been bothering her.

"Father, have you sent anyone to check on that Salt Well?"

Martin nodded.

"I’ve had people check it every day. Why? Did you notice something unusual?"

Sora shook her head.

"Not exactly. I just have a bad feeling, like someone has their eyes on it."

The moment Martin heard that Sora’s premonition was bad, his expression became solemn.

Although Sora herself believed that she had only created the medicine for the plague toxin because the Heavenly God had guided her, Martin regarded her very differently.

In his eyes, Sora was a Celestial Maiden chosen by the god.

After all, the god had also chosen her to retrieve the previous Sacred Fire.

Therefore, if Sora suddenly felt uneasy about something, Martin couldn’t simply dismiss it.

Perhaps it was a warning from the god.

Still, he didn’t want to frighten her unnecessarily.

"Nothing has happened so far," Martin reassured her. "I’ve had the Tribe members go at night. They use Gale Legs to travel there and return quickly. No one should have noticed them."

Hearing this, Sora felt slightly relieved.

At least Martin had already taken precautions.

Even so, she couldn’t completely shake the uneasy feeling in her heart.

"We should still be careful with the next batch of salt," she warned. "I always feel like something isn’t quite right."

"Alright. I’ll pass the word down."

Sora nodded before leaving.

But the moment she was alone, her thoughts returned to Red Frost.

She couldn’t help asking the system again.

"System, is there something wrong with Red Frost?"

There was a brief silence.

Then the system replied in its usual mechanical voice.

"Host, there is nothing wrong with Red Frost."

Nothing wrong?

Sora frowned.

She still felt that something wasn’t right.

Was the system certain?

She remembered that the system hadn’t always been particularly reliable.

In the end, Sora decided to trust her own intuition.

Meanwhile, at the Black Pig Tribe—

"Madam, a letter from Red Frost has arrived."

Mat stood before Serena, holding the leaf-letter in his hands.

Serena immediately took it.

After opening it and looking at the writing, her eyebrows furrowed.

She had learned quite a lot of Black Pig Script recently, but she had to admit that Black Pig Script was as ugly as a Black Pig.

The characters were crooked and twisted, almost like earthworms crawling across a leaf.

It took her quite a while to barely make out what Red Frost had written.

However, the moment she understood the contents, her displeasure disappeared.

The awkward handwriting suddenly looked much more pleasing to her.

"Great!"

A pleased smile appeared on Serena’s face.

"Red Frost has successfully approached Mark, and she’s already gained his trust."

She knew it.

Based on her understanding of Mark, figuring out what kind of Female he liked hadn’t been difficult.

As long as Red Frost followed her instructions, there was no way Mark wouldn’t eventually trust her.

And once Red Frost had gained his trust, the next step would be to find an opportunity to discover the location of the Salt Well.

That was the real objective.

Serena immediately dictated a reply to Henry, telling him to pass the message to Red Frost.

"Tell her to find out the location of the Salt Well as soon as possible."

It was already troublesome enough that Serena had to learn to read Black Pig Script.

She had absolutely no desire to write it herself.

The script was dark, messy, and unpleasant to look at.

She still couldn’t understand how the Black Pig Tribe had come up with such a strange writing system in the first place.

After receiving the reply, Red Frost quickly looked through it.

Then she began preparing her response.

She finished writing the message on a leaf, rolled it tightly into a cylinder, and attached it to a hedgehog.

Just then—

Knock, knock.

A voice came from outside.

"Red Frost, are you there?"

It was Mark.

Red Frost was startled.

Her heart jumped.

She immediately kicked the hedgehog lightly.

The little creature scurried away.

Only after watching it disappear did Red Frost pat her chest and let out a quiet breath.

She quickly composed herself before walking over to open the door.

"I’m here."

She looked at Mark and smiled sweetly.

"Brother Mark, is there something you need?"

Mark walked inside.

Unlike his usual expression, he looked troubled.

He sat down and sighed.

"Do you think I’ve been too hard on Kaelira lately?"

Red Frost’s eyes flickered.

After what she had said earlier in the Plaza, Mark had apparently thought about it.

He had finally realized that Mother’s words toward Sora weren’t particularly pleasant either.

Yet he had still demanded that Sora greet Mother politely and maintain a pleasant expression.

Red Frost poured him a cup of water.

She handed it to him before sitting nearby.

"What’s past is past and cannot be changed," she said gently. "It’s good that you’ve realized your mistake now."

Mark listened quietly.

"Next time you see Sister Kaelira, just be nicer to her. If you do that, she’ll eventually realize how good her brother is."

The tension in Mark’s heart immediately disappeared.

He took Red Frost’s hand.

"It’s so good to have met you, Red Frost. After hearing you say that, I know what I need to do."

Red Frost looked at him.

A faint smile appeared in her eyes.

"Me too."

She lowered her gaze slightly.

"Meeting you makes me feel very happy as well."

Then, remembering Serena’s letter, she carefully chose her words.

"Brother Mark, can you give me some salt tomorrow?"

"Salt?"

Mark looked surprised.

"What do you want that for?"

Red Frost smiled.

"Because I want to cook for you."

Her expression was gentle.

"You’re so good to me, so naturally, I want to be good to you too."

Mark was touched.

"Red Frost, you’re so kind. But the Tribe cooks at the Plaza every day, and I’m already eating the food you help prepare. Don’t tire yourself out."

"But I want to make rena’s Chicken for you specifically."

Red Frost’s voice became even sweeter.

"It’s a delicacy from our Black Pig Tribe that my Mother taught me. I’m sure you’ll like it."

"Rena’s Chicken?"

Mark had never heard of it.

He genuinely hadn’t eaten anything like that before.

Then he remembered that he hadn’t eaten meat in a long time since the plague toxin crisis had ended.

After thinking about it, he nodded.

"Alright, then. I’ll bring you some salt tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mark."

Red Frost gave him a sweet smile.

Inside, however, her thoughts were already elsewhere.

The salt was exactly what she needed.

And through that salt, she would eventually find a way to obtain information about the Salt Well.

After leaving Mark’s room, Sora returned to the Wild Kitchen.

She had been eating the food Clare prepared over the past few days.

Although the food was delicious and convenient, eating the same thing repeatedly eventually made Sora want a change.

She had also just finished making some clay pots.

So she decided to make clay pot rice.

After washing the plump rice thoroughly, she divided it among seven clay pots.

Then she added some wild vegetables she had randomly picked from the forest.

She also added sausages and cured meat.

Once everything was prepared, she started cooking.

Soon, an enticing aroma began drifting through the Wild Kitchen.

The moment Lucas and Ace smelled it, they immediately sat down at the round table.

They had originally planned to go to the Plaza to find something to eat.

But after seeing Sora cooking, neither of them wanted to leave.

They simply sat nearby and waited.

When they noticed that Sora was using new utensils, their anticipation grew even stronger.

New utensils meant Sora was making something new.

And whenever Sora made something new, it was almost always delicious.

Since Lucas and Ace weren’t moving, Xavier naturally came over and sat beside them.

Soon, Damien, Lukan, and Ryan also came out of the Wooden Hut.

The moment they saw Sora cooking, they obediently sat around the round table as well.

Sora looked at all of them.

Every seat was occupied.

Then she remembered the crystal stones.

A faint sneer appeared in her heart.

These freeloaders certainly moved quickly whenever food was involved.

Sora calmly brought her own portion of clay pot rice to the table.

She sat down.

The others waited expectantly.

Then they realized something.

They didn’t have any clay pots.

Several men stared at Sora.

"Kaelira, where are ours?"

Sora looked at them.

"Yours?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"You guys certainly have some nerve."

The men were stunned.

Sora continued.

"I only realized today how stingy all of you are."

She pointed toward the clay pot in front of her.

"I’ve let you eat for free for so long, yet not one of you has given me a single crystal stone."

The atmosphere suddenly became strange.

The men exchanged glances.

Then Xavier looked at Sora with a wickedly charming smile.

"Kaelira wants crystal stones?"

Sora nodded.

"Yes."

Xavier’s smile deepened.

"I can give you crystal stones."

He paused deliberately.

"But I’m afraid you won’t have the strength to take them then."

Sora’s expression immediately changed.

"What do you mean?"

Something about that statement sounded wrong.

Very wrong.

She stared at Xavier suspiciously.

The men exchanged glances.

Crystal stones weren’t simply ordinary currency.

They were connected to a Deep Contract.

They had never dared to casually bring up such a thing with Sora before.

But now that she had openly asked for crystal stones herself...

They could certainly oblige.

And perhaps this time, Sora would finally understand exactly what those crystal stones truly represented.