Chapter 1317

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Protagonist:

Xu Zhangqing

The Dao Ancestor said to go, so the two of them no longer delayed.

Ten years listening to the Dao beneath the Ten Thousand Dao Tree — what should be remembered was remembered, what should be comprehended was comprehended.

The remaining path must be walked, heard, and personally experienced by oneself.

Xu Zhangqing had nothing much to pack, just a single "Hundred Herb Record".

Zhang Daoxuan packed even faster, clearly having long since entertained the idea of going out for experience training.

He had nothing in either hand, not even a bundle; only at his waist was there an extra green gourd.

"Do you think you're going on an outing?"

"If not?"

"The Dao Ancestor didn't give us a designated direction; we'll just walk wherever we end up!"

Zhang Daoxuan's words were indeed faultless.

Neither of them had any destination, but they both thought of the same place without prior agreement.

Therefore they looked at each other and spoke simultaneously: "Xi Tribe!"

"Go."

Xu Zhangqing called out a greeting: "Let's go take a look over there first."

……

……

After the flood receded, a portion of the tens of thousands of mortals chose to remain in the Dao Men Ancestral Court.

They built crude shacks at the foot of the mountain.

On one hand relying on aid from Dao Men disciples, on the other slowly developing.

But more people still returned to their original tribes.

After all, there was land passed down from ancestors there; collapsed houses could be rebuilt, and flooded fields could be cultivated again.

The people of Xi Tribe were among the latter.

They waited until the flood receded cleanly, then returned home with their families in tow.

Of course, in their hearts they actually had a few other thoughts as well.

Xi Bo ran away, but didn't die.

The flood receded, and it would return.

This mindset of needing a god's protection cannot be reversed in a short time.

Xu Zhangqing and Zhang Daoxuan walked unhurriedly, passing several old tribe sites along the way; the scenes they saw were all much the same.

Collapsed mud walls.

Beast hides rotted from soaking in water bubbles.

Crooked god statues.

And some mortals who had returned to their homelands and were now striving to rebuild.

Some tribes had already toppled their god statues, rubble scattered everywhere.

Some tribes still had their god statues standing, with more offerings at their feet than before.

Regarding this, neither of the two interfered.

After all, a forcibly twisted melon isn't sweet.

Not long after, they arrived near Xi Tribe.

But before they could get close, they heard a burst of noisy cursing, mixed with women's weeping and men's angry roars.

On the empty space at the entrance of Xi Tribe village, two groups faced off.

Calling it a standoff, it was actually completely one-sided.

A dozen big men holding stone axes and bone knives stood in a row, all with fierce faces, blade tips pointed at a group of the old and weak ahead.

And among the old and weak was that man Xu Zhangqing had saved back then.

A blood streak ran from this man's temple all the way to his chin; his right eye was swollen to just a slit.

Behind him, seven or eight old people and disabled persons huddled together, each face pale.

One old man's forehead was bleeding, blood running down his graying temples, staining half a beast hide red.

"Scram!"

Among the men opposite, the leader was a burly middle-aged man with two striking streaks of white mud painted on his face, gripping a stone axe honed to a gleaming edge: "Xi Bo said, you bastards who don't believe in the god are unworthy of staying in the tribe!

Get the hell out of here, all of you; die outside and don't dirty the tribe's ground!"

"Believe in the god?"

Though the man had been beaten badly, his spine was ramrod straight at this moment: "When the flood came, where was the god?

When my son nearly drowned, where was the god?

It was the Dao Men people who saved us!

It was people just like us who saved us!

Clearly it ran away, yet we're the ones with the crime?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

The stone-axe man flew into a rage at those words; the veins on his neck bulged along with the drum: "Xi Bo went to lure away the flood!

If not for Xi Bo luring away the flood, our tribe would all be done for!

And you — not only do you not show gratitude, you even brought people to smash the god statue?

This is you trying to get the whole tribe's people killed!"

"Lure away the flood?"

The man seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world; he threw his head back and laughed twice: "Which of your eyes saw that it was the one who lured away the flood?

As for me, both my eyes saw it turn and run without looking back!

And it ran faster than anyone!"

As these words came out, many people's expressions changed.

The truth and course of events — actually everyone knows.

However, forced by the pressure brought by the god, everyone had no choice but to pretend to be deaf and mute.

The stone-axe man was even more choked for a moment, but immediately stiffened his neck again and roared: "So what!

A god is a god!

The reason the god doesn't act is because we still aren't devout enough!"

Xi Bo promised that as long as he dealt with these fellows, he could become Clan Leader.

At that time all resources, women, even the best rooms, would be his own.

Therefore, the grain-wasting elderly, the inconvenient disabled, and the fellows who were displeasing to the eye, were all forcibly gathered together.

The reason they didn't forcibly tear the face was to prevent these people from jumping the wall in desperation.

The people behind the stone-axe man heard these words, their lips moved.

Back then, under the Wan Dao Tree they had also said with tears of gratitude "Only revere the Dao Door".

But after returning to the tribe, Xi Bo returned, the god sheltering everyone returned too.

Naturally, the old outdated thoughts also returned along with it.

This thing called fear is more lasting than gratitude.

Fear of the god, especially so!

"How come they still haven't been dealt with?"

A voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

Everyone looked and discovered it was Xi Bo appearing.

His figure was a head taller than a normal person, his whole body wrapped in a layer of blue water-light, in his hand he gripped a long spear, under his feet he stepped on two clusters of surging water splashes.

"Xi... Xi Bo!"

Seeing this, the man's body went somewhat stiff, but his gaze was quite sharp.

Xi Bo raised the long spear, the spear tip pointing from afar: "It was you... who smashed my statue?"

"It was me who smashed it."

The man lifted his head: "Has nothing to do with the people behind me."

Xi Bo tilted his head, as if examining a worm that could speak.

He strode forward, treading on the water splashes step by step toward the other.

With each step he took, the surrounding mortals shrank back a segment, even that stone-axe-wielding fellow subconsciously retreated two steps.

In the air, a damp cold fishy smell of water permeated, and grew thicker and thicker.

"Smash my god statue?"

Xi Bo stopped before the man, looking down at him from above, coldly smiling: "Just expelling you from the tribe would be a bit too light.

Simply put, hang you on the tree outside the tribe.

Each day carve one cut, carve for a full forty-nine days.

Then flay your human skin, drape it over my stone statue, so that every generation afterward knows, this is the end of those who disrespect the god."

As these words came out, a woman fell to her knees with a thud: "Xi Bo spare my life!

Xi Bo spare my life!

He didn't do it on purpose!

He..."

Before the words were finished, Xi Bo didn't even glance at her; the water splashes under his feet violently trembled, flinging that woman flying out, heavily crashing to the ground.

"Mother!"

A half-grown child screamed and rushed over.

Seeing this, the man's eye sockets instantly reddened: "The child's mother!"

He roared, swung his fist and smashed toward Xi Bo.

But before he could touch him, he was bounced back by an invisible force.

His whole person flew backward, rolling several circles on the ground before stopping.

From beginning to end, Xi Bo didn't even lift an eyelid, coldly saying: "Seems these years, I've been too good to you."

Speaking to here, he scanned the surroundings, his gaze sweeping across every mortal's face: "Good enough to make you forget, what you yourselves are!"