Chapter 1312: Chapter 1312

More than twenty days later, Scholar Mikki returned with a ship full of food from the North Bay Tribe of Napa Valley. By now, it was mid-July, and the sunlight was clear as if it had been washed, with no trace of clouds or rain in the sky. At the West Mountain Port, two rows of huts had been built in the camp, and the fields by the river had been cultivated quite a bit, looking somewhat like a village.

It wasn’t until Mikki stepped off the longship and set foot in the Kingdom’s camp that he still felt a little dazed. He recalled the more than twenty days of exceptionally "fulfilling" teaching and learning, feeling like he was back at the Divine Power University in the Capital City.

"Chief Divine bless! Mikki, you’ve finally returned!"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro stood in front of Mikki with a face full of joy, his voice filled with excitement.

"If it weren’t for you sending a samurai back to tell the camp that you were alright... I was about to lead the fleet to that North Bay Tribe to rescue you!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI(F)ire.net

"Uh... Chief Divine bless!"

Scholar Mikki shook his head vigorously to snap out of his daze. He looked at his excited friend and replied with a wry smile.

"Zuwaro, you have no idea, for more than twenty days, I haven’t had a moment’s rest... it’s like I’ve been squeezed dry, like a tomato!"

"Huh? Squeezed dry like a tomato?"

Hearing this, Exploration Captain Zuwaro looked surprised. He glanced at the Mivok hunters unloading the tribe’s food from the longship, then looked at the weary Mikki. Finally, his gaze lowered slightly, and he looked at his dark-circled friend with a sympathetic expression.

"...Mikki, you should have said earlier! I would have sent more samurai to help you. The Northern Tribes are so enthusiastic, how can you handle so much alone? If you die from exhaustion , how will I report back to the Kingdom?..."

Scholar Mikki hesitated for a moment, his gaze following Zuwaro’s downward glance before he twitched the corner of his mouth and shouted angrily.

"Chief Divine! What are you thinking? I meant my wisdom was completely squeezed dry by the old foxes of the North Bay Tribe!"

As he spoke, Scholar Mikki reached into his robe and took out a thick scroll of paper, handing it to Zuwaro.

"Here! Take a look! This is the main result, the translation book for cultural exchanges!"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro took the paper scroll, unfolded it slightly, and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh! It’s really something impressive!... Written as ’sky’, illustrated as a high blue mass, read as ’ilhuicatl’ in Navajo, ’cúndiro’ in Prepetcha, ’ñandú’ in Yaji, ’kaʼau’ in Paiute, ’tii’chu’ in Kumeyaay, ’helh’ in Mivok, and ’sqʷuqʷəd’ in Puget Salish/Lushootseed..."

Reading these tongue-twisting words, Exploration Captain Zuwaro paused and asked in confusion.

"Mikki, how could you possibly know so many tribal languages? We’ve heard of encountering the Yaji, Paiute, Kumeyaay, and Mivok people... but what is this ’Puget Salish’?"

"Puget Salish is the language spoken by the tribes along the coast after traveling more than a thousand miles further north. According to Cedar Shaman’s description, another great bay in Your Majesty’s prophecy is three thousand miles to the north. And the coastal tribes in that area also speak Puget Salish!..."

Scholar Mikki explained the further northern news with a serious expression as Zuwaro listened with a look of surprise. Then he shook his head and sighed.

"Chief Divine witness! There’s no way I could know so many languages! Although I wrote this scroll, I only know Navajo, Prepetcha, and Yaji. The rest—Paiute, Kumeyaay, Mivok, Puget Salish—were all orally dictated by Cedar Shaman and then recorded by me..."

"And the language we communicate in is Yaji. However, in these days, he has already learned quite a bit of Navajo. Give him a few more months, and he’ll be able to use Navajo to have everyday conversations with us..."

"Ah? Chief Divine! Such an impressive Shaman knows so many languages? Has he visited so many tribes?!"

"Yes! When Cedar Shaman was young, he traveled around for over ten or twenty years, learning the languages and herbal knowledge of various tribes. Aside from the western seas, he traveled far alone to the east, south, and north, familiar with the languages of the four major ethnic groups (language families), and over a dozen tribal languages..."

Hearing this, Exploration Captain Zuwaro was full of shock. He looked at the high mountains in the East, and the forests everywhere. There were nomadic tribes and fierce beasts in the mountains. He found it truly hard to imagine how one person could travel and learn in such a wild environment.

"This? How is it possible? Alone, wouldn’t he be attacked by the wild tribes?"

"Zuwaro, he is a Shaman. A Shaman is not a chieftain staying in the tribe, nor is he an Elder Priest sitting high above, but a healer traveling everywhere, a doctor belonging to the vast tribes!"

Scholar Mikki explained earnestly, noting the tribespeople’s heartfelt reverence for Cedar Shaman. He realized that the most important and influential identity of Shaman Chieftain Cedar was indeed "Shaman," not "Chieftain."

"In the Northern Continent, where transmission is difficult, the tribes are small, and life is very harsh. The lifespan of tribespeople, tribal hunters, and even small tribal chieftains is very short! They rarely live to forty, some die in their thirties, twenties. Because, frequently lacking effective medical heritage and with little contact among different tribes. Once someone gets ill beyond the tribe’s knowledge scope, they can only watch as the illness worsens, step by step into death..."

"And at such times, only the healer traveling everywhere, the respected Shaman, can save them! The emergence of a Shaman often can save many lives in a tribe. So, in the traditions of the Northern Land, no matter how ferocious the tribes are, they would never attack a Shaman. Instead, they would scramble to invite Shamans, send hunters to protect them along the way, provide enough food, and offer gifts as much as possible..."

Saying this, Scholar Mikki recalled the longhouse of Cedar Shaman, those herbs from various tribal territories, and the precious black bear pelts, red deer pelts, white fox pelts, unable to resist expressing his admiration.

"So many tribal gifts, who knows how many people Cedar Shaman has healed. But with his personality, he probably values more the herb heritage of each tribe, and various knowledge from afar... Once encountering new knowledge legacy, he’s like a greedy old fox, squeezing the tomato tight in his claw, draining it dry..."

"Uh? ...Drained tomatoes..."

Hearing this, Exploration Captain Zuwaro shivered. In this vast and barren Northern Land, isn’t the so-called new knowledge legacy precisely him and Mikki, two Divine Revelation Priests from the Kingdoms? Thinking of this, he sympathetically glanced at the dazed Mikki, then couldn’t help but quickly lower his head, swiftly flipping to the end of the translation scroll in his hand.

"...Puglish Salish language, peace, ’sduhubš’; friend, ’swátəb’; exchange, ’tiwáqs’; food, ’čəlčələb’; sailing ’čəłčəłs’... Uh? Just these dozens or a hundred words? No more at the back?"

"No more! In these over twenty days, being able to write such a translation book is already quite good. Moreover, Cedar Shaman also spent lots of time learning the script and Navajo from me... Actually, with these words, it’s roughly enough."

Saying this, Scholar Mikki cleared his throat, stretched out his hand, and with a genial smile, he mimicked the first meeting with the Northern tribes, and said.

"Swátəb! Sduhubš! Tiwáqs, čəlčələb... Friend! Peace! Exchange food..."

"Hmm, not bad!... If this translation scroll is really accurate. Then simple communication is indeed enough."

Exploration Captain Zuwaro thought carefully and nodded. Scholar Mikki smiled, took out a wood carving of a flying bird from his sleeve, and pointed to the cloak-wearing Hunter Le Tian standing proudly beside the longship.

"Don’t worry! For our northern exploration, Cedar Shaman also gave me this token. This is what he wore when he healed various hunters during his past travels in the North. Although many years have passed, there should still be people who remember... Additionally, the cloak-wearing Hunter from Miwok Tribe is familiar with the northern coastline, can also speak a little more northern languages. He also knows some commonly used sign languages among tribes, better at gesturing than us!..."

Hearing this, Exploration Captain Zuwaro’s face blossomed into a smile but soon collected again. He frowned, sizing up the tired yet excited Scholar Mikki, couldn’t help but open his mouth to inquire.

"May Chief Divine witness! Cedar Shaman promised you so many benefits—gave you food, provided a guide, wrote you a translation book, gave you information about the North, your own token... It can’t just be because he wants to marry off his daughter to you, so giving these for free? ...Mikki, what did you promise him?!"

Upon hearing this, Scholar Mikki’s smile froze, and he guiltily lowered his head. At that moment, his thin frame, bowed head, was like a truly drained tomato.