Chapter 337: The Strange Tribal Culture

She thought it over: Shanhai Yishi is too far from here, and meeting only once a month is especially inconvenient for the tribe; if we can draw all the tribe people within a fifty‑kilometer radius here to exchange goods, this place could soon develop into a town.

When that happens it will no longer be a tribe, and human civilization will begin to show itself.

The gears of history never stop; they only change slowly, and no matter who comes, they cannot resist the emergence of early civilization and the extinction of this primitive tribe.

A new civilization will arise.

Hearing her words, Ying was a little confused; he furrowed his brows, holding a wooden board and looking left and right. He admired Li Xiang and Youchao Xuan—how could they cut the wood so smooth, smoother than his own hand?

"Paving a street?"

This was something Ying had never considered.

Nan Qinghuan knew he didn't understand, so she slowly explained, "You see, there are tribes nearby—some I know, some I don't. If we bring people here to trade for other goods, the tribe's life will improve; exchanging goods brings convenience and promotes prosperity. With carriages, each tribe won't be isolated; everyone will know what the others have. What do you think?"

Ying thought this was too risky; his tribe letting outsiders in to trade—how could that work? "Qinghuan, no, we can't let people into the tribe to trade. If we really need to trade, we still have to go to Shanhai Yishi."

"But that place is too far, only once a month. For example, I'm out of soapberries, but Rongdi has them—do I have to wait a month?"

"This…"

Ying was at a loss; Qinghuan's words weren't without reason, but… "Don't worry, it's not inside the tribe; we can try it outside. In the future we'll break the boundaries, no longer restricting others from coming or us from going. What do you think?"

She felt the problem was now solved; if Rongdi does not oppose us, we can coexist peacefully, and this wish can gradually be fulfilled.

Ying knew this was Nan Qinghuan's wish, and this time he couldn't bear to refuse her: "Then tomorrow I'll have Ashu look for such a place, but Qinghuan, don't get your hopes too high; other tribes will be afraid and won't come."

"Why?"

"They're afraid of me."

Ying suddenly dropped the board, stood up, his gaze distant as he looked toward the dark outside, "I've never told you this: outside my tribe there is a place called Snake Mountain, where a very small tribe lives. Their people are called the Masai; they excel at horseback archery and poisons. Of course they also fear us and have never left Snake Mountain. Even if you want to make it happen, they won't come."

"Another tribe?"

She was a bit startled—how could she not know? Masai, is there such a primitive tribe in history? "Are they Beastmen or humans?"

"They're human, but of course they're very violent, and like Ashu's group they once had a bad reputation. However, Ashu's people didn't practice cannibalism, whereas the Mase tribe do, and they especially love the young, little ones."

Nan Qinghuan was stunned; she hadn't expected such a tribe nearby.

"Since they eat people, why don't you wipe them out?"

Ying reached out and touched her cheek, "They've never come out, so how could I eliminate them? And now I'm so powerful that they don't dare to harm our tribe. The Mase tribe is few but ferocious, which is why I was afraid when you fled—I feared you'd fall into their hands and be eaten. Qinghuan, I was really worried about you when you ran away, you know?"

This wild man only told her these things today; Nan Qinghuan found it unbelievable.

The Mase tribe truly seems to be a genuine cannibal tribe.

Then… "Bad, senior brother, if we go back this late might we encounter them?"

At the third watch of the night, the forest was very quiet.

Duo Luo and Li Xiang walked with torches toward the Rongdi Tribe, the night road was hard to navigate, and it was Li Xiang's first time traveling at night. Thanks to Duo Luo's help—though he didn't know what tune she was playing on her flute—there wasn't a single animal in the dense forest.

It seemed they had all been driven away.

Duo Luo was quite proud: "See, I told you following me is safe. This forest is like our home; I grew up running here since I was a child."

Hearing Duo Luo's words triggered Li Xiang's professional obsession; he couldn't fathom how primitive people could live in harmony with the mountains and forests, yet still make the beasts fear them.

What skill do they actually have? "What did you just play?"

Li Xiang wanted to know what she had just played; Duo Luo smiled, and Li Xiang finally managed to talk with her a bit more.

Very good.

"That's called the Beast‑Taming Melody; every High Priest must know it. It can drive away ordinary animals—once they hear it they won't come, because there are hunters' traps here."

"Is it that amazing?"

Duo Luo was about to say something when she suddenly seemed to hear something.

Bad!

They had accidentally stumbled upon the Masai's moon‑worship ritual.

"Run."

They prepared to leave, but unfortunately they had already been discovered.

"Hoo—hoo—hoo."

Suddenly, they were surrounded by a group of naked primitives; the leader, a tall, broad‑shouldered man with bared teeth and a grin, shouted, "Where are you from, daring to disturb our moon‑worship ritual?"

Moon‑worship ritual? Duo Luo immediately realized the trouble.

"You didn't say we couldn't leave here; why are you, from Snake Mountain, doing this here?"

Duo Luo said, shielding Li Xiang behind her, then carefully told him, "Run in a moment, understand?"

"Run? I won't let a woman protect me like a turtle," Li Xiang said, gripping a stick, "I won't ditch you; we'll face it together."

Because of that, Duo Luo was moved, "What are you babbling? Do you know who they are?"

"I don't care who they are; I only know a man must protect a woman. Step back and let me speak to them."

Li Xiang now understood the primitives well and wasn't afraid of them; they had arrived at the place of the moon‑worship, which was probably just a misunderstanding.

But now figuring out how to escape was the priority.

He felt the gunpowder in his pack—only a single stick.

He'd have to conserve it.

Li Xiang knew these barbarians were unreasonable, so he said, "What exactly do you want? We're just passing through; please move aside."

The leading chief was tall and broad‑shouldered, with two copper rings piercing his nostrils, looking odd, barefoot; Li Xiang had never seen such a primitive before.

Dressed in bark and leaf garments, how could anyone not have heard that there are other tribes beyond Ying's tribe? The chief sneered, "Since you've disturbed our moon‑worship, we'll capture them. The female is mine; the male looks quite pale—take him back, boil a pot of water tonight, and we'll have a good meal."

What— we've run into a cannibal tribe!

This made Li Xiang even more nervous; immediately, a group of primitives closed in on them.

Duo Luo let out a loud shout, "Don't come any closer; you know who we are. I am the High Priest of the Na Shan Tribe."