Chapter 38

“Ten sets? No problem,” Gu Mu agreed immediately. Only the first set would take a bit longer. Once he was familiar with the process, he could halve the time for each set.

“Don’t overwork yourself. Remember to rest.” Su Bai advised, worried that the old man might work too hard. If anything happened, it would weigh on his conscience.

“It’s fine. Doing work like this isn’t tiring at all,” Gu Mu waved his hand. Deep down, he was a bit touched, as few people cared about this lonely old man.

“Shaman, don’t underestimate GrandFather Gu Mu. He carries all the wood here from the forest himself,” Yan Hua said in a clear voice.

She knew the Tribe’s Elders were proud and feared being seen as useless. Thus, they often pushed themselves far too hard.

“Oh?” Su Bai was surprised. He noticed the cow horned girl winking at him, trying to give him a hint.

He quickly understood and softly added, “Old Master Gu Mu, when you have time, please make twenty-four wooden boxes for me, without lids.”

“How big should they be?” Gu Mu asked without hesitation.

Su Bai looked around and pointed at the filter, saying, “About as wide as this.”

Primitive society had no specific measurements; everything was made by eye. He thought that when he had time, he should establish a system of weights and measurements for convenience.

“No problem,” Gu Mu agreed immediately, as if there was nothing he would refuse.

“Alright. I won’t disturb you further,” Su Bai sighed in relief. Now, he just needed materials for making linen.

“It’s no trouble. Shaman, won’t you stay a bit longer? I can introduce you to the woodworkers,” Gu Mu quickly said, eager for the Shaman to stay and chat.

“GrandFather Gu Mu, the Shaman has many things to attend to,” Yan Hua intervened.

“Then will the Shaman come again when he’s free?” Gu Mu asked hopefully.

“Of course.” Su Bai immediately agreed then stepped out of the Teepee.

Yan Hua, carrying the filter, followed Su Bai out of the Teepee with the fox eared girl. They arrived at the central open area of the Tribe, where the wooden platform used for the ‘Shaman Inheritance Ceremony’ a few days ago still stood.

“Yan Hua, gather all the free and mobile people in the Tribe here,” Su Bai said softly, ready to assign tasks to the Tribe members.

“Yes.” Yan Hua quickly responded, handing the filter to the fox eared girl before running towards the Teepees.

She lifted her chin slightly and called out in a clear voice, “Everyone who’s not busy, come out! The Shaman has something to say.”

Su Bai saw the fox eared girl obediently holding the filter, which was so big it almost completely hid her. There was only her fox ears above and her feet below that were visible.

He said with amusement, “You don’t need to hold it all the time. You can just put it down beside you.”

“Okay,” Yu Ying responded softly, leaning the filter against the edge of the platform.

“Shaman, do you have instructions for us?” Mai Mang appeared with his Son, quickly coming to the base of the platform.

“Yes, we’ll discuss when everyone’s here,” Su Bai nodded. It was time to transform the Tribe and add some basic infrastructure.

“Alright,” Mai Mang stood to the side with Mai Mao.

People from the Tribe gradually emerged from their Teepees. Most noticeable were the seventeen children; seven elderly men and women, including Gu Mu; five pregnant women; and four disabled individuals, including Shan Qiu.

“What’s the Shaman going to do?”

“I heard the Shaman left the Tribe yesterday.”

“What if something happened to the Shaman?”

“Bah! Don’t curse with your foul mouth. How could anything happen to the Shaman?”

“It’s probably about the water source. I heard the Totem Warriors talking yesterday, it seems like they found a new water source.”

Everyone was discussing in low voices, occasionally glancing at the figure on the high platform.

“Is everyone here?” Su Bai softly asked the fox eared girl.

“Not yet, four Warrior Trainees have not arrived. They should be at the training ground,” Yu Ying replied in a soft voice.

As soon as she finished speaking, five people came running from afar, led by Yan Hua.

Su Bai observed the four people: three young men in their twenties and a girl about the same age as the cow horned girl.

“Shaman, everyone’s here now.” Yan Hua said, slightly out of breath.

“En,” Su Bai nodded, with the cow horned girl obediently standing beside him.

He scanned the crowd, his expression gradually becoming solemn. The people below the platform fell silent.

“Everyone, our Tribe has long been troubled by the lack of water. We can’t even bathe properly, and we all smell so sour that even Ferocious Beasts would faint from the smell,” Su Bai began with a humorous sentence.

“Hahaha…” The Tribe members laughed, looking at each other and stepping back slightly in mocking disgust.

“Now, we have solved the water problem,” Su Bai looked at the slightly stirring crowd below and said in a deeper voice, “The Hollow Logs we had everyone process last night were for transporting water to our Tribe.”

“That’s impossible, how can water be so obedient as to come to us with just logs?”

“If the Shaman says water will come to the Tribe, then water will come to the Tribe.”

“Exactly, the Shaman has never lied to us.”

Those who had just started to doubt were immediately refuted by those around them. Especially the young children, who looked at the Shaman with admiration and longing.

“At the earliest, water will reach the Tribe today. At the latest, it will be tomorrow.” Su Bai had not gone to connect the Hollow Logs himself. Thus, he did not want to make absolute promises by saying it would be done today. That could damage his prestige, especially since he had just taken on the position of Shaman.

“That’s great, we can bathe like we used to!”

“Finally, we don’t have to ration our drinking water.”

“The Shaman is so amazing. He just went into the forest yesterday and today he’s solved the water problem.”

“Indeed, that’s our Shaman for you.”

The crowd started praising Su Bai, and there was a new glimmer of recognition in their eyes.