Becoming a Leader in a Primitive Otherworld - Chapter 6

After Ke left, Xie Yu lingered for a while, admiring the snowy landscape before finally moving on.

Her relationship with Yun Nai was decent. If she explained things properly, Yun Nai would surely understand.

Returning to her cave, Xie Yu glanced around at her pitifully few belongings. She gathered the dry grass from the stone slab in one arm and gripped her spear in the other as she headed toward Yun Nai’s cave.

“Priest,” Xie Yu called out from the entrance, pushing aside the branches to address the woman draped in animal hides. “I think we should sleep in the same cave.”

Yun Nai had just returned from the main cave and was resting with her eyes closed. Hearing Xie Yu’s words, she didn’t open her eyes. “If the Chief agrees, I have no objection.”

It seemed no explanation was necessary after all.

As for why Xie Yu was moving into Yun Nai’s cave, it was simply because she found it more convenient.

She spread out her own grass mat, leaving a half-meter gap between it and Yun Nai’s.

“We can’t venture too far anymore,” Xie Yu said. “The inner forest is too dangerous. We risk attacks from wild beasts or trouble from other tribes.”

Yun Nai nodded in agreement.

Fortunately, no other tribes currently inhabited the area near the Shadow Tribe. The nearest tribe, even with rest stops, would take three to four days to reach by traveling over the mountain—an estimated distance of around 300 kilometers, a considerable distance.

While they were still in a period of relative safety, they needed to develop the tribe quickly. From her memories, Yun Nai knew there were many powerful tribes, but none had yet expanded into their territory.

“Priest, what do you think will happen to us?”

“Chief, are you referring to the tribe or to you and me?”

“The tribe.” The person lying on the grass mat felt her head growing heavy, but she forced her eyelids open to answer.

“Chief, you should establish proper rules soon.” Yun Nai smiled faintly, observing Xie Yu as she drifted off to sleep for the first time.

“Things will get better.”

They maintained a respectful distance, like honored guests. Xie Yu slept peacefully, a space separating them.

Excluding Xie Yu and Yun Nai, the Tribe consisted of thirty-one members. Among them, three had completely lost their ability to hunt, five were severely injured, and the rest had minor injuries.

During this time, while Apam’s assistance was still available, Xie Yu organized daily hunting parties to the forest’s edge to hunt small game. She also sent weaker members, accompanied by a few stronger ones, to gather wild fruits.

Luo’s cave, now completely emptied, was repurposed as a food storage area, with Ke and a rotating team of one or two guards keeping watch.

Xie Yu adapted quickly to this new life. She first accepted the simple, fire-roasted food, asking for nothing more than sustenance under these harsh conditions.

“Chief,” Lian Chao called out to Xie Yu, who was roasting meat, “the water is bubbling!”

“It’s boiling,” Xie Yu realized. The Tribe members had previously only warmed their water over the fire before drinking it, never boiling it like this.

“I heard the Priest taught us this before,” Lian Chao added. “She said we should boil the water like this from now on and let it cool before drinking.”

It was now the third watch of the night. Apart from the distant, low roars of beasts deep within the forest and the faint whisper of snowflakes drifting onto branches and rock walls, there was not a sound.

Only within a small cave high on the snow-capped mountain, a flickering firelight danced, and the murmur of two voices drifted faintly through the air.

Yun Nai was about to grind herbs when Xie Yu reached out to take the pestle. “I’m stronger. Let me do it.”

Yun Nai released her grip and handed over the bowl. “Thank you, Chief.”

“Were you not originally from here, Priest?” Xie Yu asked tentatively.

“No,” Yun Nai replied flatly. “But I’ve already forgotten most of my past.”

Xie Yu was puzzled. How could Yun Nai, who had only been here for half a year, have forgotten so much so quickly?

But she figured it was Yun Nai’s personal matter, perhaps a way to avoid further questioning, so she decided to drop the subject.

“It’s the price of becoming a Priest—losing part of your memory,” Yun Nai explained proactively.

As Xie Yu vigorously ground the herbs, she pondered Yun Nai’s words. What Yun Nai described must be the cost of communicating with Apam.

“Don’t be sad,” Xie Yu offered casually. “Maybe we’re still from the same place. And now you have me to keep you company.”

Occasionally, Xie Yu thought it wasn’t so bad. After all, she had no ties to her original world.

The faint sound of grinding medicine echoed through the cave, rhythmic and persistent. “Chief, you can stop now,” Yun Nai said, her gaze fixed on the stone mortar. “One more application of this medicine, and your wound should heal completely.”

“What is this green paste made of?” Xie Yu asked.

“Honeysuckle Vine.”

“Honeysuckle Vine? The name sounds familiar. I think I’ve heard it somewhere before.”

“Does the Chief find the name I chose pleasing?”

Xie Yu’s heart skipped a beat. She recognized the teasing tone in Yun Nai’s voice. But the woman spoke with such composure, leaving no room for retaliation.

She had only used the generic compliment to break the awkward silence, never expecting Yun Nai to call her out. Now, Xie Yu found herself in an embarrassing predicament. “Pleasing,” she managed to say.

Yun Nai didn’t respond further. As she glanced at Xie Yu’s profile, she noticed a faint blush creeping across the woman’s sun-kissed skin, finding the sight amusing. In this desolate place, teasing someone occasionally to relieve the boredom proved to be an excellent way to pass the time.

A few days later, a sudden rainstorm struck, the rain mixed with snow, causing the temperature to plummet. The protection Apam offered the Tribe seemed to weaken in proportion to the intensifying cold.

The rain forced the Tribe to rest for a day, confining them to their shelters.

By evening, everyone except the guards huddled around the fire pit for warmth.

Xie Yu was roasting meat in the main cave as usual when Ping, one of the guards, rushed in. “Chief, Du has returned! She’s outside the cave with meat.”

Meat? Xie Yu raised an eyebrow. She understood exactly what this meant for the Tribe. It seemed Du was trying to win support through this gesture.

Outside the cave stood four figures who hadn’t been seen in the Tribe for a long time. As Du was an adopted daughter, her appearance differed from Xie Yu’s by nine-tenths. The remaining tenth came from the primal wildness shared by nearly everyone in the Tribe.

Unlike the others, Du didn’t cower or shrink back. This was thanks to her adoption by the previous Chief and her considerable strength, which had fostered arrogance and wolfish ambition over the years.

Behind Du were Jiu and two others: a tall man with his head bowed and a short man who stood with his head held high.

Each of the four carried a fur pelt, but they looked severely malnourished, as if they hadn’t eaten properly in days.

Du smirked triumphantly at Xie Yu as she emerged, then flung her bundle onto the ground with a thud. The pelt unfurled, spilling the meat it had contained.

The meat had been thoroughly processed, not a single hair remaining. A sudden, ominous intuition flashed through Xie Yu’s mind.

None of the four showed any signs of frostbite, suggesting Apam truly treated everyone equally. Xie Yu frowned. “Where did this come from?”

There were only four of them in total. Where had this meat come from?

“Naturally, I obtained it through my own strength,” Du said, her brow furrowed, her eyes brimming with disdain for Xie Yu. “Look at the Chief’s hand—it’s badly injured, isn’t it?” Du’s lips curled into a smirk. “I’m willing to donate all this meat to the Tribe.”

“Explain yourself first.”

“Why should I?” Du took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them.

Seeing Xie Yu’s unwavering stance, Du sneered, “This is wild boar meat we hunted. Chief, is that not allowed?”

Xie Yu narrowed her eyes, recognizing Du’s obvious nervousness. “No, it’s not allowed.”

In truth, Du had always harbored a deep-seated fear of her elder sister. “What are you doing?! Just because you’re the Chief doesn’t mean you can treat the Tribe’s people like this!”

Xie Yu glanced at Jiu and the other two trailing behind him. “The Tribe was hunting, yet you weren’t there,” she said, her gaze icy.

Xie Yu ordered the meat to be rewrapped. “Ke, take it away. Not a single piece is to be eaten. Confine these four for now.”

Du Xin, arrogant and proud, scoffed at Xie Yu’s words, convinced that the Tribe’s meat shortage would force them to eat the meat, no matter what it was… At that thought, Du Xin’s scornful smile vanished.

She resented Xie Yu’s order to confine her, but with so many people around, she couldn’t resist. She could only allow Ping, Ke, and their guards to escort her and the others into custody.

Du Xin was imprisoned alone in Xie Yu’s original cave, while the other three were confined in the large cave, kept separate from the rest of the Tribe to prevent communication.

As Xie Yu recalled the meticulously processed meat chunks, a horrifying possibility struck her, and a wave of nausea washed over her.

“Ping, bring the other three here separately,” she called out, forcing down her revulsion.

The short man and Jiu remained defiant, stubbornly insisting it was wild boar meat. Jiu even taunted Xie Yu, “The Chief is gravely injured, and people have died. Why won’t you accept our meat?”

“Take him away,” Xie Yu said, unwilling to waste time on a dying man.

The Tall Man was brought in last.

“Where did that meat come from?”

“Speak!”

Ping drew the stone knife from her waist and pointed it at the taller man, who seemed slightly less defiant, as if the blade would slice through his throat in the next instant.

“Du brought back the wild boar meat we hunted together! Du led us to it!” The tall man’s bones jutted out as his legs trembled, forcing him to his knees.

Xie Yu had noticed the tall man when Du and the others returned. Among the four, he seemed most likely to tell the truth.

Xie Yu sneered. “Why did you clean the meat so thoroughly? And why didn’t you eat any? I already know the answer.”

Ping continued to wave the stone knife, slashing viciously through the air before their eyes. “If you don’t speak, you’ll never speak again.”

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” the tall man blurted out, not doubting Ping’s threat for a moment. “It was Du! Du… brought it back. It was all… dead… human…”

Xie Yu suppressed the urge to gag.

Ping felt a chill run through her at the tall man’s words. Eating the flesh of one’s own kind—that was something from the distant past!

“You didn’t eat it yourselves, but you planned to bring it back for the Tribe?” Xie Yu’s face darkened, her fury burning at this manipulative tactic.

Du’s actions were no different from those of a wild beast. This person could not be allowed to live.

She waved her hand, ordering the guards to take the Tall Man away. “Keep him under watch for now. He’ll be banished from the Tribe tomorrow.”

This was tantamount to a death sentence. Terrified, the Tall Man tried to crawl toward her to beg for mercy, but Ping kicked him away.

“Go rebury the meat they brought back, and bury it deeper this time.”

“Have everyone else wait in the main cave,” Xie Yu called out to Ke, who had already turned to carry out her orders. “The Priest doesn’t need to be there. Just post two guards outside her cave.”

Du might make a move tonight, and Yun Nai was defenseless. Though everyone revered the Priest’s status, Xie Yu feared she might be caught in the crossfire.

Inside the cave, beside the fire pit, distant howls of wolves and roars of tigers echoed through the night.

Xie Yu pointed at Du. “Warriors of the Tribe, do you know where Du’s meat came from?”

It was now night, and the only light in the area came from the nearby fire. A thunderous roar outside startled everyone, their eyes turning to Du’s grim profile.

As Xie Yu revealed the truth, the others stared at Du in disbelief. Some had been celebrating the Tribe’s newfound abundance of meat just today, never imagining it came from their own kind. Their faces twisted with fury.

Yan, in particular, found it difficult to restrain himself. Despite the fact that the soil covering Shi’s grave showed no signs of disturbance, he still felt an overwhelming urge to beat Du senseless.

Du lowered her head, a defiant, self-destructive smile spreading across her face. With a sudden leap, she kicked away the two guards restraining her and lunged at Xie Yu, attempting to seize the stone knife at her waist.

The two women instantly engaged in a fierce struggle. The intensity of their combat was so extreme that even Li and Ke, who wanted to intervene, couldn’t find an opening. At the same time, they had to restrain the rest of the tribe, preventing them from rioting in the chaos.

But they knew no one else could interfere. Du was directly challenging Xie Yu’s position as Chief.

Direct intervention would be an admission that Xie Yu had grown weak, unable to handle even a subordinate’s rebellion. The consequences of such an admission would be far greater.

This was a common tactic within the tribe.

Xie Yu’s injured arm severely hampered her strength. Every movement reopened the wound, and Du ruthlessly targeted it, striking precisely at the injury.

Though Du repeatedly tried to seize the stone knife, Xie Yu managed to evade each attempt with narrow escapes.

After more than ten minutes of grueling combat, Xie Yu seized an opportunity. Enduring excruciating pain, she grabbed Du from behind and slammed her to the ground.

Fortunately, Ke had forcibly confiscated Du’s weapon before she was brought in.

Xie Yu moved swiftly, pressing the stone knife against Du’s neck. With a sharp downward motion, she drew a bead of bl00d. Her cold gaze hardened as she slashed across Du’s throat, releasing a gush of hot bl00d.

This was her first time killing, but she quickly regained her composure.

“From now on, anyone like her will die. Their followers will be banished from the Tribe.”

Du had lost all ability to resist. Her fate had been sealed the moment she returned to the Tribe.

This was, after all, a primitive society, and their thinking inevitably retained a savage element. Without such brutality, survival would have been nearly impossible.

Xie Yu stared at the dying Du. After Ping and Li finished their tasks and returned to the Cave, she addressed the silent crowd. “Since becoming Chief, I’ve known some among you resent my authority.”

She paused, then added softly, “This is the fate of those who defy me.”

Though Xie Yu preferred not to resolve matters through violence, it was clear that force was the most effective way to control these primitive people. “From now on, no private fighting is allowed. Report any unresolved conflicts to me.”

“Chief,” someone ventured cautiously, “won’t Apam be angry that Du was killed by her own Tribe?”

Xie Yu had already stepped out of the cave when she heard the question. She turned back, her gaze fixed on the speaker. It was clear the man was genuinely concerned, without ulterior motives.

People of this era were easier to read; some hadn’t yet learned to mask their intentions, their thoughts plain on their faces.

“Go fetch the Priest,” Xie Yu ordered.

When Yun Nai arrived, raindrops still clung to her hair. She casually leaned the large lotus leaf she’d used as an umbrella against the cave’s stone wall and glanced at the pool of bl00d on the ground, quickly deducing what had occurred.

She began divining like Luo, consulting Apam.

The answer was clear: “Apam has no objections. The Chief’s actions reflect its will.”

Yun Nai surveyed the crowd, her calm, authoritative tone compelling their unquestioning obedience.

Xie Yu declared, “The traitor has been executed. No one may oppose this.”

The crowd prostrated themselves, their doubts silenced.

Of the remaining three, the Tall Man was exiled, while the other two were sentenced to death.

Ke had no objections. Jiu’s actions clearly showed she no longer cared for the Tribe or considered them her companions. Moreover, she had squandered the chances given to her.

The rain stopped.

Yun Nai returned to the cave to reapply medicine to Xie Yu’s wounds. “We’ll need to do this several more times. You must avoid strenuous activity in the future.”

Xie Yu seemed to understand why the Tribe would grow stronger through their Contracting. It was simply a way to bind them together.

Since Du’s demise, the Tribe had become noticeably more settled.

After some time, the auxiliary effects on their bodies faded, and the bitter cold once again gnawed at their bones. Fortunately, the Tribe had gathered enough firewood during the respite, and most of their injuries had healed. More importantly, they had secured enough food to survive the winter.

Approximately four weeks later, they finally witnessed the long-awaited bloom of flowers.