Chapter 588 (2/2)

When the rest of the tribe looked up at the tower, they saw a circle of green ducks on the handrail at the highest level of the tower.

Some of them recognised the ducks and exclaimed happily, “Have our ducks returned?!”

Some people who heard this sentence figured out the history of those ducks. When the two groups of the tribe united, they had also shared about the ducks they had raised, especially the green duck.

Even the workers at the animal pens hurried over excitedly. That year when the caretaker of the duck circle left the tribe, he had lost all hope and longed to stay. He thought he would never be able to see those ducks again. Now, he couldn’t believe his eyes! They were right there in front of him!

Shao Xuan counted the number of ducks on the handrail. When they left, the green duck had not brought along its second generation. It was still happily playing in the waters. Back then, there were only about thirty ducklings. Now, there were more than fifty of them standing in front of Shao Xuan.

Their sizes varied. Some of them were the same size as the fat duck. Other young ducklings were only about half their height.

There were about twenty-five large ducks. They were probably the second generation hatched that were missing that year. Perhaps they had lost their way or something else happened.

The flock regarded the first duck as their leader. Although some remained vigilant, others had already begun to preen their feathers.

“Quack!”

The green duck looked at Shao Xuan but noticed he did not respond. Then it called out once more, louder than the last as if it was pleading Shao Xuan to look at it.

Shao Xuan drew his gaze away from the ducks. Whether they were migrating or escaping from a disaster, he knew that the ducks must be tired. Even if the two tectonic plates had drawn closer to each other from the earthquakes, it was still a long journey. The ducks were exhausted from the trip. Two of the smaller ducklings couldn’t even stand firmly on the handrail when they landed.

“Follow me.”

Shao Xuan grabbed onto a rope hanging from the top of the tower, then slid down to the ground from the highest floor. The tribesmen weren't patient enough to take the spiral staircase in the tower, preferring this direct method of travel. To the totemic warriors, it was a simple action.

As Shao Xuan slid down, the leader of the ducks flew down, following behind him.

Because there were many unfamiliar faces in the tribe, the ducks kept a vigilant gaze and stayed cautious.

Shao Xuan saw the keeper from the animal pen come over, and the green duck had seen him too. Although it didn’t fly to him, it called out loudly in recognition.

When the keeper saw this, he was glad all the effort put into taking care and raising the duck before this wasn’t wasted.

Shao Xuan followed the keeper, and they walked together to the animal pen. Shao Xuan knew that these ducks were different from the beasts. The animal pen was too far, and although there was a river in front of them, crocodiles of the Drumming tribe had already marked that as their territory. The crocodiles would not be friendly to these ducks. If they let the ducks live there, they would fly away in terror immediately.

Shao Xuan thought about it for a while. He changed his direction. He no longer walked in the direction of the animal circle. Instead, he was walking toward the human-made lake.

Last time, to make the boats, they had to create a giant man-made lake. It was a decent place for the ducks to settle in.

“Elder, are the ducks staying with us?” The warrior who took care of the beasts asked worriedly. He heard that these green ducks departed from their flock in the middle of their journey. Wouldn’t they leave again? Should they cage them up?

“Let’s build a shed for them and see whether they would like to stay,” Shao Xuan replied.

The ducks seemed like pushovers, but Shao Xuan knew that these ducks were not weak like other ducks. They weren’t mild-tempered animals either. If they locked them up forcefully, it wouldn’t do much good.