Tree Tribe

The wooden barrel on the ground was quite large, about the same size as the small water jar Luo Chong had made himself. It was crafted from a single section of log by burning out the center of a solid stump – impressive ingenuity, really.

From the looks of it, the two women earlier must have been fetching water. Now they had dropped the barrel and run off. They might even bring people back with them.

Luo Chong had to arm himself first. He couldn't worry about being wet right now. He put on his robe and leather boots, slung his quiver and longbow over his shoulder, packed away the equipment in his back basket, and repaired the broken strap. He'd see how things went. Even if he couldn't fight and had to run, he needed to take the most important things with him.

Just as Luo Chong started a fire by the river and was skinning the fish, he heard a flurry of footsteps from the forest in the distance, followed by the appearance of torches.

The two women who had been fetching water were indeed among them. There were exactly 10 people: four men and six women, wearing white animal-skin robes, barefoot, with their hair loose. Their skin was as white as if it had been dusted with frost powder.

Leading them was a young man, around sixteen or seventeen, fair-skinned and beardless, with a sturdy build. In his hand he held a branch from a black tree, which seemed to be his weapon.

The group formed a semicircle around Luo Chong, looking at the large fish behind him with some astonishment. The scene was quiet; neither side spoke, leaving only the crackling of the torches.

They were also sizing up Luo Chong, this child with his hair bound, wearing boots, and carrying a back basket.

The young man looked Luo Chong in the eye and pointed to the wooden barrel nearby.

Oh, for crying out loud, you want the barrel? Why didn't you say so earlier? You had me tense for nothing.

Luo Chong rolled his eyes speechlessly, then used his long spear to nudge the barrel towards the leader, keeping his front facing them the entire time.

The leader took the barrel and handed it to a young man with a punk hairstyle. That young man slowly walked around Luo Chong to fetch water.

"@#￥%……&&*……%" The leader was chattering something, then pointed to the large fish behind Luo Chong.

This foreign language was hard to understand, but seeing him point at the fish, Luo Chong figured they could have it. It was so big he couldn't eat it all himself anyway.

Luo Chong shifted to the side, giving them access to the fish. The group suddenly rushed over, mercilessly beating up the large fish. Several of the women even started sobbing.

The leading man smiled, beat his chest with his fist, then extended his fist towards Luo Chong.

What the heck does this mean? A one-on-one fight?

Luo Chong was completely bewildered, but seeing the man smiling, it probably wasn't a challenge to fight. He hesitated, then bumped fists with the other man.

The man laughed heartily, gave Luo Chong an enthusiastic hug, then began communicating with Luo Chong, a mix of chattering and gesturing.

Even if the language was different, they could still communicate through eye contact, expressions, and body language.

Luo Chong told him he came from across the river and pointed to his own clothes, indicating he was looking for an animal with horns on its head.

The man nodded in understanding, then told Luo Chong that many people in their tribe had been eaten by this fish before. He thanked Luo Chong for killing the monster and invited him to visit their tribe.

Luo Chong considered it. Since it was already evening anyway, he might as well accept. This tribe was only about half a day's journey from his own. He could get to know them and, if they had any special resources, perhaps trade with them in the future.

Luo Chong gestured for them to carry the fish, indicating it was edible. The man's tribe was very surprised. In their experience, they were the ones who got eaten by fish; they had never eaten fish themselves.

Because the fish was too large, they had to butcher and portion it before taking it away. Luo Chong had no choice but to continue working.

The silver fish skin was peeled off. It was a full four meters long and three and a half meters wide, very smooth and elastic, and waterproof. This had to be kept safe. All the internal organs except for the fish maw were discarded. However, among the organs, Luo Chong actually found a lung.

Holy crap, so it was a lungfish! These monsters are said to be able to bury themselves in the ground and survive for half a year during the dry season.

The cleaned lungfish was cut into several large pieces and carried away. Luo Chong followed them back to their dwelling, carrying the fish head.

Their tribe was located in the forest. After walking for less than ten minutes, they saw a huge treehouse. Seven or eight black iron trees formed a large circle with only one tree hollow serving as the entrance. The space inside was not very large, only about a hundred square meters, with a fire pit in the center clearing.

They had also burned out hollows in these large trees to use as small rooms. The space wasn't big, but it was enough for them to live in, simply because their population was too small – from the chieftain to the nursing infants, there were only 32 people in total.

This tribe living in tree hollows was named the Tree Tribe by Luo Chong. The Tree Tribe had only five adult men: a half-dead Elder, the strong Chieftain Dashu, the short but stocky Tree Stump, Mutong with the punk hairstyle (it was said he was the one who burned the wooden barrels and ended up burning his own hair too), and Mutun, a simple and honest-looking man.

There were 9 adult women, 11 youths aged 6 and above, and 7 children under 6, making them truly sparsely populated.

Because they lived their entire lives in this dark forest, their skin was very white. They rarely got sunlight, but that didn't mean they didn't know about the outside world.

The half-dead Elder Tree took Luo Chong and Dashu up to the Lookout Post. This was actually the roof of the giant treehouse, woven from the branches of the large trees. The Lookout Post was higher than the surrounding black forest, allowing them to see far into the distance.

The Elder's eyes were slightly cloudy and he couldn't see very far anymore. He squinted towards the setting sun, then pointed his hand to the east, muttering something.

Dashu, beside him, was trying hard to translate for the Elder.

"From that direction, outside the black forest, there is a mountain like the clouds in the sky," Dashu said while translating and pointing to the fiery clouds in the sky.

"The previous Elder told me that there is an animal on that mountain with horns, as tall as a person," Dashu gestured with horns on his head, then indicated his own height.

"That animal runs as fast as the wind, with fur the color of the sky. No one can catch it."

Luo Chong looked at Dashu's gestures, trying to guess and understand the general idea. You guys catching it? That's a joke.

Two sharp horns on its head, bluish-gray fur, as tall as a person - this should be some kind of large antelope. Even a leopard might not be able to catch it. Can you guys keep up? You need to set traps.

Luo Chong looked very confident, but Dashu and Elder Tree didn't hold out much hope for Luo Chong. Seeing that the Elder had stopped speaking, Dashu recommended his own clothes to Luo Chong.

Only then did Luo Chong notice that the entire Tree Tribe wore clothes made from the same kind of animal hide. According to Dashu, it was the skin of a large rabbit over half a meter long, completely white. They liked to eat moss and mushrooms in the forest, and there were many of them in this black forest.

Luo Chong's eyes lit up. Rabbits were a good thing! Rabbits were known to breed like mice; five or more per litter was common. Little rabbits reached sexual maturity in four months and could start breeding themselves, averaging a litter every two months. If they could be domesticated...

Tsk tsk, a pair of adult rabbits, one litter every two months, 6 litters a year, averaging five per litter... that's 30! Even if the offspring only start breeding at 6 months, it's still geometric growth.

Emm, if I could bring back two pairs of adult rabbits, that would turn into hundreds in a year! Luo Chong fantasized about his rabbit-raising plan, saliva almost dripping from his mouth.

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Comrades, fellow readers, Qing Shu is asking for votes! Collections and recommendations, let's go! Even leaving a comment is fine. This book is currently third on the Fantasy contract list, but it's about to be overtaken by the fourth one. Come save my chrysanthemum