Under the low jungle mountain, in the cave, a dozen tribespeople in tattered grass skirts gathered around a fire, their eyes devoid of any hope.
Among them, many were sallow and thin, clearly often going hungry.
Only one middle-aged man was relatively robust, but he had lost his left arm, greatly reducing his combat power.
One of the women squatted on the ground, hugging her knees, and said, "Over a hundred tribesfolk fled, and now only a few of us are left. If this continues, we won't survive either."
The others, hearing this, had a look of bleakness in their eyes.
They were a group of people who had lost their tribe, and without the protection of a tribe, they couldn't survive long in this barbaric jungle.
The one-armed middle-aged man was silent for a moment, then struggled to comfort, "There will always be a way."
A man stood up, opened his hands in despair, and said, "We've heard that enough. If we had known it would be like this, we might as well have stayed in the tribe and died with our people."
Two women began to sob quietly, not daring to cry out loud, biting their arms in suppression.
Some leaned against the cave walls, their eyes vacant as they stared at the cave's rocky ceiling.
The one-armed middle-aged man stood up, the oppressive environment was too much, it drove despair, and he wanted to go out for some air.
Stepping outside the cave, the post-rain air was fresh, and looking at the sprouting vegetation, the sense of oppression in his heart eased slightly.
But he didn't know, not far from the cave in a tree, five pairs of eyes were watching him.
In the thick tree, Jiang Xuan turned his head to look at Chi Shao, whispering, "It seems they went through something similar to us, fleeing from tribal warfare."
The arguments from the cave earlier were too loud, those tribespeople in a state of collapse were shouting hoarsely, so Jiang Xuan and the others heard it very clearly.
Chi Shao also looked at Jiang Xuan and whispered, "Yes, they're all wanderers."
Wanderers are those who have lost their tribe.
They roam the primitive jungle like lost souls, some lucky enough to join other tribes, others less fortunate, dying in the jungle due to various accidents.
Jiang Xuan and his group were very lucky.
They found the Ancient Vine at Stone Mountain, settled under the bamboo grove, and even established a small tribe.
These wanderers were quite unlucky; due to various accidents, over ninety percent of them died along the way.
Chi Shao seemed to guess Jiang Xuan's thoughts and said, "Do you want to take them in?"
Jiang Xuan pondered carefully for a moment and said, "Let's observe them first, find out their situation."
Though the Vine Tribe really lacked people, taking in wanderers carried risks; if they ended up taking over, it would be a problem.
Therefore, it was very important to understand the situation of these people.
"Then let's observe them some more."
The group crouched in the tree, watching the one-armed middle-aged man pace around the cave entrance.
Before long, others came out of the cave.
Though the situation was dire, with scattered spirits, meals still needed to be eaten, and no one wanted to starve to death.
They dug up some wild vegetables near the cave, caught some easily caught big insects, and set a few simple snare traps to catch some small prey as food.
Of course, since they didn't dare to go too far, the food gathered was limited; after dividing it among the dozen wanderers, they could only ensure they didn't starve, getting full was out of the question.
In the afternoon, Jiang Xuan and the others returned to the bamboo grove because spending the night in the primitive jungle was too dangerous.
Over the next two days, Jiang Xuan continued observing these wanderers, determining their numbers and combat strength.
After observation, Jiang Xuan found that there were twelve wanderers in the cave, and the one-armed middle-aged man should be a One-Color Warrior, while the others were ordinary people.
In other words, their combat ability was very low, and even if they joined the Vine Tribe, there wouldn't be a threat of them taking over.
What truly made Jiang Xuan decide was an unexpected event on the third day.
A severely injured wanderer died that day.
The remaining eleven wanderers, despite being underfed, chose not to eat his body but instead dug a hole and buried him.
This act made Jiang Xuan decide to integrate these wanderers into the Vine Tribe.
In desperate situations, human malice is easily triggered. If there were a few ruthless, unscrupulous people among these wanderers, in the face of food scarcity, the fresh corpse might have been eaten as meat.
This barbaric world is very dangerous, with various habits across tribes; there are many non-cannibal tribes, and naturally, there are cannibal tribes as well.
Jiang Xuan didn't want to take in wanderers from cannibal tribes, it was too dangerous.
After gaining the agreement of Chi Shao, Gou Teng, Shi Qiu, and Nan Xing, Jiang Xuan no longer hid and appeared directly in front of the cave where the wanderers were temporarily residing.
Five One-Color Warriors, with totem patterns painted on their faces, appeared, and the remaining eleven wanderers in the cave instantly panicked.
The one-armed middle-aged man bravely stepped out, tightly holding a Stone Spear, while the others nervously followed him, holding Wooden Spears, stones, and other makeshift weapons.
Eleven pairs of eyes fixed on Jiang Xuan and his group, but no one spoke, ready to fight at any moment.
Besides the one-armed middle-aged man, Jiang Xuan felt no threat from these people because he was already a One-Color Warrior, much stronger than these dizzy and starving wanderers.
Jiang Xuan said to the one-armed middle-aged man, "Don't be nervous, we mean no harm."
"We are from the Vine Tribe, and we came to find you to rescue you."
"The Vine Tribe, rescue us?" The one-armed middle-aged man looked at Jiang Xuan in confusion, hoping for an explanation.
Jiang Xuan continued, "Yes, you are all people who have lost your tribe. If you cannot find another tribe to take you in, how long do you think you can survive in the dangerous jungle?"
The one-armed middle-aged man was silent, and the wanderers' eyes dimmed; Jiang Xuan's words clearly struck their heart.
"I don't like beating around the bush. If you are willing to join the Vine Tribe, you can receive protection from our Vine God and the tribe's protection. You'll have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and no need to live in fear every day."
Jiang Xuan's words made the wanderers' breathing become heavy because what Jiang Xuan described was exactly what they longed for.
Having gone through hunger, cold, and living in constant fear, only then did they understand how important it was to have a tribe.
"Why should we believe you?"
The one-armed middle-aged man was cautious because Jiang Xuan looked too young, and although those with Jiang Xuan were also One-Color Warriors, they were similarly young.
Jiang Xuan naturally retorted, "Do you have any other choice?"
The one-armed middle-aged man remained silent.
Although he was also a One-Color Warrior, he had already lost an arm, and facing five One-Color Warriors, there was no chance of winning.
If Jiang Xuan and his group decided to take them by force and drag everyone back to the Vine Tribe, the one-armed middle-aged man could only resist symbolically.
The other wanderers were not stupid, they understood their predicament but still said nothing, instead looking to the one-armed middle-aged man, hoping he would make a decision.
At this moment, Chi Shao spoke up, "It's your luck that the Vine Tribe is willing to take you in. If you stay here, none of you will survive."
Jiang Xuan seized the moment to interject, "Our patience is limited. You'd better make a decision soon. If you don't want to join the Vine Tribe, we'll leave immediately, and you can stay here to fend for yourselves."
Upon hearing this, the wanderers panicked, not wanting to miss the chance to be taken in by a tribe.
Jiang Xuan observed their reactions and then said, "I'll ask one last time, do you want to join the Vine Tribe?"
The one-armed middle-aged man struggled internally for a long time, then looked back at the hopeful faces of the wanderers, and finally, gritting his teeth, said, "We... are willing to join the Vine Tribe..."
Jiang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He had been really worried these people would be stubborn and unwilling to join the Vine Tribe.
After that, things were simple.
Having the wanderers pack up briefly, giving them something to eat, and then taking these wanderers straight to the Vine Tribe.