This man was called Wacha. On the way here, Zheng Luo had already introduced him to Shao Xuan. Because Wacha was often stationed outside the salt mines, he did not spend much time in the tribe. However, he would come back during the ceremony and stand closer to the front. Shao Xuan still remembered him.
Because of this, Shao Xuan was shocked.
In his memory, Wacha's skin was darker. When the temperature was high, his bare arms and other parts of his skin looked like they were greased by the sun.
There were small poisonous insects in the salt mines. After being bitten, there would be scars. If the scars healed and the toxins were not completely expelled, there would be a dent.
Wacha, who was often stationed in the salt mines, naturally had plenty of experience being bitten by poisonous insects. The most obvious sign was his bumpy face. It looked rough, much more obvious than orange peel. However, the tribesmen did not think much of it. They even thought it looked more intimidating and intimidating. In fact, it was true. With this face, when Wacha put on a straight face, he looked like a giant boulder that could fall at any moment. It was very intimidating.
But now, not only were the 'intimidating' dents gone, his tanned skin was much redder. At first glance, Shao Xuan did not know who it was. After some inspection, he confirmed it was Wacha.
Seeing Shao Xuan's scrutinizing gaze, Wacha was embarrassed. Every time someone came to visit him, they would be shocked. Wacha looked at himself in the basin and even borrowed the shamaness's bronze mirror to look at himself. It was … 'unbearable to look at'!
Wacha felt like he could not face the tribesmen anymore. Without the dents on his face, he did not look like the leader of the salt mines. He was anxious!
Seeing Wacha's sad face, Zheng Luo said angrily, "This is a good thing! It means that the toxins in your body are all gone! "
The poison left behind by the poisonous insects in the salt mines was very strong. Even the herbs made by the Taihe tribe were not completely effective. Plus, the herbs made by the Taihe tribe were limited. If anyone needed them, they had to trade for them. Wacha couldn't bear to part with them so he wouldn't trade for herbs. But who would have thought that she would become like this after eating a few eggs when she was recuperating!
As they were talking, a woman walked in with a big jar filled with water. She was Wacha's wife, Susha. Both of them were totemic warriors and were part of the mining team.
When she saw Zheng Luo and Shao Xuan, Susha quickly put aside the large water tank filled with water. She pushed her long braids decorated with animal fangs behind her back and smiled, revealing her white teeth. "Chief and Elder are here!"
Like Wacha, Susha's face was a lot redder. She didn't look like someone who often guarded the mines.
Susha took out another egg and said to Wacha, "I just got this from the shaman. We'll share it later."
Wacha's family of four was him, his wife, their young son and his mother. Wacha's father had died in a hunt when he was young. There were only the four of them now. Usually, when Wacha and his wife were away guarding the mines, the old lady would take care of the child.
When she heard about the accident at the mines, the old lady panicked. When Wacha came back with serious injuries and Susha's condition worsened, she traded some salt from the shaman for two duck eggs. The old lady heard that the eggs had detoxification properties and were good for recovery so she immediately traded for them.
Needless to say, the effect was quite obvious.
Susha's injuries weren't serious and she recovered in a few days. Wacha's injuries were too serious. There were too many toxins in his body and many fractures. He couldn't get out of bed so he was bedridden. But he could walk now. The toxins in his body were mostly gone too. He would recover faster in the future.
Wacha looked at the eggs helplessly. "I'm healed. I don't need to eat it. You three can share it."
"This is the last one. You might not even get to eat it in the future! The shaman doesn't have many eggs left and you're mostly recovered. You don't need to eat anymore. "Susha took the egg and was about to cook it.
The patrolling team would give all the duck eggs they found to the shaman. Other people couldn't easily get eggs from the shaman. Wacha and his wife were injured at work and the tribe had to take responsibility. That was why the first two eggs were given to them by the shaman. Later on, they continued to trade for them with salt.
Since the Wacha family was stationed at the mines, they got a lot of salt. Shao Xuan saw a few pots with pointed bottoms in the house. They were open and had a lace border. There was also a pot with a round bottom. These were the tools they used to boil salt.
There was also a smaller pot with a pointed bottom. It wasn't the main tool for boiling salt but for measuring. When tribes traded with each other, they used these pots. A small pot of salt was the unit of measurement. However, sometimes the tribes were too far away from each other, and trading was troublesome. When making pottery, they would make more small pottery cups like this. The boiled salt would be kept in the cups, and then the cups and salt would be exchanged with other tribes who came to trade. To some extent, the salt could already be used as currency here. Because of this, the tribes kept a close watch on the salt mines. In the past, they had also used force to force their way in and divide the salt mines.
After Susha left, Wacha asked, "Chief, what do you want to know?"
"Shao Xuan wants to ask about the mines." Zheng Luo brought two wooden poles over and sat down with Shao Xuan.
"At the mines, did Fox and Forest hold back when they attacked?" Shao Xuan asked.
"That's right." Even though Wacha was injured and almost died, he knew whether they held back or not. If they really wanted to kill them all, they wouldn't have had so many survivors.
"A few days before the change, were there any unusual movements from the Fox and Forest people?" asked Shao Xuan.
Wacha shook his head regretfully. "I didn't notice."
It wasn't that Wacha was careless. They were just too cautious. There were five tribes guarding the salt mines. None of them would easily trust others. The Flaming Horns and Taihe tribe had a cooperative relationship. Sometimes, they would communicate more, but the other three tribes didn't talk much. Plus, each tribe was stationed in a different area. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't step into another tribe's territory.
Zheng Luo had asked the people who returned but didn't get any useful information. "So it must be something very important. The person who discovered it was worried that more people would notice so he tried his best to hide it."
Shao Xuan listened to Wacha's detailed account of what happened, then got up to leave.
"Chief, Elder, we must get the mines back as soon as possible! We can't wait until winter! " Wacha had dealt with the Fox tribe too many times. He knew how cunning they were. The longer they dragged it out, the worse it would be. They might even lose the mines forever.
"Don't worry, rest well. Tomorrow, I'll bring people out with Taihe. Mountain Wind has already arranged a place. We'll discuss it in detail. If we want to fight for the mines, we'll do it even if it snows," said Zheng Luo.
After leaving Wacha's place, Zheng Luo asked Shao Xuan, "What do you think?"
"It's the same as before. The Fox and Forest tribes have different attitudes. When they attacked the second time, they recruited many people from other tribes to help. They must have planned this. The mines must be heavily guarded now," said Shao Xuan.
"That's why Mountain Wind's people are at a disadvantage. They were suspicious at first, but when they went to investigate, they found out that the other side's attitude had changed. Of the fifty people who went out to investigate, only ten returned. Mountain Wind is very angry this time. In the past, they rarely came out in winter, but now because of the salt mine, they've announced that they will fight even if it snows heavily." Zheng Luo sighed, but his eyes were firm. "No matter what, we must get the salt mine back! Shao Xuan, go back and rest. We'll leave tomorrow. "
"Alright."
After returning, Shao Xuan had a good rest. After returning to the tribe, his whole body relaxed and he slept well. When he woke up, all his tiredness was gone.
In the morning, Shao Xuan wrapped Gongjia Heng's repaired sword in leather and brought along some daily necessities.
Zheng Luo was already waiting for them. Other than Shao Xuan, Duo Kang and more than forty warriors were with him. However, Guang Yi was left behind to guard the tribe. He led the patrols to strengthen the defences and prevent ambushes.
After leaving the tribe's perimeter, they waited for a while and saw about fifty people from Taihe. They were led by the Taihe tribe's chief. The chiefs of all three tribes were present for this tripartite meeting.
"What's the Mountain Wind tribe like?" Shao Xuan was not familiar with the Mountain Wind tribe. Other than the salt mines, the Yanjiao tribe and Mountain Wind did not interact much.
"Mountain Wind? They're just a bunch of self-righteous people, "Duo Kang replied succinctly.
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