The Portal of Wonderland

The central place of the tribe was open and wide. An altar with a radius of thirty feet had been fastened in the place. The entire altar was built with some kind of a giant black stone.

Three men stood in front of the huge tents with their faces towards the altar. These men were wearing black cloaks. A middle-aged barbarian man with thick eyebrows and a square face also stood there; he seemed to be waiting since a long time.

Sha Xing and Sha Jiao dismounted from their horses. Then, they hurriedly ran towards the middle-aged barbarian man. The middle-aged barbarian hugged them, and patted on their backs. Then, the three people started to talk to each other.

Shi Mu looked at the middle-aged barbarian since he was continuously looking at Shi Mu and his David’s Deer. Shi Mu understood that Sha Xing and Sha Jiao must be talking about how he had saved them and controlled the David’s Deer.

The middle-aged barbarian walked towards Shi Mu after he had talked to his children. He then sized him up with a smile on his face.

Suddenly, his expressions changed. However, he quickly resumed his normal expressions.

“I’m the Chief of the Flying Raven Tribe. I respect the brave warrior. Thank you for saving my children,” The middle-aged man placed a hand on his chest and bowed sincerely in front of Shi Mu.

Shi Mu had chatted with Sha Xing and Sha Jiao on their way here, and had already found out that Sha Lang was the Chief of this small tribe; he also offered sacrifices to the Gods in the sacrificial ceremony. Moreover, he was one of the three totem warriors of this tribe. However, he was relatively stronger than the other two totem warriors. In fact, he was almost as strong as a middle-level Hou Tian Warrior.

“Chief, you don’t need to be so polite,” Shi Mu replied with a smile. He then extended his right hand to hold him. This gently made him stand upright.

The Chief looked at Shi Mu with surprise. He had felt Shi Mu’s strength with his grip. And, he couldn’t ignore the strength that had been transmitted by Shi Mu’s body.

It was clear that Sha Xing wasn’t lying when he talked about Shi Mu’s extraordinary strength.

“Warrior Shi Mu, I don’t know what mission has brought you to this place. But, we – the members of the Flying Raven Tribe – are willing to provide you any help that you need,” Sha Lang spoke in a straightforward manner.

“Thank you for your kindness, Chief. But, I’ve only come here to learn and experience new things. There’s no specific purpose,” Shi Mu shook his head and said.

“In that case… you can stay with the Flying Raven Tribe for as long as you want. Let us take care of you.” Sha Lang smiled. Then, his eyes fell at Shi Mu’s dirty clothes. He said, “Oh! By the way, you must’ve faced a lot of sand and dirt during your journey. It’ll be better if you first go in the tent and wash yourself.”

“Many thanks to Chief Sha,” Shi Mu nodded towards him and said.

It had been a long time since Shi Mu had entered the barbarian wasteland… and he hadn’t cleaned his body since then. Moreover, he had just engaged himself in a fight with the David’s Deer. So, he was covered in sweat; and, the stickiness was making him feel uncomfortable.

Sha Lang’s face revealed a cheerful look. He called one tribesman, and asked him to go to the river to bring fresh water for Shi Mu and the David’s Deer. Then, he personally took Shi Mu to a nearby fine-leather tent. This seemed to be the best tent in the tribe… beside the residence of the Chief.

Sha Xing and Sha Jiao also followed them. Sha Jiao’s complexion was a little strange. The hospitality of the Flying Raven Tribe had always been exceptional. However, she felt that her father was showing-off in front of Shi Mu since he seemed to be over-respectful.

Shi Mu stood inside the leather tent. Sha Lang and the others had already left. He took out all the weapons from his body, and arranged them properly on the stone table in front of him.

Two strong barbarian men brought barrels of cold and hot water after a short while, and poured it into a big cask. Then, the two men left. Shi Mu swiftly removed his clothes and lied down in the water.

Meanwhile, the Chief was replying to his children’s questions in his tent.

“Father, you’re the Chief of the Flying Raven Tribe… and the Head of the tribe members of the sacrificial ceremony. Why were you being so respectful to Warrior Shi Mu?” Sha Jiao looked in a puzzled way towards her father and asked.

Sha Xing — who was standing beside them — also looked curious.

“Dear Daughter and Dear Xing, your experiences are still too superficial. So, it’s normal that you couldn’t see… that Warrior Shi Mu has an honorable status. There’s a high possibility that he has come from a very big tribe… or is a child from a royal family.” Sha Lang looked at his children with affection. However, he was feeling a little guilty.

He knew that the innate skills of his children weren’t bad. They had good chances of becoming totem warriors if they were given good resources, and had more chances to hunt vicious beasts.

Unfortunately, they were holding only a preliminary sacrificial ceremony. Moreover, his own martial strength wasn’t that good. So, he couldn’t help his children in becoming totem warriors.

“Child of a royal family?” Sha Xing and Sha Jiao looked astonished.

“Yes. I had short contact with him. But, I can tell that Warrior Shi Mu has a formidable strength of a beast soul. A small tribe or an ordinary barbarian can’t have this kind of strength. Moreover, his body not only fluctuates a middle-level magic power… but many other low-level magic powers. A person in a small tribe like the Flying Raven Tribe can’t even come to possess a low-level magic power. In fact, many of the tribesmen haven’t even seen magic power. So, I can tell that Warrior Shi Mu’s family background isn’t ordinary since he has dreadful strength. According to my estimation… the totem warriors of our tribe might not match him even if they all come together on one side,” Sha Lang sighed and said.

Sha Xing and Sha Jiao were surprised to hear their father’s words; Sha Jiao looked slightly sad.

After a long while…

Shi Mu had already bathed. And, he was chatting with more than a dozen Flying Raven tribesmen outside his tent.

Sha Xing and Sha Jiao came back to greet their guest. The barbarian people of the Flying Raven Tribe were extremely enthusiastic. They invited Shi Mu to taste their home-made milk, wine, cheese and other things.

These things were considered to be luxurious food items in the tribe. Shi Mu realized that the barbarian tribe was no different than the humans. It made him see their good and honest side.

Shi Mu wanted to take this opportunity to learn about the ways to survive in this wasteland. So, he intentionally insisted on discussing about the places he was interested in going to.

He learned ways to seek the sources of water, and some skills to deal with poisonous insects and ominous beasts.

However, he taught these barbarian men to catch fish in return.

He used to be a seashore fisherman as a young boy. So, he was very proficient in catching fish. He used only a few simple tools to catch a lot of fish and shrimp from the other side of the brook.

This rare delicacy in the river made him wish to live by the water. And, this made the barbarians dance in excitement since they weren’t familiar with seafood. The atmosphere among both the sides had become harmonious very soon.

The same evening… inside Sha Lang’s huge tent…

A fat sheep was being roasted. The entire tent was being flooded with a delicious aroma. Sha Lang sat on the seat of honor in the middle of the huge tent. And, he had a smile on his face.

Shi Mu sat on the left of Sha Jiao and her younger brother. They were chatting and eating while inclining towards their right. Two barbarian-men of around thirty years of age sat opposite Shi Mu. They were eating and drinking alcohol.

Shi Mu looked at the two barbarian men before him as he took a bite from the mutton.

One of them had golden curly hair; the other once was a standard barbarian-man with braided hair. He was wearing a golden ring in his right ear. His open chest had a mark of a ferocious black crow.

There were only two totem warriors in the Flying Raven Tribe; besides the Chief. And, they only had the strength of an initial-level Hou Tian Warrior.

Shi Mu had discovered a new fact during the afternoon conversation with the barbarian-men.

He now knew that there were two kinds of barbarians – vicious barbarians and peaceful barbarians. The vicious barbarians were cruel and blood-thirsty. They liked to plunder other tribes, and add them in their own territory. In fact, they were the ones who had started the invasion against the human race. They had named it a ‘holy war’ to show their superiority.

On the other hand, most of the peaceful barbarians were gentle and hospitable. However, they had weak blood. So, they gave birth to fewer totem warriors as compared to the vicious barbarians. Their strength was also relatively weaker. So, they made a living by hunting on a daily basis. The Flying Raven tribe was one of such barbarian tribes.

Therefore, there were only three totem warriors in this tribe with a population of about three to four-hundred barbarians.

Shi Mu discovered another strange thing. He noticed that everyone was being extremely respectful towards him at the dinner party. Even Sha Jiao and her younger brother seemed to be extremely cautious while talking to him.

However, Shi Mu didn’t intend to stay in the tribe for long. So, he didn’t take it seriously.

Shi Mu had been thinking about the Fierce Snake tribe. He didn’t know a way to start a conversation about that. So, he seemed to be in a foul mood.

Everyone had eaten and drunk to their heart’s content. Sha Lang clapped his hands. A group of ten barbarian-women came walking in a line. They then started to dance on a monotonous drumbeat, and added more fun to the party.

“Chief Sha, are the totems drawn on these clothes the same as those black crows that I saw earlier?” Shi Mu looked at the black crow-totem on the aprons of the dancing barbarian-women and asked.

“Yes. It’s true in a way. These crows are considered to be low-level vicious beasts in the wasteland. But, they are large in numbers. They not only swoop down with lightning speed… but their beaks are also sharp like swords. They can even defeat an ordinary totem warrior if they’re in large numbers,” Sha Lang nodded and replied with confidence.

These crows were indeed mystical. But, Shi Mu realized that they could only deal with a few Hou Tian warriors of the beginner-level; that too if they were in huge numbers.

“Is it possible that your tribe’s totem wasn’t a crow in the past?” Shi Mu’s eyes flashed. A number of opinions had started to form inside his mind as he listened to the Chief.

“According to the records in the old books of our tribe… we – the Flying Raven tribe – used to be a part of a very big tribe called the Golden Raven a millennium ago. The secret techniques of sealing a totem weren’t only passed-on for the soul of the crow-type fierce beast… but also for almost all of the bird-type fierce beasts,” Sha Lang spoke with pride in his eyes.

“But, the tribe gradually collapsed, and fell apart due to the chaos of wars and migrations. It’s still declining day-by-day. Our Flying Raven tribe hasn’t been able to give a formidable sacrifice for several years. So, we’ve been incapable of sealing a strong beast’s soul. And, the hope of reviving this tribe is getting dimmer by each passing day,” Sha Lang said with a trace of sadness in his eyes.

Sha Xing’s and Sha Jiao’s mood also became gloomy. Shi Mu also became sad for a while.

The mood of the three people improved after a while. And, Shi Mu finally decided to bring-up the most concerning issue.

“I once saw a blood-red python totem. The seal of the beast’s soul was formidable. Is it possible that your tribe’s secret totem technique can also seal such a formidable beast’s soul?” Shi Mu asked.

“It’s possible in case the sacrifice is powerful enough. In fact, even the legendary giant bird – the oriental greenfinch — could’ve been sealed successfully in the flourishing period of this tribe. Oh! By the way, did Warrior Shi Mu mention that the skin-color of that tribe was green?” suddenly, Sha Lang thought of something and asked.

“Yes.” Shi Mu nodded after he had given it some thought.

“If I’m not mistaken… that totem is solely owned by the Fierce Snake tribe – one of the eight big tribes.” Sha Lang’s complexion slightly changed. He then spoke with an affirmative expression.

“Chief, if I wish to go to this Fierce Snake tribe… would you know how to get there?” Shi Mu’s eyes lit-up. And, he couldn’t help but ask.

Sha Lang was a little flabbergasted to see Shi Mu’s guts. But, he didn’t ask anything. And, he told Shi Mu the location of the Fierce Snake tribe.

Shi Mu finally rejoiced. And, his mood became better. So, he started to chat with Sha Jiao — who was sitting next to him. And, he continued to eat until all the guests had dispersed.