86 Failed Negotiation, Coercion and Bluffing (Part 1)

Day 34th, the month of the wind, aka autumn.

Wind Chasing Tribe's settlement.

Different from the hut she used last night, this place was much bigger.

The interior was filled with many things like animal skin, Fierce Beast's skeleton, a variety of feather, and even some tribal pattern in the surroundings. There were also a lot of ornament and mask on the wall, but the most eye-catching was the three pillars.

Each of the pillars was tall and had a different carving behind the tribe's leader, Liao An's seat.

Mingyue could faintly discern each of the images carved on the pillar.

Bear, eagle, and fish.

As some tribesman served a cup of tea in front of Mingyue, Liao An just sat without any sound. He was accompanied by two elderly behind him. One of the elderly had a long and white beard, and the other one was handicapped in both of the hands.

The two of them was similar to Liao An, bare-chested. And also, on their cheek, there were three green lines. Mingyue didn't know the meaning of that line since there was nothing on Liao An's face.

After the tribesman was done, he left the hut without leaving any sound.

No one took the initiative to start the conversation.

For Mingyue, she didn't want to take the initiative to avoid any bad impression. She wanted to bargain some terms, but she didn't want to be taken as too demanding.

And the two elderly were giving her an unpleasant feeling.

But since she was only a guest, she could only stomach it.

At the opposite of Mingyue, Liao An was in the similar situation as he couldn't make a careless remark. If he was talking toward a little girl with the fiery temper like the yesterday Mingyue, he might be able to have an advantage. He could pretend as if a senior talked to his junior, or the older talked to the younger generation.

But the little girl's attitude was the upside down when she was having word-fighting with Liao Yun. Her attitude was too perfect as he couldn't find any flaw. It made him remembered the first time he met her.

Sighing in his mind, Liao An made a random talk.

". . . Is Miss Yue interested in our totem?"

Mingyue didn't nod or shake her head but only throw a clear gaze toward Liao An.

Chuckled a little, Liao An continued, "I see that you glanced at the totem a little longer if compared with any other things in the hut."

Taking his cup of tea with the cups of the two elderly, Liao An put the three in a triangle shape position.

"In our tribe, the Wind Chasing Tribe, we believe in three forms of blessing. The blessing of the air, the blessing of the earth, and the blessing of the sea." Liao An touched his index finger to the cup on the left, the middle, and then the right one. "Let's think each of these cups is the totem."

"The Blessing of the Air. Air is everywhere, in every corner, without any exception. Without air, we are powerless."

"The Blessing of the Earth. Earth is wide, the source of life. Without the earth, we have no place to leave our trails. We cannot etch our existence in this world without the earth."

"The Blessing of the Sea. Sea is bountiful, the source of all life. It is merciful, but in another way, it is merciless. With one wave, it is capable to change the life or death."

"These three foundations is the belief of the Wind Chasing Tribe. We are the son of nature. Born from nature, grow with nature, and return to nature. It is impossible to break this chain of life."

Stopping his explanation, Liao An emptied one of the three cups.

"Hence, I am willing to step forward for a little request from my side."

Mingyue's gaze was directed at the sincere Liao An, but the expression of the pair of elderly wasn't missed.

Sipping a cup of not-so-hot tea in front of her, Mingyue opened the conversation.

"Let's continue what we were talking yesterday. Feel free to ask anything." Mingyue flashed a smile to the tribe's leader and two elderly behind him.

"Ah, I am sorry for the inconvenience, but this matter is very important for our tribe." Liao An was exhilarated as he wanted to stand and punched the air, but he refrained it. He couldn't possibly show such disgracing manner.

It was not the first time Liao An was saying sorry, hence Mingyue just waved her hand and made Liao An get to the point.

"Yes, yes. The thing that I couldn't comprehend is why did you ask me to pull back? In that position, even if there are a lot of casualties, we will definitely be able to push the being from the other side. At the very least, our tribe's descendant will not have to risk like what we experienced that time." Liao An's gaze was straight, unlike the fawning expression he had yesterday.

Even though he understood Mingyue's capability which was akin to a miracle, this matter was different. He had to understand to be able to answer the ancestor.

Mingyue didn't have any expression to that question, and that made Liao An became nervous.

Putting down the empty cup, Mingyue broke the silence as she questioned, ". . . Let's begin with the basic. How much do you know about the living dead? Ah, it is the being from the other side, based on your word earlier."

"The wicked. Plague Bearer. Pestilence. Living Corpse. Undead. The being that should not exist in this world. The messenger of the calamity." Liao An's answer was decisive as he had been fighting those being from the other side for many times.

". . . Is that all?" Mingyue lifted up her left eyebrow as she asked the question.

Liao An and the two elderly behind him were all tongue-tied.

[Is there more?] The three of them looked at each other, but they didn't have any other answer.

"Okay. Do you know what is the source of the being from the other side? Do you know about the source of the corrosion when you fought them?"

"It is the black mist. The black mist which is emitted from the being from the other side. When you get in contact with the black mist, it will devour your body from inside. Slowly but sure. And in the end, the corroded person will lose their life, but some other will end up as one of them, a being with only instinct." Liao An answered.

Mingyue nodded as she knew where to begin.

"Okay, I will explain from this point. That black mist is not emitted from the being from the other side, but that is the main reason why they turn into something like that. That black mist is called miasma. Sometime it will become a poison, but the other times it will become the source of strength."

The handicapped elderly became restless as he heard Mingyue's sentences and the white beard elderly interjected, "So, the source of everything is that black mist?" His tone was calm, but he couldn't hide his trembling beard.

Nodding as confirmation, Mingyue explained, "You can think of miasma as the source of disease. It is possible for us to be infected, but it is also possible to heal ourself with the right treatment."

A weird glint flashed through the white beard elderly, but Mingyue didn't bother as she continued her story.

"About the being from the other side, it is called living dead. Yes, like the name, it is only a corpse, a moving corpse. Not something like undead or undying or even a beast, they are literally dead."

"But, they could clearly move based on their own instinct. If they are only a corpse, then how can they move and fighting back?" Liao An knitted his eyebrow as he moved his body a little to make himself in more comfortable position.

"If you are talking about this, yes they can move. But it is not because of the instinct, but because of 'muscle memory'."

Seeing the puzzled expression on the three men in the room, Mingyue only sighed.

"Muscle memory. To make it simple, there is a difference between a seasoned warrior and a newcomer warrior. There is a lot of points, for example, experience, training, and many things. But the biggest difference is their muscle memory. The seasoned warrior will remember how they move their body to the finest detail, even if they didn't pay any attention. Their body also will remember how to react, how to handle a weapon, and many more. You yourself are a fine warrior, so you should understand what I am saying."

Seeing the nodded Liao An, Mingyue continued, "And this muscle memory is etched to every living dead. This is the reason why are you having a hard time fighting them."

"They didn't have any intelligence, they are almost undying, but there is one point that all of you didn't realize. They are not your main enemy." Mingyue paused a bit before she continued.

"The living dead are only a mass-produced being that had no usage. Well, there is some benefit like guarding someplace, but the missing intelligence in the living dead is making them useless to the main culprit."

"Who can live for no one knows many hundred years?" The handicapped elderly shouted because he thought what Mingyue just said was akin to a fairytale. "Don't fabricate story! Do you think we are senile enough to be fooled tile that?"

Mingyue only glanced at the handicapped elderly a little and disregarded him. She didn't care whether they believed or not. If the people in this tribe believed in her words, then the Wind Chasing Tribe could become the guardian of the dimension behind the crack.

She would bestow upon them the necessary knowledge, thus the Wind Chasing Tribe would flourish without taking the risk to nourish the egg there. She understood very well that the egg was in critical condition, the dangerous phase. With the wrong approach, the egg would hatch for sure.

And on the other side, if these people didn't believe, she would just leave them. Their destruction was inevitable. Six years was long enough time for Mingyue to grow and protect herself. Even if 'that' came out from the other side of the crack, she would just handle it in the future.

Sighing in her mind, she just continued her story while disregarded the handicapped elderly. "It is okay if you didn't believe. Let's move on the next topic. The black mist, miasma. It is something similar to a plague, disease, poison, or even a calamity. There are three possible outcomes for someone that was fully corroded by miasma. One, the living dead. Like what you see, I don't need to explain more. But I have to remind you that his living dead is only a scrap product, similar to a bonus."

"The second is what I call a corroded being. Different from the living dead, the corroded being retains their intelligence and most of his or her memory. Their physique is enhanced by the miasma in their body. You can say that corroded being have most of the advantage of living dead without the disadvantage. If I have to point out the core of the problem, of course, they are bloodthirsty."

"There is no need to elaborate the third because it should not appear in a few years time." Mingyue flashed a smile at Liao An since he is considered young if compared to the two elderly behind him.

[It is easier to change the mindset of the young rather than the two elderly behind. If he is as hard-headed as those two, I will say goodbye after a year or two.]

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