Temple Guardian

Blazing Flame Tribe.

The rain continued to fall.

Today was the thirty-third day.

The torrential downpour had finally lessened a bit.

Huo Tang, the chieftain of the tribe, looked at the vast, white expanse of land and sky with a worried expression. He sighed and said, "While the mountain flood is not as severe, A'Shan, you and the young people of the tribe should go out and salvage for wild beasts. You need some experience."

Dense caves dotted the mountainside. In response to the call, hundreds of figures emerged from the caves and leaped like apes towards the direction of the floodwaters.

The floodwaters surged, crashing against the rocks. The turbid water was filled with grass and trees.

The figures that rushed out were all as robust as black bears. With a single leap, they covered several zhang, darting back and forth across the rocks exposed by the flood, searching for prey washed out by the mountain torrents.

"Plop!"

"A'Can was swallowed by the flood!"

Suddenly, amidst the many black-bear-like figures, a relatively smaller figure was swept away by the waves.

"Gurgle..."

"Cough cough..."

"Wasn't I just working overtime? How did I end up choking on water?"

Shen Can had this thought in his mind, followed by a sharp pain in his head as memories that were not his own flooded in like a tide.

Then, he felt a large hand grab him and pull him out of the water.

A month later.

"This rain, it just won't stop."

Standing at the entrance of the cave, Shen Can stared blankly at the pouring rain, as if the Milky Way had broken its banks. Everything in sight was a vast expanse of white.

Through the curtain of rain, he could still see tribal warriors appearing at the edge of the flood, salvaging logs and other items that had been washed out.

In this situation, only warriors could protect themselves. The younger generation who were not warriors had long since taken shelter in the caves.

The rain kept falling, and the atmosphere was truly oppressive.

Besides the pervasive sense of unease, his body felt sticky and uncomfortable.

A month had passed, and he was still somewhat dazed by the reality of arriving in the Great Wilderness.

This was a vast, boundless, and primitive world, plagued by natural disasters and the appearance of disaster beasts.

Just like this rain, which had been going on for over sixty days. The roaring mountain floods had not stopped, and the roars of beasts, like thunder, could occasionally be heard from the distant deep mountains.

Without martial arts, survival in such an environment was extremely difficult.

Shen Can touched his well-defined abs, surprised that even his 1.83-meter tall frame could have a weak moment.

The Blazing Flame Tribe practiced Kui Ox Fist. Its members ate heartily and punched fiercely, growing as sturdy as young bulls. Yet, he had developed slower.

He was only 1.83 meters tall.

A'Yu could take on ten of him.

A'Yu was a childhood friend, and he was only two meters three tall.

Over the past month, Shen Can had not gone into the flood to salvage prey, fearing he would trouble his tribesmen to rescue him again.

He sighed, turned, and walked into the cave. A piece of beast meat was roasting over the bonfire. The aroma of the meat filled the air, but it did not stir any appetite in him.

However, he still had to eat when he was hungry.

Shen Can took out a jar, pinched a pinch of fine salt, and sprinkled it on the beast meat.

He hadn't expected a tribe with such a primitive and wild feel to have fine salt.

The first time he saw the tribe with fine salt, Shen Can felt like he had lost a hundred million. His chance to make a name for himself was gone.

He gnawed on the roasted meat, which tasted like chewing wax. His gaze drifted, and his thoughts wandered to the sky.

"If this were my past life... my Mongolian brothers wouldn't do, I've eaten enough meat. Eating Xinjiang people would be good, their large diurnal temperature variation leads to high sugar content, making them sweet. Guangdong folks would also work, drinking soup every day makes them very nourishing. Shandong people are a must, borrowing a bit of their onion flavor. Shanxi folks, borrowing some vinegar flavor. Friends from Sichuan and Chongqing have plenty of spice... Xiangxi... Xiangxi won't do, can't eat delivery drivers... Yunnan..."

Before long, smacking his lips and envisioning a scene of brotherhood, Shen Can was suddenly jolted awake.

A'Yu, who was as big as a bear, walked into the cave.

"Brother Can, Uncle Huo Shan asked me to call you to the Ancestral Temple."

"What are we going to the Ancestral Temple for?"

Shen Can hesitated. Could it be that his slacking off had been discovered?

He hadn't done anything for the past month, just eaten and slept, slept and eaten.

The Ancestral Temple was located in the center, surrounded by the tribe's many caves.

Inside the spacious cave of the Ancestral Temple, a wet Mountain-Cleaving Kui was tied securely with vine ropes. It had just been pulled out of the mountain flood.

It is a tribal custom to offer sacrifices to ancestors with hunted prey upon returning from a hunt.

Furthermore, the prey offered to the ancestors must have its blood, flesh, and bones taken by the Temple Guardian before it can be distributed among the tribe members.

However, due to continuous heavy rains recently, the hunting party could only retrieve prey from the floodwaters, making it difficult to catch live animals.

Huo Shan, the leader of the hunting party who brought the prey, did not leave. Instead, he started chatting with Huo Xian, the Temple Guardian of the Ancestral Temple.

"Old tribal uncle, you've been saying for a long time that you're not feeling well and need someone to inherit your role as Temple Guardian. How about letting this child, A'Can, follow you?"

"This child's physique is a bit too frail. He struggled to keep up with the hunting party on the previous few outings, and this time he almost drowned. I thought he wouldn't make it."

"With such a weak body, even soaking in beast blood would be hard to endure. It's too dangerous for him to go hunting in the future. Why not let him follow you to clean the Ancestral Temple? I don't think the ancestors would blame us."

Huo Xian, rubbing a grayish-brown medicinal herb in his hand, replied without turning his head, "They are all children of our tribe. How could the ancestors blame them?"

"I am indeed old, and the role of Temple Guardian cannot be left vacant. If A'Can agrees, he can follow me. The hunting party won't miss him."

Upon hearing this, Huo Shan's expression showed some hesitation. Becoming a Temple Guardian meant he could never leave the tribe, spending his days cleaning the Ancestral Temple in a repetitive routine.

The younger generation of the tribe, full of fiery spirit, were unwilling to guard the Ancestral Temple. They preferred to hunt in the Great Wilderness, where they could display their bravery and attract women.

He had spoken to A'Can about this before, but A'Can had stubbornly refused.

Shen Can arrived at the cave where the Ancestral Temple was located. Before he even entered, he heard beast roars, followed by Huo Shan's call.

"You two, hurry inside."

"A'Can, does your head still hurt?"

As the two of them approached, Huo Shan's gaze fell on Shen Can.

"It's much better now."

Shen Can spoke, bowed to Huo Xian, the Temple Guardian, and respectfully called him "Grandpa."

There was no other way. In the tribe, someone his size, including middle-aged cultivators like Huo Shan, had all eaten Huo Xian's secret medicinal dumplings.

As soon as he entered the cave and saw the tall, spirited figure of the old man, he matched it with his memories, followed by a flood of memories of being force-fed medicinal dumplings.

"A'Can, Uncle Huo Xian is getting old, and the Ancestral Temple cannot be without someone. Come and help Uncle Huo Xian guard the Ancestral Temple."

"Guard the Ancestral Temple?"

Shen Can was stunned. The memories he had integrated told him that the Ancestral Temple was the spiritual heart of the tribe, a sacred place in the hearts of all the tribesmen.

Of course, he had been very resistant to guarding the Ancestral Temple before, as it would only confine him.

But now...

"I am willing to guard the Ancestral Temple."

After a moment of hesitation, Shen Can agreed.

There was no other way. The integrated memories told him that the Great Wilderness was too dangerous.

With his physique, going out hunting again would easily lead to his death.

Uncle Shan asking him to come to the Ancestral Temple to follow Old Master Huo Xian was clearly an act of protection.

He shouldn't seek death.

Going out wouldn't be hunting, but delivering himself as food, and it would also burden the other tribesmen.

Guarding the Ancestral Temple wasn't exactly being idle.

Seeing Shen Can agree, Huo Shan was a little surprised. He had expected Shen Can to refuse again.

It seemed he had grown after being submerged in the water this time.

"Old Uncle, everyone is waiting. Let's quickly distribute the meat after offering sacrifices to the ancestors."

Huo Xian nodded at the tribesmen gathering outside the cave. "A'Can, come here."

Shen Can quickly agreed, tidied his messy robe, and walked towards Huo Xian.

The Ancestral Temple cave was very deep. At the end, there were wooden spirit tablets, which didn't look very sacred.

But as he got closer, Shen Can couldn't help but feel a sense of solemnity.

Next to the spirit tablet stand, there were knives and bronze wine vessels, as well as other bronze artifacts on a wooden shelf.

The handle of the knife was raised into a hollow spherical shape with a copper ball inside. When held, it made a clear ringing sound.

This was the Luan Knife, used specifically for taking meat when offering sacrifices to the ancestors.

The surface of the bronze wine vessel was black, shaped like a three-legged cauldron, and had long since dried with countless drops of beast blood.

At this moment, Huo Xian, with his back to Shen Can, picked up the Luan Knife. "You will preside this time. Do you dare?"

ps: Temple Guardian (tiāo) Duty: Solely responsible for guarding the imperial ancestral temples, managing sacrificial artifacts, maintaining temple structures, and preparing sacrificial rituals. According to "Rites of Zhou - Official of Spring," "The Temple Guardian is in charge of guarding the ancestral temples of past kings and dukes," and it is a hereditary position that must be held by direct descendants of the clan. The Temple Guardian symbolizes the legitimacy of bloodline, and the status of the Temple Guardian is highly respected, comparable to a "living historian."