What Luo Zheng hadn't expected was that the visitors were indigenous people, about thirty in number, all carrying bows and arrows. Judging by how familiar they seed with the middle-aged man through their embraces, they were clearly well-acquainted. One particularly robust individual, with muscles bulging like bread buns and explosive power hidden within, was led by the middle-aged man to Luo Zheng. With sothing white and bone-like, maybe an animal tooth but not exactly, sticking out of his nose, the man was bald, with bushy eyebrows and large eyes, his dark skin contrasting against the tiger skin wrapped around his waist. Shirtless and barefoot, he approached.
The middle-aged man said a few unintelligible words to Luo Zheng in a seemingly introductory manner. Luo Zheng, not understanding, simply nodded with a smile, recognizing that a smile is a universal language. The muscular man then crossed his arms over his chest, bowed deeply, and spoke sothing respectfully, which made Luo Zheng pause and look at the middle-aged man in surprise, wondering why this man was showing such respect.
After his greeting, the bald muscular man shouted a few words, and the people who had co with him gathered around, all crossing their arms and bowing respectfully to Luo Zheng, which astonished him greatly. Ghost Hand whispered, "Ghost, sothing seems off here, they seem to think you're their leader."
"Now that you ntion it, that does seem to be the case," Mountain Eagle added.
Lan Xue looked at these people with surprise and skepticism, but her expression softened quite a bit, and a hint of joy appeared in her cool eyes. If this were true, it would undoubtedly provide a significant boost in support for accomplishing their mission. Just then, Snow Leopard suddenly said, "Guys, rember they sent out five people? I saw that one of the five led these people here, and there are four more out there. If soone can bring dozens to help, we would have over a hundred people. That's a good thing."
"Don't speak recklessly, just watch and be careful," Lan Xue admonished in a low voice. After all, these were not their people; caution was always paramount, as earnest heedfulness is the basic discipline of a soldier.
Everyone acknowledged with a nod, maintaining a discreet watch over their surroundings, staying alert in case of an unexpected threat. anwhile, encouraged by the middle-aged man, Luo Zheng sat down by the bonfire where the bald man joined him. The others sat quietly around them. The middle-aged man cut a piece of at and handed it to the bald man, who then took out a bamboo tube, opened it, handed it to Luo Zheng, and mid drinking it with an expectant expression.
Luo Zheng guessed it might be sort of a ritual for eting and greeted the gesture with a sniff, the aromatic sweetness hitting him imdiately. He realized it was sothing of high quality, took a sip, found it tart and sweet, likely sothing fernted from fruits, and took another sip to show respect. He passed it back to the bald man, giving him a thumbs up.
The muscular man was overjoyed, his face brimming with pride. He said sothing to the people behind him, who responded with excited cries. Luo Zheng was taken aback—was their reaction really necessary? Unfortunately, the language barrier prevented any real communication. The middle-aged man and the muscular man started chatting, varying from sorrowful to excited tones, which piqued Luo Zheng's curiosity further.
After a while, the middle-aged man finished talking. The bald man looked at Luo Zheng with respect, rattling off sothing that Luo Zheng couldn't understand, looking frustrated by the lack of comprehension before turning back to speak with the middle-aged man again.
Unknowingly, the day broke, brightening the sky. Everyone had so food, and Luo Zheng went to the cave entrance, noting the storm had lessened a lot, without thunder and lightning anymore, and he visibly relaxed. He retreated back into the cave, fitted the snake tendon onto a mulberry wood bow that he had crafted. Standing just over a ter tall, it was a perfect fit across his body. Grabbing a wooden arrow, he stepped back to the cave entrance, drew the bow till it was fully taut, and released. The arrow zood out with a whoosh, the bow humming vibrantly, evidently full of resilience.
"Nice stuff," Ghost Hand exclaid in surprise from the sidelines.
The arrow shot out to a distance of about thirty ters, with an effective range just over fifteen ters. Luo Zheng smiled in satisfaction. Seeing the middle-aged man and the bald strong man staring blankly at the bow, eyes filled with fervor, he knew they liked it too. He felt a bit troubled, but fortunately, they did not ask for it. Pretending to be unaware, Luo Zheng helped Ghost Hand and the others install strings on the other bows, five in total—one for each person—and there was one small section left. Luo Zheng handed the remainder to the middle-aged man, who was overjoyed and held it as if it were a treasure. He said sothing to the people of his tribe, who then knelt down and perford a respectful ritual, muttering sothing.
Luo Zheng saw that the bald strong man looked envious but not greedy, which showed him to be a straightforward man. At that mont, there was commotion outside as if soone was coming. Luo Zheng knew that the middle-aged man had arranged for his own people to stand guard outside. If it had been an enemy, they would have co in to give a warning. Since they were already at the cave entrance, they were definitely his own people.
Just to be safe, Luo Zheng shot Lan Xue and others a look, and everyone quietly gathered near the equipnt stash, trying to be inconspicuous. Seeing the excitent on the faces of the middle-aged man and the bald strong man, Luo Zheng chose not to move. Soon after, a large group of people filed in, all strong n dressed similarly.
The middle-aged man and the bald strong man went up to greet them, embracing and talking enthusiastically. Luo Zheng observed quietly. About fifty people had arrived, each looking formidable. After a while, the middle-aged man brought an elder over to Luo Zheng and mumbled a few words.
Luo Zheng stood up as a sign of respect. He observed the elder, who appeared to be around fifty years old, slender and dark-skinned, but his eyes shone with restrained brilliance. His muscles were well-defined, indicating a man with a story, and Luo Zheng felt increased respect for him. He was about to greet him when he saw the elder cross his hands and bow respectfully, then shout a few phrases. The people he brought did the sa, bowing respectfully just like the bald strong man had when he entered.
"How odd?" Luo Zheng wondered inwardly, unable to understand what was happening. It was clear, however, that these people sincerely respected him, but why? He had done nothing. With deep confusion, Luo Zheng sat back down by the campfire, with the middle-aged man, the bald strong man, and the elder sitting nearby while everyone else sat around them.
"Captain, what's going on?" Ghost Hand asked quietly.
"Hard to say, let's just watch and be cautious. Everyone, prepare your gear quietly," Lan Xue whispered, seeing that the situation did not seem to be bad. She decided to be ready and watch quietly.
After a while, two more groups arrived one after the other. These new arrivals saluted Luo Zheng respectfully, just like the bald strong man and the elder had. Everyone sat silently in a circle, listening to a few who appeared to be leaders talk. The scene was sowhat strange. Luo Zheng was perplexed, thinking about the four groups that had now co and gone out. It seed they had gone to gather more support, and now only one person was left to return. With nothing else to do, he chose to wait in silence.
In the afternoon, so n brought back five wild sheep, which they skillfully cleaned and roasted over a fire outside. At that mont, Luo Zheng heard more noises outside—apparently, the last group had arrived—and turned to the middle-aged man.
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