Chapter 15: The secret of Shaman
The cold air penetrated the body, and Han Cheng, tightly wrapped in fur, shivered uncontrollably.
After being outside for so long, he was completely frozen.
"There are many fish. Enough to eat. Let's go back and get warm."
With a reluctant expression, Han Cheng extended the numb hand that had just gained some sensation from being pressed against his armpit. He pulled out the fish stabbed by the Lame with a fish fork and placed it in the snow pit on the shore.
There were already more than a dozen fish with holes in them, and due to the cold weather, except for the three just stabbed out, the others had become stiff.
Han Cheng no longer felt the excitement he had when he first saw the fish. The pervasive coldness had completely extinguished all his enthusiasm.
"Catch fish. Not cold."
The Lame was beyond salvation. He was completely immersed in the joy of fishing and couldn't extricate himself, completely oblivious to the cold.
Han Cheng was no longer excited. He felt he had unintentionally made a terrible mistake by coaxing a workaholic into this. He stomped his feet, and the feet wrapped in fur were also numb."You, catch fish. I, go back, for Shaman."
Han Cheng expressed his intention with gestures and words.
Regardless, let the Lame catch fish here. He didn't want to endure the cold with him any longer. If he continued like this, even if there were fish to eat in the tribe, his own life would probably be in danger.
After saying that, without waiting for the Lame's response, he rushed towards the direction of the cave. He didn't want to stay in this damned place for a moment longer.
After running for a while, Han Cheng stopped, thought momentarily, and turned back. He found the smallest one among the fish lying on the ground, touched it, found it too cold to touch directly, looked around, and broke off some resilient dried grass exposed in the snow. He threaded the fish from gills to mouth with the grass, then dragged the fish and the grass through the snow on the topmost layer, rushing back to the cave.
It was not okay not to bring back a fish. Otherwise, he would need to spend many words explaining to Shaman that the fish was not lost but blocked by the ice. Besides, Shaman probably wouldn't believe him.
Better to bring back a fish directly, saving trouble.
Compared to the bitter cold outside, the inside of the cave was much warmer.
Jumping and sweating, Shaman finally completed the ritual and prayed for blessings from the sky god.
However, despite his calm appearance, he was somewhat uneasy in his heart.
This kind of uneasiness occurred every time after the ritual.
It was not because he was insincere in his prayers to the sky god or made mistakes. It was because of a deep secret in his heart for many years.
The secret was that he couldn't communicate with the sky god as the tribe imagined.
This was a lingering illness that had followed him for decades.
He could confirm that every time he performed the ritual, he did it with all his heart and soul, and every movement and action was impeccable.
However, what worried him was that he hadn't received any guidance from the sky god all these years.
This made him uneasy because he vividly remembered that the previous shaman had explicitly told him he could communicate with the sky god.
It was precisely because of this that Shaman became even more uneasy in his heart after each ritual. After all, in the same ceremony and actions, one shaman could receive the guidance of the sky god, while he couldn't.
Shaman held the white bone staff and placed it on the stone in front of the totem pillar where the sky god resided. Carefully, he removed the feather crown on his head, placed it back in its original position, and heaved a sigh of relief.
He turned around, wanting to see the mysterious and miraculously transformed little guy.
However, he did not see him in the cave, and the Lame man was also missing.
Shaman felt a bit anxious. He cared a lot about this little guy who came from the sky.
In his understanding, the sky god resided above the sky where only birds could fly. The totem pole placed in the tribe was just a projection of the sky god, a temporary place for the sky god to stay during the acceptance of sacrifices.
And this little guy fell from the sky.
This discovery excited Shaman, who had never received any guidance from the sky god. It seemed like he had found some clues.
Especially considering the horrifying scene that happened when he descended.
A person who spent a night in the wilderness without being eaten by wild beasts and still managed to come back to life in this state.
All these things made him curious and concerned about this extraordinary little guy.
Through the explanations and gestures of a few weak women who stayed in the cave, Shaman learned about Han Cheng's whereabouts and what they were doing.
This made Shaman both angry and touched.
This little guy… All the fish had gone in this freezing weather. Where could he possibly catch fish?
Don’t get hurt from the cold.
With these thoughts, Shaman looked at the five or seven children in the cave who were similar or larger than the little guy. He couldn't help shaking his head.
They were all children, but these children in the tribe, except for the little guy, were far behind. Although the little guy's actions might seem futile and result in unnecessary freezing, having this intention was enough.
Hmm, unconsciously, Han Cheng had become someone else's child.
"You, you, call him back."
Shaman, looking at the few half-grown children in the tribe for a while, pointed to the two women who had just answered him, telling them to go out and bring Han Cheng and the Lame back.
The two women naturally dared not disobey Wu's orders. They found some fur to wrap around themselves, covered a bit more, and then removed the middle stone at the cave entrance. The cold air outside immediately rushed in.
Without hesitation, they bent over and walked out.
Shaman, feeling the cold, was about to call someone to seal the entrance again when he found that the two women who had just gone out were coming back.
This puzzled Shaman and made him a little angry. They didn't even listen to his words.
However, Shaman was a person who could keep his composure. Instead of getting angry, he was about to ask aloud when Han Cheng had already crawled into the cave.
Feeling the warm air inside the cave, Han Cheng couldn't help but sigh of relief.
Shaman had a smile on his face, ready to praise this sensible little guy. However, the next moment, his whole person froze.
His eyes were fixed on the fish that Han Cheng had dragged back, and he couldn't move them. His face was full of astonishment and disbelief.