Although there were many more slaves, this day was still busy for the people of the Xia Wang tribe. They had to add two more fenced enclosures as per the deity’s instructions, as the deity said they needed to keep the captured creatures inside.
At the same time, they had to gather resources. The tribe’s wood and stone were almost depleted, so they needed to go to farther places. Moreover, beyond a certain range, the deity required them to plant two trees for every tree they cut down.
After a busy morning, they also had to build shelters for the slaves using animal skins and branches. Obviously, the tribe’s animal skins were not enough to make ten tents, but the slaves did not need one tent per person. In the end, they used their resources to build two larger tents.
Shu Bao looked at the tents, which could not be described as sturdy but rather as leaky. However, looking up, at least the tops were intact, which could block sunlight and rain.
The Sishe hunting team finished building the tents under the scorching sun. Ming Shi wiped the sweat from his forehead and felt that it was a good opportunity to persuade others. After all, with such toil, anyone would have complaints.
So, while most of the Xia Wang tribe went to drink water and cool off, Ming Shi quietly mentioned his thoughts from the previous night to the others. This time, still not many responded, but it was obvious that most people’s eyes showed signs of wavering.
Just as Ming Shi was feeling happy, the high priest of the Xia Wang tribe came over. The members of the Sishe hunting team thought there was more work to do, and each of them had a bitter expression. However, the high priest pointed to the two newly erected tents and said, “These are for you to live in.”
The Sishe hunting team looked at each other, wondering if they had heard it wrong. It was summer, and even in winter, no tribe would give slaves houses to live in.
But that wasn’t all. The high priest continued, “Take a rest, and then come with me to eat.”
The Sishe hunting team was completely stunned. Although they didn’t understand what the Xia Wang tribe meant, they didn’t want to miss the opportunity to eat and immediately followed.
When they arrived at the altar in the tribe, many people were already seated around it. The Sishe hunting team felt a bit uneasy because the altar was a sacred place for a tribe. Usually, slaves and outsiders were not allowed to step foot there.
However, the people of the Xia Wang tribe did not stop them and even distributed food to them. It was a piece of roasted meat and two wild fruits, not something slaves should eat.
Holding the roasted meat, the Sishe hunting team felt confused and complicated. At this moment, the mouse, which was the deity of the Xia Wang tribe, spoke.
“Eat without worry. Our tribe members are very kind and gentle. We won’t catch you to feed the snakes. Of course, your tribe wouldn’t do that either.” The fluffy ball took a bite of the roasted grasshopper head, its chubby cheeks constantly moving, looking like it was enjoying the food.
The Sishe hunting team couldn’t help but swallow and then began to gobble down the food. However, they couldn’t guarantee the mouse’s words. In their tribe, deities were supreme, and those who betrayed the deity would usually face severe punishment.
Since yesterday, Ming Shi had been actively encouraging them to rebel because if they didn’t make up for their crimes, even if the people of the Sishe tribe came, after losing so many snakes, they would face extremely severe punishment, including the possibility of being fed to the snakes.
After lunch, the fluffy ball spoke again, “If you perform well, you might be able to get rid of your slave status and officially become a member of the Xia Wang tribe.”
This simple sentence instantly lit up the eyes of the Sishe hunting team. Everyone looked at Shu Bao with bright eyes.
Shu Bao patted his furry chest with his paw, “I swear on my chest hair, I keep my word. If you perform well during the ten-day trial period, you will no longer be slaves!”
The people of the Sishe tribe looked at the fluffy ball’s chest, unsure which area he meant by chest hair, but regardless of the area, it was very furry and looked quite convincing.
That afternoon, the Sishe hunting team was as enthusiastic as if they had been injected with adrenaline. Although the deity of the Xia Wang tribe was a mouse, it was not an ordinary mouse. After witnessing that terrifying fireball, they did not reject the idea of joining the Xia Wang tribe.
Not long after noon, the hunting team returned, bringing back a live mother rabbit and a litter of baby rabbits, as well as a medium-sized wild boar they had killed. It was quite a harvest.
The hunting team placed the rabbits in the prepared pen and went to the river to process the wild boar. Along the way, they saw the enthusiastic Sishe hunting team and were quite surprised. After learning the reason, everyone thought that the deity was truly wise and kind.
Shu Bao was very interested in the litter of baby rabbits. But after being chased around twice by the mother rabbit, he had to give up the idea of petting the rabbits. The mouse sucked in his small belly and pretended nothing had happened as he left the livestock area. The people of the Xia Wang tribe also pretended not to see anything and continued working.
In the afternoon, the enthusiastic and well-fed Sishe hunting team contributed a great deal of labor, and the resource progress bar in the task hall was rapidly increasing. With nothing to do and unable to pet the rabbits, Shu Bao decided to go out for a walk and try to find materials to make a magic staff.
Before leaving, Shu Bao called the hunting team and asked them to try using the magic staff.
This action immediately attracted everyone’s attention, and they slowly crowded around to watch. However, this time the deity did not transform into a human but used his small, furry body to wield the oversized magic staff.
But this did not affect the creation of the fireball. When a bright flame appeared above the staff, the crowd erupted in exclamations. The deity manipulated the staff, flinging the fireball out, which gradually extinguished as it hit the ground.
Afterward, the hunting team tried one by one, but most of them couldn’t make the wand produce a fireball. Even if someone managed to make two sparks, it would cause a cheer from everyone.
Shu Bao touched his chin with his little paw, thinking that magical weapons also have requirements for their users. He decided to focus on cultivating talent in this area in the future.
After a series of experiments, only the high priest and Mu Bao could control the staff to shoot fireballs. However, their operations were not very skillful, and they couldn’t continuously shoot fireballs like Shu Bao. But this was enough to excite them.
“With diligent practice in the future, there will be progress.” Shu Bao was already very satisfied with having two people who could directly operate the staff. This way, he could first train two magicians, one to stay at the base and guard, and the other to go out with the hunting team in the future.
Leaving the staff for the two to practice with, Shu Bao went out to find materials to make wands. Currently, the mouse could only print wood and stone, so the materials for the staff had to come from these two aspects.
However, these days, Shu Bao hadn’t found anything unusual around, so he planned to go further today.
After Shu Bao left, the Xia Wang tribe continued to work in an orderly manner. People’s expectations for miracles were no less than Shu Bao’s. As for the Sishe hunting team, although they couldn’t see the blueprint now, they were also working hard to perform well.
Meanwhile, Ming Shi finally realized that he had to leave immediately because it wouldn’t be long before his former teammates would become his enemies. By then, they would not only rebel but also actively monitor him and sabotage his plans.
At this moment, everyone’s attention was on the staff. Because of the hard work of those traitors, the Xia Wang tribe’s supervision of them had become much looser. Ming Shi slowly moved to the edge area and quietly slipped away when the high priest created a huge fireball that attracted everyone’s attention.
After running a long distance, Ming Shi finally dared to take big gulps of air. He needed to report back to the Black Python Deity that the Xia Wang tribe was a threat and that their deity was a mouse capable of shooting fireballs. Apart from this mouse, the other people were not to be feared, but the tools and weapons in the Xia Wang tribe were indeed very good. With this information, the Black Python Deity would likely forgive his crimes and might even reward him.
No one in the Xia Wang tribe had noticed Ming Shi’s disappearance yet, as there were nearly sixty people coming and going in the tribe at this time. While everyone was busy, a small green snake wandered near the tribe. The little green snake flicked its tongue around for a moment and found a familiar mouse hair nearby, confirming that its furry teammate was nearby.
So, the social expert Lan Qing happily swam over. Hidden among the clutter, no one noticed it for a while. It wasn’t until the little green snake climbed onto a large stone that someone was about to move, stood up on its hind legs, and revealed its signature two small fangs, saying, “Um…”
“Snake!”
“Snake!”
“There’s a snake!”
“Is it from the Sishe Tribe?!”
…
With exclamations, everyone instantly became alert, holding tools or weapons in their hands.
Lan Qing was also startled by this scene and quickly spoke up when one person approached with a spear, “I am Shu Bao’s friend. My name is Lan Qing!”
“The snake talked!”
“Who is Shu Bao?”
“It’s definitely not an ordinary snake. It must be from the Sishe Tribe!”
The Sishe hunting team was very confused, “But the Sishe Tribe doesn’t have any talking snakes!”
Anyway, in everyone’s eyes, this inexplicably talking green snake was very strange, and they were ready to catch it.
Lan Qing panicked and quickly took out the mouse hair he had collected around, confirming he hadn’t mistaken the scent. Could it be that these people weren’t from the furry team? But the tools and weapons in their hands were clearly system-made?
“Is that the deity’s chest hair?” The high priest, who came over with the staff, keenly noticed the fur on the tip of Lan Qing’s tail.
“This is my friend’s, it’s Shu Bao’s.” Lan Qing nodded his little head and explained, then continued, “I don’t know if it’s chest hair or leg hair, but I found it by following these.”
