Chapter 39: Ancestors

Everyone was very well-behaved; the robbery and murder that Baifeng had worried about in the middle of the night did not happen. After a night of hard work, the tribesmen were still full of energy, and there was no sign of anyone needing to lean against the walls for support.

Sometimes Baifeng envied these silly primitive people; they didn't have so many rules and concerns when doing things. Otherwise, given Baifeng's conditions and abilities, plus the women running around without clothes, he would have already realized a man's dream and started a harem.

Xiong said this gathering would last ten days, and today was only the third day; the first day they were still on the road. By today, the tribes from afar should have arrived. Those large tribes from afar should have the things Baifeng wanted; the things traded in small tribes were no different from the old Baifeng Tribe, so there was no need to continue checking them.

Baifeng's appearance had only just allowed his own tribe to break away from the category of wild people; they were still far from being a truly wealthy and powerful tribe.

Because Baifeng had a surname, the Baifeng Tribe could be called a "Clan"; otherwise, no matter how powerful or wealthy, it would only be a "tribe." Baifeng was not clear whether his "Bai" was a surname or a clan name, and he had never looked into the evolution of the heritage. Anyway, later generations called it a surname; as for now, whatever was needed, "Bai" was that.

If Baifeng could not quickly lead the tribe to expand and develop, in the future, they would only become some component on a dragon when the Xuanyuan Tribe created a dragon, perhaps even so small that others wouldn't bother to attach it to the dragon. Or, because of a disaster, like the wild person met yesterday, they would have to rely entirely on Heaven, yet be unable to even produce the offerings to sacrifice to Heaven.

Originally, the Cannibal Tribe and stone tools made Baifeng think the era he had traveled to was very ancient, but this gathering made Baifeng recognize the reality: many tribes had already broken away from ignorance, and only small tribes like theirs remained backward without any progress. Perhaps Baifeng was in the same era as Xuanyuan and Chiyou, and they were about to come and unify the Baifeng Tribe, or perhaps they were still in their youth, waiting to become the next Tribal Chief.

If he didn't want to be annexed by other tribes, he had to annex other tribes first to strengthen his own power. His own Soldiers numbered no more than two hundred in total; if he wanted to increase his strength through natural population growth, he feared that by then, Baifeng would already be old and frail.

The ugly woman Baifeng had traded for was finally willing to speak after eating a full meal, but it was only to tell Baifeng that her name was "Sui." When asked about other things, she would lower her head and not answer.

The other women had completely adapted to the change in roles; they had no sense of patriotism or tribal identity, it was just that their previous tribe couldn't afford to keep them, and now they had been traded to a tribe that could let them eat their fill.

The woman who was originally said to be dying had eaten a full meal and rested well for a night, and she felt she had many more years to live.

The quiet gathering gradually returned to its clamor, and one could see goods that were not there yesterday; perhaps they thought that good things should be brought out later to maximize profits.

The Baifeng Tribe brought many things; yesterday, they mainly used Salted Fish for trade, but now the number of people had doubled. The Salted Fish and Beef could only be kept for themselves to eat. They couldn't go back yet, and the road would also consume food, so they had to keep enough Dry Rations.

Taking only Sui, Baifeng left everyone else behind to set up a stall. The various Pottery brought from the tribe, because they were light, novel in style, and had beautiful patterns, were competitive goods for the entire gathering as soon as they were displayed. There was also an Iron Knife stuck in a piece of hard wood; that was not something an ordinary tribe could covet. It was placed there by Baifeng as the finale, and also as bait to lure those large tribes.

Carrying a Hard Bow on his back, wearing an Arrow Quiver, with two knives tucked into his waist, stepping in what might be the first pair of Boots in this world, and exposing his sturdy chest—it was a pity he was wearing a Leather Skirt. Otherwise, Baifeng felt he was more handsome than anyone in this world. People should wear cloth; animal skins could be draped on the outermost layer to show off one's flashiness and wealth to others, but they should absolutely not be worn directly as clothes. It was a pity that if it weren't for Baifeng, his own tribe wouldn't even have Hemp Cloth, let alone thread.

Baifeng wandered along the way, only hoping to discover something truly useful. He understood this world less and less, and he didn't want to be treated like a monkey that had just landed by more developed tribes. As for his own goods, if he saw cloth, he would trade everything for cloth; if there was no cloth, he would trade for Grass Seed. If they only ate meat, the tribesmen would not be able to stand it.

Walking across the Dugout Canoe Bridge to the other side of Shazhou, Baifeng found that the people here seemed to be wealthier. Whether from the goods displayed on their stalls or their own physiques, they were generally better than the wild people on the other side.

It hadn't been discovered yesterday; could it be that the large tribes had only just arrived?

The further downstream he walked, the more wealthy people there were. Seeing Baifeng, who was not wearing clothes and was also carrying an ugly woman, they always carried a hint of disdain. Even when Baifeng looked toward their stalls, they had no intention of entertaining Baifeng.

Baifeng tried his best to ignore them, thinking in his heart that his knowledge was a hundred times higher than theirs, so it wasn't worth getting angry. However, Sui beside him lowered her head more and more; if Baifeng hadn't been pulling her, she wouldn't have dared to walk.

Baifeng only hoped to find cloth here so that he could have clothes to wear. Just as he was thinking this, a boy who looked to be eleven or twelve years old blocked his way.

Baifeng had originally intended to shout at the child not to block the way, but he discovered that the boy was wearing Hemp Cloth clothes all over, a necklace made of Green Jade and seashells hung around his neck, and he was followed by two men who were sturdier than Baifeng.

Baifeng saw that this was no small matter; this must be a "second-generation" of some large tribe. He couldn't afford to offend them, so he should give way and avoid them, but that boy's eyes didn't leave Baifeng.

Baifeng knew that no one cared about Sui; this boy must have taken a fancy to something of his. Baifeng was straightforward and asked, "Has this young master taken a fancy to something of mine?"

The boy tilted his head: "What is a 'young master'? I am Baoxi of the Suiren Clan of Suishui. What is your name?"

Baifeng's head shook; he didn't know Baoxi, but he knew the Suiren Clan—the Three Sovereigns of antiquity. However, they should have died long ago; it was just that the tribe had been passed down. But regardless, they were all Baifeng's ancestors. Should he follow him?

If this boy were Xuanyuan, Baifeng would definitely hug his thigh without a second word; perhaps he could even get a divine position. But in the myths that followed, the Suiren Clan didn't have much fame. Baifeng didn't dare to take sides and express his intentions too early; if he were wiped out by other ancestors, it would be over.

"I am Baifeng, the Tribal Chief of the Baifeng Tribe." Baifeng's face was calm.

No one felt it was wrong, because the name of the Tribal Chief was generally the name of the tribe. The Shennong Clan had been passed down for who knows how many generations, and the Tribal Chief was still called Shennong.

"That thing on your feet looks very good. I want it. What do you need to trade for it?"

Baifeng breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out he had only taken a fancy to the Boots.

Baifeng naturally would not miss this opportunity to communicate with a large tribe: "What I am wearing is called Boots. I still need to wear this pair, but I can teach you the production method, but I need you to trade with the method of weaving Hemp Cloth."

"Does your tribe not know how to produce Hemp Cloth?" Baoxi did not think that a tribe with a clan name would be a wild tribe; it was impossible that they wouldn't know how to make something as simple as Hemp Cloth.

"My tribe has thousands of people, but they all make a living by catching cattle and fishing. We have never planted hemp, so we don't know how to weave cloth."

Bragging and bluffing, exaggerating his own tribe—this was what one should do when out and about. Even if others had ulterior motives, they would have to consider whether they could afford to offend a large tribe of thousands of people.