Duo Kang brought the horn with him everywhere he went. It was a gift to them from a person from a small tribe from within the forest a few hundred years ago. That tribe specialised in art and craft, especially making carvings like this cornucopia horn out of horns and bones. Even the slave masters might not own one of these.
The leader of the hunting party at the time had received this horn as a gift. Due to its extraordinary sound, which sounded like the roar of a ferocious forest predator, they did not use it often. There were stories of animals keeping their distance after hearing its roar.
While the horn was not large, it was of good quality. It had been a few hundred years but other than a few scratches, there was little wear and tear. It was not used often since there were other tools like wooden and skin whistles used for hunting. In the end, this horn was used only for emergencies that were very serious, passed down from leader to leader.
Since Duo Kang took over as the leader of the hunting party, the tribe had been peaceful. There were minor issues but they did not involve the entire village so there was no need for the horn. Yet, he now held the horn in his hand.
Woooo—-
The black horn as big as his palm unleashed a deafening roar, breaking the tranquillity of the village.
Many people were busy cleaning the prey hunted that day. When they heard the call, most did not know what was going on. Only the older members that had experienced a call under the leadership of the previous leader knew how to react.
They had not heard this sound in many years, many were in disbelief, wondering if they had made a mistake. However, everyone had a solemn expression. They were all pale, wondering if the call was truly from the special horn. Then it sounded again.
In the past, the sounding of the horn symbolised major conflict or killings.
The younger warriors and small children were shaken. However, the older ones put down what they were doing without hesitation, calling for everyone to put down what they were doing. The tribe might be in danger, the horn was only sounded when something major happened. As for what other reasons, they could not think of any.
The ones on the hill had similar reactions, especially the chief, the shamaness and the rest of the higher-ranked leaders. They were all pale.
“What’s the matter? Duo Kang blew the horn?” asked the chief, Zheng Luo, running out of his house.
“I don’t know, it came from the foot of the hill.”
“Go, now!”
Someone put down their bowl of rice to rush over, some ran out of their toilets to follow the chief. The shamaness had been in a discussion with the chief. Since she was not a fighter, plus she was old, she chose to stay on the hill.
Rows and rows of people ran downhill. Elders and young children who could not fight all hid in the houses, even the naughtiest children ran inside obediently. The warriors took their weapons with them. In three breaths, the entire atmosphere changed into one prepared for battle.
Even the animals kept in the animal pens shivered. Flaming Horn people were scary when they prepared to fight!
Although the tribe took up a large area of this hill, with the chief. Guang Yi and the rest’s abilities, they arrived where Duo Kang was in no time.
All of them had hurried over because they thought another tribe had invaded their village or there was a super beast ravaging the village, yet when they arrived, they did not see one terrifying animal. There was only a dinosaur with its head buried in the ground. They looked around. Other than a few younger members, who looked shaken and clueless, they did not see anyone else. The horn was only sounded when something major happened, the situation here was not what they expected at all.
“Duo Kang, what happened?” asked the chief, sweeping his gaze across the surroundings.
Everyone else who soon arrived was equally confused. They were looking for the invading beast but they did not see anything. Their gaze lingered on Zhui and Tao Zheng for a while, trying to figure out what happened. However, these two did not know what was going on either. They did not know what Duo Kang was doing, and they’d never heard the horn in their lives. They only knew of its existence, the elders told them about it. They used to dream about receiving the horn once they ascended to the position of leader of the hunting party. Their eyes bulged out of their heads when they saw Duo Kang sound the horn.
When Duo Kang first blew the horn, he did not think it would create such a misunderstanding. At that moment, he did not have any mental capacity to think of anything else, it was only when the chief spoke that he snapped back to reality. He did not answer, only lifting a finger to point, his face reddened.
The chief, Zheng Luo, ?turned to look what Duo Kang was pointing at, frowning. There was a strange young man but he could sense he was a Flaming Horn tribe member. He was one of them, not an invader. Just when he wanted to ask Duo Kang what the problem was, his pupils contracted, his eyes widened as if he could not believe it. He rushed towards Shao Xuan and peered closely at the bone ornament necklace he was wearing- or more specifically, the red, shiny ball in the middle of the pendant.
When he saw the ball, even the calm chief Zheng Luo felt his breathing quicken.
“You…” Zheng Luo’s voice shook uncontrollably, “You…”
Shao Xuan looked at the man who was too emotional to speak with a grin. “Do you still remember the Flaming Horn Tribe from the Fearsome Beast Forest?”
Many people did not understand? Where was the Fearsome Beast Forest? The forest they lived in had many fearsome beasts, which part did he live in?
However, as the chief, Zheng Luo was not confused at all. His speculations were confirmed once again.
“You… follow me!” Zheng Luo did not elaborate, right now he had to bring this person to the shamaness immediately. Although he already had his guesses, it had been a thousand years. There had been generations and generations who did not encounter this, yet one of them suddenly appeared without a sign. It was still unbelievable.
Zheng Luo ignored the rest, dragging Shao Xuan up the hill, sprinting. They both disappeared so suddenly, leaving behind a crowd of confused people. They were confused at such a big reaction from the leader and the chief. What was going on? Was there danger? Should they go home now?
Duo Kang, who snapped back to reality, ignored everyone’s questions and quickly followed suit. He had no time to explain, plus it was not appropriate for him to explain without the shamaness’ confirmation. All he could do was tell everyone to leave and then sprint up the hill.
As for the bone ornament, while the rest might not know what it was, Duo Kang had a strong memory of it. When he took over as the head of the hunting party, there was a ceremony. He had to swear an oath with a hand place on a box containing bone ornaments. These ornaments belonged to their ancestors. That year, he was told the story of these ornaments.
The shamaness on the hill was worried. It felt as if something major had happened, but it didn’t seem like anyone was in danger. What was it?
When she heard footsteps, she looked up only to see Zheng Luo, who had always been a composed person, hurriedly dragging a young man over. She had never seen him this worried.
“What’s the matter…” The shamaness stood up and before she finished her sentence, her gaze instinctively fell on the bone ornament. She yelped in surprised, “Elder’s Bone?!”
It looked like the Elder’s Bone!
She was in charge of protecting three of them, but all three ornaments were dull in colour as if they were in deep sleep. In the past, the shamans and shamaness had a theory that the ancestors had left them due to disappointment in their behaviour. That was why so many shamans left that year. However, here was a strange young man wearing the bone ornament with the orange bead. It was the fiery bead, as red as totemic fire, described in the legends!