Shan Da finally understood why Xiao Man had been wandering around the tribe. The person wasn't scheming for something but was looking for her friends.
"Your friends might have fallen into another tribe. This cliff is surrounded by tribes. The fastest way to find them is to climb this ten-thousand-zhang cliff. Your friends should be as capable as you, right?"
"No, they are far more capable than I am," Xiao Man said with a smile. "Any one of them is a phoenix among men."
Shan Da stared at Xiao Man's retreating back with some confusion. If they were truly phoenixes among men, how could they have ended up in a place like the Great Wilderness? Those who could come to the Great Wilderness were all people punished for offending the gods, and those who were disdained by the gods could never climb this ten-thousand-zhang cliff, nor could they leave the Great Wilderness!
"Where exactly did you come from?" Shan Da asked.
Xiao Man stopped, thought carefully, and then pointed to the sky: "My homeland is at the edge of the sky."
Shan Da's brows furrowed like peaks. The edge of the sky? What brazen words! That was the dwelling place of gods, not like the snake god they worshipped, but true gods.
"Chieftain, what is on top of the cliff?"
"Heaven is on top of the cliff," Shan Da said with certainty. "There is no sickness, no suffering, only happiness."
"A fairy tale to fool children?" Xiao Man said casually. "Or is it the chieftain's delusion?"
"What I say is true!"
"Then has the chieftain been there?" Xiao Man asked with a smile. "Or did someone go up and then come back to tell the chieftain?"
Shan Da stared blankly at Xiao Man. He hadn't been there. Those who had gone up would never return. Because for them, this place was hell. Who would return after leaving hell?
Shan Da kept thinking about Xiao Man's words. What was really on top of the cliff?
They lived at the very bottom, while those on top of the cliff were the elite. They didn't have to struggle for food and clothing like them, endure the poisoning of miasma, or suffer attacks from wild beasts. The place where they lived was rich in spiritual energy and full of treasures.
Everyone living at the bottom yearned to climb this ten-thousand-zhang cliff, shed the clothes of the lower class, and live the life of the elite.
Even though no one knew what awaited them above, they had already imagined a perfect world in their hearts: that the top of the cliff was heaven. But who could guarantee that the cliff wasn't another hell?
"What is really on top of the cliff?" Shan Yun asked Xiao Man curiously. Since childhood, her father had told her that the top of the cliff was heaven. But suddenly, someone appeared questioning this fact, and even her father couldn't refute it.
"I don't know," Xiao Man said frankly.
"You don't know?" Shan Yun's beautiful eyes blinked. "You don't know, and you still argued with my father?"
"Should one blindly obey just because they don't know?" Xiao Man retorted. "Whether it's heaven or hell on the cliff, why don't you go up and see for yourself?"
"Go up?" Shan Yun quickly shook her head. "I can't. I can't even climb a tree, how can I climb that ten-thousand-zhang cliff?"
"How do you know you can't if you haven't tried?" Xiao Man teased. "If you haven't even tried, you tell yourself you can't, and you haven't made any effort for it. When you look back one day, won't you feel regret or unwillingness? Or do you just like being mediocre, relying on your father's protection your whole life, and then when your father and the tribe need it, you go out to be a living sacrifice, fulfilling your short life?"
Shan Yun's face turned pale. She had indeed thought that way, but when Xiao Man exposed it, she felt extremely embarrassed.
"I... I want to pursue what I want like you, but my arms are thin and weak, and my body is frail. How can I climb that high cliff?"
"Physical weakness can be strengthened through training, but a weak soul can only stand up by itself; no one else can help you," Xiao Man's tone was gentle yet cruel.
"But I am just a woman. Even the strong warriors can't climb such a high cliff, so how can I possibly climb it?"
"So what if you are a woman? Who dictates that women should be weak and sacrifice for others? Who dictates that men should be stronger than women?" Xiao Man asked slowly. "Am I not a woman?"
"Yes."
"Then do you have any opponents in your tribe who can match me?"
"No."
"Then that's right. Women can be very powerful. Women can do what men do, and even what men cannot do. What limits a person is never their gender, but this." Xiao Man pointed to her head. When one sets limits for oneself, that person stops there.
No one had ever told her that women could be powerful, that women could do what men could do. She had never thought of these things.
"Xiao Qin, who exactly are you?"
"Me?" Xiao Man turned back and smiled. "I am just a woman who refuses to admit defeat."
A woman who refuses to admit defeat! Shan Yun savored these words. Because she refused to admit defeat, she was so powerful? Even the snake god could only be killed by her, let alone the warriors of the tribe, who were no match for her. Shan Yun suddenly remembered that day when Xiao Man descended from the sky like a goddess, rescued her from the altar, and pointed to the sky saying she was their god! Sudan Novel Network
Shan Yun didn't know what others thought, but in her heart, she had long since worshipped her as a god!
After talking with Shan Yun, Xiao Man left on her own. At this time, Shan Yun needed to think carefully. She had originally planned to wander around to see if there were any tools or useful materials that could help her climb the cliff. Instead, she saw Qi Hong teaching the young people of the tribe to practice combat.
The girls of the tribe were all watching the practicing boys with longing faces. Xiao Man walked over and patted the head of one of the girls.
"Do you want to be like them?"
The girl looked up at Xiao Man and nodded vigorously. "I do, but Mother said girls shouldn't wield swords and brandish weapons."
Xiao Man's lips curved into a meaningful smile. She picked up a wooden stick and played with it in her hand. "What is your name?"
"My name is A Lai."
"A Lai, a very good name." Xiao Man placed the wooden stick in A Lai's hand and pointed at Qi Hong. "Do you dare to challenge him?"
A Lai flinched. Qi Hong was the most formidable warrior in the tribe, second only to the chieftain. He was brave enough to hunt prey alone at sixteen, several years older than her, and physically strong. Just looking at him was enough to make her timid.