For Responsibility, Setting Off

A quiver woven from beech branches, holding 50 arrows. Any more would be too heavy.

A longbow, a Bird Beak Dagger, a White-shafted Long Spear, and a Stone Axe. A bundle of bark rope, a coil of agave fiber and fine hemp rope, a fist-sized jar of lard, a small bag of Salt Stone, a Tinder Tube, a small Pottery Pot (the lid also serves as a bowl, making it dual-purpose), and finally, a small packet of chili peppers.

The Tinder Tube is a hollowed-out section of pig leg bone, filled with sawdust left over from making the longbow. The sawdust is lit and kept smoldering without an open flame. When you need a fire, you just pick out a bit, place it on some kindling, and blow on it. It's a low-tech version of a fire starter.

Except for the weapons held in his hands, all the other miscellaneous equipment was placed in a rectangular, lidded Back Basket, or what could be called a box, a box woven from beech branches. If he were to change into a scholar's robe and set up a sunshade on the box, he would look just like the scholars heading to the capital for exams in ancient times.

Luo Chong checked his equipment over and over, always feeling like something important was missing.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the crowd. A small figure wearing long boots and a pig-tooth necklace kept trying to hide behind others.

"Qu Bing, bring me my Snake Skin Water Bag."

The little guy was still hiding behind his mother, holding Luo Chong's water bag behind his back, but his mother grabbed him.

"You little rascal, stop hiding! Hurry up and give it to me," Luo Chong said, rubbing Qu Bing's head.

Qu Bing pouted, scrunching up his chubby, bun-like face, and reluctantly handed the water bag to Luo Chong.

"Stay home and be good. Listen to your mother. I'll be back soon." Luo Chong took the water bag, pinched his little cheek, then put on the Back Basket and turned to walk away into the distance.

"Waaah! Don't go! Don't go!"

Little Qu Bing cried out and rushed forward, hugging Luo Chong's leg to stop him from leaving.

This child usually liked to cling to Luo Chong and knew that Luo Chong was good to him. Qu Bing was also very smart. Under Luo Chong's deliberate teaching, he could already say some simple words, which was another reason Luo Chong liked him.

Luo Chong turned around helplessly, picked up Qu Bing, wiped away his tears, pointed to his little friends shivering naked in the morning mist, and then pulled at the small fur robe he was wearing.

"Look, you have clothes to wear, but they are freezing without any. What if they get sick? Have you forgotten how you almost died from sickness? Be a good boy and wait for me at home. I'm going to find clothes for them."

No matter how much Qu Bing could understand, Luo Chong just really liked talking to him. Luo Chong believed that as long as he heard enough, he would slowly learn eventually.

Little Qu Bing sniffled and mumbled, "You... come home... teach me... hit stick."

"Haha, okay, I promise you." Luo Chong smiled, stroked his cheek, and handed the little guy to his mother.

He carefully scanned these poor primitive people. Their lives were too hard. Since they regarded him as their Chieftain, he must take on the responsibility of a Chieftain and lead them to a better life, striving to ensure that everyone could die naturally from old age, rather than freezing to death, starving to death, dying from illness, or being killed.

Otherwise, he would feel uneasy, just like the pain of losing comrades due to his own mistakes. So, he plunged into the morning mist without hesitation.

Luo Chong had made arrangements for the tribe. His four younger brothers were temporarily assigned to the Hunting Team, but they were not allowed to act alone. The cripple started making bricks. The women were divided into two groups, one for gathering fruits and one for fishing. The Elder stayed home to oversee things.

The tribesmen watched Luo Chong's figure disappear into the morning mist, their faces filled with worry. The Chieftain said he was going to find animal hides, going far away, and would return before the river froze. But they had never seen anyone who could spend the night outside the cave and still be alive.

The Elder stood at the front of the crowd, facing the direction where Luo Chong had disappeared. He suddenly knelt on the ground and bowed down. He would pray for the Chieftain, hoping he would return and bring them more surprises.

Others might not know, but the Elder was very clear that the Knowledge Murals on the cave wall, which had been passed down for generations, had long run out of things to draw. But since Luo Chong became Chieftain, he would draw what Luo Chong did every night after dinner: killing Terror Birds, making pottery, boiling meat soup, making spears, making bows and arrows, tying hair, making fur boots, refining oil, weaving baskets, and fishing. He never stopped for a single day.

The previous Elder told him when he was young that in some large tribes there were Shamans who could communicate with the spirits and ask them to bless their tribe. But in the Elder's eyes, their tribe didn't need a Shaman, because they had a true spirit in their tribe.

Luo Chong left, heading northeast. That was upstream of the small river. He wanted to find a narrow spot to cross the river and search for areas without forests.

Herbivores would of course not appear in the forest; there was nothing for them to eat there. Animals like sheep, horses, and cattle should eat grass and low shrubs, so they should be found on grasslands.

And Luo Chong's current task was to first get out of this endless jungle.

Walking upstream along the small river for a whole morning, the forest also became shorter and shorter, which made Luo Chong very happy. This was a sign that he was about to leave the jungle.

He rested by the river at noon. Lunch was a pheasant he had just shot. He plucked the useful flight feathers and tail feathers, then skinned it directly, rubbed it with coarse salt, sprinkled on crushed chili peppers, wrapped it in leaves, and then wrapped another layer of mud. A delicious and spicy beggar's chicken filled his belly round and full.

This was something he usually couldn't enjoy. Generally, the tribe never ate lunch, but Luo Chong did this to maintain sufficient physical strength, especially the replenishment of salt, which was even more important.

After eating, he boiled a pot of water, filled his water bag, and then looked for an opportunity to cross the river.

After continuing upstream for about three more hours, the sky suddenly turned dark. The sky was actually still bright, but the surrounding forest suddenly became dense.

On both banks of the 10-meter wide small river, there were dense, unknown strange trees. Their trunks were iron-black and very thick, reaching a diameter of five or six meters, but they grew twisted and crooked, not straight at all, and were very short.

Calling them short, they were still over ten meters high, but trees with a diameter of over 5 meters that were only a little over ten meters high? Was this normal?

But Luo Chong didn't care about that. He only knew that this place was very convenient for crossing the river.

The trunk part of the black trees was less than five meters high. The upper part was all canopy. Thick branches grew crisscrossed, intertwining with the branches on the opposite side of the river, covering the entire river surface and forming a natural bridge.

The canopy was very thick. The lowest point was only three meters above the river surface, and some thin branches even hung down into the water. There were only a few faint rays of light on the river surface, which were reflected down after passing through layers of diffusion, only barely allowing him to see the surroundings.

A layer of misty haze enveloped the river surface, concealing what was beneath the water. There was no sound around, and the eerie atmosphere was suffocating.

It was too quiet. This was wrong. How could there not be a single small animal in such a large forest? At least a bird singing would be okay.

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Thanks to 'Bookworm Loves You' for the reward. Thank you for your support.

Also, as usual, I'm asking for all kinds of support. I'm developing slowly, so whatever you can give is welcome.

Qing Shu heard that people who support authors will have good luck. (Grinning)