CoPW 153 – Tribe
Translated by Jon
There wasn’t any mention of tribes living across the river on the animal hide that the Shaman had given to Shao Xuan.
What the hides had told him was that in the past, this area was nothing but wasteland.
For some unknown reason, during the ancestor’s time, they left their old homes in search of new lands. Unexpectedly, the ground split open, and the gap gradually grew larger and larger, until the other side couldn’t be seen.
Shao Xuan speculated that after the giant crevice had appeared, the rapid topological changes caused water to flow in from other areas. The crevices quickly filled up and turned into a river, and then various lifeforms entered, including the fierce creatures he had seen in the water.
However, the formation of this river stood firm, blocking the ancestors return path.
After the river’s formation, the ancestors had held it in great reverence. And so, when they had wanted to return, they would look for alternative routes instead of passing through the river. Adding to that was the fact that there were various threats lurking in the river.
Approximately a millennium has passed since then, and the Flaming Horn tribe, that was separated by the crevice, has been living in isolation.
While on this side of the river, great changes have also occurred. What was once considered a wasteland has now become a swampy land covered with water, that now houses a tribe.
Luckily, there wasn’t a language barrier and they could easily converse.
“What is your tribe called?” Shao Xuan asked.
The other party did not respond. Getting up, he carefully sized Shao Xuan and asked, “Were you truly in the river for twenty days?”
“Indeed.” Shao Xuan responded.
“Liar!”
The other party cried out, walking towards Shao Xuan with large strides as his fist came flying in an imposing manner.
Bang!
Shao Xuan’s palm caught the incoming fist.
At this moment, the other party realized that his fist had been firmly grasped by Shao Xuan. Failing to break free, his eyes let out a murderous light, and his other hand shot out like lightning, grabbing onto Shao Xuan’s wrist. At the same time, with an abrupt twist of his ankle, he launched himself up, spinning rapidly in the air.
The mud on the boy’s body flung out in all four directions as he spun through the air.
Pa!
His two feet fell to the ground, his spinning coming to a halt.
“I won’t let you trick me… huh?!” His triumphant expression froze, his eyes widening as he looked incredulously at his hands.
He originally thought that he could have twisted Shao Xuan’s arm, but instead of doing so, he found himself bound up by grass rope. He raised his head to find Shao Xuan in perfect condition, and then looked at his two hands. How did this happen?!
Shao Xuan felt a headache coming as he looked at the other person. He already thought that the children back in the tribe were too violent, but he never thought the kid in front of him would be worse. He’d just kept quiet and then attacked suddenly. If Shao Xuan had not quickly stopped that attack just now, his arm might’ve been twisted off.
Just now, the boy was lying down motionless, recovering his strength. Then, with the small amount of strength he regained, he actually used it against his savior!
What kind of person is he?
The previous strike had used up all of the boy’s strength. With his hands tied, raggedly gasping for breath, he glared fiercely at Shao Xuan.
The boy’s face and arms were still covered in mud, but after spinning around, most of the mud had flung off. This allowed Shao Xuan to get a clearer view of him.
When the boy was attacking him, Shao Xuan had noticed that the boy’s body lit up with totem lines. Every one of his lines connected as they covered his whole body, and on his face, the kid’s mouth opened almost as far up as his ears, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Shao Xuan was confident enough to bet that the kid had personally sharpened them to be used for biting.
Right now, without any strength, the patterns on the boy’s body had disappeared, and his mouth was restored to its original appearance.
“I’ve never thought that there would actually be someone who would attack their savior! It seems your tribe isn’t filled with good people.” Shao Xuan said.
“It’s you who isn’t a good person! Thief!” The boy stubbornly said.
“What did I steal? Don’t you use your eyes to see? Daring to call someone a thief without using your eyes to confirm it, that’s called slander. Do you even know what slander means? For someone like you, who only knows how to talk crap, do you have shit for brains?
Have you heard the story of the farmer and the snake? Oh, you have definitely never heard it before. It goes, even if a person saves the life of a snake, he will still be bitten in the end. Next time you encounter danger, let us see who will save you! Do you still remember the taste of death?!”
Shao Xuan spouted out a tirade, saying whatever came to his mind without thinking. He noticed there were people around; they were probably with this kid. They had just arrived and were observing the spectacle, so Shao Xuan announced everything that had happened, voicing out the injustice he had received. If the kid continued to say the same things as before, then they would be irreconcilable and he would fly off to another place with Chacha.
After the boy was bombarded by Shao Xuan’s words, although there were a few he didn’t understand, it didn’t hinder his general comprehension.
Could he really have made a mistake?
After he finished speaking, Shao Xuan grunted as he walked towards Chacha, his face filled with fury and disappointment. When he reached Chacha’s side he said, “Next time, we’ll stay away from your tribe. I’ll tell everyone we meet to not interact with your people, people who forget favors and violate justice. Do you know what that means? Forget about it, speaking to you is pointless. Chacha, let’s go!”
“Wait! Wait!”
The people hiding in the trees hurriedly came out and called out to Shao Xuan as he was getting ready to jump on top of Chacha.
Two people came out, one was old and the other was young. The older one was incredibly robust and had the same tan eyes as the kid. However, standing next to him was a little girl, whose eyes were brown. She also appeared to be less violent, giving people a feeling of gentleness.
Seeing the people walking out, the tied up kid happily said, “Father!”
Only, the kid wasn’t happy for long. As the man walked over with heavy steps, he lifted the kid up into the air by his shirt and gave him a couple of slaps, not even holding back.
Shao Xuan was speechless.
This type of education was way too similar to the one back at the tribe. They would always hit first, and then talk later. Before he arrived, he didn’t know whether other tribes would have this style of teaching.
The boy was already lacking strength, and after being beaten up by his own father, he rubbed his nose and stayed quiet, not daring to cry. He was only able to assume a look of having been wronged.
The man that walked up simply did not care, and after throwing him aside, he said to the girl next to him, “Shui Lan, look after him.”
“Alright.” Hurriedly the girl replied.
After beating up his own child, the man looked towards Shao Xuan, retracting his vicious gaze. He tried to give Shao Xuan a feeling of goodwill while smiling. However, no matter how much he smiled with his eyes, they still gave people a feeling of icy coldness.
“That was indeed our fault. This little brother, are you the one that saved Chen Jia? Oh, that is the name of my child, mine is Fu Shi,” the man informed Shao Xuan.
“Yes, I’m the one that saved him,” Shao Xuan sighed. “This was the first time I had left my tribe, trying to make my way in this world as I collect knowledge and experience. But the first person I came across was unexpectedly… ai!”
And so, Shao Xuan started narrating his interaction with Chen Jia while not sparing any details or telling any untruths. As the man did not understand why his son’s arms were bound, Shao Xuan explained in detail, emphasizing the fact that he had left his tribe to see the world while bringing good intentions.
After Fu Shi finished listening to Shao Xuan’s account, he clenched his fists, and then firmly stared at Chen Jia. Though he had not spoken, his eyes seemed to be saying, “Watch as this old man puts you back in place when we get home.”
Chen Jia could not help but continuously cower backwards.
When Fu Shi turned back to Shao Xuan once more, his face resumed his smiling demeanor. He promptly apologized while trying to justify his son’s actions. “He isn’t usually like this, it’s just he lost something in the tribe recently and has been unable to catch the thief…”
So he gets this outrageous? Shao Xuan swept his gaze over Chen Jia. It was lucky he was dexterous and able to cope with the attack. Otherwise, if he were to be replaced with anybody else, they would’ve easily gotten their arm broken by that punch!
Undoubtedly, Fu Shi realized his own son was wrong. The reputation of the tribe had always been bad, so their Shaman was always telling them to be friendly. And now, his own child attacked the one that had saved his life. Chen Jia simply wanted to get beaten!
Knowing that Shao Xuan was unaware of the outside world, he told him, “This is the Drumming tribe; we are all tribe members.”
Drumming tribe?
Shao Xuan had indeed not heard of them.
“I am from the Flaming Horns tribe.” Shao Xuan responded, observing the other man’s reactions.
The man frowned, thinking carefully. He could not recall ever hearing of this tribe.
“Your tribe should be very far away, right?” He asked.
“It’s extremely far. I was on the river in my boat for twenty days until I reached here.”
The nearly beat up Chen Jia was preparing to say something, but Shui Lan kicked him to shut his mouth.
Fu Shi was also pondering on the validity of his claims. Shao Xuan knew their biggest doubt was the fact that he had been on the water for twenty days. It seems he would have to further explain things later on.
Although he was a bit doubtful, Fu Shi still cordially invited Shao Xuan back to the tribe, saying they had to properly receive him and thank him for saving his son.
Looking at the sky, Shao Xuan agreed. He knew the other party wanted to confirm his identity. However, Shao Xuan decided he should talk to other people and understand the situation here.
And so, Shao Xuan and Chacha followed behind and headed to the core region of the Drumming tribe.
On the road, they met other tribe members wearing similar attire and carrying similar weapons to those back in his tribe, albeit a bit more detailed.
Shao Xuan also discovered that the tribe members could be split into two types. One was like Fu Shi and Chen Jia, with tan eyes that seemed very fierce. The other type was like the girl Shui Lan, with brown eyes, giving off a very gentle feeling.
Walking past a forest, numerous buildings started to appear before Shao Xuan’s eyes.
Because the ground was very wet, a lot of holes were filled with water. And so, there was an extra layer of foundation under the buildings, making the structures a lot sturdier.
In front of many houses, on the lower level of the stairs, were small crocodiles, climbing up to rest.