Chapter 3

Most of Matai people who ran out were women and children, numbering about thirty. Whether women or children, they all had wheat-colored skin, neither fat nor thin, with clearly defined muscles, showing a healthy appearance.

They looked nothing like the primitive human figures resembling monkeys in history books.

Lu Yu was not surprised. During the journey, he had already learned that the Matai tribe is naturally strong and robust, with well-developed limbs, and both men and women are incredibly strong, purely due to racial talent. However, their population is very small, totaling only about sixty people.

The Matai men all returned to their wives and children. Even Shan Pu ran to a girl and enthusiastically boasted to her about how lucky he was to “find” a witch.

“Le Shui,” the lonely Matai king standing there suddenly called out.

The air suddenly went still.

A scar-faced man stepped forward.

“You go and clean the meat with Cheng Ping and the others,” the Matai king ordered.

Scarface man nodded, then turned and beckoned a few people to follow him to carry the elephant corpse.

The Matai king continued, “Xia Cao.”

A middle-aged woman with a gentle face stepped forward.

“You come with me,” the Matai king said.

He then looked at Lu Yu and said, “You come too.”

After the three entered the cave, the Matai people resumed their bustle. Those who were busy started working fervently, while those with free time gathered in groups of three or five, excitedly discussing the new witch who had arrived.

“Although the witch looks a bit small and thin, he’s really good-looking.”

“Yes, it’s unbelievable that we actually have a witch!”

“What should we prepare for him to eat? He looks so pale, maybe he doesn’t eat meat?”

“I don’t know, let’s go ask Shan Pu and the others.”

“Okay…”

—

Lu Yu followed behind the Matai king, discreetly observing the Matai tribe’s cave. The cave was large and deep, with no strange or foul smells in the air. The ground was covered with clean leaf pieces arranged in large rectangles, presumably bedding. There were mud pots on both sides, filled with fresh flowers, and clean bones piled up in the corners.

Although the adult Matai women were over 1.8 meters tall, with strong and robust figures and formidable combat abilities, they seemed to be very good at housekeeping as well.

The Matai king stopped in front of a large leaf bed at the deepest part of the cave, pointing to the empty space beside it and saying to the middle-aged Matai woman named Xia Cao, “Prepare some Neela grass here.”

Xia Cao replied, “Okay, King.”

The Matai king looked at Lu Yu and said, “From now on, you’ll sleep next to me.”

—

Is this to monitor him, afraid that he’ll run away?

Although Lu Yu was mentally prepared to be treated like a prisoner, it was still a bit of a shock to be worshipped by everyone a minute ago, only to be closely guarded the next. He gathered his courage and refused, “There’s no need for this. I won’t run away. I don’t have to take the position where the King’s sleep.”

The Matai king was slightly stunned, pursed his lips, and remained silent, but the pressure emanating from his whole body became somewhat low.

Xia Cao looked at the king, who was not good at expressing himself, then looked at the new, clean witch, and couldn’t help but smile. She explained to Lu Yu, “Witch, we often have wild beasts attacking here. The king placed your bed here to better protect you. You see, the beds of the children in our tribe are also nearby.”

She pointed not far away.

Oh? I see...

Lu Yu’s face was a little flushed. He scratched his chin and glanced aside, “Then, I’ll sleep here. Thank you, King.”

The Matai king nodded and said no more, then walked away.

“Witch, sit down and rest for a while,” Xia Cao pointed to a huge circular leaf on the ground with a diameter of about one meter.

“Okay.” Lu Yu had walked for a long time and was indeed a bit tired.

Xia Cao picked some Neela grass and sat down as well, arranging the leaves she needed. She spoke gently, “Witch, do you want to talk about yourself, or shall I introduce our Matai tribe first?”

Xia Cao is the kindest and smartest woman in the Matai tribe. When the Matai king called her, it wasn’t just to help with the bedding.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lu Yu asked about the reason for the small population of the Matai people.

“If you can’t say, forget it,” Lu Yu added.

Xia Cao smiled bitterly, “Actually, there’s nothing we can’t say. If the witch wants to hear, I’ll explain it briefly.”

Putting down her work, she continued, “Ten years ago, we didn’t live here. At that time, although our Matai people were not many, there were still over a thousand of us. We occasionally exchanged a few words with other tribes and exchanged some food. Later, from that side—”

Xia Cao gestured with her hand, “A group of people we had never seen before came and began to massacre us.”

“They numbered one or two tens of thousands, wielding weapons we had never seen before. They could easily injure us, but we were strong and resisted all along. When they found they couldn’t defeat us slowly, they brought people from other tribes and said that if they ate our flesh and drank our blood, they could live forever.”

Xia Cao lowered her eyes, unconsciously gripping the Neela grass tightly, veins protruding on the back of her hand, “People from other tribes knew where we lived, attacked there, killed all the elderly and children who stayed behind, and then joined the outsiders to besiege us.”

“In the end, the king led us and a few older children to escape.”

Lu Yu fell silent.

Just because of jealousy over longevity, they brought about slaughter.

Are those people still considered “human” if they consume the flesh and blood of their own kind?

Lu Yu didn’t know what the values of these primitive people were, but from his perspective as a modern person, it was unacceptable.

As for why the Matai king suddenly wanted to kill him, he probably figured it out. When he said he came from somewhere, he was referring to the direction where the outsiders came from, as mentioned by Xia Cao.

Presumably, he resembled those outsiders to some extent, which aroused the Matai king’s murderous intent.

Knowing all this, although Lu Yu felt resentful towards the Matai people who wanted to kill him without distinguishing right from wrong, it had unconsciously lessened a lot.

Normally, at this point, Lu Yu should comfort her a bit, but Lu Yu really couldn’t do it.

His parents died early, and his grandfather, who depended on each other, passed away when he was twelve years old. He wasn’t particularly reclusive, but he really didn’t have any close friends who truly entered his heart. From childhood to adulthood, he endured hardships and injuries on his own, never needing sympathy or comfort from others, so naturally, he didn’t have this experience.

So he dryly changed the topic and chatted about something else.

Incidentally, he learned that the Matai king’s name is Tai Li.

Lu Yu chewed on the two words “Tai Li” several times, suddenly remembering something.

“By the way, how did your language… come about?”