"... Y-You actually want to go and look for those Alpine Barbarians?!" The chaplain who was sitting alone by the side praying almost had a heart attack when he heard Baiyi's words, "NO! Absolutely not! W-We can't go there! They'll eat us!"
Before Baiyi could say anything, an angry loud voice could be heard cursing in the Void, "My f*cking ass!"
Baiyi quickly reassured the Caveman first, Relax, don't bother getting angry with the likes of him. Besides, no matter how loud you roar over here, he still can't hear you, remember?
After the chaplain stated his opinion, the fighter who rarely said a word during the whole journey joined in as well, "I have no idea whether they are cannibals or not but they're very brutal and cruel and vicious and evil and barbarous and monstrous and vile and atrocious! If we enter their territory just like that, we'll 100% be killed by them!"
Hey, you! You did not speak more than ten words along the way and now you're suddenly so articulate when it comes to name calling? And somehow it rhymes too? I didn't know that your vocabulary is so good!
The weakest of the Zhang brother, Zhang Fah'n interjected as well, "Aye, exactly! Even if thay don't practice cannibalism, th' Alpine Barbarians are th' most dangerous bein' in th' mountain! Thay would use oor skulls as chalice an' use oor skins tae make drums! O, please, Master Hope! Ah still wantae get married!" As he was speaking, he looked around hastily and hugged his arms over his body while taking a few steps backward, as if he feared a tall and huge Alpine barbarian would suddenly lurched out from the darkness and cut off his head.
"What the f*ck? When I get out of this shithole, the first thing I'll do is eat this chaplain and skin this guy alive to make a drum! Who the hell did my clan pissed off? Why is everyone so prejudiced?!" The Caveman exploded in the Void. The rests of the Walkers quickly tried to calm him down again. I guess it can't be help anyway, anybody would be pissed being chastised for no reason at all.
"Calm down, this chaplain looks like an ape with his mouth and chin sticking out like that, I'm sure his meat wouldn't taste good at all! And look at this Northerner! He's so skinny and scrawny, I'm sure the drum would not sound good with that dry skin of his!" Baiyi joined in to reassure him as well. The moment the Caveman heard Baiyi's words, he burst out laughing and finally cooled himself down.
Come to think of it, one of the main reason for the misconception about Alpine Barbarians was because they were too low-key and isolated. Basically no one had ever laid eyes on them before. On top of that, the land was so dangerous and remote that even if there were a few brave adventurers who wanted to explore the place, they would most likely turn into the wild beasts' lunch before they could even encounter any Alpine Barbarians. The only people who came in contact with them the most was the Steppe Barbarians who had a huge feud with them and the bitter enemy would always start all kinds of rumors to defame and slander them. Because of that, the Alpine Barbarians' image had already been smeared and tarnished.
Thus, sometimes, being too low-key was not necessarily a good thing. Baiyi had no choice but to waste his breath to explain to the rest of the team, "You guys have never come in contact with the Alpine Barbarians before so why do you have such terrible impressions towards them? Other than living in a relatively high place, they're no different from any of us. They don't eat human meat, nor will they use human skulls to make chalices, let alone using human skin as their drums! I know a lot about of them because I'm very familiar with the bravest warrior of their tribe. For this reason you guys should trust me rather than believing those baseless rumors!"
"I agree with Master Hope," The young sorcerer, Xillians, was the first one to voice out his agreement, "None of us have ever come across any Alpine Barbarian before and if they really are more terrifying than the devils as the rumor said, I'm sure the Church would have dispatched their knights a long time ago to eradicate them. In addition, Master Hope is our leader right now, we only need to listen to him. I'm sure that he won't purposely put us in harm's way! Even if he really does intend to harm us, there is no need for him to use such a cumbersome method. Just take a look at his strength! There's completely no need for that at all!"
Baiyi nodded his head at the young sorcerer's praise. Even though he had always thought that the fellow's brain was a little slow, but now, it seemed that he was still equipped with the most basic ability to analyze a situation. If Baiyi, himself, really did intend to hurt those guys, taking into account the desolate place that they were in, he had countless of methods to do just that. There was no need to deliberately go through such tough journey.
The second of the Zhang brothers, Zhang Yiqi, was much more rational than his youngest brother. After he heard Xillian's speach, he nodded his head in agreement, "Since Master Hope is oor leader nau, we need to have faith in his judgement. Tae be honest, Ah hae always felt that there are tae few manpower in oor team 'n' we'd likely git overpowered easily. If we really could get th' Alpine Barbarian tae be on oor side, th' situation wid be a whole lot different."
The eldest brother, Zhang Xiaoyang also agreed with Baiyi's view. Letting out an unrestrained laugh, he chimed in, "Then, let us go have th' trip of oor lives! Ah've only heard of the legends of these Alpine Barbarians 'n' never seen them with mah eyes before! It's not a bad idea tae go around 'n' gain some experience!"
As for Mia and Tisdale, they would of course listen to Baiyi without any objections. As a result, since the majority of the group agreed to Baiyi's plan, the chaplain, the fighter and the youngest of the Zhang brothers had no choice but to follow the majority.
Now that the decision was finalised, they quickly seized the time to wind down their body. Baiyi took out a palm-sized incense from his storage pouch and threw it into the fire. At once, the air was filled with a faint aromatic fragrance. It was one of the most commonly found incense in the Church. It had soothing effects to the nerves, it could help to relieve fatigue, it could also act as an insect repellent, allowing them to have a better slumber.
After Baiyi had done that, he entered Tisdale and Mia's tent and saw that they had already taken off their shoes and stockings, exposing two pairs of cute and fair little feet. The two of them were sitting cross-legged on the bed whispering to each other, with the hammerhead shark plushie firmly entrenched in Mia's arms.
"Go to sleep," Baiyi told them as he took out a bottle of green liquid and sprayed around the two girls' bedding, it was a potion that could repel snakes and insects.
Sticking out her little tongue playfully at him, Mia took down her hood that was covering her head but she left her long-sleeved shirts and trousers on. Because they were currently outdoors, it was natural that she would not able to wear all those beautiful short dresses. It was certain that Baiyi would never let them expose their skins out there.
Obediently, Mia climbed into her bed and let out a sigh of contentment, "Sigh, this is so soft! Just like my bed back in the dorm!"
Oi, why don't you take a look at how many mattresses there are underneath you? Didn't you realize that my storage pouch was full of these things? Baiyi thought to himself as he grabbed the blanket and wrapped her up tightly, only exposing her small little head. Carefully, he tucked the edge of the blanket underneath her and within seconds, she looked just like a baby silkworm.
"Be careful not to catch a cold," Although it was summer, the nights in the mountains was not as hot as it should be in the summer. Instead, it was so chilly and the cold wind blowing from time to time was so cold that it sent chills up one's spine.
"Alright, good night, Mia!" Baiyi cooed softly and lifted a hand to pinch her face.
"Goodnight, Mr. Hope," Mia said in a sheep-like manner before she gently planted a kiss on Baiyi's fingertip.
"Uhh..." A whine that sounded unhappy immediately came from behind. Baiyi turned back to have a look and found that Tisdale was also already under her blanket, her hands were grasping the edge of the blanket and her big puppy eyes were staring sadly at him.
Aren't you the elder sister here? Why are you acting like Mia now? Baiyi chuckled as he turned around and just like how he did with Mia, he tucked her into the blanket, making her look like a bigger silkworm. With a smile, he reached out and pinched her face as well, "Goodnight, Tisdale."
"Goodnight, sir," Tisdale replied and finally closed her beautiful big eyes.
"From what I can see right now, I'm pretty sure that they will ask you to sleep with them sooner or later," the Thane scoffed coldly in the Void, he looked like he was disgusted by such actions. Who knew that a few seconds later a murmur could be heard coming from him, "Tsk! I'm so jealous! Why didn't I have a daughter last time?"
Oh, gosh, look at you perverted daughter-con! Now I finally discover your secret! Baiyi snorted in his heart. Don't you dare come close to the two of them after you get out of the Void!
Because Baiyi had found out his ultimate secret, the Thane suddenly became a little embarassed and quickly let out a few fake coughs. He tried to change the topic to distract Baiyi, "Erm... About that Alpine Barbarians, how sure are you that they're gonna assist us?"
Do you seriously think I'd even go there if I didn't have a 100% confidence? Baiyi asked him incredulously.
"That confident? Are you sure they're as amiable as the Caveman said they are?" The Thane could not suppress his doubt.
That is not the issue. The main key lies in communicating with them. As long as there's not much changes in the Caveman's values, I'm sure it won't be much of a trouble for us to talk to them, Baiyi answered confidently before turning to the Caveaman, Do you think will there be any changes in your tribe?
"The only thing that might change is their diet," The Caveman replied half-jokingly, "But of course, no matter how much they change, they're not going to turn into cannibals..."
So, on the second day, the team continued their journey towards the territory of the Alpine Barbarians. Seeing that they were going off route, the tiny beaten track below their feet gradually worn off. At the moment, the whole team had completely entered the dark mountains.
The three Zhang brothers soon showed their professionalism. With a machete in his hand, the eldest brother walked in front while slashing weeds and shrubs that were blocking their path, opening up a path big enough for the rest of the group to pass through. From time to time, he would identify the prints that animals made on the ground.
The second Zhang brother narrowed his eyes slightly while he constantly sniffed at the air, identifying the various smells in the jungle. As for the youngest brother who was as agile as a monkey, he climbed from trees to trees, overlooking the distant situation from an aerial view.
The three of them each carried out their own duties but at the same time, they had good teamwork with one another. Along the way, it was all thanks to them that the team had managed to avoid many wild beasts. Even though their travelling speed was greatly reduced but the method turned out to be much more efficient.