Chapter 423 (1/2)

Brought Back To The Tribe

Shao Xuan observed. Although the duck was still guarded and cautious around him, if there was anything dangerous around it, the duck would immediately run towards him, screaming.

Should he really bring it back to the tribe? Or just cook it?

Shao Xuan thought about it. This duck was special. If they could really tame it, it was not a problem to rear it in the tribe. However, Shao Xuan studied its tail feathers. It was probably a male. If he brought it back, it could not lay eggs. Should he eat it? There were no female ducks in the tribe.

After thinking about it, Shao Xuan decided to leave it alone for the moment. If the duck managed to follow him back to the tribe, then they’ll just rear it there. It will be an experiment to rear it as poultry.

Shao Xuan set off once again after resting a few days at Gongjia Heng’s place.

This time, he did not take the path through the water-covered swamp area. He went around it, taking the longer route instead. He wanted to fill out his map after checking the area.

The duck followed. It had gotten used to him. Since Shao Xuan hadn’t eaten or beaten it during this period of time, even helping it a few times, it followed him even closer.

Shao Xuan became more relaxed when he saw the familiar patch of forest. He moved faster too.

There was a movement in the forest. Shao Xuan heard conversations. There were hunters from the tribe out hunting.

Whoosh!

An arrow flew from among the trees, flying straight at the fat duck behind it. It was unfortunate that it was such an obvious target in the forest. When it flew, it was basically a living target. It could get by if hunters did not want such a small game but if any hunter decided they wanted the duck, this duck would never survive. Plus after travelling for such a long time, it had grown weaker and not as agile as before. It was going to be difficult for it to dodge an arrow.

When Shao Xuan sensed the arrow, he blocked it with his sword. He hit the arrow sideways.

“Who is it?!” There was a shout among the trees and several people rushed over.

It was Tao Zheng, Zhui and the rest. This was the area their hunting party frequented. When someone had knocked their arrow away, the first thing they thought was that someone from another tribe must have trespassed their hunting grounds.

However, when they saw Shao Xuan, their guarded looks faded immediately.

“Shao Xuan!”

“Elder!”

“You’re back?!”

Shao Xuan waved it off. “No, I can go back on my own. You all carry on with your hunt.”

“Elder Shao Xuan, what’s that behind you? You hunted it?” asked a young member of the party. He had been the one who shot the arrow. Now he was very embarrassed, it felt like he had taken the Elder’s game.

Shao Xuan looked at the fat duck resting on the tree nearby and turned to Tao Zheng and the rest. “Kind of.”

He was carrying a huge bundle wrapped in animal hide and vines. Everyone eyed it curiously.

“What’s inside?” asked Tao Zheng excitedly.

“Gold wares,” said Shao Xuan.

When they heard him, everyone was curious but it was not the time to chat. All they could do was suppress their curiosity and continue with their hunt.

After bidding them farewell, Shao Xuan hunted two more animals and then returned to the tribe.

In the tribe, when the shamaness and Chief Zheng Luo heard of Shao Xuan’s return, they came down the hill to personally greet him.

“Eh? The bird…” yelled someone at the manmade river surrounding the village. He pointed at the bird resting on the tree opposite the river.

The fat duck studied everyone from the Flaming Horn tribe, alert.

“About the bird, if it did not deliberately attack anyone or bring any trouble to the tribe, just ignore it,” said Shao Xuan to the people around the river.

So it was Shao Xuan’s duck! Everyone at the foot of the hill nodded solemnly, promising not to kill it.

Shao Xuan wanted to explain but the shamaness had dragged him up the hill like she had many questions for him. Shao Xuan did not elaborate, planning to return once he was done.

He went up the hill, tossed the prey at his doorstep. A few people resting in the area volunteered to help him clean the prey since he was busy. After thanking them, he went to the shamaness and explained what happened to her and the chief.