"Butterfly, you can stop weaving those baskets for now. Deal with the insects Dashan and the others brought back. I'll be back later and teach you how to weave some other things."
Butterfly and the others wove baskets much more slowly than he did, but even so, each of them had finished one by now. Together, they had added five more baskets.
Counting the eight baskets already in use, thirteen baskets were enough for the time being.
That was because this trap required quite a few people, with one person watching each basket.
Including Zhou Xu himself, their tribe had thirty-two people in total.
If nearly half of them had to crouch beside traps waiting for prey, there would not be enough people left for anything else.
Naturally, they had to make some trade-offs.
Judging from the sun overhead, it was probably around one or two in the afternoon. Dashan and the others clearly could not possibly be finished with their day's work yet.
After setting down the materials they had gathered that morning and letting the members of the gathering team drink some water and rest for a while, Zhou Xu once again led them toward the Black Forest.
On the way there, Zhou Xu seemed to think of something and asked Dashan a question.
"By the way, Dashan, that head you handed me at the altar before—where did it come from?"
Faced with the question, Dashan fell silent for two seconds.
"That was the former chief's head. He died in the previous attack, and even after fighting with all my might, I could only bring his head out."
What the hell?!
Dashan's words made Zhou Xu nearly split apart on the spot.
"Your former chief wasn't summoned too, was he?"
Dashan froze when he heard that, then hurriedly shook his head.
"No, no. Our tribe was holding a ritual for the first time. That ritual couldn't be performed just anywhere. We had to find an altar left behind by the old gods first."
Dashan was still somewhat grieved by the former chief's death. By the end of his explanation, his voice had sunk low.
Having received that answer, Zhou Xu secretly let out a sigh of relief as well.
If his predecessor had also been a transmigrator, then there was no telling whether that skull might accidentally have become his fate too.
Of course, there was no guarantee that after his own death, his head would not be cut off and presented to the next person.
"You risked your life to bring the head out because of the power inside it?"
Judging from the situation at the time, Zhou Xu did not believe Dashan had been unaware of the Eye of Insight's existence.
Dashan did not hide it either and nodded directly.
"That is the True Word passed down through our tribe from generation to generation."
To be honest, Zhou Xu had not expected to hear the words "True Word" from Dashan.
The instant he heard them, he did not even have time to think carefully before asking the question that had always lingered in his heart.
"What exactly is the True Word?"
"According to the legends passed down through our tribe, the True Word is the language of the gods. It contains mighty power."
"Then why didn't you choose to keep the True Word for yourself?"
Dashan did not shy away from the question at all.
"The True Word chooses its own master. It did not choose me."
"What are the old gods you mentioned? And what about the altar left behind by those old gods?"
"The old gods were the original gods of this world. The legends say that they have already died, so we generally call them the old gods. After their deaths, their power scattered throughout every corner of this world. That power is the True Word."
As he spoke, Dashan answered Zhou Xu's questions while walking, then paused to catch his breath.
"Legend says that altar was built by the old gods. As long as someone finds it and performs the ritual, they may be able to summon a 'God Chosen' to descend."
If the "Chosen One" was Zhou Xu's own understanding, then "God Chosen" was undoubtedly the more orthodox term used on their side.
Looks like my transmigration this time has something to do with those so-called old gods...
"Have you ever seen any other God Chosen?"
Dashan shook his head.
"Then how much do you know about the power of this True Word?"
"The previous chief said that the power of this True Word could grant him powerful insight..."
At this point, Dashan fell silent once again. When he spoke again, his voice carried an irrepressible fury and grief.
"Although the True Word chose him, it did not favor him. Even using it in the simplest way placed an enormous burden on the previous chief. When we were attacked, he used the True Word's power to show us a way to escape, but the power of the True Word broke him down as well, and he failed to make it out alive."
Zhou Xu found it difficult to share Dashan's grief, but from the other man's words, he had learned quite a bit of useful information.
Judging from what Dashan said, there should be a degree of compatibility between the True Word and a person. Only someone with sufficient compatibility can obtain the True Word's power.
As for the cost of using the True Word, that is affected by other factors. At the very least, I used this power yesterday. Although I felt the strain, it was nowhere near enough to break me down.
The constant refinement of the intelligence continued to strengthen Zhou Xu's confidence.
And that altar—if it was the key factor behind my transmigration, I'll have to find some time to go back and study it more carefully. For now, though, the most important thing is solving the food problem. I'll worry about the rest after I've filled my stomach.
Amid Zhou Xu and Dashan's back-and-forth questioning, the two soon reached the outskirts of the Black Forest.
"Lighten your steps. Don't disturb Fei Que and the others."
The slightest unnecessary noise here might scare away prey that was just about to crawl into a trap. That was also the main reason Zhou Xu had previously sent the gathering team to collect resources in other areas.
Just as Zhou Xu was saying this, Fei Que suddenly yanked the thin cord in his hand. He immediately rushed forward, grabbed a rat from the basket, and twisted its neck in one sharp motion.
The movement was utterly clean and decisive, far more practiced than Zhou Xu had been before.
Only after finishing all that did he notice Zhou Xu and the others.
Fei Que could tell at a glance that Zhou Xu had to be looking for him about something, so he hurried over.
"Chief."
"How is it? How many have you caught?"
The moment the matter came up, Fei Que grew visibly excited. He briskly displayed his spoils.
Counting the one Zhou Xu had caught at the start, Fei Que now had three rats in his hands. After that, he had crouched there and caught two more in succession.
When it came to setting traps and waiting for prey to walk into them, it was difficult to quibble over efficiency. To a large extent, the matter also depended on luck.
"The first time, I wasn't careful and one got away. Otherwise, I'd have one more by now."
Although the trap was simple to use, that did not mean there was no chance of failure.
To be honest, Zhou Xu had already been mentally prepared for that from the beginning.
Given Fei Que's results, Zhou Xu was still quite satisfied.
Before you continue