This is the Du'an tribe, the great shaman's territory, and I'm unfamiliar with the place.
If this old schemer were to exploit my complacency and launch a surprise attack, I'd be done for.
I sat outside the tent until late into the night, only going in to sleep when dawn was breaking and some of the Du'an tribesmen were starting to wake up.
Sleeping, I say, but it was merely closing my eyes to rest. Any rustle of grass or movement outside would jolt me awake. It felt like an eternity before I finally drifted into a hazy sleep.
In my dream, I found myself in a dark, damp cave.
Sticky droplets hung from the icy rock walls, reluctant to fall, like the maw of a monstrous beast.
Where am I?
Muddle-headed, I walked deeper into the cave. A chilling wind, from I knew not where, sent shivers down my spine.
After an unknown duration, I finally reached the end of the cave. There, within the darkness that obscured all light, a spider's head emerged!
What kind of monster is this!
I clearly saw its eight pairs of cold compound eyes scanning me, radiating a greedy glint.
Its sharp mandibles parted, slowly approaching me, as if intending to devour me in a single gulp!
As it drew nearer, my limbs, previously frozen with fear, somehow found renewed strength. I turned and fled without looking back!
In my panic, I dared not glance behind, only running with all my might.
There was no sound behind me, as if what I had seen was merely an illusion.
But I knew, if I so much as turned my head, that spider would mercilessly consume me.
Run...
In this endless cave, it seemed there was nothing but death...
"Batu, brother Batu, what's wrong!"
Faintly, I heard a voice calling, growing clearer and clearer.
Until I suddenly opened my eyes and realized that, at some point, Ada was sitting in front of me, looking at me with concern.
"I had a dream..."
I gasped for breath, only then noticing my back was drenched in sweat.
The dream had been so vivid that I could still feel the icy sensation of the spider closing in on me.
"It's nothing, I just had a nightmare."
With Ada's help, I stood up. I didn't rush to go outside, but leaned out of the tent to look around.
Judging by the sun, I had slept until the afternoon.
There were few people around the tent, perhaps they had all gone hunting. Only in the distance, a few children were playing a mock hunting game.
"Ada, after I separated from you yesterday, I walked back towards the tent..."
Seeing no one was eavesdropping, I withdrew my head and, with a serious expression, recounted my encounter from the previous night to Ada, and showed him the small hole in the tent flap.
While explaining, I noticed Ada’s surprised reaction when I mentioned the agile assassin, as if he knew the assassin’s identity.
After I finished, he angrily punched the tent flap.
"Brother Batu, it must have been the great shaman who sent someone to kill you!"
"Let's go, I'll take you to the King immediately and make the great shaman hand them over!"
I quickly grabbed Ada, who was seething with rage, and pressed him back onto the animal skin.
"Don't tell the King yet."
"Why!"
Facing Ada's perplexed gaze, I calmly sat down, intending to change my sweat-soaked clothes. I had halfway undressed when I put them back on, thankfully Ada didn't notice my odd behavior.
"Yesterday, there was no one around, and I didn't capture the assassin. If I just say so, it's impossible to make the great shaman hand over the person."
"I saw your reaction earlier, you know who that assassin is, don't you?"
After hearing my words, Ada sighed heavily, looking dejected.
"Brother Batu, you know, in our Du'an tribe, the King and the great shaman lead together."
"The King has us for our daily hunting and attacks, we handle all dealings with other tribes."
"And the great shaman has his own group of warriors. Gui Lich, who you had a mortal feud with before, is one of them, responsible for protecting the sacred land and the great shaman."
Hearing this, I had a rough understanding of the Du'an tribe's power structure.
However, I was puzzled. If, as Ada said, the two groups were independent, shouldn't Ada and his men, who lived by the sword, easily overpower Gui Lich's group?
Judging by the performance of Gui Lich's small faction, I doubted they could even defeat Ada alone if they all ganged up.
Even with some losses, Hu Tu shouldn't be so suppressed by the great shaman to this extent.
Perhaps sensing my confusion, Ada fell silent for a moment, then slowly uttered a single phrase.
"Shepherd God's Intermediary..."