Southern Wilderness, Teng Tribe.
“Huff, huff, huff…”
In the cold wind, the heavy snow continued to fall.
A woman wrapped tightly in animal skins walked into Chishao's yard and knocked on the door.
“Squeak…”
The door was opened from the inside, and it was Chishao who opened it.
"Come in."
After Chishao opened the door, he returned to the fire pit and continued to grind the medicine with the medicine grinder made of high-quality stone.
The woman at the door first shook off the snowflakes on her fur coat, then took off her fur hat, revealing her long black hair and pretty face.
This woman is the leader of the thorn vines, Fengcao.
Fengcao walked into the room and closed the door gently because she knew Chishao liked quietness.
After walking to the fire pit, Fengcao began to report the situation of the Teng tribe and its surroundings to Chishao.
"All workshops are operating normally, but thefts still occur from time to time. In particular, two people stole animal leather boots from the clothing workshop..."
"Two prisoners from the north tried to dig a hole to escape last night, but they were caught and killed by the guards..."
"Tourists outside the South Gate fought over food again yesterday, and twenty-three people died."
"There has been no movement from the Frog Tribe recently..."
Fengcao reported all the information he obtained to Chishao one by one.
Chishao listened carefully while grinding the medicine. After listening, he didn't find any major problems and felt relieved.
In the past, these matters were handled by Jiang Xuan. Now that Jiang Xuan is gone, this heavy responsibility falls on her. Although she is not good at managing the tribe, she has to try hard to adapt.
"No news from the leader yet?" Chi Shao couldn't help but ask.
"No, if there is any news about the leader, I will report it to Wu immediately."
Chishao nodded, feeling a little disappointed, but also knowing that the place Jiang Xuan was going to was very far away and it would take a long time to make a round trip.
"Wu, is there anything else you need me to do?"
"Not for now. You have worked hard during this period. Go back and rest first."
"yes!"
Fengcao put on his warm fur hat again, left Chishao's house and closed the door.
She tightened her fur coat and stepped back into the snow.
Without Jiang Xuan, many people in the Teng tribe seemed to have lost their sense of security, including Fengcao.
She could only try her best to do her job well, maintain the stability of the tribe, and wait for Jiang Xuan to come back.
…
In the central part of the Southern Wilds, in the forest outside the Black Tooth Tribe.
Jiang Xuan interrogated the gray rat carefully and got a general idea of the situation of the rat tribe.
According to the confession of the gray rat, the Rat Tribe is a small tribe with about a thousand people. They usually live scattered in various caves and not all of them live in one place.
The reason for this situation is that the totem god of the Rat Tribe has fallen.
The encirclement and suppression of the Rat Tribe by the major tribes in central China was not without results.
The totem god of the Rat Tribe was severely injured by the totem gods of various large tribes during repeated encirclement and suppression, and eventually died in a cave due to severe injuries.
As soon as the totem god died, the Rat Tribe naturally fell into chaos. First, the leader was killed, and then the most powerful leaders refused to submit to each other, so they each recruited a group of warriors and tore the Rat Tribe apart.
The gray rat followed one of the leaders and specialized in activities near the Black Tooth Tribe, making a living by stealing, hunting small wild animals, and collecting edible plants.
Before meeting Jiang Xuan, Gray Rat had never failed in stealing.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xuan deliberately lured them into the trap and caught the gray rat directly.
After listening to the confession of the gray rat, Jiang Xuan continued to grill the meat while thinking about how to deal with this guy.
When the tribesmen catch thieves like Gray Rat, they usually kill him because he has no other skills except stealing, so there is not much use in keeping him.
But Jiang Xuan is different. Jiang Xuan believes that this guy must be a special talent. As long as he is used in the right place, he may play an unexpected role.
Jiang Xuan ate seven or eight skewers of barbecue in a row. After he was full, a bold idea came to his mind.
He stood in front of the gray rat and asked casually, "Do you want to live?"
"I do." The gray mouse nodded decisively.
"Want to be the leader?"
"Wha…what?"
Gray Rat was confused. Jiang Xuan's question was too broad. For a moment he didn't know how to answer.
"Don't make me ask a second time." Jiang Xuan picked up the bronze knife again and gestured a few times.
When the gray mouse saw the knife, he suddenly came to his senses and nodded decisively: "Yes!"
Jiang Xuan patted his shoulder and said, "Just think about it. I admire people with ideals and ambitions."
After hearing Jiang Xuan's words, Gray Rat felt even more confused. What was the point of thinking about this kind of thing? There were so many people stronger than him. Even if he wanted to be a leader, he couldn't.
What's more, he has been caught by Jiang Xuan now, and it's hard to say whether he can save his life.
Just when the gray rat was puzzled, Jiang Xuan said again: "I will give you two choices. The first one is to be loyal to me in the future and work hard to become the leader of the rat tribe, or even the chief. The second one is to be thrown into the fire and roasted, and then be eaten by me."
Is there any choice? The gray mouse is about to cry.
"I...I choose the first one."
"Very good. Don't worry. The Teng Tribe will never mistreat those who work for us. I will make you stronger and give you the qualification to compete for the position of leader."
"But before that, I must ensure that you are loyal enough to the Teng Tribe."
After Jiang Xuan finished speaking, a green divine light flashed on his arm, and then the divine vine appeared.
Jiang Xuan said respectfully: "God of Vine, please help me leave a seed in the body of the gray rat."
“Buzz!”
The divine vine bloomed with brilliant divine light. A flower bud appeared among the leaves of the vine, then grew rapidly and bore fruit.
When the fruit cracked open, a translucent seed shining with divine light floated up.
When Gray Rat saw this scene, he was completely stunned. He never thought that there was such a terrible vine wrapped around Jiang Xuan's arm.
The gray mouse had not yet recovered from his shock when he saw the seed floating towards him.
“No…don’t…”
The gray mouse instinctively sensed the danger and then struggled frantically.
However, his whole body was tied up, so it was useless to struggle.
The seed suddenly flashed, and while he was shouting, it flew straight into his stomach through his mouth and took root in his heart.
"ah……"
The gray mouse felt a sharp pain in its heart and let out a shrill scream.
Fortunately, the severe pain did not last long, otherwise the gray mouse would have been tortured to death.
"You...what did you do to me?"
After the severe pain subsided, the gray mouse asked Jiang Xuan in horror.
"Nothing, I just asked the God of Teng to give you a seed. If you work for me loyally in the future, this seed will help you become stronger. If you betray me..."
Jiang Xuan said calmly: "The seed will take root and sprout in your body, and eventually grow out of your body, turning you into fertilizer."
After hearing Jiang Xuan's words, the gray mouse shuddered. He didn't dare to imagine the scene of a vine growing out of his body.
Gray Mouse hastily assured: "I...I will definitely not betray you."
"With the seeds of the vine god, I will definitely believe you."
The divine vine flashed and disappeared again on Jiang Xuan's arm.
Jiang Xuan walked over, untied the rope on the gray rat, and let him down.
Although it was no longer tied up, a seed had been planted in its body. The gray mouse was not happy at all and was very pessimistic about the future.
Jiang Xuan patted Gray Rat on the shoulder and said, "Don't be depressed. If you are like this, how can you be the leader of the Rat Tribe, or even the chief?"
Gray Mouse raised his head with tears in his eyes, pointed at himself and said, "But I'm just a two-color warrior."
Jiang Xuan took out a bright red fruit from the animal skin bag and said, "I've said before that the Teng Tribe will never mistreat those who work for us. I will help you become stronger. Come, eat this fruit first."
The gray mouse stared at the red fruit but did not reach out to take it.
"Don't worry, it's not poisonous. These are the fruits of the slash-head grass picked from the Black Water Marsh. Eating them will increase your strength."
When the gray mouse heard that it was the fruit of the head-cutting grass, his eyes suddenly lit up. Obviously, he had heard of the fruit of this magical plant and knew that it was a good thing.
Anyway, a seed has been planted in my body, what could be worse than this? The gray mouse was determined, took the fruit of the cut grass and started to eat it.
The fruit of the head-cutting grass has a rich fruity aroma and tastes quite good. The gray squirrel quickly eats up the entire fruit, leaving no residue behind.
After eating it, he clearly felt his body gradually getting hot, his heart was beating violently, and the blood flow rate was also accelerating.
A powerful medicinal effect spread from his abdomen to his limbs and meridians. His muscles slowly bulged visibly, and his overall strength increased rapidly.
The gray mouse clearly felt that his strength had become greater than before, and this change was still continuing.
Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "How is it? I didn't lie to you, did I?"
Gray Rat nodded excitedly, immersed in the pleasure of increased strength.
Jiang Xuan took out another bronze broadsword coin and said, "This is called a broadsword coin. It can not only be used as a sharp knife, but in our Teng tribe, it can also be used to exchange for any goods."
"Before you wanted to steal it but failed. Now, I will give it to you."
Jiang Xuan stuffed the bronze broadsword coin into the gray rat's hand.
The gray mouse felt the cool touch of the big knife coin and felt as if he was dreaming.
He was clearly facing a life-and-death crisis just now, but now he not only obtained the magical fruit that enhanced his strength, but also got the treasure he had always dreamed of. It felt very unreal to him.
Jiang Xuan also had a smile on his face. If he wanted people to be truly loyal to him, it was not enough to rely on tough measures. He also had to give the other party enough benefits.
Carrot and stick are always a very practical way to control people.
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