Chapter 298: Gathering
Not long after Zi led the tribe members to flee, several of the intelligent giant beasts woke up. They looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what had actually happened.
“Could it be the Invisible King from human legends?”
This giant beast was the very one who had wanted a human pet; he had heard of the myths passed down by word of mouth among humans.
“What is the Invisible King?”
Another giant beast shook the dirt off his body and asked curiously.
“No one knows specifically what He is. Legend has it that He is invisible, unknowable, and inaudible. Just listening to His teachings is enough to drive a Mundo mad!”
The speaking giant beast trembled all over, looking at the setting sun with a sudden, inexplicable palpitation in his heart.
“We better hurry back.”
After glancing at each other, the Mundo beasts ran back to the hunting camp as if fleeing for their lives.
In the hunting camp, fires blazed. After the giant beasts put on their clothes, they appeared well-dressed as they had an audience with the manager of the hunting zone.
“Respected gentlemen, I think you are just too exhausted. Running too fast combined with the hot weather caused heatstroke. Do not scare yourselves; there are no gods or monsters in our world!”
A Mundo beast, dressed exquisitely and wearing metal-rimmed glass spectacles, spoke with clear logic.
“Although humans possess intelligence, they are not civilized. They are merely an ignorant race unable to correctly explain various natural phenomena, so they attribute everything to gods. Isn’t that ridiculous?
“All unknowns exist because we know too little about natural laws. I suggest you go back and read Commons’ masterpiece, Critique of Pure Reason.
“Come, lads. A glass of thirty-year-old Black Tulip for each of you. Have a good sleep after drinking.”
As he spoke, the Mundo beasts each drank a glass of Black Tulip wine and were then shooed off to sleep.
“The Invisible King? I believed in that and looked for it when I was young, but it’s all fake! How could such things exist in our world!”
The exquisitely dressed Mundo manager shook his head and downed a glass of Black Tulip in one gulp.
On the other side, as the sun rose, Zi and the tribe members woke up on piles of straw that were somewhat damp. Their bodies were sore and aching, but hunger drove them. If they didn’t hurry up to hunt and gather, they would starve to death!
“Zi, we don’t have any food or tools. What should we do?”
The tribal chief, Deer, spoke to Zi in a tone of piety and awe.
Originally, he only treated Zi as a desperate last resort, but since the events of yesterday, the chief’s mindset had changed drastically. Perhaps Zi really could communicate with the Invisible King!
“Deer, this is something you should consider as the chief, not ask me. I only lead the tribe in serving the great Invisible King. You decide the rest yourself.”
The Witch, Zi, opened her left eye. Her gaze was clear as she spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
Deer declined a few times, but after confirming that Zi did not want to manage tribal affairs, he decided to take command himself.
“Zi, our tribe has thirty-nine people left. Excluding the old, young, sick, and disabled, there are twelve usable adult men and ten women. We currently lack the slings and stone spears needed for hunting. I plan to lead all the adults to gather berries nearby first. You all wait for me in the cave.”
Under normal circumstances, Deer wouldn’t have reported this to Zi at all. But ever since yesterday, Deer wanted to discuss everything with Zi; for the first time, he felt the importance of a Witch.
Deer led the group out of the cave to gather. As a qualified chief, Deer was not only capable of hunting beasts but was also proficient in the ways of gathering.
Following the river, they gradually discovered a jungle. Deer led the group to roll in the mud by the riverbank. Only after covering themselves in wet mud did they enter the jungle.
This was a method passed down from the ancients. Smearing and covering the body with mud could minimize mosquito and insect bites in the jungle.
In their eyes, mosquitoes were more terrifying than ferocious beasts. Once bitten, many people would alternate between fever and chills, speak nonsense, and finally die in despair and helplessness.
Worse still, it could cause other tribe members to contract similar diseases. It was terrifying.
Any tribe member who fell ill from insect bites would be placed in a remote corner far from the settlement. The tribe would only give them a small amount of water and food, leaving them to survive or die on their own.
Jungle insects were more dangerous than beasts!
So why did they still enter the jungle? Because the most gatherable food was here.
“Listen up, everyone. Most berries on the trees are edible, but a few are inedible or even poisonous. If you find berries, show them to me or Leaf first. You can only pick the berries we confirm are edible!
“Now, let’s weave baskets from the reeds by the river to make gathering easier later!”
Following Deer’s words, the tribe members began weaving in groups of two or three.
There seemed to have been no human activity on this river beach, so reeds were plentiful. They spent the better part of the day weaving reed baskets before carrying them into the jungle one by one.
By evening, Deer and the others walked toward the cave singing happy songs, carrying baskets filled to the brim. Not only had they gathered enough berries to feed the tribe for four or five days, but they had also collected a large amount of milkweed stems.
Milkweed stems were excellent natural fibers; twisting a few strands together made a very good rope.
With rope, they could make slings, stone axes, stone spears, and simple trap nooses.
Just as they were singing happily, a strong yellow figure suddenly darted out. It had been staring at this group for a long time. It quickly pounced on a woman lagging behind. Sharp teeth and strong jaws bit directly through the woman’s neck.
The woman twitched feebly. The basket in her hands fell to the ground, and berries rolled everywhere.
“Tiger!”
Deer roared, waving his hand to command everyone to face the tiger and slowly retreat.
They had no weapons in their hands and couldn’t fight the tiger at all. Even if they surrounded and attacked the tiger together, at least half the tribe members would die, and they still might not kill it.
Deer didn’t hesitate. He stared at the tiger’s silhouette, watching as the tiger bit at the poor woman bit by bit.
Seeing the crowd staring at it, the tiger let out a roar while dragging its prey backward. This woman was enough for a full meal, so it didn’t plan to continue attacking.
They stood in a stalemate for a while. As the sun began to set, Deer didn’t dare to delay; the world at night was even more dangerous. He slowly led the tribe members out of the tiger’s visual range.
Back in the cave, the elderly and children had already started a fire. They hadn’t been idle either; under Zi’s direction, they had used several hard shells of Ruer fruits to fetch some water.
Seeing basket after basket of berries, the elderly and children smiled happily.
Zi counted the tribe members one by one and found that a woman was missing.
“What happened, Deer? Why is one woman missing, and why does everyone look so grim?”
Deer spoke with pain and lingering fear: “We met a tiger.”
(End of this chapter)
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