Every year when winter approached, the tribe would go out to hunt more frequently. If it weren't for the limited manpower, they would definitely hunt for longer periods of time.
Because every year when winter approached, the tribe would prepare animal skins and let people take them to the slave owners to sell, and then buy some other things. When the weather turned cold, the slave owners who lived far away from the mountains and forests would have an increased demand for animal skins. Relying on their slaves alone, they couldn't prepare much good stuff, so they still had to get it from the tribesmen.
Especially those with good fur and good leather, the price of selling them was more than twice as high as other times.
Food, bronze, and other things that the tribe couldn't produce themselves, they would use this method to exchange for them. If the family had the means, they would buy some rare things from the slave owners and bring them back.
All of this required the support of prey.
Before going to bed yesterday, Shao Xuan heard many people in the team discussing what to exchange for furs. They also asked Shao Xuan, but Shao Xuan hadn't been to the slave owners' territory, so he couldn't say why. He could only wait and see.
On the second day of hunting, before the sun was completely out, each team had already set off.
Following Tao Zheng's team, Shao Xuan quickly passed through the mountains. Sometimes, after a short pause, Tao Zheng would introduce some of the surrounding terrain to Shao Xuan. This was the hunting route that their team often took. Shao Xuan memorized all the dangerous places, ferocious beasts, and dangerous or medicinal plants around.
When they passed by a dry river, Shao Xuan's footsteps suddenly stopped and looked over there.
Seeing Shao Xuan stop, the others also stopped. After yesterday's hunting, the people in the team wouldn't underestimate Shao Xuan. In terms of strength, even the stubborn Zhui had to admit that Shao Xuan was a little stronger than them.
"What's wrong?" Tao Zheng asked. Looking at the dry riverbed, they didn't find anything strange. They had been here many times and were very familiar with it.
Shao Xuan stared in that direction. "You guys wait here. I'll go take a look." With that, he quickly walked over.
There were no dangerous fierce beasts around, so Tao Zheng simply walked over and asked, "What did you find?"
Shao Xuan remained silent. He wasn't sure either.
The riverbed here was twenty to thirty meters wide, and it seemed to be wider in the distance, but it was not deep.
"During the rainy season, the river will rise, but at the end of the year, the river level will drop and dry up." Tao Zheng explained to Shao Xuan, "There's water here most of the year, but it's only dry at the end of the year. But when there's water here, we won't get close. Because there are some dangerous fish here. "
Shao Xuan walked to the side and didn't go down. He looked at the dry riverbed, but if he stepped in, he would sink right in. The bottom was soft mud, but the top of the mud was dry and cracked. Weeds grew out of the cracks in the mud, and they were growing quite well.
However, Shao Xuan wasn't interested in that. His target was the rocks on the riverbed.
"Do you have a spear? Let me borrow it. "Shao Xuan turned around and asked someone to lend him a tool.
"Use mine!" Duo Li hurriedly handed over the spear he always carried.
"Thanks."
Shao Xuan took the spear and picked up the nearest rock on the riverbed.
The stones exposed from the riverbed were lifted up high by the spearhead and flew towards Shao Xuan. After catching the rock, Shao Xuan wiped away some of the dry mud on the surface of the rock and carefully examined it. He rubbed his fingers on the rock to feel it.
"What's different about these rocks?" Tao Zheng asked. In his opinion, these rocks were no different from other rocks. They weren't big either, so they couldn't be made into stone tools.
Shao Xuan shook his head. "It's just a guess."
After picking up two more rocks, Shao Xuan put the three fist-sized rocks into his animal skin bag. Then, he walked along the riverbed and looked into the distance.
"The scary fish you're talking about, the ones with hard scales, sharp teeth, four claws, and a long tail. Are they the ones that can swim in the water and walk on land?" Shao Xuan asked.
Before Tao Zheng could answer, Duo Li and the others nodded. "Yes, yes, that's it. Shao Xuan, you've seen them before?"
At first, they wanted to hunt some of those fish, but then they realized that they were too dangerous and there were too many of them. So, when the weather was warm and the water level in the river rose, they would avoid this place. At the end of the year, when the river dried up and the fish left, they would come back.
Touching the animal skin bag with the rocks, Shao Xuan asked again, "Where does this river lead to?"
The others didn't know the answer to this question, but Tao Zheng did. He heard it from an old hunter who used to come here.
"It's said that there's an even wider river ahead. That river can cut through the entire forest. If you follow that river, you might see the sea. But it's too far and no one in the tribe has seen it before. I only heard it from some tribesmen who came from there. "
Into the sea? Shao Xuan lowered his head and thought.
Shao Xuan stopped because he felt that the rocks on the bed looked familiar. He held one in his hand and felt that the texture was familiar too. That year, when he brought the tribe across the river and left the Drumming tribe, a crocodile gave him a rock. It was said that the Drumming tribe's water moon stones came from that rock.
The Drumming tribe had never been here before, so they couldn't have anything to do with this place. But crocodiles were different. Maybe the Drumming tribe's crocodiles wouldn't come here, but what about other crocodiles? Were there other crocodiles like the Drumming tribe that picked up rocks from the sea and spat them into the river?
That was hard to say.
"Let's go," Shao Xuan said. The team still had to continue hunting. They couldn't be delayed because of him.
Duo Li looked at the leaving team and the rocks on the bed. He ran over and picked one up with his spear. Ever since he saw Shao Xuan fight the bone beast alone, Duo Li was impressed by this young Elder who wasn't much older than him. He believed in Shao Xuan's abilities. Since Shao Xuan thought that the rocks were strange, he brought one himself to study. Maybe he could find something.
The others saw what Duo Li did and wondered if they should bring one too. But the team had already left and it wasn't convenient to go back. Whatever, they'd come back next time. There was still one more hunt before winter anyway.
Other than Shao Xuan's unique way of hunting the bone beast on the first day, they went back to their old ways for the next few days. The Yanjiao people valued individual ability, but they also valued teamwork. Shao Xuan, Tao Zheng and the rest hunted some good prey. Other than that, Shao Xuan also used vines to weave a net and caught a few tapirs.
The tapirs they caught were one of the smaller species of tapirs. They were normal animals that could be eaten. They were very timid and would run away at the slightest movement. They hid in a hidden spot with dense foliage and only came out when the danger was over. They had different coloured patterns on their skin and looked like they were wearing camouflage clothing. When they hid in the bushes, it was hard to spot them.
The babies of these tapirs were even more timid so they weren't as curious as other animals. They would stick close to their mother and never leave alone. This way of survival allowed this seemingly harmless species to survive until now.
Tao Zheng and the rest didn't care about prey like these, but Shao Xuan caught one. It was a female tapir with a litter of babies. When they were discovered, they were being chased by predators and ran into Shao Xuan's net. Shao Xuan caught them all.
Shao Xuan didn't eat these normal animals. He caught them as gifts.
Hunting time was over and the teams were almost done with their prey. It was time to return to the tribe.
Everyone gathered at the resting area and sorted out the prey of their respective teams before carrying them back.
The route from the resting area to the tribe overlapped with the route of the Taihe tribe. Although the territories of the two tribes were different, and the hunting areas were also different, this section of the road was shared. It was flat and easy to walk on, suitable for teams with prey.
The path was made by walking. The hunting teams of the two tribes often stepped on it and the trees and grass in the way were all cut down.
Duo Kang was in a good mood because of the good harvest and the successful hunt. He opened his mouth and roared. The others also sang along.
With so many people singing together, the burst of energy had a certain deterrent effect on the nearby beasts. No beasts came close. When they went out, they weren't so arrogant because they didn't want to chase away their prey. But when they came back, they didn't have to worry.
At the Y-shaped intersection, the Taihe people were carrying their prey onto the shared path. When they heard the singing from the Yanjiao team, the leader was disgusted. "Why are we meeting them again?!"
His good mood had been ruined!
"Leader … Yanjiao …"
"Don't worry about them!" The leader's face was wooden. "Keep walking and pretend they don't exist!"
However, the Yanjiao people's presence was too strong. They couldn't ignore them even if they wanted to.
When the Flaming Horn tribesmen reached the public walkway from the other side of the road, the two teams met up.
Duo Kang glanced at the prey brought by the Taihe team and let out a strange laugh. "Heh heh."
The Taihe team leader's face darkened. "What, are you looking down on us?"
"Oh, no, I'm not looking down on you. Really," Duo Kang said. Then, he turned around and yelled, "Duo Li, take your prey and walk faster! Why are you taking so long with that small amount of prey! "
The people behind him didn't say anything. They seemed to have formed a tacit agreement. After Duo Kang said that, Shao Xuan noticed that the people in the team were energized. Then, Duo Li and the others carried the bone beast and walked quickly to the front of the team.
Seeing the huge bone beast, the Taihe people were speechless. The leader's face twitched and turned green.
Shao Xuan was happy to see this. He carried the prey and chased after them.
On the other side, the Taihe team leader was about to retort when he heard an "ah" behind him. He forgot what he wanted to say.
"What ah?!" The leader turned around and roared.
Ignoring the leader's expression, a young warrior jumped out and pointed at Shao Xuan. "Leader! It's him! "
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