Translator: Fan Translation Studio

  Tarico suddenly understood something.

  He blew a whistle at the downhill. Hearing that, Mcginon looked up and found Tarico. Subconsciously, he hid the thing behind him nervously.

  Tarico went downstairs with studied casualness and walked up to Mcginon. “Aren’t you going to herd goats? Why are you here?”


  Mcginon hemmed and hawed, “I……”


  Suddenly, Tarico laughed. “I know you’re not slacking off. Everyone has his or her little secrets. Are you waiting for a woman?”


  Mcginon sighed with relief.

  Tarico went on, “If you’ve found someone you like, you should be brave to show your affection. Don’t be so timid, or the woman may think you’re not reliable enough.”


  Mcginon looked somewhat ashamed.

  “Isn’t it who you like? That woman forces you to marry her?” Tarico patted him on his shoulder. “Bro, marriage is not a game. It must be based on mutual love, or you’ll suffer a lot in the future. If a couple quarrel, the man may beat the woman, while the woman may kill the man. Perhaps she’ll poison him secretly.”


  “Re-really?” Mcginon asked. He sweated all over and his face turned pale with fright.

  Seeing that, Tarico was surer of his speculation.

  Mahal must have promised Mcginon some benefits, and in return, Mcginon was required to do a bad deed for him.

  And it must be about the camel team.

  Tarico then said, “Sure. How could you be happy in a forced marriage? Even if the woman may be nice to you, her parents won’t treat you well. They will take you as a puppet at their mercy. When you become useless to them, they will naturally kick you away.” 。


  Mcginon sweated even more heavily.

  Tarico added, “As you know, although women are given relatively equal status with men in our tribe, men are still in a dominant position. If you’re bullied by your wife or her parents, you’ll be looked down upon by other men. You’d better find a woman of similar status and live happily with her.”


  Mcginon fell into silence.

  Tarico thought he had said enough. It was up to Mcginon how to take his next step.

  Certainly, he would watch Mcginon closely, giving him no chance to hurt the camels……

  As a result, before it got dark, Mcginon went to Tarico with the poison given by Mahal.

  He confessed that Mahal wanted to marry Guri to him and asked him to poison Tarico and the camels.

  He said he had never thought about doing so, but Mahal promised to give him all the property, a temptation that was hard to reject.

  But after hearing Tarico’s words, he suddenly realized that Mahal was just using him. If he really killed Tarico and the camels, Mahal might act like a deadbeat because no evidence could prove his crime.

  Besides, he didn’t like Guri, and her parents wouldn’t treat him well, either. If they poisoned him to death, he would lose everything.

  With brothers and salaries, he was now living such a good life. Why listen to Mahal and ruin the current peaceful life?

  Tarico pretended as if he didn’t know anything in advance. At the same time, he praised Mcginon for his righteousness and cleverness, which made Mcginon a little bashful……

  Soon, it was spring again.

  Ye Xiaoxian liked this snow-melting, green-spreading season very much.

  Once the season came, it meant the tribe would become lively again. The flocks of cattle and goats would be back from another pasture and they would celebrate the Festival of Sacrifice.

  After the festival, they would go on with their business. All activities would be back on the track.

  The day Tarico was back, Ye Xiaoxian went out to greet him joyfully. To be exact, she was there to check if the camels were fewer or thinner.

  Fortunately, the camels were safe. After a long journey, none of them was lost.

  Actually, after a winter of recuperation, they looked much stronger than before.

  Seeing Ye Xiaoxian, Tarico appeared very happy. He gave her some nuts that he had picked along the way for her to eat at home.

  He asked, “How was your winter?”


  His voice was more than gentle. Having separated from her for a long time, he missed her very much and couldn’t hold his feelings.

  She replied, “Nothing particular happened. But we’ve prepared a lot of products to be sold after the Festival of Sacrifice. Your work must be tougher.”


  “It was just fine. It was warmer there without ice or snow.”


  The region here was vast with varying climates. If one rode for a day, he could experience two seasons. It might be spring on another pasture and it was winter here.

  “No wonder the camels have become so strong,” she said with a smile.

  “I value their lives more than mine,” he joked.

  “Don’t say that way. Your own life is the most important.”


  Then, she asked, “Was there any accident in the winter?”


  “Yes,” Tarico said. “All our camels were almost dead.”


  She was shocked. “Why? What happened then?”


  He smiled. “Are you worried about me?”


  She paused and replied, “I’m worried about the camels.”


  “You said my life was the most important, but now you only care about the camels. You’re so hypocritical.” Tarico said with a laugh.

  Ye Xiaoxian also chuckled. “I’m so curious. Why were the camels almost dead? What happened then?”


  But he said, “Considering that you don’t care about me, I decide to keep you in suspense. You’ll know after the Seventh King comes. Will he come this year?”


  “Yes, I suppose so. It’ll soon be the Festival of Sacrifice. Last time he left, he said he would come here two days before the festival.”


  “Great. You’ll know what happened after he comes. Oh yes, do you have anything to eat? We’ve stayed long there and now we miss your dishes very much.”


  Ye Xiaoxian said generously, “Then come with your brothers tonight. Let’s have a reunion dinner together.”
……

  Two days later, Li Chengru came again.

  Wong Wen and Wong Wu told him the evil deed Guri had done, Tarico also told him Mahal’s attempt to buy Mcginon.

  Irritated, Li Chengru immediately asked people to send Mahal and his family over.

  Mahal had just returned from the second pasture.

  He had been dragging his heels all the way because Mcginon, who had agreed to help him, suddenly turned his coat. He was afraid that Li Chengru would punish him for this.

  He felt an impulse to escape.

  But his roots were in the tribe where he had many goats and a home. Where could he escape?

  Knowing that Li Chengru summoned him and his family, he couldn’t even steady himself with his trembling legs.

  He stammered, “Why, why does the Seventh King wa-want to meet us?”


  Wong Wen and Wong Wu said angrily, “You know what wrongdoings you’ve done! Why bother to ask us? You’d better you go there immediately. The Seventh King has a fiery temper. If you provoke him, the consequences will be even worse.”


  Mahal could only head for the Xiaos’ and the Lius’ yurts with Dati and Guri.

  Apart from Mahal and his family, Li Chengru had also asked the tribal seniors and some respected elders over.

  A country had its laws and a tribe also had its special rules. In the interrogation of any tribal member, these elders’ participation was necessary. They would join the discussion and reach a verdict together.

  On entering the yurt, Mahal was dumbfounded.

  Why were there so many people? All of them, including the tribal seniors, were looking at him with regret and dissatisfaction.

  It seemed that he couldn’t maintain his position this time.

  Sitting in the middle, Li Chengru questioned, “Mahal, what did you do on the second pasture? Fess up!”


  Guri wanted to confess her guilt, so she said, “It has nothing to do with my father. I did it all. I wanted to poison all the camels because I hated Tarico. I liked him so much before, but he always refused me and that made me feel very humiliated.”


  Li Chengru said, “This is just the first guilt. Even if your father didn’t participate, he bought Mcginon later and wanted him to poison the camels. Mcginon, tell us what happened.”


  Scared as he was, Mcginon told them every detail of the thing.

  Mahal didn’t know how to refute it because that was the fact. Besides, no one would believe Mcginon was a liar.

  Helplessly, Mahal confessed, “It’s all my fault. I heard that Tarico had earned much money by leading the camel team and was afraid that he would pose a threat to me. To secure my position, I bought Mcginon in a moment of madness. Fortunately, Mcginon didn’t do as I told, or the consequences would be serious. I’m willing to accept any punishment.”


  Li Chengru looked at the other seniors. “He’s admitted his guilt, so we don’t wrong him. Mahal is sly and selfish. He doesn’t deserve to be your tribal leader, so I decide to dismiss him. As a punishment, he also needs to give 100 goats to the camel team. Do you agree?”


  Mahal didn’t dare to oppose. Anyway, compensating was much better than being imprisoned downtown.

  After a discussion, the seniors also said the punishment was reasonable.

  But after Mahal was dismissed, the position would be vacant.

  A senior said, “Now we have to elect a new tribal leader, but that needs time to prepare. I’m afraid the election can only be held after the Festival of Sacrifice.”


  Li Chengru said, “This is your tribal business, so I won’t intervene. But the new leader must be righteous, charismatic and responsible. Besides, since the camel team is your key task, the new leader should be someone associated with it.”


  Hearing that, all the people looked at Tarico.