Chapter 26: The Aoba Tribe
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The Greenleaf Tribe!
An ancient stone gate, weathered by wind and frost, yet still solemn and plain.
Clear stream water flowed slowly past one side of the gate, murmuring like heavenly music.
Li Xuan paused for a moment before stepping through the entrance. His movement triggered the source patterns, which spread outward in ripples like waves upon water, yet launched no attack.
Puzzled, Li Xuan felt a vigorous aura rushing toward him, along with a fresh fluctuation of source energy.
The valley opened into broad, level ground stretching into the distance. Thatched huts and crude shelters stood in orderly rows along both banks of the stream.
At the center, where the stream gathered into a lake, stood a stone statue of a woman.
The statue’s features were sharply defined, especially its eyes, which brimmed with source energy like source crystals.
Along both banks, a group of young wives washed clothes, chatting and laughing together. Smiles brightened their faces, and they were clearly familiar and harmonious with one another.
Yet the clothes they wore were nothing more than plain hemp garments. Some of the elderly women even used only a little animal hide to cover themselves.
Most of those passing along the main street were women and young girls. Little boys were rarely seen.
Most of the women were tall and gaunt, evidently suffering from poor nourishment and hunger.
“Young master, what brings you to our Greenleaf Tribe?”
A woman dressed like a young wife gazed at Li Xuan with flirtatious warmth. Her large, limpid eyes shimmered with a rosy glow.
Li Xuan bowed politely. “I have an old friend who told me where you lived, so I came here…”
“An old friend? Is there news of Blackie and the others?”
Joy immediately filled the young wife’s face.
“Those damned men have been gone for nearly a year. They never spare a thought for the wives waiting anxiously at home! Yue Zhi, go back and dress up. The man you’ve been longing for is coming home!”
The young wife shouted toward a young girl. Yue Zhi flushed with embarrassment, stamped her delicate foot, and said, “I’m not speaking to you anymore!”
Covering her crimson face with both hands, Yue Zhi turned and ran away.
Li Xuan was stunned. “Old Black still hasn’t returned?”
When Li Xuan had rescued Old Black, he had urged him to hurry back to the tribe. Three full days had passed since then.
Old Black was strong and sturdy. Even if he had been forced to crawl, he should have made it back by now. Could something have happened along the way?
“Old Black? You mean Blackie, don’t you? He is the future chief of our Greenleaf Tribe and the fiancé of our little princess Yue Zhi. Do you have news of him?”
The young woman chattered on. Li Xuan responded casually, but anxiety churned inside him.
Where could a grown man have gone? At the time, everyone’s attention had been focused on Li Xuan. There was no reason Blackie should have been unable to escape.
Li Xuan raised his hands in surrender. “Since Brother Blackie hasn’t returned yet, I won’t disturb you any longer. Please tell him that I’ll be waiting for him at the Li residence.”
Li Xuan was about to leave, but the young wife stopped him.
“Everyone who comes here is a guest. Since you’ve already arrived, stay for a while and rest. You must try our brine tofu!”
Unable to refuse her hospitality, Li Xuan had no choice but to agree.
“Where is your husband?”
Li Xuan glanced at the sleeping infant. The young wife was rushing about alone, busy but clearly happy.
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“Ah, little brother, ours is a poor place. My husband followed Blackie to Mistshadow Mountain to hunt savage beasts. He’s been gone for a whole year. By the time he returns, Tuanzi may already be running around!”
After saying this, the young wife laughed heartily, though tears welled and spun in her eyes.
Li Xuan took a fine source crystal from his robes and held it out to her.
“Sister-in-law, take this as payment for the brine tofu.”
The young woman flustered and waved her hands awkwardly. “Little brother, what are you saying? We may be poor, but we don’t accept gifts from others. Oh, right—you and Blackie are old friends. Have you seen my husband?”
Li Xuan shook his head slightly, sighing inwardly.
Perhaps your husband is lying in my Cosmos Bag right now.
How will you and your orphaned child survive the next decade or more? The world is full of suffering. Who among us truly has an easy life?
Li Xuan exhaled. “Sister-in-law, please take it for now. I can see that the child is somewhat malnourished. Use it to buy him nourishing supplements. Don’t let the little fellow go hungry.”
Li Xuan felt deeply for her. When he had been young, hadn’t his elder and second sisters raised him with equal hardship? His elder sister had fought on battlefields in the Northern Realm, while his second sister had married that beast, Wang Teng, for his sake.
“Oh, don’t call me sister-in-law. Just call me Ning Xuan. My husband is a wonderful man—gentle and considerate. He’s just not as handsome as you…”
Ning Xuan continued talking without pause. When she turned around, she saw the fine source crystal shining brightly on the table. Li Xuan had already left without a sound.
“Excuse me, auntie. How do I get to the chief’s house?”
Li Xuan asked politely.
The older woman answered readily. “Go straight ahead. The shelter covered with yellow cloth is the one.”
After thanking her, Li Xuan went directly to the chief’s home and gently knocked on the door. A young girl opened it.
“May I ask whom you are looking for?”
The girl before him was none other than Yue Zhi, the young woman Ning Xuan had mentioned—the future wife of Old Black.
Li Xuan explained why he had come, and Yue Zhi invited him inside.
“Li Xuan pays his respects to Chief Yue Wu!”
Li Xuan was extremely courteous. Chief Yue Wu was equally kindhearted and immediately asked Yue Zhi to bring tea.
“May I ask, little brother, what brings you here?”
Chief Yue Wu had a benevolent face, but his health was poor, and he coughed incessantly.
Li Xuan could not bear it. Yet what had happened was already irreversible.
“I was entrusted by Brother Blackie to bring this to you.”
A sharp gleam flashed through the chief’s eyes. He smiled broadly, accepted the Cosmos Bag from Li Xuan, and offered his thanks.
Li Xuan felt as though a tremendous burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
Chief Yue Wu looked at him, his cloudy eyes growing moist.
“How is Blackie? Why hasn’t he returned? And Little Kong, Little Zhao, Little Zhu…”
The old chief listed the names one after another, stroking his beard as he murmured the names of the younger generation.
Li Xuan said nothing. He merely closed his eyes and raised his head toward the sky. Clouds gathered and dispersed, just like birth, aging, sickness, and death in this world—ordinary, inevitable things.
At last, Chief Yue Wu’s trembling hand closed around the Cosmos Bag. His wrinkled eyelids fell shut.
“Awaken the spirits. Prepare the funeral rites. Summon every woman whose husband went out to hunt savage beasts!”
Two streams of tears rolled from the corners of the old chief’s eyes. His trembling palm struck the table with startling force.
When Yue Zhi heard her father’s command, she collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face.
“No… It can’t be. Blackie told me he would definitely come back!”
Seeing this, Li Xuan consoled her. “Chief, please restrain your grief. The dead are beyond suffering now, so I hope you will not mourn too deeply. They fulfilled their duty and gave the people of the Greenleaf Tribe something to rely on. I believe their spirits in heaven will find comfort in that.”
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Li Xuan helped Yue Zhi to her feet.
“Given my relationship with Old Black, I should call you sister-in-law. Brother Blackie may still be alive—perhaps he merely lost his way for a time.”
Yue Zhi looked at Li Xuan through a veil of tears, grief twisting her features.
“Why were you able to return alive, while they had to die so horribly in Mistshadow Mountain? Why? Why did this happen?”
The Greenleaf Tribe made its living by hunting savage beasts and selling their source crystals. Most of the tribe’s able-bodied men went to Mistshadow Mountain to hunt. It was a livelihood in which nine out of ten would perish. Over time, men had become exceedingly scarce within the tribe, making up less than ten percent of its population of tens of thousands.
Men were the support of women, the pillars of their families—and of the entire Greenleaf Tribe.
Once a man died, life became extraordinarily difficult for the woman and children he left behind.
Li Xuan was at a loss. All he could do was recount in detail everything he had seen and heard to Yue Zhi.
“Brother Li Xuan, thank you for your righteous aid. Because of you, the men of our Greenleaf Tribe were spared the humiliation of being devoured by savage beasts. This old man can only bow before you to repay your great kindness!”
Chief Yue Wu raised both hands and bowed deeply to Li Xuan. Tears of bitterness rolled from his cloudy eyes.
Li Xuan hurriedly supported the old chief. Words of comfort caught in his throat, and he could not utter a single sentence.
His own eyes reddened. He could not bear to watch any longer.
After roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the area outside the chief’s house was filled with young wives.
Their expressions were solemn. They remained silent, offering wordless prayers for the dead.
Leaning on his cane, Chief Yue Wu swayed as he climbed onto a wooden platform. His old eyes were clouded, and he wiped away tears despite himself.
“My people, the children who fought for us have returned. They were lonely and helpless beneath the earth. They wished to return to their roots after death, so take them home!”
As soon as the old chief finished speaking, mournful chanting stirred every heart. The young wives began to sob, weeping and praying for the dead.
Chief Yue Wu slowly opened the Cosmos Bag. One by one, cold corpses were laid out before them. They had suffered terribly in life, and even in death their bodies were broken and incomplete, with limbs missing.
For a tribe that survived by hunting savage beasts and selling their source crystals, this was the fate that awaited them.
“Husband, wake up! Your son is almost old enough to run. Open your eyes and look at him…”
The woman clutching the corpse and weeping was Ning Xuan. She cried with heart-rending despair. She had thought of him every moment, yet when they met again, they had been separated by life and death, living in different worlds.
The old chief’s face was also covered in tears. The source crystals of the savage beasts that had spilled across the ground formed a small mountain, their radiance gleaming with abundant energy.
Chief Yue Wu and the young wives who had claimed the bodies all stared at the source crystals, too moved to speak.
“This… this…”
Overcome with excitement, the old chief looked toward Li Xuan. The young wives did the same.
Li Xuan wore an awkward expression.
“This was the agreement between Old Black and me. We were to split the savage-beast source crystals fifty-fifty.”
Chief Yue Wu’s expression darkened.
“Brother Li Xuan, what are you saying? What do you mean, fifty-fifty? In all the years since I became chief, no matter how many young men went out, they could never have hunted so many source crystals—and such precious ones at that. What exactly…”
Everyone stared at Li Xuan in confusion.
Li Xuan felt as though he had been forced to swallow something unbearably bitter. Remembering what Old Black had said earlier, he replied, “This was Brother Blackie’s payment for helping me hunt the Golden-Winged Eagle King. I gave it to him.”
The moment Li Xuan said this, it struck the Greenleaf Tribe like a bolt from a clear sky.
One after another, the tribespeople covered their faces and burst into tears.