Guang Yi was in a bad mood. He had encountered a problem he could find no solution to no matter how hard he thought. He didn’t expect to meet a young man wandering around so late at night.
Guang Yi had trouble remembering faces. The number of people that he did remember could be counted with two hands and they were mostly old friends of his. With his strength and special status in the tribe, this shortcoming didn’t affect him much. He wasn’t interested in being the leader of the hunters because of the difficulty he would face to remember the few hundreds or thousands that went hunting with him.
Usually, when people greeted him, he would respond without remembering what that person looked like. However, he was able to accurately determine people from his tribe. Any outsiders, with or without disguise, would be recognised by him if they got closer to him. Tribesmen naturally had a scent to them, that was how the long-clawed squirrel monkey knew Shao Xuan was from the Flaming Horn tribe with a whiff. People from Flaming Horn had a special connection. Even when Shao Xuan hadn’t activated his totemic powers, anyone with keen senses could tell he was one of them.
After one look at Shao Xuan, he knew that Shao Xuan was from the same tribe but he had no recollection of his face. He assumed that Shao Xuan was being disobedient by staying out when it was dark outside. He should be punished! If he still didn’t learn his lesson, Guang Yi would take matters into his own hands.
“You young people are really…… you think you’re better than everyone else! Do you know how many beasts there are in the woods? The number of beasts that even I am afraid of? Why would the tribe hunt in a group and not alone? Because no one. Can. Ever. Survive. Alone. Do you think you are better than Duo Kang? You’re probably not even at that level, do you think you’re better than Wu Zhan, Tao Zheng or Zhui?”
As he spoke, Guang Yi turned to look at Shao Xuan, to observe his expression.
As Shao Xuan saw the older man turn to look at him, he immediately put on a respectful look even though he had no idea who this Duo Kang, Wu Zhan, Tao Zheng or Zhui he was talking about were. In his experience, it was best to obediently listen to the lecturing in a situation like this one.
However, the names that were mentioned must be people from the tribe so Shao Xuan memorised their name.
Seeing as Shao Xuan did not give him attitude, Guang Yi was more at ease but the lecture didn’t stop there.
“You people are arrogant! Foolish! Disobedient! You caught a few small beasts and think you are the king of the jungle, idiots! What if you met a grown mountain lion, bear or other large beasts, how many lives do you have to take a risk like that?! Even a small beast can keep you in the jungle forever! Just like that long-clawed squirrel monkey that messed up the Taihe tribe, just one of them would be able to kill you!”
At first, Shao Xuan was just obediently listening to the scolding until he heard long-clawed squirrel monkey. He thought of the one he caught last time and was about to say something until he saw the death stare the person in front of him had that said, “You even want to talk back to me?!”
He thought about it and kept his silence, putting on a serious listening face.
Guang Yi was satisfied and continued to lecture Shao Xuan about his selfish, rule-breaking behaviour.
Shao Xuan was two steps behind Guang Yi, following his lead.
Flaming Horn tribe’s second line of defence was the large wall made of wood and stone with people guarding the entrance.
The stranger following Guang Yi in had piqued the interest of the guards but they didn’t dare to ask much as Guang Yi didn’t say much about him.
They waited for Guang Yi and Shao Xuan to be out of earshot to start discussing among themselves.
“Who was the person Guang Yi brought with him?” asked someone.
“Not sure, but if Guang Yi is alright with it, we don’t need to worry.” Even though Guang Yi had face blindness, he had never brought in anyone that would harm the tribe.
Shao Xuan observed his surroundings while he listened to the older man talk. He didn’t expect he could enter the tribe so easily, especially in this manner. How peculiar.
The layout between this tribe and the Flaming Horn tribe that he knew didn’t have a big difference. The centre of the tribe was located on a mountain but in this case, it was just a hill. There were very few farmlands that were located at the border of the tribe. Not many crops were planted, only a few docile animals were raised on a small scale, it looked like the people here still heavily relied on hunting.
However, looking at the brass weapons and the materials of their clothes, it seemed that they frequently traded with the outside world.
Shao Xuan felt at ease seeing that they were doing well here.
The sun was soon setting, many families were having their dinners and no many were outside walking around. The few that were still out were curious about the new face in town but they swallowed their questions at the sight of Guang Yi. They figured that he was from a family on the hill, there were so many people in the tribe, they were only familiar with the people in their area.
After his long lecture, Guang Yi only remembered to ask for the young man’s name, “What is your name?”
Shao Xuan was startled, he replied seriously, “My name is Shao Xuan.”
Guang Yi stopped his steps, tilted his head as if he was recalling something, then said, “Oh, it’s you!”
Shao Xuan was silent. “......”
Who are you thinking of? Did you finally notice you got the wrong person?!
“Uhm, actually I……” Shao Xuan got cut off before he finished his sentence.
“It’s fine, go back now, don’t think of running off again, I’ll be keeping an eye on you!” Guang Yi said impatiently with a look that said, “What a load of bullshit this was!”
Shao Xuan wasn’t sure what expression he should show, he felt that this misunderstanding was getting worse by the second.
Well, just let it be then. Shao Xuan was curious to know what would happen next with this misunderstanding.
Shao Xuan wasn’t sure who the man thought of him to be but looking at the way others greeted this “Guang Yi”, he was sure that the man had a high status in the tribe.
Guang Yi brought Shao Xuan to a house. Even though he couldn’t recognise people’s faces, he remembered where everyone lived.
“Go in now, don’t think about running away.” Guang Yi said as he pointed to the house with his chin.
The main gate of the house was open, Shao Xuan walked to the gate and scratched his head, he wasn’t sure whether he should greet the owners.
Shao Xuan heard the creak of the gate as it opened.
A window opened up and the people inside saw Guang Yi. They didn’t see Shao Xuan who was standing behind the door because of the angle.
Guang Yi saw the person by the window and pointed to him, trying to recall his name, “You’re …….”
“I’m Zhao Ming! Uncle Guang Yi, why are you here?” asked the person in excitement. Guang Yi was someone everyone knew, he was even idolised by some younger warriors. Zhao Ming wanted to flip out the window but he thought of the mud on his clothes. If he went out like this, he would definitely get an earful.
“Ah, yes, Zhao Ming. So, Zhao Ming, I brought your older brother back, you better pay attention to him, don’t let him run around!” After saying this, Guang Yi walked up the hill.
Zhao Ming was confused at what Guang Yi said. His brother recently went for a hunt and came back with good results. He was out celebrating with a few friends, why would he be “running around”?
Zhao Ming put down the things he was holding as he left his small room. He decided to question the “brother” that Guang Yi brought to the house.
“Brother, didn’t you go celebrate……”
As Zhao Ming walked out of the room, he saw a stranger looking back at him.
“Who are you?!” Zhao Ming asked with his mind on alert and his hand reaching behind him.
“Me? I’m from Flaming Horn.”