Qiao Yu had arranged shifts for them on the way out, and for the next ten days or so, everyone took turns keeping watch. Now that there was a fire, everyone moved their bedding next to it and ate the dried meat with snow water boiled in ceramic bowls. Except for the night watchman, everyone else fell asleep.

No words were spoken that night.

The next day they continued walking south, and not long after they met people from another tribe.

Shu whispered to Qiao Yu, "These are from the Stone Tribe. The tallest man is their leader, Shuo."

Qiao Yu looked up at the group of people.

This was the first time she saw people from other tribes since she came to primitive society.

The Stone Tribe also numbered about twenty, dressed much like the Valley Tribe, all wearing animal hides and bearing bone spurs, bone knives, and stone knives stabbed from their waists. The difference was that in addition to the men, they also included four young women, approximately thirteen or fourteen years old. Some of the women had a cold expression, while others looked sorrowful. It was clear at first glance that they were the Stone Tribe offering them for trade.

Seeing the people from the Valley Tribe, Shuo first looked at everyone before asking, "Hey, where's Shan? Why isn't your tribal leader here?"

Shu stepped forward and said, "My brother was injured while hunting a few days ago. He won't be attending the fair this year, but he'll come next year."

This was the statement Qiao Yu specifically instructed everyone to make to the outside world.

The leader of each tribe represented the strongest force in their tribe. Shan was injured, and replacing him with a skinny little girl like her would definitely attract attention from other tribes.

They would find all sorts of excuses at the trade fair to test her strength. If she proved too weak, the food-starved tribes of the Stone Tribe would surely harbor evil intentions. If she proved too strong, not only because of her superior strength but also her intelligence, larger tribes like the Sun Tribe, who were determined to control their surroundings, would take precautions and eliminate the Valley Tribe or her in the bud.

It's not a good thing in any way.

Before the valley tribe finds a good place to relocate, builds fortifications and strengthens itself, it is not advisable to expose its strength.

So Qiao Yu found this excuse to make these tribes mistakenly believe that the leader of the valley tribe was still Shan.

"Injured?" Shuo was surprised. "Seriously injured?"

"A tiger bit off a piece of flesh from my foot. But fortunately, the bones and tendons were not injured. The witch said it will heal in a dozen days." Shu looked relieved.

He then said with regret, "It's just that the timing is so unfortunate. It happened to be when we were attending the trade fair. He also injured his foot and couldn't walk easily, so he couldn't come and meet everyone."

Seeing the expressions on Shu's face changing freely, Qiao Yu couldn't help but laugh in her heart: I didn't expect that her uncle was such a talented actor. As long as he practices more, he might be able to win an Oscar.

"That's such a pity. I was planning to chat with him at the trade fair." Shuo also looked regretful.

"But it's a blessing to run into you. At least we have company, so we don't have to worry about anyone having any thoughts about us." He smiled again and waved to the tree. "Come on, let's talk while we walk."

The trade fair began with the first snowfall and lasted for six days. Those who lived nearby arrived first, and those who lived farther away came later. Those who arrived first might find something good and trade it, while those who arrived later would have to pick up what others had left. The same was true for the items you wanted to trade. If others had already traded their meat and hides, you wouldn't be able to sell them and would have to take them back to the tribe.

So except for the Sun Tribe, people from other tribes would rush to the trading location as early as possible.

Shuo wanted to get some information out of Shu, so he pulled Shu to go with him.

Seeing the load carried by Shu, he couldn't help but feel curious and asked, "What is this? It's quite good that you made this. It can hold a lot of things." As he spoke, he kept looking at the wicker basket.

They would wrap the dried meat in animal hides or make animal hide bags to hold things, then tie them to their bodies with rattan. Not only did they not carry much, but when they wanted to sit down, they had to take off their bags first, which was very troublesome.

"Haha, it's just something I made up." Shu laughed.

Qiao Yu had told him that this thing wasn't difficult; everyone could tell at a glance that it was woven from rattan. Even if they couldn't figure it out right away, they'd be able to figure it out after trying it more often. This year, they could trade for some goodies with the rattan baskets, and by next year, most tribes would be using them at the trade fair.

Even so, he could only keep it a secret for a while. He wasn't stupid enough to ask a few questions and find out what these wicker baskets were all about.

Shuo couldn't help but glance at the tree.

Shan would bring his brother to the trade fair twice a year. The Stone Tribe and the Valley Tribe were similar in size and shared similar circumstances, so Shuo and Shan had much in common, and they often spent time together during the trade fairs. Shuo also had a lot of experience with trees.

In his impression, Shu was an honest and decent man, too kind but not smart enough, far inferior to his smart brother. But he didn't expect that when Shan was injured, his brother would become smarter and even learned to laugh it off.

He didn't ask about Tengkan anymore, but became concerned about Shan's condition.

Qiao Yu was worried that Shu, who had never lied before, might let something slip or say the wrong thing, arousing suspicion, so she gave him some advice and taught him a way to lie. Shu handled the situation flawlessly.