Chapter 109 – Qualifications to attend the ritual
Translated by Sunyancai
Sponsored by Tanner B
Because of the agreement they made for the next year, and because of those young warriors signing their names on the animal skin, people did not pay any extra attention for that earlier combat.
Fighting for territories was something childish, and it was only a combat between kids. However, this animal skin roll with all the young warriors’ names on it was clearly a written letter of challenge. It was a challenge among totem warriors!
Without saying, everyone knew which was more important and more appealing.
With all the time spent on the mountainside, it was already later than usual when Shao Xuan finally returned home in the mountain foot area.
“Were you busy with things in the medicine house today? Or was there anything wrong with the Shaman?” Seeing that Shao Xuan arrived home later, Old Ke asked him quite nervously.
“Nothing happened. The tasks in the medicine house were not many. I left early, but met some people around the mountain side. We communicated a little for a while.” Said Shao Xuan.
Old Ke got quite relieved at his answer. He even said favorably, “It’s better for you if you communicate more with people up in the mountain.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After eating something, Shao Xuan went back to his own room, pulled up his sleeves, and then slowly stimulated the totem power within his body.
Unlike during the training place, this time, Shao Xuan tried to control his totem power slowly, so the totem patterns appeared gradually on his arms. The flame-like patterns started from his shoulders, and wandered along his arms.
They passed the one-third point of his upper arms, and then reached to the half point, and then, two-thirds of the length… The totem patterns finally stopped at two-thirds of his upper arms!
When he was in the last hunting mission this year, Shao Xuan remembered that his totem patterns only reached the half point. In fact, after the end of the hunting season, Shao Xuan did not spend much time on training in the training ground, before he started learning herblore from the Shaman. Besides the drawing of the Shaman Volumes…
The drawing of the Shaman Volumes?
The power of inheritance!
Shao Xuan felt the totem in his mind. The two horns were wrapped with red flames, and at the bottom of the flames around the two horns, the blue flames appeared, clearer than before. Compared with the time when he started learning about drawing the Shaman Volumes, there were more blue flames. However, the red flames did not reduce in quantity either, instead, they grew even bigger!
Now, he was not in a state of battle, so the flame itself indicated that it was in its normal height.
In the past, Shao Xuan hadn’t noticed the change, and he would only focus on the blue flames that represented the power of inheritance when he was drawing the Shaman Volumes. Now it seemed that the blue flames had enlarged the whole flame around the totem.
So it was beneficial to practice the power of inheritance?!
That was totally beyond Shao Xuan’s expectation.
No wonder that Shao Xuan felt that he could use his totem power more skillfully than during his last hunting mission. He did not expect to defeat Tai with only a single move. He thought perhaps it would take awhile for them to distinguish the winner. But, at the very moment that Tai showed his totem patterns, Shao Xuan suddenly felt that this person in front of him was not that strong. He could handle him. He could handle him easily.
Shao Xuan had no idea whether other warriors whose totem patterns reached the two-third point of the upper arms would feel the same. He carefully recalled the scene at that time, and tried to experience the change of his totem patterns slowly. Then, he shook his shoulders, taking out the box with the animal skin roll, brush pen, and pigment, and started to make a Shaman Volume.
Meanwhile, those people up in the mountain gradually came back to senses after Shao Xuan had left. Tai even said in regret, “I forgot to ask him about the length of his totem patterns!”
Lei stared at the spot where Shao Xuan was standing at, and noticed that there was a pair of footprints dented in the ground. That was created when Shao Xuan was confronting Tai, but people did not notice it before.
“Why should you care about the length of his totem patterns? All you need to do is to defeat him before the end of next winter.” Said Lei.
“Yes, indeed.” Tai rubbed his fist while agreeing.
While the other young warriors were thinking and discussing about what kind of game, and how much game they planned to hunt for next year, Shao Xuan maintained his old pattern of life. In the mornings, he would go painting in the Shaman’s place, and then help Gui Ze out in the medicine house in the afternoons. After that, he would go back home, stay in his own room, and slowly paint his own things on pieces of animal skin.
The winter was passing day by day.
Shao Xuan had visited the orphan cave once. Some kids were sleeping, but older kids had the energy to carry stones to practice their strength. It was obviously a terrific change. Now, kids in the cave were in no lack of food. Aside from the fish they stored before winter, they would constantly receive gifts from Chacha. Every time when Chacha caught some little things that he did not care to eat, he would toss them down at the gate of the orphan cave.
Everything was improving.
Shao Xuan stretched himself, looking at the almost-finished painting on the stone desk in front of him.
Now, it was not that hard for him to finish a picture. At first, he would need half a day’s rest after finishing one painting. But now, he was totally able of painting a few pictures in half a day. After that, he could still go out to train Caesar and Chacha.
The Shaman gave him two pieces of animal skin. Shao Xuan would take one up to the mountaintop, to copy other Shaman Volumes or paint his own paintings, and then present his work to the Shaman for examination. While as for the other one… Shao Xuan kept it at home to practice, and the Shaman had no idea of that.
In the Shaman’s eyes, it was already very hard-working of Shao Xuan to have painted that much every day, which had long exceeded his expectations. The Shaman would never have guessed that every day when Shao Xuan returned home, he would continue painting on another animal skin roll. Let alone that he was not copying, he was making original work based on his own consciousness!
Shao Xuan planned to present his work as a gift to the Shaman later. The Shaman spared no effort in teaching him knowledge about herbs, and how to control his power of inheritance. Shao Xuan wanted to repay this kind old shaman as well.
For the sake of the tribe, the Shaman must stay put in the tribe. It was a big sacrifice, not being able to go out. Of course, the Shaman had his responsibilities.
However, one’s poison might be another’s honey. Shao Xuan found the position hard to adjust, but perhaps the Shaman thought differently. He might just be a little regretful, for not being able to step out from the tribe. Shao Xuan could see it every time when he looked into the Shaman’s eyes.
“Almost done…” Shao Xuan whispered to himself as he stared at the animal skin roll in front of him.
Before the winter came to an end, people in the tribe were busy selecting qualified kids that had reached a certain age, to prepare for the coming ceremony. The Shaman was quite busy these days, and he did not have time to check on Shao Xuan’s work lately.
This day, when the Shaman finally had some spare time to sit there with closed eyes, resting, he suddenly thought of something, and looked at the animal skin roll on his desk. It was dropped in here by Shao Xuan when he finished this morning’s practice. He was in the middle of something else, hence he just left it there without opening it.
Taking the animal skin roll in his hands, the Shaman noticed something different. It was not the same animal skin roll that Shao Xuan used for practice normally. Perhaps, these past few days, that lad had finished a whole roll of painting?
Filled with curiosity in his heart, the Shaman unfolded the animal skin roll. As he untied the leather rope on the cover, the Shaman recalled that every time in the past when he was checking on Shao Xuan’s work, he would silently sigh in his heart, for such a talented young man wouldn’t want to be the next shaman. Indeed, once one got out with the other warriors, he or she might never be satisfied with settling down. It was better for him to cultivate someone from youth.
He unfolded the animal skin roll.
Originally, the Shaman assumed that Shao Xuan would paint something simple, for example, plants such as the jumping fruits, or other few kinds of medical plants. However, he did not expect that…
His hands were trembling hard.
The first painting on the Shaman Volume was a little long. If others saw it, they would never have guessed what it’s content was. However, the Shaman was the shaman. He saw giant vines twining around ancient trees, and thick fogs slowly rise from the ground, there were lakes and pools hiding behind the woods. One could faintly feel the vitality and risk, which caused trembling hairs and tense nerves… That was a painting filled with the breath of the forest!
The Shaman raised his hand on his chest. He was only seeing the first painting, but his heart was beating fast.
Many shamans were raised as a shaman since childhood. Once they were chosen, they would never be allowed to step out of the tribe. So, since very young, the Shaman had never left the tribe’s territory.
Although he was aware of many things, for example the names of the ferocious beasts that hunting teams might encounter, and where it was that the advance group was heading to each time. He only knew them in his mind, instead of seeing the real scene with his own eyes. Even when they saw those beasts, they would already be dead and butchered when they were presented to the Shaman.
Perhaps, in his youth, the Shaman might have wondered what it was like in the wild, and perhaps he had dreamt about going out of the tribe one day. But as time went by, he had become the shaman, and he had always been the shaman for so many years. All his thoughts toned down, and he turned into a responsible and well-respected Shaman with a lot of responsibilities on his shoulder. He needed to be at the helm and decide the development direction of the tribe.
The Shaman was having a hard time trying to keep his emotions under control, even though he had already been through a lot, and almost nothing could cause him to have such fluctuations in emotions.
One painting after another, there were things happening along the hunting route, as well as things that Shao Xuan encountered when he was in the advance group, including that flight team of giant dragonflies.
The Shaman went back to the beginning to read it again after he had finished the first round.
Someone outside made some boiled water, and he brought in a glass of brewed herbs for the Shaman to drink when he was thirsty.
The person was walking in silence as he came in. Also, he tried not to make any noise to disturb the Shaman when he was placing down the stone cup. When walking out of the door, he glimpsed at the Shaman, thinking that perhaps the Shaman was reading some ancient animal skin roll left by the ancestors. Every time when he read something left by the ancestors, he would become extremely excited or sad.
On the other hand, Shao Xuan had already finished the tasks assigned by the Shaman, so he went to help in the medicine house. When he went down the mountain after a day’s work, he found that Old Ke was already circling around his door, seeming pretty anxious about something. When he finished with one circle, he would stamp his cane on the ground.
“What happened?” Asked Shao Xuan.
“Hey, you’re back!” Old Ke stepped forward towards Shao Xuan, with his mouth trembling, but in the end, he did not manage to say anything.
“Calm down, please. Just tell me what happened.”
“I can’t calm down!” Old Ke said with heavy breaths. After a while, he finally got better, and said in a low voice, “Someone sent you a message from the Shaman.”
“Okay. What did he say?”
“The Shaman said that you should prepare to attend the ritual ceremony at the end of this winter.”
“Isn’t everybody supposed to attend the ritual ceremony?” Shao Xuan was confused. What’s all the excitement about?
“You are in the core name list! You will be one of those who stands at the edge of the fire pit! Right at the center!” Old Ke stamped with his cane hard on the ground.
Old Ke had never felt more proud than he was feeling now. He felt as if his kid had distinguished himself as outstanding. Although Shao Xuan had his accomplishments in the past, which earned the Shaman’s approval, and he had the chance to learn from the Shaman. However, the ritual ceremony was literally the most sacred thing for people in the tribe. Anyone would spontaneously salute to the mountaintop if he or she would get to participate in any event of the ritual ceremony. Let alone, to be one of those who stands in the inner circle!
However, Shao Xuan was not a local of the tribe after all. Although he tried his best to blend in, he could not alter his own thoughts. He was not as excited as Old Ke.
Old Ke, on the other hand, was pretty pro-active about it. “What should you wear then? Where did you put your outfit made by the skin of the Thorn Black Wind? Where did you put it, Ah-Xuan? Take it out and I’ll help you clean it!”
The outfit made by the skin of the Thorn Black Wind? “I wore it once during the Memorial of the Ancestors. Then I tossed it under bed.”
He was not unsatisfied with it because its weight, the weight was nothing to Shao Xuan, he just felt like he was a little monster while wearing that outfit, there was a row of thorns on the back.
Old Ke took out the outfit of the Thorn Black Wind’s skin for cleaning, and left Shao Xuan standing alone in his room.
One of those standing in the very inner circle around the fire pit? Who were those guys again?
He tried hard to search his memories. Suddenly, his eyelid twitched. What the fuck! They were those who danced the Ritual Dance!!
The Ritual Dance that contained moves of digging out carrots, shaking boobs, and waving rags like a lousy waitress does!
“…it’s so embarrassing…” (To be continued)
[…In the next episode of DBZ CoPW]