Venerated Venomous Consort

Gu Xijiu was surrounded, so Di Fuyi could no longer fit in the crowd. He did not intend to fight with the women. Casually, he stood aside and hugged his arms as he observed.

A man named Tie Dan approached him for a small chat, but before he could touch his shoulder, Di Fuyi had already slid about ten feet away, without even shifting his body. Tie Dan was amazed. He was greatly impressed by Di Fuyi’s speed. Also, he noticed that Di Fuyi did not like to have anyone standing too close to him. Could he actually be a woman?

The women here were usually bold and passionate. They were not usually difficult to deal with. They would often wrestle one another. Some women were even stronger than men. If a woman fancies a man, she would confess directly, and if the affection were mutual, they would move into the same house and address themselves as man and wife.

The gender roles between men and women were not typically divided. The men and women would always walk together, shoulder to shoulder. Skin contact was not an issue at all to everyone, except Stone. Even the real Stone, who was shy and introverted, and the present Stone, who was frank and authoritative, shared the common behavior. They were not keen on skin contact. It appears that the newcomer was the same. He seemed even more reluctant than Stone to get in touch with others.

“Did you come from the city that only exists in legends? How did you meet Brother Stone?” Tie Dan was curious.

Di Fuyi frowned and asked him, “Have you never been to the city?”

Tie Dan answered in a depressed tone, “I certainly have not. Once trapped, the people here can never escape, so we have never seen the city. In fact, even our clan leader has never seen it.”

“Then, how did you know about the existence of such a city?”

“It is only a legend, passed from generation to generation.”

Di Fuyi seemed interested. “Tell me more about it.”

Tie Dan gave him an unimpressed look. “Hey, I was the one who asked you first.”

“Have a sip.” Di Fuyi offered him his leather bag that carried a bottle.

Tie Dan accepted it and turned the cap to open the bottle. His eyes danced with merriment the moment he found out about the content. “Wine? It smells so nice!”

He took a sip and was completely lost in the taste. “It tastes so good! Okay, you must be from the city. The clan leader once told us that only people in the city could afford such decent drinks. No, actually Brother Stone knows how to make wine, too, but it does not taste as good as this.”

Di Fuyi threw Gu Xijiu a look. She was still busily caught in the crowd.

After the wine, Tie Dan became completely obsessed. Driven by the excitement, he had forgotten about his question for Di Fuyi. Instead, he answered accordingly to every question that Di Fuyi had for him.

Soon, Di Fuyi had an idea of how Gu Xijiu lived her life in this place. Also, he managed to find out more about the clan. The village had not always been here. About a century ago, a group of hunters came to the valley and were trapped, so they started their lives anew here.

The mountains were once lively. Among the rocks, there was a forest, full of greens and vitality. Animals set foot in the forest as their habitat. However, ever since the hunters arrived, the trees had disappeared completely. The animals went extinct, too. Rocks were the only remains. The only being that lingered on was the Phantom Beast.

These Phantom Beasts regenerated quickly, so they could not be killed. There were many of them, all equally fierce and savage. Even the greatest hunter could not make it out of the valley alive. Those who tried would usually end up in miserable deaths.

Throughout the years, no one had ever escaped. However, the discovery of the cave and its channel gave the hunters a second chance to survive.