If the guards caught any insects at night, they would pick them out and store them for Shao Xuan to take a look when he was free. If there were any new unfamiliar insects, Shao Xuan would pick them out and put them together with the previous ones.
After living in the forest for a long time, he could tell the threat of these insects based on their appearance. The more he knew, the more prepared he would be when he went on a long journey.
Mosquito repellent herbs and face paste were prepared. The further they went, the hotter the weather would be. When the rainy season ended and they left, they would have to wear sleeveless clothes. Some of them were even half-naked. At that time, they would have to apply some face paste made from herbs. Not only could it disguise them, it could also repel mosquitoes.
The rainy season was before the full moon. Looking at the moon in the sky now, the rainy season was approaching.
Before the rainy season, the Longboat tribe came again. However, this time, their goal was not just the Flaming River Trading Point. They were here to deliver ships to Yanjiao.
Before they left the Flaming River Trading Point, both sides had a discussion. At that time, the Longboat tribe agreed to send two ships over.
Because of the disaster last year, the Longboat tribe's fleet was greatly damaged. They did not even have enough ships for themselves. This year, the number of new ships they could build was limited. They could only send two ships to Yanjiao. Otherwise, they would have to continue waiting. Building ships took time too.
Moreover, the Longboat tribe was very particular when it came to building ships. They were very strict and spent a lot of effort on each ship.
The two ships sent to Yanjiao looked similar to the ships in their fleet. They just had more sails. However, that was not all.
This year, when the Longboat tribe was building ships, they made many technical improvements.
There were a few more slots in the ship. Shao Xuan went down to take a look. They were similar to watertight compartments. If there was an accident and only one or two compartments were damaged, the other compartments would still be fine. The buoyancy provided by these compartments would prevent the ship from sinking. This way, the ship would be more resistant to sinking. This was also why Shao Xuan admired the Longboat tribe. They were always able to surprise people with their shipbuilding skills.
Perhaps the disaster last year had inspired the Longboat tribe to build watertight compartments. Or maybe the Longboat tribe already had this idea. No one could be sure.
Even without these, ships of the same size made from the same materials were sturdier than others. Even Shao Xuan did not know how many secrets were hidden in this. In terms of shipbuilding skills, the Longboat tribe lived up to their name. They were indeed much better than other tribes.
This time, the Longboat tribe brought over two ships with sincerity. They were much better than the ships they gave to Yanjiao in the Fearsome Beast Forest because of the green-faced fanged beast. At that time, the ships the Longboat tribe gave them looked okay, but when it came to actual use, they could not compare to these two ships. Even if the two ships collided, the first to be destroyed would be the old ships.
Seeing that Yanjiao was satisfied with these two ships, the people who delivered the ships sighed in relief. For some reason, they could be arrogant in front of other tribes, but when they met Yanjiao, they always felt weak. Especially when they met Shao Xuan, they were always worried that he would spit fire with a flick of his sleeves.
After the inspection, the Longboat tribe went to the Flaming River Trading Point to buy goods. There were many things here that were very attractive to them. Other than beast skin and meat, there was also fish skin glue and wood. These were all very attractive to them. The wood they asked Yanjiao to help them find was stored in the warehouse. When they left, they would bring some back. The sturdy ancient wood in the Fearsome Beast Forest had made them jealous for a long time.
Two days after the Longboat tribe delivered the ships, the rainy season began. The continuous rain made the Flaming River Trading Point quiet down. The busy people finally had some free time.
Zheng Luo passed the information he gathered during this period to Shao Xuan. They knew about three more tribes in the Flaming River area, but they were slightly further away from here. Also, they only knew the general location, not the exact location.
"One of the tribes should be similar to the Luo tribe you mentioned before. They brought a lot of fishing nets with them, so they should be a fishing tribe. However, they were luckier than the Luo tribe and survived the disaster unscathed. There's another tribe … "
Zheng Luo told Shao Xuan everything he knew. Shao Xuan recorded everything down on his animal skin scroll. He would have a chance to confirm these when he travelled downstream.
After collecting the information, Shao Xuan returned to the headquarters. He went up the mountain to find Guigou to discuss the final candidates for the expedition. There were two hundred people. They had pretty much decided and needed to do a final check.
When he arrived at the top of the mountain, Shao Xuan happened to see the two former shamans, who had retired as elders, arguing about something.
Since Gui Ze took over as the new shaman, the two elders no longer lived in the house that belonged to the shaman of the tribe. Instead, they built two houses next to each other so that it was convenient for them to discuss things. However, they quarreled every time they talked.
When Shao Xuan went over, the two elders were almost hitting each other with their crutches.
"What's going on?" Shao Xuan asked.
"Xuan, you're just in time. Come take a look at my new drawing," the old man said as he pulled Shao Xuan into the house.
Shao Xuan looked at where the old man was pointing. There was a stone slab that was not very thick. On the stone slab, there was a mess of paint.
What was he looking at?
Seeing Shao Xuan's puzzled expression, the old man also noticed the problem with the stone slab. "Oh, not that one. That's something I drew before. It's this one."
The shaman pointed at a wide leaf on the table beside him. The leaf was also drawn with red paint. This one was much clearer.
The painting on the leaf surprised Shao Xuan. He thought the old man was used to painting things, such as people or things he had seen recently, important things that had happened, etc. Generally, it was a painting with a narrative nature. However, the drawing on the leaf was a scene from the Flaming River Trading Point's banquet not long ago.
Although the shaman's drawing was very simple, it did not stop Shao Xuan from recognizing the outline and shape of the drawing. Shao Xuan had heard about this scene many times. Someone had also drawn it for him, although it was not very vivid.
"This is … the ancestor's flame giant?" Shao Xuan was puzzled. He did not understand what the old man was talking about. These two were arguing so fiercely because of the ancestor's flame giant?
"Yes!" The old man was very excited. He carefully picked up the leaf and pointed at the drawing on it. "What do you think?"
"This drawing is simple and clear. It shows the ancestor's charm," Shao Xuan said.
"I'm not asking you about the drawing. I'm asking you, what do you think after seeing the ancestor like this?" the old man asked again.
What do I think?
What thoughts could he have in front of the ancestor, and it was a blurry flame giant?
Shao Xuan still could not grasp the main point.
"Do you think the ancestor looks especially good like this?" the old man asked expectantly.
Especially good? How was it good? Shao Xuan continued to be puzzled. It was rare to hear the word "good" from a native of Yanjiao.
In the end, it was the old woman who spoke up. "He wants to make a new ceremonial robe based on the ancestor's flame giant."
"A new ceremonial robe?" Shao Xuan was stunned. He looked at the drawing on the leaf again. Looking at it this way, there was indeed a kind of elegance and heroism of riding the wind.
But didn't Yanjiao people dislike this kind of style? Didn't they all think that this kind of robe was useless for hunting? It was ugly as hell.
Even Shao Xuan's thinking was affected by the years of exposure. Sometimes, his aesthetic standards were abnormal.
But now, Shao Xuan heard what the old man said. He thought the ancestor's style was really beautiful, and that it was a hint from the ancestor that it was time to change the ceremonial robe.
But this was not a big problem. In Yanjiao people's hearts, the ancestor's style was good. Even if they didn't like it in the past, they would try to accept it if it was made by the ancestor.
The old man wanted to change the ceremonial robe of Yanjiao tribes, but the old woman objected. It wasn't that she objected to the ancestor's style. She also thought the ancestor's style was good, but she didn't think everyone had to wear it. The ancestor was a first generation shaman, so the robe could only be made for shamans.
Shao Xuan imagined the elegance of those people, and then he imagined the tribesmen wearing animal skins, horns, and necklaces of animal teeth. They also had a cyan broadsword as wide as a person in their hands, white beast-claw shoes, and a colorful snake belt around their waist.
This strong contrast …
"You two can continue your discussion."
Many of the changes were not caused by Shao Xuan. Instead, the people of this world changed spontaneously due to certain events.
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