After witnessing the effectiveness of Mufeng's bamboo spear, everyone could see its power, especially Mingguang. As a chief hunter, he understood the significance of such a weapon in hunting!
"Great Chieftain!" Mingguang was excited yet regretful, "You shouldn't have…"
Before he could finish, Mufeng smiled and shook his head, "It's okay!"
He thought to himself, "It's just a bamboo spear, I have plenty of ways to defend against it!"
Changning, with her mouth agape in shock and eyes wide open, exclaimed, "Is this the fish spear you mentioned? It's so powerful!"
As she spoke, she looked at Mufeng, "Can my people try it?"
Mufeng nodded and handed her a bamboo spear.
Changning passed it to the previous 'painted face' man, "Aguli, you try!"
The man, clearly surprised, took the spear and, imitating Mufeng, took steps back, then ran forward and threw it!
Mufeng was somewhat surprised, not expecting Aguli to mimic him so well.
But Aguli lacked the technique of javelin throwing, missing the big tree and just grazing it.
Still, the spear tore off half a foot of bark from the tree, and continued to plunge about ten centimeters into the ground!
Mufeng was shocked, thinking, "Aguli is incredibly strong!"
Aguli, looking slightly embarrassed, bowed his head and apologized to Changning.
But Changning was more interested in the result. She ran to the tree, picked up the bark, and carefully examined the exposed area, which had a nearly one-centimeter deep indentation!
"Aguli!" Changning's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Come and see for yourself!"
He hurried over, took the bark, examined the marks, and then pulled out the spear, amazed at the force it required, "How is this possible?"
He had initially thought it was just a simple fish spear, but now he saw its extraordinary power.
He was almost certain that if the tribe's warriors wielded such spears, the lethality would be astonishing!
Realizing this, he no longer underestimated the young chieftain of this small tribe, who had turned a simple weapon into something so powerful!
Changning, thrilled, ran back to Mufeng.
Her excitement not yet faded, she asked earnestly, "If many people use it together, would the power be even greater?" Changning hit the nail on the head.
"Yes!" Mufeng nodded, "With many people using it together, there's even no need to aim."
Changning joyfully said, "Aguli, did you hear that? Such a weapon, such power, it will be of great use to our Qingniao tribe!"
"Yes!" Aguli was also extremely excited, "With such a weapon, my Qingniao tribe will no longer be troubled by the natives here!"
Changning excitedly pointed to the nearby earth dragon, "This earth dragon is yours! As a token of my gratitude, I can also give your tribe what it needs most!"
"What's needed most?" Mufeng was intrigued, thinking of the tribe's urgent needs for clothing and salt.
The cold spring threatened their survival; without action, they could either freeze or succumb to weakness from lack of salt, facing potential disaster.
The dilemma was revealing their location to Changning, which could endanger the Jiang tribe.
But then he thought, even if he didn't say, the Jiang tribe wasn't far, and they could easily be found.
After weighing his options, he said, "Okay! We need fur and salt."
"Is that all?" Changning was surprised, "Nothing else?"
Mufeng, slightly relieved, shook his head, "That's all for now, nothing else."
He could only ask for the basics, trying to avoid hostility.
"Okay!" Changning nodded seriously, "Then this earth dragon is yours first, and I'll have someone bring the salt and fur later."
"You're bringing it?" Mufeng frowned.
Changning sensed Mufeng's wariness and hurriedly explained, "Don't worry, I have sworn on the totem belief!"
Mufeng fell silent, realizing Changning intended to visit his tribe.
Changning, becoming anxious, her face flushed, raised her voice, "Our Qingniao tribe doesn't plunder or slaughter. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been driven from our homeland by the other two major tribes. We migrated here, seeking a peaceful existence, but face constant provocation from the local tribes!"
"Hmm?" Mufeng brightened, thinking, "Newcomers? Seems the Qingniao tribe isn't having an easy time either!"
The saying "even a strong dragon cannot repress a local snake" applied. No matter how formidable the Qingniao tribe had been, their migration meant facing oppression, even potential absorption, by the local tribes.
This made Changning's words more credible, and his Jiang tribe inadvertently safer.
Still cautious, Mufeng asked, "How many warriors can your tribe spare?"
Now it was Changning's turn to hesitate.
Clearly, she too was cautious.
"Hmm?" Mufeng understood their plight might be worse.
Knowing the location of the tribe alone, what could be done?
He had more powerful weapons and the tribe's canyon geography was naturally defensible.
"Alright!" Mufeng agreed, "You can come back with us."
"Great Chieftain!"
Mingguang and Lihu exclaimed in unison.
Mufeng shook his head, "It's fine."
Aguli was eager to visit and see this young chieftain's tribe.
Unexpectedly, Changning said, "Aguli, you stay here with half the people, I'll go with them."
"Yes!" Aguli, reluctantly, made a face of resignation.
He then looked earnestly at Mufeng and bowed, "Regardless, you've shown me the power of the bamboo spear. For that, you deserve my respect and the friendship of a Qingniao warrior!"
Mufeng chuckled; Aguli seemed fierce but was a simple giant.
Changning, on the other hand, was astute, guessing his concerns and voluntarily leaving half the people behind to pose no threat, offering a gesture of goodwill.