Chapter 702: Visit 2

A rider then mounted his horse, becoming a black bolt of lightning.

He flew past Feng Mountain, galloping madly toward the tribal camp.

Ashes saw that a horse actually dared to overtake him.

‘It clearly doesn’t know its place.’

He immediately snorted in defiance, preparing to teach that impudent horse a lesson.

But Feng Mountain knew the rider was heading home to deliver a message.

He quickly soothed the irritable Ashes and continued plodding forward at a leisurely pace.

「Ten minutes later.」

A simple, rustic camp faintly appeared before them.

Hide tents stood one after another.

The Bear Tribe’s tents were all made from thick animal hides, crafted using traditional techniques.

It had to be said that this leather-working process demonstrated considerable resistance against the onslaught of cold snaps and blizzards.

Even after being ravaged by wind and snow, as long as a tent was dug out from where it lay buried, carefully dried by a fire, and propped up again with sturdy wooden poles, it could be used once more.

「In the Bear Tribe camp.」

The tribesman sent to deliver the message rode up to the stockade gate.

He yelled at the top of his lungs.

His voice echoed across the vast, empty Mossy Tundra.

When the urgent shouts suddenly rang out in the camp, the Bear Tribe members, who had been busy working or resting in their tents, all put down what they were doing and came out.

When they learned that Khilla was coming to the camp, the faces of all the tribespeople who had remained behind instantly filled with a mix of excitement and awe.

They hurriedly walked out of the enclosure.

They stood before the stockade gate, waiting quietly.

As Feng Mountain gradually approached, the people of the Bear Tribe bowed one after another.

The men performed a deep bow, leaning forward with their heads lowered, their gazes fixed on the ground.

The women, meanwhile, curtsied, bending their knees slightly with their hands at their sides, their dignified movements accompanied by a gentle nod.

Faced with so many people bowing to him at once, Feng Mountain was momentarily at a loss, able only to give a helpless, slight nod in response.

For a tribe like the Bear Tribe, which still preserved its traditional culture, their belief in animism was deeply ingrained.

‘It’s just too difficult to change their attitude towards me.’

In contrast, Liu Lan and the children in the crowd weren’t nearly as afraid.

They weren’t as reserved or fearful as the adults.

The moment they saw Ashes, their eyes lit up with excitement. Giggling and shouting like a flock of cheerful little birds, they couldn’t wait to run out and start hopping and skipping around him.

Ashes found this gaggle of little brats to be a real headache.

‘Especially Liu Lan. With my master and Nash backing her, she’s completely unrestrained around me.’

‘Sometimes, she’s even bold enough to throw cow dung at me.’

It was enough to make Ashes absolutely furious.

‘I have all this strength, yet I’m helpless against this bunch of little rascals.’

All he could do was swish his tail nonstop, trying to drive away the chattering, mischievous children.

But the children weren’t scared in the least; they continued to swarm and leap around him.

Feng Mountain noticed Ashes’s impatience and quickly dismounted.

He walked over to Liu Lan, patted her gently on the head, and said with a mix of affection and mild reproach, “Don’t always bully Ashes.”

Hearing this, Liu Lan immediately wrinkled her little nose. Her eyes went wide as she glared indignantly at Ashes and shouted.

“Hmph! Ashes is a big jerk! He’s always sneaking into the camp when we’re not looking and stealing the jerky Zicao works so hard to make.”

After speaking, she put her hands on her hips, looking completely self-righteous.

NEIGH! NEIGH!!

Hearing Liu Lan’s accusation, Ashes frantically shook his head and snorted, denying the baseless charge.

He looked as if he were saying,

‘I never did that! Don’t you dare frame me!’

“Still won’t admit it? I’ve seen it with my own eyes many times, and Xiong Jia and the others saw it too!” Liu Lan’s face flushed red with anger. Growing even more vexed, she grabbed a snotty-nosed child beside her and demanded aggressively, “Xiong Jia, isn’t it true that Ashes often comes to the camp to steal jerky?”

“Uh-huh!!” The snot-nosed kid, startled by Liu Lan’s sudden tug, nodded hastily. Sniffling loudly, he said, “Yeah, I saw it too.”

“Liu Lan, do not be disrespectful to Khilla,” Zicao chided her sister in a low voice, slightly raising her head from within the crowd of bowing tribespeople.

There was a hint of severity in her gaze.

But it was mostly filled with reverence for Feng Mountain.

She didn’t want her sister’s impertinence to displease Khilla.

“Everyone, please rise. Otherwise, I’m leaving!” Feng Mountain said quickly, looking at the bowing members of the Bear Tribe with a mixture of touched emotion and helplessness.

Then, he turned around, patted Ashes’s neck, and said in a tone that was half-command, half-admonition, “You are not to come to the camp and steal jerky anymore, you hear me?”

SNORT!

Ashes was quite indignant upon hearing Feng Mountain’s words.

Shaking his head and snorting, he took off at a gallop toward the Mossy Tundra.

His retreating figure had an air of childish stubbornness.

Seeing this, the members of the Bear Tribe finally straightened up one by one.

‘That darn thing!’

‘I say a few words and he throws a tantrum.’

Feng Mountain couldn’t help but curse with a laugh as he watched Ashes’s retreating back.

He then patted Liu Lan’s little head again and asked gently, “I’ve already warned Ashes. He won’t come to the camp to steal things anymore. Where are your father and Nash?”

Zicao stepped forward, gently pulled Liu Lan aside, and said with a warm smile and a soft voice, “Father and my brother have gone to pasture the herds. The grass on the plains has just started to grow, and Father was worried the cattle would damage it, so he took them to graze elsewhere.”

After speaking, she gave a slight bow, her eyes full of warmth, and continued.

“Khilla, please come into the tent to rest for a while. I’ve made Pemmican and berry tea.”

Feng Mountain also wanted to mingle with everyone.

Ever since the Bear Tribe moved to the Crown Territory, they had been living on the Mossy Tundra.

Aside from herding, there were few opportunities for everyone to sit down and chat.

He immediately broke into a smile.

Looking warmly at the Bear Tribe members standing around, he waved enthusiastically and said,

“Everyone, come on in!”

Having the opportunity to be so close to Khilla sent the people of the Bear Tribe into a frenzy of excitement.

Their eyes shone with excitement and reverence.

They all crowded around Khilla and headed toward the largest hide tent in the camp.

Along the way, the sounds of their joyful laughter intertwined, echoing in the cold air.

Stepping into the tent, a wave of warmth washed over him.

The floor was covered with a thick layer of animal-hide blankets, soft and comfortable to walk on.

In the center of the tent, a fire was burning brightly.

The leaping flames cast a warm glow throughout the entire tent.

Yet it didn’t feel stuffy at all.

Feng Mountain looked up curiously to observe for a moment.

He then discovered several cleverly designed vents hidden where the hides on the ceiling were joined.

These vents were ingeniously designed.

When the fire was lit, the smoke from the burning wood would be carried out by the airflow through the vents.

This both ensured air circulation inside the tent and didn’t affect the temperature within.

Feng Mountain couldn’t help but marvel at the wisdom of the Bear Tribe.

“Khilla!”

Zicao, holding a hide blanket, walked to a spot near the bonfire, directly facing the tent entrance. She laid the blanket out smoothly, then smiled at Feng Mountain, gesturing for him to sit there.

Seeing this, Feng Mountain smiled and walked over.

He sat down on the spot where Zicao had laid the blanket.

After Feng Mountain was seated, the other members of the Bear Tribe filed into the tent, each finding a place to sit.

The elders sat around the fire, while the younger members sat on the outermost edges.

As for the lively, restless children, they could only stand obediently at the tent’s entrance.

Giggling amongst themselves, they couldn’t contain their curiosity, craning their necks to get a better look inside the tent.

Then, several women from the tribe entered the tent one after another, carrying food.

After placing the food in front of Feng Mountain, they quietly turned and left.

Soon, the hide blanket in front of Feng Mountain was filled with all kinds of food.

Just then, Zicao also came to Feng Mountain’s side carrying a wooden tray.

On the tray were several reddish-brown, palm-sized meat patties.

From their surface, one could see many berries mixed within.

Zicao curtsied slightly and presented the tray to Feng Mountain. With a warm smile on her face, she softly introduced the food.

“Khilla, this is a traditional food of us Athabasca people, Pemmican. When food is scarce in the winter, we rely on it to get through the long, cold season.”