Accompanied by the words, a sturdy man who looked like a bear walked out of the stone house.
If Ying’s father, Chong, was already imposing enough, compared to the man before him, he was no more than a little insect.
"Hey, which tribe are you from?"
The man was taken aback upon seeing Zhang Chen.
Di quickly stepped forward, murmured a few words to his father in a low voice, and in the next moment, the man showed a broad smile: "So it turns out we have an esteemed guest. My name is Thunder, and I am Di’s father. Thank you for taking care of my son. From now on, the Ape Tribe is your home, and you can stay here as long as you desire."
Thunder’s voice was full of eagerness.
"I’ve been wandering for too long, and I need to find a place to rest. I hope the Clan Leader won’t mind," Zhang Chen replied courteously.
Then Thunder offered venison and fine wine to entertain Zhang Chen and arranged for him to stay at his home.
Zhang Chen sat inside the stone house, looking at the simplistic abode. Apart from a simple bed with a straw mattress covered in animal skin, there was nothing else.
There was a table in the room, and on it were freshly picked fruits with water droplets still hanging on them.
The lifestyle of the primitive tribe was very simple, and Zhang Chen wasn’t demanding. He was thinking about how to inquire about the ’Emperor’ and the Tomb from the Ape Tribe.
"The Ape Tribe once swept across the world, provoking countless enemies. Now they hide their identities here to avoid their foes. It will be difficult for me to extract any information," Zhang Chen mused, stroking his chin. "How should I broach the topic?"
Zhang Chen could imagine that if he spoke casually, it would surely alert Thunder. Therefore, the time to speak must be appropriate, so as not to be misunderstood by Thunder.
"I need an opportunity to gain Thunder’s trust." Zhang Chen stood at the window, pondering for a long time without a clear solution. Without a Dog Head Military Advisor to offer advice, he truly found it a bit tricky.
"Right, I wonder how the Great Freedom Celestial Demon is doing. Since this fellow has come to this world, he should know about the Emperor," Zhang Chen recalled the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, who was stirring up trouble in the world, plotting who knows what.
As soon as the thought crossed Zhang Chen’s mind, a petal appeared in his hand, which twisted and transformed into the image of the Great Freedom Celestial Demon: "Kid, why have you summoned me again?"
"I have something to ask you: do you know about the ’Ape’ tribe and the ’Emperor’?" Zhang Chen asked.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon was taken aback, looking oddly at Zhang Chen, then at Di chopping wood in the yard, and replied subtly: "Of course, I know."
"Was this Ape Tribe established by the Emperor’s descendants?" Zhang Chen asked.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon paused briefly, then with a troubled face, replied: "The past and future are undetermined, the causal variables are infinite, I dare not say anything. If I reveal any causality, I fear I won’t be able to escape its ties. Though I am Immortal, being buried in the river of time would be no different from death."
"I want to know about the relationship between the Empress Tomb and this tribe," Zhang Chen asked.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon shook his head: "Under the power of space-time causality, my memory of this has been suppressed, I simply cannot recall."
This was, of course, a lie, as he really couldn’t reveal the truth to Zhang Chen for fear of causing a temporal disturbance.
Zhang Chen looked at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon with his eyes, finally sighed helplessly: "Fine! Fine! I’ll figure it out myself."
Zhang Chen stored away the petal of the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, then looked towards the Chief’s house, a thought flickering in his mind: "If I use the Invisibility Technique to search the Chief’s house... No, there are Divine Spirits protecting the tribe, though I don’t know their rank, their strength must surpass mine, my Invisibility Technique won’t deceive the Divine Spirit."
"I wonder if the Divine Spirit of the tribe can reveal some skill to me," Zhang Chen began contemplating the benefits. If he could extract a skill from the Ape Tribe’s Divine Spirit, then so could countless other tribes, thus he must conduct an experiment in the Ape Tribe.
With this in mind, Zhang Chen left the house and asked Di, who was chopping wood: "May I visit the temple? Since I’ve come to the domain of a Divine Spirit, I should pay my respects."
Di pondered for a moment, then laid down the hatchet and said: "Since the Divine Spirit has accepted you, it seems you won’t be refused."
"My brother, please follow me," Di said to Zhang Chen.
The two left the house, Di introducing Zhang Chen as they walked: "The Divine Spirit of our tribe is called ’Houtu.’ A powerful deity mastering the Law of Earth."
"Houtu?" Zhang Chen was taken aback when he heard this and even paused his steps.
"What’s wrong? Is there something inappropriate?" The young Di looked at Zhang Chen with curiosity.
"Nothing, just some memories came to mind," Zhang Chen quickly shook his head to hide his thoughts.
"Oh, I’ll continue to introduce you to our tribe’s Divine Spirit. Our Divine Spirit is very gentle and kind, like a mother, completely different from the high and mighty deities of other tribes." The young Di was full of praise for his tribe’s Divine Spirit.
As the two walked, a figure suddenly approached from afar, it was Ying’s father, Chong. At that moment, Chong came from outside the village, whistling, with a relaxed and easy expression on his face as if he had encountered something terrific.