Chapter 1110, Strength and Konjac

Translator: Silavin

 

Su Bai raised a hand and pressed it gently downward, signalling them all to ease off.

 

He looked around the room once more, then said, satisfied, “I was only checking whether either Tribe had left any eyes here.”

 

“There should not be any, Shaman. I specifically had people patrolling the area, and two are watching those Tribes’ representatives at all times. They could not get close.” Ye Jiu moved to the window at once and looked out, then solemnly turned back.

 

“I do not mean the people themselves coming here. I mean the insects they raised.” Su Bai said.

 

“Shaman is worried the insects might be listening to us? That is a little far-fetched.” Sha Lan blinked her blue eyes.

 

“Those insects cannot speak. Even if they came close, they would have no way to pass a message back.” Ye Jiu found it difficult to believe as well.

 

“That is not necessarily so. If they have found a way to make those insects so obedient, there may well be some kind of connection between themselves and the insects.” Su Bai was not about to assume those people were simple. There was almost certainly something at work that he did not yet know about.

 

“That’s true. Being a little careful never hurts.” Sha Lan nodded.

 

Su Bai walked deliberately to the floor-length window, looked over the surrounding area, then came back and settled himself.

 

He sipped his tea and said, “For now, they likely do not have that level of capability. If they did, nothing that goes on around this area could have stayed hidden from those two Tribes.”

 

He had thought of it just now. The Flame Dragon Central Market had been operating for quite some time.

 

And the Flame Dragon Tribe’s goods were excellent. They had drawn enormous numbers of people.

 

If those two Tribes had such powerful intelligence-gathering capability, they would surely have come knocking long before now.

 

“I guess so. And they could set up a dedicated information-gathering team, keep a steady stream of dried meat and resources flowing into the Tribe that way.”

 

Sha Lan worked through it seriously and continued, “They probably cannot hold a proper conversation with those insects. But the insects do listen to what they say.”

 

“You are right. If those insects could actually eavesdrop on us, they would have opened a team specifically for gathering intelligence.” Su Bai and Sha Lan had arrived at exactly the same thought.

 

“Yes.” Ye Jiu, hearing that, went out again, reassured.

 

“What you said has reminded me of something, though. We do need to have our own Information Gathering Department.”

 

Su Bai sat quietly with the idea. “Those carrier pigeons help us pass messages, but they are not fast enough. There is always several days lag in between.”

 

“Shaman wants something that can relay messages in real time? I do not think that is possible. I already think the carrier pigeons are quite fast.” Sha Lan blinked, puzzled.

 

“Exactly. Something where we can speak directly to one another. Then we would not have to worry about missing anything.” Su Bai’s fingers tapped in a slow rhythm on the tabletop.

 

At the same time, he was quite aware this was no simple thing. There was no way to recreate a mobile phone in this Primitive Era.

 

“Shaman will surely find a way. I believe in you.” Sha Lan’s eyes held a completely sincere warmth.

 

Sha Lan genuinely meant it. In her mind, Su Bai was simply capable of everything. Whatever the Tribe did not understand, whatever it needed, one only had to come and ask the Shaman and an answer would come. That was how it had always been, or so Sha Lan thought.

 

“Ha ha ha ha… that one might not be possible for a while. Perhaps one day, though.” Su Bai reached out and gave her cheek a light pinch.

 

The expression on her face was simply too endearing. And this feeling of being looked up to like that, well, it was not bad at all.

 

“Shaman, let me tell you about the Black Bull Tribe and the Pheasant Tribe next. The former is a Tribe made up of Bull Demi-Humans. Their physical endurance is extraordinary. Even those who are not Totem Warriors have astonishing strength.”

 

Sha Lan let the words Hu Shi had shared with her rise back up, and continued: “They are roughly on a par with our Early-Stage Totem Warriors. It is also a Large Tribe.”

 

“Finally a Large Tribe. What proportion of the Black Bull Tribe are Bull Demi-Humans?” Su Bai asked.

 

A smile appeared on his face, and for a clear reason. Those who were not even Totem Warriors yet could match a Totem Warrior in raw Strength. That was natural labour power, plain and simple.

 

If the Flame Dragon Tribe had Bull Demi-Humans, any number of heavy tasks could be handed to them.

 

Construction alone, for instance. Moving a load of stone currently needed several people working together. A single Bull Demi-Human could haul several loads at once. The difference was not hard to imagine.

 

“About seven out of ten are Bull Demi-Humans, I believe. The rest are slaves. The Black Bull Tribe does not seem to have anything particularly special about them. They hunt and trade with other Tribes like anyone else.”

 

Sha Lan thought carefully, making sure she was not leaving anything out.

 

“This Tribe is also an opening. The Tribes with no particular specialty are often the easiest to negotiate with.” Su Bai said lightly.

 

“Why is that, Shaman?” Sha Lan asked.

 

“If they had something we wanted, and we needed to trade for it, those Tribes would be the ones making demands.” Su Bai took a sip of tea. “Whereas if their Tribe has nothing, what exactly do they have left to offer in an exchange?”

 

“Only food.” Sha Lan said.

 

“That’s right. But our Tribe does not need food. What their Tribe does have is numerous people with considerable strength. Exchanging labour for goods is a perfectly reasonable arrangement.” Su Bai said.

 

“I see. Shaman does not want them to have too much to bargain with. That way our Tribe keeps the upper hand.” Sha Lan understood it at once.

 

“Precisely. Because we are here to do business. Letting other Tribes hold too much of the advantage would not do.” Su Bai smiled quietly.

 

“Yes. The last one is the Pheasant Tribe. They are an ordinary Human Tribe, though they do have one specialty product.”

 

Sha Lan began rummaging through the bag she carried with her. “Hu Shi brought it for me just now. I remember putting it away somewhere.”

 

“No hurry, take your time.” Su Bai said mildly.

 

“Here it is.” Sha Lan drew from the bag a lump of greyish-brown matter and held it out.

 

“Oh, this. This is konjac. It is quite nice to eat, actually.” Su Bai recognised it at a glance.

 

Konjac was as familiar to him as anything. He had eaten it regularly before he Transmigrated.

 

“Konjac?” Sha Lan knew nothing of this unfamiliar thing. Even the name was foreign to her.

 

“Just a type of food.” Su Bai explained.

 

“Ah…” Sha Lan examined the konjac carefully.