Stalling for time, exploring the chameleon tribe, hidden place

After walking through the doors, Elder Li saw a chameleon with a hunched back who had even more wrinkles than him. He was sitting on a higher chair while gesturing him to seat on the lower one.

"Mhm, you said that you gathered information about this human, tell me what did you found?"

"Oh, his name is Tho Mas, he says that he lives in this jungle since being born and the ability he used has a side effect which is falling unconscious."

"Mhm, so he's not dangerous?"

"Oh, he isn't. At least for now, he behaves like a normal child. He is neither proud nor humble and can't hide his emotions."

"Mhm, and what did he think about staying with us for the next three months?"

"Oh, he didn't want to wait. He was urging me for the direction in which the human city is."

"Mhm, interesting, tell him that I need to check the maps in our tribe to know where to go and that I will do it as fast as possible, but it can take a while. In the meantime, let your granddaughter show him around."

"Oh, if he asks how long can it take, what should I say to him?"

"Mhm, say that it can take me three days at least. After this time, we will make it longer. Try to ask subtly more about past of this Tho Mas. It would be perfect if your granddaughter could do it, it will be less suspicious. We don't want to sell a child of noble birth as a slave. We won't be able to leave their city if we do something like this. You may leave now."

"Oh, I will do as you say, leader."

After leaving, elder Li couldn't help but let out a helpless sigh.

'Oh, if telling my Li Jing to probe the background of this boy without making her suspicious was so easy, I would've done that already. After all, she is a genius number one in our village. How can she be so easily fooled?'

The mood of this grandfather changed quickly the moment he thought about his peerless granddaughter. He walked into his house with a smile on his face and told his servant to bring here his son.

Soon a healthy-looking chameleon with dark green skin entered through the doors with a solemn expression.

"What do you called me here for, father?"

"Oh, you need to persuade Li Jing to find out the background of this kid without making her or him suspicious."

"Alright. I will do my best."

After taking care of these things, he decided to cultivate for the rest of the day and talk to Thomas when tomorrow.

...

After waking up, Thomas couldn't wait any longer and finally asked.

'How much shorter will it take me to become a QI gathering stage first step lower phase cultivator with my Intelligence raised?

'Still three years, you don't need your intelligence on such an early stage. Don't worry. You will eventually get there. Someone with luck as high as yours can't stay at Qi gathering stage for his whole life unless he doesn't cultivate at all.'

Thomas decided to drop this conversation since the system won't stop talking about how great the luck stat is.

He just started cultivating when Li Jing came in with a bowl. Inside was a bird, like yesterday.

"Good morning, Tho Mas. Do you want to see our tribe? Grandpa told me to bring you around."

"Alright, let me eat first."

"I will wait outside then."

While eating, Thomas started talking with Luke again.

'Why do you think they sent her here?'

'They want to prolong your stay, host. We don't know why they are doing this, but you should go with her. Since your luck brought you here, it means there is something to gain. With this trip, we can gain more information about what it is.'

'Alright, I hope what you said is true.'

Thomas wrapped himself with his quilt and walked out of his room.

Li Jing was waiting there while observing people's everyday lives. When she heard that doors were opening, she turned around and looked at Thomas.

"Why are you wearing this quilt?"

"Humans don't like to be naked."

"Why? It's the way they were born, shouldn't it be normal to stay like this?"

"We just like it, and feel uncomfortable if we are not wearing anything."

"Alright, now let me take you to see our village. Our tribe don't specialise in fighting, but our ability is useful enough to scare most of the tribes. After all, who want's to fight an invisible enemy? Thus our tribe is in a great place."

"Can you tell me more about this place?"

"Of course, the place we are currently in is where everyone except elders and leader lives. We are now heading to the back, where we get water to drink."

Soon they were at the edge of the tribe, and Thomas saw a river flowing there.

"Look! I told you we got a great place to live. We have a part of this river only for ourselves! Now, let's go to the place where all of the kids spend their free time! Remember, don't tell elders! It's our secret! We will stay there for a while and then continue our trip. Don't worry. You won't be disappointed! We created plenty of games there, like swinging on lianas, hide & seek, and duels."

'I'm sure that I don't want to play a hide and seek with you. Besides, there is no way your elders don't know about this since it's so popular.'

'Owner, there is a huge chance that someone is following us. Please be careful to don't look suspicious and play all the games they invite you to play. We need to spend at least a few more days here. It's a perfect occasion to train your acting skills. I'm sure they will be useful in the future.'

'I got it.'

Li Jiang showed Thomas a 'secret' passage through the river, and after walking for a minute or two, they reached their target.

There was a small ring without grass on the right side. It was probably for the duels. On the left were three lianas hanging from a big tree. If you swung them strong enough, you could get to the ones on the other tree. As for hide & seek, Thomas assumed that they just have a range how far you can hide and play it like this.

"Li Jing, you brought here a human?!"

Just as they entered this place, Thomas could hear shocked voices.