The Survival of the Wild Tribe

89

Lu Zhan pushed away the nearest Chasing Wind's head, visibly displeased. Chasing Wind attempted to bite Lu Zhan's head, but he deftly dodged the attack. The confrontation between man and antlered horse continued at the door. Fortunately, the Sun tribe members were accustomed to such scenes. If not for their tolerance towards the staghorn horses, Lu Zhan's leadership would have suffered.

With a helpless look, Luo Zhen reached out to calm the other staghorn horses and led Shan Song and A Jiao to a spot near the fire.

"Great Witch," the Shanjia tribe members stood up respectfully and saluted Luo Zhen, while the Sun tribe folks greeted him with friendly smiles.

Luo Zhen waved in response and gestured for them to take a seat.

Granny Gan, always equipped with needles and threads, approached with a smile and addressed Luo Zhen before turning to A Jiao. A Jiao, still dazed, followed Granny Gan to her previous spot and was handed a half-kneaded ball of wool. Granny Gan's expertise in knitting surpassed anyone in the Sun tribe. During this time, she seemed to have regained the vigor of her youth, her face radiant with enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Shansong assisted Heifu and others in handling the food. A young warrior named A Qing approached with a large plate, bearing a few catfish hearts. These were the hearts of the catfish caught by Lu Zhan, rightfully belonging to him.

"He can't eat all of them, just keep two. You can share the rest with the other soldiers," Luo Zhen said with a smile.

Ah Qing grinned, displaying his big white teeth. "Thank you, Da Wu," he said as he left two hearts and took the others. Not far away, several soldiers cheered upon seeing Ah Qing return. He shouted to Luo Zhen, "Thank you, Chief."

Finally, Lu Zhan, who had been shooing away Chasing Wind, approached. He overheard the soldiers cheering and leaned against Luo Zhen, looking aggrieved. "It's my catch, why are they thanking you?"

Luo Zhen glanced at him and asked the soldiers loudly, "Did you forget someone?"

The soldiers exchanged glances, and even Hei Fu turned to look upon hearing the commotion. Following suit, he shouted, "Thank you, Chief."

The other fighters chimed in with jokes and shouts, though their voices weren't as coordinated as before.

"Satisfied?" Luo Zhen shot him a glance.

Lu Zhan gritted his teeth and glared at the laughing soldiers. "Not quite, you should save three for me."

"Do you forget how uncomfortable you were last time you ate too many catfish hearts?"

Perhaps due to being cooped up during the winter, Lu Zhan rushed off not long after spring began, only returning after several days. Luo Zhen wasn't sure how many catfish hearts Lu Zhan had consumed, but it left him uncomfortable for days, making Luo Zhen fear he had fallen ill.

Feeding him a bit of Tai Sui had no effect; instead, it made Luo Zhen's stomach ache and his face pale, drenching several animal skins with cold sweat. Thankfully, after two days of rest, Lu Zhan resumed his lively demeanor.

With the catfish being slaughtered now, Luo Zhen insisted he not eat too much.

Lu Zhan retreated, not daring to speak further. He lit the fire in front of Luo Zhen and placed a clean slab on it. The slab, not too thick, quickly heated up.

Luo Zhen took the bone knife and cutting board that had been prepared beforehand and sliced the two hearts into pieces. Catfish hearts are smaller than those of regular beasts, not even the size of a child's fist, so he cut them all. In the end, there was only a small bowlful.