The father and son huddled together and whispered for a long time before finally returning to their yurts respectively.
Seeing A Man's elder brother walking towards them, before Li Ying could say a word, Lu Xunguang leaped out.
The Hu tribesman only felt a blur before his eyes, and Lu Xunguang had already grabbed his throat like a gust of wind.
"Tell me, what dirty tricks have you secretly planned for A Man's ancestor - worship ceremony tomorrow?"
The Hu tribesman refused to speak and just gritted his teeth tightly.
Lu Xunguang kicked him in the back of the knee. The man winced in pain, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground.
He struggled for a while but was as immobile as a rabbit in the claws of a hawk. He could only plead miserably, "Sir Lu, spare my life! Sir Lu, spare my life!"
Just as Lu Xunguang was about to let him go, he saw the Hu tribesman secretly reach into his bosom. A glint of cold light flashed, and he had actually taken out a dagger secretly, intending to counter - attack.
Li Ying let out a startled cry, but Lu Xunguang had already quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted it deftly.
With a crisp sound, the Hu tribesman's wrist was dislocated. Just as he was about to let out a pained scream, Lu Xunguang had already torn off half of his sleeve and stuffed it into his mouth to muffle the sound.
The Hu tribesman's white dagger was pressed against his own neck. Seeing a glint of killing intent in Lu Xunguang's eyes, it was obvious that if he didn't repent and continued to resist, he would surely lose his life in an instant.
"Sir Lu! Please have mercy, Sir Lu!"
A Man's elder brother was so frightened that he trembled like a sieve. Lu Xunguang sneered at his spineless appearance and shouted, "Hurry up and confess!"
This Hu tribesman was good - for - nothing, only knowing how to engage in cockfighting and dog - fighting every day. A Man's uncle knew his son's nature well and didn't tell him the plan in detail. He only mentioned vaguely that everything was well - arranged in the back mountain. During the ancestor - worship ceremony the next day, the whole tribe would surely know that little A Man was an inauspicious star.
This Hu tribesman was greedy for life and afraid of death. He told everything without reservation and kept pleading for mercy. Seeing that there was nothing more to ask, Li Ying exchanged a look with Lu Xunguang.
Lu Xunguang understood. He struck the man hard on the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious. Then he found a thick, wet hemp rope to tie him up and threw him aside, waiting to confront him in public the next day.
As for the "arrangement in the back mountain", the Hu tribesman had been rather vague. The two of them had to go and check it out in person.
The Hu region was full of sand and stones, and the terrain of the back mountain was even more precipitous. Li Ying held onto Lu Xunguang's arm and walked carefully.
"Ouch!"
She let out a startled cry. She felt her foot slip and stepped into empty space.
Fortunately, Lu Xunguang was beside her and quickly pulled her into his arms, preventing her from rolling down.
"A Ying, your skirt is inconvenient for walking. Let me carry you on my back."
Before the words were out of his mouth, he had already picked Li Ying up horizontally and walked steadily step by step.
Li Ying frowned and lit the matchstick in her hand. By the faint light, she saw clearly that what she had almost slipped into was a gully.
The large stones in the gully were reddish - brown in color and still a bit moist, obviously having been dug out not long ago.
Just as Li Ying was about to examine it carefully, Lu Xunguang had already filled a water bag and handed it to her.
"A Ying, you've injured your leg. The mountain spring here is clear and can be used to wash the wound."
Li Ying took the water bag with a look of doubt on her face. She followed his line of sight and saw that where her skirt was torn, a white calf was exposed with a startling bloodstain on it, but she didn't feel any pain.
She poured the spring water on herself and washed off the "bloodstain", then burst out laughing.
"Don't worry, Lu Lang. I'm fine. I just got some red sand on me."
Lu Xunguang was relieved. The two of them took a few sips of the spring water, and then Li Ying suddenly slapped her forehead.
The sweet and clear spring in the back mountain of the Hu region.
Wasn't this exactly the water they had been dreaming of for making glue!
Li Ying suppressed the ecstasy in her heart and briefly told Lu Xunguang a few words. They would wait until A Man recognized her ancestors and returned to the clan, and then discuss the matter of fetching water in detail with the leader of the Xikang Hu tribe.
Under the cover of the moonlight, the two quietly returned to the yurt, tied A Man's elder brother in the corner, and went to sleep fully dressed, waiting for dawn.
The next day, in the Xikang Hu tribe, gongs and drums were blaring and people were bustling.
Men, women, old and young were all neatly dressed. A Man had also changed into the clothes of the Xikang Hu tribe. Her red lips were rosy, and her smiling face was like a flower.
The ancestor - worship ceremony was held beside the spiritual spring in the back mountain, witnessed by heaven and earth and watched by all the people.
A Man bowed her head respectfully and performed the grand ceremony of the Hu tribe. The leader was beaming with a kind smile. Surrounded by several highly - respected elders of the Hu tribe, he placed a complicated silver headdress on A Man's hair bun.
"Today, A Man recognizes her ancestors and returns to the clan. After I pass away, the Xikang Hu tribe will be handed over to her. Does anyone have any objections?"
A Man's father looked imposing as he scanned the crowd. The people of the Hu tribe were all respectful and had nothing to say.
"Brother, please think twice! This girl's origin is unclear. It's really absurd to entrust the future of our Xikang Hu tribe to her just based on a few words!"
A loud voice came from the crowd. Li Ying raised her eyebrows and looked over. Sure enough, the troublemaker was A Man's evil - minded "uncle".
As if to echo his doubt, a dull rumbling sound came from the distant barren mountain.
"Ah, it's bad! The spiritual spring water... the spiritual spring water has turned red!"
A straightforward Hu tribesman with sharp eyes was the first to scream.
Following her voice, sure enough, the originally clear mountain spring had strangely turned into a pool of blood - red water. From afar, it looked as if it had been cursed.
The people of the Xikang Hu tribe had always regarded the spiritual spring as the divine water bestowed by heaven. They used the water from this spring for brewing wine, making medicine, and all kinds of sacrificial ceremonies. Now seeing such a strange phenomenon in the spring water, they all showed looks of panic.
"Brother! Don't you understand? This is a divine punishment! This girl of unknown origin is definitely not little A Man. If you insist on doing this, the whole village may suffer a natural disaster!"
The spiritual spring turning into a sea of blood was such a shocking sight that not only the people of the Xikang Hu tribe but also Li Ying was stunned for a moment.
Of course, she didn't believe the so - called "divine punishment" theory.
Remembering the whispered conversation between the uncle and his son yesterday, their scheme against A Man, the red sandstone mine in the back mountain, and the gully that suddenly appeared upstream of the spiritual spring...
Li Ying's eyes lit up, and her mind became as clear as a mirror.
What a vicious plot!
She sneered coldly, stood in front of A Man's uncle, and asked neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Scaring people with false tales and creating panic among the people just to satisfy your own selfish desires, regardless of the villagers' constant fear. You're being too selfish."
Seeing her certainty and not seeing his good - for - nothing son for a long time, the Hu tribesman's uncle showed a bit of panic on his face.
He pretended to be calm and argued, "I don't know what you're talking about."