Chapter 246: Everyone Had Arrived
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“City Lord Su, have you gone to bed?”
Mrs. Zhang’s voice rang out from outside the door. As it was cold, the room door was closed.
“Mrs. Zhang, you can come in and talk.”
Mrs. Zhang pushed open the door and entered the room, holding a big bowl in her hand. “It’s cold here. Although there’s a charcoal fire in the house, it’s still uncomfortable at night, so I cooked a big bowl of egg and ginger soup for City Lord Su. Please eat it to warm up your body. You will be able to sleep more comfortably afterward.”
Su Ying looked at the bowl that was almost filled to the brim with eggs. She suspected that there were more than ten eggs in the bowl.
“I’m already very full from dinner.”
Mrs. Zhang saw that Su Ying was speaking very earnestly and felt somewhat at a loss. That was right. She was a young lady but had already finished half a pot of rice. Yet she still brought so many eggs over. Wasn’t she implying that City Lord Su was a glutton?
Just as Mrs. Zhang was fretting over whether she should take it away, she heard Su Ying say, “But since you’ve already cooked it, just put it down.”
Mrs. Zhang silently said in her heart, “City Lord Su certainly eats a lot…”
“Mrs. Zhang, do you know who drew this map?” The map looked a little old, but some of the marks on it seemed new. It was like a painting that had been drawn for a long time. The author would fill in some of the markings on the map on an ad hoc basis whenever he thought of something.
“City Lord Su, are you referring to this map? It was drawn by my eldest son, Zhang Nuo. This kid doesn’t come home all year round and likes to travel everywhere. However, we can’t enter other people’s territory, so we can only walk around the northern wilderness.”
When Mrs. Zhang mentioned her eldest son, her eyes lit up. Although she complained about her son not being at home, her words carried a tinge of pride.
“He’s not in the village now?”
Mrs. Zhang shook her head. “He’s not here. He went out before the New Year. We agreed that he would come back for the New Year, but in spite of our agreement, he didn’t come back again. We don’t know when he’ll be back either.”
That would be a pity. Since he had drawn the map himself, he must be very familiar with the markings on the map. Su Ying wanted to have a chat with him.
“Mrs. Zhang, do you know about the tribes in the other places on this map?” Su Ying pointed at the map.
Mrs. Zhang leaned over and looked at the map solemnly. “I remember now. This map has detailed markings. Now that City Lord Su has asked me, I really don’t know. However, there is a detailed explanation of the markings. I’ll go get it.”
Mrs. Zhang turned around and left the room. When she came back, she had a thick book in her hand.
“City Lord Su, take a look. 1 can’t read either, so I don’t know what’s written inside.”
Su Ying took the book and nodded. “Thank you.”
Mrs. Zhang reminded Su Ying not to forget to eat the egg and ginger soup before leaving the room tactfully.
Su Ying held the large bowl and took a gulp from it as she flipped through the book in her hand. She discovered that Zhang Nuo’s content noted down many things in great detail. It even described the geographical features, the tribes that lived there, and the habits of the tribes meticulously.
Not only that, but it also contained his own opinions and thoughts about these places. Many of the places were very unique, and Su Ying gradually became addicted to reading about them.
After reading the book, Su Ying wanted to meet Zhang Nuo even more.
She didn’t finish reading it until dawn.
Su Ying closed the book and stretched before lying down on the bed.
When she opened her eyes again, it was still bright outside. She sat up and opened the room door to see the Orange Guardian standing outside.
“City Lord, you are awake.”
Su Ying murmured her reply. “What time is it now?”
“It’s not even 7 am yet, City Lord.”
Su Ying was a little baffled. It was definitely already past 7 when she fell asleep, so how come it wasn’t 7 now?
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. City Lord has indeed slept for almost a day and a night.”
Had she slept for so long?
Su Ying was very surprised.
“City Lord Su, you’re awake. Are you hungry? I’ll go make something for you now.” When Mrs. Zhang came out of the house and saw Su Ying, a smile immediately appeared on her face.
“I’ll have to trouble you.” After sleeping for so long, it would be strange if she wasn’t hungry.
Su Ying thought for a while, then walked over to Tribal Chief Zhang’s room to check on his condition.
“City Lord Su.” Tribal Chief Zhang watched as Su Ying entered the room and propped himself up to get up from the bed.
“Are the injuries on your body better?”
Tribal Chief Zhang revealed a faint smile. “Much better. Thank you for saving my life, City Lord.”
“The Orange Guardian was the one who treated you. You should thank him.”
“I must also thank the Orange Guardian properly. By the way, City Lord Su, the other tribes have already sent people over. When do you think you can meet them?”
She had slept for so long that it was not surprising that all of them had arrived. “I’ll be there in a while.”
After Mrs. Zhang brought Su Ying some breakfast and she finished them, Zhang Shulun brought her to meet the other tribes.
Tribal Chief Zhang arranged for them to stay in an empty house in the tribe. When Su Ying walked into the house, she saw that there were twenty to thirty people inside. Those people were huddled around a fire to keep warm, probably because it was very cold.
“Brothers and Elders, City Lord Su is here.” Zhang Shulun announced as he came up to them and placed both his hands in front of his chest before giving a half-bow.
Upon hearing this, those people all stood up and sized Su Ying up.
Su Ying stood where she was and allowed them to scrutinize her.
“It’s been hard on all of you to make a trip in such heavy-snow weather.” Su Ying’s gaze quickly swept across their faces as she spoke first.
In the room, a man with a square face, slender eyes, and a chin-strap beard stood up upon hearing this. His eyes displayed a sense of calmness as he bowed in greeting.
“I heard that City Lord Su saved our tribe from a calamity of extinction. I’m really grateful.”
Based on the words of the Nan State people, they intended to rob all the tribes in this whole area. Due to the snow in winter and the freezing weather, the tribes basically did not have any contact with each other during this period of time. The exchange of news was relatively restricted, and it was impossible for any tribe to know in advance that another tribe was under attack. Thus, there was no way for them to prepare in advance.
If those Nan State people really came, even if their tribesmen could resist, they would suffer heavy casualties. It was only right for them to express their gratitude.
“There’s no need to thank me for something that didn’t happen. All of you, please sit down.”
Everyone very tactfully gave the seat of honor to Su Ying.
Su Ying didn’t say anything and walked over to the chair and sat down.
“Although those people have left for the time being, there is still a possibility that they will come again. You guys have to be prepared in the future. If they come again, you guys can quickly go to Sky Alpha City to look for me.”
Even if she had killed all those people back then, the Li Clan of the Nan State would still send people over to investigate what happened. If they found out that the people of the tribes were still around, they would still keep sending people over if they did not intend to give up.
Rather than allow this to happen, it was better to release them to go back and explain the situation to see if the Li Clan would back off because of this. However, Su Ying could not rule out the possibility that they would become more determined as they suffered more setbacks.
The people of these tribes weren’t expecting Su Ying to make such a promise, and they were even more grateful.
“City Lord Su, we’ve already brought over the medicinal herbs that you want. You can come with us to inspect the goods.”
“Alright..”