Shaman Heiyan simply didn't know what to do with that information. Honestly, he didn't trust the three brothers. To be fair, the Ancient Obsidian tribe had already started to fall when they took charge, but they were much worse than their predecessors. For a long time now, the shamans of the tribe had limited power. Even now, Shaman Heiyan didn't want any actual power, as he was more interested in his spiritual pursuits. However, he had to make sure that the tribe stayed alive. Right now, he might have found a solution. If Cao Yun truly was a descendant of the Ash Bringer, and maybe the Ash Bringer herself in another avatar, there might be a way. According to all legends, the Ash Bringer could perform miracles. The fire at the heart of the world obeyed her commands and could strike her enemies.
For some time, Shaman Heiyan wondered if he should tell the three brothers. In the end, he decided not to divulge anything. In fact, he didn't even go to Cao Yun. If he was right, there was no need for him to intervene in the least, after all. And if he was wrong, this would be pointless to begin with. All that being said, Shaman Heiyan decided to seek an audience with the presence Cao Yun had felt.
Under the most holy ground of the Ancient Obsidian tribe, there was an old presence, stronger than everyone else in the tribe. As a matter of fact, this was probably the only reason why the Raging Volcano tribe had not attacked already. They still feared the potential threat under their feet. Of course, the rules of the Fire Thearch were also stopping them. But there were political ways around that. Thankfully for the Ancient Obsidian tribe, there was no way around absolute power. Right now, no one knew how strong that presence still was. In fact, many tribes were waiting for the Raging Volcano tribe to attack to assess the threat. Maybe a bigger tribe would devour the Raging Volcano tribe even if they succeeded.
Cao Yun wasn't paying attention to Shaman Heiyan at all. The three brothers had a slightly different view of Cao Yun now. They sent the messenger away and prepared an area for the trial. They chose a neutral land outside their tribe. No one knew how long it would take for the Raging Volcano tribe to respond to that proposition. In the meantime, Cao Yun had a slightly ambiguous status. On one hand, he was a guest. On the other hand, he was a prisoner. Indeed, they couldn't let him leave the tribe before the trial. Otherwise, they would be seen as accomplices, and the Raging Volcano tribe would have reasons to attack.
As a matter of fact, even Huichi didn't want that. He wanted an actual reason to wage war, but he wasn't insane enough to violate the rules of the Fire Thearch. Wars between tribes were permissible but only under strict conditions, or by petitioning the Fire Thearch directly. Those were old rules from the time of the Mad Demon. No one had actually broken them. Of course, they had been bent here and there, but no one had the gall to blatantly disregard them. Most of the time, when a tribe bent the rules, they had to pay the Fire Thearch and other powerful tribes to absolve them completely. Neither the Raging Volcano tribe nor the Ancient Obsidian tribe could afford such payments.
Cao Yun's status changed how the Flameborns treated him. To be honest, Cao Yun almost only dealt with the guards. Now, they were more forceful and overbearing. But Cao Yun didn't care because he stayed in Jinyao's house most of the time. In fact, when Cao Yun left, no one even sensed him leave, so he didn't care at all. However, Jinyao cared a great deal. He was absolutely furious and pestered the guards. He almost went to confront the three brothers, but his daughters and Cao Yun himself calmed him down. Obviously, Cao Yun didn't want Jinyao to put himself at any unnecessary risk or in any perilous situations.
After a few days, the Raging Volcano tribe finally got the response from the Ancient Obsidian tribe. Rong Shan was surrounded by his war council when the answer arrived. The messenger didn't embellish his story in any way, shape, or form. He didn't try to please Rong Shan because he knew that Rong Shan valued accurate information. If he lied, even involuntarily, the messenger could be beheaded, and he was painfully aware of it. Rong Shan needed to hear the truth, and he did.
For a long time, Rong Shan stayed silent, examining the proposition of a trial near the Ancient Obsidian tribe. He had not thought about that, but it might be a blessing in disguise. Maybe his son's death could serve an actual purpose. He might get something good out of this tragic event. But he couldn't let emotions sway him.
With his previous proposal, Rong Shan was actually trying to take hostages from the Ancient Obsidian tribe. As long as they came into his tribe, he could always find any pretense to accuse them of some offense. Then, he could hold them indefinitely. This would have allowed him to put pressure on the Ancient Obsidian tribe without going overboard and using violence. Of course, taking hostages in a neutral area during a trial, near the actual tribe of the potential hostages, was outside the realm of possibility. However, there were other ways.
Finally, Rong Shan addressed his war council.
"What are your thoughts?"
"The Ancient Obsidian tribe seems divided. This Cao Yun matter could be used to divide them even more. If we can drive a wedge between the three brothers even more, we could actually get Huilu to petition for the union of our tribes."
"We could also push Huichi into attacking us. In that case, we wouldn't even need to unite our tribes, we could just wipe them all out before the shadow of the moon faded."
"But we know nothing about this Cao Yun. The report of Chiyan suggests that he's not a simpleton. After all, he was able to find a good solution in a very short period of time while under pressure."
"His fire is extremely weak. Yes, his flesh is strong, like a demon, but he's nothing."
"We shouldn't underestimate him. I'm not talking about his fire prowess, but his political maneuvering. Even after killing young Jin'ao, he doesn't seem to be afraid or nervous. In fact, I'm wondering if another tribe didn't send him there as a spy. We might be vying for the Ancient Obsidian tribe with one of the larger tribes."
The rest of the war council stayed silent for a moment. Even Rong Shan thought about the possibility. It actually made sense. Cao Yun could play the savior for the Ancient Obsidian tribe just to serve them on a silver plate to another, more powerful tribe. If this was the case, the Raging Volcano tribe was in a pinch. More than that, Rong Shan wouldn't be able to punish Cao Yun at all. Honestly, despite his son's behavior, Rong Shan resented Cao Yun. However, this was still something he could deal with. After all, Cao Yun had done nothing Rong Shan wouldn't have done himself. Still, Rong Shan wouldn't have put his own son to death, he would have beaten him close to death a few times, but he wouldn't have gone all the way.
"Then, do you suggest that we abandon our plans?"
"We've already squandered a lot of resources on this project. The northern tribes are becoming increasingly more aggressive as we're retreating. Spending too much time in the southern hunting grounds just to harass the Ancient Obsidian tribe has a cost. We can't go on indefinitely."
"But we can't just abandon it either. We have to get their lands. Everything we've lost, we'll get it back two or three fold. But if we stop now, all this effort will be for nothing. Jin'ao's death will be for nothing. We have to succeed."
"I've always opposed this strategy, and this is precisely why. We've invested too much, and we can't back down. But if a more powerful tribe arrives, we could lose everything. In fact, they could even consume us in their flames too. And the Fire Thearch would support them. After all, our actions were clearly against the spirit of the rules, even if we technically didn't violate any of them."
"You suggest that we just fall back?! After all those years?! We finally have a good opportunity!"
"And what about Cangfeng?"
Cangfeng's name silenced everyone.
"This old fossil is long gone. I bet that only his ashes remain underground. This is just a fairy tale the Ancient Obsidian tribe used to survive all those years. No one has even sensed his presence in five hundred years. No one can live that long."
"They say that the Ash Bringer gave him eternal ashes from the heart of the world itself."
"Nonsense! Even this Ash Bringer is dubious."
"Humph! Then why are we targeting their tribe, then?"
"Don't tell me that you still think that we'll get the legendary treasure that she left behind?! I supported this expansion because we need new lands, closer to the white forests. This is essential if we want to grow stronger. Please, sister, don't tell me that you're counting on some mythical object of power to help our tribe..."
"This isn't just myth. It's undeniable that the Ash Bringer walked this land. She certainly left things behind her, even if only knowledge, or mere history."
"I think that we've drifted from the matter a bit too much. Let's not think about all that for now. What should be done about the trial?"
"We should accept and use the trial to spy on the Ancient Obsidian tribe. In the meantime, we must find out more about this Cao Yun. Even his name seems strange. I've never actually heard such a name. It's closer to the name of the demons, but still different."
"Maybe he's a human..."
"What?! No human walked this land since the Mad Demon was pushed back, and they were merely his slaves."
"Some legends claim that the Ash Bringer was a human slave of the Mad Demon."
"Again with the Ash Bringer?! Aren't you done with her, you silly old hag?!"
The discussion turned into a verbal fight between an old man and an old woman. As it turned out, they were husband and wife. This didn't help the argument at all. Usually, Rong Shan would have silenced them, but he was deep in thought. After listening to the possibility of Cao Yun being a spy, Rong Shan had to ponder over many points.
In the end, Rong Shan stood up. The couple who were still arguing immediately shut up. Everyone shut up. Rong Shan had heard enough, and now they had to listen to him.
"We will agree to the trial. We'll go with a small delegation. However, we will prepare our battalions. A small group will sneak into the Ancient Obsidian tribe to find out everything they can. We won't launch an attack on their tribe, but there are other ways to force the matter. Hopefully, our two tribes will merge when Huilu convinces his brothers to see reason. Fighting us will only destroy them. We'll use Cao Yun against them. This man will become our unwilling tool. Depending on the outcome, the Ancient Obsidian tribe might actually kill him for us."
Rong Shan then walked to a small table and pulled out a map. He spent some time detailing what he was planning and had his war council draft many legal documents and invitations. He had to make sure that everything was in order. Ink could win more wars than blood and fire. In fact, ink might both prevent and win the war at the same time. Rong Shan was quite certain of his idea. But he still got ready for war nonetheless. He would avoid scattering the ashes of his people, but he wouldn't shy away from it if necessary.
Even now, Rong Shan wondered if the pain of losing his son was influencing him. He wanted to think that it didn't, but he couldn't be sure. In fact, he could be sure of the opposite, but he didn't want to accept it. And even if it affected him, he could still see things clearly anyway.
-
The trial was approaching, and Cao Yun didn't seem to care at all. He stayed in Jinyao's residence. From time to time, he left to hunt and explore and gave all the meat he got to Jinyao. Through Jinyao, it was going to the entire tribe. In fact, Jinyao was now a hero, and the three leaders were thus treading more and more carefully when it came to Cao Yun. As a consequence, many people started to silently support Cao Yun. Some even thought that he was good luck, while others thought he had brought calamity upon them by killing Jin'ao. Hearing all those discussions amused Cao Yun. From the same reality, all those people had completely different and incompatible views.
As a matter of fact, this made Cao Yun think about the Dao. After all, everyone observed the same nature, but they had completely different experiences of the Dao, of any Dao. But the Dao seemed to exist independently of everyone's experience. So there had to be a truth, not a different truth for everyone. Maybe what Cao Yun perceived wasn't the actual truth but a larger accepted experience of it, only one small aspect of a whole. If people could perceive all the Dao at once, would they all experience the same thing? Or would they also have different experiences anyway?
The Dao might not be the problem. Maybe the problem was the way one experienced it. Maybe the experience was tainted by something and no one could actually see the true Dao.
All those thoughts were going through Cao Yun's mind while everyone else thought about the oncoming trial. The man who was the most directly concerned by it all was absolutely unperturbed. No matter what happened, he knew exactly how it would end for anyone opposing him. Right now, he just wasn't sure who would be on that side. Honestly, he didn't care anymore, at this point. He would annihilate any threat.