Chapter 22

Su Bai, Yan Hua, Chieftain Yan Jiao, and Hei Ya, plus one Totem Warrior, a total of five people, advanced towards the small lake deeper inside the forest.

Hei Ya was leading the way upfront, with a Totem Warrior bringing up the rear. Meanwhile, Yan Jiao accompanied Su Bai and Yan Hua, guarding them on both sides throughout the journey.

*Crack, crack…* The five people hurried along, with no one speaking. There was only the sound of stone knives cutting through branches.

Su Bai broke the silence and asked, “Chieftain, have you found any plants for making linen?”

“No,” Yan Jiao shook his head and helplessly said, “Many stems are hard when torn open, and they break easily with just a little force.”

“Don’t rush. Plants for making linen aren’t that easy to find,” Su Bai comforted him, suddenly thinking of the Leafy Hemp Tribe, wondering what plant they used.

He asked as soon as he thought of it, “Do you know what plants are around the Leafy Hemp Tribe? I mean, the ones that exist in large quantities.”

Yan Jiao frowned in thought, then shook his head, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to the Leafy Hemp Tribe before.”

“Is the Leafy Hemp Tribe far from us?” Su Bai frowned and asked. If they could not find plants for making linen, they would have to start with the Leafy Hemp Tribe.

They could inquire about what plants the Leafy Hemp Tribe transported into their Tribe, or what plants were grown in large quantities around them. By process of elimination, they would eventually find the plant for making linen.

“Quite far, I think. I heard Father say it’s about a ten-day journey,” Yan Jiao said in a deep voice.

“By the way, how many people are usually in a large Tribe?” Su Bai had not yet learned about the situation of large Tribes.

“At least over ten thousand people…” Yan Jiao said with a heavy expression.

“So many people?” Yan Hua was the first to exclaim, her red eyes widening. It was also her first time learning about the population of large Tribes.

“…” Su Bai fell silent, thinking about how the Flame Dragon Tribe now only had seventy-two people in total. The contrast was too stark.

“Shaman, we will catch up to them eventually,” Yan Jiao consoled, seeing Su Bai’s downcast face, thinking he had discouraged him.

“Of course. We will become a large Tribe sooner or later,” Su Bai affirmed.

“As long as we have linen, we can definitely become a large Tribe,” Yan Jiao said passionately.

He imagined that during his time as Chieftain, the Flame Dragon Tribe would become a large Tribe. Then, he could face his Ancestors with a smile after death.

“It’s not that easy,” Su Bai said, like pouring cold water on his dreams, “Our Tribe has too few people. To become a large Tribe, it would take several decades.”

He could not possibly wait that long. Living in such a primitive society for decades, he would rather be spared the torture. There had to be changes, such as progress in food, housing, and clothing!

“I’ll go back and tell everyone to have more children,” Yan Jiao decided with a straight face.

“No. No matter how much they reproduce, it won’t be enough.” Su Bai was truly amused, and he shook his head. “Our Tribe’s base number is just too small, we can only bring in people from outside into the Tribe.”

“Ah? Find outsiders to join our Tribe?” Yan Jiao was stunned, hesitating, “Will outsiders listen to us?”

“With the Totem, why wouldn’t they listen to us?” Su Bai asked back, amused.

“Oh right, I almost forgot we have a Totem.” Yan Jiao suddenly realised.

Seeing that Yan Jiao was not averse to outsiders, Su Bai curiously asked, “You don’t reject outsiders?”

“No, I don’t. My Ancestors also joined the Flame Dragon Tribe.” Yan Jiao touched the red curved horns on his head, revealing some of the Tribe’s secrets. “For Humanoids like me and Hei Ya, our Ancestors all joined the Flame Dragon Tribe later.”

“Oh, so we weren’t originally part of the Flame Dragon Tribe?” Yan Hua said in surprise, also hearing about her Ancestors’ history for the first time from her Father.

“Humanoids?” Su Bai asked in confusion, finally exploring the origins of the beast-eared girls.

“Huh? Shaman, you don’t know about Humanoids?” Yan Jiao asked curiously.

“I don’t know, there were no Humanoids from where I came from,” Su Bai sighed. Before, he had always hoped Earth had beast-eared girls. However, now his wish had come true. There was a cow horned girl beside him, and there was a fox eared girl in the Tribe.

“Shaman, you must come from some large Tribes that only welcome Pure Humans.” Yan Jiao’s face showed a trace of sorrow, his red eyes reminiscing as he explained, “I heard from my deceased Father that some large Tribes don’t welcome Humanoids. Our Ancestors were driven away by some large Tribes. Finally, it was the Flame Dragon Tribe that kindly took our Ancestors in. Their grace is why we exist now.”

Su Bai did not further explain his own origins, but instead asked curiously, “Are there still Tribes that don’t welcome Humanoids?”

“Some Tribes have changed, some Tribes now welcome Humanoids,” Yan Jiao said with a smile on his face.

“Chieftain, do you know where Humanoids come from?” Su Bai asked softly.

From the Chieftain’s words, he heard that some Tribes do not welcome Humanoids.

“I don’t know about that, my Father didn’t tell me about this,” Yan Jiao shook his head.

“Alright,” Su Bai sighed, the clue to exploring the origins of Humanoids was cut off.

This was the result of not having written records. Relying solely on oral transmission to one’s descendants, if someone in a certain generation was not interested in talking about it knowledge would get cut off. If there were changes and additions of personal ideas and experiences, what the descendants would receive would be a modified version.

“Shaman, you don’t reject Humanoids like us?” Yan Jiao asked carefully.

After guessing that the Shaman came from a large Tribe of Pure Humans, he became worried, fearing that he might dislike the Humanoids of the Flame Dragon Tribe.

“…” Yan Hua also became nervous, her red eyes quietly observing Su Bai’s expression.

“Huh? Why would I reject Humanoids?” Su Bai was stunned for a moment. He unconsciously glanced at the cow horned girl, and gently said, “On the contrary, I find Humanoids very cute and interesting.”

“…” Yan Hua’s eyes just happened to meet Su Bai’s glance. Her cheeks immediately reddened, and she turned her head away in embarrassment.

“Hahaha… It’s good that you don’t reject them,” Yan Jiao laughed heartily, secretly winking at his Daughter, as if to say, ‘My Daughter! Your chance has come!’

Seeing her Father’s small gesture, Yan Hua’s cheeks reddened even more. Her heart was beating faster, as if there was a deer inside running.