Chapter 149 – Obsession
Translated by Idontreallycare
Being stared at by both Xing and the Shaman, Shao Xuan scratched his head, “Actually, I have been observing the river since long ago.”
“You want to let Chacha fly across?” The Shaman shook his head, “With the river being extremely wide, Chacha won’t have any place to rest. There’s also the threat of the river beasts. Even if Chacha experiences two more growth phases, he still might be unable to fly across.”
Flying without eating, drinking, or resting, the success rate naturally is slim to none.
Xing too gave Shao Xuan a look of, “Sure enough, younger people have simple thoughts.”
“No, not just Chacha flying, I’m thinking of making a boat, a simple canoe like thing. Since the giant trees in the forest are so abundant, this won’t prove to be difficult.” Shao Xuan explained.
“‘Boat’? I read about boats and rafts in the animal hides the ancestors left behind. But Shao Xuan, the river has beasts that feast upon wood so it will get torn apart.” the Shaman responded. Although he hadn’t been to the river bank that often, he had heard a lot about it. Even if they built a ship, it would disappear not long after entering the river.
“For the majority of the time it would be like that, but during the rainy season the insects that eat wood and the frightening river beasts will all leave for a period of time. They only return when the two moons eclipse.”
“What?! Is what you’re saying true?!!” Not only the Shaman, but Xing, who was looking at Shao Xuan like he was too optimistic, also couldn’t help jumping up. If what Shao Xuan said was true, then they could truly attempt to traverse the river.
Shao Xuan started speaking of his discoveries over the past few years. Of course, everything was all conjecture, but Shao Xuan knew that as long as there was a spark of hope, the Shaman would be willing to try.
When Shao Xuan finished, Xing and the Shaman became quiet, each one of them thinking deeply and analyzing the feasibility of what Shao Xuan had just said.
After quite a while, Xing was the first to speak, “If this is true, we can attempt this! Ah Xuan won’t do, this old man will personally go instead!”
The Shaman raised his gaze, making eye contact with Xing, “Do you think Chacha will listen to you?”
Xing didn’t make a sound. Although he hadn’t interacted with Chacha, after hearing his grandson and other people talk about him, Xing knew of the eagle’s temperament. Indeed, Chacha would only listen to what Shao Xuan says, so it was no good.
“Even if Chacha won’t listen, I could still use the…‘boat’!” Xing said, albeit lacking confidence. He knew that the feasibility of his words were low, it was a method of surefire death.
“Then that’s settled, Shao Xuan. Wait until next year’s rainy season. Take this time to make more observations and your preparations. Since we have been waiting for so many years, what is a couple more? Only remember to not tell anyone.” the Shaman said. His later words were directed straight at Xing.
“I understand.” Said Xing, while gazing at the clay jar on the table then shifting his gaze to the stone. He added, “If there’s anything I need to do, just tell me directly.”
Although Xing still didn’t have a favorable impression about Shao Xuan, regarding this matter, he didn’t equivocate, thus proving his interests were the same as the Shaman’s.
At the end of the day, the most important matter was establishing the new route, something the ancestors had wanted for many years.
Since everything had already been said, the Shaman took back the stone and left the house, bringing Shao Xuan with him. As the Shaman took the stone back, Xing’s eyes were stuck on it like glue. Shao Xuan thought that if he were the one holding it, Xing wouldn’t hesitate to steal it.
This was indeed an odd thought. Shao Xuan followed behind the Shaman, and thinking about Xing’s reaction, laughed at the idea. Perhaps for the tribe members, his own thoughts were weirder.
Waiting until the Shaman and Shao Xuan had left, Xing looked towards the colored jar, gently caressing it. Tears were streaming down the cheeks of his aged face as he was half crying while half smiling
After a good while, waiting until his mood had somewhat stabilized, he carefully put the jar back. He then opened the window and stared outside lost in thought.
Outside, he was met with a curtain of pitch black.
Winter was coming, and the darkest time of the year was about to arrive. The darkness brought with it feelings of repression, but the heart warred against this, until emotions broke through.
Inside the house, the fire was burning, the timber wood making crackling noises.
Xing sat back down on the wooden chair, gradually recalling everything Shao Xuan had said. Deciding it wasn’t enough, he pulled out a sheet of animal hide, and then personally imparted everything that had happened today.
Tuk tuk tuk!
Someone knocked on Xing’s wooden door.
After the Shaman and Shao Xuan left, Xing once again opened his door. His family members knew that they couldn’t just enter and had to knock first and be permitted.
If one did not receive permission and entered, the consequences would be grave. And so, when Xing’s family members saw the Shaman directly entering with Shao Xuan, they all flew far away, not daring to eavesdrop on their conversation. Only after the pair had left did they come back.
“Grandpa?” Standing outside the door was Lei.
“Come in.” Xing responded.
Lei moved away from the door, entering the room. He wanted to speak, but after seeing that Xing’s state was uncommon, Lei paused. Not daring to recklessly ask what had caused this, he repressed his curiosity.
“Grandpa, just now, was the Shaman here to let Ah Xuan enter the 30 man group?”
Xing did not respond.
Lei didn’t know what had happened to his grandpa, and raising his gaze, he saw his grandpa absentmindedly staring at the fire, lost in his thoughts.
This is too strange!
Did he dare to ask one more time?
Lei recalled back to the fighting to get him on the list; how Xing had pulled out a chunk of fire crystal to use for the 30 chosen men. This proves that his grandpa would do anything to keep this honor with the family.
Summoning up his courage, he asked once again, “Grandpa, did the Shaman want you to give Shao Xuan a spot?”
This time Xing reacted.
“Allow Shao Xuan to join? This can absolutely not happen!” Xing suddenly became passionate.
“Even if we did give a spot, it should be for our own people.” Lei agreed.
Without waiting for Lei to finish talking, his grandpa had already said, “Exploring the new route is too dangerous. If he enters and somehow doesn’t make it out, then what will we do? Absolutely not, he cannot be in danger, moreso, he cannot die!”
Lei was speechless. Grandpa, your own grandson, the one that you personally recommended to join is still standing here!
From start to finish, Xing had not paid any attention towards Lei’s facial expressions, and even if Xing did, he couldn’t be bothered to care. Rather, in his heart, he was thinking about what he should do. Ever since he had conversed with Shao Xuan and the Shaman, he was unwilling to allow Shao Xuan to leave the tribe, not to mention going to explore the new route!
Should they also not allow Shao Xuan to join the hunting group?
However, if Shao Xuan lacked enough experience, when he would leave, he would encounter even greater obstacles, and even greater challenges. At that time, if he didn’t have experience, would he succeed?
But, if he got eaten by a ferocious beast before this happened…..
Oh, how worrisome!
This was the first time Xing had experienced such a dilemma. He had no way out.
Lei watched his grandpa depressedly stroke his beard, almost pulling a few strands of hair out.
Curious once more, Lei probed out, “Then why did the Shaman bring Ah Xuan?”
Xing had already recovered from his stupor, and hearing Lei’s words, didn’t bother to explain. He simply repeated what his father had once told him, “Look to the distant, and don’t just focus on your surroundings.”
Lei closed his eyes in silent disapproval. Every time you “look to the distant”, what you look at changes!
At the end, Lei couldn’t managed to squeeze an answer out, and instead, got chased out of the house.
During nighttime, night swallows could be seen flying in the air. Approaching the late hours, when everything turned calm, the temperature plummeted, and the fierce gales would meet with ice and snow, and travel across the mountain.
This was not an ordinary winter.
During this winter, the Shaman did not manage anything else and delegated the job to his assistants, even letting Gui Ze start taking on more Shaman tasks.
Everytime Shao Xuan would ascend the mountain; Xing would face the wind and snow to meet them, wanting to hear of any progress made.
At the start, there was only Xing and the Shaman, but then they included Head Chief Ao. Being the head chief, Ao, had the right to be informed of this project.
After that, the elders with a say in the tribe were informed.
And so, when Shao Xuan ascended the mountain, a few elders, along with the head chief, rushed to the Shaman’s place.
However, they weren’t willing to tell the two team leaders, because they were responsible for opening the new route. It would not be good if they became distracted, as a result, the two leaders were extremely depressed.
Regardless of previous disputes, or whether or not they had an issue with Shao Xuan, upon knowing of the plan, everyone decided to put these things aside.
For Shao Xuan and the Shaman’s plan, they would exhaust their all to help.
Not! Withholding! Anything!
Their time on earth was running out, and compared to those still at the prime of their lives, the hope that this plan could succeed before their end was quite farfetched. People couldn’t get too greedy. And like the ferocious beasts, there were some times that this turned victory into defeat.
However, there were some people who held onto these hopes, thinking that perhaps there would be a day where they could see the places that the ancestors had told stories about, and even see other humans!
When winter ended and the earth warmed again, the tribe resumed their active lives. Preparing for the upcoming ceremony, Shao Xuan had once again been selected to dance.
This had made many people feel dissatisfied, especially the younger warriors. Last time, when Shao Xuan had found the fire crystals and was chosen to enter, they had no complaints. But this time, while he had been missing for a year, what kind of service did he do for the tribe?
However, everyone discovered that no matter how dissatisfied they were, no matter who they complained to, the elder’s response was always, “He deserves it.”
This caused the two team leaders endless headaches. Recently, there would be many people asking them about the matter with Shao Xuan, but they weren’t clear either. When going to the Shaman or the others to ask, all they were met with was, “Don’t think about anything else, continue with the exploration.”