Yuxuan (REMASTERED)

Chapter Sixteen

I smelled smoke burning. There was a fire. Yuxuan continued forward and I could feel myself shivering. Was it another camp? I prayed that we wouldn't run into Hansel.

In the distance, I saw two figures standing stoically. When we got closer, I realized they were men. Men around the same size as Yuxuan.

They had ink markings on their faces and torsos, animal skin covering their lower regions. I noticed that they had large machetes in their hands. I glanced at Yuxuan, hoping he'd catch my feeling of fear towards these unapproachable figures.

He didn't.

One of the men noticed us and began speaking. Both he and Yuxuan conversed for a while. I couldn't understand any of it. Now I knew how Yuxuan felt when studying English.

The men stepped aside when Yuxuan said something else, and Yuxuan continued walking forward.

"Yuxuan, where are we?"

"My people..." He answered.

He brought me to his tribe. My heart ached. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

I looked around. There were a few huts placed all over. I noticed there were a lot of men in this community. Predominantly, there were more men. They all wore similar clothing to Yuxuan. I noticed a few women by several fires. Some of them were weaving, others were cooking, and there were some who were gardening.

I noticed that some of the women also had short hair with their fronts completely exposed. There were only 2 women I saw with animal skin covering their chests. Everyone's skin was stained in ink.

Three children sprinted past Yuxuan, laughing and playing. One of them was a little girl, while the others were boys. The moment we approached, everyone stopped to stare.

Now I was very embarrassed. I feared being naked in front of Hansel and Peterson, but here I was displayed for everyone in the tribe to see. Yuxuan sat me down, and the women all rushed over to me.

One grabbed my uninjured leg, another grabbed my arm, and someone grabbed onto my hair. I screeched and squirmed around. "Don't touch me! Let me go!" I huffed. Was it normal for these people to have no boundaries?

Yuxuan was no help. He held me in place firmly, allowing the women to do whatever they pleased. I felt someone's hand rub against my chest, and I hollered. "Hands off!"

Yuxuan spoke to the women, and they all seemed to calm down. Whatever he told them made them all ease off. One lady grabbed my injured leg and unwrapped the cloth.

She looked at the lady beside her and spoke.

I wished I could understand what they were saying. They seemed frantic in observing me. One woman rushed over with a bowl of weird substance. She began rubbing it onto my cut. I whined, and my cries only became louder when I felt her wrap my foot in a leaf and animal fur.

Yuxuan released me and walked away. "Yuxuan! Wait! Don't leave me here! Agh!" I was being held against my will by these ladies. I felt someone pour something warm, I think it was some type of oil.

Then they all began rubbing the oil into my skin. If I had been clothed, I wouldn't have found this awkward. But I was very comfortable.

The time of the day went by and I didn't know how long I stayed in this unsettling position. Every inch of my body had been scrubbed. Yes.

Every. Freaking. Inch.

I was cleaned, moisturized, and warmed by a fire that was started by the women of the camp. Maybe it was their custom to clean new visitors?