Chapter 183 - Courage is not small
Translated by Lesyt Team
Edited by EvilGurl, Ilesyt
Da- Da- Da-
Footsteps came from a hole inside.
The person inside the cave walked forward, step by step, not urgent, not slow, with a small hint of carelessness.
He didn’t seem to panic because of all the strangers in the cave.
There was no fire burning inside the cave, it was dark, so at first, the people couldn’t see the person inside. Because of his sudden appearance, they became vigilant and picked up their weapons while facing him.
In this place, you could not afford to underestimate even a single person, or you might end up regretting it.
Inside the cave, where the light was brighter, the person gradually revealed his shadow.
The man looked very young, wearing a linen dress. Although it was somewhat wrinkled, but you could still see it, compared to the piece of linen Shao Xuan saw in the Pu tribe, these linen clothes were much better, weaved more finely. In the collar, there were some series of decorations made from small bamboo pieces, so that piece of linen cloth did not lookso simple.
The man lazily stretched his arms and his waist as the light shone on him. He fixed his hair with his hand and looked at the people standing in the cave, and said: “Hey, switched?”
“And you are?” Several leaders of the group looked at each other and then one asked.
“This hole is ours! You get out quickly!”
There was a youth standing next to him. He originally intended to grab a better place in the cave, but then he became shocked when a sound came from within the cave. As a result, the person behind him grabbed the place. Thus his mood was disgruntled and the tone of his voice also sounded somewhat angry.
But he did not notice that his teamleader’s arrogance had toned down a lot, he also did not notice the sudden discolored faces of some of the experienced travelers.
Seeing the other did not answer, he was about to say something else, but several older people next to him covered his mouth. Dragging him to the middle of the team.
Shao Xuan looked at the person who came out.
He knows that although linen has become popular in the central region, and that there were many people wearing them in the market, but not many can wear linen that fine, even having polished bamboo ornaments. But the most important thing of all was the piece of jade hanging from his waist.
The experienced members of the team had said that everyone in the Mang tribe wore jade pieces. But those pieces could be of better or lower quality, types ranging from full rings to half rings, to even quarter rings. It could be said that status and jade were associated with eachother.
And on the waist of the man in front was hanging a piece of jade of an arc of almost 240 degrees. Although it was not a carved jade, but you could still discern some green lines on it.
It can be presumed that this person was not a small character. Although they did not know why he came to sleep in this cave, but he could not be offended, which is what was going through the minds of the several team leaders at the same time.
The man seemed to sweep his gaze over the team, then said: “I have already slept well, you go in.”
No one from the team went inside, but the man started stepping forward. The group blocking the entrance of the hole quickly opened a path. Several young people that didn’t move were quickly dragged back by the older ones.
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With no one blocking the entrance, more light shone inside, and it allowed the people to see this strange young man more clearly.
He had quite the fair and frail. He also didn’t give off a strong momentum like that of Fan Ning. But his clothes were pretty good.
Some wondered why they were so afraid. But when their eyes, that were looking at each other, swept over the hanging piece of jade, they scolded themselves in the heart and lowered their eyes. Not daring to look up.
For a while, the cave became quiet. The happily discussing people also closed their mouths.
The atmosphere became tense.
Da..da..da….
The sound of him moving slowly could be heard very clearly. Even the noise from outside the cave could not cover up this footsteps.
Suddenly, the man walking outside the cave stopped and paused, and looked sideways to look inside the travelers group.
The several leaders’ hearts suddenly became tight. They glanced at each other, thinking about what to do if an accident happened.
But the other just looked inside the group and said with a meaningful smile: “Your courage is not small, but when you go out, do not go alone.”
The other people in the group followed the man’s gaze, and there they saw Shao Xuan, frowning.
After that sentence, the man left. He stood outside and lazily stretched his waist and arms, looked to the foot of the mountain, and then jumped.
The slope of the mountain’s side was steep, there was quite some height from the ground below.
However, when the people went outside the cave to look below, they did not find that person’s shadow.
“Fan Ning came to the front of Shao Xuan with a cold face, probably because of the internal injuries he looked even more ugly, and said: “You messed with the people of the Mang tribe?”
“No, this is my first time here. I have not seen people of the Mang tribe before.” Shao Xuan was also wondering, that person only spoke in mystery, who knows what he meant in the end?
“Did not mess with would be the best!” Fan Ning heavily harumphed. Because this harumph affected the body’s injury, he even coughed a number of times, almost coughing up some blood. But in order to maintain his face and a stable morale, he held back the blood.
“Clean up the cave.” Said one of the leaders.
Worried that there might be other people in the cave, they put up a fire, and took torches into the inside, carefully checking around and throwing out some garbage, and then they took up a place to rest. Being on the road to the central region for so long, they had had tight nerves. And now they were finally able to grab a cave, they could finally have a good rest, some people with an injury also needed some care.
Shao Xuan and a few other people also found a place to rest, lit a small fire, and grilled some meat, to regain some strength.
“Shao Xuan, you really do not know that person?” Yu asked.
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“I don’t know him, I have no idea what he meant.” Shao Xuan had been thinking about the reasons. He thought maybe he found out that he is from the Flaming Horns tribe, but he did not hear of any resentment between their and the Mang tribe. Moreover, Shao Xuan did not feel malicious intent from him, of course, no goodwill either. Just a stranger.
On the other side, the person who left the cave was near the market. He did not go into the market, but was about a hundred of meters away.
Whoosh!
A thin spear shot out, inserted in the ground in front of him, nearly half the spear shot into the ground.
“Qu Ce! Hand over Bai Ling!”
In the blink of an eye, a white figure appeared a 100 meters away. Arriving in front of Qu Ce.
This was a woman wearing white silk. With anger on her beautiful face, she looked at Qu Ce.
“Is it not just one spider? How many days do you have to try to kill me?” Qu Ce yawned, and said without care: “You care about your spider, but then what do I do about my difficultly raised bamboo rats? Compensate me? I also intended to keep them for a few days to cook in a pot of soup for good meal. But after I took a look a while later, all that was left were bones!”
Talking about the past, Qu Ce’s face became cold.
“For your bamboo rats, I can use silk clothes to compensate.
“Bah, how can it compare to your rare tribal spider? When do we not have such good things?”
“In any case, you have to return Bai Ling today!” The white woman does not give up.
“Afraid you can’t…wait!” Before she could start attacking, Qu Ce quickly stopped her.
Looking at the sky, Qu Ce’s gaze stayed somewhere. And the anger on his face just now was replaced with smile, and then he raised his palm.
After a while, a green figure flashed, and finally stayed in the palm of his hand.
It was a bird that was smaller than a palm. Wings such as knives, tail like a swallow. Because its body was too small, if you did not look carefully, it could easy be mistaken for an insects.
“What happened?” Qu Ce touched the bird’s head with his finger and asked.
The bird cried out and pecked with his beak.
“Finally found those thieves.” Qu Ce’s face showed a smile. “You Shi, I do not have time to waste with you, here!” Qu Ce said, and from inside the clothes, he pulled out a ball wrapped in a skin, and threw it to the white woman.
The white woman quickly caught it, and looked at the “white ball” in her hands. It was originally a spider covered with long white hair. But now it was wrapped into a big fist sized ball, and there were several bamboo needles stabbed in its body. And because of these few bamboo needles, that white spider suffered great pain.
“Qu Ce!” That white woman’s face became full of anger.
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“What are you shouting for, it is not dead, much better than my poor bamboo rats. When you eat so many of my bamboo rats, you have to be punished. Even if it died, that is also deserved!”
The white woman could not bother to say any more and endured the anger. She pulled out the needles in the “white ball”. After a while, the “white ball” gradually opened, thin white long legs stretched out. The fist big “white ball” inflated to double.
“Next time it eats my bamboo rats, that won’t be all!” Not caring to stay much longer there, Qu Ce pulled out a bag: “I’m going to catch the thief, I would like to see who else dares to steal my bamboo rats. When was I ever a pushover?
The green bird took off and Qu Ce followed. The white woman hesitated for a while, but then also followed. She also found that some of the silk in the tribe was gone. Don’t know if it’s the same person who stole jade and bamboo rats from the Mang tribe.
…………
After eating food and a short break, Shao Xuan, Yu and a few others went out the cave. The travel team split into two groups: One going out for trade now and one guarding the cave, to go out in the afternoon.
Right now, Fan Ning’s group went out. They will trade in this market for the first batch of items. Things that were popular in the central region might not be liked back in their region. They had to follow the habits of those tribes around the river and select. And change for more items when they return.
Like the piece of rough linen Shao Xuan had seen, in here was simply nothing, just something to use to cover things. But brought back, it could be used to trade for some good water moonstones. And then change those water moon stones for more good things.
Because there is no universal currency, in the transactions, Shao Xuan saw a variety of strange items. Sometimes, buyers come out with things the seller did not like, so the transaction would not succeed.
Yu’s frog items were quite popular, they traded quite well. And the Drumming tribes’ water moonstones went even more smooth.
Shao Xuan thought, if the number is enough, the Drumming tribe’s water moonstones could be used as universal currency. No matter which tribe the seller was from, if Shao Xuan wanted to trade with him, he could take out the water moonstones and be successful.
It is no wonder that the people of the Pu tribe were so excited to see the Drumming tribe every time. They had too many water moonstones.
A level higher than the water moonstones were the Mang tribe’s jade. In the trade they were the same, but they were a bit more “expensive” than the water moonstones.
Shao Xuan was not interested in the linen or the pottery, not even those jade from the Mang tribe. If you touched them, you could feel a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Perhaps they would have a use for other totem warriors, but Shao Xuan felt that he did not need these. And also not having enough money, he did not have a mind to acquire them.
Shao Xuan, Yu and the others were walking in the market when a square face appeared.
“How many of you need jade?” The man quickly swept his eyes around, apparently vigilant of something, and then pulled out animal skins from the loose sleeves, Shao Xuan could see a few pieces of jade inside the other’s sleeves.
“Jade?” Yu was somewhat hesitant, he was very curious about the jade, but other people in the tribe said that jade trading was not worthwhile, so basically no one in the Pu tribe traded jade.
“Well, I do not have the ability to trade jade, for the jade I won’t be able to trade for other things.” Yu refusingly said.
The other people from the Pu tribe were also of the same mind, only Shao Xuan seemed to hesitate.
“This jade, how do you want to exchange?” Shao Xuan asked.
“I saw you coming up with that white stone, just use that. But… here is too eye-catching, let’s go over there.” The man pointed to a place.
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“Shao Xuan, we go with you.” Yu said. He had heard that such transactions on the market are very dangerous, many times the group would act together.
Thinking about it, Shao Xuan said to the few people, “No, you continue to look around. After I have traded, I will catch up, I am very interested in this jade, I would like to see more.”
“Yes, we have a lot of jade on the other side, they are finely carved.” That person quickly said.
“You really do not want us to come?” A slightly older people next to Yu asked Shao Xuan.
“No, but thank you.”
“Alright.” Some of the deals in the market may indeed involve some personal secrets, and the elders of the Pu tribe had not said that they would also go with Yu and the others.
So after they went away, the jade trader motioned Shao Xuan: “Come, I think there is a good place.”
Shao Xuan pointed to another place: “There are less people.”
“That side… alright.” The man walked beside Shao Xuan, slightly half a step behind, from under the sleeves, his fingers gestured in a direction.
After leaving the market for some distance, Shao Xuan stopped.
In front, to the left, and to the right, there was each a person, and in the rear, it was the jade trader from the market.
Shao Xuan turned to look at the jade trader. He was originally smiling, similarly, he was still smiling, but it was now less amicable and it was more a vicious smile. The animal skins with the jades in his sleeves were already gone.
Four people, with Shao Xuan in the middle.
“Boy, take out your things.” The man in front said.
Shao Xuan did not say anythings, he did not show any panic either.
“Do not hide, we are very clear with what you have. You have courage, with that precious thing, even dares to come with me alone.” The jade trader’s eyes flashed with greed.
Precious thing?
Shao Xuan thought, the valuable things on his body were the coat made from the special silk from those insects, the Drumming tribe’s water moonstones, and… the fire crystal!
Shao Xuan’s eyes flashed, he remembered what that person in the cave said: “When you go out, do not go alone.”