Ever since Song, because of defeat in battle, was sold to a caravan of the Western Continent and then entered the Western Continent, he had never thought that one day he would be able to return to the Eastern Continent.
He knew very clearly that he, like many other slaves from the Eastern Continent, would die on this unfamiliar land.
Many Eastern Continent slaves, just like him, lived on in these hopeless days.
Back in the Eastern Continent, although life was also difficult and dangerous, they were free. They existed as human beings.
No matter how hard life was, it was still their own land.
But after coming to the Western Continent, they were no longer considered human at all. The pride they once had was all trampled into the ground.
Here, they could never fit in. No matter how powerful their strength was, they would not be acknowledged.
The Western Continent was far more prosperous than the Eastern Continent, with tall buildings and everything that they had never seen before.
But if he had a choice, he would rather live in the jungles, enduring the wind and the sun.
When Song was taken away, he had already prepared himself for death. This was the fate of many slaves. Being taken away meant being sent to an even harsher place, which meant there was a very high chance of losing one’s life.
He never expected that they would actually once again set foot on the road back to the Eastern Continent.
When they boarded that huge ship again, they simply could not believe all of this.
And when their feet stepped onto the land of the Eastern Continent, everyone was stunned.
What was this supposed to mean? Why were they being sent back to the Eastern Continent?
Some people, who were able to speak with the Western Continent guards, asked what was going on.
Those people from the Western Continent said they were going to send them home, saying that there was a powerful, newly rising tribe that wanted to take them back.
They even said it was their own clansmen who had paid a certain price to exchange them back.
When these words spread, no one would believe it.
Absurd. This was simply too absurd! How could such a thing possibly happen!
But when they arrived at that tribe which completely overturned their understanding of the Eastern Continent, all of this truly happened.
When everyone was sent to have their heads shaved, as the sharp metal blade was about to fall onto their heads, they all thought it was to slit their throats.
Some people even struggled desperately, only to be suppressed.
And once they were bound tightly, they actually discovered that it wasn’t to cut their throats, but really only to shave their heads?!
Song pulled tighter the warm clothes on his body, not knowing what material they were made of. The warmth made him feel as if this were a dream—a dream he didn’t want to wake from.
“Is all of this real?” Song asked this question countless times.
“Brother, you’re just like me when I first came here. For quite a while, I thought I was dreaming, too!”
Now an established member, Song Guo grinned and handed him a roasted sweet potato.
Lan Xue was now one of the most important members in the tribe. As Lan Xue’s close companion, Song Guo was also thriving in the tribe.
He was clever by nature and closer to animals. Now he was especially responsible for raising carrier pigeons.
The work was easy and interesting. Originally, he had been skinny like a monkey, but now his whole body had grown much taller and sturdier. He no longer seemed like before, when he was just the little brat by his brother’s side.
“Brother, eat this roasted sweet potato. This variety is especially sweet.”
Right now, Song Guo was especially happy. He never thought he would be able to see his brother again. He took out everything he usually hid away, wishing he could give it all to his brother to eat.
“How can you keep eating like this?” Song still couldn’t get used to it.
Back in the Eastern Continent, during winter, they always had to ration their food.
On the Western Continent, no matter when, they could never eat their fill, and still had to do extremely heavy labor.
But now, he ate at least two meals a day, usually three.
Every meal was especially rich in variety. There was meat, staple food, and also fresh vegetables, with fruit even after the meal.
Not only could he eat his fill, but it all tasted truly delicious!
And on top of that, they lived in warm houses that were very spacious and bright, wore thick clothes, and at night had special quilts to sleep under, making him practically forget the existence of winter.
Even in the Western Continent, such days would already be considered extremely good.
“Brother, just eat. The tribe has plenty of food. They won’t let us go hungry. Didn’t you see outside? There are so many, many things planted. Our Spark Tribe is different from other tribes. We don’t have to worry at all about running out of food later.”
“Is the Spark Tribe really that good?” Song had been through too much suffering. For the moment, he couldn’t believe he had already gained happiness.
Song Guo nodded vigorously. “Our tribe is definitely the best tribe in the whole world! As long as no one is lazy, everyone lives joyfully.
Our chieftain is extremely brave, already a level five warrior now! And we have the kind and clever Divine Envoy. With him here, we never have to fear hunger again.”
“Can I really stay here from now on?”
“Of course. As long as you follow the rules here, you’ll forever be a member of the Spark Tribe. For these few days, first focus on recovering your health. In a few days, military training will begin.”
“Military training?”
“It’s training and study, so that everyone can better integrate into the tribe, and through it, discover each person’s strengths, so later they can be assigned to the corresponding positions,” Song Guo explained skillfully.
Song was extremely curious about everything here. “This really is a magical place.”
“There are plenty of magical things here. Once you slowly blend in, you’ll see just how great our tribe is!”
Such tribes appeared in many places. Those people who had suffered torment and returned from the Western Continent, in their doubt, gradually came to understand that everything was, in fact, real.
They had not arrived in paradise, but in a place similar to paradise.
They belonged here. They possessed this place. All the bitterness of the past was completely thrown behind them, as they began to welcome a new life.
Hei Lie walked in from outside. Yang Yi set down the pen in his hand and asked:
“How are those newcomers doing in training?”
This group of people who had come back from the Western Continent still showed a clear difference in condition compared with those who came from other places.
Most of them looked as if they had been completely drained dry. But there were also some whose martial strength wasn’t bad, so their days had been lived relatively better.
These people were also, correspondingly, more difficult to tame.
Hei Lie: “There are a few troublemakers, but nothing of consequence.”
Those who had been chosen and taken away as slaves were basically all young and strong. Even if life hadn’t been good these past days, their foundation was still there.
Among them were even valued warriors, one of whom had been a small leader in the Western Continent’s guard force.
Bringing these people back was still rather unexpected. This was probably one of Maple Leaf City’s ways of showing sincerity.
Or perhaps, they wanted to deliberately make things difficult for them.
“If they can’t be tamed, then send them away,” Yang Yi said.
Hei Lie looked at him in disbelief, his expression exaggerated. “You would actually say something like that?”
“I’m only an ordinary person,” Yang Yi rolled his eyes at him irritably. “The Spark Tribe has never forced anyone to stay. The greater the ability such people have, the more likely they are to bring trouble.”
Hei Lie laughed. “If even you say that, then I’ll be even less softhearted. Those who clearly already have their hearts leaning toward the Western Continent people, I’ve already sent back.”
“The rest must also be watched carefully. There are likely spies among them. The Western Continent people would absolutely never give up their invasion just because of a single failure.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent people to keep watch. The covert agents we trained before have already officially begun operating,” Hei Lie said. As he thought of something, he laughed.
“Besides, we have Jiao. Her brainwashing skills are getting stronger and stronger.”
Yang Yi couldn’t help but laugh as well. Jiao was, apart from the two of them, the most respected person in the tribe.
At the beginning, Jiao was responsible for many tasks. Logistics and so on were all under her overall control.
Later, after more and more talents were cultivated, she gradually let go and began to devote herself to the great enterprise of ‘persuasion’.
She was now specially responsible for spiritual guidance, instilling in everyone what was right and what was wrong, who were the people blessed by the gods, and who were those abandoned and punished by the gods.
For this, she also brought quite a number of books, letting everyone understand the principle of cause and effect of retribution.
She even instilled concepts such as the eighteen levels of hell, so that everyone would make sure to do good deeds and accumulate virtue in this lifetime. Otherwise, even after death, they would find no peace.
As for her methods, Yang Yi and Hei Lie only supervised and did not interfere.
Jiao herself was also very measured and would not take things too far.
Now, the tribe’s overall atmosphere was still very good. Diligence, kindness, and honesty were all qualities that everyone admired.
“This is the planting plan just finished for next year. You happened to come, so take a look and see if anything needs to be corrected or added,” Yang Yi handed the thick stack of documents on the desk to Hei Lie.
Now, every task they did had a plan and a goal. Only in this way could things be arranged more reasonably and efficiency improved.
Hei Lie didn’t even look at it and directly pushed it away. “It’s already late. Let’s put official business aside for now.”
Yang Yi looked at the clock. “It’s only just nine o’clock. It’s not late at all.”
Hei Lie looked at him quietly. “In your place, what time does work usually end?”
Although Yang Yi still hadn’t completely explained his background clearly to Hei Lie, Hei Lie more or less had been able to piece some things together.
After all, Yang Yi had brought quite a number of books. Through those books, Hei Lie could also learn quite a lot.
Even though many details had been erased under the effect of the great god of transmigration, those books could still outline the appearance of the world Yang Yi came from.
Only then did Yang Yi set aside what he was doing and smile. “To be honest, apart from playing games, I’ve never been this diligent before.”
After graduation, Yang Yi had also had a brief work experience as a very unqualified programmer.
Later, because he couldn’t stand that kind of intensity, and because he had other channels of earning money, he gave it up and stayed at home.
Although playing games was also tiring, it was something Yang Yi liked, and it was extremely free, so he didn’t feel like he was working.
After coming here, Yang Yi completely changed his former laziness.
Thinking of all those mouths waiting for him to feed, opening the window and seeing everything outside changing so quickly, he would, for no reason, be filled with motivation.
He was like a person injected with chicken blood, every day doing nothing but working except for sleeping and eating.
Even when going out for a stroll, he had to inspect the people’s conditions.
“So many days have passed. What’s your answer?” Hei Lie gazed at him, his eyes deep and dark.
Yang Yi blinked. He knew he couldn’t brush things off today, nor was there any need to.
He smiled and spoke very straightforwardly: “Alright.”
“Don’t think that today—” Hei Lie was stunned. “What did you say?”
Yang Yi didn’t speak again, pretending to pick up the planning book at his side. But as soon as he picked it up, it was snatched away by Hei Lie.
“I heard it!” Hei Lie was so excited he nearly jumped up. “I heard it. You’re not allowed to go back on your word!”
Yang Yi’s brows and eyes lifted slightly. “That’s exactly what I want to say to you. If one day you forget today’s promise, we immediately split up and never see each other again.”
Ahhhh! Omg! They are together officially! 😩❤️
Thank you, translator, for these additional two chapters! 🙂↔️