Landlord in the Arctic

Chapter 273 - 235: Meeting

The cabin wasn’t very spacious. Its walls were pieced together from rough-hewn logs, bearing the marks of time in a series of grooves, some deep and some shallow.

Simple wooden furniture occupied a corner: a slightly crude wooden table, a few chairs that had seen many years, and some animal hides and fishing nets scattered haphazardly on the floor.

On one side of the room was a simple hearth built from stacked stones. The remnants of unburnt wood and plant ash suggested this was where they cooked their meals.

Near the wall was a low wooden bed. Nash’s father lay on it, covered by a fur blanket, his eyes shut tight. Only his breathing, rising and falling like a faint wave, confirmed that he was still alive.

Suddenly, the quiet atmosphere was shattered.

A figure shot up from the head of the bed. The movement was so abrupt, so without warning, it was like a specter lunging from the shadows.

Caught completely off guard, Feng Mountain jumped, his body instinctively recoiling.

Pfft!

Liu Lan could no longer contain herself, and her clear laughter instantly filled the cabin.

Her laughter was like a key, unlocking the tense atmosphere and allowing the stagnant air in the room to flow freely once more.

"Khilla, this is my sister. She’s been taking care of our father."

Hearing Liu Lan’s introduction, Feng Mountain finally composed himself.

"Sister, Zicao, this is Khilla," Liu Lan said, making the introductions in a bright voice. A smile still lingered on her face; clearly, she still found the fact that she had managed to startle Feng Mountain immensely amusing.

With that, she turned and took quick, light steps toward the wooden table. She fumbled around on its surface for a moment before quickly finding a kerosene lamp.

She then took a match from a nearby box and struck it. With a FSSST, the match head instantly flared into a small, bright flame.

Liu Lan quickly brought the match to the lamp’s wick, which immediately caught the flame.

An orange-yellow light began to flicker on the wick, growing steadily brighter. Gradually, a soft glow filled the entire cabin, driving away much of the darkness.

In the warm light, everything inside the cabin became much clearer.

Simple tribal ornaments could be seen hanging on the walls.

The details of the piled hides and fishing nets in the corner grew more distinct.

The face of Nash’s father, lying on the bed, and the figure of Zicao standing beside it, were now completely revealed before Feng Mountain’s eyes.

She was a young tribal girl with long, black hair. Her face held the rustic resilience typical of the women of her tribe.

Her eyes, however, held a hint of exhaustion, no doubt from caring for her father for so long. Still, when she looked at Feng Mountain, she gave a slight, polite nod in greeting.

’Nash really has a lot of siblings!’

’Counting the ones I just met, plus the two in here...’

’That makes five or six of them altogether.’

"Hello." Feng Mountain returned her nod, then shifted his gaze to Nash’s father on the bed. His brow furrowed slightly as he asked with concern, "How is your father doing now?"

Zicao responded in a string of her native tongue, leaving Feng Mountain completely baffled. Liu Lan whispered from the side, "My sister doesn’t speak English, but she can understand it. She said our father woke up a little while ago, drank some water, and has now fallen back asleep."

’Waking up is a good sign.’

Feng Mountain nodded slightly. The Witchcraft treatment was having an effect. He then glanced at the light fixture on the ceiling. "You have electricity in the house, so why are you still using a kerosene lamp?"

"That’s just for decoration," Liu Lan pouted, her displeasure practically spilling from her face. "The white men only ran the lines to the tribe. They don’t care if we actually have power."

RUMBLE RUMBLE!!

The roar of a propeller echoed from outside the cabin.

’Chief Welta is here.’

At this thought, Feng Mountain strode quickly out of the cabin.

He looked up to see a P750 floatplane slowly descending onto the wide surface of the Susitna River.

The plane’s propeller spun at high speed, kicking up rings of white spray as it settled smoothly onto the water.

A wooden boat slid out from the bank, cutting a swift wake across the water as it sped toward the plane.

Once the boat drew near the aircraft, the cabin door opened. Five or six passengers disembarked one by one, boarding the boat to be ferried to shore.

"Liu Lan, I’m heading back to the bonfire!" Feng Mountain called out, turning his head toward the cabin.

’Now that the Elder Chief and his people have arrived, it’s time to discuss the Bear Tribe’s migration.’

Retracing his steps, Feng Mountain walked alone to the bonfire clearing.

The members of the Bear Tribe were in the process of welcoming the party from the Wild Bull Tribe.

After all, the Wild Bull Tribe was the largest of the Alaskan Assabasca people, as well as a board member of both the Athabasca Federation and the Alaska Native Federation.

Chief Welta was dressed in full ceremonial Indigenous attire, holding a short scepter in his hand.

Surrounded by a crowd of Bear Tribe members, Elder Chief Ta walked with a solemn expression onto the bearskin rug spread in the center of the clearing.

Once he was seated, the Elder Chief’s calm gaze slowly swept across the surroundings, as if he were scrutinizing everyone present, or perhaps searching for someone important.

"Where is Mr. Feng?"

Seeing this, Jeff, who stood nearby, hurried forward. He bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Feng went to visit the Dene Chief. I’ve already sent someone to fetch him."

"No need. I’m here!" Just then, a powerful voice called out.

Everyone turned to look and saw Feng Mountain striding purposefully into the clearing.

Upon seeing him, Chief Welta quickly rose to his feet and extended both hands with great enthusiasm, as if greeting a long-lost friend. A brilliant smile bloomed across his wrinkled face.