Chapter 97 – That turtle (1/2)

Translated by Sunyancai

“So, what are you…”

The Shaman looked at Shao Xuan, a little speechless, for he did not know what was the right thing to say in this situation. He had not received any living things for many years.

“It’s a present for your honor!”

Shao Xuan placed the turtle on the ground at the corner. On second thought, he decided to place it with its back on the ground. So, every time when it tried to turn over, the Shaman would just have to spin it back with a finger.

“I’m dropping it off here, and by the way, when should I come learn herbalism from you?” asked Shao Xuan.

The Shaman looked back as his eyes were fixed on the upturned turtle earlier. He thought about it and said, “You should come to the mountaintop in ten days.” He had a lot things on his plate recently, for some matters needed to be processed, and he had to draw many pictures on the animal skin roll. But he would be less busy after ten days.

“Alright, then I’ll come in ten days.” Seeing that the Shaman had a lot of blank animal skin rolls on the table, Shao Xuan knew that the Shaman had a lot of things to take care of. He said no more and excused himself after a decent salute. As for the turtle… it won’t be able to harm anyone since someone was guarding at the Shaman’s place.

When Shao Xuan had left, the Shaman silently stared at the turtle on the ground which had just turned itself over.

The turtle with murderous look was no longer behaving like a savage animal as it was in Shao Xuan’s cabin. Now, it opened its eagle-hooked mouth a little, staring at the Shaman with no other move.

The Shaman kept staring at the turtle for some time, and then called the guard to come inside, to take the turtle to another place.

Old Ke was waiting for Shao Xuan, when Shao Xuan came home that day. Old Ke seemed quite nervous. People in the tribe all valued the Shaman’s attitude a lot, so Old Ke wanted to know whether the Shaman was satisfied when he received such a unique present from Shao Xuan.

“How are things going? Did the Shaman like it?” Before Shao Xuan could enter the door, Old Ke asked hastily. The blue veins on his hand became more obvious than before because he was clutching his cane pretty hard out of nervousness. The cane was about to break…

Shao Xuan recalled the Shaman’s facial expression and then answered, “I think he is satisfied. He asked me to go to him in ten days.”

Old Ke was finally relieved hearing Shao Xuan’s words. Since the Shaman asked Shao Xuan to go to the mountaintop, it meant that he had no dissatisfaction towards Shao Xuan.

“Since you still have ten days, you should learn a thing or two about the herbs from the warriors in the other hunting team, before you go to the mountaintop. The Shaman will be delighted if you learned something in advance.” Old Ke had planned to go and visit some of his old pals in the hunting team who knew a thing or two about herbs. However, the pals he knew were all in the other hunting team right now, and they had been out for days. By the time, they come back, Shao Xuan would already be at the mountaintop.

Normally speaking, the animals and ferocious beasts in the forests had a wave-shaped activeness. When the two moons were full moons and overlapped another, it would reach the highest peak. However after that, there would be less and less animals that were active in the forest. By the end of the year, some animals hid in some places, preparing to hibernate. So, to make sure that they had enough food to survive the winter, the hunting team would go hunting for a longer time when it got near the end of the year.

Because of that, the other hunting team might not be able to come back even after twenty days. When Shao Xuan goes to the mountaintop, he would have to wait for another three or four days for them to come back. If something unpredictable happened on the road, it might take them longer.

“Then, I can’t help you in herbalism.” Old Ke had already forgotten most of the things he knew about herbs. He worried that if he taught Shao Xuan the wrong thing, Shao Xuan would be humiliated in front of the Shaman. It was the Shaman that he was going to face!

However, Shao Xuan had no such nervousness or anxiety as Old Ke, and he behaved just like normal. He did stone crafting, and trained Caesar and Chacha as usual in the training ground. Also, he kept learning and practicing the skills of setting traps.

During the season, many trees on the hills around the training ground had fruits on the branches, and many people would go and collect them. Many fruits had a short maturation period. One day before, it was only a peanut-sized green fruit, and the second day, it would grow into an apple-sized colorful fruit. If you did not pick it, it would rot the next day.

So, many people would go to the training ground just to collect the fruits. Most of them were residents from the mountain foot district. After all, they had a relatively short storage of food, so it was always better to have more food prepared before winter comes.

Finally, the day came when Shao Xuan ought to go to the mountaintop. Before he set off, Old Ke urged him again and again to not upset the Shaman, and be careful during the learning process. It was such a great honor to learn from the Shaman, so never to be careless!

Regardless of his true feelings at heart, Shao Xuan nodded seriously, “You just rest assured!”