"Praise the great and lofty Main God! Praise the great and lofty priest! Respected High Priest Ge Niao, Little Feather kowtows to you!"
"Mm, you again? Little Feather, where is your father, the Feather Prince? He took the kingdom's aid and went to ambush Chief Great Mountain Eagle, and there's been no word for half a month!... Right now, what exactly is the situation with your Feather Clan?..."
"Ah! High Priest Ge Niao, my lord! Chief Great Mountain Eagle's several hundred routed soldiers fled back ages ago. You sent troops north and took down the Yome Tribe in one stroke, so you must already know all this... Oh, oh! You're asking about Chief Great Mountain Eagle's whereabouts? I brought him with me! Right here, right in this grass basket. My father told me I absolutely had to kowtow first, then offer him to you with my own hands!..."
"..."
Inside the chief's wooden house, a row of Kingdom Warriors stood with axes in hand, every one of them fierce and murderous. High Priest Ge Niao sat high at the head, his face expressionless as he looked down at the kneeling young man.
Little Feather knelt below, wearing seven or eight Hummingbird Amulets, three hummingbirds tattooed on his face, another five on his arms and chest—his loyalty simply beyond words, a bird's nest all by himself. He respectfully kowtowed nine times to High Priest Ge Niao, and only then picked up a grass basket and raised it high above his head.
After two warriors inspected the grass basket, they glanced at each other, lowered their heads, and carried it forward. High Priest Ge Niao lifted the covering cloth, took a brief look, and his brow shifted slightly. As expected, inside was a pile of bloodied, mangled heads cured with lime; counting