Sorrow

Once again, the clanspeople sank into a haze of grief and sorrow. With tears streaming down their faces, they buried the two women who had died of exhaustion beside the mountain.

Life had to go on. Long'er's mother forced herself to rally and told everyone to search for food within the Ancestral Grounds. They were to go in groups of three and stay close, lest some mishap befall them.

After all, the Ancestral Grounds were still unfamiliar to them, and they had no idea whether unknown dangers lurked within.

It was better to tread carefully and keep everyone safe.

So few remained in the clan that they could no longer bear the pain of losing another member.

Long'er's mother counted the remaining clanspeople once more.

Besides the nine gravely wounded men, there were twenty-six children of various ages. There were also many women, twenty-three in all.

The entire clan had only fifty-eight people left.

The Wen clan had once numbered over a thousand. In just a few years of feuding with the Kai clan, they had vanished like smoke and scattered like clouds.

The Kai clan had slaughtered them to the brink of extinction, while the Kai clan itself had nearly twenty thousand clanspeople in Wan Family Town.

How could they possibly stand against the Kai clan? Every clash cost the Wen clan another group of lives, yet even that failed to settle matters.

Only after seizing more of their land would the Kai clan relent.

Seeing that the Wen clan could no longer hold on, the Kai clan had finally struck ruthlessly, intent on putting them to death.

They had sought to wipe out the Wen clan in one blow. That was what had led the elders to fight to the death to protect the bloodline of the younger generations, leaving only these paltry fifty-eight survivors.

The Wen clan's fate was tragic. To the Kai clan, cutting out the grass by its roots was the only way to end the trouble once and for all.

The Kai clan had launched its campaign of extermination, setting off a relentless pursuit as the Wen clanspeople fled for their lives.

As she gazed into a valley overgrown with wild grass, she could no longer see any trace of the houses their ancestors had built.

Long'er's mother had no tears left to shed. She could only have people clear out the cave and send others to search for food.

Linzi's mother knew a little medicine, so she was asked to take two clanspeople with her to look for medicinal herbs to treat the gravely wounded men.

Long'er and a group of children around ten years old went to a nearby stream to catch small fish and shrimp, hoping to help provide a little food for the clan.

The clanspeople were desperately short of food. All the provisions they had brought were lost; only the little dry food they carried on their bodies remained.

There seemed to be little of that left, either. How could it feed fifty-eight mouths?

Though they had escaped their enemies, starving to death here would be an even more bitter injustice.

Long'er did not wade into the stream to feel around for fish. Instead, he took out his dagger on the bank, cut down two bamboo stalks, and dragged them back.

He also cut a few wild vines along the way and took them back with him. None of the other children understood what he was doing, but no one asked. They were too busy delighting in the fish they caught.

Back at the cave entrance, he quickly split the bamboo down the middle with his dagger and set it aside to dry. Then he crushed the vines with a stone and pulled out the fibers inside.

Long'er's mother did not understand what he was doing, so she asked, "Long'er, what are you making?"

Long'er kept working as he answered, "Mother, winter is approaching, and there will be fewer and fewer wild fruits, fish, and shrimp. But there should still be plenty of wild rabbits and pheasants. I spotted signs of them just now. I'm making a bow and arrows to hunt with."

"But do you know how to make them?" Long'er's mother asked, looking puzzled.

"I have to try. Without tools, we can't hunt. Also, have people cut more bamboo and bring it back so we can make tools for everyday use. Have them look for bamboo shoots, too. Those are edible," Long'er replied.

Long'er's mother grew increasingly curious. Her son had only ever cared for reading before. How was it that, after coming here, he seemed to know so many things?

She could see nothing else unusual about her son. Perhaps this calamity had made him more mature.

She did not dwell on it. Turning away, she went to find people to search that bamboo grove and see whether there was anything edible there.