The Joys and Sorrows of Tribes Are Not Shared

Lu Yao read [Grandmother]'s plea several times, confirming he understood it correctly.

The Sea Monster was indeed a child born to a woman of the East River Tribe.

[Grandmother] also explained the reason.

Among the infants born to the East River Tribe, female babies would always grow up healthy. But if a male infant was delivered, it would quickly grow scales and a tail, its body hunched over, gradually transforming into a lizard-like water monster.

Sea Monsters possessed immense strength, their scaly skin impenetrable, and their bodies would keep growing, shedding layer after layer of skin until their brief lives ended.

Their weakness was that they couldn't stray far from water.

As for the cause, the East River Tribe themselves didn't understand. They only said it was the Blessing of the Prayer God, that birthing Sea Monsters allowed them to rule the entire waters.

Not long ago, the Sea Monster group collectively fell ill with a disease never seen before.

The East River Tribe couldn't cure it, watching helplessly as the once-mighty Sea Monsters now lay sickly in the water, one after another. Besides the three that had died, some had already flipped belly-up on the surface, foaming at the mouth, seemingly not long for this world.

This made Lu Yao sigh a little.

The Sea Monsters on stage: strong bodies, thick hides, an oppressive appearance, a tyrant blocking the way.

The Sea Monsters behind the scenes: tragic origins, painful fates, weak and sluggish bodies, plagued by illness.

It seemed the invincible Sea Monsters of the water were not only the result of male infants mutating but also faced the problem of difficulty in seeing a doctor.

In desperation, [Grandmother] had no choice but to come and beg the Local God.

That is, Lu Yao.

Lu Yao was also a bit stumped by this request.

Unfortunately, I'm not a god of medicine.

Among the Miracles, there were only ways to create various natural phenomena and disasters, not something like a great healing spell.

Among the three hundred-plus people of the Garlic Tribe, including the Shaman, there were only three medicine masters. They were already stretched thin treating the sick, let alone Sea Monsters.

[Grandmother] only prayed silently outside the Temple, confessing to the god. This secret, concerning the tribe's survival, she did not tell the Prophet or the Shaman.

Lu Yao pondered.

There were too many reasons for the Sea Monsters to fall ill. Water too cold or too hot, too many water plants, climate change... or even the birth of a Sea Monster-specific contagious disease.

For now, he could only say he was powerless to help.

The East River Tribe's civilization development wasn't ideal, but the Garlic Tribe welcomed another landmark event.

[Writing is gradually spreading through the Garlic Tribe. The Garlic Tribe has learned to use names.]

Under this notification, Lu Yao noticed that names were beginning to appear above the heads of the Pixelated Villagers one by one.

The [Prophet] was called Nong Lai.

The [Shaman] was called Lie Cang.

The Pig-Fish Brothers finally had their own names too.

The one who loved Wild Boars was the [Hero] Lie Tou, and the one who liked fish was the [Hero] Yu Zou.

In the Garlic Tribe, there were two major surnames: all Farmers were surnamed Nong, and all Hunters were surnamed Lie.

Besides that, the few Fishermen who appeared because of the Fishing Net were surnamed Yu. The two carpenters were surnamed Mu, the medicine masters surnamed Yao, and the salt makers surnamed Yan.

In summary, every person in the Garlic Tribe had a name based on their own profession.

This also showed that although the [Prophet] and [Shaman] were the tribe's leaders, their leadership wasn't a specialized, full-time position. Their actual professions were Farmer and Hunter, and they still engaged in related labor.

The use of writing turned specific names into unique markers for each Pixelated Villager. The birth of names allowed the Pixelated Villagers to have more complex self-reflection and close communication.

Lu Yao noticed two Pixelated Villagers exchanging ideas.

One was called Nong Yu, and the other was called Yu Huan.

Nong Yu asked: "The food in the Farmland, Wheat and potatoes, can be planted in spring and harvested in winter. Is it the same for fish in the water?"

Yu Huan said: "Fish in the water grow on their own, just like Wheat."

"Then if we plant fish in the soil in spring, will they grow more by summer?"

"Of course not. Fish can only live in water."

Yu Huan suddenly had an exclamation mark pop up above his head: "What you said actually makes sense. Fish can't grow in soil, but if we make a 'water Farmland' by the river, we could raise fish inside it. Then, like harvesting Wheat, when autumn comes, we could just catch a lot of fish directly."

"Need to add fertilizer."

Nong Yu said: "Fish eat bugs. There are a lot of bugs in the Farmland. We can feed those bugs to the fish, and they'll grow bigger and more numerous."

"That's right!"

The two Pixelated Villagers immediately got excited and ran to the river together to start experimenting.

Lu Yao then shifted his attention to a Pixelated Villager named Mu Hao.

Mu Hao was one of the tribe's two carpenters. At this moment, he was logging in the forest.

The Garlic Tribe's tools were still mainly made of wood and stone, so the carpenter used a stone axe, which made cutting trees very laborious. But at this moment, Mu Hao was taking it easy, strolling alone, while a helper did the work for him.

After some trial and error, he had found a good method.

Mu Hao found a small animal called a [Beaver] by the river; beavers gnaw trees to build their nests. He started raising the beavers with wheat, and only brought these little creatures out when he went out to cut trees every day.

This path, which seemed a bit like a skewed skill tree, was surprisingly effective in the short term.

There were quite a few similar cases.

At this moment, Lu Yao could feel that the Garlic Tribe had finally emerged from its dazed primitive state; everyone was starting to think about how to live better and work more efficiently.

Just as Lu Yao was observing the myriad expressions of his people, Isabelle, who had been silent for a long time, finally sent back a message.

She had found the Bedou Tribe in the southern desert.

But contrary to the rumors, the Bedou Tribe now only had 32 people left. The oasis where they had lived for generations had been taken over by a group of desert monsters. The Bedou Tribe had fled almost all the way toward the Garlic Tribe.

Having lost their oasis, their population plummeted, dropping to less than a tenth of its peak. In their hasty escape, the Bedou Tribe hadn't taken much wealth with them; they simply rode their camels and fled.

When Isabelle encountered them, the Bedou Tribe was being attacked by a group of Desert Bandits.

She described it: "That bandit group wore simple black clothes, but underneath they had linen garments and carried cloth bags. They were people from the Salt Pool Tribe."

Isabelle, as an Apostle, stepped in, killing half of the bandits and capturing the rest, bringing them all along—11 people in total.

The Salt Pool Tribe scoundrels, disguised as bandits, were strung together like candied hawthorns on a rope, trudging dejectedly behind Isabelle.

[Due to the persuasion of Apostle Isabelle, the Bedou Tribe has joined the Garlic Tribe.]

[The Garlic Tribe and the Bedou Tribe have merged, and Faith has increased slightly.]

The population rose to 347.

Faith Points increased by 120, bringing the total Faith Points back to 160, and the Miracle reserve was once again sufficient.

Lu Yao's gaze locked firmly onto the two types of livestock the Bedou Tribe had brought.

Camels. Sheep.

Animal husbandry finally had a breakthrough.