"It’s such a cold day, have some hot soup first to warm up."
Jiang Xuan took out a pottery bowl and scooped a big bowl of meat soup for Lan, the boy, and Feng Chao, with quite a bit of meat in it.
Lan was very cautious. She stared at the meat soup, wanting to drink it but didn’t pick it up.
Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Don’t worry, it’s not poisoned. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t need to resort to such means."
Feng Chao picked up her own meat soup and chimed in, "Exactly, our leader is a powerful Five-Color Warrior."
Feng Chao blew on the scalding hot meat soup and then started drinking it. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ⓝovelFire.net
Lan looked at Jiang Xuan and then at Feng Chao, who was drinking the soup, realizing they were right; if Jiang Xuan wanted to kill them, he wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble.
Lan picked up a bowl of meat soup from the table, blew on it first, then handed it to her son, letting him drink it slowly.
The boy was pitiful, often going hungry with Lan, thin and frail. A bowl of meat soup was a rare delicacy for him.
He held the bowl, sipping slowly, clearly afraid that if he drank too fast, there would soon be none left.
Lan watched with a heavy heart, even more determined to give her son a better life.
She picked up a bowl of meat soup for herself, but only drank the soup and poured the meat into the boy’s bowl to let him eat more.
Jiang Xuan watched this scene, feeling a bit uneasy.
He knew well that Feng Chao was using the child to ensure Lan’s loyalty, a tactic not particularly honorable.
But the nature of the Thorny Vine was inherently not very honorable, and Feng Chao was forced to do this.
After Lan put down the bowl, Jiang Xuan said, "You understand the situation of the Thorny Vine clearly, right?"
Lan nodded: "As long as my son can stay in the Vine Tribe and not be bullied, I’ll do whatever you ask."
"Rest assured, he won’t go hungry or suffer from cold in our Vine Tribe, nor will he be bullied."
Jiang Xuan paused, then added, "In the future, you can also come back to see him, Feng Chao can bring you in."
Lan’s face lit up with joy, sincerely saying, "Thank you, Leader."
"Don’t thank me, the identity of the Thorny Vine is special, and on the surface, I can’t give you many benefits, but if you have needs, the tribe will try to meet them."
"At the same time, I hope you remember, every member of the Thorny Vine is also a tribesman of the Vine Tribe. Others may not know, but the Vine God, the Witch, and I, all recognize your identity."
"Can I also become a tribesman of the Vine Tribe?" Lan asked in disbelief.
"Of course, except that you can’t live in the tribe normally, your treatment is the same as the Vine Tribe’s members, even slightly better."
"That’s great, that’s wonderful..."
Lan was tearfully overjoyed; without a tribe, one is like a wandering soul, without support, without faith, and life and death mattered to no one.
With a tribe, all of that would change.
"Let’s go, I’ll take you to see the Witch." Jiang Xuan stood up.
"Why see the Witch?" Lan asked curiously.
"Of course, it’s to hold the ceremony for joining the Vine Tribe. Every recruit the Thorny Vine takes from outside has a ceremony."
Jiang Xuan lit a torch, opened the door, and said as he walked out, "Follow me."
Feng Chao also grabbed a torch, lit it, and guided Lan and the boy outside.
Soon, the five of them braved the wind and snow and entered Chi Shao’s house.
Chi Shao had already been informed and took out the prepared beast hair brush and pigments, standing in front of Lan and the boy.
"From today, you are members of the Vine Tribe. You must believe in the Vine God, and be loyal to the tribe..."
After Chi Shao recited a long passage, she picked up the beast hair brush and began drawing the Vine Tribe’s totem pattern on Lan and the boy’s faces.
Once the totem pattern was drawn, it symbolized that they were officially accepted by the Vine Tribe.
Lan and the boy were so excited they couldn’t speak, fearing to touch their faces and smudge the patterns.
Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Welcome to the Vine Tribe."
"Thank you, Leader, thank you, Witch..."
Lan held her son, expressing gratitude repeatedly, her feelings indescribable at this moment.
"Don’t thank me yet. Although you’ve joined the Vine Tribe, as I said before, the identity of the Thorny Vine is special. So, the child can stay in the tribe, and I will have someone take good care of him."
"However, Lan, you need to return to the small cabin outside the tribe. Your public identity will still be a Wanderer, but rest assured, food, warm beast hide clothing, and such things will be secretly delivered to you by the tribe."
Lan nodded, as these were arrangements discussed in advance, and she had no objections.
Then, Jiang Xuan took the boy to the breeding team overnight, instructing Da Jiao to take good care of him and not let others bully him.
The work at the breeding team was relatively easier, and with Jiang Xuan’s instructions, Da Jiao would surely take good care of the boy.
Lan watched as her son was settled, choking back tears as she told him to behave and take care of himself in the tribe.
Then, determinedly, she left the East Shore Breeding Area with Jiang Xuan, and under Feng Chao’s escort, left the Vine Tribe and returned to the dilapidated hut outside the Vine Wall.
Feng Chao left behind some food, ordinary beast hide clothing, and a bone spear, along with two stone knives, and then left the cabin.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Outside, the cold wind howled. Lan dug through the ash in the fire pit, revealing the still smoldering embers, and rekindled the fire pit.