Chapter 223: Sacrifice
Chapter 222 - The failsafe
Translated by Lesyt Team
Edited by Ilesyt
Under the giant pit, there similarly a place to the fire crystal mine.
After Ke Ke, another man dug out a fire crystal. This excited them after they had been depressed for ten days.
What was their purpose of coming here?
Fire crystals. Since they couldn’t dig out fire crystals in the giant pit, they could do that here. Moreover, the bat leader had been inactive, so they didn’t need to pay any attention to it. They could just work harder to dig while the bat leader was not here. They should try their best to dig as many as possible.
Another six days passed by.
The fire crystal they had dug out, big or small, already filled a bag. This was only a part of it.
Shao Xuan estimated that not even half had been dug out.
These fire crystals were enough for all the warriors in the tribe to use.
Seeing Ao opening a skin volume, Ta wiped the sweat off his face and asked: “What did the Shaman write?”
After finding the fire crystal, Ao wrote one more skin volume to the Shaman and ordered some warriors to bring it back to the tribe to ask for the view of the Shaman.
Ao looked less excited, but a little serious because of the fire crystals.
“No one is allowed to tell anyone about the fire crystals we dig out!”
When they had a rest, Ao ordered everyone to come over and ordered them not to tell others about the location, the process and how many fire crystals they had dug out.
The last time, the five hunting teams had found the fire crystals in the giant pit. But this time, they found them under the giant pit. They had even dug an underground channel leading to the foot of the mountain. This was a secret.
If they didn’t go back to the old land, it didn’t matter. But as a matter of fact, they must return to the old land. If someone told this to the others in the tribe, it would bring big trouble, and even cause a war.
The fewer people knew this, the better. Fortunately, this time the advance team came here. They were familiar with and knew much about the members of this team, so they trusted them.
They had to return to the tribe because the hunting time was over. Ao did not take all the people back, and left some me here to keep digging. He took some men and the fire crystals back to the tribe. They met the hunting team, and then went back to the tribe.
Shao Xuan had intended to stay here to prevent the bat leader from coming here suddenly, but he was refused by Ao.
“The Shaman asked you to go back.”
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Since the Shaman said so, Shao Xuan did not insist. The Shaman made him go back, it was certainly to tell him something.
When the hunting team went back to the tribe, the men in the tribe all knew that the leader had led the men to find the fire crystals. This couldn’t be kept as a secret, but it didn’t matter as long as they didn’t tell the specific location.
Fortunately, many people in the tribe were duteous, and they didn’t ask more about it because the chief and the Shaman didn’t say. For them, it was fortunate enough to be able to use the fire crystals. They did not care about other things.
Everyone in the tribe was happy. Recently, they had a lot of good news. They were going back to the old haunt and had also found fire crystals. Both made them feel happy for a long time.
In the Shaman’s stone house, at the top of the mountain.
Returning from the hunting area, the chief, the two team leaders, and several respected seniors gathered here, Shao Xuan was also present.
Shao Xuan had not been eligible to attend such a meeting, but now no one opposed. And sometimes before they made a decision, they would ask for Shao Xuan’s views. After all, Shao Xuan was the only one who had been to the old land, so he knew much more than the people who had always been here.
“Everyone will be allowed to absorb the energy from the fire crystals next year when the ritual ceremony is held,” Said the Shaman, “but before the ritual, we let up.”
Even though we have fire crystals, we cannot ignore other things. How much energy can be absorbed depends on the state and ability of each person. Those who have injuries, those who haven’t recovered from serious diseases, and those who are malnourished should prepare themselves before the ritual ceremony.
This time, it was not a private thing or something involving a small number of people. Instead, it was vital for the entire tribe. From the mountain top to the foot everyone had to pay attention.
Ao nodded, glanced at Ta and Gui He, and said, “I will go to the green land and try to find more herbs to bring back.”
Most of the totem warriors’ injuries healed because of the special herbs. But the common herbs didn’t help, so they had to get those in the green land.
“Put the fire crystals here first.” The Shaman told Shao Xuan, who was sitting on the edge and stayed silent, “Shao Xuan, what’s your idea?”
“I found that many people have their own way to detect fire crystals when I was there. If we take a lot of fire crystals to there, we will become their target. Probably before we arrive at the old land, we will be attacked by one group of people after another, especially those of the central tribes, who are not weaker than those of our tribe.”
Hearing this, many, including the chief, felt worried. They looked to Shao Xuan, waiting for his next words.
“I know that some people put the fire crystals into jade boxes so no one can detect them, but” Shao Xuan pointed to the large bag of fire crystal in the middle stone table and said, “We do not have enough jade boxes, and jade is also very precious there.”
No one had found a jade mine in the surrounding area and had never seen jade. Shao Xuan had brought back some and let everyone know a little about the jade.
The Shaman smiled, “Don’t worry.”
While speaking, the Shaman took out a wooden box in which there was a fire crystal. However, before opening the box, Shao Xuan did not perceive the existence of the fire crystal.
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“This is?” Shao Xuan’s eyes flashed.
“This is a box made of ‘hollow wood’. I believe it can work as the jade box. Hollow wood can be found in the green land. Cut some and put it under the sun. We can bring it back to make boxes.” The Shaman said.
“This sounds good!” Gui He patted his thigh, “I will take more men there to cut more to make more boxes. In this way, we can bring the fire crystals back to the old land!”
“No, I do not intend to take along all the fire crystals.” The Shaman’s words stunned everyone that had been excited.
“Why?” Everybody was confused.
The Shaman had a thin smile and said, “If one day we return to the old land and something bad happens to us, we will come back here. We can retreat here. Leaving some fire crystals here can ensure our safety.”
Every tribe must pay attention to inheriting and carrying forward the tradition. The Shaman had to consider this and plan for the future.
“The fire crystals we dug out are enough for all the totem warriors in the ritual ceremony. Ao, you take the rest with you and put them back in the hole that you dug out, block the entry of the tunnel and cover it.”
Those who had followed Ao there must keep the secret about the tunnel. Shao Xuan once said that the fire crystals were very attractive. The Shaman believed that if some people from other tribes heard about the news, they would certainly go to the giant pit to look for the fire crystals.
But what’s in the giant pit?
That bat leader close to the level of a king beast!
“If someone is looking for the fire crystals there... then let them die!” The Shaman’s kind eyes became sharp, making people there feel cold and they unconsciously shivered.
A king beast, it’s uncommon.
So far, Shao Xuan only knew that there was a king stone worm in the mountains of the second region of the hunting team led by Mai. He had felt the threat it posed when it had been close to him.
It was not easy to deal with each king beast. Shao Xuan was an exception. It was believed that the king beast will be able to cope with the people who would come. Even if the bat leader had not really reached the king level, it was strong enough to defeat anyone.
The Shaman’s words made everyone here silent for a while, and finally they only sighed.
“We do need to think about it.”
“I agree.”
“Just follow the advice.”
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“This should be kept as a secret.”
After they finally made a decision about the fire crystals in the stone house, the Shaman let them leave.
“Shao Xuan, you stay here,” The Shaman said.
After the others left, the Shaman told Shao Xuan, “In the beginning of next year, for the ritual dance, you remember to practise it.
Shao Xuan’s face twitched, and he replied, “Ok”.
Although the dance looked weird, he got used to it. He had to hunt good prey to use its skin to make a new coat. If in the ritual he wore his old coat, he would be laughed at and it would be considered that he made no progress.
The Shaman let Shao Xuan do the ritual dance because Shao Xuan had made contributions to the tribe.
Over the past one year when Shao Xuan had left, fewer people awakened the totem power in the ritual compared to the previous year. In addition, the Shaman had tried to engrave two beasts, but he had failed.
The warrior that kept the animals thought they themselves were to blame. The beasts had not been raised well, so he had failed. However, the Shaman knew that it was his fault.
When he tried to do that, he was not in the good state as before when he had engraved the first group of beasts. He felt exhausted when he had just finished half of the task. So the totem didn’t form properly when he had finished the second half.
The Shaman felt that Shao Xuan also needed to take the responsibility. When Shao Xuan was present, it would be better.
The Shaman didn’t tell this to Shao Xuan undoubtedly, but every time he thought of this, he had to go to the fire pit. He kowtowed to the ancestors and talked about what made him feel depressed.
Shao Xuan did not know his depression. He went to find Ao. He wanted to go with him to the green land a few times before returning to the old land. He had to help look for more herbs to bring them back to the old land. In the future, he was sure that they would need the herbs when they just arrived there, for a while they would not be familiar with the layout of the land. It would be difficult for them to find good herbs.
And the other reason was that he wanted to let old Ke become stronger before the ritual ceremony, for he was old. If he was stronger, he would absorb more energy of the fire crystal and it would be beneficial for him.
In the other tribes, the injured and disabled like old Ke didn’t have a good life. Shao Xuan only hoped old Ke’s life could be improved.
Before the arrival of the winter, the entrance of the tunnel to the fire crystals had been blocked and covered. It would not be easy to find, and then after two or three years, it would be even more difficult to find.
Shao Xuan prepared a lot of food for the children in the cave. Over the past two years, before the winter, he had brought some food to the children in the cave. Now, those children caught fish and ate the meat other people sent to them. Each of them got much stronger.
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