40. Tribesmen 2

The three people stood at a stand still as the boy stared at the woman with a frown before stepping back pulling his sword back. Chen Liju was still alert as she wondered why this woman would suddenly decide to help her.She didn't have to wait for long as the woman enthusiastically turned to her before introducing herself.

"Hello my name is Ye Bingchang and this is my brother Ye Qingyu I am sorry for his rude behaviour. He is just not used to meeting the city dwellers." the woman apologized shocking her out of her dread. The brother seemed annoyed and was about to protest but went silent after a glare was shot his way.

She was still hesitant given the boy's attitude but still decided to accept the apology in any case because they seemed to actually live here and it was their territory."It is fine I may have made him anxious by trespassing."

"No you didn't we actually live on the mountain, it is just that he come out here to hunt and maybe he became a little bit too excited." She went on to explain amicably confusing Chen Liju even further as she wondered why the woman was being so friendly after watching their fight that long.

She was still bleeding at various places because of her brother's slashes and many other injuries while this woman had been calmly watching them as if it had not concerned her. It was clear something had made her step in she thought back and quickly stared down at the token that hung from her waist sash.

She reached down and pulled it off before staring at it for a while wondering why it had caused such a reaction from her. Even the previously violent brother now looked tame as he stared down at the token in her hand in clear shock before quickly turning away after their eyes met.

"Where did you get that?" the sister suddenly asked making her look up to her curious face confirming her theory.

"My dad gave it to me when I was young." she answered fingering the token she had gotten from her father just before he had sent her away.

"Is this reason why you stopped him?"

She asked making up her mind to be straight forward about what was happening. The girl only hesitated for a while before she nodded and also reached down to her waist and pulled out a token that was almost similar to her own except for its blue color.

"This is our tribe's identification token and is made from jades of different colors according to the clan we are born into." she explained after realizing she did not know the significance of her token.

Wentian had taught her about tribes and how before the war people lived with their tribesmen and would help each other when the war had broken lose a lot of chaos was released into the world greatly affecting this system as many clans broke off and established themselves away from the other tribe members.

This was done by many with only a few tribes deciding to have a way to identify other tribesmen and even signed an agreement that they were obligated to assist each other in times of need. She had not expected the unscrupulous Chen clan to actually come from such a tribe and even sign the agreement as many powerful clans had refused not wanting to be used by their weak and poor tribesmen.

This was good news as she now had some other people to guide and assist her during her training. "So how are we supposed to address each other?"

She went on to ask as it was the first time meeting with her tribesmen. The woman hesitated for a short while before telling her they could address each other using their names prompting her to introduce herself.

"Chen Liju? Are you from the Chen clan by any chance?" the boy spoke up after a long time his voice sounded childish making her wonder just how old he was.

"Yes but I grew up here and have never visited the sacred mountain." she quickly explained as the Chen clan was known for being reclusive.

"Really why are your parents dead?" the boy cluelessly asked and was smacked in the back of the head making him pout as he glared at his uncomfortable sister.

"No my mother is from this kingdom so I grew up here." she explained deciding not to bring up her absentee father. The two seemed to be uncomfortable with the topic and were silent for a while before inviting her to their home which was supposed to be on the mountain.

She had expected it to be very far and so she was surprised when they got there in a couple of minutes. The Ye clan's land was huge and looked like a small town as it was dotted by many beautiful houses and was busy as people bustled up and down going on with their various business.

The siblings seemed to be famous among the clan members as they greeted by almost everyone they met making their what was supposed to be short walk to their home take a long time. She was exhausted by the time they walked into the huge expensive looking mansion but still couldn't sleep as Bingchang told her she had to meet the elders.

Minutes later she was there standing before a group of old men who loudly discussed her until they were shushed by a man who seemed to be their leader. He sat in the top most seat and was obviously old as his grey hair and wrinkles decorated his strong and tall being.

"You must be that boy Changshen's daughter right?" he had asked shocking the entire room as all the people in attendance seemed to double take making her wonder why her father was so famous.

"Yes, my father indeed goes by that name." she responded shocking them even more as they wondered why he had left her here.

"How many years has it been since he left?" he asked in a melancholic tone as he looked into the distance probably remembering something.

"Around ten or so I am not sure." she answered calmly.

"That's right, and how old are you now?" he asked staring down at her tired figure.

"I will be turning fifteen soon." she answered making the old man sympathize with her as he wondered how she had survived all this time all on her own.

"You have a had a hard time" he commented making her chest heavy as she rapidly blinked to stop the tears that had tried forming in her eyes. Ever since she had gotten back she had been so busy dealing with the prince's and her messed up family that she had not gotten the time to think about how pitiful she actually was.

After all it was not everyday you learnt that your father abandoned you at the age of five and the people you thought were family were actually not and even though she had Wentian and the rest it was clear they were with her for their own reasons and did not genuinely care about her.

So hearing him acknowledge her struggle with that calm voice almost made her cry and now she suddenly felt like she could get along with this old man. "Not to worry I am here, and I will make sure to help you in any way I can."

His words proved to be true when she saw her assigned courtyard that was thoughtfully isolated and well taken care of. The first thing she did after Bingchang left was to take a hot long bath that relieved some of her pain before climbing out and dressing up for dinner.

The old man Ye Ning had ordered the cooks to prepare a clan feast in honor of her. She was not comfortable with the idea of interacting with so much people as she was still tired but still went along with it just to please the old man.

The clan members seemed to have stopped at nothing as they had managed to completely transform the previously boring clan hall to a beautiful floral house with various different flowers arranged all over the place making it look absolutely stunning.

Everyone was dressed to the nines and were all smiles as they came up to her and introduced themselves in no time she had the beginnings of a headache because of all the noise but still smiled happily as the dinner began.

The cooks had gone all out and cooked a huge assortments of foods she both knew and didn't making her smile even brighter as she stuffed herself before leaning back in her seat lazily as she watched the various performances of the clan members.

She was sleepy and sluggish by the time the celebration ended and she had to drag herself to her room where she immediately plopped herself on to the bed and said goodbye to reality.