Chapter 43

In the wilderness, three black sly beasts galloped freely, and the faces of Ji Ning and his two companions could not hide their joy. No matter what, they had finally returned from the remote border area, 'Dongshan Great Marsh,' and were getting closer to Xishan City.

"Master." Qiuye called out.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning looked over.

Qiuye said, "We are going to Yisheshe Lake this time, which also passes through the Black Tooth Tribe where Chuncao is. Why don't we go to the Black Tooth Tribe first? I haven't seen Chuncao for a long time, and I really want to see her."

"Chuncao?" Ji Ning was taken aback, and a wave of nostalgia rose in his heart. Chuncao and Qiuye had grown up with him since childhood, just like his sisters. Although he was very reluctant at the time, he let Chuncao reunite with her father to avoid making her sad. Now, mentioning Chuncao, Ji Ning couldn't help but feel a bit excited and eager. "Alright, we'll stop by on the way."

"Thank you, Master." Qiuye was grateful.

"I want to go too." Ji Ning smiled slightly, gently patted the head of the black sly beast, and directed it to change course slightly.

Although they said they were going to Yisheshe Lake and passing by the Black Tooth Tribe, it was still a bit of a detour.

...

At the foot of a mountain cliff, there were some caves that had been chiseled out, surrounded by tall wooden fences. Inside the caves, some armor was hanging, and beside them, some long-haired beasts were tied to tree stumps. Some strong men, mostly bare-chested, were sitting around, chatting and laughing, roasting the meat of a wild beast.

At the entrance, ten black-armored guards were on duty.

"Someone is coming." One of the black-armored guards shouted. The men who were eating and drinking all turned to look. A man with a bare chest stood up and walked over, frowning as he looked.

Three black shadows quickly rushed over from the depths of the forest. Seeing that it was three people riding black sly beasts, they immediately relaxed.

The man with the bare chest, however, changed his expression and shouted, "Master has arrived, why aren't you bowing? Quickly, get up!" After saying that, he rushed forward and knelt on one knee in front of the gate, respectfully calling out, "Master!"

Whether they were bare-chested or wearing armor, they all knelt down and called out, "Master!"

Ji Ning dismounted the black sly beast and smiled at the leader of this black-armored guard post, "Have you seen me before?" He was about to take out his token.

"Yes, Wu Zhan was fortunate enough to." This rough man had a scar on his face, making him look even more imposing. "Master once selected some Nine-Tooth Warriors for sparring, and I once sparred with Master, so I can recognize Master at a glance. The one behind should be Lady Qiuye, Master's maid, whom I also know."

Ji Ning smiled.

It turned out to be like this. He used to spar frequently, and most of the Nine-Tooth Warriors in the black-armored guards had sparred with him. It wasn't surprising to encounter one who had been dispatched.

"I have some questions for you," Ji Ning said, "about Yisheshe Lake. Let's go inside and talk."

"Yes." The captain, Wu Zhan, replied, "Master, please follow me."

Wu Zhan led Ji Ning to a spacious stone house.

"The great demon Yisheshe has been causing chaos recently, and we are not far from here, so it has even affected our area," Wu Zhan said with a sigh, smiling. At this moment, a black-armored guard brought in a basin of fruit, and Ji Ning took a fruit and ate a few bites. "Has it reached your post?"

"No, if it had, we would be dead," Wu Zhan shook his head. "But at the time, everyone was in a panic. We, the black-armored guards, could not resist the great demon Yisheshe. Although we escaped, many tribes suffered, it was truly a disaster! At the time, I hoped that the great demon Yisheshe would be killed by our Ji Clan, but unfortunately..."

Ji Ning nodded.

In the end, the Dugu Ridge negotiated with the Ji Clan, and the great demon Yisheshe was confined to Yisheshe Lake for a hundred years.

"Is the great demon Yisheshe always at Yisheshe Lake?" Ji Ning asked, "And, is it at the bottom of the lake or on the island in the middle?"

"Of course, it's at the bottom of the lake," Wu Zhan said, "It wouldn't dare to be on the island in the middle, it's afraid of our Ji Clan."

"The bottom of the lake?" Ji Ning nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that killing the great demon Yisheshe won't be easy.

"Wu Zhan," Ji Ning said again, "Do you know of a small tribe called the Black Tooth Tribe in the surrounding area?"

"Black Tooth Tribe?" Wu Zhan nodded, "Yes, I know. The leader of the Black Tooth Tribe is a very capable person, who managed to build a tribe. Those who can build their own tribes are not ordinary people. Unfortunately, the great demon Yisheshe has caused a lot of destruction, including the Black Tooth Tribe."

"What!" Ji Ning's face changed, and his heart trembled.

Could it be...

According to what he knew, the great demon Yisheshe had destroyed a small tribe before attacking him, and everyone in that tribe had died. It was only because of the惨状 of the tribe members that it was determined that the great demon Yisheshe was responsible.

"Is the Black Tooth Tribe still there?" Ji Ning asked urgently.

"It is still there," Wu Zhan nodded, "This time, the great demon Yisheshe caused chaos in various places, went to a tribe, and killed indiscriminately before leaving! It didn't seek to exterminate the entire tribe! After all, exterminating a tribe would take more time and make it easier for the innate spirits of our Ji Clan to catch up. Although the Black Tooth Tribe wasn't exterminated, more than half of its people died, it was really a disaster."

"More than half?" Ji Ning's heart tightened.

"Do you know Chuncao?" Ji Ning asked anxiously, "My maid Chuncao, is she still alive?"

"Chuncao?" Wu Zhan asked in confusion, "I know Chuncao, Master only has two maids. Isn't Chuncao with Master?"

Ji Ning had given Chuncao her freedom, and very few people knew about it.

"No, I set her free, she is the daughter of the leader of the Black Tooth Tribe," Ji Ning said.

"I don't know," Wu Zhan shook his head, "I have seen Black Tooth, but I don't know about his daughter."

Ji Ning took a deep breath.

Worried!

Anxious!

More than half of the people in the Black Tooth Tribe had died, and there were so many deaths. Chuncao might be among them.

"Must, must be fine," Ji Ning gritted his teeth and immediately walked out of the stone house.

Outside, Qiuye and Mo Wu were sitting with some black-armored guards, sharing some roasted meat.

"Master," Qiuye and Mo Wu looked over.

"Let's go," Ji Ning said.

Qiuye and Mo Wu exchanged glances, both puzzled. Why were they leaving so urgently? But they didn't dare to say more, and they both got up and mounted their black sly beasts.

"To the Black Tooth Tribe," Ji Ning's face was grim, and he nudged the black sly beast's belly, and it immediately darted forward.

The three black sly beasts quickly rushed into the distant forest.

"Captain, what's wrong?" The other black-armored guards were puzzled, and Wu Zhan, who had walked out of the stone house, frowned and looked into the distance, "Chuncao? The daughter of the leader of the Black Tooth Tribe?"

******

Ji Ning was anxious, Chuncao and Qiuye, though servants, were like his sisters. He remembered when he was young, pointing to the words in a book and babbling questions. At the time, Chuncao and Qiuye were also tormented by their young master and could only obediently answer.

"It won't happen."

"She won't die." Ji Ning was extremely anxious.

"Master," Qiuye asked worriedly, "What's wrong?" She also saw that her master's face was very grim, and she rarely saw him so angry.

Ji Ning said, "The Black Tooth Tribe was attacked by the great demon Yisheshe, and more than half of its people died."

"Ah," Qiuye was shocked, "Then Chuncao..."

"We'll know when we get there," Ji Ning said coldly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three black sly beasts quickly darted forward. As the sun set, the three black sly beasts had already reached a sparse forest, and in the distance, a tribe could be faintly seen.

"Stop," Ji Ning said.

The three black sly beasts quickly stopped.

"Master?" Qiuye's face was flushed with worry.

"Go over there," Ji Ning pointed to the distance, where dozens of men in simple animal skins were chopping some dead wood, probably to make a fire.

"They should be from the Black Tooth Tribe, we can ask them," Ji Ning rode his black sly beast over first, and Qiuye and Mo Wu followed behind.

Soon,

Ji Ning arrived in front of the dozens of men in animal skins who were chopping the dead wood. These men picked up their spears and knives, looking cautiously at the newcomers.

"I have a question," Ji Ning directly took out his token, which had the character 'Ji' on it.

"Ji Clan?"

These tribal men were all surprised.

"Does your tribe have a girl named Chuncao, the daughter of your leader?" Ji Ning asked.

"Leader's daughter?" A one-eyed man said, "Our Black Tooth Tribe doesn't have anyone named Chuncao, our leader's daughter is called Miwa!"

Ji Ning was taken aback and immediately said, "Right, it's Miwa, is she still alive?"

"Dead."

"Miwa is dead," these tribal men all said.

Ji Ning's face changed immediately, and Qiuye's face turned pale, and she swayed and fell off the black sly beast. Mo Wu quickly jumped off the black sly beast to support Qiuye. Qiuye's face was pale, and tears streamed down her face.

"How did she die?" Ji Ning asked, "Was she killed by the great demon Yisheshe?"

"The great demon Yisheshe killed many people in our tribe, even the leader's son," the one-eyed man said, "Many of our people died at the time, and many more were injured by flying rocks and frost. Although they didn't die immediately, their wounds became infected, and many of them died from illness. Many of the seriously injured people died this way. Miwa also died from illness later."

"Chuncao!" Qiuye cried in pain.

Ji Ning's face was grim, and the intense emotional turmoil made the surrounding earth and trees tremble.

"Great demon Yisheshe!" Ji Ning gritted his teeth and roared, "I, Ji Ning, swear that I will kill you, I will definitely kill you!!!"

**