Chapter 158: The Patriarch's Grand Debut

Following closely behind Xi, Huan Luo walked slowly past the rows of neat redwood cabins, keeping her head down the entire time to minimize her presence. Mo Mo had been restless at first, but under Huan Luo’s lead, she obediently lowered her head as well.

Before long, the three of them passed the redwood cabins and finally stepped into a vast, natural clearing resembling a plaza. The lawn had been artificially enclosed in a circle, right in the center of which stood a towering tree. This tree looked almost identical to the one Mo Mo had seen in Avatar; its main trunk was thick and massive, its branches lush and flourishing, and numerous aerial roots grew down from the branches to re-root themselves in the ground. Seen from afar, it looked like an entire forest. Unfortunately, there were no glowing bio-luminescent creatures flitting about the tree, nor were the Night Ghouls blue-skinned beings, otherwise Mo Mo might have playfully spoiled the plot by telling them the bad news that this place was about to be demolished for a real estate project.

The circular plaza extended backward, and the branches of the nameless giant tree—whether by design or coincidence—naturally and roughly divided the rear area into three sections. The wooden structures behind the giant tree were likewise arranged according to the layout and spacing of these branches, forming three distinct building clusters. The central area was blocked from Mo Mo’s view by the huge tree right in front of her, but judging by the size of the building complexes on either side, the middle section likely held the most structures, presumably the residential district.

The remaining two sections each occupied a smaller portion of land, yet the buildings there were significantly taller, grander, and much more elaborate than the outer redwood houses. Their construction materials were not limited to redwood, and every single building possessed a distinct shape—round, flat, square, irregular, and bizarrely fashioned houses could all be found here, fully reflecting the psychological states of the inhabitants within.

If so, the houses in the center must be the legendary ordinary residential area, while the buildings on both sides probably served as the dwellings for the more influential, powerful, or elite Night Ghouls within the tribe. She wondered where they would lock up the captives; hopefully not in some bizarre, hard-to-find, and wretched environment like an underground dungeon or a cave, Mo Mo thought to herself. Following her immediate impulse, she took a couple of steps to the side to get a better look, but before she could complete her stride, a tall figure blocked her line of sight entirely.

Mo Mo’s body stiffened as she slowly raised her head. Standing before her was the tallest Night Ghoul Mo Mo had laid eyes on thus far, without exception. Visually estimated to be well over three meters in height, he forced Mo Mo’s entire upper body to lean backward just to look up at him. Fortunately, the giant Night Ghoul seemed to have zero interest in Mo Mo. His ink-black pupils were fixed steadily on Xi, and his solid, thick-set physique blocked Xi's path like a mountain. Xi, who had enjoyed an unimpeded journey thus far, was finally brought to a halt.

"Gibberish la-la wa-wa... %&^$..." A string of completely incomprehensible sounds poured from the mouth of the three-meter-tall giant Night Ghoul.

"Gibberish la-la wa-wa... %&^$..." Xi replied with total composure, speaking at a rapid-fire pace in the same unintelligible language.

"Gibberish la-la sora..." The giant Night Ghoul seemed to understand Xi’s response, as he didn't say much else, merely offering a comforting pat on Xi’s shoulder. From beginning to end, his eyes never once glanced toward Mo Mo’s side.

Xi’s expression lacked the lively animation she wore when talking to Mo Mo. Throughout her entire dialogue with the giant Night Ghoul, she maintained the distant wariness of a niece addressing a menacing uncle. Only when the giant patted her shoulder did her expression shift from a detached smile to a hint of helpless and aggrieved wryness. Yet this bitter smile was quickly replaced once more by the detached veneer; a casual observer would never have noticed it.

However, Mo Mo, being an idle onlooker with nothing better to do, caught it entirely. Standing in place out of sheer boredom and finding their conversation completely incomprehensible, she could only try to deduce the meaning of the exchange from their facial expressions. Yet loli Xi, usually so expressive, had instantly transformed into a mature child skilled in emotional restraint. Unable to glean any clues, a thoroughly exasperated Mo Mo could only pass the time by observing the two conversing figures. The giant’s skin was also a deep, prevalent brown, and his rugged features coupled with a furrowed brow gave him an imposing air that commanded respect without anger. Like all other Night Ghouls, he bore a flame-like pattern tattooed across his chest, and wore beast-skin garments several sizes larger than those worn by ordinary members of the tribe. The only apparent difference was that, alongside the flame tattoo, he also sported a long, black tribal totem inked along his arm. Mo Mo stared at it for a long time without figuring out what it depicted, but judging by the respectful attitudes and slowed paces of the Night Ghouls passing by the giant, he was undoubtedly a figure of immense importance within the tribe.

Mo Mo silently speculated on the giant Night Ghoul's identity and let her mind wander about the connection between Xi and this giant. Just as she was dying of boredom, Xi finally employed a form of body language that Mo Mo could actually understand to communicate with the giant Night Ghoul. Xi offered the giant a slight bow, her already detached expression growing even more aggrieved and aloof than before. The giant Night Ghoul reached out a hand as if wishing to detain Xi for further conversation, but this time, Xi decisively cut him short, turned around to signal Huan Luo and Mo Mo to follow, and swept past the front of the giant with an indignant huff.

Indeed, that was the one piece of body language Mo Mo could actually decipher—if her guess was correct, it was none of those legendary breakup-inducing gestures, but simply: "Goodbye."

"Say, that big uncle just now wasn't giving you a hard time, was he?" Mo Mo asked quietly as she hurried to catch up with Xi.

Xi didn't put on a sour face for Mo Mo; she swiftly transitioned her stiff, angry expression back into the carefree smile she usually wore when talking to Mo Mo. "It's nothing. Pay him no mind. He's just a..." Xi rolled her eyes around several times, pondering for a long time before squeezing out an adjective: "...bad person."

"But he looked awfully formidable, you know. We didn't cause you any trouble because of the two of us, did we?" Mo Mo continued to probe.

"It has nothing to do with you guys. The two of you have culinary qualifications personally endorsed by the Witch Lady herself. Even if that dead giant is the chieftain, he can't change that fact." Xi’s casual remark provided Mo Mo with a wealth of information in an instant.

At that moment, there was good news and bad news for Mo Mo. The good news was that, for reasons unknown, the Witch Lady seemed very interested in her and Huan Luo. The bad news was that Xi wasn't the Witch Lady after all! Could it be that someone with such overpowered abilities was nothing more than an utterly ordinary Night Ghoul warrior within the tribe? That defied all logic no matter how she thought about it.