Jimo Ling followed Fa's guidance into the house, where the leader Chen Xiao was sitting on a wooden chair with his legs crossed, frowning in deep thought.
"Auntie, I'm here," Jimo Ling greeted.
Chen Xiao raised his head, smiled at her, and pointed to the chair beside her. "Ling, sit down first."
Jimo Ling obeyed and looked at Chen Xiao with a questioning gaze. "Did you call me here for something?"
"There's bad news from the Tu tribe. The woman from the Xi Mu forest has declared that she will no longer accept our Green tribe's exchange of purple fruits and forbids other tribes from trading with us. She has also demanded that the leader of the Tu tribe cancel the engagement between her granddaughter and our Fa; otherwise, the Tu tribe will not be allowed to trade purple fruits either."
"How arrogant!" Jimo Ling raised an eyebrow.
Chen Xiao sighed. "She has the capital to be so. The entire Dawa Plain only has a large patch of purple fruits growing in her Xi Mu forest. Outside the plain, the nearest is the Zhi Mu forest, but it's too dangerous there. Honestly, we had to accept her terms initially, just like the smaller tribes we encountered in the past; Fa also agreed. But Chen Lan secretly went to Zhi Mu, and while I was angry, I decided to take a gamble. Thankfully, I met you." This brought the best result.
Facing the leader's exceptionally kind gaze, Jimo Ling only smiled. "This is fate. It's fate between me and Chen Lan, as well as with the Green tribe."
"Hahaha! Good! What a fate!" Chen Xiao laughed heartily. She trusted her judgment of people, which made her more confident in implementing the future plans. "Then I'll be direct. We need your help to drive that woman out of Xi Mu forest! So that the tribes of Dawa Plain will no longer suffer her oppression!"
Looking at the leader's soaring spirit, Jimo Ling admired her and nodded without hesitation. "Okay. Tell me the specific plan."
The Xi Mu forest is located in the central eastern part of the Dawa Plain. It is a small forest filled with shrubs; of course, this "small" is relative to the Zhi Mu forest. The trees here are thick enough for one or two people to embrace, growing five to six meters tall and covering an area of about six hundred hectares.
Three hundred years ago, the first generation of hermits discovered seven purple fruits by a small lake and decided to settle here to guard them until they ripened, trading resources with the surrounding tribes. Now it has reached the fourth generation.
The current hermit is named Li Yi. Although she hasn't joined a tribe, she doesn't live alone either. After several generations, a village has formed around the small lake, housing three families, comparable to a small tribe. One household consists of Li Yi, her twenty husbands, and forty-eight sons, while the other two households are her followers: the Li Jia family of nine and the Li Ding family of five.
Li Yi is sharp-tongued and bears grudges. Relying on the purple fruit and her ability to predict the weather, she has always been arrogant. Except for appeasing the two large tribes, she has oppressed many smaller tribes.
Driving Li Yi away was a decision made by Chen Xiao and the leader of the Tu tribe. The plan was jointly formulated by the two leaders and their trusted aides. It boiled down to two key points: first, they needed to persuade the six tribes near Xi Mu forest to rise up together or at least agree not to support Li Yi; second, they needed to find a candidate to replace Li Yi, promoting her to a higher position.
As for why they didn't simply occupy the purple fruit land themselves and instead needed to find someone to take Li Yi's place, it was because doing so would disrupt the mutual restraint balance. There are still two large tribes in the Dawa Plain, and the other medium and small tribes would not side with them. Rather than making others profit from their efforts, it was better to maintain the original relationship and replace it with a more friendly candidate.
However, this replacement candidate is not Jimo Ling, as she cannot predict the weather. In this world, climate change and the power of natural disasters are significant, and those who can predict the weather are quite important.
Li Yi has acted unjustly. The previous generation of Xi Mu hermits actually had two heirs. In the wilderness trial, Li Yi plotted against another woman named Li Hai to secure her position, believing the other would certainly die. She then became the fourth generation Xi Mu hermit and has indeed lived quite splendidly for decades.
In reality, the other woman did not die but was severely injured and later rescued by a hunting team from the Tu tribe. After her injury healed and her fate was sealed, she hid her identity in the Tu tribe. Grateful for the life-saving grace, she devoted herself to the Tu tribe and earned the leader's trust. Upon learning of the plan against Li Yi, she revealed her previous identity to the leaders of the Tu and Green tribes, thinking that revenge was in sight.
After weighing the pros and cons, the leaders of the two tribes devised a plan to have Li Hai replace Li Yi's position, achieving a win-win situation.
The persuasion of the nearby tribes began quietly when Chen Lan went to Zhi Mu forest, led by Meng Lin, the most articulate woman of the Green tribe. They took Li Hai along, and each tribe sent five warrior beasts to accompany them. They presented various benefits of driving Li Yi out of Xi Mu forest, emphasizing that once Li Hai took over, the exchange of purple fruits would be established as a valuable barter, and they would no longer have to endure Li Yi's exploitation and unreasonable demands.
The plan has been progressing smoothly so far, with three tribes severely exploited agreeing to send warriors to join.
A medium tribe and a small tribe agreed to remain neutral as long as they could receive a batch of urgently needed purple fruits.
The last small tribe's leader had two sons favored by Li Yi, who had been following her, so it was impossible to sway him. Therefore, Meng Lin approached other high-ranking members, aiming to control their leader on the same day and cut off Li Yi's only external support.
What Jimo Ling needed to do was actually quite simple: as a hermit coming from Zhi Mu forest and the one who outsmarted the tyrannosaurus, she would negotiate with the medium and small tribes in need of purple fruits for an exchange, thereby increasing their persuasive power, and if necessary, apply force to pressure them.
Jimo Ling returned home and took out a water bucket-shaped leather backpack that Chen Lan had given her. She arranged her belongings inside, tightened the straps, tossed it over her shoulder, and closed the door as she walked outside the tribe.
Outside the tribal wall, three fully transformed beastmen were already ready. The leader waiting by the side waved at Jimo Ling. As she approached, he introduced the three beasts to her.
A yellow-spotted black leopard—Lei, responsible for guarding the entire journey; a brown-horned reindeer—Lu, responsible for carrying the luggage; and a golden Tibetan mastiff—Rui, responsible for riding and speed.
Jimo Ling looked up at the three hefty creatures opposite her. As the leader introduced them, each beast bowed their heads to greet her. She also smiled and nodded back, secretly thinking, "Facing such giant beasts directly is still a bit overwhelming~~~!"
After the introductions, the leader reminded her of a few things and indicated that they could set off.
Rui crouched down, and Jimo Ling reached out to grab its back and jumped up. Once she confirmed she was steady, the Tibetan mastiff slowly stood up.
Lu, familiar with the terrain and route, led the way in front, while Rui carried Jimo Ling in the middle, and Lei protected from the back.
Lu chose a route that avoided areas with large predatory beasts, which was safe but required detours. To save time, they hurried along during the day. If Jimo Ling felt hungry, she would nibble on some dried meat and fruits while occasionally sharing some with the three large beasts running alongside.
By evening, Lu found a suitable spot for camping, and Jimo Ling couldn't wait for Rui to crouch down, quickly jumping off to stretch her muscles.
Turning around, the reindeer, having unloaded the luggage, transformed into a naked brown-haired youth with gentle features and a slim figure…
Before Jimo Ling could look away, her vision was blocked by a patch of black and yellow spots, and she could only hear the young man's soft laughter.
"Lei, go hunt," the youth said, patting the leopard, signaling it to find food. "Rui, go gather some dry branches and grass nearby. The hermit lady can rest over here with the luggage. I'll set up the tent."
The leopard quickly dashed into the tall grass, while the Tibetan mastiff ran toward a nearby fallen dead tree.
"I'll help you," Jimo Ling, tired of sitting all this way, decided to contribute, "What do you need me to do?"
"Ah? No, no! I can manage!" Seeing Jimo Ling stepping forward, Lu seemed a bit flustered and repeatedly shook his head, indicating he could handle it alone.
"Two people will be faster. Plus, I'm very strong," Jimo Ling said, not waiting for Lu to refuse again. She lifted one hand, grabbing the beast skin bag that held the tent. "Where should I put it?"
"Oh… uh, just set it up over here," Lu said, slightly startled. Seeing her insist, he stopped hesitating and pointed to a nearby open area.
Jimo Ling nodded and placed a large bag of items in the designated spot. The two of them worked together to set up a small tent that could fit only one person, laying thick animal skins inside, which completed the task.
At this moment, Rui had already prepared a pile of firewood, and Lu lit it with a flint, inviting Jimo Ling to sit down.
"Lord Hermit, have some water first," he said, handing her a water pouch made of fish skin.
"Don't keep calling me 'Lord Hermit.' It sounds so strange," Jimo Ling replied as she took the pouch and took a sip. "Just call me Jimo or Ling. By the way, isn't Rui coming over?" she asked, pointing to the Tibetan mastiff that was still in its beast form, lying down with its eyes closed, resting by her windward side.
"Okay, then I'll call you Jimo," Lu said, relaxing a bit as he noticed her friendliness. Seeing her confusion, he explained, "They'll stay in their beast forms during the journey for better vigilance and combat readiness. If they shift to human form, their abilities will be weakened. That tent is also prepared for you; we'll all stay in our beast forms tonight and take turns keeping watch. You can rest easy, Jimo…"
Just then, Rui suddenly sat up, adopting a defensive stance towards a certain direction. A moment later, Jimo Ling also heard rustling in the grass, but then Rui relaxed.
"It should be Lei returning," Lu confirmed with the Tibetan mastiff.
Rui nodded his large head, and both Jimo Ling and Lu also relaxed.
Soon, a spotted leopard jumped out of the grass, carrying a small rabbit-like animal in its mouth, which it dropped next to the fire. Lu took it and quickly went aside to process it. Lei nudged Rui with its head, and the Tibetan mastiff glanced at her before disappearing back into the grass, while the leopard took over the guard duty.
Jimo Ling looked at the small animal, enough for her to eat two meals, and asked in confusion, "What do you eat?"
"Lei already ate outside, and now Rui is also out hunting for himself. If we eat large prey here at the campsite, the bloody smell is too strong and will easily attract wild beasts. As for me, I have some vegetable cakes, and once I finish cooking, you can eat," Lu replied with a smile, appreciating Jimo Ling's concern.
"Oh," Jimo Ling nodded, indicating she understood. "Then let's roast half for now and save the other half for breakfast tomorrow."
"Okay." Lu buried the innards and skins he had cleaned in a pit and, as Jimo Ling requested, cut off half of the prey for preservation.
Once the food was ready, Rui also returned.
After Jimo Ling had her fill, she walked around the campsite to digest, then went to a nearby patch of grass to relieve herself.
As the temperature dropped sharply in the night on the grassland, Jimo Ling crawled into the warm tent early to sleep.
The three beasts surrounded the tent in the middle and lay down to rest.
Some small wild animals approached during the night, but deterred by the presence of the three beastmen, they quickly ran away.
The next day, as dawn broke, Jimo Ling woke up to the sounds outside. Lu had already prepared the food. She rinsed her face slightly with water from the pouch, ate, and then continued on her journey.
The destination Jimo Ling was heading to was the medium tribe, called Pu, that demanded the exchange of purple fruits—currently the place where Meng Lin and Li Hai were stationed. Upon arriving at the agreed location around noon, they were quietly received by Meng Lin and an elder from the Pu tribe.
Upon learning that several key figures were present, Jimo Ling declined the elder's suggestion to rest first, expressing her desire to discuss the exchange of purple fruits immediately. The elder was pleased to hear this and immediately sent a beastman to notify the leader. He then led Jimo Ling and Meng Lin directly to the meeting place.
Lei had sustained an injury on the way, so Jimo Ling asked him and Lu to rest. Rui, shedding his beast form, put on a leather loincloth and vest and closely followed Jimo Ling.
The meeting place was rather unique; it wasn't indoors but rather outdoors. Under a massive grape trellis, there was a stone table and several stone stools. As Jimo Ling walked over, she noticed many large and small grape trellises, but this one was the largest and most lush, with thick green leaves resembling large fans. Unfortunately, it wasn't the season for fruit yet.
Three women were already seated around the stone table, each accompanied by one or two beastmen standing behind them. Upon seeing them, the women stood up to greet her.
Since Jimo Ling had already inquired about the main characters involved in the plan from Chen Xiao before setting off, she quickly recognized them. The frail elderly woman in her sixties with graying hair was the leader of the Pu tribe, Tao Gu. To her right, the plump woman in her forties with half her face covered by hair was Li Hai. The young woman on the left, who appeared a bit shy, was the leader of another small tribe that also wanted to exchange for purple fruits.
After some introductions, they all sat down. After a round of bargaining, Jimo Ling agreed to exchange one hundred and twenty pounds of grape wine and sixty pounds of grapes for six purple fruits with the Pu tribe. The other small tribe contributed ten animal skins and ten beastman warriors to join the action in exchange for three purple fruits.
Once the agreement was set, the group dispersed. The same elder led them back to their resting place.