Just as Garo was about to erupt again, a rustling sound came from the bushes once more. Sha Yi quickly covered the fool’s mouth and pulled him down to crouch together.
When the person from the bushes finally emerged, Sha Yi’s tense heart finally relaxed.
It was Kapa, along with several women who had come from their side. They seemed to be searching for the woman from the old settlement who had been stabbed by Garo with a bone knife.
Now, seeing the woman on the ground clutching her leg and moaning, and noticing the wound on her leg—but not spotting the black wooden arrow that had been shot—Kapa clearly looked puzzled.
Seeing this, Garo, who was crouching beside her, couldn’t hold back any longer. He suddenly leaped up and lunged at Kapa, who was standing there in confusion, while furiously cursing: “Damn ugly woman! Are you blind? Is this how you shoot arrows? You almost killed me, you know that?!”
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Kapa was knocked to the ground. However, being a native of this ancient land, even if her strength and size were no match for Garo, Kapa was still strong. Almost reflexively, she kicked Garo away.
Unexpectedly, this instinctive move enraged Garo completely. He immediately gritted his teeth, sprang up, and pinned Kapa beneath him. In the next second, he ruthlessly grabbed her throat, seething with anger: “You almost shot me dead, and now you have the nerve to kick me?!”
Choked and shaken violently, Kapa soon felt dizzy. Unable to break free from Garo’s grip, she finally grabbed a random stone, ready to smash it against the man’s head. But in that instant, she vaguely recognized the face of the man tormenting her and immediately dropped the stone, gasping for breath as she shouted, “Cough… Let go of me… Garo, you lunatic!”
Yet, the furious man showed no sign of loosening his grip. Instead, he tightened his hold: “Why didn’t you aim properly when you shot at me? If you can’t handle a bow, at least be careful! How could you attack your own people? You did it on purpose!”
“I… cough… If I’d wanted to kill you… you’d be dead by now!” Faced with Garo’s stubbornness and irrationality, Kapa was equally furious. “Do you think… I’d let you… have the strength to choke me?!”
“I don’t care, you still shot me!” Clearly dismissing Kapa’s words, Garo refused to reason. “You hurt one of your own, you know that? Unless you let me shoot you back, I won’t let you go!”
Realizing that further explanations were futile, Kapa gave up arguing and retorted angrily, “Who… who told you to stand there? Serves you right if you got shot!”
“Let me tell you this—if we hadn’t come today, Saina’s plan would’ve failed. Did you really think your help would make him succeed? Dream on!” With a smug “I knew it” expression, Garo sneered. “And you should know—the one standing in your arrow’s path wasn’t me, it was Sha Yi!”
As if shocked by Garo’s words, Kapa immediately fell silent.
However, the women standing nearby seemed intimidated by Garo and reacted too slowly. Even when they finally reached out to pull him away, their efforts were useless.
Kapa was still being choked, her face turning red from lack of air.
Seeing this from afar, Sha Yi couldn’t take it anymore. She quickly strode over to the two troublemakers, grabbed the black wooden arrow embedded in Garo’s back, and yanked it hard.
Garo yelped in pain and instinctively released Kapa, who scrambled to her feet.
Glaring at Sha Yi, Garo was clearly indignant at being outmaneuvered. “Sha Yi, why are you helping her? She’s an outsider! She shot at you! I’m the one who got seriously injured, and you—”
“Your injury doesn’t seem serious at all. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have the energy to choke someone.” Sighing, Sha Yi shook her head helplessly. “Besides, Kapa isn’t an outsider. Without her and the others, we wouldn’t have gained the upper hand against Yeli. And don’t forget—you and Kapa had an agreement. You know exactly who the real target was today. Deep down, you know she didn’t do it on purpose.”
She believed Garo understood.
Though Garo was often difficult, unreasonable, and even downright stubborn, this time, there might have been some conflicting emotions at play. She chose not to point it out.
Even though she was grateful for his instinctive act of shielding her from the arrow, she didn’t want to mislead him.
By not spelling it out, she secretly hoped Garo and Kapa could end up together.
On the surface, it seemed like Kapa was the only one invested, but with a little effort, they could become a bickering yet loving pair.
She still wanted them to fulfill the promise they’d made.
Torn by her words, Garo wanted to lash out but ultimately suppressed his anger. With the arrow still in his back, he turned away sullenly and stomped back to the pit, sulking alone.
Finally, Sha Yi got the chance to talk to Kapa—though the latter still looked far from pleased.
Clearly, Garo had been merciless, showing no trace of gentleness.
Recalling how Garo had once scorned Kapa and insisted their agreement was just an escape plan, Sha Yi suddenly wondered if he had actually wanted to kill her.
From start to finish, she hadn’t seen any affection from Garo toward Kapa—only resistance and disdain.
For a moment, she was at a loss.
Meanwhile, Kapa took a while to recover before finally speaking up, gripping Sha Yi’s hand. “Sha Yi, did you know about Saina’s plan?”
“Most of it was told to me by Garo.” She nodded toward the sulking man by the pit. “He said he wouldn’t let Saina and Xi Yi risk their lives for Tuge for nothing, so he came along. Only after arriving here did I fully understand what Saina was planning.”
“Who would’ve thought he had such a heart!” Rubbing her neck, Kapa sounded skeptical. “He nearly strangled me to death!”
“Don’t blame him. That’s just how he is. The fact that he’s changed at all is already remarkable.” Urging Kapa not to hold a grudge, Sha Yi added, “Remember, we’ve had conflicts with Garo too—far worse than yours. Even with Saina—you know his injuries were caused by Garo. But now you see—he didn’t want Saina to face danger alone. Things improve once you get to know him.”
“You make a lot of sense.” After some thought, Kapa finally smiled. “I trust you.”
With their conflict minimized, Sha Yi was eager to understand the current situation. “So, what’s happening on your end? Did you find Yeli’s hideout? Where’s Saina? And what’s with this woman?”
“We found Yeli’s temporary camp last night.” Kapa grinned slyly, far calmer than Sha Yi’s urgency. “Actually, we spotted their tracks yesterday evening while they were hunting. You know—since we took all their supplies, they had no stored food and had to hunt on the spot. But they didn’t dare make much noise—only catching small animals. They didn’t even dare make fire, eating everything raw!”
Raw meat—disgusting, but understandable given their desperate situation. Yeli, ever paranoid and ruthless, would avoid anything that might reveal their location.
He probably knew his cruelty would backfire, so even bloody raw meat was bearable.
Yet, they were still discovered.
When Sha Yi stayed silent, Kapa continued excitedly, “Saina and a few others have been watching their camp since last night. Oh—and I saw Xi Yi!”
At the mention of Xi Yi’s name, Sha Yi snapped to attention. “How is he?”
“He’s tied up. Yeli didn’t give him any food, and he refused to eat the raw meat.” Kapa recalled slowly. “He looked alright, but his animal hide clothes were taken, and he had some wounds.”
Every word from Kapa twisted Sha Yi’s heart. She frowned, lips parting several times, but no words came out.
Noticing her distress, Kapa quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry too much, Sha Yi. Xi Yi will be fine. We’ve gone hungry many times during the rainy season and survived. He’s strong—he’ll pull through.”
“I know.” Forcing a smile, Sha Yi tried to appear calm, though unease gnawed at her. “Yeli won’t last much longer anyway.”
“Exactly!” Relieved to see her relax, Kapa grinned and pointed at the moaning woman on the ground. “See, before dawn, Yeli sent several people out to hunt, claiming it’d be safer. But really, he’s just scared. This is what happens when you follow Yeli—betraying your own people. What were they thinking?”
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