Chapter Seventy-Eight: Family Legacy

The detestable rainy season had finally arrived. The warm torrents poured from the sky like the sweat of some filthy brute, mingled with a murky mist and descending in a sticky, suffocating shroud that enveloped the entire southern wilderness.

Within the Cold Creek Valley, the stream doubled in width in the span of just two quarters of an hour. Where once the water had run clear to the bottom, now it churned a muddy yellow, twisting like a furious grass serpent, roaring and battering the stones along the shore with a relentless, splashing din.

Deep in the valley, nestled against a cliffside, stood a three-story wooden house. Outside, more than a hundred tall warriors stood expressionless in the rain. The heavy deluge pelted them, shattering into crystal droplets upon their bodies, yet not a single man so much as blinked.

Whatever their original features may have been, their faces were now entirely covered by crimson totem tattoos, making it impossible to distinguish their former appearances. The image of the three-legged fire crow radiated an oppressive heat at all times. Even in the midst of the downpour, the warriors’ heads and shoulders steamed, vaporizing every raindrop before it could linger—a single drop could not remain.

These totem tattoos were the brand of slavery belonging to the Fire Crow Tribe.

Made from the blood of ninety-nine giant fire crows, mixed with the heart’s blood of hundreds of fierce beasts and birds of prey, and infused with the venom of hundreds of poisonous insects and serpents, all prepared through secret shamanic rites, the Fire Crow Tribe’s unique dye created a totem with immense power and intimidation.

Unless these warriors possessed strength greater than that of ninety-nine united giant fire crows, their souls and bodies would forever be ruled by this brand of servitude. Not even death would free them from its binding.

Ji Hao sat inside the wooden house, wolfing down roasted meat and rice cakes that Qing Fu had brought, his eyes fixed intently on these warriors.

There were five warriors who had already half-stepped into the realm of Grand Shamans and would, within at most three months, break through to that level. There were also a full hundred high-ranking Little Shamans among them, and ten of these had already refined their inherited bloodlines and begun to nurture their first shamanic acupoints, standing at the very pinnacle of their rank.

Seated beside him, Ji Xia animatedly recounted his journey to Golden Crow Ridge two months prior. Several elders, led by Ji Wu, had spoken in a sardonic tone, criticizing the "overbearing" actions of Ji Xia and Ji Hao.

But the ancestral spirits enshrined in the sacred ancestral temple had already expressed their will, openly supporting and encouraging Ji Hao’s sacrifices. All the shamans of the Fire Crow Tribe, regardless of whether some were secretly supporters of Ji Shu, now had no choice but to stand united behind Ji Hao.

Even Ji Shu himself could only bitterly express his admiration for Ji Xia and his approval and hopes for Ji Hao.

As for Jiang Yao’s grievous wounds and Jiang Xue’s death, Ji Xia had not heard a hint of either during his days at Golden Crow Ridge. It was as if Jiang Yao had never assembled dozens of tribes into a coalition to attack the Fire Leopard Tribe, that Ji Hao had never struck her down, and that Jiang Xue had not been slain by Lord Hengluo’s arrow.

Under the auspices of Grand Shaman Ji Kui, the Fire Crow Tribe issued its final verdict: these tribes, enticed by the Blackwater Serpent Tribe’s promises of great profit, had shamelessly attacked the tribe’s most loyal vassal, the Fire Crow Tribe itself. This was a provocation not only against the tribe, but against all the ancestral spirits of the sacred temple. These tribes must be utterly destroyed, their people enslaved for generations to atone for their offenses.

The elders responsible for the tribe’s daily affairs had precisely calculated the approximate population of these hostile tribes. Excluding those unfortunates sacrificed by Ji Hao, the thirty thousand robust slaves promised to the Qingyi Tribe, and the compensation of slaves, women, and children given to the Fire Leopard Tribe for their losses, the Fire Crow Tribe would still gain over five million able-bodied slaves from more than thirty tribes.

In previous years, the Fire Crow and Blackwater Serpent Tribes clashed numerous times, yet their strengths were evenly matched, and every skirmish ended in heavy casualties for both sides, with few captives ever taken. This time, however, the Fire Crow Tribe had overwhelmed the weak, annihilating the elite forces of dozens of tribes in one fell swoop. The remaining tribespeople, utterly powerless, would all become slaves—a harvest greater than any the Fire Crow Tribe had seen in a century.

While the shamans and elders deliberated and plotted, Ji Hao, aggressive as wildfire, had already crushed the five nearest tribes. Slaves poured in ceaselessly, escorted by great cohorts of tribesmen toward Golden Crow Ridge.

Finally, Ji Kui invoked the ancestral spirits to set the final tone: the spirits had shown themselves, and Ji Hao’s exploits had brought unparalleled merit to the Fire Crow Tribe. Though still young, his achievements matched those of the tribe’s most distinguished adult warriors.

A mighty warrior should enjoy his due rewards. Those who brought glory to the tribe deserved to be honored. Thus, the five warriors on the verge of becoming Grand Shamans, and the hundred elite high-ranking and peak Little Shamans, became Ji Hao’s personal slaves.

After recounting all this, Ji Xia slapped his thigh and, grinning, pounded Ji Hao’s shoulder. “Hao, my boy… When I first led our people against those rotten snakes and fought for over three months, wiping out five of their tribes, I was only rewarded with twenty Little Shamans as my private slaves.”

Puffing out his chest with pride, Ji Xia boasted loudly, “Qing Fu, look at this—my son Ji Xia’s boy! Ha! He’s already surpassed me. His very first reward from the tribe matches everything I earned in twenty years of bloodshed!”

Qing Fu smiled, setting a platter of fresh fruit on the table, and gently stroked Ji Hao’s head. “Hao, not every clansman of the Fire Crow Tribe owns private slaves—especially so many powerful warriors. Your status in the tribe is already equal to your father’s, a great warrior indeed.”

With a gentle smile, Qing Fu looked at Ji Xia and said seriously, “Hao is grown now, with property of his own. It’s time to find him a good wife. Xia, do you think we should look among the girls of the Qingyi Tribe, or those of another tribe?”

Ji Xia scratched his head in vexation and smacked his lips. “If we’re talking about girls, nobody can match the loveliness of the Qingyi Tribe’s daughters. But back then, to marry you, I had to give all my slaves and most of my belongings to your father. Qingyi girls—ah, the bride price is enough to break a man’s heart!”

Qing Fu gave Ji Xia a reproachful look and, without a word, pinched his earlobe and gave it a gentle twist.

Ji Hao nearly choked on his cake, wedging it in his throat. How old was he? Why were they already talking about marriage?

“Father, Mother, there’s no rush—really, there’s no rush! I’ve only just gotten a hundred-odd private slaves. I haven’t even figured out how to support them yet. Tsk, let’s wait a few years. Just a few more years!”

Ji Hao darted out of the house, shouting as he went:

“I’ll settle them first! I need to build a row of houses for them...”

“And, since they’re my private slaves, and their descendants will be my slaves too, I’ll have to find enough wives for them as well!”

Yelling at the top of his lungs, Ji Hao vanished without a trace. Ji Xia and Qing Fu both burst into laughter.

But soon, Ji Xia’s expression grew dark and grim.

“Well, Qing Fu, we need to discuss Ji Shu and Jiang Yao carefully. Not for ourselves, but for Ji Hao’s sake.”