This Is My Primitive Tribe

The man opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. Compared to other teams, the Guard Team has less work and fewer dangers, so they do indeed receive fewer resources.

The woman, seeing the man silent, became even more furious and pointed at him, cursing, "I was really blind to end up with a coward like you, living such a miserable life."

"Others live in mud-brick houses, while you live in this shabby wooden hut. Others exchange goods for knife coins, yet you haven't brought back even a single knife coin. I'm fed up with this life!"

The man's face turned from blue to white, and finally, he shouted, "Enough!"

"Boom!"

At this moment, thunder sounded outside suddenly, accompanied by strong winds, followed by a torrential downpour.

The woman was startled by the man's shout and the thunder, and didn't dare to press him too much.

But soon, because the rain was too heavy, several areas in the wooden house began to leak, and rainwater dripped onto the floor.

This worsened the woman's mood even more.

The man used wooden troughs and pottery jars to catch the rainwater, while the woman sat by the fire pit, feeling displeased with everything she saw.

After the man finished his tasks, the woman held back her anger and suggested again, "Why don't you ask the leader to transfer you to another team?"

The man didn't speak, because he knew his strength was relatively weak, and joining the Vine Tribe late made getting into the Guard Team already difficult. Apart from the Planting Team and the Breeding Team, joining other teams would be even harder.

The woman wanted to throw a tantrum but seeing the man's demeanor, realized it wouldn't do much good, so she held back again.

"Mao, you should think about our future. We'll soon have a child. Do you want the child to suffer with us?"

The man named "Mao" continued to hang his head silently, but thinking about the upcoming child softened his heart a bit.

The woman looked around, lowered her voice, and said, "I heard that the Vine God has actually been struck dead by lightning."

Mao was startled by the woman's words and quickly covered her mouth, saying, "Are you crazy? How dare you say such things?"

The woman struggled to pry Mao's hand away, saying, "Many people are saying this privately, what are you afraid of? If the Vine God were still here, the first person to spread such a rumor would have died a long time ago."

Mao frowned and fell silent again.

The woman lowered her voice further, "Without the Vine God, I don't see the Vine Tribe lasting much longer. If other tribes attack, we might all be in danger."

"So, we need to plan for ourselves and our future child."

The woman leaned closer to Mao, speaking in a very low voice, "I heard other tribes are inquiring about the Vine Tribe's situation. We can find a powerful tribe and exchange the Vine Tribe's information to secure a leadership role for you, so our child and I can enjoy life."

Mao firmly rejected, "No way. The tribe has been so good to us, providing food and clothing without ever lacking anything. How can we betray the tribe?"

The woman angrily poked Mao's head, "Are you out of your mind? If the Vine Tribe truly treated you well, they would have put you in a better team, let you live in a better house, eat better food, and use better things!"

"But now? Look at this lousy house, much worse than where other Warriors live!"

"We were Wanderers before and joined the Vine Tribe seeking a better life. Now, not only haven't we achieved that, but we're also facing danger. Why stick with the Vine Tribe?"

"Anyway, the Vine Tribe has lost the Totem God and will be destroyed by other tribes sooner or later. There's nothing wrong with exchanging Vine Tribe's information for some benefits now."

Mao instinctively wanted to argue, but didn't know how to, and his face turned red from holding back.

People's desires are never fully satisfied.

When they couldn't eat enough, couldn't dress warmly, and feared being eaten by wild beasts daily in the forest, having a wooden cabin, food to eat, and clothes to wear was their dream life.

Now, having a wooden cabin, eating well, and dressing warmly, seeing others live even better unsettles them, making them want that kind of good life too.

Yet they never consider whether they have the capability and have contributed as much as others.

The woman continued to coax, "Mao, we were never part of the Vine Tribe originally. It's not worth perishing with the Vine Tribe."

"Once we join a new tribe and live well, I'll listen to you in everything, okay?"

The woman was just an ordinary person, not even a One-Color Warrior. She knew clearly, even if she wanted to sell the information herself, other tribes might not believe it.

But Mao was different; he was a Guard Team Warrior of the Vine Tribe. His words were far more credible to other tribes.

If it weren't for this, the woman would have already left Mao and done this herself, without bothering to persuade him so much.

"Let...let me think..."

Mao felt his mind was a tangled mess. On one hand, the Vine Tribe had indeed treated him well; on the other hand, they'd only been with the Vine Tribe for two years and didn't have feelings deep enough to readily sacrifice their lives for it.

Outside, the rain continued, and the woman kept using various reasons to persuade Mao, hoping he wouldn't perish with the Vine Tribe...

The Vine Tribe, within the bamboo forest.

"Splash..."

The rain poured down heavily. Jiang Xuan stood by the door, looking at the pitch-black night sky, listening to the rain, with a very solemn expression on his face.

Before long, a flame appeared in the bamboo forest, quickly heading towards Jiang Xuan's courtyard.

Jiang Xuan's courtyard no longer had a large door because the size of Crescent and Tang Yuan made it inconvenient to enter and exit.

The flame flickered in the wind and rain, seemingly ready to extinguish at any moment, yet it never went out.

It turned out to be a torch, and its holder was Feng Chao, gripping a beast hide umbrella tightly.

The beast hide umbrella was the latest product from the clothing workshop, made with bronze handles and ribs and beast hide as the canopy. Though unable to produce an umbrella that opens and closes smoothly due to technical reasons, it was sturdy.

"Leader."

Feng Chao walked under the eaves and put down the heavy bronze beast hide umbrella.

"Thank you for your hard work, come inside."

Jiang Xuan took the torch from Feng Chao, walked to the fire pit, plunged the torch into the grass ash to extinguish it, then took out a pottery kettle from the fire pit, pouring a steaming bowl of ginger soup.

"Have a bowl of soup first, warm yourself up."

Even with an umbrella, the rain was so heavy that Feng Chao's lower half was soaked, dripping water as she came in.

"Thank you, leader."

Feng Chao received the pottery bowl, blew on it, then sipped ginger soup in small mouthfuls until she finished, gently placing the bowl on the table.

Only then did they start discussing serious matters.

"How is the investigation going that I asked you to conduct?"

"Leader, there are indeed some people in the tribe spreading false news about the Vine God privately."

"What are they saying?"

Feng Chao looked at Jiang Xuan cautiously and said, "They say...the Vine God has long been struck dead by lightning..."

Jiang Xuan seemed to have expected this, as his expression didn't change much.

"Is there anyone wanting to leave the tribe?"

"Yes."

"How many people?"

"So far, only three have been identified; others are still under investigation."

"Alright, don't alert anyone for now; continue investigating discreetly."

"Yes."

After speaking, Feng Chao looked at Jiang Xuan again, hesitant to speak.

"Speak freely."

"Leader, the Vine God hasn't awakened yet. The tribe is restless, and external tribes are eyeing us. I'm worried someone might betray the tribe for personal gain."

Since becoming the leader of the Thorny Vine, Feng Chao learned many dirty secrets, and she was no longer the innocent girl from before, nor would she underestimate the sinister nature of human hearts.

Jiang Xuan said, "The tribe has expanded, and all sorts of people are among us. Your concerns are valid."

"However, the accusation of betraying the tribe is grave, and we must have evidence before arresting anyone. Please keep a close eye on those entering and exiting the tribe during this time."