The team rested in the cave they had planned for the night. They had found this cave when they were hunting, but it was too small to store bigger prey. After comparing a few places, Yanjiao's hunting team chose another place as their resting point, and this one was used as a backup.
Shao Xuan and the others would not take these people to the resting place of their own hunting team. They could only come here, or they could sleep in the open. Only idiots would lead these people to their own secret base. Shao Xuan did not trust these people.
They set up the firewood and boiled some water in a stone pot they made temporarily. Then they boiled a pot of soup and roasted some meat.
In the forest outside the cave, there were some squeaking noises echoing in the air. He didn't know what it was, but it sounded creepy.
The mud on their bodies had already coagulated, but they did not dare to take it off because they did not know if they would encounter more mosquito swarms later. Fortunately, the smell of the black mud had faded a little after it had coagulated. Even if it had not faded, they felt that it was bearable now.
As the saying goes, one does not know how bad it is after smelling it for a long time.
At first, some people were worried that Shao Xuan was playing a prank on them by giving them some mud with feces. Later they found out that the black mud came from some pits near the stream, because there was a kind of animal that liked to eat mosquitoes living in those pits. Therefore, mosquitoes were disgusted by the smell of the black mud, and would automatically avoid it when they smelled it.
After knowing the truth, they felt a lot calmer.
But what they did not know was that many animals that went to drink water in the pits where the black mud was produced would also be dragged into those pits. Although the Yanjiao people looked serious, they were actually laughing in their hearts.
"What is that?" Qu Ce said, pointing at the foot of the mountain.
Shao Xuan looked down the mountain. In the dark, there were some shining curves in the forest, winding to the distance.
There was a small river there, and those shining things were actually some small creatures living by the river. At night, they would float from the bottom of the river and gather near the river bank. The light they emitted would attract some animals that were attracted to the light. When those animals touched the water, they would find that they were glued to the water and unable to break free. In the end, they would be dragged into the water and eaten.
"Don't go there. They will eat you," Shao Xuan said.
Not every place that glowed was a channel that produced gems. Some places were absolutely dangerous, especially in a mountain forest like this.
On the fifteenth day in the forest, the team had already left Yanjiao's hunting area and entered the heart of the Fearsome Beast Forest. They had to be more careful as they went forward, because the five Yanjiao people did not have much to guide them. No one knew what would be in front of them.
The team slowed down.
Shao Xuan, Shao Xuan, Duo Kang, Mai, and the other four gathered together. It looked like they were discussing something, but in reality, the other four were covering for Shao Xuan.
They had seen too many Yanjiao people like this over the past few days, so they were already used to it. Therefore, the people from the other six tribes did not pay much attention to it and gathered together to discuss.
In a place where no one could see, Shao Xuan was quickly tying a knot on a straw rope in his hand.
When Shao Xuan opened his eyes and looked at the rope that was finally tied, he read the hints given by the knots. Shao Xuan pointed in a direction. "Over there."
The Yanjiao people had just finished discussing the direction when they heard a slightly arrogant voice say, "This old man has observed the weather and predicted that there will be rain tomorrow. At the latest, it will be the day after tomorrow, and it will not be light. It may even last for two to three days. How do you plan to deal with it?"
Shao Xuan looked at the person who spoke. It was an elder of the Longboat tribe named Mu You. Along the way, he had heard him talk about observing the weather several times. The day before yesterday, he had even said that there would be no rain in three days.
In fact, ever since they entered the forest, it had not really rained. Even if it did, it was just a small dot. Most of the time, it was sunny, and the temperature was getting higher.
Looking at the other tribesmen, they seemed to believe Mu You's words.
The four Yanjiao people glanced at the old man who was sitting there pretending to be deep in thought, then looked at Shao Xuan. They did not believe anyone but Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan shook his head.
The arrogance on Mu You's face became even more obvious. He felt that when it came to observing the weather, no one here could compare to him. Perhaps the Yanjiao shamans had similar abilities, but that was different. The shamans used shaman power, while he relied on his rich personal experience. Moreover, there was no shaman here.
The Longboat tribe spent most of the year on boats, traveling along the river, so they were more knowledgeable. Observing the weather was a skill that many crew members had to learn. They could judge the weather early, and they could also prepare in advance to reduce losses.
Finally, they had a chance to show off their strengths. The Longboat tribe also felt a sense of relief. No matter how good the Yanjiao people's survival skills were in the Fearsome Beast Forest, they could not judge the weather a few days in advance, right? These days, they had not heard them talk about it. At most, they could predict the next day's weather from the evening or night sky.
They also thought that Shao Xuan's action of shaking his head meant that he did not know the weather.
The other tribes were discussing finding a place to take shelter from the rain in advance. They were prepared to hide for two or three days. They did not want to walk in the rain in this forest.
The four Yanjiao people knew that when Shao Xuan shook his head, he was actually saying: Don't listen to his nonsense. There was no rain. Continue in the direction of the divination.
Therefore, from the moment they entered the forest until now, this was the first time they had such a big disagreement.
Yanjiao wanted to continue in the direction they had decided, while the other six tribes were more inclined to the Longboat tribe's decision. They wanted to find a place to take shelter from the rain first.
"Well," Shao Xuan was not angry. He said in a calm tone, "This place is beyond the range we are familiar with. We have done our duty of leading the way. If you have other decisions, we will not object. But we will still follow our own plan."
"Wait, we will go with you." Gu La hurriedly said. Since the Hui tribe had cooperated with Yanjiao and chosen the Yanjiao side, they should not betray them at this time. Moreover, Gu La also felt that it was better to follow the Yanjiao. At worst, they would get wet in the rain. But the eagles in the sky would suffer. They did not like to get wet in the rain.
The people of the Mang tribe looked at each other. Qu Ce said, "Then let's go together. The Mang tribe is not familiar with the forest. We hope that the Yanjiao brothers can help us."
Huang Ye, the leader of the Mang tribe, did not say anything, which meant that he agreed with Qu Ce's decision. Although he felt that Mu You was right, at the same time, after ten days of observation, he felt that the Yanjiao people's beast-like intuition was very rare and worth studying. Just as Qu Ce said, in this forest, it was better to observe how the Yanjiao people acted.
The people of the Eight Limbs tribe looked at each other. But since the people of the Mang tribe were on their side, they could not stay on the Longboat tribe's side. It was better to cooperate with the Mang tribe.
The people of the Thousand Masks tribe did not say anything. They took big steps towards the Yanjiao side, which made Mu You's eyebrows twitch.
Seeing this situation, the Feather tribe's determination to stand on the Longboat side was shaken. "No, it's over. There are only a few of us here. We will definitely be at a disadvantage." So Gu Zhi, the leader of the Feather tribe, sighed. He smiled apologetically to Mu You and led his people to stand on the Yanjiao side.
The people of the Longboat tribe: "…" How could they choose in this situation?! Anyway, they would definitely not choose to be alone.
So Mu You, with a pale face, continued to follow the Yanjiao side with the others.
"Why did you choose this direction?" Huang Ye asked Shao Xuan.
"Because I think we can find the slaves of Rock Hill City here," Shao Xuan said.
Behind him, Mu You snorted. His voice was neither soft nor loud, but it could be heard.
Shao Xuan's face did not change at all, as if he did not hear the sarcastic snort. He led his people and continued to walk.
The next day, blue sky, white clouds, and scorching sun. It did not look like it was going to rain.
Mu You's face became uncomfortable.
On the third day.
The sun was shining in the sky. The scorching sun was still scorching the earth.
Mu You was quite uncomfortable. He kept his eyelids down and did not look at anyone. The people of the Longboat tribe did not say anything. They pretended to be dumb.
On the fourth day, it still did not look like it was going to rain. However, no one was in the mood to make fun of Mu You. After entering the heart of the Fearsome Beast Mountain Forest, the sense of crisis was even stronger. They did not want to be distracted.
What Shao Xuan did not explain was that the weather in the Fearsome Beast Mountain Forest changed too quickly. The closer they got to the heart of the forest, the more unpredictable it was. If Yang Sui of the Rain tribe was here, he might be able to make some predictions in advance. The people of the Longboat tribe? Forget it. Their experience was accumulated under normal circumstances. It might not be applicable here.
Moreover, Shao Xuan felt that the weather was getting hotter and hotter. It was already out of the ordinary and unpredictable. Even if Shao Xuan learned to observe the sky from others, he could not accurately predict the weather unless he used knot divination.
Shao Xuan would not say these explanations. He would not give Mu You a way out. Who asked him to be so arrogant before?
In the forest, the insects hiding among the leaves were noisy.
"Xuan!" Mai, who came down from the tree, pointed in a direction with a serious look.
Shao Xuan jumped up the tree and looked in the direction Mai pointed.
Not far ahead, there were some grey figures flying among the verdant green.
"What's wrong?" Gu La asked.
"Let's go ahead and take a look."
Those gray figures were a type of scavenger bird.
When Shao Xuan arrived, the ground was almost covered in a layer of gray.
Sensing people coming over, the gray figures shouted and flew into the sky in flocks. The layer of gray that originally covered the ground was also removed.
There were the bones of a Fearsome Beast on the ground, as well as a few human bones.
Whether it was the humans or the Fearsome Beast, their original appearance could no longer be seen. Less than one-fifth of their bodies were eaten.
There was a broken spear stuck in one of the bones. The spearhead was made of metal and not stone.
"It's those slaves?!!"
Seeing this, the people of several tribes were delighted.
The Flaming Horns were right. As they walked in this direction, they actually found the group of slaves sent by Rock Hill City.
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