Rebuilding the Marsh Tribe

"We've been here for over eighty years. From time to time, someone would be lost to the Devouring of the giant creatures underwater. Later, we sacrificed two people every year, and things improved somewhat. After that, it became four people. Counting only those sacrificed, there were more than a hundred and sixty in total."

Jiang Ze recalled the past and roughly estimated the number.

"I've only been here for a little over ten years. The one that used to eat people was a giant turtle, but I drove it away."

Golden Carp explained as he watched Feng Xu's expression gradually darken.

Feng Xu leaped onto the fish's body and gently stroked its scales.

Golden Carp was bound by the Dharma Treasure and unable to move. Unease filled his heart.

Feng Xu suddenly exerted force and began pulling out fish scales.

As the scales were stripped away, Golden Carp cried out in agony.

"I only ate fifty or sixty people! I really didn't eat the others!"

As if he had not heard, Feng Xu called Feng Xi over to help.

Half an hour later, the two climbed down from the fish's body.

"You ate more than a hundred and sixty people, so I'll pull out sixteen hundred of your scales. I don't care whether you ate them or not. You became the water god, so the blame falls on you. If there's any resentment, bring it to me."

He watched Golden Carp slowly wave his fins and felt they seemed like decent material.

"Feng Xi, chop off two fin bones from here."

Feng Xi picked up a stone axe and chopped where Feng Xu pointed.

Golden Carp, who had been lying limp, cried out again.

Once the fin bones had been cut off, Feng Xu said coldly:

"I'll spare your life today. But if I ever hear that you or your descendants are eating people again, then even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I'll slaughter your entire clan."

"If you properly protect the humans along the river, then we Human Race will not mistreat you either."

Feng Xu turned to the chief and spoke.

"Since this fish enjoys eating land-dwelling flesh, why not offer it land meat as a sacrifice every year, Chief? Consider it payment for this fish protecting the Human Race."

The chief looked at the severely wounded Golden Carp, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

"That is only right."

Feng Xu put away the fishing net and climbed onto the bamboo raft.

When they reached the riverbank, he released Golden Carp and threw most of the dried meat they had brought into the river.

Golden Carp regained some vitality. Seeing the mud dissolve and reveal the dried meat within, he opened his mouth and swallowed it all.

He had lost several centuries of cultivation. There was no reason not to eat free food.

The chief thanked Feng Xu for resolving a great threat to the tribe.

"We are both of the Human Race. Taking action against a fish demon was only proper, but I never said this meat was being given away for free."

"What do you mean?"

Feng Xu raised a brow and smiled faintly.

"There are four thousand jin of meat in total. Chief, please bring out something to exchange for it."

This trade went very smoothly. Four thousand jin of meat was exchanged for twenty women, thirty children, and five hundred jin of rice seeds.

The Marsh Tribe had more than four hundred people. It was the most populous tribe Feng Xu had seen so far.

Their living environment was relatively comfortable and their supplies abundant. Moreover, because they had spent years outwitting the large fish in the river, both their population and fighting strength were considerable.

The remaining items were distributed among the newcomers, making everyone's burden much lighter.

They made carrying poles and vine baskets by the shore, and Feng Xu began bestowing names again.

"From now on, you are Jiang Ze, and this place is the Marsh Tribe."

His main sources of Merit were now as follows: one point whenever someone learned to make and use fire; one point for every thousand characters learned; one point for every ten pottery items fired; ten points for building one treehouse; and one point for making one back basket.

After assigning names, he planned to teach them how to make fishing nets. This should also become a long-term source of Merit.

Then there were houses. Perhaps those could be improved as well.

The Marsh Tribe lived in marshland beside the river, where the soil and water were rich. After several decades, this place should have developed into a huge tribe of over a thousand people, yet it only had several hundred.

After asking around, he learned that on one hand, large fish underwater ate people; on the other, people froze to death every winter.

Before the Human Race learned to use fire, freezing to death was perfectly normal.

"You have so much straw. How could people freeze to death?"

"There's too much moisture here, so the straw gets wet easily. When it turns cold, the grass freezes over."

Feng Xu looked at the bamboo rafts belonging to each household. Though they could float on water, water often seeped through the gaps between the bamboo underneath.

"Jiang Ze, I'll help you build new houses."

Chief Jiang Ze did not know what a house was. After listening to Feng Xu's explanation, he assigned him a hundred people as helpers.

A large tribe truly was generous.

Feng Xu arranged for half the people to cut bamboo, while the other half went farther away to fell trees.

They cut off the excess branches from the timber, then stripped away the bark.

The bark was placed by the shore to be used later for fishing nets. Though it would rot after being soaked for too long, it was still better than having nothing.

One end of each log was sharpened into a point for the base, then charred with fire to prevent rot before being driven into the marsh as foundation piles.

Feng Xu asked about the yearly flood levels of the river. Using the highest water level as a reference, he set the platform height another four chi above it.

The platforms were built with processed bamboo poles, bound with rope and reinforced with wooden pegs.

The others continued driving piles and building platforms. Each platform was set apart to prevent one household's fire from bringing disaster upon the entire tribe.

Feng Xu led people in building bamboo frames for houses atop the platforms, filling them with straw.

The roofs were also covered with straw. The overall method resembled that of treehouses, only with different materials and slight differences in structure.

Besides the main door, the houses had windows for ventilation. Straw curtains hung over both the windows and doors, which could be closed against the wind or opened for air.

Beside each house stood a small hut that served as a toilet.

A layer of mud was spread across the floor inside, allowing fires to be built on it.

Only after eliminating every fire hazard he could think of did Feng Xu let the others use the sample house as a reference for building their own.

The new houses were sturdier and separated from the water, reducing dampness while offering better protection from wind and rain.

However, the entire process took quite a while. Feng Xu worked for three or four days before it was finished.

There was no initial Merit reward, only the fixed ten Merit Points for each house built.

While the able-bodied workers built houses, Feng Xu taught the remaining people how to weave fishing nets.

Although they were not as powerful as the Dharma Treasure Heavenly Net and Earthly Web, they were more than enough for catching fish.

Each fishing net made earned two points of Merit.

After the nets were finished, everyone tried fishing on the river, and the harvest was quite good.

Among the catch were several small Golden Carp. At Feng Xu's signal, they were released back into the water.

Feng Xu designed a character for Golden Carp.

He also gave the Giant Golden Carp a title—Carp King.

The Giant Golden Carp, whose scales had been pulled out, was wary of Feng Xu, but he was still rather pleased after receiving the title.

He swam around on the river's surface for a while before returning to the bottom.

Feng Xu's group stayed in the Marsh Tribe for seven days and only departed on the morning of the eighth day.

When they left, the people of the Marsh Tribe escorted them all the way to the shore.

"Jiang Ze, come visit our Wind-Fire Tribe when you have time. I'll teach you to read, and in the future, you can bestow names on your own people."

"Feng Xu, thank you to the Wind-Fire Tribe for helping us. We will always remember this kindness."

The great powers of the Primordial World spoke only of karma; only the Human Race valued loyalty and affection.

The Windfire Squad set out once more for the next tribe.

The entire group had grown from the original eighteen people to forty-two adults and forty-seven children.

This journey was relatively long. After traveling for six days, the group gradually left the forest behind, with desolate mountains stretching before them.

Rustling sounds came from the trees behind them.

Feng Xi moved closer and pushed aside the brush.

Feng Xu poked his head out from behind him. When he saw the little creature in the grass, his eyes lit up.

"A puppy!"

Though he called it a puppy, it was actually a wolf, and its body was three chi long.

It still looked young, and there was no telling how large it might grow.

"This is a wolf. It looks like it has been hungry for a long time, and its leg is injured too. Perfect for roasting."

"How could you?"

Feng Xu snatched it away.

He was over four chi tall. When he picked up the wolf cub, its legs could still touch the ground.

"I said it's a dog, so it's a dog."

The wolf cub wanted to resist, but it had no strength.

Feng Xu took out roasted dried meat, tore it into pieces, and stuffed them into the wolf cub's mouth.

The wolf cub opened its mouth and swallowed. Feng Xu continued feeding it.

Feng Xi sighed. "Once it regains its strength, it will attack us."

"Don't worry. It's so small. If it dares bare its fangs, I'll beat it until it behaves."

"Wolves do not obey human words."

"It's very smart. If it can communicate, then it can possibly be tamed."

"Fine. At worst, I'll keep an eye on it for the next few days."

Feng Xi shook his head helplessly. It was rare for Feng Xu to find something he liked, so he could not bear to spoil his excitement.

"I'm a wolf, not a dog."

Having recovered a little strength, the wolf cub suddenly spoke.

"This puppy can actually talk. Could it be an Earth Immortal too?"

Feng Xu jumped in fright and released the wolf cub from his arms.

"Not an Earth Immortal. It may possess the bloodline of some powerful Demon Race, so it developed intelligence early."

Feng Xi inspected it and shook his head.

"This little puppy has a bloodline?"

"I said I'm a wolf! And what even is a dog? I've never heard of one."

Though the wolf cub landed on the ground, it did not run. It merely argued back.

"I am the son of the Heavenly Demon Wolf King. Why have you not knelt before me at once?"