Chapter 46: Pretending Not to See
Yan Jiao and Cang Shi left the Teepee, personally instructing people to tear apart the Ramie. This was crucial for the rise of the Flame Dragon Tribe. With linen, they could trade for a lot of dried meat. With enough meat to eat, they could train their bodies to become even stronger.
Yan Jiao walked through the Tribe, calling out, “Everyone, be careful when tearing. This is related to whether we can all eat our fill.”
“Yes!” Everyone responded in unison.
“Chieftain, should we keep Ramie a secret? I’m worried someone might spy on us,” Cang Shi scanned the surroundings and said in a low voice, “Next time, let’s tear the Ramie on-site and then transport it back. That would be safer.”
“En, I’ll discuss it with the Shaman,” Yan Jiao nodded, thinking that it made a lot of sense. Linen production could not be leaked, not even the raw materials.
“By the way, why is Yu Ying in the Shaman’s Teepee?” Cang Shi asked out of curiosity. From what he knew of that timid fox eared girl, she would never dare to stay with the Shaman.
*Hmph!* Yan Jiao got irritated just hearing about this. [You have the nerve to ask!? Are you showing off!?]
“What’s wrong?” Cang Shi scratched his face in confusion.
Yan Jiao’s face darkened as he said irritably, “She became the Shaman Priestess.”
“Huh? Really?” Cang Shi’s purple eyes widened in delight. He asked in surprise, “Chieftain, didn’t you want Yan Hua to become the Shaman Priestess?”“Didn’t you tell Yu Ying to go for it?” Yan Jiao’s face darkened even further. His fists clenched, wanting to give this man a couple of punches.
“No, how could I possibly tell Yu Ying to be the Shaman Priestess? She’s so timid,” Cang Shi said with a bitter face.
“If it wasn’t you, how could Yu Ying gather the courage to move into the Shaman’s Teepee?” Yan Jiao had been worrying himself sick over his Daughter’s future.
“I’ve been out hunting for two days, how could I have had time to tell her what to do?” Cang Shi found it hard to explain himself.
“Maybe you instructed her beforehand?” Yan Jiao said with a sneer.
“…” Mai Mang approached the two from behind, about to report on the Tribe’s affairs for the day. Hearing their argument, he realised that the person who had encouraged Yu Ying to enter the Shaman’s Teepee… was him.
He tiptoed away, deciding that reporting tomorrow would be fine too. He wanted to avoid getting punched by the Chieftain, which would put him on the ground for an entire day.
Cang Shi glanced indifferently at Mai Mang’s retreating figure, then continued to explain, “Chieftain, you have to believe me. I would never force Yu Ying to do something she doesn’t like.”
“If it wasn’t you, could it have been my Daughter who encouraged her?” Yan Jiao rolled his eyes.
Yu Ying becoming the Shaman Priestess was already an unchangeable fact. However, he could not get over it. He had been hoping for his Daughter to become the Shaman Priestess.
“It’s possible,” Cang Shi thought for a moment, catching a glimpse of Yan Hua coming out of the Main Teepee from the corner of his eye.
A flash of inspiration struck him, and he softly asked, “Chieftain, think about who has been by the Shaman’s side the most these past few days?”
“My Daughter?” Yan Jiao immediately thought of his Daughter.
“Hasn’t Yan Hua always wanted to be a Totem Warrior? Meanwhile, it’s you who wanted her to be a Shaman Priestess? Don’t you think she would have asked Yu Ying to take her place?” Cang Shi’s mind was churning, faster than ever, all to avoid a beating.
“That’s possible…” Yan Jiao found this to make sense.
Cang Shi nodded towards the Main Teepee, suggesting, “Yan Hua is right there. Chieftain, you can call her over to ask.”
Yan Jiao turned to look and saw his Daughter walking towards her own Teepee. He immediately called out, “Ah’Hua, come here for a moment.”
“Hmm?” Yan Hua stopped in her tracks, looked up to see her Father’s dark face. She glanced at Cang Shi beside him. She immediately realised that her recommendation of Yu Ying as Shaman Priestess had been exposed.
[This is bad. Father must know something! If I go over, I’ll definitely get scolded! Should I pretend to not see him and hide in the Shaman’s Teepee for a while?] Yan Hua’s mind raced with various thoughts flashing by.She had thought that after a busy day, her Father would forget about this morning’s misunderstanding.
However, seeing her Father’s current state, he was definitely angrier than he was in the morning. The ‘Shaman Priestess incident’ plus the morning’s ‘Shaman poisoning misunderstanding’… the anger accumulated from these two events meant she would likely get a beating if she went over.
“Do I hear someone calling me?” Yan Hua said in confusion, ignoring Yan Jiao’s beckoning.
She suddenly turned and ran towards the Main Teepee, deciding to pretend she had not seen her Father.
“!!!???” Yan Jiao stared blankly as his Daughter disappeared into the Main Teepee’s door flap. He could feel his mind suddenly freeze.
“Chieftain, Yan Hua deliberately pretended not to see you,” Cang Shi softly reminded.
“…” A vein bulged on Yan Jiao’s forehead as he slowly turned to stare at Cang Shi, grinning fiercely, “Cang Shi, it’s been a long time since we’ve sparred, right? Today is a good day to practise.”
“What!?” Cang Shi was confused. [You’re unable to beat your own Daughter, so you’re taking it out on me!?]
“Let’s go,” Yan Jiao grabbed one of Cang Shi’s arms and walked towards the open area in the centre of the Tribe.
He did not dare burst into the Shaman’s Teepee to confront his Daughter. However, he was not afraid to beat Cang Shi up to vent his anger.
“Chieftain, how can you be so unreasonable?” Cang Shi cried out indignantly.
“Unreasonable?” Yan Jiao’s smile became even more ‘radiant’ as he fiercely grinned, “You didn’t even do your task and went off to do something else.”
“I… I’ve already made up for my mistake!” Cang Shi protested.
“The Shaman may have forgiven you, but I haven’t,” Yan Jiao forcibly found an excuse.
“No…”
*Bang! Bang!!*
“Not the face!”
“…”
“How pitiful,” Mai Mang clicked his tongue, arms crossed as he watched the two fighting with schadenfreude.
Beside him, Mai Mao suddenly spoke up, “Father, wasn’t it you who told Yu Ying to go to the Shaman?”
“Keep quiet!” Mai Mang frantically covered his Son’s mouth, turning his head guiltily towards the open area. Seeing that Yan Jiao and Cang Shi had not heard him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He decided he needed to ‘train’ his Son properly.
“Father, don’t hit my butt. It’s too embarrassing.”
“That’s what you get for talking too much. You want to get your old man into trouble!?”
[noscript][/noscript]