Chapter 244: Rear Guard

It was quite different from before.

But this might not be a bad thing. If we were to eliminate this excess emotion, Sha Yi would be the most suitable for the formation and unification of the tribe, especially after resolving the grudges with them.

Whether in terms of cunning or handling affairs.

Perhaps, ever since he and she encountered Yelai’s ambush in that forest, he had been like this. Back then, when he inquired about their stance toward Jialuo, it was likely with the intention of one day eliminating their long-standing enmity.

Compared to Xi Yi, he clearly possessed the qualities of a leader.

Of course, he was also slightly better than Jialuo. However, even if these two no longer picked at each other, there was no guarantee of what might happen.

After all, Jialuo was not as calm and rational as Sha Yi. He was the type to lash out at anyone, as evidenced by his disregard for the bigger picture when he desperately sought revenge against Sha Yi, only to end up in a dire situation himself.

But this mutual restraint was not necessarily a bad thing, because people always change.

Compared to Sha Yi and Jialuo, Xi Yi was clearly someone who sought only peace and stability. Their quiet life together was also quite good.

With her mind clear, Sha Yi felt much more at ease and immediately responded to his words: “I hope so too. More than anything, I hope that after the Yeli incident, there will be no more conflicts, just like our lives in the settlement before.”

“Everyone here is working toward that…” Sha Yi trailed off halfway, showing no intention to continue, but he still looked at her, a faint smile on his pale face.

Perhaps Sha Yi also knew that to continue living so peacefully, they needed a larger group—just like Yeli had initially done, leading a large group of people with overwhelming force.

However, Yeli’s followers were not united, likely because Yeli treated them poorly. But if it were Sha Yi—or even Jialuo—they would treat their own people much better.

As long as the people’s hearts were aligned, there was nothing to worry about.

Because in this era, aside from certain natural conditions, food was still abundant. Once their numbers grew and their strength increased, they would always find ways to solve seemingly troublesome problems.

Thinking this, she felt completely at ease. But then, she remembered Tuge’s situation and grew anxious again: “I don’t know if Xi Yi has caught up with Yeli and his group. We have no idea what’s happening with Tuge.”

“Don’t panic.” Sha Yi gently patted her shoulder, then slowly turned to look across the trench. After a moment, he murmured, “Yeli won’t harm Tuge so easily. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have captured him. They had every chance to kill him right here, but they didn’t.”

“That means they want something!” Sha Yi nodded. “You want to save Tuge too, don’t you?”

“He saved me, so of course I’ll save him.” The man gave a resolute answer. “But I won’t act rashly like Jialuo. Panicking is useless, and being aggressive with Yeli won’t work either. The best approach is to stay calm. Xi Yi made the right decision—he’s far more capable than Jialuo in this situation.”

“Jialuo always gets frantic whenever Tuge is in trouble. At first, I didn’t understand, but now I see—Tuge truly has abilities that others don’t.” She fully agreed with Sha Yi’s view. “We can’t afford to lose someone like him.”

“There might be other reasons you’re unaware of. Jialuo can be ruthless when pushed—he wouldn’t hesitate to take others down with him. But his attitude toward Tuge is completely different. I’ve thought about it for a long time.” Sha Yi hesitated before adding, “It’s possible that Jialuo was raised by Tuge.”

This was indeed a shocking speculation!

She had to admit she was startled, but if she really thought about it, it wasn’t impossible. Otherwise, why would someone as reckless as Jialuo care so much about Tuge?

Even though neither of the two involved had ever mentioned it, that didn’t stop the speculation from forming. She quietly filed it away in her mind.

Unable to hold back a sigh, she noticed him leaning lazily against the wall and asked, “Where are your people? Weren’t there still…”

“I told them to keep an eye on Yeli’s movements during the night. Jialuo should have told you.” Turning to look at her, Sha Yi narrowed his eyes slightly. “If nothing goes wrong, they should be back soon.”

“Didn’t they go with Xi Yi to chase Yeli?” She was surprised. “Are you waiting for them?”

After a moment of silence, Sha Yi said slowly, “I am waiting for them, but they didn’t take the same path as Xi Yi. After all, chasing Yeli doesn’t depend on numbers. The people Yeli left behind at the trench are the ones we should really be concerned about.”

Hearing this, a phrase suddenly popped into her mind—a diversionary tactic.

Could it be that Tuge and Sha Yi had planned this together? Had this man anticipated all the potential problems in her plan?

Uneasy, she instinctively looked up at the lean man.

But the pale-faced man immediately took half a step back, muttering after a pause, “Don’t look at me like that!”

Ignoring his words, she pressed, “Did you and Tuge plan this together?”

“I only mentioned it to him because he told me about you asking for the dried grass from before. It wasn’t hard to guess your plan.” Sha Yi sighed helplessly. “I figured that since Yeli now has Manlun from their group, things wouldn’t be so easy. At best, we might only manage to knock out those innocent women.”

“But I asked Jialuo afterward, and he said Manlun doesn’t have the antidote for the sleep-inducing grass.” After some thought, she still felt a bit uncertain but couldn’t help clinging to a sliver of hope. “So I think it’s possible the grass wasn’t burned thoroughly enough and was discovered. Didn’t you suspect that too? That might be another reason Yeli sought revenge!”

“Yes, I did suspect that, and even now, what you’re saying is entirely possible. But what if Yeli and his people weren’t gathered in one place? Would the grass still work?” Pointing across the trench, Sha Yi said seriously, “They might have planned this long ago. We can’t rule that out, especially since Jialuo’s reaction was predictable.”

There were too many calculations, too many variables—the weight of unknown schemes made her dizzy. When Sha Yi wasn’t around, she could think things through clearly, but now that he was here, she felt somewhat shallow. At least in matters like this, her foresight wasn’t as thorough as his.

And what he said made perfect sense, whether regarding Yeli or Jialuo. She had to acknowledge that.

At this point, she could only quietly respond, “So that’s why you’re not in a hurry. No matter what happens, you’ll find an opportunity.”

“You overestimate me. In my current state, I can’t participate—I can only analyze the situation.” Sha Yi chuckled self-deprecatingly before regaining his composure. “Let’s wait patiently. If nothing goes wrong, the lights across the trench might go out soon. Or they might go out and relight. When that happens, someone will likely come over.”

Glancing at the faint, barely visible light across the trench, she suddenly understood.

This was likely a premeditated scheme—the second possibility Sha Yi had initially analyzed, the one he had just repeated.

The torches, bright and conspicuous at night, kept their vigilance low, allowing Yeli and his group to act according to plan.

However, due to the unexpected interruption between her and Kapa, their plan could only proceed halfway—the latter half was completely thwarted.

Jialuo’s side definitely needed Manlun to appear as the key link to their inside contact. The disagreement lay here—if Manlun left, no one in their main camp would recognize the sleep-inducing grass, making Kapa’s task smoother.

Once the group was knocked out, the torches would no longer need to burn. They would either be extinguished or replaced with ordinary ones—otherwise, they might backfire on their own people.

This was the critical point Sha Yi was closely monitoring.

Moreover, given Kasan’s status and influence, many would be inclined to follow her. Thus, only the neutral parties or Yeli’s people might fall unconscious, making it easy to bring them over.

By then, those left behind on their side would take over Yeli’s gathering place, cutting off any further schemes from him.

If things unfolded this way, Yeli would truly suffer a loss this time!

But before she could think further, Jialuo came sprinting over, torch in hand. Stopping in front of them, he turned to her, his tone frantic: “Kasan sent people over, Sha Yi. Was this your idea? Why are they so eager to act now that Yeli’s gone?”

“The cooperation was agreed upon between you and Kasan-Kapa. Why drag me into it?” she retorted angrily.

“Kapa must have brought all the people they left behind.” Sha Yi motioned for her not to argue further with Jialuo and continued calmly, “Jialuo, what’s the situation on your side?”

Jialuo, still fuming, didn’t answer immediately. But seeing the grave expression on the injured man’s face, he swallowed his anger and grumbled, “Those two damned women are nowhere to be found!”

At this point, the answer was clear—even if not directly stated, the meaning was obvious.