Chapter 6: The Mysterious Tribe Leader

  "Wait a minute." Zhu Yongxing started to listen casually, but suddenly reacted and was shocked by the key words in this sentence, almost losing his composure, and asked incredulously: "What did you say, Wanli, what time is Wanli? How many years ago from now?"

  Mengzhu didn't expect Zhu Yongxing to have such a big reaction, and was stunned for a moment before continuing to explain: "Wanli is the Wanli Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, as for what time it was, I'll have to calculate it. Hmm, about 50 or 60 years ago?"

  "Haha, you, hehe, fifty or sixty years old, you really know how to joke." Zhu Yongxing laughed strangely, looking around for any flaws in Mengzhu's deception. Can't find it, doesn't matter, even if you pretend to be real, once I get out, I won't listen to your nonsense anymore.

  Mengzhu blinked her big eyes and looked at Zhu Yongxing's strange behavior, also didn't know what to say.

  "Mengzhu, what time is it now? Ah, you'd better bring out another emperor." Zhu Yongxing asked, as if he was about to hear a joke.

  "Now——" Mengzhu looked at Zhu Yongxing in surprise for a moment, and said cautiously: "If it hasn't changed, it should be the Yongli Emperor, I heard that the Great Ming is now in chaos, and the queue soldiers have already reached Yunnan. Hmm, some of our clansmen heard from people who escaped that this was what they said."

  Zhu Yongxing looked at Mengzhu's serious expression and couldn't help but laugh, it was a done deal, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, then came the Qing dynasty, the golden age of prosperity, but also an era of bloodshed and stench.

  Buddha, Bodhisattva, Taishang Laojun, God the Father Christ, Allah... Stop messing with me! Zhu Yongxing silently prayed to all the gods and founders of various religions in his heart, "Let me wake up from this dream quickly!"

  The sound of a drum came from outside, Zhu Yongxing couldn't understand it, but Mengzhu's face lit up with joy and said: "The village is going to hold a ceremony to welcome the noble guest, that must be you. Please wait for a moment, I'll go and come back."

  Zhu Yongxing was made uneasy by the conversation, and he didn't show any reaction to Mengzhu's departure. The room fell silent, Zhu Yongxing paced back and forth on the ground, trying to think of something, but his thoughts were all over the place and he couldn't find a thread. He sat down for a moment, then stood up again, restless and anxious, with a troubled mind.

  It was unclear how much time had passed when the sound of murmuring voices grew louder and closer, until it seemed to be right outside the door, before falling silent once more. The door opened and Mengzhu walked in. She was clearly dressed up, with a sprinkling of small white flowers on her head that emitted a strange fragrance, a red jacket with silver trim and silver flowers, crossed over her chest, and a pleated skirt that fell to her knees, cinched at the waist with a bright sash. Paired with her beauty and elegance, she looked like a celestial being.

  She looks elegant and refined when dressed simply, like a refreshing cup of tea; but when dressed up, she's like the queen of flowers, the peony, looking luxurious and noble. Zhu Yongxing felt a bit flustered in his heart, but he just smiled perfunctorily and nodded slightly, thinking to himself that with or without makeup, she looks good either way, what a great foundation she has!

  Mengzhu smiled and replied, "Honorable guest, please follow me to the village. The welcoming ceremony is ready." She then made a polite gesture of invitation.

  Zhu Yongxing scratched his head, picked up the gun and slung it over his shoulder. Although it looked a bit out of place, things had become somewhat strange and he couldn't help but be on guard!

  Outside the door, there were more than 20 young men and women, all dressed very formally. As soon as Zhu Yongxing and Mengzhu came out, they surrounded them in the middle, laughing, singing, and swarming towards the village.

  "Now take you to see my father, you——" Mengzhu turned his head and said to Zhu Yongxing, with a somewhat shy expression, wanting to say but stopping.

  Zhu Yongxing scratched his head and said according to his own understanding, "Should be, pay respects to elders?" His heart was still puzzled and he replied somewhat perfunctorily. After a pause, he came back to himself and asked Mengzhu, "What etiquette should I pay attention to? Are there any taboos or rules in your clan?"

  Mengzhu smiled and said, "You don't have to worry or be afraid. My father is a very easy-going person. You are an outsider, he won't demand too much from you in terms of etiquette. Just do things as you usually would. If my father asks if you're willing..." Mengzhu opened her mouth, wanting to say something but swallowed the words back instead.

  A group of people entered the village and came to a stop in front of the largest house. The young man, who was also the deputy chief, stood guard at the door and smiled slightly when he saw Zhu Yongxing, but it seemed somewhat forced. He then extended his hand in a gesture of invitation.

  Zhu Yongxing smiled and walked to the front door of the house, which was made of a very fine kind of woven grass, extremely dense. Mengzhu quickly took a few steps forward, seemingly wanting to follow, but was stopped by the young man stretching out his hand, speaking hastily and severely. Mengzhu lightly bit her lower lip, silently retreating to one side.

  Zhu Yongxing stretched out his hand to push the door, although it was only made of woven grass, but because it was very thick, it had an excellent sound insulation effect. So when Zhu Yongxing pushed the door and walked in, he closed the door with one hand, and then couldn't hear anything.

  The light in the room was very dim, and Zhu Yongxing noticed it as soon as he pushed open the door. He narrowed his eyes, closed the door with one hand, stood there motionless, waiting for a complete adaptation from light to dark.

  Before his eyes adjusted, Zhu Yongxing first smelled a strange smell, which was hard to describe as it was a mixture of several smells, some fragrant and some fishy. This smell made him feel like he was in a very mysterious environment!

  Soon, Zhu Yongxing's eyes adapted to the dark environment, and he saw that in the center of the house, an old man was sitting on the ground. This old man must be the tribe leader, also Dream Pearl's father. Zhu Yongxing hesitated for a moment, then adopted the bowing etiquette, thinking it more proper.

  "Hello, sir. I am——"

  The old man stretched out his hand to interrupt Zhu Yongxing's self-introduction, looked at him with some surprise, and then revealed a deep and meaningful smile, pointing to the opposite side, indicating that Zhu Yongxing should sit down.

  Zhu Yongxing was not used to sitting cross-legged, but he understood the rules of adapting to local customs. He sat down in the same way as the old man, but suddenly opened his eyes wide and a scorpion emerged from the collar of the old man's shirt, bright red with its tail raised high.

  "Don't move, there's a scorpion." Zhu Yongxing exclaimed and jumped up, ready to take action.

  "Don't worry, it's mine, it won't harm me. Hmm, how many years has it been since I last spoke Chinese?" The old man began to speak, shaking his head, his Mandarin was a bit rusty, but Zhu Yongxing could still understand him, and he felt the light in the old man's eyes soften.

  Zhu Yongxing was a bit skeptical, could scorpions really be kept as pets? The strange and bewildering events of the past few days had left him perplexed.

  "Foreign Han people, you are not gods." The old man said with a smile.