Chapter 28: The First Sign of Calamity

"What if Hu Jia decides to go too?" Lu Li asked.

The Fourth Elder, Bao Si, replied, "She won't go. She is the culprit behind this incident, and she would not be willing to attend such an occasion. If they intend to betray the tribe, she would be even less likely to show her face."

"Those going to the Sacred Mountain are going by choice, not by force. It doesn't matter if some choose not to go; in fact, it will better deceive the rebels. Besides, most of those who refuse to go are those with ulterior motives, so we don't need to worry about them," the Fifth Elder added.

"Let’s proceed this way," the First Elder, Shi Yue, directed. "After lunch, I will go to arrange the hunting parties for the beast-men. An hour later, once most of the beast-men have departed, Lu Li, you go and organize everyone for the trip to the Sacred Mountain. For now, Lu Li, go and persuade Qi Yue and Feng Yu to leave for a few days to accompany you all to the mountain. We five elders will each go and find two reliable beast-men. Does everyone see any flaws in this plan?"

"Wait," Bao Si suddenly realized a major loophole. "If they don't act tonight, but Lu Li and the others don't return, and with Qi Yue and Feng Yu also gone, how will the evening assembly be held?"

The Third Elder, Xiong Jiang, thought for a moment and improved the plan. "How about we change the pairing assembly into a farewell party? We’ll be seeing off Qi Yue’s family of three. We can have Qi Yue go with Lu Li for a prayer blessing in the afternoon, and have Feng Yu go hunting. If you haven't returned by dusk, we can send someone to urge them back. How does that sound?"

"Feng Yu is very strong; Hu Wei and his lot are well aware of that. I suspect they will act as soon as Feng Yu leaves," Bao Si speculated.

"What if they wait until the family of three has left the tribe to act?" Lu Li asked, fearing they might delay their plans.

"They won't!" Bao Si countered, following Hu Wei's train of thought. "They lost their positions as tribal leaders because of Qi Yue; they won't let them leave easily. In their eyes, this is a grudge spanning two generations, and they won't want to leave any roots of trouble behind. They will certainly seize control of the tribe first, and their next step will be to join forces to kill Feng Yu and Qi Yue. Otherwise, two or three beast-men alone might not be enough to kill Feng Yu. They must act by tomorrow at the latest. What we must do is ensure they don't discover that we have already sensed their movements."

"Are you not worried about a fierce battle breaking out between the beast-men of the tribe?" Lu Li asked, feeling anxious.

"There is no need to worry about that," Bao Si said, feeling confident in the majority of his tribe. "The beast-men of our tribe are hot-blooded. If we expose the crimes of those three in the morning and they try to split the tribe and seize power by nightfall, they won't be able to rally many. The tribe has over twelve hundred members, excluding the elderly and the young. Furthermore, the act of rebellion itself will be their evidence. We won't even need to hold a trial; everyone has the ability to distinguish right from wrong."

Lu Li looked at the divination tool and suddenly realized something. "There is one more thing. Hu Jia tampering with the divination tool shows she has a deep understanding of witchcraft. Our tribe’s witch doctor tradition has always been passed down through a single lineage; how did she learn it? And this material, 'iron'—none of us recognize it, not even Feng Yu, who has visited many tribes. Where did she get it? Could she be colluding with an outside tribe?"

"Does anyone here remember Hu Jia’s mother?" the Fifth Elder, Lang Qian, suddenly asked.

"Hu Mi, Hu Jia’s mother?" Lu Li recalled. "She came from a fallen tribe to our east. She passed away three years after Hu Jia was paired. I remember hearing my teacher say that she was once a disciple of the witch doctor from that original tribe."

"Then it all makes sense," the First Elder recalled. "Thirty years ago, during the winter, the Yuejia tribe was attacked by a beast herd and sought our help. But we were weak and struggling ourselves. That winter was exceptionally long, and we only survived by strictly rationing our food. We lost over a dozen females and cubs that year. So, we only agreed to accept a portion of the healthy females and strong beast-men."

"How many people did we accept from that tribe, and where did the others go?" Bao Si pressed.

The First Elder thought for a moment and said, "We accepted twenty females and forty males. The others were dispersed and taken in by surrounding groups. As for what happened to those who weren't taken in, I don't know." As the elder with the longest tenure, he was the only one who had participated in the decision-making meeting back then.

"Do you think there might be beast-men from other tribes helping them?" the Third Elder asked worriedly.

"Today's events happened suddenly," Bao Si noted. "Even if they had sent word this morning, the fastest flying beast-men would take three days to arrive from neighboring tribes. This means we must resolve this incident quickly and prepare defenses afterward. If we have to skip the Luojia Festival this year, so be it. We must elect a new leader as soon as possible."

"Bao Si is right," Shi Yue declared, ending the meeting. "Missing one Luojia Festival is nothing; the tribe cannot afford a catastrophe. Go and prepare, everyone; time waits for no one. It won't be long until lunch." The group then filed out one by one.

Lu Li found Qi Yue and asked, "Qi Yue, you came looking for me earlier—was there something urgent?"

"Doctor Lu Li," Qi Yue explained anxiously, "Feng Yu said that when Chi'er undergoes his transformation, he will need several special medicinal herbs. I wanted to see if I could find them with you. These herbs are essential, and some must be fully mature, but it is not the right season for them. I was hoping for your help. Feng Yu only just realized this while we were walking through the market, so we rushed to find you. I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting."

"Come with me to my clinic and let's see if we have them," Lu Li said, leading them toward his home.

After a thorough search, Qi Yue looked at Feng Yu with a crestfallen expression. "Oh, we are still missing three types of herbs. What should we do?"

Feng Yu wrapped his arm around Qi Yue’s shoulder to comfort her. "Yue, don't worry! After we leave the tribe, we will pass by the Moqi Tribe. We can ask the witch doctor there. The Luojia Festival is being held there this year; perhaps their witch doctor will have more herbs in stock. Chi'er will be fine. Don't panic; there will be a way."

"Right, we will head to the Moqi Tribe tomorrow!" Qi Yue signaled to Feng Yu, who brought out a reindeer weighing about four hundred pounds. "Doctor Lu Li, this is payment for the herbs I've owed you since a few days ago, as well as today. It is also a token of my gratitude for how you and Ling'er have looked after me over the past three years. I hope you will accept it."

"Qi Yue, those herbs aren't worth this much, and looking after you is only right," Lu Li declined.

"Doctor, please accept it, otherwise Qi Yue won't be able to leave with peace of mind," Feng Yu added.

"I can accept it," Lu Li replied, "but I have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to cooperate with us and delay your departure by a day or two?" He then proceeded to explain their plan and their suspicions regarding the night's events to the two of them.