Chapter 169 – Slaves

Translated by Joycelyn

The travel team left from another river of the Pu tribe from the same waterway.

There were not many lotus leaves in this river. On each of the rafts stood someone.

Shao Xuan and Yu took the same raft. Shao Xuan was listening to the discussions that the surrounding people were telling Yu.

In the sky above the raft team followed Chacha. This matter had only been told to the team leader, Fan Ning.

At that time, Fan Ning had still wanted to ask for another water moonstone for Chacha, but was rejected by Shao Xuan. Chacha could keep a lookout in the sky and warn them if there were any dangerous encounters, with such good advantages, he still had wanted to receive payment? The economy was not that great at the present times, but these poeple already had the potential to be profiteers.

In the end, Fan Ning was left with a black face but he also did not insist.

Since this was a far travel, naturally it would not be over within a day or two, sometimes it could even go on for a few hundred days.

Probably because there were more human tribes in this area, it was not like the dangerous hunting area near the river. There would be times where they would meet with incidents from the river or harassment from other tribes, but generally it was still safe and calm.

Due to their frequent travels outside, The Pu tribe knew clearly which waterway was safer and easier. Shao Xuan had also silently remembered these ways in his mind. When he is free, he would record them onto beast skin scrolls, thus completing his map slowly. Let’s say that if one day, the Flaming Horns tribe returned here, they would need a map too.

Close to after a thousand years, the changes were drastic. This place was no longer what the ancestors had recorded.

Moving along, the river flow became wider. Close to the flowing river, there would always be traces of human activities. Listening to the people at the side talk, apparently there was a small tribe not far ahead. But that small tribe did not like having contact with outsiders. They were also eccentric, whenever they see people outside their tribe, they would avoid or throw stone spears or the sort. The Pu tribe was very unpleased about it, but they would also not delay their travel speed because of them.

“Pay attention.” Advised a person with rich experience.

There were some women wearing beast skin washing their stuff on a shore ahead. They immediately packed up their stuff and ran away after they saw the travel group. Also, when the travel group passed through, an arrow was shot from the hillside forest.

This kind of strength to Shao Xuan, or even the Flaming Horns tribe warriors, was nothing. He could easily catch it and break it. If there were a lot of these arrows then that would make people frustrated.

If the opponent was a big tribe, then the Pu tribe could still step back and exchange conversations with them. But this kind of small tribe, The Pu tribe’s members couldn’t be bothered to attend to these strange people.

The speed of the rafts was pretty fast, by the time they got out of that area, the arrows stopped too.

In fact, those hiding in the forest did not really want to shoot the passer-by’s to death, but merely wanted to scare them off. If they really had any killing intent, they would have used much more forceful methods instead of these wooden arrows.

There were many small tribes in the surrounding, their existence was quite low. Mostly, there would be only a few hundred members in their tribe, they did not have much fighting prowess as well. Their birth and death rate went by quite fast too. The Pu tribe would not pay too much attention to them.

The Pu tribe members around Shao Xuan did not say much either, they were people who only cared of their own interest and profits.

Two days later.

“The fork is right ahead. We will stay there for two days.” The person at the side looked at the colour of the sky and said.

In front, The river split into two, forming a ‘Y’ shape. There were some other tribes also heading towards the central tribes before them. Many of the Pu tribe were on familiar terms with several of them. Sometimes they would continue ahead in cooperation, forming an even larger team. This way it was also safer.

There were many strong people in the central tribes. They could only use numbers to counter them.

Shao Xuan looked over.

The two sides of the river no longer had any mountains, no thick woods. It was all flat, and there many houses constructed. There were huts, stone houses, their architectural style diversified: oval, triangular, the flat roof type or even the steeple thatched kind…. based on this, you could see they were not a tribe.

Now, looking at the people, although their features were not as obvious as their houses, but anybody who saw this would have the same thought: These people were too messy. Just like a plate of scattered sand, each grain came from a different drainage area, and were then gathered here.

Although there were many people, but you could see their condition was not very good. Some were as skinny as matches, some had no life within their eyes. Whether they were kids or adults, they were all the same. The children might be in a slightly better condition, excluding their body condition, some would still smile a little, but as for the adults, most were dazed and depressed.

What exactly had they encountered, these people, how did they become like that?

“These people are?” Shao Xuan asked some people at the side who had more experiences.

“You’re talking about them.” Some of the Pu tribe members looked over, a few sighed, the others didn’t care, “They are ‘wanderers’.”

The ‘wanderers’ they had mentioned were not like tourists, instead it meant these people were vagrants, people who had no where to stay. They were like duckweeds with no roots, constantly on the move, doing many things just to survive.

“They are those who had lost their inner flame.” A Pu tribe member on the side explained.

People who had lost their flame, no matter where, their lives would be in darkness. If there was no flame, how would they have strength.

“Lost their inner flame?” Shao Xuan was curious to this saying.

“Yeah, their tribe no longer exists, their flame dispersed and lost its origin of power.” That guy said.

The year when Shao Xuan had awakened, the Shaman had told them their origin of power came from within them. Under the call of the totem flame, they would then start to ignite slowly, which is also the totem in their consciousness.

But if it was the totem flame that got extinguished, this meant that their tribe no longer exists. The totem would also naturally dissipate, their origin of power would then go into a deep sleep or even disappear.

No wonder those people would be in that condition. With no tribe, no totem power, they became ‘wanderers’, wandering around the lands, being at a loss. What they could only do now is to survive, what dominated them was only their instinct to survive.

However, hearing that their totem flame got extinguished made Shao Xuan feel surprised. He originally thought that kind of unique flame would forever exist. But now looking at it, it could still be exterminated, but when it goes out, the tribe goes along too.

From what the Pu tribe members had said, when a tribe’s flame extinguishes, their tribe disappears. Some will use their own special skills to get food, like labour work.

Or it would be the end of their life and assume the way of the ‘wanderers’. Some of them would abandon their own beliefs and join other tribes. Their descendants would then be able to call on the flame of the new tribe. Awakening the new tribe’s totem. However, if the totem in their blood was too mixed up, so long they managed to awaken then all was good, they might face a little discrimination, but at least they had somewhere safe to rest their feets at, a home to stay in. However, if they failed, they would be chased out of the tribe and continue their father’s, grandfather’s way of life as a ‘wanderer’.

“Why won’t they go hunt?” Shao Xuan questioned. Not long after he asked, Shao Xuan had realised himself about the variety of situations that might happen, without the power of totems, the risk of hunting was too big.

“Hunt?” Yu mocked, “Unless it was a last resort, they would not go hunting themselves.”

Even if the woods here were not like the woods along the river banks, but many of these places, one or two people couldn’t survive there. If they made a team, then they could barely survive. But these were people who were abandoned by the totem flame, people without faith and strength, nine out of ten would die.

“What if both parents are not ‘wanderers’, then what will happen to their descendants?” Shao Xuan asked.

“Generally, many tribes do not require you to marry someone within the tribe. For example, our Pu tribe, it’s enough if their descendants accept the totem flame’s guidance. However, there is only one choice, to choose to accept the tribe’s flame, if not, accept the other tribe’s origin of power. Only then could he awaken one of the powers. Otherwise, if both of the powers awaken, they will collide. The small tribes are more inclined for them to marry their own tribesmen, but this also has their own disadvantage. If there are too few members, it is easy to have chaos.

The Pu tribesmen with rich experiences had said that some in small tribes, in order to increase their members, many bizarre** situations would happen. Making their entire tribe’s atmosphere foul. The Pu tribe despised these kinds of people. [There’s nothing that goes with those **, but I assume you can imagine what the author means.]

Shao Xuan thought over it, that year when the Flaming Horns tribe arrived at that place, there weren’t many people. However there would always be someone recording their members status, Shao Xuan had seen the records of those years from the Shaman. The tribe’s population growth was very slow, but very stable. It was not chaotic like what Yu had said.

That time in the Flaming Horns tribe, Shao Xuan had felt that the Flaming Horns tribe’s Shaman was not a pushover at all, now hearing the other tribe’s situation, if it wasn’t for the Flaming Horns tribe’s every generation shaman’s guide and control, who’s to say they could have reached their current stability?

Under that kind of situation, they still had to face the ferocious beasts in the surrounding forests. They could progress until today’s 2 thousand members scale, it really was not easy.

A good shaman, a good chief, it is indeed very important.

The Pu tribe travel team continued up ashore, Shao Xuan saw a group of around ten quickly coming over. They helped the Pu tribe travel team carry their stuff from the rafts and took care of their rafts on the water. There was also an individual at the side fiercely staring at them with a whip in his hands.

“Who are they?” Shao Xuan asked the person next to him.

“You’re asking about them, ah.” It was the same as before, but at this moment, there were no indifference or sighs in the eyes of the Pu tribe, instead they carried an extreme contempt and heavily said: “Those are, slaves!”

Shao Xuan’s lids twitched.

At this moment, Shao Xuan could only hear the presumptuous laughter in front. The laughter was a bit harsh on the ears.

Lifting his head up to take a look, Shao Xuan saw a man who was randomly covered with leopard’s hide, smiling while walking over slowly. His physique tall and skinny, a pale face, not tanned like the people who were working around him. A pair of slightly squinting eyes, looking all smiley, but the flash in his eyes told Shao Xuan that this guy was not good to get along with.

“Hahahaha! We meet again!” The moment that man came over, the travel team’s leader, Fan Ning, quickly went up to welcome him. Fan Ning, who had always given Shao Xuan an unfriendly face, at this moment, smiled like a flower blooming, and started speaking up with him.

“And who is that guy?” Shao Xuan once again asked the guy at his side.

This time the Pu tribe member’s voice softened, slightly holding in his volume and answered: “He is the owner of those slaves.”