My heart lurched, and I immediately stopped speaking. I threw aside the tent flap and rushed out with a swift stride!
It was important to remember that Ada's tent was some distance from the other surrounding tents. Under normal circumstances, no one from the Du An tribe would pass by Ada's tent.
Now that there was a sound coming from outside the tent, the only possibility was the hidden operative the High Priest had warned me about, planted within the tribe!
I rushed out of the tent and looked towards the source of the sound outside. I spotted a fleeing figure!
"You little thief, heard the secret and now you want to run?!"
"Die for me!"
The figure ran with incredible speed, comparable to Bolt. Seeing him getting further away, in my haste, I grabbed the long spear outside the tent and flung it directly at him.
My strength now far surpassed that of an ordinary person. I was essentially a Tyrannosaurus Rex in human skin. The long spear I threw sliced through the air and, in an instant, caught up to the fleeing figure.
"Hit!"
I watched as the spear I threw struck the man squarely in the shoulder. He stumbled and fell directly to the ground.
"Trying to escape?!"
I sneered and unhurriedly walked up to the man, crouched down, grabbed his hair, and pulled his head up.
"Run, keep running! I want to see how far you can get! Speak quickly, whose man are you!"
This was a typical Du An tribe warrior. He wore a beast-skin coat on his upper body and a hunting knife at his waist.
"No... let go...!"
He had completely lost his warrior's spirit. With the slightest exertion from me, he cried out in pain, unable to even utter a complete sentence.
"Not confessing, huh? You choose punishment over a kind offer!"
Seeing his lack of cooperation, I was about to apply more pressure. Suddenly, I realized that the spear I had thrown earlier had pinned him to the ground. The sensation of being pierced by a sharp weapon was something few could endure. No wonder the man before me looked as if he was about to faint from the pain.
"Batu, Batu!"
A voice called out from behind me. I turned and saw Ada, breathless, rushing over.
Ada's condition was clearly poor. His face was flushed with a sickly red hue, and though he had only walked a few steps, it seemed like an arduous journey. This made me suspicious.
Ada's current state didn't look like a sudden illness. It was more like he had been poisoned?!
After all, before Hu Tu declared Ada sick, I had met with him. At that time, Ada was as strong as an ox and showed no signs of illness whatsoever.
As my mind raced, Ada finally reached me.
"Batu, this is..."
Ada took a couple of breaths and was about to say something when he suddenly saw the face of the unlucky fellow pinned to the ground. His expression changed!
"Why is it you?"
"Oh?"
Did Ada know this eavesdropper?!
Since Ada knew the man, things became easier. I released my grip on his hair to prevent him from completely losing consciousness.
However, I did not remove the spear from his shoulder. I left him sprawled on the ground like a toad, gasping for breath.
"What, Ada. Do you recognize this sneaky fellow eavesdropping outside our tent?"
Ada nodded, his expression somewhat complicated.
"After I fell ill, the King sent him to specifically take care of me. He's a shaman named Anan."
Someone sent by Hu Tu. This made things interesting.
Was this Anan the person Hu Tu sent to specifically monitor Ada?
I stroked my chin, my mind churning with possibilities.
In truth, the relationship between Hu Tu and Ada, from my perspective as a third party, was quite delicate.
On one hand, Ada possessed immense prestige among the Du An tribe warriors. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he could rally them with a single call.
Throughout human history, from small tribes to large nations, individuals with such standing, regardless of their personality, were inherently a potential threat to any ruler.
This had nothing to do with loyalty; it was simply the existence of such a figure that would make the wielder of power wary.
If nothing else, in Chinese history, people who reached this level only had two outcomes: either they achieved too much merit and were eventually killed for threatening the emperor, or they directly overthrew the emperor and seized the throne.
While I was lost in thought, Ada, with his direct approach, squatted in front of Anan and lifted his head, meeting his eyes.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Though his physical condition was dire, his long-honed instincts as the Du An tribe's most astute hunter, developed from countless hunts, remained undiminished. The killing intent he had accumulated did not waver.
Anan, who had been groaning continuously, was now so frightened by Ada's question that he dared not make a sound.
After a three-second stare-down with Ada, Anan lowered his head and finally spoke hesitantly.
"I can tell you what I know, but you must let me live."