In the cave of the Donkey Tribe, which is some distance from the Green Sparrow Tribe, the exhausted Donkey Tribe leader wept uncontrollably in front of everyone amidst the debris scattered everywhere.
There were white bones from eaten flesh, some corpses that had begun to stink after death, and buzzing flies and white maggots...
All the pottery and salt the tribe once had were gone, even the broken pieces, with some larger fragments also taken away...
The Eldest Senior Brother and his team searched the area around the Donkey Tribe but found no traces of the evil tribe.
Fire rose as the dead members of the Donkey Tribe were burned.
After the flames died down, the Donkey Tribe leader grabbed some of the slightly hot ashes and partially burnt bones and scattered them around the perimeter of the cave where they once lived.
After doing this, he came before the Eldest Senior Brother and spoke.
He implied that he had previously been to the cave of the evil tribe and could lead the Eldest Senior Brother and his team there to annihilate the evil tribe.
The belligerent warrior Shang, frustrated by the inability to find the evil tribe, immediately brightened when he understood the Donkey Tribe leader's meaning.
He looked at the Eldest Senior Brother with hope, urging him to agree quickly and lead everyone to attack the evil tribe.
The scene at the Donkey Tribe’s cave reminded him of the harm his own tribe had suffered, and he was deeply stirred, eager to go to the evil tribe immediately and kill everyone there.
Third Senior Brother also had some anticipation.
In this anticipation, after thinking for a while, the Eldest Senior Brother slowly shook his head.
Although slow, it was extremely firm.
He believed this was a significant matter that needed to be discussed with the Divine Child and the Shaman before action was taken, and they couldn’t just rush in.
Moreover, they were not prepared for a long journey and did not have enough food.
With so many people, relying solely on hunting along the way would not be sufficient without bringing extra provisions.
As the long-term leader of the tribe, the Eldest Senior Brother had to be more thorough and cautious in his decision-making than ordinary people.
The Donkey Tribe leader and Shang tried to persuade him, but seeing that the Eldest Senior Brother was unmoved, they dared not say more and could only return to the tribe with the animal hides they had painstakingly exchanged for.
The Fourth Leader of the Flying Snake Tribe deemed these hides unimportant, so they were not taken.
Inside the Green Sparrow Tribe, Han Cheng and the Shaman listened to the reports from the Eldest Senior Brother's team.
Seeing that the Eldest Senior Brother did not follow the Donkey Tribe leader’s advice and did not lead the team to find the evil tribe, Han Cheng smiled and patted the Eldest Senior Brother’s shoulder, expressing approval for his decision.
Indeed, acting hastily at that time was not appropriate.
Shang and the Donkey Tribe leader, seeing the Divine Child praising the Eldest Senior Brother, felt somewhat ashamed and lowered their heads.
Han Cheng approached them, comforted them with a smile, and affirmed their courage.
The two raised their heads again with a glimmer of light in their eyes.
“Divine Child, will we still attack that evil tribe?”
“Yes, we must attack, but not at this moment.
The evil tribe is too far from us; we must prepare more.
Besides, he also needs to recover more; otherwise, he might not make it to the evil tribe.”
Han Cheng said, pointing at the severely exhausted Donkey Tribe leader.
Upon hearing that they would still attack the evil tribe, Shang immediately brightened up. Looking at the exhausted Donkey Tribe leader beside him, he fully agreed with the Divine Child’s words.
If the Donkey Tribe leader died, it would be much harder to find the tribe again.
The Eldest Senior Brother, observing all this, scratched his head, feeling somewhat confused.
His intention seemed similar to the Divine Child’s, right?
Why was it that they accepted them when he expressed his views but weren’t very happy, whereas when the Divine Child said the same thing, they were readily agreeable?
With these matters settled for the moment, Han Cheng quickly arranged for people to tend to the wounds of the Donkey Tribe members.
These people were now considered part of their tribe.
The three who remained in the tribe and had more severe injuries had stabilized after several days of treatment and rest.
However, those with lighter injuries were in more trouble.
Their wounds had not been treated promptly and were significantly exacerbated by the long journey.
The Donkey Tribe leader and two others were in relatively better condition, with their wounds mostly scabbed over, but the remaining three were in poor shape.
Their wounds had become infected and were festering, and they had developed fevers.
Despite Han Cheng’s guidance, including removing the rotting flesh, cleaning with saline and willow branch water, wrapping them with fine cloth, and brewing an infusion of Bupleurum root, two of them still died.
The Donkey Tribe leader was deeply remorseful about this.
Now, including the leader, only seven members of the Donkey Tribe remained.
Meanwhile, the Green Sparrow Tribe was actively preparing for battle.
They cut meat into pieces, boiled it vigorously in ceramic jars, and then cooled it into meat jelly in ceramic pots.
Several simple water mills for pounding rice were continuously in use.
Others were cleaning and maintaining weapons.
People were also working outside the tribe, but unlike before, everyone was extremely vigilant and carried weapons.
They no longer worked separately; each area had a group of five working together.
In the woods around the Green Sparrow Tribe’s fields, people dug the ground to set traps.
These were not for capturing prey but for enhancing the tribe’s defenses.
The traps were quite sturdy, and small animals passing over them would not be harmed.
Each trap had one or more markings that the Green Sparrow Tribe members could understand to prevent accidentally injuring their people.
At one trap, Han Cheng repeatedly explained to Deer Lord and Fu Jiang, pointing out the marks and surroundings to ensure they understood.
After thorough instruction, he picked up a large stone and threw it into the trap.
With a cloud of dust, the once-flat surface immediately collapsed, revealing sharp sticks underneath.
The commotion startled Deer Lord, who took two steps back, stretching his neck to watch warily. Fu Jiang, less brave, hid behind Han Cheng and made whimpering noises towards the trap as if to protest.
Han Cheng was satisfied and then took the two to check the next trap, ensuring they remembered the locations and markings.