Chapter 8

*Slap...* Black Claw fiercely slapped Big Claw's face, causing him to tremble in fear, covering his face without knowing what had happened, but glaring at the Second Elder who remained unperturbed.

"Kuitu, as a tribal warrior, was killed by his attendant. He died well. The tribe has rules: an attendant can challenge a tribal warrior, and if victorious, will win everything the warrior possesses. From today on, Kuitu's property belongs to Three Claw. No one can object..."

Black Claw did not reveal the clues the Second Elder had uncovered, as it would have led to internal strife over the successor. Instead, he used another rule, which made Gao Feng's heart relax. At least he didn't have to confront Black Claw right away. After all, the reason he didn't use the pistol was that in the sandstorm, the pistol might get sand in it and jam, which could be disastrous...

"Since Three Claw has not yet passed the tribal test, his property will be managed by the tribe. After the test is completed, it will be distributed. To punish him for killing Kuitu, his test tasks will be doubled. If he fails, all his property will be confiscated."

After saying this, Black Claw grabbed Big Claw's ear and dragged him out of the room, causing him to scream in pain. The Second Elder smiled at Gao Feng and turned to leave, leaving Gao Feng to ponder the so-called punishment.

The tribe's punishment was interesting. Gao Feng had defeated Kuitu and should have inherited everything, including the title of warrior. But since he had killed Kuitu, he had broken the tribe's rules, hence the doubled test tasks. This was the greatest protection Black Claw could give Gao Feng. According to the rules, someone in Gao Feng's situation should be expelled from the tribe, but with a test, it was different. Through this, Gao Feng now had a double insurance. Even if he failed the test, at worst, his property would be confiscated, but he would still be a tribal warrior. Regardless of whether Black Claw liked him or not, he always left a chance, after all, he was still Black Claw's son.

The room, now empty and filled with the smell of blood, was left with only Gao Feng and Little Slave. Little Slave looked at Gao Feng with her pure, large eyes, saying nothing. Gao Feng stared blankly at Kuitu's body, his mind filled with thoughts. Kuitu was the first person he had killed in this world. Whether it was the decisiveness of the act or the calmness after the killing, it didn't seem like his first time. This puzzled him. Could he have been a brutal killer in the past?

His thoughts turned bitter, and he kicked Kuitu's head fiercely. The round head rolled away, and Gao Feng felt a wave of nausea. Turning around, he saw Little Slave standing still, which made him even more irritable. If he was a brute, why did he save this little one?

"Come here..." Gao Feng shouted, his eyes full of ferocity. Little Slave's eyes showed no fear or hesitation, and she walked to Gao Feng like a moving puppet. Gao Feng grabbed her crotch and then let go as if burned, turning awkwardly to walk out without a word.

Little Slave did not dodge or move. She watched Gao Feng walk out, then picked up the two fang knives on the ground and tore off Kuitu's only pair of pants, holding them in her hand, and followed Gao Feng out.

Gao Feng felt a wave of regret. He had wanted to determine Little Slave's gender, and the result confirmed she was a girl, which made him feel ashamed. This shame naturally made him forget his original confusion, like a pervert on a bus whose thoughts were exposed, wanting to escape as far as possible.

Just as he stepped out, Gao Feng was stunned. In the room, he had forgotten the sandstorm that had brought despair. The sandstorm had passed, but it left an indelible scar on the Black Claw tribe. Large areas of houses had collapsed, and the streets were filled with sand two meters high, like new walls. The entire Black Claw tribe resembled a forgotten ancient city in the desert, covered in sand. Even the wells were buried, and the surviving tribal warriors were digging out the sand.

Not just the wells, the slave women who had climbed out of the roofs had no time to look at Gao Feng with greedy eyes. They used their hands and tools to clear the sand in front of their doors. Many women's faces were filled with sorrow, as their men or children had not survived the disaster.

"No dry dung left, how can we survive? Without firewood, we'll freeze to death in winter..."

"The sandstorm blew everything away. We don't know what happened to the sand jujube fields outside..."

"It all depends on the harvest of the nomadic tribes. If we can plunder something, winter won't be so hard..."

"Two of my three sons were blown away, and I don't know if the remaining one can become a warrior..."

Walking through the streets piled with sand, Gao Feng heard the busy tribal people talking to themselves or to each other, all expressing their worries about the sandstorm. The women were emotional, their sadness visible on their faces, while the men were resilient, even if they had lost their sons, they wouldn't lose control, but the deep sorrow in their words was unmistakable.

Hearing these words, Gao Feng felt like an outsider, walking expressionlessly to his shack, his only concern being whether it was still intact. The tribe's sorrow was irrelevant to him, and the life and death of others had no intersection with him. From the beginning to the end, he had never considered himself part of the tribe. Perhaps one day, he would leave forever.

A figure appeared in his sight. Toothless, holding a broken spear, was poking around, calling Three Claw's name. Seeing Toothless's anxious look, Gao Feng felt a warmth in his heart. Toothless was the person he was closest to in this world. Unlike Little Slave, who was an unexpected product, he had saved Little Slave out of respect for his own heart, and she had saved him when he was about to suffocate.

"Ha, Three Claw, I knew you weren't dead. Eh? Isn't this the little brat from before? She survived too?"

Toothless couldn't hide his joy, seeing Gao Feng unharmed, he jumped up happily, rushing to Gao Feng's side, his mouth like a machine gun, non-stop. He was surprised to see Little Slave holding two fang knives and following Gao Feng. Of course, he was also envious of the fang knives. Gao Feng coughed, not knowing how to arrange for the little girl, who was dirty and whose appearance was unclear. He turned his eyes and said to Toothless:

"Don't you want a woman? I'll give her to you..."

"No... You know what kind of woman I like. Just give me one of the fang knives. When I have a wolf horn, I'll return it. If not, I can steal it when A Da is asleep, and at worst, I'll get a beating..."

Little Slave stood to the side, listening quietly to Gao Feng's words about giving her away, her eyes never changing, as if what Gao Feng said had nothing to do with her. Gao Feng also felt a headache hearing Toothless's reasons. He wanted to tell Toothless to take the little girl and the fang knife as a bonus, but he knew that doing too much would raise suspicion. He simply stopped talking, threw a fang knife to Toothless, and walked to his shack with Little Slave, leaving Toothless happily caressing the fang knife.

The shack was half buried in sand, but its structure was still solid, and no rocks had hit it, which made Gao Feng breathe a sigh of relief. If this was gone, he would have lost his only property in the Black Claw tribe. Clearing the sand in front of the door, he entered the shack and felt a strong sense of fatigue. The wounds on his body, rubbed by the sand, began to hurt, and he couldn't help but rush to the sand-covered bed and fall asleep.

He slept until the next morning, waking up to the sound of people clearing sand outside. Gao Feng opened his eyes and stared at the hole in the ceiling, dazed. Last night was the only night he had slept without dreaming in this world, which made him slightly uncomfortable, as if he had already merged with Three Claw.

Gao Feng lay lazily in bed, recalling the dangers of the previous day, feeling a cold sweat. Then he felt a burning hunger in his stomach.