These pancakes were different from the ones they usually ate, which were hard enough to be used as a discus to kill people.
Shao Xuan broke off a piece of pancake and felt the strength. It would be very difficult for someone who didn’t have the strength of the totem warrior to break off a piece from a thick pancake.
Chewing the small piece of pancake, Shao Xuan thought a warning that “People who have bad teeth are not suggested to eat” should be written on the pancake.
“It’s hard! But it could keep starvation away.” commented Shao Xuan.
“This is a must for our travelers. Unlike the pancakes exchanged with others, these are all made for ourselves, and we generally do not trade. There is little food in the Death Land. You can at least temporarily survive by taking these.”
Saying these words, Yang Sui handed a black stone wrapped in bark to Shao Xuan, “This is also useful for you.”
“What’s this?” Shao Xuan felt the coolness of the black stone, guessing, “Rain stone?”
“This is indeed a rain stone, but it’s not a usual one. Only one such rain stone can be found from thousand pieces of rain stones. We call it ‘efficacious rain stone’, which is the gift of the gods. It can help the tribe people pass the driest season.”
Shao Xuan touched the surface of the small black stone. Within a while, part of the stone that had been covered by the leaves became covered with mist, but the mist on the rest of the parts had evaporated.
This was indeed a water-producing artifact in arid zones.
“Thank you.” Shao Xuan accepted Yang Sui’s kindness, repacking the small efficacious rain stone with leaves and putting it in a clean hide bag.
“You don’t have to thank me. Thank yourself, otherwise I would’ve already been burned to death.” Yang Sui paused and said, “If you encounter the slave masters in Death Land, don’t fight with them and try to avoid them.”
“How much do you know about the slaves’ master?” asked Shao Xuan. The Rain tribe people who lived here may know more about slaves and the slaves’ master.
“The slaves’ masters?” Yang Sui’s eyes had a hint of fear, “The slaves’ masters are a group of people who don’t have inner flame.”
From the perspective of the tribes, if there was no inner flame, it would be impossible to form a tribe. Naturally, if a tribe was not formed, then the group would be wanderers with weak fighting power. However, the slaves’ masters were different. They didn’t have inner flame but they had great power, and they could even create more slaves with great power.
“Where does their power come from?” Shao Xuan was puzzled.
“I don’t know.” Yang Sui shook his head, “Perhaps this is why people of the Central Tribes go there again and again.” In the records of the ancestors of the Rain tribe, slave masters had the ability that was powerful enough to frighten those of the Central Tribes. A thousand years ago, they appeared and launched bloodthirsty slaughter, leading many tribes to their destruction. After that, they all went to the Death Land. It made people confused, so some people also followed them to the place to look for answers. Usually, many people go to the Death Land while only a few come out. Some became slaves and some died. Only you people of the Central Tribes often step into the Death Land… If you come across something astonishing, tell me when you come back.” Yang Sui smiled.
“OK.”
After talking with Shao Xuan for a while, Yang Sui left together with Mi Xu.
Some people of the Rain tribe were looking for their Shaman Yang Sui, who still had many things to deal with, but Yang Sui commanded them to wait for a while, so they all gathered obediently in a nearby place and waited for him patiently. Judging from the respectful behavior of these people, Yang Sui’s position would remain stable for at least a few more years.
Shao Xuan carried that bag of discus-like pancakes, wore that efficacious rain stone and then turned to the camel that had a face shaped like that of a mythical animal. Mi Xu called it “Mud”.
In the Rain tribe, “Mud” was not a derogatory word and on the contrary, it is an auspicious word. What was mud? Soil and water. For the Rain tribe which was short of water, it would be better if the land became like mud, instead of cracked lumps.
“Come on, Mud.” Shao Xuan took the rope and tied the camel near the door of the wooden house where they rested.
Lei and Tuo regarded the camel Shao Xuan brought as emergency food supply, with glittering lights in their eyes.
“Chi, with that kind of thing, our pace will slow down. Why not eat it now?” said a man from the Tian Shan tribe.
The response he got was a long puff from the camel’s shaking lips.
Huang Ye and others were a little familiar with the camel and weren’t against it, but they warned Shao Xuan to take caution and catch up with the traveling team.
The next day, the group left the Rain tribe and headed for the desert.
As Shao Xuan expected, the further they went, the more serious the desertification became. At first, there were some trees and grass but gradually, only the sand remained in their sights.
With the scorching sun in the sky, the sand on the ground was also extremely hot.
The group of people hurried on their journey since Huang Ye said they had to arrive at a resting place before it became dark, where they would be safer.
Up till now, there was no one left behind, after all, these people of the traveling team were selected based on a standard threshold criteria. As for those who failed to meet the requirements, they would bring back their legs. Even if some of these people really couldn’t keep up, the elders would let themselves go back and the team wouldn’t delay the journey because of a few people.
Shao Xuan looked at the camel named “Mud”, which was following on the heels of him, carrying a few hide bags with food and stoneware, as well as a few pieces of hide. It was still tagging along after the team.
Shao Xuan and the other two were quite relieved, although they could afford to carry those bags, which meant nothing to them after all. But they could keep their strength because they lightened their loads. What’s more, for Lei and Tuo, who came to such a dry land for the first time, it couldn’t be better than to reduce their load.
For others, however, who came here for the first time, they could only feel sad over their misfortune as they didn’t have the camel to help them. They had given Shao Xuan a dig before, but now, they could only glance at Shao Xuan with envy every few steps forward.
To withstand the strong sunlight, the camel’s brow ridge was very high; and to resist the sandstorms, its eyelashes were long. When it bent back its neck and looked down on the people, it seemed to give an impression of nobility and indifferent arrogance.
Above, five eagles glided around the Traveling team, and sometimes when they saw a stir somewhere in the desert, they would scramble for the prey.
Towards evening, the team finally arrived at the resting place which Huang Ye mentioned.
It looked like an abandoned village: the walls made of dinas, the dry wooden stakes, and some of the semi-buried broken pottery pieces and stone vessels.
Shao Xuan and others were not the only ones who arrived there. Before their arrival, another team was already there. They looked like slaves, but they differed a lot from the slave team they had met on the way there.
They were not tied up.
“It’s Sand Slaves.” said someone.
All tribes called the slaves born in the desert as Sand Slaves – Their ancestors were slaves and many slave generations had been before them.
These people were different from those new slaves. They didn’t have to be bound and they wouldn’t run away either.
Taking a look, Shao Xuan found that these slaves were similar to tribesmen in appearance, but they were thin and their skin was darker, which was one of the physical features shared by most desert residents.
Perhaps because of strong sunshine, excessive exposure, coupled with the harsh desert climate, frequently occurring sandstorms, and the habit of sitting around the fire to keep warm when it was cold, their skin lost elasticity and wrinkled, becoming stiff and rough.
Their teeth were yellow, their feet were bare, without any protective footwear, and their soles were larger than others.
When looking at Shao Xuan and others, their eyes were full of curiosity and precaution. However, when they saw the things carried by these tribesmen, their eyes showed greed and killing intent.