Chapter 180: The Inseparable Baifeng

Currently, the Baifeng Tribe is busy fishing, weaving, and rushing to manufacture boats and weapons; only with thorough preparations can they ensure safety during their trade with the Suiren Clan.

While Baifeng and his people were busy with these preparations, the Suiren Clan had already completed their first contact with the Xuanyuan Clan following the change in power.

The Suiren Clan is constantly expanding outward, and the Xuanyuan Clan is also constantly expanding outward; it was inevitable that the two would meet, but their first contact after meeting involved no conflict. After all, both are large tribes, so naturally, they still have to be somewhat cautious of each other; war between them cannot be started casually.

Of course, it could not be ended by just asking a few questions either; the borders between the two sides still needed to be demarcated. This is a very troublesome matter, but because their actual control could not reach that area, it was handled quite casually; they simply drew a line at the location where the two sides met and designated it as the border.

Then came some ceremonial exchanges and greetings, as well as the most important part: trade. Trade is always the mainstream of this era; after all, your tribe cannot possibly have everything.

If you were a small tribe, some minor leaders could make the decisions, but because both sides are large tribes, it naturally required the Tribal Chiefs to come forward. Thus, Baoxi and Xuanyuan both traveled for a long time before reaching the border to conduct trade negotiations.

To demonstrate the strength of their own tribe, the Tribal Chiefs had to bring all their good items with them to show off. Baoxi wore clothes made of variegated tiger skin and equipped himself with the Small Knife he had traded from Baifeng, without wearing a sheath—otherwise, how could he show how it differed from a Bronze Sword?

He also brought a Glass Cup and Wine as items for their meeting. Xuanyuan, meanwhile, wore a fine Silk garment made by Leizu; he thought that this one piece of clothing alone would be enough to intimidate Baoxi.

Wine is indeed a good thing; Baoxi had confirmed this personally. After he brought the Wine back to the tribe, he drank it a few times in small amounts, but it was not much different from the first time he drank it; it just smelled particularly good.

But because various troublesome matters in the tribe came one after another, making him very irritable, he remembered Baifeng saying that Wine also had the effect of forgetting worries. So, he drank a larger amount once, and only then did he feel the power of the Wine. His tolerance was low, and he felt lightheaded before he had drunk much. After he passed out drunk, he truly forgot those worries and had a good sleep, although he still had to face those annoying matters the next day.

After waking up, Baoxi did not find anything unusual with his body, which showed that this Wine would not cause any harm to him. It was a pity that he had not traded for much Wine, and he could not use Wine to forget his worries every day; only when he truly could not hold on would he think of drinking it, and usually, he would only take small sips.

This time, it was also to boast about his tribe's wealth that he painfully brought a small bottle of Wine to let Xuanyuan have a taste.

The two sides met at the agreed time and place. Baoxi had already learned the Baifeng Tribe's way of showing off, so he had cut down giant trees to make a table and stools, preparing them in advance and placing them on the border line to create a feeling that he was the host.

There were not that many rituals evolved yet; even when large tribes met, it was just to show that they had no intention of attacking, indicating their identities and the purpose of their visit. Baoxi imitated Baifeng's posture and invited Xuanyuan to sit on the wooden stool.

Before starting to talk about the content of their trade, they first showed off their wealth to each other; this was a silent competition. Xuanyuan did not even need to specifically display anything; his fine Silk garment, shimmering under the sun, was enough to attract attention. Even when Baoxi saw it, his first reaction was to check if his own clothes looked as good as his.

Hmm, the tiger skin was processed quite well and was also shining under the sun. Although he could not surpass Xuanyuan, his clothes were not bad either. But this garment of Xuanyuan's seemed to be made of Silk; their tribe also had a large piece, used to wrap their Suiren Clan's Ritual Vessel.

But why was Xuanyuan able to obtain such a large amount of Silk? Was it from meeting people from Xiling and then trading for it? Although Baoxi

was very curious, he could not ask now; if he asked, it would mean he had already fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Looking closely, besides this fine garment, Xuanyuan did not seem to have anything else to show off. Although the Bronze Sword at his waist was very long, it was not as precious as his own short Iron Knife.

After both sides were seated, Baoxi had his Soldier bring over the wine pot and his Glass Cup. The box used to hold these items was still the one gifted by the Baifeng Tribe, because the hinges at the joints of the wooden box were made of Bronze. Although the Suiren Clan could make them, since there were ready-made ones, there was no need to waste that financial power, and besides, the one Baifeng gave was already exquisite enough.

Under Xuanyuan's curious gaze, Baoxi opened the box and placed the Glass Cup in front of both of them. Xuanyuan was not polite either; he picked it up and studied it carefully. Holding it up to the sun, the blue-green light was indeed extremely beautiful.

As for the wine bottle, although the stopper was very loose and could be removed by hand, Baoxi still took out his Small Knife to flick the stopper away, just to show off his knife.

After the stopper was opened, the aroma of the Wine immediately drifted out. Baoxi reluctantly poured some into Xuanyuan's cup, then poured some into his own, not daring to let it spill outside at all, for fear of wasting it.

Baoxi began to show off in a flat tone: "This thing is called Wine; it is water that only the Heaven gods can drink. This cup is also used by the Heaven gods. Even for us, the Suiren Clan, we only have this little bit."

Even though Baoxi said this, Xuanyuan resisted the urge to drink it immediately. After waiting for Baoxi to finish a cup with a look of enjoyment, he picked it up and tasted it. The situation was exactly the same as when Baoxi had it for the first time.

Now it was Baoxi's turn to mock Xuanyuan for being a country bumpkin, though he was not that blunt. He just said: "I was the same the first time I drank it, thinking it was nothing special. Later, the more I drank, the better I found it to be, especially since it can help one forget worries, though one has to drink a bit more. I have only experienced the feeling of forgetting worries once."

Between his words was another show-off, implying that their Suiren Clan had more than just this little bit.

The showing off by both sides ended, and Xuanyuan was defeated, so the next step was the trading session. As for things like grain and Slave, both sides had them, so there was no need to discuss them; to trade, one should exchange for things one does not have.

Xuanyuan took out the Silk. Although it was nominally the property of Xiling, in reality, it belonged to the Xuanyuan Tribe. After such a long time of integration, they had basically merged.

Baoxi naturally needed this item, but the only things he could exchange for it were a few items he had traded from Baifeng, which made Baoxi feel a bit annoyed; it would have been better to let the Xuanyuan Clan trade directly with Baifeng.