Chapter 1083, Who’s to Say It Isn’t Poison

Translator: Silavin

 

Now Zi Yun had time to look around properly, and she could see that this Tribe was indeed predominantly female.

 

Perhaps eight out of every ten people were women. Most of the heavy work was being done by men.

 

Though the men looked well-built too, probably because that made them suited for such tasks.

 

“So does this Tribe send women out to hunt as well? I don’t think so.” Zi Yun mused to herself.

 

She figured that since this was a female-led Tribe, it was probably the male Totem Warriors who did the hunting. Hunting was dangerous, after all, and sending men seemed to be what this Tribe preferred.

 

While she was thinking this over, Ai Ma came back out of the wooden house and beckoned her inside.

 

Zi Yun pulled her thoughts together and stepped in. The moment she entered, the darkness hit her.

 

She instinctively frowned. It was not remotely comparable to the houses back home.

 

The houses of the Flame Dragon Tribe let in a great deal of light. In the daytime they were never this dim inside.

 

“You are from the Flame Dragon Tribe?” A woman’s voice came out of the darkness. It was strong and full.

 

Zi Yun blinked, then nodded. “Yes, Chieftain. I am from the Flame Dragon Tribe.”

 

She looked uncertainly at Ai Ma, who gestured for her to sit on the dry-grass mat.

 

Zi Yun set down the goods she was carrying along with what the other two Totem Warriors had brought and settled cross-legged on the ground.

 

Only then could Zi Yun make out the figure in the darkness clearly. The woman was somewhere in her thirties or forties. Long red hair pinned up at the top of her head. A broad, square face that gave an impression of authority. She wore linen, though it was clearly not the same quality as what Zi Yun had on.

 

This was plainly the Chieftain of the Red Horse Tribe. The air she carried was strong. One could sense she was a Mid-Stage Totem Warrior.

 

“I have been told you have brought goods to our Tribe to trade. What are they?” The Red Horse Tribe’s Chieftain got straight to it.

 

“We have brought wine, linen, paper, and some seasonings. Chieftain, please have a look.” Zi Yun slid the goods on the ground forward a little. “These are samples we have brought. Chieftain is welcome to directly try them.”

 

Trade had always been this way. One could hardly expect the other party to neither touch nor look nor smell. They needed to try something before they could judge it.

 

In the primitive era, this holds especially true. If they did not even know what something was, how could they be expected to trade for it?

 

Ai Ma stepped forward, picked up the items from the ground, and arranged them neatly in front of the Chieftain.

 

The Red Horse Tribe’s Chieftain frowned at the things laid before her. None of them were familiar.

 

Perhaps the linen was the one exception, though even that looked different from what she remembered. The appearance alone was already quite something, and she suspected it would feel good to the touch too.

 

“Chieftain, if I may be so bold, I think it would help to open the windows, or perhaps leave the door open to let some light in. You would be able to see things more clearly that way.” Zi Yun sincerely said.

 

The unicorn girl genuinely found the house far too dark. How was anyone supposed to properly look at goods in here? Poor light could make a person form a wrong impression of something. Zi Yun did not want the goods being judged unfairly because of something as avoidable as that.

 

The Red Horse Tribe’s Chieftain said nothing. She simply tilted her chin toward the door, and Ai Ma went and opened it at once.

 

*Creak.*

 

As the door swung open, light flooded in from outside, and the appearance of the goods on the ground became immediately clear.

 

“Chieftain can take a proper look now. The first item is wine. Please have a taste.” Zi Yun’s expression lifted.

 

Now this was the proper lighting for looking at things. She moved straight to the point.

 

The Red Horse Tribe’s Chieftain still said nothing. Ai Ma read the room and stepped forward to pour.

 

The moment the wine jar was opened, the aroma spread out at once, and Ai Ma felt herself go briefly still.

 

She kept blinking at the jar, and her nose kept moving, drinking in the scent of the wine with some effort.

 

After Ai Ma poured the wine, she did not hurry to offer it to the Chieftain. Instead, she stepped outside and called over a male slave at random.

 

She had him drink it down. The reason was plain enough: she was testing whether it was poisoned.

 

The slave drank, and his eyes went wide instantly. He said it was amazing. Too amazing.

 

A good while passed and nothing happened to him. His eyes kept drifting back to the leaf-bowl he had just drunk from, quietly hoping there might be another.

 

Seeing that the slave was fine, and that he could not stop praising the wine, Ai Ma’s remaining doubts settled.

 

She went back into the hut, poured a fresh bowl into a stone bowl, and offered it respectfully to the Red Horse Tribe’s Chieftain.

 

The Chieftain had, of course, seen everything that happened outside the hut, and had already caught the scent of the wine.

 

If she had not been concerned about appearances, she would likely have simply drained it in one sitting. However, she allowed herself only a small sip.

 

That one sip was enough. The Red Horse Tribe’s Chieftain’s red eyes went wide immediately, and she finished the rest in the bowl without hesitation.

 

She nodded in satisfaction, pressing her lips together, still dwelling on the aftertaste.

 

Ai Ma, standing nearby, had gone still watching her. If not for the question of propriety, she would have poured herself a bowl too.

 

Just standing next to it and breathing in the smell was enough to know it was something special.

 

Zi Yun, watching all of this, said nothing about what she had seen. She simply continued, “Chieftain, perhaps have a look at the second item. That is salt, produced by our Tribe. Is it not better than what other Tribes carry?”

 

She knew that every Chieftain had their pride. If she asked directly whether the wine was good, it would put the other woman in an awkward position.

 

The right move was to play slightly oblivious and introduce the next item. The Chieftain would know her own mind if it was good or not.

 

“Salt? The Flame Dragon Tribe has salt? I thought only the Spotted Deer Tribe had it?” The Red Horse Tribe’s Chieftain looked puzzled as she picked up the small tube of salt.

 

The salt was packed into a wooden tube roughly the size of a little finger, its opening sealed with a piece of animal hide.

 

There was not much salt inside. Tipped into a palm, it would be no more than a small pinch.

 

“Our salt is whiter than what other Tribes carry, with no impurities and absolutely no bitter aftertaste.” Zi Yun pressed on.

 

Ai Ma immediately leaned over, tapped a little out, and had the slave at the door try it, following the same method as before.

 

After all, the stuff looked startlingly white. It was not what salt was supposed to look like, as far as they were concerned.

 

Who was to say it was not poison. Better to have someone test it first.