There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

But as the camels approached, several small figures jumped down from the saddles and ran quickly toward them, excitedly and anxiously calling out, "Uncle Burnett! It's Uncle Burnett!"

Small, thin figures bumped into his legs from both sides and surrounded him, but none of them broke his confusion. It wasn't until the childish calls rang out that he was finally jolted awake as if struck by lightning. He hurriedly squatted down and hugged the children tightly without saying a word, like a statue.

But from my direction, I could still vaguely see Burnett's tear-streaked face.

Chapter 481 The Missing Second Half

On the road covered in yellow sand, a caravan of people and animals was moving slowly, like a group of insignificant beetles on the ground.

Ganan led the camel caravan, moving slowly forward. Because they were carrying so much cargo, they didn't even ride the camels themselves to ensure the camels could keep up with the pace, and instead led them on foot.

But this time my journey was much less burdensome. After loading all the necessary supplies for the road, the camels were still leisurely, so I rode on their backs and talked to the old caravan leader of the Cedar Clan from above.

"My lord, is it really appropriate for you to abandon your territory and venture out on your own?" The old leader was very puzzled by my behavior. After all, I had disappeared for three whole months last time, and this time I had only been back for a few days before causing a major incident, and then I was going to wander around in the wilderness. My actions were indeed a bit strange.

I sat on the camel's back, watching the animal with its long eyelashes slightly narrowed, slowly chewing, its large hooves treading on the loose sand as smoothly as if walking on a cement road.

"Old leader, do you know why a leader often only has a historical image and an artistic image, but no self-evaluation image?"

Ganan shook his head and asked, "I don't understand."

I said slowly, “Because decent people don’t keep diaries… Ugh, I misspoke! It’s because nobody cares about the achievements leaders talk about themselves. To be remembered, you either have to do things that you can accomplish and leave an indelible mark on history, or you have to rely on stories that are passed down from generation to generation. Rather than doing things that people think leaders should do, I’d rather do something truly meaningful and just leave them with my back.”

That's roughly the reason for the situation. The current environment in the free trade zone can be described as a smooth transition, and war is unlikely in the short term. The Reverse Lightning Legion is currently responsible for post-war reconstruction and military preparations, while the 460 Legion, after transporting supplies, also needs to assume the responsibility of patrolling and protecting the territory.

Not to mention Eton had to train soldiers, the fat man had to take inventory of supplies, and Burnett was managing the market. Looking at the whole picture, I really was the only one with nothing to do!

Oh right, the bald guy left half a day before me.

I specially made him a patched-up, draped outer robe, had the blacksmith forge a long staff with iron rings, and even sprinkled some dirt into his wine cup to force him to drink it. This was like giving him the most powerful buff possible; even if he encountered monsters like the Yellow Robe Monster, the White Bone Demon, or the Nine-Headed Insect on the road, he could escape danger and get a reprieve by being told to "wash it before eating."

Ganan nodded as if he understood, then turned and scolded the distracted young caravan members, "You must remember this well! These are true insights!"

The distracted young people quickly nodded, then whispered, "Understood..."

Taking the opportunity, Ganan lectured the young man, demonstrating the wisdom of an elder, before finally voicing his doubts: "But sir... why do you take these animals with you when you go out? Is this related to the behavior of a leader?"

"..."

I said with dissatisfaction, "Don't underestimate these animals! If the Tang Monk didn't bring the monkeys and pigs, he wouldn't even be able to cross the Flowing Sand River! Of course, there are also the Momotaro team with the monkeys and chickens, and the Lion King team with Pumbaa and Timon, depending on the situation."

That's right, besides this caravan, a group of lively animals were also roaming the road, closely following behind us: two cheetahs, four wild horses, and a curious little pony with an expressive face!

With this combination, I could set up a circus in no time.

When I went out, these animals insisted on following me. Since this road to the Fir Tree Clan territory wasn't particularly dangerous, and after confirming the route, I could easily have asked Ganan to bring the animals back, so I let them follow.

If I could, I'd also like to raise a bear in Mickey's Wonderful House. It can be cute when it's young, and it can steal a monk's robe when it grows up. It would be so useful!

"Old chief, we've come to a point about stories. Does your tribe have any long-standing tales or anecdotes?"

Of course, we need to find some topics to talk about to pass the time on a long journey!

According to Old Man Hook, there should be a clear spatial anchor point within the territory of the Cedar Clan, where the natives might observe unusual phenomena. Asking them would be the right thing to do.

Ganan had a penchant for being a know-it-all, and he became quite proud of himself when this came up: "You've come to the right person! I was the most experienced gatherer in the tribe in my younger days, and I do know about some strange, inexplicable events..."

The young man behind him asked with a strange expression, "Chief Ganan, which one are you referring to...? Did you tell us about it?"

Ganan's graffiti-covered face twitched, seemingly lost in memories, and he whispered, "No, I only told the old chief about this..."

Then, he slowly began to narrate the story.

“I was only in my early twenties that year, about the same age as you. At that time, the Cedar Clan was defeated in the tribal war, and the entire tribe was left with only the old, weak, sick and disabled. They were driven out of the grassland, and the whole tribe was in a state of panic. Every night, someone would wake up screaming, accompanied by continuous sobbing.”

“We surviving young people all have to go out hunting and gathering, and to avoid being tracked by hunters from rival tribes, we can only sneak out at night, disperse, and wander alone in the wilderness…”

Ganan patted the bag on the camel's back, as if trying to find some solace in the real world. "It happened on the day the entire tribe crossed the Xiora Mountains and approached Wolf Fang Lake. We carried a bag of bows and arrows and a stone knife, searching for prey tracks in the wild."

"Around midnight, I saw a brightly lit house by the lake. It was a world with steel walls and a tremendous clamor, with countless figures swaying inside. To this day, I have never seen such a dazzling town!"

"Back then, I was young and had the same fighting spirit as you all, so I wanted to take advantage of this stronghold falling into slumber to call on my companions in the wild to raid it again and provide food for the tribe to survive."

"Soon, I discovered that many of my companions had also wandered here, using the unique camouflage techniques of the Cedar Clan to blend into the wasteland—I knew they were thinking the same thing as me, waiting for their prey to make a mistake."

At this point, Ganan smiled at us, as if amused by his own naivety back then, but I saw a shadow of gloom and something strange in his eyes that he was trying hard to hide.

"In the middle of the night, the noisy crowd in the stronghold suddenly stopped as if it had been choked, and the lights dimmed instantly, falling into the silence we had expected."

"We were all puzzled by this sudden change. But the spirit of blood and fire of the Cedar Clan inspired us to move forward and approach this seemingly unsuspecting prey."

"But the closer we got, the more eerie the atmosphere became. The air around us was filled with a subtle yet slightly unsettling scent that made our hair stand on end... The smell was like burnt human flesh, yet also like sweet apples..."

Ganan's narration suddenly stopped, like a reader discovering that the second half of the story manuscript in front of him is missing, his face filled with bewildered astonishment.

He opened his mouth but didn't know how to express himself, even looking at me with a helpless and confused expression, as if he had returned to that magical and bizarre midnight, facing a strange world he had never seen before...

Chapter 482 JoJo's Bizarre Greeting

"Ganaen, continue."

I sensed something was off, so I looked at him encouragingly, trying to guide his description, "You just mentioned that you and your companions were preparing to approach this stronghold, so what happened next? Did you get close to this place, and did you manage to seize any food?"

The old man stood there helplessly, looking like a child who had done something wrong. I heard him mutter under his breath, "...Damn it! It's happening again...How could I forget about this again..."

I patted him on the shoulder: "What have you forgotten? Tell me your last memory, and I'll help you recall it."

The young man beside him walked over timidly and said in a low voice, "Sir... you don't need to worry... the leader has mentioned this to us many times... but every time he forgets what he was going to say, and then he forgets even the parts he said... as if he never mentioned it, and then he continues talking about it as if nothing happened the next day..."

Amnesia?

This kind of amnesia triggered by a specific event seems abnormal. Could it be that he experienced some major trauma that night, causing the brain to develop a spontaneous defense mechanism to avoid recalling that part of the memory?

Or perhaps someone used psychological suggestion afterward to prevent him from telling anyone, or used methods like hypnosis to stop him from recalling the details?

Old Man Hook was talking about a spatial anchor point, which is definitely a scientific matter. It shouldn't be related to this mysterious event that seems to be on the magical side, right?

Ganan was lost in deep confusion. The darkness in his eyes seemed to be sucking his soul in and erasing the trace of this event from his mind. His body was trembling slightly, as if he was trembling with fear.

But I don't seem to have any good ways to deal with these kinds of mystical events...

"Sir...Sir! Your ring! It...is glowing!"

The young man from the caravan suddenly looked at me in shock, pointed at my hand on Ganan’s shoulder, and stammered.

I looked down and saw that the old bronze ring that Mr. Rhodes had given me was indeed undergoing a change, seemingly exerting an influence on Ganan.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to describe this change as luminescence... It should be more like a faint, veil-like point of light drifting out from the ring, subtly forming a halo of shimmering light.

This sheer, veil-like light makes it impossible for me not to think of the tattered veil of light on the "King of Light"...

Following Mr. Rhodes's instructions, I slowly turned the ring. The thin veil indeed became even more vivid, then suddenly billowed out, enveloping and engulfing the stunned Ganan!

The next moment, Ganan reacted even more violently!

He let out a heart-wrenching scream, his hands suddenly gripping his throat tightly with such force that it almost snapped his throat. Veins bulged on his face, and he trembled like a demon.

I rushed forward and grabbed one of Ganan's hands, saving him from suffocation. The other young men also rushed over, each holding one of the old man's hands and feet in place. Even so, they almost lost control, and he managed to break free.

After howling for a while, Ganan finally quieted down. But something even more surprising happened: Ganan suddenly gagged, and a huge tadpole came out of its mouth!

The plump tadpole was about half the size of a fist, with a long, intricately patterned tail and dense black spots and lines on its back. Seven or eight deformed legs inexplicably grew around its body, dragging weakly along its sides.

It stared with its single, spherical eye, not even bothering to thrash about on the ground, and with this world-weary, lazy posture, it turned into a puddle of black water, seeping into the earth, as if it had all been an illusion...

The young people were still in shock and couldn't believe what they had just seen.

I put my old bronze ring back on and looked at everything with a somewhat gloomy expression.

This ring contains divine power that Mr. Rhodes stole from the "King of Light." In a parallel world, it once guided the King of Light's aura to illuminate the darkness, triggering a large-scale descent of the "King of Light" and a high-altitude nuclear explosion.

The fact that even a slight leak of energy today could lead to such a strange event suggests that this matter may not be related to the scientific space anchor point I'm hoping for, but rather involves the indescribable event that I'm most worried about right now...

Can anyone explain why I keep running into these weird things wherever I go?! Am I some kind of Grim Reaper elementary school student?!

"Load Ganan onto the camels, and leave the goods with me for now. Let's hurry to the tribe; I suspect the crux of the matter lies within your tribe..."

It is quite difficult to remain vigilant and prevent the situation from escalating while also keeping a distance to avoid getting involved in these indescribable entities.

I promise I'll get to the bottom of things this time and I won't meddle in other people's business!

…………

With the care of the young men in the caravan, Ganan slowly regained some consciousness and was able to perform basic actions such as drinking water and eating.

However, spitting out that tadpole may have affected a series of functions of his stomach, esophagus, and throat. He still cannot speak a complete sentence and can only keep his eyes slightly closed and his mouth half-open, in a semi-comatose state.

After a day and a night of travel, we finally entered the territory of the Cedar Clan.

The Cedar Clan lived at the southernmost end of the earthen trade route, nestled against the hills near the sea, and carved out a village on a vast wasteland.

Many tribal people dressed in animal skins live on this land, leading a primitive life of herding cattle and sheep and slash-and-burn agriculture—of course, their main business is still robbing passing caravans.

After the caravan passed the road leading to the clan's gate, a young man, parched and exhausted from the journey, said to me, "Sir, we've reached the clan soon! As is customary, the caravan must first pay homage to the chief upon returning... Our new chief is called 'White Falcon,' please remember this honorific title! Thank you!"

"A white falcon? Is it white-skinned or can it fly?" Some strange thoughts suddenly popped into my head.

The young man quickly said, "No, no... you should be careful what you say... this name comes from the war eagle the chief keeps!"

After entering the village, we passed through a dusty open space.

Unlike the children running around naked, the adult men of the Cedar Clan stood in orderly rows on this open space, conducting weapons combat training. Both sides gritted their teeth and attacked their assigned opponents with all sorts of vicious methods, making the whole scene extremely heated.

I watched the fight for a while and felt that this kind of wide-ranging fighting style looked familiar.

"By the way, do you have any tribal greetings? I'd like to learn them first to show respect."

Being a stranger in a strange land, it's always good to cram in some local etiquette. If I had enough time, I could perfectly replicate Vova's wealth code!

The young man thought for a moment and said, “Sir, our language here has almost no connection with the tribe anymore. Only some sacred greetings remain unchanged. When we meet, we usually wish the place to receive the blessings of our ancestors, and we say ‘Oula Oula.’”

I understand that; it's similar to saying "Tashi Delek" in the snowy areas.

"Then what should I say?" I asked.

The young man from the caravan said, “Usually we say ‘May you be blessed as well,’ or more simply ‘You too,’ which in the tribal language is ‘Muda Muda.’ Oh, and these words should be said loudly, and it would be impolite to say them only once; you usually have to repeat them four or five times.”

The etiquette in this tribe is very simple!

Wait a moment……

What's wrong with this accent?

I tentatively asked, "Let me think about it first... When we meet, we have to loudly say 'Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora,' and then you answer me with 'Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda'?"