Chapter 65 – The Elder (2/2)

Shao Xuan took out the smallest piece of the Thorn Black Wind’s meat, after a second thought though, he cut the meat again, and tossed the smallest part to Caesar. Advanced prey contained a lot of energy, and Shao Xuan had no idea how much Caesar would be able to take.

Looking at the pile of food, Shao Xuan calculated for how much salt he could trade with the tribe.

To attend the memorial ceremony of the ancestors later, everyone in the tribe became quite busy. They took out the things that they were most pleased with, since the memorial ceremony could be compared to the Snow Festival. The other hunting team, which was supposed to set off right away, was instead delayed for a few days, and would start the hunting mission after the memorial ceremony.

Shao Xuan asked some tailor to make him a jacket out of the scale layer of the Thorn Black Wind. It was like an armor, and although it looked stupid, it was necessary for him to make a good impression. It was the most direct way for someone to show his ability in the tribe, and Shao Xuan had to observe the customs of the place.

Of course, Shao Xuan didn’t forget to send some scaly skins and meat to Mao. After all, he had contributed to the hunting of the Thorn Black Wind.

Only fifty days after the Snow Festival’s ceremony, there was yet another grand ceremony within the tribe.

It was not as complicated as the one during the Snow Festival regarding rules and procedures, and no one danced.

Shao Xuan was arranged to stand at the spot closest to the fire pit. Being the real star in finding the ancestors, he was qualified enough to have the position, and no one else in the tribe was against the decision.

Because of that, there was only one skinny body among the ones that were standing near the fire pit, and it was Shao Xuan.

This time, Shao Xuan didn’t dare to allow his mind to drift away. Instead, he paid attention in following the others in this memorial ceremony of their ancestors. He was whispering at heart: Dear ancestors, please kindly give us your blessings in the hunting missions to come! Please shelter us from those troubles!

The four ancestors were cremated in the fire pit. Originally the flame in the fire pit harmed no one, but now it had wrapped up all those dried bodies. Soon enough, four bodies gradually disappeared, and there wasn’t even smoke or dirt created. When the flame returned to its normal size, the fire pit went back to normal. There were no ashes of the dead, nothing was left there.

Everyone who passes away in the tribe will be cremated like that, but not everyone has the honor to have such a grand ceremony during the cremation. Let alone that this memorial ceremony was not second to the Snow Festival on scale.

Shao Xuan noticed that the bone ornament was gone. Obviously it was retained by the Shaman. It’s reasonable, burning such a treasure would be unwise.

After the sincere worship and prayers, Shao Xuan was summoned by the Shaman after the memorial ceremony.

He asked Shao Xuan about the things that happened in the cave, and it was far more detailed than the other’s questioning. Also, the Shaman was paying extra attention to the feelings that Shao Xuan had back in the cave, the so called “totem guidance”.

Shao Xuan had explained things properly, but he also played dumb when it was necessary.

Finally, he went back home after being questioned for about an hour.

When Shao Xuan left, the Shaman took out a small box made from jade. He opened it carefully and there were three similar bone ornaments lying inside. Shao Xuan would be totally surprised if he were here. It turned out that there were more of them. However, the little ball in the middle of the bone ornament was no longer glossy. Instead, it appeared dim.

Beside the jade box, there was a roll of animal skin. It didn’t look ancient, but in fact, it was more than a thousand years old.

The Shaman unfolded the roll and inside there were some simple pictures with the appearance of the bone ornaments.

“Finally, all were found.” The Shaman sighed.

If there was someone else in the room, he or she would be quite confused. Six bone ornaments were drawn on the animal skill roll, but there were only three of them in the box. Why did the Shaman say “all were found”?

Thinking about Shao Xuan’s answers, the Shaman had a trace of smile on his sad face. He knew that Shao Xuan wasn’t telling the complete truth, but that was fine.

“The power of the flame will guide you in the right direction. Just like in ancient times, when our ancestors used fire to light up the night.” The Shaman had said that, but in fact, there were very few people who could do that. Even if they had the feeling, it was just a blurry one, and almost none of them had an image or a concept as clear as Shao Xuan’s. No one could depend on the blurry hints to walk out of the cave. It would be exactly like how the three ancestors had the feeling and they found the Elder at last. However, they couldn’t get out from the cave.

Recalling Shao Xuan’s abnormal behavior when he was awakened, the Shaman figured his awakening was more like an awakening under the support of a complete flame…

Was that the difference between the complete flame and the incomplete flame?

The Shaman stared at the bone ornaments in front of him. He reached out with his withered hand and touched the dim ball in the middle of the ornament slightly. Then, he put the animal skin roll back, and covered the box with its lid, before putting it back where it was.

Taking two steps back, the Shaman stared at the box silently, and made a sincere salute.