Chapter 1124, A Decision Between Good and Bad

Translator: Silavin

 

Within the guest quarters of the Yong’an Building, the people of the Coiled Goat Tribe had gathered in a single room.

 

Three members of the Coiled Goat Tribe had made the journey, and every one of them was an Early-Stage Totem Warrior.

 

They had each come carrying a purpose, and at that moment one stood at the window, watching the activity outside. Another kept position at the door, listening intently to any sound beyond it. The third sat at the edge of the bed.

 

“Leader, what should we do next?” Luo Lan asked with a look of curiosity, his ear tilted toward the sounds outside the door.

 

He was the youngest of the three, though even he had reached twenty-five years of age. The most striking thing about him was the pair of coiled ram horns atop his head. His features carried a youthful softness that made it plain this was his first time leaving the Tribe to visit another.

 

“We follow the same method we used when working with the Spotted Deer Tribe,” Pi said without a moment’s hesitation.

 

He was the Leader of this delegation from the Coiled Goat Tribe. He was a Peak Early-Stage Totem Warrior standing on the threshold of Mid-Stage. The Tribe had sent him to the Flame Dragon Tribe in part hoping he might find an opportunity to break through during the journey.

 

Pi, too, bore the coiled ram horns most characteristic of his Tribe, though his were enormous, as thick around as the arm of a grown man. They were naturally not light, each horn weighing roughly ten kilograms, meaning he walked with twenty kilograms balanced atop his head.

 

Their people had a distinctive habit of adorning their feet with all manner of decorations, whether Beast Bone and Beast Fangs, or peculiar stones that caught their fancy.

 

Because Luo Lan was not among the more formidable Totem Warriors, his standing within the Tribe was not particularly high. His horns bore only a smear of pigment and a modest string or two of Beast Bone.

 

Pi was different. Both of his great horns were bristling with Beast Bone, Beast Fangs, and assorted decorations, and the tips were daubed with a faint touch of red pigment, a mark of rank and status.

 

“I worry that the people of the Flame Dragon Tribe will be hard to deal with. There is something different about them,” Bu Lu said, peering out through the window at the comings and goings below.

 

“Are you sure? The Spotted Deer Tribe was a larger Tribe and never saw through our scheme. The Flame Dragon Tribe knows nothing of us, so they should not pose a problem.”

 

Luo Lan pressed his ear firmly against the door, and only when he was satisfied no one stood outside did he speak.

 

Their Tribe’s most particular asset was the insects they kept and bred. These insects were quite obedient creatures, useful for scouting ahead or as a means of attack, and it was on the strength of these insects that the Coiled Goat Tribe had survived to this day.

 

Naturally, they had no intention of distributing healthy specimens to other Tribes.

 

But they also depended on the insects as trade goods to obtain food. And so, the scheme Luo Lan had just mentioned had come into being.

 

It was simple enough: send out the weaker or sickly insects in trade. Delivered to another Tribe, such insects could not survive more than a few days.

 

If that Tribe came complaining afterward, the Coiled Goat Tribe could simply respond that the insects had been poorly cared for, and ask why the same insects thrived perfectly well at home.

 

Ordinary Tribes had no way of knowing what had happened and no means of investigating it, so they never pursued the matter.

 

And of course, those same Tribes remained endlessly fascinated by the insects, which genuinely were of use to them.

 

So, the trade steadily continued, even if the insects lasted only a matter of days. They served as single-use insects, and that was enough.

 

This was precisely why the Coiled Goat Tribe had maintained stable trading relationships with other Tribes for so long.

 

After all, an insect that died quickly was an insect that needed replacing, and that meant a continuous stream of fresh provisions flowing into the Coiled Goat Tribe.

 

“If only we had not come into conflict with the Horned Goat Tribe, our Tribe would not be so short of Warriors, and we would not have been driven to this method,” Pi said, his brow creasing.

 

He made no secret of his distaste for the scheme. But it could not be helped. If the Coiled Goat Tribe had possessed greater strength, they would never have needed it.

 

Yet the method had proven to be reliable and effective, for the simple reason that they lacked the strength to venture into their Hunting Ground and take on Ferocious Beasts and wild beasts. Without Ferocious Beast Meat and Blood to sustain their Warriors, it was impossible to make them stronger, and the number of Shaman Bone Tablets they could produce was also diminished as a result.

 

The Coiled Goat Tribe’s strength had been stagnant for some time, and for now this scheme remained their most vital means of ensuring the Tribe was not wiped out.

 

“So long as it keeps the Tribe running, the method does not matter. Leader, let us proceed as before,” Bu Lu said, easing the window shut.

 

He had found little of interest in the street below. The constant stream of people had left his eyes feeling somewhat dazzled.

 

“We can offer more insects this time, and take away more in exchange. The Flame Dragon Tribe’s goods are something worth having.”

 

Luo Lan had been listening at the door for some time before he continued: “Who knows whether they will see through us or not? So let us take as much as we can in a single exchange. Even if they do see through it, it matters little. We simply do not return.”

 

After all, they were discussing rather unscrupulous business, and it was only natural to keep one ear at the door and ensure no one was listening outside.

 

If anyone overheard them and the Flame Dragon Tribe chose to deal with all three of them on the spot, the Coiled Goat Tribe would have no grounds to object. This was the established custom between Tribes: if a visitor harboured ill intentions or committed wrongdoing within another Tribe’s territory, that Tribe held the right to act accordingly.

 

This held true even for members of a Large Tribe. An unspoken rule had long since taken root between all Tribes: if a member of even a powerful Tribe stirred up trouble within a smaller one, the smaller Tribe still had the right to deal with them, and the powerful Tribe had no standing to retaliate for it.

 

Otherwise, it would invite the displeasure of every other Tribe, and that powerful Tribe would find itself at odds with all of them at once.

 

This was part of why, despite how brutal the world of Primitive Tribes could be, so many Tribes continued to exist side by side.

 

“Wait. I need to think this through carefully. The Flame Dragon Tribe’s goods are exceptional. We cannot afford to trade with them only once.”

 

Pi pressed down with one hand, steadying the conversation, and continued. “Their goods are precisely what we have always wanted. If we burn our bridges with them in a single exchange, who do we go to after that?”

 

He was not a man of spotless conduct, but in his heart, he was genuinely concerned for the future of the Coiled Goat Tribe.

 

Pi reasoned that if the Flame Dragon Tribe’s goods were this great, then the Tribe itself must be no pushover. To use the old scheme here would be to risk being found out, and once found out, relations between the two Tribes would be poisoned.

 

And if he were honest, there was a personal consideration as well: he had developed a taste for the Flame Dragon Tribe’s wine, and had no wish to go on without it.

 

“Does that mean we should give them the good insects?” Luo Lan asked.

 

They had never done such a thing before, which was precisely why the decision sat so uneasily with them.

 

“Let me think.” Pi’s brow furrowed so deeply it might have caught a fly between the creases.