Ye Xi and the other tribe members joked with each other as they walked back to the cave, upon which they realized that the shaman was standing at the entrance, holding his bone cane.
The shaman had an extremely solemn expression on his face.
The group immediately stopped laughing, their faces turning serious.
"Shaman!" Everyone bowed.
The shaman gave a slight nod. He did not have the slightest hint of a smile on his face, and if one looked closely, he appeared somewhat pale.
Ye Xi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be… that the divination had produced a result?
The shaman slowly scanned the tribe members.
Affected by the shaman's solemn gaze, the crowd came down from the high spirits of laying the traps.
The shaman finally began to speak in his old and forceful voice. "All of you are here, which is good. I have some things to say to everyone."
Everyone glanced at each other. Rarely did the shaman need to so solemnly proclaim something. What had happened?
"Everyone knows that the trial participants ran into a pureblood fiendbeast yesterday in the jungle."
An excited look appeared on everyone's faces, and they turned to Ye Xi. It was their shaman's disciple who had slain that pureblood fiendbeast.
The shaman gave an almost imperceptible sigh. "Everyone knows that pureblood fiendbeasts rarely appear around our tribe, and that bird of prey's appearance was no coincidence."
It wasn't a coincidence? The shaman's words made everyone restless.
Pureblood fiendbeasts were extremely rare, and they normally had their own territories. In truth, everyone had found it strange that one had suddenly appeared near the tribe, but the majority of people treated it as a coincidence and didn't pay it much mind.
Some people began to whisper to each other, wondering if some other tribe had maliciously drawn it here.
Although pureblood fiendbeasts were rare, they could still be found with some effort. If some tribe had decided to intentionally lure one here, then its hatred had to truly run deep.
The shaman listened to their discussions, but he did not answer their speculations. He turned to Courage and said, "The members of the hunting team should have noticed that more and more savage beasts have appeared in the jungle over the last few days."
Everyone turned to Courage, one of the leaders of the hunting team.
Courage solemnly nodded in front of the crowd.
"Several creatures that only lived to the west of the Blackspine Mountains appeared in the jungle. Just yesterday, a pureblood fiendbeast attacked members of our tribe.
"This pureblood fiendbeast is called a Bluemountain Hawk. It is also a creature that only appears in the west.
"Something is wrong with the jungle, so I performed a divination today."
Everyone nervously waited with bated breath for the shaman to give the result.
"The result of the divination was inauspicious."
Inauspicious! Everyone froze.
Only some children who didn't know what was going on were still messing around.
The shaman had predicted the panic, and he said calmly, "For the next few days, more and more savage creatures will be coming from the west, and the jungle will become more and more dangerous. There will be more like the pureblood fiendbeast from yesterday, perhaps even stronger."
Boom!
The crowd couldn't even stand steady anymore.
Panic began to spread.
Some of the women were so frightened that they began to sway and lean on the shoulders of their husbands for support.
The women were able to calm down after finding this support, but they failed to notice the hands of their husbands slightly trembling.
The western side of the Blackspine Mountains was a forbidden zone.
Their knowledge of that region came from the greater tribes or from tales passed down from their ancestors. Despite all the years and so many tribes, only a scant few Warriors had ever crossed the Blackspine Mountains to reach the other side.
It was said that there were many kinds of miracle plants there, but also many kinds of fierce creatures. Not many pureblood fiendbeasts appeared in the east, but they were everywhere in the west.
And that bird of prey from yesterday was equal to a Level 3 Warrior!
The Mud Mountain Tribe had only its chief and Calm Bulrush as Level 2 Warriors. If more of such savage creatures appeared, how could Mud Mountain resist?
They all felt proud that Ye Xi had successfully killed the pureblood fiendbeast, but every one of them understood that this had been partially due to luck.
Calm Bulrush and Ye Xi had been inches away from not coming back at all.
The chief and Courage exchanged worried glances.
The shaman stood straight and tall with his cane, and though his face was old and lean, his body was like an old pine tree firmly rooted into the earth.
The shaman calmly watched, allowing the tribe members to uneasily discuss this topic, his eyes unperturbed.
It was as if nothing could alarm his elderly face.
As the discussion died away, everyone turned back to the shaman.
The shaman was indifferent, as if he had just talked about some minor matter.
That familiar figure who was stalwart no matter the occasion gradually caused the crowd to calm down.
The shaman was the faith of the tribe.
In the silence, the shaman sternly said, "There is no need to panic. The savage creatures will only be coming from the west for a short period of time. Mud Mountain only needs to be cautious and not enter the forest to safely pass through this upheaval.
"Starting from today, the Mud Mountain Tribe must be vigilant. No one is permitted to leave, barring special circumstances.
"We have enough food, so there is no need to worry about starving to death. As long as we remain in the tribe, we will be safe.
"In order to safely endure this period, everyone must remember to reduce the amount of water and food they consume.
"As long as we are careful, Mud Mountain will emerge completely unscathed from this upheaval."
"Yes, shaman," everyone replied in unison.
The crowd dispersed.
Although they had the shaman's comforting words, they all still had concern on their faces.
After all, it was a great upheaval.
Quite a few women nervously looked at the jungle, worried that some savage beast would emerge from it.
Some of the men ran up Little Mud Mountain, hoping to see from the summit if there really were more savage creatures in the area.
Two children who didn't understand what was going on began to play tag once the crowd had dispersed. Just when they were going to run out of the clearing, their mothers picked them up and gave them savage spankings.
There was a buffer region between the jungle and clearing, and it was usually safe. The women normally wouldn't worry when children went to play, but at this moment, they were extremely tense and harshly scolded their children. They warned them that they could only play in the clearing and inside the cave—nowhere else.
The children yowled over receiving such an abrupt and savage beating, but then they were frightened by the fierce expressions on their mothers' faces. Sobbing and sniffling, they nodded their heads.
Once the crowd dispersed, the shaman shot a glance at the chief and turned back into the cave.
The chief hastily followed.
The two of them moved to a secluded area in the cave.
Ye Xi spotted the two moving and immediately followed. He hid behind a corner and listened from a distance.
The chief sensed his presence and glanced in his direction. But seeing that he was still rather far away, he put the matter aside.
Chief: "Will those savage creatures really withdraw after some time has passed?"
The shaman looked at the chief, his eyes praising him for his sharp intuition. "You guessed it.
"Perhaps they will; perhaps they won't."