After Jiang Xuan climbed Mangzhu Mountain, he painted the Totem Pattern of the Vine Tribe on a relatively flat boulder halfway up the Bamboo Rat Tribe's mountain.
With this Totem Pattern, the Bamboo Rat Tribe would henceforth become a de facto subordinate tribe to the Vine Tribe, their fortunes rising and falling together.
The people of the Bamboo Rat Tribe watched this scene in fear, whispering among themselves, yet none dared to step forward to intervene.
After finishing the painting, Jiang Xuan stepped back a few paces, admired his work, and then muttered, "Some of the lines aren't very smooth. If only my sister were here, she would draw much better."
Jiang Xuan mused about when to have Chi Shao come to the central region as well to witness its splendor.
However, Totem Patterns were ultimately just tools for proclaiming sovereignty; no matter how well or poorly drawn, their nature couldn't be changed.
