The days passed by in a whisper. Shengan silently carried out his tasks of tending to the sheep during this period, while delving deeper and deeper into the memories of the Heavenly Demon whenever he could find the time.
After three days had passed, the Wind Eater Tribe suddenly gathered for an important meeting called by their leader.
"The clouds are drifting north—we shall follow them," he declared.
At once, the windWater Tribe began preparing themselves. The huts were dismantled from the ground, and the fields of plants were reattached to herds of camels whose task was to carry them. Among these plants were several medicinal herbs of great importance, and because of that, more than four people were always assigned to guard them carefully, preventing any accidents from occurring.
Shengan, as usual, was given the task of taking care of the herd of sheep. He held one end of a rope in his hand, the other end tied to each sheep in the group. He guided them carefully as the tribe began to move.
Across the desolate sands, a long line of people advanced in unison, following the drifting cloud layers visible far on the horizon.
"Let's pick up the pace," said the tribal leader—a man of old age, dressed in the hide of a wolf and holding a wand in his hand. The wand, carved with the shape of a cloud upon its surface, was the symbol of the tribe and a sign of leadership among them. The leader urged the group onward as he gazed at the drifting clouds in the distance. They were moving farther and farther away from sight, and thus the pace of the tribe had to increase, reducing the time allowed for rest.
On the second night of their journey, Shengan opened his eyes. The past few days had been exhausting for him. In every moment of spare time he could grasp, he dove deep into the memories of the Heavenly Demon—learning, studying, and analyzing all that the being knew little by little.
Through this process, Shengan had to acknowledge that the Heavenly Demon was truly a man of exceptional caliber. The sheer depth of knowledge he possessed within his mind was immensely vast and invaluable. Yet, Shengan focused only on what was most important, managing to uncover details of several critical events that would occur in the future. Knowing this, he began to form his own plans—carefully calculating the path he would take from here onward.
According to the Heavenly Demon's words, it would take about two more days before they could catch a glimpse of the next human civilization in this vast desert. Until then, Shengan had time to sort through all the memories he had absorbed and devise a better plan for the future.
He closed his eyes and went to sleep. With the hurried pace of their group, every little moment of rest was valuable—especially for Shengan and the other children. Though their bodies had already grown used to such harsh conditions, they still had to push forward even without proper rest throughout the day. Shengan, too, endured the journey without pause; even their meals were taken while on the move, making every bit of sleep they could afford extremely precious for the body.
By morning, even before the sun had fully risen, the Wind Eater Tribe awoke and once again followed the drifting clouds. And so, in that same manner, two more days quietly passed.
The tribal leader of the Wind Eater group stood at the forefront of the procession, gazing toward the horizon where he could see smoke rising into the sky from a certain distant place.
"Another tribe, perhaps?" he muttered in expectation.
Days of nonstop travel had reduced their resources to less than half of what they had originally gathered, and the Wind Eater Tribe now needed to replenish their supplies. Seeing the smoke rising in the distance, the tribal leader's heart lifted with hope—it might be another group of people. With his command, the tribe changed their course and began heading toward the direction where the smoke rose. However, at the leader's order, a few were left behind to keep track of the drifting clouds.
The wind in the desolate land was not something to be taken lightly—it was harsh and dry, making the journey increasingly difficult for the Wind Eater Tribe as they struggled forward.
Even the smoke that once rose steadily into the sky sometimes vanished, swept away by the fierce desert winds.
"Do you think it's actually a city?" someone asked quietly.
At that moment, Malvin came to see Shengan. Unlike him, Malvin had a proper family within the tribe. Although his grandparents had passed away, his mother and father was still alive and served as a hunter—a position slightly lower than the tribal leader. Because of that, Malvin himself had fewer tasks to fulfill and occasionally came to meet with Shengan to talk.
"If it's not, we're doomed," said Shengan.
Malvin looked at him with wide eyes, clearly confused and slightly frightened by his words.
"Doomed? You mean we… we'll starve?" he asked.
"Obviously. Why do you think the tribal leader keeps pushing us harder? It's because we're running out of resources. They haven't told us openly, but I overheard someone speaking with the leader about it in secret."
After hearing those words, Malvin fell silent, then quickly moved away to find his father and learn the truth for himself.
"Thief, why did you do that? Not only did you lie, but you also scared your only friend," the Heavenly Demon's voice echoed in Shengan's mind, his tone filled with mild reproach—yet Shengan ignored him completely.
Malvin's frequent visits had begun to become a problem for Shengan. Since he delved into the memories of the Heavenly Demon during every spare moment he could find, having someone beside him to talk was far from his priority. As a result, he tried to avoid Malvin as much as possible each time he came.
Time passed, and the day drew to an end. But just before the sun sank below the horizon, the group had covered a large distance between themselves and the rising smoke. At last, they managed to catch signs of human life, scattered around what appeared to be a canyon.