The Wind God's Shaman

The current structure of the Human Race is still quite loose.

There are four major tribes, and their leaders are called chieftains.

Each chieftain possesses their own territory, warriors, shamans, and temples.

Because the area governed by a chieftain is vast, a second tier of local officials—the headmen—was established.

A headman might manage as many as a dozen villages, or as few as two or three.

Headmen also have their own squads of warriors; while they guard their own jurisdictions, they also obey the orders of their chieftain to go out and fight in wars.

Ever since the Human Race split, they have been at war with one another for nearly a century.

Every war claims a number of lives, and a number of people are taken captive.

In the past, during the years when Shu Zi ruled the Human Race, their opponents were the Ape-men. The Ape-men possessed low intelligence, so as long as they were treated with kindness, they would eventually forget their hatred and integrate into the Human Race.

But now, their opponents are fellow intelligent humans.

Therefore, captives have become household slaves.

Every headman and chieftain who has participated in war possesses a number of household slaves.

Those slaves wear shackles and live the most miserable of lives, spending their days in nothing but toil, surviving only on the meager scraps of food tossed to them by their masters.

Ever since the advent of household slaves, the connection between the headmen and the villagers under their jurisdiction has become less tight.

In the past, headmen protected the villagers from the ravages of war and wild beasts with the force at their disposal.

In return, the villagers helped the headmen cultivate the land.

Nowadays, since the headmen have household slaves, they no longer rely so heavily on the villagers.

This led to the current situation: the headman of the Youhe Clan, who governs Li River Village, saw that things were looking grim and, without even a thought of providing aid, simply took his warriors and slaves, packed his valuables, and fled.

Before he ran, he even told the villagers of Li River Village to build dikes to block the flood, claiming that he had the manpower and tools at his place and would come to help shortly, promising that he would certainly keep their entire village safe.

The villagers of Li River Village believed him, so they did not run. They had no boats, nor had they stored grain on high ground; if they had tried to flee, they likely wouldn't have made it in time, and there were elderly and children who were not easily moved.

They kept building the dikes, waiting for the headman to arrive.

But not only did the headman never come, the river water kept rising.

Only then did Uncle Axe, the man with the most prestige in the village, send Cao Jiu, the fastest runner, to ask the headman when he would be arriving.

As it turned out, the news Cao Jiu brought back left all the villagers dumbfounded.

"The headman ran away?" The villagers collapsed to the ground, powerless, their eyes devoid of hope.

Uncle Axe shouted sternly, "Stop waiting! While the dike hasn't collapsed yet, let's go! Go back! Take your families and leave!"

Only then did the crowd wake up, rushing back toward their homes in a panic.

Cao Jiu followed them back to the village. Others had homes, but he was the only one in his family; he didn't even know where he should go.

"Xiao Jiu! Wait, run to high ground! If you can't escape, find the tallest tree and climb it!" Uncle Axe roared behind him.

Cao Jiu turned back, nodded gratefully at Uncle Axe, and headed out of the village.

Uncle Axe watched Cao Jiu leave, tears streaming down his face.

This child has truly suffered too much, but this time, perhaps he can survive! Because he is agile and has no family to drag him down. I hope this child can survive and live a good life in the future...

Uncle Axe ran toward his own home, where many elderly and young ones still waited.

After walking a few steps, Cao Jiu suddenly remembered something.

That was several days ago.

An outsider had arrived outside the estate where the headman lived.

He appeared to be a male shaman, young and handsome, wearing a shaman's robe with a brown base and woven embellishments.

In this era, people do not travel much. Aside from shamans, warriors, and nobles like headmen and chieftains, very few people wander about.

Therefore, after the shaman arrived, many in the village knew a stranger had come.

Quite a few villagers even followed to watch.

Cao Jiu was among them.

The shaman arrived at the headman's estate and knocked on the gate from the outside.

The headman's warriors let him in.

A while later, the man was beaten and thrown out by the headman's men.

As they beat him, the headman's men cursed:

"How dare you spout nonsense! You want our headman to die? There is no such thing as a Wind God; only the Ancestral Deities are the true gods!"

The young shaman dodged the pursuit of the headman's men, retreated, and then silently brushed the dirt off his body.

The villagers gathered around, whispering among themselves.

The young shaman's expression remained calm as he said to the villagers:

"Greetings, I am a shaman of the Wind God."

The Wind God? The villagers had never heard of such a deity.

They only knew of the three Ancestral Deities.

They had heard that many gods had appeared over the years, but all of that had nothing to do with this small, remote village along the river.

The shaman continued, "The Water God, dissatisfied with the Heavenly Emperor's rule, has rebelled and is about to bring disaster upon the earth. This place is currently defenseless and will likely suffer."

Is that true? The villagers whispered among themselves.

There had indeed been a lot of rain lately, but it had only made the crops grow better; it wasn't a bad thing at all.

The shaman did not seem to mind the villagers' indifference in the slightest as he continued:

"However, the Wind God has offered you a chance. As long as one of you is sincerely willing to serve as a sacrifice to the Wind God and die for the sake of the others, the Wind God will save everyone."

The villagers immediately erupted in an uproar.

"Oh, no wonder he got beaten up."

"What kind of god is this Wind God? An evil one, surely? Demanding someone's death."

"Get out of here! It was generous of us not to beat you to death. We believe in the Ancestral Deities here, not some Wind God!"

Faced with the villagers' hostility, the shaman's handsome face did not show a hint of displeasure; he simply said politely:

"If you are unwilling, then so be it. I shall simply go to the next place and ask."

With that, the shaman left on his own.

Later, as the river water rose day by day, the villagers finally began to panic.

The flood had truly arrived.

And now, as the entire village fell into chaos, Cao Jiu recalled what had happened earlier.

"Bring disaster upon the earth"—the flood had come.

"This place is defenseless"—they truly had made no preparations for a flood.

What that shaman said was true!

Cao Jiu suddenly felt a deep regret. He had been standing on the sidelines that day, yet he hadn't asked the shaman for the specific details on how the Wind God would save everyone.

He glanced back at the embankment.

Water was beginning to seep through.

The heavy rain howled in the air, the river surged violently, and the levee would soon collapse.

Even though the villagers were rushing home, he feared it was already too late to escape.

It was too late!

Cao Jiu recalled the direction the shaman had left in that day; it must have been... the road to the east of the village!

He no longer cared about finding high ground or sturdy trees; he ran desperately in that direction, recalling the shaman's words as he sprinted.

What was it the shaman said... the Wind God gave everyone a chance?

A sacrifice... to die for everyone?

A resolute thought flashed through Cao Jiu's mind.

As he ran, he screamed loudly into the rain:

"Shaman! Shaman, where are you! Shaman of the Wind God!"

"Come back! If there is still a chance, I agree! I am willing to die for everyone! I want them to live!"

From childhood to the present, scenes of warm memories flashed through Cao Jiu's heart.

Every bit of his food and every piece of his clothing had been shared with him by the kind-hearted people of the village.

No one had much; everyone in the village was hungry and cold, yet even when they were not full themselves, they would set aside a portion from their own bowls for Cao Jiu to eat.

Even when the flood arrived, they had used their own strong bodies to dig earth and carry stones, holding back the collapse of the levee while letting Cao Jiu handle the lighter errands.

In the pouring rain, Cao Jiu ran and cried out:

"But Shaman, Shaman, I beg you, they are all good people, none of them can die!"

"If it means the people in the village can live, I am willing to die. Oh, Wind God, I beg you!"

A bolt of lightning streaked through the heavy rain, its blinding light illuminating heaven and earth, followed by a roar of thunder.

By the light of the lightning, Cao Jiu saw a person standing at the end of the road leading to the east.

When had he appeared, or had he been standing there the whole time?

Cao Jiu did not know, but what he did know was that the person—

Was the shaman! That shaman of the Wind God!

Thank you to Chuanyunjian d for the 100-point tip! This newcomer is very grateful, meow. By the way, I humbly ask for recommendation votes.