Chapter 182 – Cave grabbing (1/2)
Edited by EvilGurl, Ilesyt
There were many potteries around, some were even painted with different patterns on them.
Bust pottery, canvas pottery, and so on… depicted with each tribe’s uniqueness on it. Not only was it practical, but it also possessed a beauty to look at too. It brought along a sense of mysteriousness and a mystical artistic hue.
Those round or semicircular potteries were used as containers, to put objects into. For those with ears on them, they were tied with a thin string.
Not only were there these unusual stuff, but there were even more creative potteries, like pitchers with three legs, potteries for eating, and also urns with those small mouths.
“What are those used for?” Shao Xuan asked the guy beside him while pointing at the area where the urns with small mouths and some funnel looking thing were.
“Oh, that. It is said to be for wine.” The guy beside answered, his eyes looking over that area with envy, “I heard those are wares for wine, they were used to transport wine. It is very popular here. I have traded for a pottery like that before, but it did not come with wine. But it was quite convenient using these potteries for storage and transportation. These kinds do not easily spill out of their caps, that sharp bottom of theirs is also more wear-resistant. It is quite convenient to use. Later when we go back, I am planning to trade for a few more. It will be good if I could get some wine too.
“What is wine?” Yu curiously asked.
“Wine? Some kind of water?” Another person who did not know as well asked, “I have not drank it before, but the head leader has said before that wine was made from food. Tribes who have wine are all big tribes, they do not lack food.”
Few young guys in the surrounding showed faces of envy. Do not lack of food, and still have the material and spiritual enjoyment, who would not be envious.
Many tribes in the central area, their animal husbandry and agriculture have advanced quite far. When there is an overage of food, then can develop their handicraft rapidly. They have a bountiful amount of art, this is also why travellers say that the central tribes are very exciting.
Art design has a relationship between ‘functionality’ and ‘decoration’. In such a place, the people’s labor, their daily tasks, these were all for surviving. After all, survival was the most important, and way of life, was lined after it.
Creativeness is so that they can live a better life, therefore all creating activity, even if it is in a barbaric and primitive colored place, designing potteries was also considered as the ‘people’s’ core, with ‘practicality’ being the fundamentals.
If those fellows at the Flaming Horns tribe saw these, who knows what thoughts would they have in their mind. Especially Xing, who had showed off his precious pottery in front of Shao Xuan.
Other than potteries, there were jade products. Among them there were stripes, half-rings, or even rings less than half. There were a few semi-circular jade ornaments shaped like bridges, some jades had nothing on them, plain, there were only one or a few holes on them. And some jades were carved with complex decorations, some were were even engraved fully.
“Are all those jades?” Both of Yu’s eyes shone while looking at them.
“Yeah, those are jades. but, they are not of very good quality. Later you pay attention when you are looking around, each member of the Mang Tribe, they have a jade on them. Most of them are like this shape.” A traveller gestured a shape, drawing out an arc like that of a bridge, “These type of people belonging to the Mang tribe are all of a higher status, we better not offend them.”
The few young people in the surrounding quickly nodded.
“For now, let’s not bother browsing around, we still have not found a cave to rest yet.” An experienced traveller called to those youngsters who were looking left and right, “Don’t walk away and get lost, you will suffer if you get lost here, maybe you will even lose your life.”
At a lawless place like this, everything is naturally determined by strength. The central tribes are generally stronger, so travellers like them would group themselves in a big group. It is safer like this.
From hereon, people from the travel team were not that relaxed anymore, they also did not have the heart to notice the scenery. They had to constantly be alert. There were many from other tribes around, anybody could also become their enemy. Without you noticing, they would stab you with a knife, snatch your possessions, and then slip into the shadows. These kind of situations were not uncommon.
Not far away from this market, there were hills, although not many, but there were many caves. Some were naturally formed, but some were dug out by travellers who came before.
The Mang tribe and the rest of the eight tribes would not bother with the caves on that side. The people who came to the market, whether they could stay in a cave depended on their true ability.
If you walked further in, entering the territory of the Mang tribe or any of the other eight tribes, there will be already built houses, and it was also safer there as well. But if you stay there, you would have to use many things to trade, and the travellers were not willing to go over.
Shao Xuan and the travel team made it to the front of the hill.
Pa!
A guy who had been beaten till his bones were twisted was thrown down from a height. He breathed out a few more breaths before stopping eternally.
The people around him were minding their own business, like they had not seen the dead guy lying there. They spoke what they needed to, do what they needed to do.
The travellers, even if they saw something strange, it was not strange to them. Things like this happen daily, snatching caves, snatching things, fighting when it is not pleasing to your eyes. Anytime, these can be seen, it is just that sometimes petty quarrels can lead to someone losing his life.
When closing in on the hill, subtle changes also occurred within the travel team. The more experienced and stronger warriors walked at the outside of the group, while the injured ones and the overly young and inexperienced ones gathered in the centre. At this time, there was no separation between tribes. Since they had partnered up when they came here, then naturally they should work in cooperation. Here, they had to band together, if not, they would be considered weak to the others.
There were small and large caves, this team had hundreds of people, of course they would need a larger cave to stay in, and the fight over the larger caves was very aggressive.
The few leaders at the front of the team looked towards the hill, with just one look at the people coming out from their caves, the more experienced travellers could guess roughly how strong they were. If they were too strong, they couldn’t afford to offend them, the caves where the weaker ones stayed also couldn’t be that big either, therefore they targeted the more average and those that couldn’t endure any more opponents to snatch from.
“That side.”
Fan Ning pointed towards a direction, the other leaders also nodded their heads in agreement, gesturing for their own tribes to follow.
With a team of hundreds of members coming over, they couldn’t help but attract a few stares, and some people also had some impression of this group. Those who were more familiar with them would also know their way of handling things, and those who were new to them, went around to investigate about them now. To have a stable standing in this chaotic place, it is a must to know your enemies as well as your comrades.
The few first time young men, the novelty and excitement they had felt at first had long been replaced by the pressure and the strange stressful atmosphere around. They did not even dare to meet anyone’s eyes.
“Lift your heads up, don’t act all like a coward. You’re throwing away your tribe’s face!” Someone in the team commanded in a low voice.
Shao Xuan looked at the other people on the hill, they all looked the same, nobody had an extra arm or two legs less, but their facial features and body size still had more obvious differences.