"Should I recommend myself to be the shaman's assistant?" Yan Jiao's mind flashed with her father's words, making her even more conflicted.
If she couldn't become a Totem Warrior, she wouldn't be able to help her friend Sha Lan take revenge. Sha Lan would definitely laugh at her.
Sha Lan, her good friend, a girl whose strength wasn't much weaker than hers, was named after the Shalan fruit—their favorite wild fruit.
"Are you okay? Is it that hard to find the person?" Su Bai could see Yan Jiao was troubled. Otherwise, she wouldn't fidget so much—her face constantly shifted, sometimes frowning, sometimes pouting, and sometimes gritting her teeth.
"No… it's not hard to find. That person is my good friend," Yan Jiao's red eyes flickered, finally pushing forward another friend.
She had decided she still wanted to become a Totem Warrior. If she became the shaman's assistant, she wouldn't have time to train her body. Without enough vitality, she wouldn't be able to awaken her Totem.
To take revenge, only by becoming a Totem Warrior could she defeat the Black Snake Tribe.
"Good. Take me to her," Su Bai said, not asking about Yan Jiao's personal troubles—every girl had some secrets, after all.
"I'll go get her," Yan Jiao said quickly. There was no way she would let the shaman personally find her friend; if her father knew, she'd probably get scolded again.
"No need, I can observe the tribe while we walk," Su Bai said gently. As the new leader of the tribe, he needed to understand the living conditions of the people.
"Okay," Yan Jiao nodded reluctantly and led the way.
The tribal camp was very quiet. They didn't see anyone until they reached the edge of the camp, where a group of children were playing—or rather, wrestling and rolling in the mud.
"Who are they?" Su Bai asked, slightly opening his mouth.
"They're orphans. No one takes care of them," Yan Jiao said with a complex expression.
Normally, she didn't like coming here. Seeing the children made her heart ache, but she had no way to help them.
"What do they eat?" Su Bai frowned.
"The tribe gives them food. If they have talent, after turning fourteen, a Totem Warrior will teach them how to train their bodies and give them plenty of fresh meat to increase their vitality and awaken their Totem," Yan Jiao said in a low voice.
"And those without talent?" Su Bai's expression softened. Thankfully, the orphans weren't left to fend for themselves.
"That's when they do work—gathering food, setting up tents, grinding stone tools, processing hides…" Yan Jiao listed a long series of tasks.
"You've done these tasks too?" Su Bai asked curiously.
"I've ground stone tools and made my own animal hide clothes," Yan Jiao said matter-of-factly.
She stole a glance at Su Bai, becoming more certain of her suspicion—he must come from a large tribe. Otherwise, how could he know about all these trivial tasks?
"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Su Bai asked, curious, touching his face.
"Nothing," Yan Jiao said quickly, caught spying, and changed the topic.
"Shaman, please keep walking. My friend is inside the tent."
They arrived at a cone-shaped tent about five or six meters high, made of gray, black, and brown animal hides stitched together with vines.
"Yu—" Yan Jiao was about to call her friend out.
"Don't call," Su Bai quickly interrupted, asking, "Is she alone inside?"
"No, there are several people living together. This tent is also their workplace," Yan Jiao replied.
"That's good. I'll observe your friend first to see if she's suitable to be the shaman's assistant," Su Bai whispered.
As a shaman's assistant, she would have access to many secrets—even minor items from daily aid packages would need to be kept confidential. So the choice couldn't be careless.
"Okay," Yan Jiao hesitated, then nodded.
Su Bai secretly lifted the tent flap and peeked inside. He saw three people: a young girl sewing animal hides, and two women in their thirties weaving grass ropes.
He focused on the young girl. Upon closer observation, he noticed she had a pair of pink ears with white tips, resembling fox ears.
Su Bai immediately realized—she was a fox-eared girl.
The two older women chatted idly about trivial matters.
"Yu Ying, why don't you go live at Uncle Cang Shi's house instead of suffering here with us?" the older woman asked.
"Yeah, the new shaman is so young. You're the niece of the chief of the hunting team, you'd surely have a chance to serve the shaman," the other woman chimed in.
"No, Aunties, you're already expecting a child. It wouldn't be good for me to leave," the young girl Yu Ying said softly.
"You're foolish. Uncle Cang Shi is a Totem Warrior, and he doesn't lack for food. Why save meat for him?" the older woman scolded affectionately.
"Yeah, my father died early. Otherwise, he could've been a Totem Warrior, and we wouldn't lack meat either," the other woman sighed.
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, as both women sank into their own thoughts.
Yu Ying pursed her dry lips and didn't respond, quickly stitching the hides with vines.
Her hands tired, she stopped to shake her wrists and stretch. When she looked up, her gaze met the slit of the tent flap—black eyes staring at her.
"Who… who's there?!" Yu Ying's pink eyes widened in panic.
"What?" the other two women turned, only seeing the swaying tent flap.
"Someone was peeking just now," Yu Ying shrank back, timidly.
"They surely don't know which rascal was peeking at Yu Ying," the older woman teased.
"Yeah, she's so beautiful and sixteen now. She's ready to be married off," the other woman joked.
"St-stop talking!" Yu Ying's face flushed, her fox ears drooping as she curled into herself.
"Every time this topic comes up, Yu Ying blushes—it's just too cute," the older woman said.
"Being too shy isn't good either," the other woman added.
"Let's see who will pass Uncle Cang Shi's test."
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