The Rat Shaman kept pointing at those Han characters and asking questions, while Luo Chong taught him one by one. Every character on the wall had a different pronunciation and a different meaning.
The Rat Shaman pointed at the character "wood." Luo Chong first taught him its pronunciation, then pointed at the logs outside and at the Rat Shaman's wooden staff before repeating the pronunciation of "wood." The Rat Shaman was astonished. Every one of these symbols was different, yet each represented something, and it seemed there was nothing that couldn't be expressed with Han characters.
Luo Chong pointed at "cart" next. He read out its pronunciation, then pointed at the little handcart outside, and the Rat Shaman repeated him. Later, the Rat Shaman stopped looking at the characters and simply pointed at things to ask what they were, but Luo Chong could name every single one.
Only then did the Rat Shaman understand. Those symbols were another form of expression for the Han Tribe's language. The Han Tribe's language could be spoken aloud, but it could also be drawn on a wall.
The Black Rat Tribe had no such symbols, and their local speech couldn't name everything, either. They usually just called things "this" or "that," which made it very easy to confuse them.
But what use did these symbols have? After asking around, the Rat Shaman fell into thought. If everyone learned these symbols, could he write some down for others to see, and would they then know what he was saying?
Luo Chong had no idea what the old man was thinking, but when he saw him deep in thought, he didn't disturb him. If Luo Chong had known that the Rat Shaman had already grasped that writing could be used to transmit information, he probably would