Integrating into the Primitive World (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Having understood the importance of fish, Luo Chong looked again at the countless fish in the river fighting over the bait. The two children might not yet understand what this meant, but the woman's eyes lit up at once. This was a new source of food, and there was plenty of it. It was not nearly as dangerous as hunting in the forest either. Perhaps it would become the tribe's staple food in the future.

The woman babbled and gestured, asking Luo Chong to teach her how to catch fish. But Luo Chong did not let her do that. He reassigned tasks to the three of them: one child would specialize in smashing the innards for bait, the woman would clean the fish, and the other child would gather branches and sticks from the little trees by the river, then thread grass through the fishes' gills and hang them up.

The three divided their work clearly, while Luo Chong continued scooping up fish. This time, he truly was scooping them up. The moment he scattered a handful of bait, the fish gathered together. They crowded the basket so full that they nearly pushed themselves out. Luo Chong simply squatted by the bank and used the basket like a scoop. Every dip brought a catch, never fewer than two fish.

The four of them worked like that all afternoon, moving to a new spot whenever the fish seemed to thin out. In the end, they caught so many fish that Luo Chong decided to call it a day. He and the child who smashed bait helped the woman clean the fish. Their final count came to more than two hundred fish. The largest weighed around ten jin, while even the smallest were palm-sized. The three of them could not carry them all back.

Luo Chong sent one child to call over some of the older children for help. The woman carried a basin of water, two children lifted a stick laden with hanging fish, and Luo Chong carried a stick himself, using it as a carrying pole to shoulder two baskets filled with fish. The group returned to the cave in grand procession beneath the setting sun.

The teams that had gone out gathering fruit and hunting had already returned. It was too dangerous to remain in the forest at night; everyone had to return to the cave before sunset. They were currently gathered around the Terror Bird's skeleton and the Chieftain's corpse, listening as the women who had remained behind told them what had happened that day.

Just then, the children came back carrying fish, howling as they showed off to the adults. They had harvested plenty today too, no less than the adults had. Without tools, the adults' prey mostly consisted of small animals such as rabbits, groundhogs, snakes, bird eggs, and pheasants, and there was not much of it.

The adults had originally been somewhat upset over the Chieftain's death. It was not because they loved and respected him so deeply, but because the tribe had lost another adult laborer capable of hunting. Yet when they saw Luo Chong's haul today, they immediately cheered up, and the Chieftain's tragic death was promptly thrown to the back of their minds.

After cleaning up the day's harvest, all the tribespeople gathered outside the cave. A huge pile of firewood had been stacked in the clearing before the entrance, with the Chieftain's body placed atop it. An old man with two sheep horns perched on his head lit the pile, and the roaring flames soon devoured the Chieftain's corpse.

Firelight shone across every face. The children swallowed hungrily at the scent of roasting meat, without the slightest trace of sorrow. The adults, meanwhile, looked calm now that they had found a new source of food.

Luo Chong took the opportunity to carefully observe the tribe.

The tribe currently had fifty-two people, not including the Chieftain lying on the pyre. There were eight adult men, fifteen adult women, and fourteen children over the age of six—six boys and eight girls. There were another fifteen children under six.

There were pitifully few adult men, and in Luo Chong's eyes, they were all crooked melons and split dates. The man who had just lit the fire was the tribe's Elder. He held that position simply because he looked the oldest and was recognized as the smartest person in the tribe. But now he might have to settle for second place, because Luo Chong was gradually replacing him in everyone's hearts.

The Elder had sheep horns on his head and a goat beard, making him easy to recognize. His status in the tribe was nearly equal to that of the Chieftain.

There was also a man with six fingers on one hand. His preferred weapon was a wooden club, and he was somewhat foolish; anyone could tell from his dull eyes. He was probably the product of inbreeding.

Beside Six-Finger stood someone wearing a feather necklace. Luo Chong named him Feather. Feather was very clever, and like Six-Finger, he liked using a wooden club.

Behind Feather stood Stone, who wore a bone necklace. He carried no weapon, because stones were what he used most often, so his name was Stone.

Standing a little apart from the two of them was a fifteen-year-old boy, though he was already considered an adult here. He left the deepest impression on Luo Chong because he had only one right ear. Four scars ran across his left cheek. It was said they had been left behind when he had once hunted a wildcat alone. The wildcat had torn off his left ear with one swipe and scratched his face, but he had killed the wildcat as well. One-Ear's weapon was a Bone Fork, made by grinding down a straight thigh bone. It was hollow in the middle, and the slanted break at its front end was razor-sharp.

Beside One-Ear stood seventeen-year-old Beast Tooth. The beast tooth necklace around his neck was said to have been passed down by his father, who had been the Chieftain two generations ago. His weapons were two saber-toothed tiger fangs more than a foot long.

There was also Big Strength, the tallest person in the entire tribe. He stood nearly 1.9 meters tall, which was practically monstrous among primitive people. Strong and powerfully built, his weapon was simple and brutal: a thigh bone. Luo Chong had no idea what animal it came from, but the bone was quite long.

The last was Lame, who leaned on a wooden staff. Lame was a middle-aged man whose right leg had been crippled while hunting in his youth. He could still walk, but he could no longer run. Now he followed the Gathering Team every day to search for fruit, clearing paths and standing watch. He also enjoyed grinding stone tools. Though his body was crippled, his will was firm. Lame's greatest dream was to grind a Stone Basin before he died.

One-Ear, Beast Tooth, and Big Strength were probably the tribe's strongest fighters—of course, that was without counting Luo Chong.

The Chieftain's body turned to ashes in the blazing fire. They could deal with those things tomorrow. The fire at the cave entrance would also keep wild beasts from approaching.

Once the Chieftain had burned, the sky had gone completely dark—and so had Luo Chong's face. Not for any other reason, but because he saw two moons in the sky, one large and one small. The large one moved from east to west, while the small one moved from north to south.

Fuck this. Being transported through time was one thing, but this was not even Earth. Who knew whether all the things he had learned before would still work here?

Everyone returned to the cave to prepare dinner. The entrance had already been blocked with massive boulders. Tonight's staple foods were fruit and fish. Fruit was difficult to store, so they ate it first, leaving only the nuts behind. Among the Gathering Team's harvest, Luo Chong spotted chestnuts. Those were still easy enough to recognize.

The Chieftain had always distributed the food before, but today they made an exception and let Luo Chong do it. Mainly because no one had ever eaten fish before, so they did not know how to eat it.

Luo Chong stuck a wooden stick through each fish's mouth and handed one to every adult, telling them to roast the fish themselves. He repeatedly warned them about the fish bones, then took out a fish he had roasted beforehand to demonstrate how to eat it and pick out the bones. Everyone copied him with convincing seriousness and ate with great relish.

The children shared two large fish among more than a dozen of them. The larger the fish, the larger the bones, and big bones were easier to pick out and less likely to get stuck in their throats. Twenty-nine children only needed two fish weighing more than ten jin each. With a piece of fruit for everyone as well, they all ate happily.

Luo Chong picked the bones from roasted fish and divided the flesh piece by piece among the three- and four-year-old children. The children behaved very obediently while eating, clutching fruit in their hands, their little tongues licking the corners of their mouths as their bright eyes watched the roasted fish and waited for Luo Chong to give them meat.

At the deepest part of the cave was a natural crack in the stone leading upward. It could ventilate the cave, allowing all the smoke to drift out through it.

It had to be said that this was an excellent place: concealed, safe, and well ventilated. In this age of roaming beasts and dangers lurking on every side, it was truly a rare haven from the storm.

The firelight in the middle of the cave shone over everyone, casting countless shadows that swayed across the rock walls. Simple murals told the story of the tribe's rise, fall, and history. The Elder with sheep horns on his head held a charred stick and drew a mural of Luo Chong scooping fish by the river. The children, still unsatisfied after finishing their fish, licked their little hands.

Outside the cave, the autumn wind drifted about with faint but distinguishable beast roars. Inside the warm cave, the women hummed gentle tunes to lull their children to sleep. Lame was still fighting for his life with his Stone Basin, several little girls sorted through fish bones, not knowing how to turn them into ornaments, One-Ear sharpened his Bone Fork, and Luo Chong continued weaving his Woven Basket.

The warm scene suddenly gave Luo Chong a feeling of home. His powerful ability to adapt had quietly allowed him to blend into this group.

Today, he received a private message offering him a contract, but he did not panic. Steady, steady... He absolutely could not make another mistake.

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