89 Earning Trust

Parents grabbed the hands of their children and walked towards the wagons. Those with small children walked over to Tong Huakun and Jack's wagons, while those with pre-teen and teenaged children walked to the two wagons on the side.

When Jack scanned the food in the wagons, he saw more preserved foods in his and Tong Huakun's, while he even saw some half-rotting produce in the other two wagons.

The warriors on the sides of the wagons move to make a line in front of them and only let one family pass at a time to each wagon.

Tong Huakun jumped down to the ground and waved at Jack to follow her.

When he jumped down, she said "You have to give the children food. Make sure to hand out enough so that everyone has a share. It has to last the children for as long as it can."

They stopped at the ends of their wagons and separated.

Jack glanced at the drivers on the side who already started giving out food and tried to copy them as he gave a bunch of dried food to the first family that neared him.

The young mother carried a newborn baby and had a wide smile on her face, while the young father thanked him numerous times as they walked off.

Before the warriors let through the next family, Jack heard a hiss from his right side and looked at Tong Huakun. She pretended like she didn't just hiss at him and gave an amount half the size that he just gave to a mother with a newborn baby.

Jack almost smacked himself as he realized what he did and started giving the proper amounts of food to the following families.

Some had to split up the children between the parents and grandparents so they could cover them all.

As Jack climbed up into the wagon to give out food, he realized that the further he went, the worse the food became. It still looked better than what the teens got, but it made his initially smiling face turn more and more serious as time passed. The happy parents that thanked him with glowing faces just made the entire thing worse.

An hour later, when every family had its turn, less than a tenth of the food remained in the wagons.

The warriors that escorted the wagons from the Tribal Assembly lined up in front of the wagons and the drivers started giving out the rest of the food to them. Jack followed Tong Huakun's lead and gave as much as she did.

Once the warriors received their share, the drivers took the remaining food for themselves.

Jack looked down at a corner of the wagon where the rest of the already spoiling food lay and, after a second, stored it in his Star Bag.

When Tong Huakun went to speak with the waiting Chief, Jack walked through the line of warriors and started giving out his share to families with newborns.

The drivers ended up with over ten times more food than even the warriors. Jack didn't know if they distributed the food like that out of selfishness or out of some hierarchical sense, but he didn't want any part of it. The other Haechi warriors gave him strange looks but they didn't interfere.

Once he finished giving out the last bits of his earnings, Jack turned around and walked back to stand next to his wagon.

He noticed a lot of the warriors that came to meet them on the way to the Tribe give his Star Bag coveting gazes, but he pretended that he didn't see and waited for Tong Huakun to finish her talk with the Chief.

A few minutes later, Tong Huakun turned towards Jack and waved a hand towards him to join them.

Jack squared his shoulders and started walking towards the two waiting people.

As soon as he came to a couple of meters away from them, Tong Huakun turned to the Chief and introduced "Chief, this is Jack Song. The leader of the Immortals' Lament mercenary company and a friend of the Haechi Tribe. I have given him permission to move freely over Haechi territory."

She turned to Jack and motioned towards the Chief as she continued "Jack, this is Pan Xinfa. The Chief and oldest member of the Haechi Tribe. He and the other Elders will decide on your request."

Jack gave the Chief, Pan Xinfa, a respectful bow as he clasped his hands and said "Greetings, Chief. I believe that the cooperation between our two peoples will bring prosperity to the both of us."

When he rose from the bow, Jack saw frowns on both of the Haechi's faces. Tong Huakun had a perturbed look, while Pan Xinfa's tattooed face looked angry for some reason.

Before Jack had a chance to say anything, Pan Xinfa gave him a cold snort and turned towards the waiting crowd to announce "The distribution is over, go back to your homes."

With that, he turned around and walked back towards the two-story house. All the other tattooed Elders followed in his steps. Jack saw a few of them glancing at him, but he didn't know if he should say something so he just gave them a polite nod.

When all of the Elders entered the house, the sheet of rock that served as a door slid back in its place and closed the outside world off from the house.

Jack looked at Tong Huakun with confusion swirling in his eyes and asked "What did I do?"

Tong Huakun still watched Jack with that perturbed look for a few seconds before she shook her head and said "The White River family always say something similar when they come to visit." She hesitated for a second, and then added "When they leave they usually take a lot more than they give in return."

Jack's brows furrowed as he declared "They are just words. Actions are what count." When he saw that he didn't move Tong Huakun he asked "What do I do now?"

Tong Huakun shrugged and said "I am not sure. You should try to approach the Chief a few days later when he sees that you mean no harm." She looked towards the outskirts of the Haechi Tribe and continued "Let's go and get your people settled."

Renting a few houses in the Haechi Tribe turned out a lot simpler than Jack expected. They just had to promise the inhabitants of seven houses on the outskirts of town a few pieces of food while Tong Huakun gave out a guarantee that they would honor it, and the people vacated their houses without issue.

When he talked to old Long that night, Jack found out that they still had enough clean food and water for a couple of months, maybe more if they reduced the size of the meals a little.

In the next couple of days, Jack didn't know what to do. He tried to talk to the Chief a few times, but the warriors guarding his house forbade him entrance.

The only thing that still gave him hope that he would even get an audience with the chief were the number of people that came to attend the Immortals' Lament's training and language lessons.

Jack even had to help out Kuang Bindun and Bai Maolong when too many people came over to watch and participate.

Only younger and middle-aged people attended the activities, but Jack sometimes saw a few tattooed faces in the distance, observing the actions of him and his men.

Six days after they arrived in the Haechi Tribe, Tong Huakun stayed behind after the morning practice ended and asked Jack to come with her.

Jack didn't hesitate as he told Shi Furui to keep an eye on things and followed after Tong Huakun.

He started getting a little desperate in the last few days. One night he stared at the Chief's house in the distance and thought about the best way to blow the door down without getting noticed.

On the way, Jack asked what Tong Huakun had in mind, but she just told him he would know when they go to their destination and left it at that.

To his surprise, Tong Huakun took Jack to a normal looking house in the middle of town. The Chief's house stood further to the north, among the closest houses to the mountains.

Tong Huakun moved the leather cover from the doorway and entered the house while Jack followed after her.

Inside, various leathers covered the cold walls and floor, while a few larger boulders that had carved flat surfaces served as shelves and a table.

In the middle of the small one-room house, a hunched figure sat on some leathers in front of a wide flat piece of rock.

Tong Huakun walked to the figure's side, knelt down, and whispered "Grandmother, I have brought the foreigner."

The hunched figure's lulling head snapped up from her quiet nap, and Jack saw a face almost as tattooed as the Chief's. An old woman stared at Jack with her lively eyes for a few seconds, before she glanced at Tong Huakun and said "Thank you, dear."

When Tong Huakun nodded her head, the old woman looked back at Jack and commanded "Sit, boy, sit." as she pointed at the floor on the other side of the stone slab in front of her with a tattooed hand.

Jack looked a little surprised for a second, but then he clasped his hands and bowed while he said "I am Jack So…"

"Yes, yes, I know who you are. Sit down and stop blabbering." The old woman interrupted and turned to Tong Huakun to ask "Is he always like this?"

Tong Huakun looked at Jack for a few seconds before she tilted her head from side to side and said "Depends on who he talks to. He doesn't trust anyone that's not from his mercenary company and holds them at arm's length."

Jack gave Tong Huakun a surprised look as he sat down on the ground, but before he could say anything she asked "What? Do you think that people don't notice? Or is it just that you thought that simple tribe folk wouldn't see through you?"

He looked at her for a few seconds before he gave her a shrug as he answered "I'm neither in the position nor the habit of underestimating anyone. I just do what's needed to keep my people alive and prospering." With a look to the old woman, Jack added "And my friends, of course."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before the old woman cackled and said "Winning me over won't get you anything, boy. It's my older brother you need to convince."

Jack's brows rose in surprise as he leaned forward and asked "What do you mean?"

The old woman sighed and showed her age for the first time, but she rallied after a few seconds and explained as she looked down at her tattooed hands "Pan Xinfa, that old fool, used to trust you people a lot more in the past. Only after he got cheated by the White River family a couple of times did he stop and started listening to the more conservative voices among the Elders."

She looked up at Jack and declared "You have to convince him through your actions, not your words."

Jack's brows furrowed as he asked "Have I not proven that I mean no harm to the Haechi Tribe?"

Both Tong Huakun and the old woman gave out identical cold snorts at the same time before Tong Huakun said "You have proven that you can and will protect yourself when enemies attack you."

When she saw the deep frown on Jack's face, she added "Do not think that we do not appreciate what you and your people did, but only a few of us saw that. You need to do something that will make the rest of the Tribe trust you."

Jack spread his hands in frustration and asked "What am I to do when I can't even get an audience with the Chief?"

The old woman slapped the table with her wrinkled hand and declared "You prove that your word is true." She glanced at Tong Huakun and continued "Huakun said you claim to know a method of hunting the Haechi beast without risk to the hunters. Go out there and prove that your word is true."

Jack stared at her for a couple of seconds before he growled through his teeth "That's what I've been trying to do, but I can't get to your Chief to ask him for guides through the mountains."

The old woman waved her hand in dismissal as she said "That's easy, Huakun will take you."

"What?!" Both Jack and Tong Huakun spoke at the same time and then stared at each other.