It was raining.
It was really raining.
It was about the same time as Shao Xuan had predicted, only a few seconds apart.
Was it a coincidence?
Or was it really the same as what the knot had predicted?
After washing the bird droppings off his hands with the rainwater, Shao Xuan walked back into the cave. He took out the straw rope from the animal skin bag and cut it again. Looking at the curtain of rain outside the cave, he wondered if he should try again.
It was already raining, so what was the point of divination for the next one?
Why don't I try when the rain will stop?
Shao Xuan recalled the state he was in when he was tying the rope and his thoughts when he was tying the rope. Then he picked up the rope, closed his eyes, and threw away all distracting thoughts. He thought about when the rain would stop.
Waiting for the hands to reappear in his mind, Shao Xuan observed for a while. He found that the knotting movements of the hands were different from the chaotic knots in the past.
There was hope!
Shao Xuan carefully observed the movements of the hands. In his own hands, the straw rope was knotted in the same way.
When Shao Xuan left the state of consciousness, the feeling of exhaustion hit him again. His vision went dark for a moment, and his head hurt. It took a while for him to recover.
It seemed that this method of knot divination was indeed very exhausting.
Looking at the new conclusion in his hands, Shao Xuan interpreted it. He found that this time, it was not as detailed as before. The meaning was somewhat vague, but he could roughly guess.
The rain would stop before noon.
Even if there was no sun, Shao Xuan could roughly guess the time. He was used to days without clocks. Even if the sky was covered with dark clouds, he could guess the time by looking at the sky. This was a necessary skill for hunting in the mountains.
It was only noon, so he would wait and see.
Shao Xuan put the knot aside and ate a piece of cold and hard barbecue meat. He leaned against the cave wall to rest and recover his strength as soon as possible.
When Shao Xuan felt that it was about time, the sound of the rain outside the cave had lessened, but it did not stop.
Walking to the entrance of the cave, Shao Xuan looked outside. The thick clouds in the sky were dispersing, and Yang Guang shone through the gaps between the clouds, illuminating the forest full of vitality.
The sound of the rain gradually lessened until it completely stopped.
In the sky, the dark clouds dispersed. Yang Guang was just in time.
Once was a coincidence, and twice was also a coincidence?
Shao Xuan was even more convinced that the inheritance recorded on the longevity leaf was knot divination!
Shao Xuan rarely saw such a method ever since knots were gradually replaced. Even when he was on a long journey, he had never seen such a method. He didn't expect to obtain such a thing. The only thing he didn't know was which shaman from which tribe had left this behind. There wasn't even a trace of the tribe's totem.
After the rain, the sky cleared. Chacha flew out and caught a small ferocious beast. She then shared it with Shao Xuan. After eating, Chacha rested beside him, while Shao Xuan stayed in the cave. He had almost recovered his strength. Looking at the remaining straw ropes in the animal skin bag, he thought for a while and cut off another section with his stone knife.
Not in a hurry to leave, Shao Xuan planned to try the knots for the third time. He had finally succeeded, so he wanted to study it more.
He wanted to predict what he might encounter next, but the third time was not so smooth. He still tied the knots to his fingers.
Again!
Failure.
Again! Again!
Failure again.
… …
Half of the straw ropes in the animal skin bag had been used up. Shao Xuan put down the knots in his hands and leaned against the wall to rest.
Why did he fail?
Was it too difficult?
Chacha was beside him, watching Shao Xuan make straw balls one after another. Then he leaned against the wall and banged his head against it. It didn't quite understand Shao Xuan's thoughts. It only felt that humans were really complicated animals.
After his strength recovered, Shao Xuan thought that maybe the divination just now was too difficult. He couldn't do it, so he decided to do something easier. If he couldn't even do something easy, then he wouldn't try again today. He couldn't force it. Maybe it was a problem with his condition. He would try again when he was in a better condition.
Picking up another section of straw rope, Shao Xuan thought about where he should go next.
When the knots were finally done, Shao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Was the previous one still too difficult? He would have succeeded if he changed to something easier. He shouldn't bite off more than he could chew. It was better to take it step by step.
The next place to go was naturally the place where Chacha told him about the stone. This wasn't too difficult.
However, when Shao Xuan deciphered the meaning of the knot and compared it with the direction given by Chacha, he found that the two directions were not the same.
The knot was successful, so it shouldn't be done randomly. Then, was the direction given by the divination more meaningful to Shao Xuan?
In order to figure it out, Shao Xuan made some adjustments and tried again with another section of straw rope. The result was the same as before.
Shao Xuan looked at the direction indicated by the knot and pondered. What was more important than the stone there?
After thinking for a while, Shao Xuan made a decision.
"Chacha, let's not look for the stone first. Let's go there." Shao Xuan pointed in a different direction.
Chacha had never been to the direction pointed by Shao Xuan, but it didn't matter. It was quite excited to go to an unfamiliar forest.
Because the knot had consumed a lot of energy and time, Shao Xuan decided to set off tomorrow. At the same time, he took some time out of the cave to find some suitable vines to use as rope, in case he didn't have enough straw rope. He had used so much straw rope to tie the knot, so he had to prepare some more in case of an emergency.
The next day.
Shao Xuan, who had recovered, left the cave with Chacha and headed in the direction indicated by the knot.
There was a river flowing through the forest. The river water was a little green, and there were some animals moving around occasionally.
Shao Xuan didn't walk by the river. It was dangerous there. He was at least twenty to thirty meters away from the river.
There were some shiny things on the gravel beach by the river. Shao Xuan wanted to pick one up to take a look.
However, when he bent down to pick it up, he suddenly heard a whistling sound.
Shao Xuan had been on guard against his surroundings. When he heard the sound, he turned his body and dodged to the side.
Bang!
Where Shao Xuan was standing, a water arrow passed through and hit a big rock, splashing water everywhere.
Water arrow?
Shao Xuan's eyelids twitched. Where did this water arrow come from? Was it a fish by the river?
Before Shao Xuan could think, another water arrow shot out from the river. Although it was made of water, it was strong and fast.
Shao Xuan dodged the second water arrow. It hit a tree about fifty meters away from the river bank, leaving a hole in the trunk.
Following that, the third and fourth water arrows chased after Shao Xuan.
However, because of these continuous arrows, Shao Xuan also saw the source of the water arrows. It was indeed from the river. There was a bulge floating on the surface of the river. It was part of some kind of creature in the water.
Shao Xuan didn't want to waste any more time here. After dodging the water arrows, he left the river bank. The deeper he went into the forest, the more he couldn't underestimate even a fish in the river. Big fish had their own threats, and small shrimps had their own abilities. If he wasn't careful, he would stay here forever.
However, Shao Xuan didn't understand what was so special in the depths of the forest where danger lurked everywhere.
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