Kailun means rising sun or rising sun in Xiliang language.
Compared to the small Lan Mang tribe, which has never grown to a hundred members, Kailun is a truly prosperous tribe.
Under the leadership of their clan leader, in just fifteen or sixteen years, the population of the entire tribe increased from a few hundred to more than 30,000, and they controlled several high-quality water sources and large tracts of pasture.
With a population of just over 30,000, it is actually inconspicuous on the vast Xiliang prairie. But in the eyes of the Lanmang people, it is the only reliable source of help.
"When do you plan to leave?" Ren Ning asked.
Youmeng was surprised, "Brother, are you going to the Kailun tribe too?"
Ren Ning nodded, "This place is thousands of miles away from my hometown. I can't go back with just two legs. I have to find a horse to travel instead."
Youmeng suddenly realized.
Horses are an important strategic material, and Xiliang is in principle prohibited from selling them to foreign countries. Especially the powerful neighboring country to the east, the government strictly prohibits the sale of horses to them, even one, and you will be severely punished if caught.
It's just that in the vast grassland, there are countless tribes, large and small. It is normal for one or two horses to "miss" or "die" from time to time. Basically no one can find out.
"What? Can't I go?" Ren Ning asked.
"Of course not." You Meng shook his head quickly, "With our brother's knowledge, it's not too late for us to welcome you."
He looked at the rushing water at his feet.
"There is not much food in our hands. When the water recedes a little, we will set off first, and the others will follow."
Ren Ning nodded, found a stone, sat down and rummaged through his things.
Basically, he had nothing left. Apart from the short knife of an indistinguishable color, the only thing he had on his body was the ration bag tied to his waist.
And the ration bag was already empty.
Apart from a few ingots of stolen silver, there were only three white wolf fangs. Other than water, there was very little mutton to eat and life-seeking grass to heal injuries.
"Brother Ning, these are just made clothes." You Meng's sister Yang Lan came over and handed Ren Ning a sheepskin coat and a pair of sheepskin trousers, "Try it on and see if it fits?"
She looked ashamed, "There is nothing left in the clan except the animal skin used to keep out the rain, so I took it off and gave it to you to make clothes. I don't know if you Yunchui people are used to wearing it."
"It's good if you have it to wear." Ren Ning thanked him and took it without politeness.
The clothes he was wearing could no longer be called clothes, but rather tattered strips of cloth. Even the bandage used to cover the wound was better than it, at least the bandage still had edges.
In front of Yang Lan, Ren Ning generously tried on clothes and pants.
Fits well, but smells a bit too big.
However, his expression didn't change and he pretended he didn't smell it.
Yang Lan smiled happily, her eyes falling on the three white wolf teeth.
Huh.
She was startled, "These must be wolf fangs! Are those two long fangs of the wolf king?"
Wolf fangs are familiar to any Xiliang person, but wolf king fangs are not so common.
"Maybe." Ren Ning glanced north, "Some time ago, a pack of wolves attacked our caravan in the middle of the night, and we killed most of them. Then we knocked a few wolf teeth as a souvenir."
Seeing the girl's interest, he picked up one of the long wolf teeth and handed it over, "Do you like it, girl? I'll give it to you!"
"Ah?" Yang Lan was stunned, and quickly took a few steps back and waved her hand to refuse, "These are the teeth of the Wolf King, they are very precious. How can you give them away to... people casually? Besides, I'm just looking at them casually."
After saying that, she looked at the long and curved fang in Ren Ning's hand strangely, turned around and left quickly.
After waiting for more than half an hour, the flood in front of us showed no sign of receding or decreasing, and was still gushing downward continuously.
You Meng, who looked anxious, hurried over and said, "Brother Ning, this flood will not go away for a while. How about we set off now."
After saying that, he looked back.
Not far away, there were children basking in the sun. Several of them had flushed faces, were shivering, and sneezing. It was obvious at a glance that they were seriously ill.
Catching a cold is just a minor illness, but they can't even drink hot water now, so they don't want to seek medical advice. If it takes too long, anything could happen.
In addition, there are some tribes around Lanmang that are similar in size to them.
After two devastating disasters, the only way for those tribes to survive was to seek help from Kailun. Youmeng was worried that if he went too late, it would be difficult to talk to him even if he had acquaintances.
Ren Ning understood Youmeng's worry. After nodding, he wrapped his short knife with a piece of cowhide and fastened it to his waist.
"Then let's go." he said.
Just leave.
Ren Ning Youmeng and Yang Lan, the three of them cut some mutton for rations, and took a cow leg bone to explore the way. They said goodbye to other tribesmen, and headed south through the water, which was deep and shallow.
"Is the Kailun tribe far away from here?" Ren Ning asked.
"It's not too far." Youmeng and his sister looked at each other, and the scars at the corners of his eyes seemed to be much deeper. "In the past, we drove cattle and sheep to sell them, and it usually only took one day and half a night to get there. But...
…”
However, there are puddles of unknown depth everywhere in front of us, and the thick mud makes it difficult to walk three steps at a time. It is difficult to say when we will reach the Kailun tribe.
However, no matter how difficult it is to go, we have to go.
The three of them walked for two days, even moving forward in the dark without resting at night. However, there was still a vast expanse of sewage in front of them, and the Kailun tribe was nowhere to be seen.
Youmeng nonchalantly suggested taking a rest.
He said to rest, but he looked around to confirm the direction again and again, for fear that he was going wrong.
Ren Ning looked at their anxious faces and chuckled.
"I've been lying in the cave these days, and I've had enough sleep. But you two brothers and sisters have been taking care of the tribe day and night, and you probably can't open your eyes for a long time."
"Since the direction is correct, the Kailun tribe should not be far away. We can rest for a while before leaving."
"I'm not tired yet." You Meng glanced at Ren Ning gratefully, then turned to ask his sister, "Yang Lan, can you still leave?"
Yang Lan's legs were shaking, but she gritted her teeth and said word by word: "Brother, I can still go!"
Ren Ning looked around and said, "Since we're not tired, let's continue walking. Maybe we'll be there in a few more miles."
They were not in the mood to rest anyway, and the ground was covered with mud or puddles, so there was no place to rest.
Youmeng didn't persuade them much, and the three of them continued walking until dawn the next day.
sunny.
The water finally receded in front, revealing the mud on the ground. From time to time, we could see the carcasses of several animals, which looked like a doomsday scene.
While walking, Ren Ning suddenly bent down and grabbed a handful of grass heads from the mud.
"Brother Ning, what's wrong?" Brother Youmeng and his sister hurriedly gathered around.
Ren Ning said nothing.
He shook off the mud and looked at the grass head carefully, and suddenly said: "The fire probably didn't reach here."
The brother and sister took a closer look and immediately became happy.
The grass in Ren Ning's hand showed no signs of being burned by fire, only traces of being cut with a sharp weapon.
"That's great." Youmeng breathed a sigh of relief, "The fire should have been extinguished by the heavy rain before it reached here."
Yang Lan also smiled brightly.
"This place is very close to the Kailun tribe. I think it is more likely that they saw that the fire was about to burn, and sent people to cut out a fire barrier first. And the fire barrier is under our feet."
"Maybe." Ren Ning nodded in agreement.
No matter who is right or wrong, it is always a good thing that the fire did not reach the target of their help.
After walking for more than half an hour, a series of yurts finally appeared in front of us.
The three of them looked at each other and laughed in unison.