With his future direction clear, Tu Hu no longer felt lost.
Every day, he immersed himself in an ocean of knowledge, constantly absorbing more.
He did not reach beyond his grasp. He chose the most basic material, all knowledge the Velvet Spirit Tribe currently needed.
After gaining an initial grasp of the relevant knowledge, Tu Hu's first lesson was weapon smelting.
The Velvet Spirit Tribe had long mastered making stone spears and bone blades, but what he brought them was the concept of metal.
As Tu Hu taught this knowledge, he was also learning through practice.
Turning knowledge into something tangible was, by its very nature, a process of feeling one's way forward.
He began with mineral identification, then led the tribe in building their first crude, heat-resistant earthen furnace in the Velvet Spirit Tribe's territory.
A Lan and the others found Tu Hu's decision deeply puzzling, but they all chose to support him.
They offered help in every way they could.
A Lan was the first to act. Although he did not understand what use there was in the "burning stones" Tu Hu spoke of, he trusted him.
He personally selected a group of warriors and, following Tu Hu's instructions, went to the riverbed to haul back sticky river mud and quarry fire-resistant stones that could withstand high temperatures.
Whenever young Rongling grew lax in this work they could not understand, A Lan spurred them on with a stern look.
During her gathering trips, A Fen also took her team searching everywhere for the stones Tu Hu had described.
Each time, she brought back as many samples as possible for Tu Hu to sort through.
A Lü revised the daily work schedule, allocating people to build the furnace and collect fuel, ensuring that this "strange" project would not interfere