A look of shock flashed in the old man's eyes. After inspecting the baboon demon's head and then its organs, he nodded repeatedly and said, "Good, good! It seems our settlement is about to gain another powerful totem. Even those medium-sized settlements may not be able to possess three powerful totems like we do."

His gaze shifted again to the baboon demon's organs, and excitement and anticipation appeared on his aged face. "With these offerings, the souls of our ancestors will surely manifest! I just wonder what kind of knowledge the ancestors will pass down this time."

"Hopefully it's a combat technique!" Harold Gray was also full of anticipation.

"If we could get a better method for making war bows, wouldn't hunting become much easier for us?" Edgar Gray had a different idea.

The people gathered around all started talking at once, each with their own thoughts.

Alice Clark raised her voice and said, "Quiet, let's hear what the elder wants!"

Everyone fell silent, looking at the old man in the center.

Chapter Six: Doubt

The old man showed a thoughtful expression and looked up at the sky.

In his view, the sky was completely covered by the canopy, with only a small patch in the center letting in sunlight. At the edge of the sunlight was a ring of blue sky—this was the only sky they could see.

The old man spoke slowly, "What you all want may be great power, but I am different. Since I was very young, I have been extremely curious, curious about many things we take for granted. There are many things we know exist, but we don't know why. Now, I am old, and I suppose in a few years I will have to leave the camp and return to the earth. But these questions have always troubled me, and I have never found the answers."

"What kind of questions?" Alice Clark asked.

The girl was filled with intense curiosity, and the people around her also held their breath, wanting to know what kind of questions could trouble this elder, who was always known for his wisdom and knowledge.

The elder smiled and said, "There are many such questions. For example, where do we come from? What were our ancestors like? What is beyond this forest, and what is the world like even farther away? Beyond the blue sky above our heads, where exactly is the hall where the souls of our ancestors dwell?"

The crowd fell silent. Many people may have thought of similar questions before, but only in passing, never deeply. Yet the elder's words reminded them of the childhood days when their imaginations ran wild.

The elder sighed and said, "Perhaps even the ancestors didn't know the answers to these questions. Even if they did and told us, it wouldn't help our settlement much. As for the matter of the sacrifice, I will discuss it carefully with the other elders. If you have any good ideas, you can bring them up as well."

Then, the elder looked at Harold Gray and smiled, " Harold Gray, you have always been an outstanding warrior. But now, I must say, you are already one of the most distinguished warriors. Perhaps before long, you will be qualified to inherit the ancestral weapon."

"Edgar Gray, I still remember that you never liked practicing with swords and knives since you were young, but archery is also an essential skill for a hunter. Now it seems your choice was not wrong."

"And you, Alice Clark. You are still young, but being able to take part in the battle to slay the baboon demon is an extremely valuable experience. Perhaps before long, you will become a great hunter like your father!"

Harold Gray and Edgar Gray both shook their heads, while Alice Clark waved her hand vigorously and said loudly, "Elder, you are mistaken, we didn't kill the baboon demon."

The elder's face froze, and he asked in confusion, "It wasn't you? Then who was it? Judging by the baboon demon's wounds, this was no scavenged prey."

Alice Clark pointed behind her and said, "He is the one who killed the baboon demon. If it weren't for him, we would have become food when we encountered such a powerful baboon demon."

Everyone followed the girl's finger and finally noticed Eleanor Clark, who had been standing at the edge of the valley.

Several young men immediately drew their weapons and pointed them at Eleanor Clark, shouting, "A stranger has entered!" "Kill him!" "He's a cannibal!"

Alice Clark stood in front of Eleanor Clark and shouted, "He can speak our language! He's not a cannibal!"

The young men were half-convinced, lowering their swords and knives a little. Several elders exchanged glances, and one of them stepped forward, carefully looking at Eleanor Clark, and said, "I've never seen such clothing before—no settlement has it."

Alice Clark said anxiously, "Cannibals don't have such clothing either!"

The chief elder walked over, signaled everyone to be quiet, and then asked Eleanor Clark, "Who are you, and where are you from? Did you kill the baboon demon?"

Eleanor Clark replied expressionlessly, "You can call me Eleanor Clark. As for the baboon demon, ask her."

As soon as he spoke, the tension on everyone's faces eased considerably.

Quite a few people said, "He really can speak our language! He must be from some distant settlement, maybe he's just been in the forest too long."

"Yes, last time I was chased by cannibals and stayed in the forest just one extra day, and I was already a bit dazed when I came back."

The chief elder looked at Eleanor Clark and asked again, "Where are you from?"

"A... very distant place."

When the chief elder pressed further, Eleanor Clark simply said he couldn't remember.

The chief elder nodded, then turned to Alice Clark to ask about what happened at the time.