It took Shao Xuan over twenty days to go from the small tributary in the hunting area to the wider river and then to the main river on the map. Shao Xuan had been hurrying along for the past twenty days without resting. He didn't expect it to take so long just to find the main river.
No wonder the people of the Taihe tribe said that when their ancestors went out to search for medicinal plants, they would be gone for a year. If they were looking for seasonal plants that bloomed and bore fruit, the herb-gatherers would wait even longer because they might miss the opportunity and have to wait for the next year.
Shao Xuan didn't need to wait. He just needed to find the place.
Shao Xuan climbed up a tree and stood on a branch. He took out his animal skin scroll and looked at the map he'd drawn, trying to guess his current location. There was no GPS so he could only guess based on the places he'd passed and the general environment.
The trees around him weren't tall and the ground was wet. There were many potholes and ponds and many aquatic plants.
This was a swamp area. To find the main river as quickly as possible, Shao Xuan had passed through the dangerous swamp area instead of the safer mountainous area. Although the forest was dangerous too, it was still better than the swamp area.
Now, the trees weren't too dense. The bottom of the trees shimmered. Shao Xuan had to pay attention to his surroundings as he looked at the map.
"This should be the place. It's not bad." Shao Xuan looked at a large river not far away, calculating how long it would take to find Gongjia Mountain. He only knew some vague geographical information. He couldn't find the details. If things didn't go well, it would take even longer.
As he was thinking, Shao Xuan's eyelids twitched. He didn't even bother to keep the animal skin scroll in his hands. Instead, he leapt up with all his might.
Just as Shao Xuan moved, the calm water under the tree split open. A huge, long, narrow mouth full of sharp teeth opened up, biting at where Shao Xuan had been standing.
It was a huge crocodile, more than ten meters long. As for how long it was, Shao Xuan had no time to speculate. Because of the sudden jump, some of the water plants and leaves floating on the water surface were also lifted high into the air.
The slightly muddy water droplets scattered to the surroundings along with the waves. Shao Xuan could even smell the muddy water and the smell of aquatic plants, as well as a murderous stench.
That pair of cold, emotionless eyes met Shao Xuan's in the air. It opened its mouth to bite, but Shao Xuan retreated first. It only bit the branch that Shao Xuan was standing on.
Crack!
The crisp snapping sound indicated that the branch, which was as thick as a person, was as easy as biting a biscuit for the crocodile.
The place where Shao Xuan had been standing was at least seven meters above the ground, but the crocodile had easily crossed this height, and even its entire head was higher. The big mouth continued to move upward, and Shao Xuan could see that the crocodile's nasal cavity was slightly larger than that of an ordinary crocodile.
The crocodile didn't give up after missing its attack. Instead, it swung its head vigorously in the air, opened its mouth again, and swept towards Shao Xuan for a second bite.
Based on the crocodile's hook-like teeth structure at the front of its snout, they were better at catching prey. As long as Shao Xuan was bitten anywhere on his body, even if it was just his trousers or the corner of his clothes, he would be tightly hooked and dragged down.
However, Shao Xuan's reaction was too fast. Even though the crocodile had already made a second attempt, Shao Xuan still escaped from its biting range. He was only half a person's length away. However, the crocodile had already begun to descend, and it couldn't make a third bite.
Its closed mouth made a banging sound, and its scaly jaws trembled from the action of biting, as if venting its master's unwillingness. In the end, the crocodile fell heavily into the water, splashing up a large amount of turbid water mixed with seaweed.
After falling back into the water, the crocodile didn't get up again, but left with the ripples of the water.
Shao Xuan landed on another tree, but he didn't stop. Instead, he continued to jump a few times. A seven to eight-meter branch wasn't safe at all. He had to find a bigger tree to rest on. That would be safer. The water under the tree was deeper than he thought, or the crocodiles wouldn't be able to hide their bodies completely.
While Shao Xuan was looking for a taller tree, he encountered another leaping crocodile. As Shao Xuan bounced away, he drew the bronze sword that Zheng Luo had given him in the air. He twisted his waist and swung his arm with the sword, slashing the crocodile's mouth with great force.
Clang!
The vibrations from the sword showed the toughness of the crocodile's scales. However, Shao Xuan still managed to injure it, and the sword even pried off one of its teeth. If Shao Xuan had been stronger, he might have been able to cut a hole in the crocodile's jaw.
Moving through the swamp was like moving through the crocodile's teeth. It was very dangerous, and because of this, the Taihe ancestors marked this swamp as an important place. If the Taihe descendants wanted to pass through this area, they had to be extra careful.
The swamp was very wide. After Shao Xuan found a taller tree, he tried to find land. The river banks weren't all swamps. However, Shao Xuan didn't know where there was land. Even the Taihe ancestors left behind didn't mention it on the map. Shao Xuan could only rely on himself to find it.
After putting away the map, Shao Xuan continued to jump above the swamp. He couldn't leave in the direction away from the river. Leaving the river bank would indeed allow him to leave the swamp faster, but if he did that, Shao Xuan wouldn't know if he could determine the location of the main branch. After all, the main branch had curved a few times and didn't flow in a straight line.
After walking for half a day in the swamp beside the river, the swamp gradually narrowed. Shao Xuan saw a large forest in front of him. It was taller and more lush, and he could even see the mountains.
The swamp was coming to an end. Shao Xuan thought to himself.
The number of crocodiles in the area had decreased by a lot. Previously, he had seen many crocodiles on the banks of the river and in the swamp. However, the closer he got, the harder it was for Shao Xuan to see a single one.
Just like the fierce beasts in the mountains, a large crocodile needed to occupy a large area in order to obtain food for it to survive. There were only a few crocodiles in such a large area … This place wasn't out of the danger zone that the Taihe ancestors had marked out. It should still be the crocodiles' territory. There had to be a reason for this abnormality. Shao Xuan became even more vigilant.
As he ran towards the forest, Shao Xuan caught a glimpse of something floating on the surface of the river.
After jumping up a tall tree, Shao Xuan looked at the river.
There was a clump of water grass on the surface of the river. However, upon closer inspection, Shao Xuan felt that something was amiss.
The clump of water grass floated up and down on the surface of the river.
Bang!
The clump of water grass shook and floated up a little. Water splashed out from it. At the same time, Shao Xuan also felt that the sound of the collision was very strange. There was more than one sound just now. It seemed to be the sound of metal colliding.
What was that?
Shao Xuan stared at the clump of water grass. There seemed to be something inside.
A crocodile? A crocodile trapped in the water grass?
No, upon closer inspection, the clump of water grass was square, and on both sides of the water grass was … wood?
Due to the violent tremors, the water grass had loosened a little. The exposed areas on both sides were tree trunks.
That wasn't water grass! It was a cage!! It was a trap!!!
Shao Xuan was shocked. If it was a trap, it meant that there were human activities in the area. Moreover, they had specially made a trap. Judging from the size, it was probably to catch prey in the water.
Some fishermen caught fish by casting nets, some were good at fishing, and some used water traps to catch prey. However, the third type was extremely rare. This was Shao Xuan's first time seeing a crocodile trap.
Bang bang!
The trapped crocodile struggled again, causing the water grass to loosen even more. This allowed Shao Xuan to see the trap more clearly.
It was a metal cage. People from Yanjiao, Taihe and other tribes would not use metal to make traps. Although bronze was becoming more common, they were very frugal with their use of bronze. Even if they wanted to make a trap, they would not use so much to make one. How big were the crocodiles in the river? A cage like this was at least fifteen metres long. How much metal did it use?
The further away they were from the great six cities, the less bronzeware they used. Shao Xuan had seen people from other tribes on his way here. The tribe he saw recently used horns and bones when they hunted, they rarely used bronzeware.
Shao Xuan was very surprised to see such a huge metal cage.
At the same time, Shao Xuan wondered if they were close to Gongjia Mountain. Other people did not use bronze but the craftsmen were different. Plus, someone who could make a crocodile trap like this was definitely not an ordinary tribesman.
Shao Xuan wasn't in a hurry to leave. He found a suitable tree and stood on top of it to hide, waiting. Since the trap had caught its prey, the person who set it would be here soon. If the crocodile in the cage continued to struggle, the trap would be damaged even more.
Sure enough, not long after, Shao Xuan heard the sound of someone approaching quickly. The sound was not loud, and the person was very good at moving through the forest. Judging from the sound, the person should be very familiar with this area. When he moved, he was very decisive and did not hesitate to stop. He was very confident.
The whooshing sound soon reached the riverbank not far away. Shao Xuan looked over and was stunned.
He did not see the front but at first glance, he thought it was a small crocodile moving around. But when he looked again, he realised it was actually a human figure. There were even human hands exposed.
It really did look like a crocodile. Even when the Drumming tribesmen were in totemic form, they did not look like this person.
However, as he continued to observe, Shao Xuan realised it was actually a person wearing crocodile skin.
When the Drumming tribesmen used their totemic power to transform, their facial features and bones would change. This person only wore crocodile skin. His real appearance was not much different from a normal person.
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