Following beside him, Third Senior Brother was equally angry, watching angrily as he walked towards the tribe, occasionally muttering a few words about Tie Tou in his mouth. His mind couldn't quite grasp what was going on for a while.
"Why does it matter to Tie Tou that this grain field was trampled?"
Indeed, it did matter to Tie Tou!
After this confusion persisted for a while, Third Senior Brother also caught on.
He immediately becomes furious and heads towards the tribe to confront Tie Tou with Shaman.
"You've done a fine job!"
Inside the tribe, Tie Tou was clearing the deer pen with several others, something they did every morning.
The dung they cleaned out made excellent fertilizer and provided a suitable living environment for the deer.
Seeing Shaman come in from outside, the few men cleaning the pen greeted him warmly, but Shaman, who usually smiled, had a different expression today.
Tie Tou and the others couldn't help but be stunned, not understanding what Shaman was talking about or what had gotten into him that day.
Tie Tou was especially bewildered, unsure what he had done wrong to make Shaman so angry.
Tie Tou asked nervously, unable to remain calm in Shaman's anger.
"In the grain field..."
Third Senior Brother, who had come back with Shaman, stared wide-eyed and added, explaining the reason.
After understanding what Shaman and Third Senior Brother were discussing, Tie Tou scratched his head in confusion.
But Shaman was convinced...
The argument in the deer pen quickly attracted the attention of the tribe. By the time Han Cheng received the news and arrived, quite a few people had gathered around the pen, most of them pointing fingers at Tie Tou and Ruohua with anger in their eyes.
Tie Tou and Ruohua were anxiously trying to explain.
"Divine Child, they..."
" Divine Child, we didn't..."
Seeing Han Cheng arrive, everyone saluted and pointed toward Tie Tou, who was surrounded.
As Han Cheng frowned, wondering what was happening, he didn't speak immediately. Instead, he glanced around at everyone, who fell silent under his gaze. What had just been chaotic quickly calmed down.
"What's going on? Speak one at a time."
Seeing the situation settle, Han Cheng finally spoke up.
Shaman stepped forward, visibly angry, and pointed at Tie Tou. "They..."
Han Cheng looked at Tie Tou and Ruohua, questioning them.
Both shook their heads desperately, tears nearly streaming down their faces.
Han Cheng had already pieced together the general idea of what had happened.
It seemed that a large portion of the tribe's grain field had been trampled down. Coincidentally, Tie Tou and Ruohua had been cutting grass there just yesterday and spending quite a while there.
There didn't seem to be a direct connection between the two events. The reaction wouldn't have been the same if someone else had been cutting grass there.
But because Tie Tou and Ruohua were known for their spontaneous actions within the tribe, the trampled grain field incident was now being squarely blamed on them.
Han Cheng felt things weren't that simple. After all, everyone in the tribe understood the importance of the grain fields, and Tie Tou and Ruohua were no exception in caring for them.
Even if emotions got the best of them momentarily and things spiraled out of control, it still wouldn't explain how much grain was trampled in the field.
"Let's go! Let's see that trampled grain field."
Han Cheng didn't jump to conclusions immediately. Instead, he urged everyone to inspect the scene of the incident together.
Leading the way were Shaman and Third Senior Brother, who had first discovered the trampled grain field. They marched ahead angrily, occasionally glancing back with disdain at Tie Tou and Ruohua.
A swath of nearly mature grain lay flattened on the ground, covering almost twenty square meters!
Upon seeing this scene, the already angry crowd grew even more incensed. Many shouted angrily, demanding punishment for Tie Tou and Ruohua.
Han Cheng, however, widened his eyes. As he watched Tie Tou and Ruohua anxiously defending themselves with a mix of admiration and concern, he marveled at their fighting prowess. How strong must they be physically and mentally to handle an area this large?
"Look around here and check if any traces are left..."
Han Cheng didn't punish Tie Tou and Ruohua as the others demanded. From the beginning, he didn't believe they were capable of such thoughtless actions. After seeing the scene, his doubts only grew stronger.
This didn't look like something humans would cause.
"Divine Child, there are hoof prints here..."
" Divine Child, some grain ears here have been half-eaten..."
Following the instructions, everyone carefully inspected the ground. Soon, reports of discoveries confirmed Han Cheng's suspicions.
Seeing these findings, the crowd's initial anger began to dissipate. Many now looked at Tie Tou and Ruohua with eyes that were more hesitant than accusatory.
Especially those who had demanded punishment for them couldn't bring themselves to meet their gaze.
Shaman squatted down, observing the newly stamped hoof prints on the ground, his expression grim.
His concern for the grain and his hasty judgment clouded his usual wisdom, leading him to lose his composure and rush to blame Tie Tou and Ruohua without proper investigation.
Third Senior Brother remained relatively silent. He had been swept along by Shaman's momentum, not bothering to investigate and simply following Shaman back, thus unfairly accusing Tie Tou and Ruohua.
Standing up, Shaman approached Tie Tou and Ruohua with a remorseful look. "It's my fault. I've wrongly accused both of you..."
"I'm also at fault. I should have clarified the situation..."
Third Senior Brother also came forward, solemnly apologizing to Tie Tou and Ruohua.
"I accused you wrongly..."
With Shaman taking the lead, others in the area began apologizing to Tie Tou and Ruohua.
Tie Tou and Ruohua, who hadn't shed a tear throughout their wrongful accusation, suddenly felt their noses tingle, tears streaming down their faces in an outburst of pent-up grievances.
Even these significant, tough individuals couldn't hold back their tears, feeling overwhelmed.
Even some women among the primitive people couldn't help but shed tears. After a while, Tie Tou finally regained his composure, shaking hands with Han Cheng and others in an emotional display.
Within the tribe, many felt guilty watching this scene unfold.
Many silently reflected that in the future, they shouldn't rush to judgment without understanding the reasons.
Imagine if this had happened to oneself, being unfairly accused would be incredibly painful.
After this incident and the subsequent resolution of the misunderstanding, many in the tribe felt a more profound sense of unity.
"Do you recognize what kind of animal this might be?"
Observing everything, Han Cheng nodded silently. Then, he changed the subject and asked the Senior Brother standing nearby.