Chapter 1151, A Good Script Is Needed

Translator: Silavin

Yan Hua listened to the whole story from beginning to end, then nodded slowly, as though turning something over in her mind.

“What is it? You look as though you have thoughts of your own.” Su Bai asked, a note of amusement in his voice.

“I just find it a little strange.” Yan Hua said, tilting her head with a small frown.

“Strange how?” Su Bai asked.

“Strange that if these two Tribes had misunderstood each other, why did neither of them ever try to clear things up properly?” Yan Hua murmured.

Yan Hua felt that after all this time, surely someone must have raised the question.

“I thought the same thing. From what they described, this misunderstanding seems to have gone on for quite a long while.” Sha Lan nodded along readily.

She had wanted to ask as much herself, but Su Bai had been occupied speaking with the other Tribes at the time, and she hadn’t felt it her place to interject.

“Nothing more than poor communication, entrenched thinking, and a lack of learning.” Su Bai offered his assessment plainly.

People of this era were simply like that. Almost none of them had passed through any form of cultural education.

Their understanding of the world was somewhat different from that of modern people as a result. Once those above them said something, they accepted it without question. Particularly when those people were their Elders or figures of status. No one would dare raise a doubt. They would simply receive the instruction and carry it out to the last detail.

“Does the Shaman intend to resolve the misunderstanding for them?” Yan Hua asked.

Yan Hua reasoned that since both Tribes had now become part of the Flame Dragon Tribe, leaving a misunderstanding like this in place would only hinder things going forward. The two groups would keep fighting whenever they crossed paths, and that would be an enormous headache to manage.

“It needs to be resolved. But first we need to understand why this happened in the first place.” Su Bai said, suddenly interested.

“From what they described, it seems another Tribe launched a sudden attack on them and was somehow very familiar with the internal layout of their settlement.” Sha Lan carefully reconstructed what she had heard, word by word.

It went without saying that only the Sha Lan could do this. No one else had a memory quite like hers.

“Then the ones responsible must have come from within their Tribe. So it wasn’t really a misunderstanding at all.” Yan Hua said suddenly.

She had assumed it was a misunderstanding, but if the attackers had known the settlement so thoroughly, it meant someone had leaked that knowledge. That was a different matter entirely.

“Most likely it wasn’t quite like that. Someone was probably planted within the Tribe well in advance, laying the groundwork for the attack from the inside.”

Su Bai’s deep eyes moved slightly as he continued. “That would be what caused the two groups to fracture. Which was precisely the intended outcome.”

“The Shaman’s reading of it is most likely what happened. Because no matter how one looks at it, a Tribe that capable could not have fallen so quickly otherwise. From what was said, the whole settlement scattered in almost no time at all.”

Sha Lan’s blue eyes shifted slightly as she went on. “Had they remained united even a little, the damage could not have been so severe.”

She had initially assumed it was internal betrayal as well, but on reflection that didn’t quite hold together either. If individuals within the Tribe had turned traitor, the people’s resolve would not have broken apart so completely and so suddenly.

“Even so, all of this was so long ago. I doubt there’s any way to uncover the truth now.” Yan Hua said, spreading her hands in helpless resignation.

Yan Hua had thought it through. If this had happened several decades ago, then surely all the people involved were long gone.

As Su Bai would say, there were no witnesses left to speak. So there was no way to find the truth.

“That’s more or less right.” Su Bai nodded.

“But if that’s the case, and the Shaman still wants to resolve the misunderstanding, how can he? Without the truth, neither Tribe will believe anything.” Sha Lan said, puzzled.

“Exactly. If we can’t give them something real, these two Tribes will keep misunderstanding each other indefinitely, which is not good for our management of them.” Yan Hua nodded in agreement.

“It does need to be resolved. But since we can’t give them the full truth, we can give them a false one.” The corner of Su Bai’s mouth lifted slightly.

He reasoned that since there was no longer any way to find the people who had been there, no way to reconstruct what had actually happened, he might as well give them something to believe instead.

A false truth, carefully constructed, would let the two Tribes coexist without difficulty.

He had long since stopped hoping they would merge entirely into one. So long as they could live peaceably alongside each other, that was enough. Otherwise managing them in the future would be a persistent headache.

“A false one? Isn’t the truth supposed to be true?” Yan Hua blinked her delicate red eyes, genuinely puzzled.

She felt as though she had understood and yet had not fully understood. Was this really how it could work?

“Shaman, you want to convince those two Tribes of something, don’t you? But how?” Sha Lan had caught the broad idea.

“Precisely. We’ll put on a very good performance. That’s what will make those two Tribes believe it.” Su Bai nodded.

He felt that people of the primitive age were fairly trusting by nature. They tended to take things at face value.

He had already told quite a few things that were not strictly true, and the people of the Flame Dragon Tribe had never doubted him once. Though to be fair, everything he had told them had been a kind-hearted distant truth, either to protect them or to conceal the fact of his own Transmigration.

“What do we need to prepare?” Sha Lan asked at once.

“You remember when I asked you to select a group of people with a particular talent for performance? How has that been coming along?” Su Bai asked.

He had been thinking at the time about presenting something like a stage play, or perhaps a shadow puppet show of some sort.

A shadow puppet show was the simpler of the two, relying entirely on silhouettes and the atmosphere created by accompanying instruments.

A stage play was considerably more demanding. It required actors to perform on a stage, which meant they needed real skill and presence.

“I found quite a good number of people. Following the Shaman’s guidance, I had them begin training. I haven’t yet gone to assess how they’re getting on.” Sha Lan answered immediately.

At the time, Sha Lan had spent the better part of ten days searching for the right people after learning what was needed.

“Great. They are the main players in all of this. Whether those two Tribes can make peace will rest entirely with them.” Su Bai smiled quietly.

Now that suitable performers had been found and their training had begun, everything else would follow naturally enough.

“What is the Shaman talking about? I don’t understand any of this.” Yan Hua said, genuinely at a loss.

“Shaman, should I call those people over now?” Sha Lan asked.

“Not yet. Let me write out a proper script first.” Su Bai shook his head.

Now that the performers were in place, what was needed was a very good script.

“Understood.” Sha Lan said, though her expression suggested she only half-followed.