Becoming a Leader in a Primitive Otherworld - Chapter 16

“I bet the others won’t dare to come either,” Xie Yu said, her words sincere and straightforward.

Good, Yun Nai thought to herself. No wonder it took her so long to come. Her mood brightened, and she moved with renewed energy.

Xie Yu shifted to glance at the basket. Noticing it was only partially filled, she asked with concern, “Are you tired? The basket doesn’t seem very full.”

“Not at all,” Yun Nai replied, shaking her head. The flower Xie Yu had casually picked earlier remained tucked in her hair, and Yun Nai showed no sign of removing it.

Suddenly realizing she might have been too forward, Xie Yu reached out to take the flower back. But just as her fingers brushed against it, Yun Nai tilted her head away.

Yun Nai glanced sideways. “What’s wrong?”

“I was afraid it might get your hair dirty,” Xie Yu said, her face tinged with guilt as she awkwardly lowered her hand.

“I’ll do it myself,” Yun Nai said, freeing one hand to brush off dust and pinch the flower between her fingertips.

Seeing this, Xie Yu’s heart suddenly felt heavy. So Yun Nai really doesn’t like me doing this, she thought. She’s going to throw my flower away.

Like a deflated balloon, Xie Yu slumped, her shoulders drooping as she bent her head to pluck medicinal herbs.

Then, Yun Nai’s warm presence drew closer. A gentle pressure settled on Xie Yu’s head. When Yun Nai’s hand withdrew, Xie Yu felt something new resting there.

Yun Nai teased, “Actually, it suits you better.”

The two of them looked completely different with the flowers pinned in their hair. Xie Yu felt a little awkward but let Yun Nai tease her.

“What’s this?” Xie Yu quickly changed the subject, pointing to a purplish-red plant Yun Nai had set aside.

“I’m not entirely sure. It doesn’t quite match anything I remember, but it’s definitely rare and valuable,” Yun Nai replied, noticing Xie Yu’s embarrassment and returning to her work.

Over the past few days, Yun Nai had been steadily gathering materials. She had nearly everything she needed now, just waiting for the Pharmacy to be built.

Xie Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Almost done, she thought. Yun Nai always came here alone.

Even though the area wasn’t particularly dangerous, Xie Yu still worried. Yun Nai was completely defenseless, making her vulnerable.

“I need to give you some advice,” Xie Yu said seriously. “You’re always so reluctant to trouble me. This morning, when I offered to come with you, you were genuinely surprised. That shows you didn’t take me seriously yesterday.”

“Priest,” she added, invoking Yun Nai’s status, “you’re our Tribe’s Priest. What would we do if someone from another Tribe took you away?”

Seeing Yun Nai nod dismissively, Xie Yu grew even more frustrated. “Besides, we’ve contracted. If you’re taken away, what am I supposed to do?”

In this world, only Yun Nai truly understood her.

Yun Nai’s eyes curved into a subtle, almost imperceptible smile. “Then you’ll just have to come find me.”

“You’re avoiding the question,” Xie Yu countered, circling around to face her directly, her dark eyes clear and unwavering.

“I understand. I’ll report to the Chief from now on.”

Satisfied with this response, Xie Yu stopped pressing the issue and focused on her work.

When the basket was about half-full, Xie Yu glanced up and suddenly saw a flash of white dart past Yun Nai. She squinted and realized it was a rabbit.

“Wait for me,” she murmured to Yun Nai, grabbing the stone spear leaning against a tree and eagerly giving chase.

Before Yun Nai could react, Xie Yu had already sprinted several meters away.

The rabbit fled with astonishing speed, but Xie Yu aimed with precision and force. With a thwack, the spear struck its target squarely.

Xie Yu retrieved the lifeless rabbit and returned, winking at Yun Nai over her shoulder. “Rabbit meat for dinner tonight!”

The thought of fragrant roasted rabbit meat, sprinkled with chili peppers and cooked to perfection, filled Xie Yu with contentment.

She noticed that her luck always seemed to improve when she was with Yun Nai.

Yun Nai glanced in surprise at the bloodstained stone spear in Xie Yu’s hand. No wonder she had run so fast earlier—she had been hunting rabbits.

“If the distance had been any greater, the rabbit would have escaped unless the hunter was exceptionally skilled,” Yun Nai remarked.

Xie Yu raised an eyebrow, hearing only Yun Nai’s praise of her skill.

Then she realized Yun Nai’s meaning. “Are you suggesting we use bows for hunting?”

“Yes, it would be safer that way,” Yun Nai replied.

Xie Yu was startled. How had she never thought of that before? She had grown so accustomed to using stone spears.

The tribespeople typically used stone spears, stone knives, and thrown stones as weapons. Bows and arrows had never been used.

“Yun Nai, you’re so clever!” Xie Yu blurted out, then immediately realized she had used her full name. She knew some people disliked being addressed by their full names, and she wondered if Yun Nai would find it too formal.

Yun Nai accepted the compliment with composure, completely unaware of Xie Yu’s inner turmoil. “You’re quite skilled yourself,” she replied.

Without a machete on hand, Xie Yu decided to return to the Tribe to retrieve one and chop down some suitable tree trunks for making wooden bows.

Yun Nai gathered today’s harvest and also returned to the Tribe.

Perhaps due to the cleanup after Dong’s incident, the scene they encountered upon their return was one of bustling activity. Tribespeople were hard at work, and even by the river, some were fishing.

Since Yun Nai had popularized her supplementary ingredients, the Tribespeople’s acceptance of fish had skyrocketed, unlike their previous aversion.

Yun Nai stayed behind to organize the past few days’ supplies, while Xie Yu headed toward the forest alone.

Just then, Ke rushed toward her hut, carrying a fox. Xie Yu, passing by with her machete, called out to her.

Hearing the shout, Ke kicked open the door and flung the fox into a corner.

The two walked together, chatting.

“Chief, what did you need me for?”

“Are you busy? Come with me to the forest to chop down some wood for bows.”

“Not busy. Bows? What are those?”

“Hunting tools. By the way, I haven’t seen you around for days.”

Since spring arrived, Ke had become a workaholic, spending every day hunting or on the hunt.

She scratched her head. “By autumn, I’ll be nineteen.”

Xie Yu was completely baffled. “So what if you’re nineteen?”

Ke felt that their Chief had forgotten their customs since acquiring a Priest. “Chief, after a tribesperson turns nineteen, they are allowed to seek someone to contract with.”

Having lost her Amu, Ke would have to find someone herself.

“Do you have someone you like?” Xie Yu asked, surprised. Ke usually just roughhoused with the other tribespeople and had never shown any interest in contracting with anyone.

Ke looked puzzled. “What do you mean by ‘like’? I just have someone I want to contract with, Chief. I need your approval.”

Xie Yu pondered for a moment. Contracting among tribespeople was usually straightforward—as long as both parties agreed, there were rarely any issues. Ke needing her approval meant the person she wanted to contract with wasn’t from the Shadow Tribe.

If that were the case, the crucial question wasn’t contracting with someone from another tribe, but whether Ke would ultimately move to their tribe or they would come to the Shadow Tribe.

That’s why inter-tribal contracting was so rare. No tribe wanted to lose a warrior while the other gained one.

Xie Yu felt the same way.

“She’s from another tribe,” Ke said, a little embarrassed. “I saw her at last year’s Great Market.”

“Does she agree?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t get a chance to ask before they left.”

Xie Yu was taken aback. Ke had some nerve.

The usually boisterous woman blushed. “She caught my eye. She’s from the Snake Tribe.”

The Snake Tribe ranked among the top ten strongest tribes on the continent, undoubtedly a formidable force.

“You know her tribe would never allow her to come here,” Xie Yu pointed out.

Ke waved her hands frantically. “No, no, she’s actually a slave in the Snake Tribe.”

Xie Yu was surprised. The Shadow Tribe had no slaves, not out of any belief in equality, but due to their weakness. Most slaves were captives taken during tribal conquests.

“Can she…?” Ke asked eagerly, her eyes wide. If the Chief agreed, half the battle would be won.

Xie Yu gazed at the approaching forest. “I need to see what kind of person she is. If there are no issues, I’ll agree.”

Ke’s eyes widened slightly. “I’ve been thinking about this for so long. I thought you’d never agree, Chief.”

“You need to hurry with the preparations,” Xie Yu said with a sigh. “The Snake Tribe won’t come cheap.”

Ke clapped her hands excitedly and began humming a tune.

Making a bow required wood that was both tough and elastic. Toughness prevented it from snapping easily, while elasticity ensured it wouldn’t lose its draw weight.

The two searched deep into the forest for half a day before finding wood that satisfied Xie Yu.

Xie Yu chopped off a suitably long piece and roughly carved and shaped it. With no high standards, the crude bow stave was quickly completed.

For the bowstring, she wrapped a resilient vine around the string grooves at both ends of the stave. Once the bow took shape, Xie Yu began training with it.

Ke copied her movements and made her own bow.

Even these simple bows took them a considerable amount of time.

Xie Yu sharpened several straight branches into arrows and tested the bow after training.

She drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and released.

The arrow shot out with a whoosh and pierced the soft wood trunk she had aimed at.

“Not bad. It might struggle against larger animals, but it should work fine for rabbits and pheasants.”

Ke tried it too, fascinated by this new tool. Hearing Xie Yu’s words, she grew excited. “This is great! I can hunt much faster now.”

As dusk fell, they decided not to venture deeper into the forest. Instead, they gathered a pile of wood for making arrows and returned to the Tribe.

Ke took her bow with her, while Xie Yu kept the other. Thinking of roasted rabbit meat, she quickened her pace.

There was no one outside, so Yun Nai must be inside. As Xie Yu entered, she immediately spotted a stone bowl on the table, filled with the bitter medicinal broth Yun Nai had been brewing for over ten days. Xie Yu had been forced to drink this bitter concoction daily.

She considered pretending not to see it and turning to roast the rabbit meat first.

Yun Nai watched her attempt to escape silently. “It’ll get cold soon.”

“I think my wound is completely healed,” Xie Yu protested, showing off the scar on her arm.

Her arm was lean and strong. The scar wasn’t a flaw at all; it was an adornment, a mark of honor.

“The outside may be healed, but the inside isn’t.”

“It’s so bitter,” Xie Yu whined, inexplicably acting like a child. “Nai Nai, this medicine is so bitter.”

Yun Nai remained unmoved. “Drink it all, and then you can have the rabbit meat.”

Xie Yu’s face crumpled into a grimace.