The Survival of the Wild Tribe

184

Lu Zhan wrinkled his nose in disgust, and A Qing, who stood beside him, grinned happily. Then, he complimented, "The effect of the great witch's powder is amazing. I've never seen so many people fleeing into the grass during drills."

"The Klushi tribe doesn't have any special huts like us. If the leader feels he can't stand the smell, should he tie a towel on his face?" Shan Qi handed a towel to Lu Zhan as they were leaving the cave. Luo Zhen handed it to him, anticipating this situation.

Lu Zhan held his breath, took the towel, and tied it around his face. Then, with a lingering fear, he asked, "Are you sure you saw Luca enter that cave?"

Lu Zhan pointed to a cave with a green fruit tree at the entrance, asking Ah Qing. It was easy to identify due to the tree. Lu Zhan felt that if this were any other cave, it wouldn't be fruitful, and the trees would have been stripped bare like the other stone cave entrances.

"Yes, they've been in there for a long time and haven't come out," Ah Qing replied. Although he should have reported back to Lu Zhan in the evening, he marked the way. Lu Zhan and the others followed these marks to find where Ah Qing was hiding.

Lu Zhan didn't blame Ah Qing for his absence. He handed him the dinner he brought and found an upper air vent to continue observing. Few people were walking back and forth, and some were busy fetching water to prepare dinner.

After spending a long time in the clean Riyao tribe, Ah Qing had no appetite in this place full of peculiar smells. He tossed the cold but still fragrant peach cake into his backpack and only drank a few mouthfuls of cold water from the water sac to moisten his throat. Then, he found a spot to continue squatting.

The Klu Lion tribe, as they said, wasn't too big but also wasn't too small. There were over a hundred people active outside, and they didn't know how many others were living in the dense caves on the rocky mountain.

Before visiting the Klu Lion tribe, Lu Zhan never imagined a tribe could be built in such a mountain. In the past, he would have envied them for finding such a good place to live, free from worry about attacks by wild beasts and strong enough to be a popular destination for people from every tribe.

Still, no matter the tribe, none could breach the defenses like the Klu Lion tribe. However, they weren't as troublesome as their Sun Tribe, at least not having to climb up and down every day. Lu Zhan observed and concluded, feeling a sense of pride in his heart.

Inside the dark cave, the beasts' roars echoed repeatedly, accompanied by the harsh scratching of their claws on the stone, sending shivers down one's spine.
Luca crossed his arms and leaned against the cave wall. Besides him in the narrow space was a thin man wearing an animal skin skirt with three brightly colored feathers tied to his arms. He seemed filled with impatience and anxiety.
"Being able to grow two son-mother fruits in a year is the limit. We can't push it further. We can't risk using the son-mother tree's lifespan to conceive a mermaid child," the Black Witch said, lowering his voice even though only Luca was present.
"But your daughter is gone. We spent so much time preparing before finally letting her become pregnant. What should we do now?" the man asked.
"Then go find her," the Black Witch replied irritably. "And you had to take her to the Tiger Lion tribe. You wanted her to get used to Red Salt in advance. Why take her there instead of bringing back Red Salt? Did you have to take someone there?"
"Do you not know what's going on with your daughter? Forget about the child in her stomach; she might die herself if you don't take her over," the man pressed.
"What do you want with the mermaid cub?" the Black Witch's tone softened.
"This is not something you need to know. I just need to know, can the remaining Zimu Guo be impregnated by others?" the man asked.
The Black Witch snorted, his voice sinking. "Luka, you didn't say this when you asked me to bring the tribe with me. Now that the child is lost, you're blaming me? Do you realize what you're doing, old witch?"
Luca raised his eyebrows and took a few steps forward with his long legs. He stopped in front of a pit covered with a piece of shabby animal skin, with several pieces of raw meat on it. Blood soaked the skin and spread onto the ground, darkening the stone underneath.
The fire in the cave flickered and dimmed, hiding Luca's expression from the Black Witch. Suddenly, Luca bent down, picked up a piece of raw meat, and threw it into the pit. A huge black panther leaped into the pit, grabbing the raw meat in its jaws before disappearing into the darkness. Luca didn't have time to see the beast's greedy blood-red eyes.
"Aren't you going to reshape your leader? It seems like it's had no effect after all this time," Luca said.
"Don't try to change the subject," the Black Witch replied unhappily.
Luca tossed another piece of raw meat into the cave, and the black panther's roar echoed from the darkness before silence returned. "You should know how much the old witch cares about this child. If your daughter can be stronger, I won't need to find energy for her everywhere. You want to go to the Wizard’s Palace, and I want power. Dark Witch, our goals aren't in conflict."

The black witch looked at Luca as he wiped the blood stains from his hands with animal skins and stood up straight. "Perhaps you don’t know? The old witch will leave for the Wizard’s Palace before midnight tonight. Your daughter ran away, and you can’t produce more fruit and fruit. Why would the old witch still want to take care of you?" he said, his tone sharp with irony.
"He is leaving tonight?" the Black Witch asked eagerly, ignoring Luca's sarcasm.
"When you put too much energy on your chief, you have already disappointed the old witch. Now that the mermaid cub is also lost, the old witch naturally doesn't need to stay here anymore," Luca replied.
The black witch pursed his lips, turned, and walked outside the cave. "I'll go to the old witch," he said.
Luca watched the Black Witch hurry away and shrugged indifferently. After a moment of thought, he followed.
The old witch's dwelling was in a remote small stone cave on the edge, far from the center of the Klushi tribe. Even the observant Lu Zhan hadn't noticed anything remarkable about it during his wanderings.
Seeing Heiwu and Luca emerging from the cave one after another, Lu Zhan and the others exchanged glances, and then Shanqi quietly followed. Only Ah Qing remained on watch. Lu Zhan planned to enter the cave first to assess the situation.
A huge camel tortoise stood at the entrance of the stone cave and seemed to sense someone approaching. It bared its sharp, cold teeth.
The camel tortoise, a rare carnivorous beast, had a massive, hard shell on its back like an ordinary tortoise. Its limbs were powerful, equipped with sharp claws that could tear through prey's throats more effectively than orc warriors. Although not fast, the camel tortoise was far from being used as a mount.
Several torchbearers emerged from the cave, casting a faint light on the black witch's figure. Ignoring the camel tortoise's aggressive stance, the black witch quickly approached an old man with white hair and white eyebrows in the middle and saluted him. "Old Witch."
The old witch was draped in thin, comfortable silk and satin, with a huge hood behind the garment. When worn, it could cover most of the person's face, adding to the old witch's air of mystery.
The old witch was not actually the old man's name but a title of honor. He was the oldest wizard in the Wizard Hall, said to have descended from the Beast God Mountain and received the true inheritance of the Beast God.
Of course, his face now looked very aged.
"Black Panther wizard? Do you have something to discuss with me?" the old wizard asked, his voice sounding younger than his appearance. He was surrounded by several guardian warriors and all the wizards of the Clu Lion tribe. The old witch saw him off, clearly not expecting anyone to disturb him.

"Respected old witch, could you also take me to the Wizarding Hall? I'm willing to dedicate all the son and mother fruit I've cultivated to you," the black witch said, admiring the old man in front of him so much he almost knelt on the ground to kiss the back of the other person's instep.
"Your son-mother fruit is of no use to me," the old witch replied lightly, hooking the corner of his lips. His gaze shifted from the black witch to Luca, who stood behind him. "It seems that the things you wanted to show me didn't materialize, Luca."
Luca bowed his head respectfully. "I apologize, old witch. I didn't expect that woman to escape, even though she was half dead."
"Whether she escaped on her own or was taken, you know in your heart," the old witch stated.
Luca sighed. "Yes."
"For building the wizard hall, I won't pursue this matter," the old witch continued, motioning to a guardian warrior beside him. A tall man stepped forward and handed two Yunjing to Luca from a leather bag. Luca was surprised, then accepted them gratefully.
"These two cloud crystals are for you. I hope that next time I come, the road in the Black Forest can be opened up. You must know that the secret road is deteriorating," the old witch explained.
"Old Wu, don't worry. The road is halfway there. Just give me another year, and you'll reach the other side of the Black Forest," Luca assured.
The old witch nodded and climbed onto the camel tortoise's back with its front paws. Once seated, he continued, "The mermaid I gave you, don’t kill her before she gives birth to the mermaid cubs. These ancient creatures are not easy to come by these days."
"Yes," the black witch agreed.
The old witch turned to the nervous dark witch standing nearby. "If you and Luca can breed a mermaid cub for me, I'll take you to the Wizard Hall next time."
The black witch was overjoyed. "Thank you, old witch."