The tribe looked the same as before, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't hard to notice that many changes were happening quietly. Then, when everyone gathered together to discuss, they realized that there were so many situations that were different from the past.
For example, there were always a few old figures walking back and forth by the river in front of the tribe. Not only them, but even the chief often wandered by the river, which made the people living in the mountain foot area very curious. Even if they were not catching fish, they would go to the river from time to time.
Gradually, they formed a habit of going to the river when they had nothing to do. Maybe they could meet a senior leader of the tribe and talk about life.
And the people in the mountain also found that those bad-tempered old men were very nice to Shao Xuan! They couldn't believe it!
Later, even the two team leaders looked at Shao Xuan with strange eyes.
There was another thing that puzzled everyone. During the rainy season, several important people on the mountain actually braved the rain and ran to the river every day. This was something that had never happened before. The words passed down from generation to generation made the warriors in the tribe afraid of the river. In recent years, the situation became a little better after fishing, but it was not enough to make those important people in the mountain come to see it, right?
Those who were confused continued to be confused, and those who were looking forward to it continued to look forward to it.
…
It was another rainy season.
In this year, Shao Xuan's body was sixteen years old. After the ceremony, several important people in the mountain began to lose sleep every day. They were nervous and excited, and gathered together to discuss whether the plan needed to be changed.
Looking for wood, building boats, making sails, and so on, a series of movements could not be hidden from too many people. During this year's ceremony, the Shaman told them about Shao Xuan's sailing. This news made the whole tribe talk about it for a long time, and it did not stop until the rainy season. Shao Xuan was often stopped by people, asking all kinds of questions about the trip.
Everyone in the tribe had a strong sense of expectation. Although they did not understand a lot of what the Shaman said, it did not mean that they were not looking forward to it.
During the rainy season, torrential rain descended. The river overlords roared as they headed downstream in groups. Those wood-eating bugs also gradually left. Most of the creatures in the river followed the giant beasts downstream. When the two moons met again, they would return from the sea. There were also some that, like the frogs, appeared for a period of time, then went to other places that no one knew of and disappeared.
This time, Shao Xuan planned to use the time between the end of the rainy season and the reunion of the two moons to sail the boat.
At the end of the rainy season, everyone in the tribe, from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, from the elderly to the children, put down other things at hand and gathered beside the Path of Glory.
"Move it out." The Shaman stood at the top of the mountain and said.
Ao and the two team leaders, as well as a few able-bodied warriors, carefully moved the canoe out of the wooden shed.
The canoe was nearly three meters wide at its widest point and ten meters long. It was shaped like a shuttle. The reason why it was so big was to make it easier for Chacha to rest inside. If it was only Shao Xuan, there would be no need for such a big canoe.
Shao Xuan had to choose the type of tree that was used to make the canoe. The hunting team had gone out to find all kinds of samples, and brought them back for Shao Xuan to choose. After Shao Xuan had made his choice, Ao and the others went to cut down the best tree and brought it back.
The canoe was made by Shao Xuan and several of the tribe's top stoneware craftsmen, including Old Ke. They hollowed out the middle of the tree they had cut down, and made a large and nimble canoe.
The canoe was relatively simple to make, and there was no risk of it falling apart.
The blueprint was also drawn by Shao Xuan himself. When he was drawing, he also consulted the other old warriors in the tribe. Maybe they didn't know anything about canoes, but they knew some useful techniques. Shao Xuan then made some changes based on their suggestions.
After the blueprint was finished, the stoneware craftsmen went to cut down a lot of wood to practice at home. After all, there was a big difference between wood and stoneware, so they didn't dare to do anything rashly. When they were confident and got the hang of it, they would come back to finish the canoe together.
This canoe wasn't that heavy for many totem warriors in the tribe. Normally, they could even carry stones, so how hard would it be for them to carry wood?
But at this moment, it was carried by several senior totem warriors, and they would carry it down the mountain later. This was a kind of respect, a kind of solemn etiquette.
Shao Xuan sat cross-legged on the ground. The shaman was drawing patterns on his face, just like the warriors who went out to hunt. It was a kind of blessing, which meant that the tribe attached great importance to this. Even Chacha's feet were drawn by the shaman with the tribe's totem, imitating the giant eagle at Eagle Mountain.
After finishing the drawing, Shao Xuan bowed towards the fire pit, and then walked to the canoe. Together with the others carrying the canoe, they walked down the Path of Glory. Chacha directly flew up into the air and flew over.
Behind the canoe, the shaman and the other elders of the tribe followed. Some of them were excited, some were worried, and some looked calm, but the twitching of their muscles showed that they weren't. At this time, many people were easily overthinking, worrying about their gains and losses. This was related to the ancestors' wishes, so how could they be calm?
Beside the Path of Glory, the crowd followed the canoe. Adults with children, disabled people with crutches, or supported by others, followed closely.
Everyone sang the 'Hunting Song' and the 'Prayer Song'. At first, only the people on the mountain sang, but soon, the people at the foot of the mountain sang as well. The whole tribe sang the same song with the same rhythm and pace. Some were young, some were old, some were sharp, and some were rough. To them, singing represented everything they were feeling at the moment.
Most of the people in the tribe weren't good at expressing their emotions and thoughts. Singing was a form of expression.
This was the first time they sang the 'Hunting Song' without the impatient killing intent before the hunt. Instead, they sang with fearlessness, without fear, and with hope.
On this day, the whole tribe collectively sent Shao Xuan off.
What was on the other side of the river? They didn't know, and they never thought of finding out. In many people's eyes, Shao Xuan's actions were worthy of respect, but they didn't think that Shao Xuan could safely cross the river. This river was too dangerous. What a brave warrior!
After the canoe was transported down the mountain, Ao and the others carefully pushed it into the river.
The canoe that was made was classified as a side canoe.
The so-called "side canoe" was a canoe that was attached to one side or both sides of the canoe, and was shaped like a boat that was floating in the same direction as the canoe. Shao Xuan's design was a side canoe. Because of this, he once played with it when he was traveling abroad.
The side canoe overcame the instability of the canoe that was prone to sway sideways and capsizing in the wind and waves. It also possessed the advantages of the canoe's lightness and structural integrity. It was also a tool used by the aboriginals for ocean voyaging.
The sail was also the most important part of the boat. Now, it was set up with a sail made of leaves and vines. The vines were thin but very strong vines found in the hunting grounds. The best women in the tribe weaved them into an inverted triangular sail.
In the eyes of the shamaness and the others, they didn't know if this kind of material would be useful, so it was best to prepare more. But because the vines were hard to find, in the end, they only managed to weave two pieces. One piece was installed, and the other piece was used as a backup. They didn't know if a backup piece would be enough.
When Shao Xuan was learning from the aborigines, he learned that the side canoe could travel more than 200 kilometers a day. But here, Shao Xuan wasn't so sure.
After connecting the side canoe with the side canoe, Shao Xuan checked every place and the things he needed to bring. Shao Xuan stood in the canoe and looked at the densely packed people on the shore.
Caesar carried Old Ke and also stood on the shore. He looked at Shao Xuan and Chacha who landed in the canoe. He also wanted to follow, but Shao Xuan couldn't bring him along. If there was any danger on the river, Shao Xuan could let Chacha carry him. But Caesar couldn't, and Chacha couldn't carry him.
If Chacha was about the same size as the giant eagles in Eagle Mountain, he could carry many people. Unfortunately, Chacha was still small.
"Goodbye. I'm leaving. "Shao Xuan bowed to the people on the shore.
Under the leadership of the shamaness and the chief, the people on the shore also bowed to Shao Xuan. This was a situation that had never happened in thousands of years.
To the people of the tribe, Shao Xuan was their hope to leave this place. If Shao Xuan didn't succeed, then no one knew how long it would take for them to leave this place. Maybe even after a thousand years, they would still be stuck in the same place.
With a pull of the sail, the canoe sailed away with the wind.
The sail was very big. If it weren't for the totemic warriors' great strength, Shao Xuan might not be able to operate it.
Chacha, the big guy, stood in the canoe and looked around curiously. To him, this was a very novel experience. He could actually stand on the river!
However, such a big boat was still too small for Chacha. After standing for a while, he flew up to the sky and flew in the direction Shao Xuan pointed. He still had more freedom in the sky. When he was tired of flying, he would return to the boat to rest.
On the shore, the 'Prayer Song' sounded. It was a collective chorus.
Shao Xuan looked back and saw that the people on the shore were getting smaller and smaller. The house on the mountain gradually became a blurry dot. The mountain that he had lived in for nearly eight years was gradually disappearing at the point where the water met the sky, just like the riverbank.
Besides the sound of the wind, there was no other sound.
Looking at the direction of the sun in the sky and feeling the slight change in the wind, Shao Xuan adjusted the sail and looked ahead.
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