Two days after the ceremony, someone from the Mountain Wind tribe hurried over. It was their chief.
"Where's your chief? I need to talk to him. " The Mountain Wind chief asked a Yanjiao patrol to bring him to Zheng Luo. "If Zheng Luo isn't here, your elder is fine too."
Ever since the salt mine incident, the Mountain Wind tribesmen were more cautious of Yanjiao's young elder. They did not underestimate him. If it wasn't for Shao Xuan, they would not have been able to return safely.
"The chief and elder are here." The patrol sent someone to report and brought the Mountain Wind tribesmen up the mountain.
After the salt mine incident, Yanjiao and Mountain Wind tribesmen got along a little better.
Seeing Lanmu's serious expression, it seemed like there was something very important. The guide did not waste any time and hurried up the mountain.
According to tradition, after winter and the ceremony, they would welcome the first hunt of the year. In previous years, the important people of the tribe would gather at the top of the mountain for a meeting to prepare for the hunt.
Today, they were gathered as well. However, they were not discussing the hunt, but other things.
The shamaness told everyone about the instructions she received at the ceremony. She also mentioned her idea. However, they did not know how to leave just yet so the meeting froze halfway through. No one was willing to migrate the entire tribe before finding a solution. There were too many variables. This was not a joke, and they could not afford to do so.
Just then, someone came to report that the Mountain Wind chief had come personally. It seemed like something important had happened.
Zheng Luo told the others to go back and think about it. They would continue the meeting tomorrow. The frequency of meetings had increased significantly since winter.
Seeing Lanmu, Zheng Luo's heart sank. He knew that Mountain Wind had been planning to attack the Fox tribe after the snow ended. If the Fox tribesmen did not return safely from the salt mine, the Fox tribe would be greatly weakened and Mountain Wind would have a chance to strike. However, seeing Lanmu's expression, it did not seem like something good had happened. Did the Fox tribesmen return safely too?
"What? Did something happen at the Fox tribe? "asked Zheng Luo.
"More than that." Lanmu sat down and told Zheng Luo what he knew.
"During the winter, after we returned, we did not send anyone over to check on the Fox tribe's situation due to the snowstorm. A few days ago, we thought that winter was about to end so we sent someone over to check. Who would have thought that the Fox people were migrating! There were too few people who went to investigate, so we didn't stop them directly. We didn't have a chance to kill them at all. By the time we got there, most of the people there had already evacuated. There were only a few injured people who couldn't walk anymore. "Ranmu was angry when he said this. He had been preparing for this for the whole winter, and now he had encountered this situation.
"Where did the Fox people move to?" asked Zheng Luo.
Lanmu glanced at Shao Xuan, who was sitting next to him. "Royal City. They're going to the Royal City." This was what he had forced out of the few injured personnel who had been left behind.
"Royal City? They joined the Royal City?! "Zheng Luo was surprised." It seems that not many people from the salt mines returned safely. Otherwise, they wouldn't have migrated to the Royal City so easily. "
"That's right. According to what I heard, less than twenty Shen tribesmen returned from the salt mines. They were all heavily injured too. The Fox tribesmen probably aren't any better. But … "
"Get to the point." Shao Xuan, who had been quiet all this while, spoke up. What Lanmu knew must have something to do with him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept glancing at them.
Lanmu paused. "I heard that Elder Shao Xuan went to the Royal City before winter?"
"Yes," answered Shao Xuan.
"The six major cities issued a bounty for the capture of the Yanjiao tribesmen. I heard it's because of the destruction of the Royal City's walls." When Lanmu first heard the news, he was surprised. The Yanjiao tribesmen were too strong. They even destroyed the Royal City's walls!
The Mountain Wind tribe was relatively well-informed. Their tribe was located on the outskirts of the forest. He didn't know how they got the news so quickly. It could have been a bird or something else. In any case, the Mountain Wind tribe was a cut above the rest when it came to information. Since Lanmu said so, it was most likely true.
"You want to attack the Yanjiao tribe just by destroying their walls?" Said Zheng Luo angrily. "That's a far-fetched reason. Their walls aren't strong enough. One touch and it breaks. You're blaming us for being strong?!"
Lanmu's face twitched. What did he mean by 'one touch and it breaks'? That's the Royal City's walls, not your backyard's fence! If it were me, I'd be afraid too.
"Rumor has it that the weather changed this past winter because of the Yanjiao tribe. I also heard …" Lanmu glanced at Zheng Luo and the others' sour expressions. He continued, "I also heard that the Yanjiao tribesmen lured out a king beast that lives in the snow. It'll bring about an even greater disaster."
"Bullshit!" Zheng Luo's face darkened. Why was the Yanjiao tribesmen taking all the blame? "You believe that?"
"I don't. But there must be other reasons. It might have something to do with the Fox tribe, or something else. But the news about them attacking you must be true. I came as soon as I heard the news. " After all, he'd experienced it himself. If the Yanjiao tribesmen really had something to do with the king beast, would they have been in such a sorry state? But to say they had nothing to do with it … Lanmu still doubted it. After all, only one person knew how they'd escaped from the king beast and what had happened after they'd fainted.
Thinking of this, Lanmu glanced at Shao Xuan again suspiciously. His eyes met Shao Xuan's and Lanmu's heart skipped a beat. He quickly looked away. He didn't want to provoke this young man now.
Who knew which idiot's idea was to blame the Yanjiao tribesmen for the weather change? How could a tribe affect the weather so easily? Were the people who believed that idiots?
But there were many who believed it and treated the Yanjiao tribesmen like the plague.
Lanmu only told them what he knew as a way of thanking Yanjiao for their help at the salt mines. Before he left, Lanmu thought about it and asked, "You Yanjiao people really came from somewhere else?"
Zheng Luo's eyelid twitched. Clearly, this was the most important reason why the others were targeting Yanjiao.
Their Yanjiao tribe didn't belong to this land. It was just that thousands of years had passed and many people had forgotten. Many people thought the Yanjiao tribe came from somewhere else but didn't know that a thousand years ago, they didn't even exist here.
Lanmu opened his mouth but in the end, he shook his head and sighed. "You all should be careful."
It seemed to be a natural instinct to exclude others. Back then, the Yanjiao tribe left the crowded areas and settled here for two reasons. One, they liked the living environment here. Two, they wanted people to forget Yanjiao's origins. The ancestral records said that when the Yanjiao people first arrived, they were ostracized and lost many people. Were they going to experience it again?
After Lanmu left, Xiang Chen and the others finally returned with similar news. Anba City had already posted a notice saying that the Yanjiao people had been demonized.
When Xiang Chen and the others were hiding, they even heard people talking about Yanjiao's strength.
Was it wrong for them to be strong?!
Shao Xuan didn't know how many people believed the rumors, but Shao Xuan was sure that if there was a reward and a secret leak about the salt and fire crystals, there would be even more people willing to go.
These people were planning to slowly encroach on the Flaming Horn tribe's power. They didn't plan to attack them directly.
If the Great Six wanted to attack Yanjiao, they didn't have to do it themselves. They knew that Yanjiao wasn't easy to deal with. This was a good time for the greedy and dependent to make contributions. Also, they heard that the Royal City had taken in many people during the winter and gave them so many benefits. Would the slave masters really do that?
In the forest, due to competition, the tribes didn't interact much. The only good collaborator was the neighboring Taihe tribe. The Mountain Wind people were just returning the favor and didn't want to get involved. But it was understandable.
"It's time to leave!" The shamaness got up and walked outside. She stood on the peak of the mountain and looked at the budding trees in the distance.
Rather than wait for people to come and provoke them, it was better to leave now. Their ancestors' instructions couldn't be wrong.
Zheng Luo called for an emergency meeting. Not long after, the entire tribe was mobilized.
Zheng Luo took the time to visit the neighboring Taihe tribe's chief.
Since Lanmu had come to Yanjiao, he would naturally go to the nearby Taihe tribe to say goodbye. That was why the Taihe chief already knew about Yanjiao's current situation.
He thought that Zheng Luo had come to ask for help. After being neighbors for so many years, the Taihe people were willing to help. He didn't expect Zheng Luo to come to say goodbye.
Knowing that the Taihe people were willing to help, Zheng Luo was already very grateful. They had been neighbors for so many years. They had quarreled, fought, and fought, but in the end, it was still this neighbor who was willing to help them. Perhaps this was the reason why their overbearing ancestors were willing to be neighbors with the Taihe people.
After thanking him, Zheng Luo told him why he was here.
"I'm here to say goodbye." Zheng Luo looked at his old rival who was much older than him.
"Leave?" The Taihe chief almost dropped the bronze cup he used to show off.
What did he mean?
Was he afraid of being targeted by the Six Tribes? Was he going to hide in a more secluded place?
The Yanjiao people they knew weren't this cowardly.
"Aren't they just a bunch of arrogant nobles? If we build our own city, we can call ourselves nobles too! Why should we be afraid of them? Don't care what they say, just pretend they're talking nonsense. At most, we won't leave the forest. In the forest, we still have the advantage! "said the Taihe chief unhappily.
"We're from another continent," said Zheng Luo.
"I know. What does it matter where we're from? Could it be that you don't dare to fight? " The Taihe chief didn't think it was a big deal. It was rare to have a neighbor and they didn't want to lose him. Who would help them carry things when they went on a trade trip?
"No, we're just going back." Although Zheng Luo didn't know why the shaman was so confident, he just had to believe in her.
Go back? What did she mean?
The Taihe chief didn't understand until Zheng Luo left.
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