After a century of worship, I became the ancestor of the tribe.

Chapter 63 Spirit Rice, Spirit Peaches, and the Blacksmith's Whereabouts (Please continue reading)

Slave farm.

Huo Tang looked at the six figures in front of him. Before coming here, he had thought that skilled craftsmen would inevitably be scarce slaves.

He accepted even those who were old, weak, sick, or disabled.

Even if they can't work, they can be taken back to teach the tribespeople.

But upon seeing the slaves before him, Huotang realized that his assumptions were still just that—assumptions.

"Those with skills have always been in high demand. If these people didn't have some disabilities or injuries, they wouldn't have survived to this day."

Jia Gu began by introducing them, "These two are professional blacksmiths, and these four are apprentices."

"You, come here, stretch out your hand."

The young man lowered his head, dragged his feet, and took two steps forward, then opened his calloused hands.

"Look, these are marks left from holding a hammer for a long time. You can inspect them as you like."

Huo Tang inspected each of the slaves present and found that they all had soot marks on their bodies and heavy calluses on their hands, the kind of calluses formed by holding a hammer handle.

He looks just like the blacksmith in the clan.

Seeing that Huotang had finished inspecting the slaves, Jia Gu spoke again, "The mortality rate among slaves is very high. These people's bodies are practically dried out. Are you sure you want to buy them?"

He was determined to buy Huotang; otherwise, he wouldn't have waited a couple more days.

The death of slaves was a common occurrence; even the best slaves, once bought back, would have a mortality rate of 20% to 30% within a short period.

Having experienced the destruction of his clan, the killing of his relatives, and a life of constant wandering and mental torment, his body was long since ruined.

If you're lucky, the condition might improve after two years of care, but most tribes don't have the resources to care for someone like that. If someone lives for eight or ten years, they're considered very lucky.

"purchase."

After taking a few glances, Huotang gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

It's because our own tribe is short of supplies.

“Great. The slaves suffer heavy losses. If they die on the way back, my slave farm will give you an equal number of slaves as compensation next time you come.”

Jia Gu clapped his hands suddenly.

At this moment, Huotang spoke up: "Where are these people's relatives? I want them all too."

"This group of people was specially transported here. Some of their relatives live in other markets, and some have long since died. If you want them, we'll send them over next time we come."

Jia Gu pulled the torch towards a house.

"Let's go, let's settle the deal now."

……

after one day.

At the foot of a small hill north of the market, Huotang was resting with his slaves.

With a 'thud,' one of the blacksmiths, an old man, collapsed to the ground and began to convulse.

"Medicine, yes, Ah-chan gave me some medicine dumplings."

Volcano hurriedly helped the man up, forgetting in his haste that the medicine was for detoxification. He grabbed a small, concentrated pill and stuffed it into the old man's mouth.

But before it could be inserted, the old man's head tilted to the side.

“Brother A-Tang, this…”

The volcano was stunned; their luck couldn't be that bad.

It's only been a short time since they left the slave market.

The remaining five slaves trembled with fear, terrified that the volcano's anger would be directed at them.

Looking at the listless figures, Huotang thought to himself, "This won't do."

"Once we return to the tribe, you will be subjects of my tribe. If you make contributions in the future, you can also become members of my tribe. Hang in there, we will be there soon."

Upon hearing this, their eyes lit up, but then their spirits dampened.

They are not blacksmiths.

The reason they had to impersonate blacksmiths according to the slave market's orders was because if they didn't obey, even death in the slave market was a luxury.

Leaving the slave factory, even if exposed, might at least lead to a quicker death.

Moreover, they were not free to do as they pleased; they all had relatives.

If the buyers come back because of them, their relatives will suffer a fate worse than death.

This is not a threat, but something that happens every day in the slave markets.

Huo Tang frowned. He saw that the remaining people, especially the four young people, had a glimmer of hope on their faces, but it quickly faded again.

The Blazing Flame Tribe brought them new hope.

What's there to be sad about?

At this moment, another old man saw the look in Huotang's eyes, and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing all over.

"poisoned?"

Huotang stepped forward and pulled the old man up, only to see black, foul-smelling blood oozing from his mouth and nose, mixed with some sticky bits of debris.

I couldn't tell anything from the last one, but this one looks like poisoning.

"Ah Shan, get the medicine!"

The medicine from the volcano was brought over, and then the old man breathed his last.

Huotang looked up at the remaining four, who were huddled together, their faces filled with fear.

"You're not blacksmiths, are you?"

Upon hearing this, the four men turned pale, and one of them, like the old man, convulsed in fear.

"Ah Shan, give him the medicine."

The volcano surged up, grabbed the person, and stuffed the antidote into their mouth.

The four were too terrified, and their bodies were too weak, so after the volcano administered the antidote, they all collapsed and convulsed. "Give it again, force-feed it water."

Huotang also came to help, increasing the dosage of the medicine.

"puff!"

The four began to vomit, their blood mixed with slightly shattered organs and lingering antidote.

One case of poisoning could be considered accidental, but since they were all poisoned, they had been eating what they brought themselves along the way.

"Brother Tang, we've been tricked!"

The volcano glared angrily, and even the slowest person would realize at that moment that they had been tricked.

Huo Tang remained silent, observing the remaining slaves. He could tell that the poison had already seeped into their internal organs.

This is a deadly act.

Once they're all dead, there'll be no way to prove anything.

What a clever idea: kill them all and then supply the same number of slaves.

Huotang considered himself to have witnessed it.

"How insidious! A hundred times more cunning than you, Brother Tang!" Volcano cursed angrily.

Before long, only two people remained alive. One of them was the young man who had shown off the calluses on his hands earlier. At this moment, he was actually straining to tighten his jaw.

"Crack!"

With a snap, Huo Tang's jaw fell, and the man's mouth split open, unable to close.

"Seeking death?"

A murderous intent arose in Huotang's heart.

It was one thing for the slave farm to have deceived him, but the fact that the slaves were loyal to the slave farm was quite unexpected.

"You still have relatives in the slave market?"

"If you dare to die, I'll drag your corpse to the slave market."

"I imagine that once the slave market sees your corpse, they'll sell your family members without a second thought, making them pay the price for your deception."

"Woooo..."

Fang Hua shook her head, her eyes filled with terror.

“Speak properly, and I will buy your relatives back next time, and you can become one of my subjects.”

Fang Hua nodded, and Huo Tang pressed his mouth back down.

Through Fang Hua's words, Huo Tang learned the cause and effect.

The slave farm specially commissioned six fake blacksmiths who would die as soon as they left the house, to meet their requirement of purchasing 'blacksmiths'.

All six were cunning individuals who had relatives in the slave market and would die soon after leaving it.

Even if we retrieve them to replenish the same number of other slaves, exchanging so many high-quality, entry-level animal hides for a dozen or so ordinary slaves would be a huge loss.

If it weren't for the antidote brought by Ah-Can, these people would definitely be dead.

As for the claim of poisoning, it's unreliable. How can it be proven that the poisoning occurred inside the slave factory?
Huotang had already imagined Jia Gu's true colors.

'I'm a slave trader, would I sell you a poisoned slave?'

It has long been said that the slave mortality rate is high, and that if all the slaves die, they will be compensated with an equal number of slaves.

You're here to cause trouble, aren't you?

At this moment, remembering what Huotang had just said, Fang Hua, despite his weakness, hurriedly spoke up, "Please, save my family. Although my clan is gone, we have a hidden clan treasury that we are willing to offer to you, sir."

Huotang suddenly asked, "After the flood, many tribes in the vicinity were destroyed?"

"Ah."

Fang Hua nodded.

The Copper Shell Market is like a north-south dividing line. To the south, the terrain gradually flattens out, and the crops produced by each region yield a lot, while the proportion of food obtained from hunting decreases.

Although the weather and seasons are often unpredictable, the places where each ethnic group establishes its tribe are carefully selected, with fertile land and relatively high yields of millet and rice per acre.

In some places, the rice grown contains nutrients that are no less than those of animal meat, and can be used to support martial arts cultivation.

This also means that the number of tribes in the same area outside is several times that in the mountains.

In addition, they weren't exactly lacking in meat; large prey was scarce, but not entirely nonexistent.

Uncultivated wilderness and forests abound, teeming with pheasants and rabbits.

"Does your tribe have this kind of millet used for cultivation?" Huotang's eyes lit up with surprise.

Fang Hua gently shook his head, "The millet grown in our tribe is only enough to feed ordinary tribesmen, and can barely be used for cultivation."

There is a paddy field in Shanghu that is said to produce rice as big as dates, but unfortunately I have never seen it.

I heard it's heavily guarded, and even ordinary members of their tribe have a hard time getting close.

Seeing that Huotang was very interested, Fang Hua tried hard to recall the relevant rumors, hoping to please Huotang.

"It is said that the Yuanshan tribe has a very large peach tree and raises a group of peach monkeys, which can be used to brew Tao wine for martial arts training."

……

"If the clan leader wants a blacksmith, he can go and find one himself."

Fang Hua continued, "Our tribe's weapons were obtained in exchange for those weapons from a tribe in Chishan."

Before I was captured, I saw the remnants of the Chishan tribe, so it seems the Chishan tribe also suffered heavy losses in the natural disaster.

　In the previous chapter's explanation, the location of the Quanrong was written incorrectly, and some readers pointed it out.

　　When I was searching on Baidu, I missed a line and mistakenly put Zenghou's territory together with the Quanrong. Shenhou was located in Henan, and he allied with Zenghou, who was located in the Shandongzaoqing area. The Quanrong were in Gansu and Shaanxi. The three families joined forces and killed King You of Zhou.

　　The content has been corrected. The replies to readers seem to have been deleted twice, and I can't see them in my backend either. I'm explaining this here.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)