Chapter 101 – The Shaman’s requiremen (2/2)

Was he the offspring from a former Shaman? But that still made no sense, for the shaman would totally pass on his or her power to the successor completely, nothing was held back. The shamans were people of no selfish intentions. Their loyalty was to their tribe.

Also, after re-examining a few animal skin rolls of the family trees in the tribe, he was positive that Ah-Xuan’s ancestors were ordinary warriors.

Until now, the Shaman had no exact answers to all his questions, but he decided not to tangle with that.

As he was about to persuade Shao Xuan into taking his place, he was refused by Shao Xuan firmly.

“Are you certain?” The Shaman asked a further question, which was rare.

Shao Xuan looked at the Shaman in silence. He was different from the members of the tribe in terms of concepts, thinking, and principles of dealing with things. He was very different, so how could he become their spiritual guide? However, all those reasons must be kept to himself.

“Fine.” The Shaman sighed and left the question behind. He asked: “Have you read all those animal skin rolls?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then, do you want to read more of the Shaman Volumes?” asked the Shaman.

“Yes, I do.” There were a lot of things recorded in the Shaman Volumes that amazed Shao Xuan deeply. Meanwhile, he guessed that there would be more secrets buried in the more ancient Shaman Volumes. If he wanted to have a better understanding of the tribe, he needed to start with the shaman. And the Shaman Volumes were excellent historical books.

“Then I can bring you more of the Shaman Volumes.” The Shaman said slowly.

Shao Xuan said nothing about it right now, instead he was waiting for the things that the Shaman would say.

The Shaman raised his head and glanced over the stone table that had different kinds of herbs on it. He continued: “I hope that you will help Gui Ze.”

“Of course, I’ll do that.” Shao Xuan intended to tell Gui Ze the things he knew even without the Shaman’s demand. To help the others was to help oneself. The herbs that were packed before a hunting mission were all prepared by Gui Ze. Shao Xuan would be happy if he could help with that and raise Gui Ze’s efficiency.

The Shaman nodded, satisfied. He was getting old after all, and he already had a lot on his plate. He was willing to teach Gui Ze, but the flesh was weak. It was impossible for him to take care of every aspect. The way of processing different herbs couldn’t be fully delivered by him to Gui Ze. In fact, Gui Ze gained her knowledge from others. For example, Gui Ze would master the processing methods of the heart piercing stem better if someone were to teach her.

In the past, the Shaman thought that Gui Ze would naturally understand the things described in the Shaman Volumes once she inherited from him. So, he spent more time teaching her the right mind, attitude and view of the world. Also, he focused on the development and trend of the tribe. Those things were the most important ones.

While Shao Xuan’s presence today could well solve the problem.

The Shaman felt a little sorry, but on the bigger picture, he was satisfied with the situation. He stood up and intended to leave after talking with Shao Xuan about the herbs described in the Shaman Volumes.

Before leaving, the Shaman told Shao Xuan: “You come to my room in the mornings starting tomorrow. Some Shaman Volumes can’t be brought in here. You can come to the medicine house in the afternoons.”

“Okay.” Answered Shao Xuan as he made a sincere salute towards the Shaman.

Since Gui Ze didn’t return to the medicine house, Shao Xuan felt a little bored. He processed all the raw plants on the stone table. It wasn’t very hard, since the only thing the herbs required was the pre-processing. He had seen Gui Ze process the herbs before, and he also learnt the way of processing from the Shaman Volumes that he read these days. He was aware of the things that he should be aware of. He was very skillful and proficient when processing them, just like when he was processing the heart piercing stem.

When leaving the medicine house and heading back home, Shao Xuan looked up in the sky.

Chacha was hovering over his head in the sky.

“Do you want to see it for yourself, since it is such a big world?” whispered Shao Xuan.

“土反其宅，水归其壑，昆虫毋作，草木归其泽”一句出自远古歌谣《蜡辞》，本文在此借用。