Chapter Twenty Return to the Village

  The next morning, Dick brought us news that the village chief had agreed to let us go into the village for a face-to-face talk, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief - if we could talk, there was hope.

  Under the leadership of Dick and me, everyone passed through the vast jungle and arrived at Ahart Village. The scenery in the village is still the same, and everyone is still busy there, nothing has changed. Seeing the long-lost village, familiar people, my heart was filled with an indescribable excitement, just like a wandering son returning home.

  "Hey, it's Wei Te, when did you get back?"

  "Long time no see! When can you tell me about what's going on outside?"

  All the way, villagers enthusiastically greeted me, and it's been only a few months since we last met, but everyone seemed to have said goodbye for several years. It's indeed my hometown that feels most intimate.

  The council house was in the center of the village, where the elders discussed matters, like an administrative center outside. We arrived at the council house and I and Lieberman were allowed to enter while others stayed outside the door.

  The conference room was as solemn and stern as ever, with the weak sunlight shining through a few windows on the wall making the lighting in the room quite dim. As soon as you stepped inside, you could feel a wave of pressure hitting your face. The village chief and several other elders were waiting at a ring-shaped hollow round table in the conference hall, and our seats were right in the middle of the empty table, feeling like we were being interrogated, to put it simply, the longer we sat there, the more uncomfortable we became. When I was young, after causing trouble, I wasn't often brought here for a lecture, so I really disliked coming here.

  "Wei Te, you said you brought these people to bring benefits to the village, but do you know that our ancestors have never allowed outsiders to enter here?" The elder on the left, Li Ke, spoke up. He was a stubborn old man who insisted on maintaining tradition.

  "I think the ancestors' original intention was not to let us be harmed by foreign invaders, but this time I came for the benefit of our clan, and I believe that apart from principles, there will always be exceptions." I defended myself.

  "Hmph! Profits! Look at the village of Xinari to the east, they're now completely enamored with those strange things brought from outside, how many people can still seriously engage in our long-held hunting traditions?"

  In Xina Village, I know that people there are now learning to make wooden furniture for sale to outsiders and nomads, their lives are much better than ours here. However, some stubborn elements like Leku Village Elder have always opposed this way of life that violates the ancestral habits.

  "Mr. Lich, this time I've brought something that doesn't break with tradition, and I think Mr. Lievman can explain it to you." I turned the topic over to Lievman.

  "Oh, oh, esteemed nocturnal elders, I am honored to be here and to have the opportunity to converse with you face-to-face. Your nation has always been shrouded in mystery in our eyes, thanks to my good friend Vito's help, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of your customs."

  "Well, this time I've come, I don't actually want to bring about any changes for you all. In fact, I just hope to be able to capture a few wild beasts in the forest of confusion and take them back to my country for people to observe. I won't ask you to do anything, I just hope you can allow me to behave here. To express my respect for you all, I've also brought many gifts, hoping you can accept them with a smile."

  After hearing his words, several elders began to discuss in whispers. The old men were garrulous, and we waited for a long time in the council hall before those elders finished their discussion.

  The most knowledgeable elder, Mo Si, spoke up: "Mr. Lieveman, regarding your proposal, after our discussion, we have decided to agree to your hunting activities. However, our village does not allow outsiders to reside here, so your people must leave and set up camp elsewhere. I'm sure Wei Te will find a good location for you."

  Having obtained the expected permission, Lifman immediately asked: "So next time we can continue hunting here?"

  "Next time!! Do you want next time?! Greedy person!" Lick elder roared angrily.

  "Enough, Rikk," Elder Moss silenced the elder's outburst. He turned to face Liefman, his calm expression unyielding, "Merchant Liefman, do you think we would permit your continued hunting in our forest? What are we to do ourselves?"

  "Sorry for the offense, I really hope you can allow me to come back here, as compensation for your village's loss, I will provide a large amount of food and crops for planting, so that in the future you won't have to rely on hunting and everyone will have a stable harvest."

  "Hmm, in that case, we can consider it, but only for the people here today. If you want to bring more people in, we will consider it an invasion and take countermeasures." After discussing with Elder Mo and other elders, they agreed with his opinion. After all, a life of hunting was not very stable, and the crops planted in the village were not high-yielding either. If they could get good seeds for farming, the living problems in the village would be solved.

  "I'm really curious, didn't you know the danger of those fierce beasts?" After resolving the biggest issue, everyone relaxed, and Elder Moos asked Leifman his own question.

  "Hehe, in the eyes of a businessman, the greater the danger, the greater the return." Lievman said with a smile, while presenting several elderly men with high-quality cigars, because I had told him that they all liked to smoke, so he brought high-quality cigars to win them over. As a result, when Lievman provided the goods, he also attached a condition, which was to present the elderly men with high-quality Winston cigarettes.

  As I emerged from the smoke-filled council chamber, I found that the villagers had already gathered around Koro and his people. The children were all holding sweets and clustering around Koro, listening to him tell tales of wonders and curiosities from outside. Some of the young men were competing with Jir in archery, while others were testing their strength against Padjet. The rest were surrounded by curious villagers asking them questions. I hadn't expected them to hit it off so quickly with the people of Ahart village.

  Koro called out to a few people, and took some villagers to retrieve the items we had brought and placed outside the forest. The rest were led by me to a flat area near the edge of a small lake to set up camp, this is an area where we have lived for many years, so there's no need to worry about any danger.

  Then, I brought Serena into my small cottage, preparing to stay here for the night. Sitting on a stool, looking at the simple decorations that remained unchanged, my mood seemed to have returned to those years living in the village, so many hard days, so many sad and happy memories, and that helpless sorrow, my heart sank into the sentimental pain of reminiscence.

  Xiang Linna sensed my sadness and gently hugged me from behind, silently comforting my wounded heart. Unbeknownst to me, a subtle affection began to spread.

  "Hey, is Wyatt in there?" The door was roughly pushed open by Dick, I recall he often burst into my house like this before.

  "Ah……" Dick's mouth was open for half a day, and he finally squeezed out a sentence: "I'm disturbing you." After finishing speaking, he escaped like flying, really can't understand him. However, the atmosphere between us was also messed up by him, and the sadness in my heart also flew away without warning.

  At night when I was walking alone in the village, Dick quietly approached me and whispered to me: "Walter, I'm really sorry to disturb you today, next time I will definitely knock on the door."

  I didn't expect him to be so particular about this small matter, it's never happened before. I waved my hand generously: "It's nothing, just pay attention next time."

  "Hehe, I knew you wouldn't blame me," Dick hesitated for a moment: "To be honest, I've played with you for so long and never knew you had that kind of interest. You're really good at pretending, I thought you liked Aileen back then, didn't expect it, didn't expect it."

  Wait, what does he mean? The more I listen, the more it doesn't sound right.

  "What are you talking about?"

  Dike's face was expressionless, he looked around and whispered: "I know, having such an interest is indeed not something you want to tell others, but I won't laugh at you. And to be honest, the man you hugged today is even more beautiful than a woman, you have quite good taste."

  I'm hugging a man? Ah, right, Xilina has always dressed like a man, could it be...? He wouldn't think I'm...? A chill ran down my spine.

  I grabbed his collar and almost yelled at him: "I don't like men!! You want to die, dare to spread such rumors! Today I'm holding a woman!!"

  "Huh? A woman? Oh no, nothing... Hehe, then I'll just leave." Dick's face changed as soon as he realized his mistake, and without saying another word, he immediately ran away, leaving me standing there in confusion.

  Forget it, I don't care about him. I continued walking along the village road, recalling the scenes of playing here in the past. However, although I was reminiscing about the past, I felt that every passerby seemed to be staring at me, which made me feel a bit uneasy.

  In crowded places, this feeling becomes more and more apparent. Every person who sees me seems to have a somewhat unnatural gaze. When men look at me, they always subconsciously avoid eye contact, while women look at me with a sympathetic gaze, occasionally sighing.

  Why did they disappear all of a sudden, and their reaction to me became so quick? Suddenly, I thought of something very bad - Dick used to have a nickname called "Big Mouth", every matter that reached his mouth, the whole village would know immediately, had he already spread the rumor that I liked men throughout the village?

  "Get out of here!!!"

  A furious roar sent all the birds in the bewildered forest flying out of the woods.