115 Chaos Vulture Tribe (2/2)
These families could count from two people up to ten. The tents had to have enough space for ten people to sleep within them. Although it might get crowded, the tents were truly large, enough to accommodate every family.
Children of all ages were running around past the tents; some looked to have a purpose, while others were playing.
Women were walking, carrying baskets filled with roots, vegetables, and furs.
There was a bustling atmosphere within this tribe and everyone was busy doing their own thing, but when they saw the woman and her four guards arriving, all of them respectfully greeted her.
Even more of them were curiously looking at Xue Wei and Hei Gou, and some of them showed shocked expressions whenever they recognized the face of the latter.
The woman who was leading them did not hesitate and led them straight towards the middle of the tribe, where a tent ten times the size of the others had been erected. There were guards all around this tent, and all of them were equipped with spears and observed their surroundings with a very alert demeanor.
They looked at the woman and nodded to her as she led the group of seven into the tent.
Xue Wei expected an unbearable amount of heat inside the tent. The weather outside was fairly warm, scorching almost, and these tribal tents were made from beast hide, which made him believe that they would soak up and trap the heat inside.
He was pleasantly surprised when he felt a fresh breeze move past him when he stepped foot into the tent, causing it to be incredibly comfortable. He looked around only to realize that there were four massive seashells placed in a square formation inside the tent, one in each direction.
These seashells were all facing the same way, and he could sense that the breeze that circulated around in the tent came from them.
Xue Wei had never before heard of or seen anything like this before, so he was seriously curious about it, but he knew better than to start questioning the tribesmen about such a thing when they had just arrived as, bluntly said, captives.
Hei Gou had similarly seen the shells, and he too was curious about them, but he had no intention of asking about it just yet either. Where Xue Wei was incredibly casual and calm, Hei Gou had still not gotten used to the fact that they had entered a settlement of humans, which made him appear terribly stiff and uncomfortable. This was the most humans gathered in one place he had ever seen before, and it scared him silly.
If they found out about his origins, he knew he would be done for, and he was shocked to see that Xue Wei could behave so casually even in this situation.
As they entered the tent, the seashell was not the only thing that caught Xue Wei's attention. There were also seven men inside the tent, and all of them were either middle-aged or elderly.
These seven men were clearly in deep discussion, yet when they sensed someone entering the tent, their discussion died down and they looked to the entrance.
All of them were shocked, yet one of them started tearing up when they spotted Hei Gou's face. The man jumped to his feet and the stool he had been sitting on clattered as it was knocked over by his sudden movement.
”Little Lao?” he asked with a trembling voice and slowly started walking towards Xue Wei and Hei Gou.
Hei Gou's face turned unsightly and he took a few steps back before the woman that had brought him there stepped between the elderly man and Hei Gou.
”Uncle Zhang, I am afraid that it is not Little Lao,” she said apologetically, ”but when I went out to hunt today, we encountered this young man and his companion. He is completely similar to Little Lao in appearance, which was why I decided to bring him back for you and the others to see him.”
”I do not know whether or not it will make you feel at least a little peace, but I genuinely hope so,” she said with a heavy heart. The old man nodded his head. There was a mixture of slight disappointment but also relief and longing in his eyes.
”Come in, both of you, come in!” he exclaimed and spread open his arms to bid them welcome.
He whistled out loud and suddenly four men appeared in the tent opening, cupping their fists and bowing to the old man.
”Elder Zhang, you called?” one of them asked as he was bending forward in a deep bow.
”Find some stools for these youngsters to sit on! I wish to have a good conversation with them!”
The four men acknowledged their order and vanished. After but a moment, they returned with seven stools, one for each of the people in the group.
These seven stools were placed next to the ones of the middle-aged and elderly men, and the man they referred to as Elder Zhang gestured for them to sit down.
”I welcome you to the Chaos Vulture Tribe,” the man said with a smile on his face. ”Why don't you introduce yourselves a bit?” he then asked.
”I am Xue Wei, and this is my brother Hei Gou,” Xue Wei did not bother to try and hide their real names. He had a feeling that if he tried to lie too much to this person in front of him, they would be in more trouble than they could handle.
”What brings two young men such as yourselves to our Flowing Blood Prairie? Looking at your skin, you have not been here for long, as it is simply not tanned enough. And your clothes, they bear a different kind of abrasion. Considering this, you ought to be from the Kingdom of Heping... and if that's the case, should you not have been in the military?” the old man did not let up and asked a lot of questions in one go, leaving Xue Wei smiling wryly, unsure of which question to answer first.