The rest of the faces paled when they heard Shao Xuan.
âAnother one came?â asked Ao.
âYes.â Shao Xuan nodded, âBut theyâre gone now.â
After some thought, Shao Xuan said, âIt didnât seem like the one from before.â
Shao Xuan was referring to the aura he felt at the wanderâs district not long ago. It felt familiar to that one but was still different.
Zheng Luo and Ao couldnât feel the presence of that aura but they werenât going to doubt Shao Xuan.
âI did what you told me to do last time. I think thereâs more than one thatâs hiding here,â said Ao.
When Shao Xuan caught Robber Eleven and limited Robber twelveâs movements, Shao Xuan sent the guards back with a message to Zheng Luo and Ao.
As Shao Xuan released Robber Eleven and Robber Twelve, he spread something on their bodies.
The people of the Flaming Horn Tribe would smear a type of powder on beasts that had special medicinal properties or had valuable body parts during their first encounter while hunting. They did this too to beasts that had the tendency to run away.
Most of the powders had a strong smell to them like the one they used on the thieves at the beach. The scent made it impossible for the thieves to hide from them.
The powder used for tracking had a faint scent that only some beasts could smell. Most people wouldnât smell a thing.
Shao Xuan had smeared the latter on the two robbers.
The message told the two chiefs were to use some beasts with a sensitive nose to patrol the area.
Shao Xuan hoped to use the two robbers as a medium to pass on the scent to people around them, especially Robber Seven that was harder to catch.
According to Ao, Robber Eleven and Robber Twelve had been back to the tribe after they were released but they only stayed in the outskirts.
Ao was sure that there were some others that were lurking around in the area. Within those was that better and strong robber that Shao Xuan mentioned.
âThere should be other robbers other than eleven, twelve and seven but they may not be here as a team.â Zheng Luo found it to be troublesome for the tribe to be the target of anyone that good at staying hidden, especially if they were the famous robbers.
âIâm actually wondering how did they get here so quickly? As soon as the battle ended a few of robbers appeared.â Shao Xuan said his thoughts aloud. News in his area travelled slow, the few tribes could gather this quickly because they were already spying on them but how did the robbers that were spread across the world and werenât spying on the tribe get here? These robbers were high ranking ones too.
What attracted them to Flaming Horn?
Their victory against Wanshi wouldnât attract so many masters over. The Robbers were here to rob not like the others that were here to check out the situation.
The shaman agreed, âRight, these robbers should be after something in our tribe.â
âAre they after our fire seed? Or our core seed?!â said the old shamaness.
The few in discussion couldnât come to a conclusion but they all knew they should be vigilant. They werenât worried about the fire seed but they need to take extra care of the core seed.
Shao Xuan thought about the chase just now. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the two werenât just here to the longevity leaf. They had two years to retrieve it why did they wait until now to move?
Then if the intruder in the wanderer district really was Robber Seven as Robber Eleven said then the robbers arrived here much earlier than the other tribes.
They may have even arrived here before the Battle of Wanshi!
âSomething must have happened without us knowing,â said Shao Xuan with a sigh. Although he had some straw rope with him now, he had no way of finding out what happened but his gut was telling him that they werenât here because of Wanshi!
âDo you think those visitors at the edge of our tribe is hiding something from us?â asked Shao Xuan.
âPossible. Wouldnât be the first or second time they did that.â Aoâs tone was filled with resentment.
They were even spurring bullshit about cooperating and teamwork!
Ao had the impulse to hack at people while looking at his axe. He disliked everything about them! If he didnât know it would be bad timing for them to pick a fight with the other tribes, he would have done it.
As they spoke, someone from the Hui tribe came to meet Shao Xuan.
Not the two chiefs or the shaman but just Shao Xuan.
âWho is calling for me?â Shao Xuan asked the messenger.
âGu La from the Hui tribe.â
The shaman said to Shao Xuan, âGo and check out what he has to say.â
âSure.â Shao Xuan got someone to bring Gu La to his house.
With the fire seed from Flaming Horn now gone, anyone that passed by the fire pond wouldnât feel the intense pressure from the fire seed. Hence, when Gu La walked over he didnât feel any external pressure.
That made him suspicious that something happened to the fire seed in Flaming Horn tribe but he had no idea what the changes might be. He knew it wasnât his place to ask more about any tribeâs fire seed. He was here to talk about a different matter anyway.
In Shao Xuanâs house, Old Ke was polishing stone tools in another room with Caeser was standing guard outside so no one would be spying on them.
âWhy did you want to meet me?â Shao Xuan passed a cup of tea to Gu La.
Gu La absent-mindedly sipped the tea but frowned at its bitterness. After he swallowed he placed the cup down and thought for a while before saying, âDid you notice suspicious people in your tribe?â
âDo you mean the two I chased the other day?â asked Shao Xuan, looking directly into Gu Laâs eyes.
Gu La had a calm expression on his face but his eyes gave him away. His fingers were tapping nervously on his knee as if he was thinking about making a hard decision.
In a grave tone, âNo, not them. There may be more.â
Shao Xuanâs heart skipped a beat. He has insider information?!
Gu La didnât answer directly but said, âYou know, we few tribes focused on the desert for the past two years. We know everything that happens there.â With an awkward smile, he continued, âBut we didnât notice the Flaming Horn tribe.â
Gu La was referring to the time the Flaming Horn tribe brought so many people out from the desert. They never found an explanation for that.
After looking at Shao Xuan he noticed that the Grand Elder didnât want to explain anything so he continued after a cough, âActually after you left the desert, another group of people left soon after. The people from Rock Hill City. We thought the Desert King sent out people to hunt the slave masters that ran away because they were headed in this direction.â
âBut, up until now, I havenât seen anyone from Rock Hill City,â said Shao Xuan.
âOf course you havenât. They went in from the other side of the Fearsome Beast Forest, not from your tribe.â
The Fearsome Beast Forest covered a large area. Flaming Horn tribe was only a small part of its border. It would be possible for people to enter the forest without the Flaming Horn tribespeople noticing. Ever since they returned to the out haunt, they had only been on one long-distance hunting expedition. They spent most of their time in nearby areas,
If they didnât go into the forest, they naturally wouldnât know what happened in the forest.
âYou mean the Rock Hill people were aiming for the forest?â asked Shao Xuan. They werenât after Wanshi or Flaming Horn but the forest?
âIt seemed that they were looking for something, We donât know what that thing is. When you brought back a new discovery, some thought that you found one fo their secrets,â said Gu La with a bitter smile. In the end, they were disappointed by the news of the new vegetable.
Shao Xuan thought hard, what would make the Shi family send out people to this far away forest?
Gu Laâs words hinted at many things but most importantly, these peopleâs targets may not be Flaming Horn but something in the forest.
At the same time, Gu La conveyed that Hui tribe was willing to work with Flaming Horn tribe.
Gu La left soon after he said what he needed to.
Shao Xuan passed on Gu Laâs words to the chiefs and shamans for them to prepare for whatâs coming.