Chapter 116
Chapter 116
The old shaman rose respectfully and led them toward the rear mountain of the tribe.
Di Xiulan and the other two followed behind.
When they reached the cave entrance, the old shaman said, “My apologies, but only members of our tribe may enter this cave. Please wait outside.”
Hua Wuhuang looked a little worried. “Could this be a trap?”
Di Xiulan said mildly, “It’s fine. We’ll wait here for a while.”
He gave a nod, and Ye Piaoling followed the old shaman and several members of the Cannibal Tribe into the cave.
The old shaman lit a torch and walked all the way to the deepest part of the cave. Sure enough, the stone walls were covered in all kinds of drawings, as though they recorded the history of the Cannibal Tribe.
The old shaman pointed at one of the murals and said, “Please look, Ancestor. This is your portrait. It truly captures you down to the finest detail.”
Ye Piaoling followed his gesture and looked over. She was instantly rendered speechless.
The mural was so low-resolution that it was almost impossible to make out. All she could vaguely tell was that it was a chibi-style stick figure.
The drawing showed a girl baring her claws and fangs, her expression fierce and vicious.
Ye Piaoling: “…”
This thing didn’t look like anyone at all!
It couldn’t even be called similar to her. It had absolutely nothing to do with her appearance…
The old shaman’s voice was steeped in age. “This mural has a history of several thousand years. The one who carved it has long since passed, but they preserved your voice, features, and smile to this day, Ancestor.”
Ye Piaoling: “Abba abba!”
The old shaman asked, “Ancestor, what did you say?”
Ye Piaoling said, “I’m asking how you can tell the person in this drawing is me.”
The old shaman replied, “Because it is you. I recognized you at a glance.”
After saying that, he turned to ask the opinion of the Cannibal Tribe members behind him.
The Cannibal Tribe members nodded repeatedly as well, indicating that this was absolutely the Ancestor herself. Identical in every way!
The old shaman said, “See? Everyone says so!”
Ye Piaoling: “…”
Still, being treated as their ancestor was better than being treated as food, so she nodded in satisfaction and praised them, “You all have very sharp eyes. You can even tell this looks the same! Impressive, impressive!”
After a pause, she finally remembered Little Liangliang and asked, “This Ancestor has a friend who went missing in the jungle. Was he captured by you people?”
The old shaman was startled and asked, “Is your friend called Huang Shang-the Emperor?”
“Huang Shang?” Ye Piaoling shook her head. “No. His name is Liang Ye. Little Liangliang.”
The old shaman let out a breath of relief. “That’s good. I almost thought we had mistakenly captured the Ancestor’s friend… Since he isn’t, then we’ll put him in the pot.”
Ye Piaoling had no interest in that person called Huang Shang, and she knew she couldn’t change the habits of the Cannibal Tribe, so she didn’t ask any further and turned to look at the other murals.
The old shaman said gratefully, “I never thought I would be able to meet the Ancestor in person in my lifetime. Back then, it was all thanks to you, Ancestor, that we were able to leave the Eternal Life Origin Realm and settle in this beautiful forest.”
Ye Piaoling froze. “The Eternal Life Origin Realm?”
These members of the Cannibal Tribe were actually from the Eternal Life Origin Realm!?
“That’s right!” The old shaman sighed. “After the Eternal Life Origin Realm fell into endless night, our people could no longer survive there. We were on the verge of extinction… It was all thanks to you, Ancestor, tearing open space and time and leading us away from that hell known as the Life Origin Realm.”
“After we arrived in this rainforest, you helped us make our home here and even taught us how to eat people. You said we could not eat our own kind, only outsiders. You also said that when eating humans, we must not eat the brain or the heart, because human brains are all stupid and eating them would make us dumb, while their hearts are all filthy and eating them would make us wicked… We have obeyed your teachings to this day.”
Ye Piaoling: “…”
All of this stuff-especially the theory about human hearts being filthy-why did it sound so much like something the Evil Lord would say?
Yet now, somehow, it had all been pinned on her…
This was absurdity opening the door for absurdity-absurd all the way home!
Ye Piaoling couldn’t make sense of it, so she simply stopped thinking about it and asked instead, “By the way, there is a ghost in this rainforest. Do you know where it is?”
At the mention of that ghost, the old shaman’s face filled with fear. “I do! It has killed many of our people. It’s even more terrifying than venomous snakes or ferocious beasts!”
Ye Piaoling smiled and said, “This Ancestor came here to catch it. Hurry up and tell me where it is.”
The old shaman said, “It is in the ancient tomb deep within the jungle. But the sky is getting dark now, and none of our people dare go that way… Why not wait until first thing tomorrow morning? Then we can take you to search for it!”
Ye Piaoling readily agreed. “That works!”
The old shaman smiled apologetically and said, “Then please return to the tribe with us and rest first, Ancestor. We do not have any fine wine or delicacies here, but fortunately, we caught an emperor today. Please join us in sampling him, Ancestor.”
“No, no, no,” Ye Piaoling hurriedly refused. “Let the tribespeople eat him. This Ancestor won’t fight you for it.”
The old shaman said, deeply moved, “Ancestor, you are still so considerate of us.”
After walking out of the cave, Ye Piaoling told her teammates, “We’ll rest for the night. Tomorrow, the tribespeople will take us to find Ghost Po.”
The three of them nodded. Hua Wuhuang asked, “What about Little Liangliang? Was he captured by the Cannibal Tribe?”
Ye Piaoling shook her head and said, “No.”
Hua Wuhuang said, “Then perhaps he really was eaten by wild beasts?”
Ye Piaoling nodded. “Yes, he definitely was. Be optimistic. In all things, you have to look on the bright side.”
They followed the old shaman into the tribe. From afar, they heard hysterical howls coming from inside a thatched hut.
“Someone, come! Protect your emperor, protect your emperor-”
“I am the emperor! The emperor!!!”
Hearing this, Ye Piaoling and Hua Wuhuang both showed puzzled expressions at the same time.
-Why did that voice sound like Little Liangliang?