It had taken them five days to get here from the tribe, with only a short rest along the way. They had also found two caves that could be used as strongholds. Of course, there had been ferocious beasts in the caves, but they had been encircled and killed by them. They had become dinner that night.
Everyone had fought a bloody battle. The deeper they went into the forest, the more they felt the familiar, exciting, dangerous, and blood-boiling hunting feeling came back. They liked this old place very much and were very satisfied with this forest.
If other tribes knew how the Yanjiao people felt about this forest, they would definitely think that the Yanjiao people were all crazy and liked to live with ferocious beasts as their neighbors. They were looking for trouble.
But the Yanjiao people who came from the other side of the river had been in contact with this kind of environment since childhood. Facing this kind of environment, it was easier for them to adapt.
Sometimes the two team leaders even wondered if there was a place deeper in the forest like a green land, where all kinds of precious and dangerous plants grew.
In just five days, everyone was like a killer who had crawled out of a thick sea of blood, full of ruthlessness and killing intent. And the ferocious beasts that had been brought out with them looked even more ferocious. If they hadn't softened their eyes when they looked at the Yanjiao people and were obedient enough, they would have looked no different from the native ferocious beasts in the forest at first glance.
"That's it."
Shao Xuan pointed to a place on the mountain and said.
Although they hadn't reached that place yet, Ta and Guigou looked in the direction Shao Xuan pointed. They could clearly see a place blocked by a big stone. Behind the stone, there must be the cave where the ancestors lived, as Shao Xuan had said.
Taking a deep breath, everyone couldn't help but tidy up their animal skin clothes, patting off the grass bits stuck to their animal skin clothes. Then, they went to a spring on the mountain and washed their faces, rubbing away some of the dried blood on their arms and legs.
In front of the ancestors, they would treat them seriously.
After carefully tidying up, the group went up the mountain.
The cave no longer had the protective force that Shao Xuan had encountered the last time he came here. It looked no different from an ordinary cave.
Shao Xuan moved the boulder that was blocking the entrance of the cave away and had a few Vicious Beasts stand guard outside. Then, he led the two team leaders and the others into the cave.
The insect-repelling herbs that were scattered in the cave last time were still there, but the smell was much fainter.
Before Shao Xuan left last time, although he had set up traps and scattered some insect-repelling herbs, the power that protected the cave was gone. Shao Xuan was worried that the bodies of the ancestors would rot, so he put the bone ornament on the body of the person who was sitting cross-legged on the ground. The other six bodies were also moved closer by Shao Xuan. Since the bone ornaments were able to protect the remains of their ancestors in the king stoneworm's cave, they should be able to do the same now.
After entering the cave, Shao Xuan looked carefully. The seven bodies of the ancestors were the same as the last time he saw them. They did not rot quickly, which made Shao Xuan feel relieved.
Every time they saw the remains of their ancestors, the people of the Yanjiao tribe were very excited. Especially after hearing from Shao Xuan what he saw in the cave last time, Ta, Guigou, and the others wanted to kneel down and kowtow to show their respect for their ancestors.
Ta held a torch and carefully followed Shao Xuan into the innermost part of the cave.
"These are the 'history'." Shao Xuan pointed at the boxes and said.
Whether it was the ancestors or the boxes that contained the "history" of the Yanjiao, they would send them back to the tribe at all costs.
After seeing the ancestors and the "history", the two team leaders led the others out of the cave and went down the mountain to chop wood to make palanquins. In fact, they were not exactly palanquins. They were just made to look like three carriages. When the time came, each carriage would be carried by four people, and the others would guard around it.
Shao Xuan and the others rested in the cave for two days. During these two days, they also finished the palanquins used to carry the ancestors. They carefully put the bodies of the seven ancestors into one palanquin, and the boxes containing the "history" were put in two groups in the other two palanquins.
There were limited things left in the cave, and many of them had lost their original appearance. If they saw these things in the tribe, they would definitely throw them away as garbage. But these were left by the ancestors, so they had a different meaning. They took what they could take with them, and left the rest in the cave if they felt it was unnecessary.
"When the route is opened, we will come back again," Guigou said.
They went back much slower. After all, they had to carry the ancestors and the "history", and they had to keep them from being destroyed by other ferocious beasts. Naturally, it would take more time.
At this time, the ferocious beasts were doing very well. They would attract other ferocious beasts away, and then find a place to kill them, instead of fighting around the palanquins.
Eight days later, they returned to the tribe. When they were still some distance away from the tribe, they met the people sent by the Shaman and the Chief to pick them up, and they also shared the pressure of everyone.
Everyone was injured, and so were the ferocious beasts, but they were in good spirits. The former thought it was a great honor to bring back the ancestors and the "history", while the latter thought it was a good time to go out and have fun. Although they almost died several times, and had many injuries on their bodies, they were happy enough.
The people from the other tribes had already left, and the people in the tribe stopped all their work and followed the Shaman and the Chief to the border to welcome them.
Some people didn't know why they had to go out like this at first, but after they told each other, they couldn't help but be excited.
"Those are the ancestors!"
"What do the ancestors look like?"
"They must be mighty and extraordinary!"
"I heard that those who worship the ancestors will be blessed by the ancestors! I know a warrior who has worshipped him before. Later on, he was able to get through several dangerous situations during hunting. "
"You also found the ancestors before?"
"Yes, I heard it was Elder Shao Xuan who found them."
"Then what about this time?"
"I heard it was also Elder Shao Xuan who found them."
"… No wonder he is an elder …"
…
For the Yanjiao people, even if the ancestor's body was only a skeleton, it still had a sacred and inviolable aura.
Unfortunately, they didn't get to see what their ancestors looked like. They only saw three large "chests" being carried by a dozen people.
"Welcome back, ancestors!"
The Shaman and the Chief were the first to kneel.
Thousands of people at the border all knelt down. Even the children who didn't know anything knelt down with the adults. They didn't have their usual naughtiness, and they had a very strange feeling. It was a little heavy, but also a little excited.
When Shao Xuan brought back the ancestor's body from the cave of the king stoneworm, the tribe held a ceremony to cremate the ancestors. This time it was the same, but not immediately.
Because of the protection of the bone ornaments, the seven ancestor's bodies wouldn't rot quickly. The Shaman put them in a room in the stone house and didn't leave the house for several days. He wasn't facing the ancestors all the time, but he was studying the "history" that was brought back.
Ao also went to read it every day. Gui Ze, who was chosen by the Shaman to be his successor, followed the Shaman every day to read the "history" left behind.
There was too much information that they needed to grasp. Shao Xuan and Gui Ze divided the work, categorizing the selected information and then rewriting it, such as the records of astronomical phenomena, farming, animal husbandry, handicrafts, and so on. Although thousands of years had passed, some of the information was still very helpful.
Whether it was the shamaness or Chief Ao, although they knew that the Flaming Horns tribe was once glorious, they didn't have a more specific concept. The records left by their ancestors were limited, but now, through these "histories", they deeply felt the prosperity of the past.
Thinking of the arrogant faces of the people from the other tribes a few days ago, and then thinking of the overbearing Flaming Horn tribe, Ao only felt that there was still a long way to go. The Flaming Horn tribe needed to develop and return to its former strength, but it also needed time.
"Who are the ancestors that came back?" Shao Xuan seized the time to ask the Shaman.
The Shaman was silent for a while, and then slowly said, "During the disaster, the Shaman of the Yanjiao tribe passed the position of Shaman to the next successor and asked the new Shaman and the chief to leave with the people of the tribe. He himself took more than a hundred people and hid these precious" history "in the forest to prevent it from being damaged by natural disasters or man-made disasters. More than a hundred people and the Shaman guarded the "history" until the end of their lives. "
"More than a hundred people?" Shao Xuan was puzzled. When he found the cave, there were only seven people, including the Shaman.
"The others … are dead … Not even their bones are left!" The Shaman stroked a small animal skin scroll in his hand. This was the last record of the Shaman. It felt like every word was weeping blood and was extremely heavy.
During the disaster, the Ferocious Beasts in the forest were also frightened by the sudden changes in the world and became manic. Every day, people who went out to hunt would die when encountering such crazy Ferocious Beasts. Not even their bodies were left behind. In the end, only the seven of them were left. Even when they died, their clansmen did not come back.
"If one day, I encounter the same situation, I will do the same." The Shaman said.
"When do you plan to hold the sacrifice?" Shao Xuan asked.
The Shaman did not answer, but asked Shao Xuan, "Can you carve the carvings on the stone pillars again?"
"No problem." Shao Xuan said.
During the time when they left for the Ferocious Beasts Forest, Ao had brought more than a thousand people to transport several huge stone pillars. Shao Xuan understood the Shaman's meaning. He hoped that the pillars could be completed before the ancestors were cremated.
Because the stone pillars were too big, it was impossible for Shao Xuan to complete all of them. The shamaness and chief called over some skilled stonemasons to polish the stone pillars. They didn't want the pillars to be bumpy or bumpy. After the first round of polishing, Shao Xuan would carve the engravings in his memory onto the pillars.
In the past, Shao Xuan only remembered the carvings on the stone pillars, but did not understand what they were. However, after reading the more detailed records left by the ancestors, he found that many of the carvings on the stone pillars had special meanings. The carvings on different stone pillars were also different. In addition to being used as a sundial, they also had a sacrificial meaning.
It was no wonder that the Shaman hoped that when the ancestors were cremated, he would repair the damaged and missing things around them according to the records left by the ancestors. That was the most orthodox sacrificial ceremony of the Yanjiao tribes.
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