Chapter 42: Did We Take the Wrong Path?
“Hurry up! Just a little more and we’re done!” Yan Jiao shouted, carrying a Hollow Log and swiftly moving through the forest.
“Yes!” Hei Ya, Da Gua, and Wa Ming followed closely behind.
“Has the Chieftain gotten stronger again?” Hei Ya quietly asked.
“Indeed, the Chieftain’s reaction speed has improved,” Da Gua observed, watching the rapidly running figure in front. Carrying a Hollow Log while running through the bushes, one could easily hit a tree or get caught on branches. It required extreme reflexes to avoid all of them.
“I think the Chieftain is close to becoming a Mid Grade Totem Warrior,” Wa Ming said in a low voice.
“The Chieftain is the most talented among us. He should indeed soon become a Mid Grade Totem Warrior,” Hei Ya nodded in agreement.
“Once the Chieftain becomes a Mid Grade Totem Warrior, we’ll go hunt Pure Blood Ferocious Beasts! That’s how we’ll get stronger faster! Soon, we can have our revenge!” Da Gua said through gritted teeth.
“We’ll definitely not let those Black Snake bastards off!” Wa Ming cursed with murderous intent.
From the front, Yan Jiao’s shout rang out: “Hurry up! Stop dawdling!”
“Coming!” Hei Ya responded, quickening his pace.Soon, the four of them, carrying Hollow Logs, arrived at the small lake. They skillfully assembled the Hollow Logs, forcing any misaligned ‘grooves’ into place with brute strength.
A few minutes later, all the Hollow Logs were connected, with only the final connection to the water source storage tank remaining.
“Chieftain, connect it quickly,” Hei Ya urged.
*Huuuu…* Yan Jiao took a deep breath. They had been busy all day just for this moment.
He pushed aside the branches covering the storage tank, looked down at the clearwater visible at the bottom, and used a wooden stick to poke a hole in the bottom of the storage tank. Then, he quickly removed it and replaced it with a Hollow Log.
“It’s connected!” Yan Jiao said with a gratified smile.
“Let’s go, quickly, we should go back and see how they’ve connected their end,” Hei Ya urged.
The Totem Warriors were responsible for the section of Hollow Logs near the small lake. Meanwhile, the other Tribe members were in charge of connecting the Hollow Logs from the gathering ground to the Tribe.
“Let’s check for any leaks along the way,” Yan Jiao said, covering the storage tank with branches again before setting off to return to the Tribe.
“Alright.”
The four of them inspected the Hollow Log ‘pipeline’ as they hurried back to the Tribe, eager to see if the water had reached the Tribe..
“It’s getting dark,” Yan Jiao looked up at the sky through the gaps in the forest canopy, seeing that the sun had moved westward and its light was no longer as intense.
“If we have water tonight, I’m going to have a good bath,” Hei Ya grinned, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth.
“I guess many people would want to bathe. There might not be enough water though,” Da Gua said with a laugh.
The water source in the storage tank, seeping in from that small lake, was not very fast. It would be close to impossible for everyone to bathe on the same day.
“We can take water to the small forest to bathe during tonight’s patrol,” Wa Ming suggested.
“That’s right. I’m on patrol tonight. No one will fight me for water when I use it at midnight,” Hei Ya smugly said.
“Water shouldn’t be wasted like that,” Yan Jiao sternly warned. Though, he was also secretly planning on going out to patrol tonight as well.
“Not using water would be a waste, might as well let us bathe,” Hei Ya muttered.
“You talk too much.” Yan Jiao glared at him and said irritably, “Everyone check the Hollow Logs, make sure there are no leaks.”
“No leaks,” Wa Ming reported.
The four of them checked the Hollow Logs while bantering, quickly advancing towards the gathering ground.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the gathering ground and saw more than a dozen people carrying Hollow Logs.
“You haven’t finished yet?” Yan Jiao frowned and asked.
“Chieftain, we’re almost done, just the last section is left,” someone immediately responded.
“How long left?” Hei Ya asked.
“Over a hundred steps long,” the person replied.
“Give us the Hollow Logs,” Yan Jiao sighed in relief. A hundred steps long was something they could finish quickly.
“Yes.”
Yan Jiao and his three companions carried the Hollow Logs and sprinted towards the Tribe. The inspection of this section of Hollow Logs could be left to the others.
They ran for seven or eight minutes before seeing three or four people connecting Hollow Logs.
“Let us do it,” Yan Jiao immediately stepped forward to take over.
“Yes,” the others quickly made way.
“The water should be coming soon, right?” Hei Ya said as he carried a Hollow Log forward to connect it.
The Hollow Logs at this section were prepared by the Tribe last night, and had already been connected in advance. The flow of water was not as fast as the Totem Warriors running speed.
“It should be soon,” Wa Ming crouched down, putting his ear to the Hollow Log pipeline. He could hear the sound of water flowing.
They quickly connected the Hollow Logs, soon completing the joining of the two sections.
“Let’s go back to the Tribe and wait for the water,” Yan Jiao quickly strode off.
“We’ll leave the inspection to you,” Hei Ya threw back a sentence before immediately chasing after Yan Jiao.
“Yes,” several Tribe members immediately responded.
*Thud thud thud…*
Without the burden of needing to check for leaks in the Hollow Logs, the four of them ran at full speed. The fact that Totem Warriors’ footsteps should be silent was thrown to the back of their minds. They all wanted to rush back to the Tribe and await the arrival of water.
In less than ten minutes, they saw the Tribe.
“Wait… did we take the wrong path? Is that our Tribe?” Da Gua exclaimed in shock.
Yan Jiao looked up and saw several buildings of various sizes at the centre of the Tribe in the distance. He exclaimed in surprise, “When did our Tribe get houses like that?”
“It must be the Shaman’s doing. Only he can make others build such houses in a day,” Hei Ya shouted in admiration.
“Why don’t we go back to the Tribe and see for ourselves?” Wa Ming said in a deep voice.
“Let’s go.”
[noscript][/noscript]