Chapitre 4: Stone Mountain Ancient Vine
Éditeur: Atlas Studios
"Moo…"
"Woo, woo, woo…"
In the primitive forest, Jiang Xuan and the others hit the trees with bamboo sticks as they walked. At the same time, they roared from time to time.
It had been two days since they left the bamboo hut. Jiang Xuan's injuries were almost healed, so he could walk now.
In front of them was a forest that even the Deer Tribe hunting team had never set foot in. There were no traces of human activity at all.
In a place like this, it was no longer people they needed to guard against. It was those scary wild beasts.
When they left the bamboo forest, they each brought a small bamboo stick as thick as two fingers. This type of bamboo was not as tall as the hairy bamboo, but it was very tough.
When bamboo struck trees, it would make a very loud and clear sound. It was useful for intimidating ferocious beasts. Usually, when wild beasts heard such a huge commotion, they would leave on their own.
Ahead of them, Chi Shao suddenly stopped and listened.
Jiang Xuan asked nervously, "What's wrong?"
Hook Vine and the others were also very nervous. In an unfamiliar place like this, there were too many fatal dangers. They might encounter them at any time.
Chi Shao closed her eyes and listened carefully for a moment. "There seems to be water flowing ahead."
Jiang Xuan listened carefully and nodded. "There is indeed the sound of water flowing."
Hook Vine asked, "Are we going over there?"
Jiang Xuan thought for a moment. "Let's go over and take a look. I hope to find a place with a river and flat ground to live in."
The Southern Wilderness was very rich in water resources. There were mountain springs and streams everywhere, so there was no incident of ferocious beasts gathering by a water source. As long as they did not go into the water, it was relatively safe.
"Then let's go."
Chi Shao valued her younger brother's opinion very much because he was her only family. As long as Jiang Xuan's words were not too ridiculous, she would not refute him.
The group followed the sound of the water. There was no beaten path that they could follow, so it took about an hour before they finally found the place where the water was flowing.
"Crash…"
It was a river. The surface of the river was about 20 meters wide. It was not fast flowing. The water was very clear. There were many fish swimming in it.
There were also large patches of reeds growing by the river. They were about three to four meters tall and were very lush.
Jiang Xuan stood on a huge rock and looked at the slow-flowing river in front of him. He said excitedly, "This is the river I'm looking for!"
Ten-year-old South Star asked curiously, "Xuan, why are you looking for a river?"
Jiang Xuan smiled mysteriously. "You'll know in the future."
South Star was a little puzzled, but since Jiang Xuan did not say the reason, he could not do anything.
Chi Shao stood beside Jiang Xuan and asked, "Xuan, are we staying here?"
To Chi Shao, it did not matter where she lived as long as Jiang Xuan was happy. After all, she only had one younger brother.
Jiang Xuan stood on a big rock and looked around. He shook his head. "There's not much flat ground here. We can't stay here. Let's search along the riverbank."
Chi Shao did not know why Jiang Xuan had to find a large piece of flat ground, but she respected his choice.
"Alright, let's walk forward then."
The five of them did not approach the riverbank because the reeds were too high and dense. Firstly, it was inconvenient to walk. Secondly, there might be scary predators hiding among the reeds. They could not take the risk.
They continued to walk in the forest. From time to time, Jiang Xuan would climb up a tree or stand on a high place to look for a suitable place to live.
After walking for half a day, it was already afternoon. If they couldn't find a suitable place to stay, they would have to find a place to spend the night first.
When they crossed a hill, the land ahead suddenly opened up.
There was a large open space ahead. The river meandered in the open space and continued to surge forward.
Jiang Xuan looked around and his eyes lit up. This was a good place!
Hook Vine was also looking around. He suddenly saw something and pointed in a direction. "Look over there!"
Jiang Xuan looked in the direction that Hook Vine was pointing and saw a scene that he would never forget!
At the end of the open ground was a stony mountain that was hundreds of meters tall. The mountain was steep and surrounded by cliffs.
An ancient vine with an extremely thick trunk coiled up the mountain. It actually wrapped around the entire stony mountain like a huge dragon coiling around a pillar!
"Gosh, that's huge!"
Everyone was shocked. That ancient vine was larger than any vine they had seen before.
After his initial shock, Jiang Xuan carefully observed the place.
He realized that not only was there a river and a forest, but there was also a bamboo forest at the foot of the stony mountain.
A small stream flowed out of the bamboo forest. It meandered all the way through the large flat ground before finally flowing into the river.
This was simply the perfect place to live!
Jiang Xuan said excitedly, "This is the place I'm looking for!"
Chi Shao came back to her senses and asked, "Xuan, do you want to live here?"
Jiang Xuan nodded and pointed at the bamboo forest at the foot of the stone mountain. "We'll settle down by the stream next to the bamboo forest!"
"Then let's go. Walk faster. It's getting late."
Chi Shao led the way, and Jiang Xuan immediately followed. Hook Vine, Stone Loach, and South Star followed closely behind.
That ancient vine was too shocking, like a god.
If they lived at the foot of the stone mountain, they should be protected by the gods, right?
The tribesmen worshipped the gods. They also firmly believed that as long as they were devout in their faith, the gods would protect them.
There was no path on the ground. The five of them walked for more than an hour and finally reached the bamboo forest at the foot of the stone mountain.
The lush bamboo trees blocked the sunlight. There were not many brambles and weeds under the bamboo forest. It looked like a comfortable place.
Jiang Xuan followed the sound of the water and found the stream.
He chose a relatively flat area beside the stream and said to Chi Shao, "Let's live here!"
Chi Shao looked at him. "You like it here, so we'll live here. However, it's almost dark now. Let's build a temporary residence first. We also have to build a fire. Otherwise, we'll be in trouble if we encounter ferocious beasts at night."
"Good!"
Jiang Xuan said to the three youths, "Let's pick some bamboo and build a temporary bamboo shed. Sister, go and start a fire."
Chi Shao had no objections, and neither did the three youths. They began to work.
There were many withered bamboos in the bamboo forest. After the bamboos dried up, they would quickly become rotten and collapse.
Jiang Xuan, Hook Vine, and Stone Loach pulled these fallen bamboos to the chosen place near the stream.
The fresh bamboo was extremely tough. Without a chopper, it would take a lot of effort and a long time to get it down.
It was much easier to pick up these withered bamboos.
After Jiang Xuan pulled the dried bamboos to the chosen location, he found some tough vines, and then they began to build a bamboo shed.
They chose two living bamboo trees as the main support. First, they tied a relatively intact bamboo as a beam between the two bamboos.
Then they placed the other dried bamboos on the beam and tied them with vines. They broke off the excess branches and built a simple bamboo shed.
After that, they spread a large amount of moss, hay, and bamboo leaves on the top of the bamboo shed to prevent rain from seeping in at night.
Jiang Xuan and the three youths spent about an hour before they finally set up the bamboo shed.
By now, the sun had already set. Chi Shao found a dried-up thorny branch and a solid piece of dead wood. Then she used the fire plowing method to light a bonfire.
Then she cleaned up the withered branches and leaves near the bonfire to prevent the fire from spreading and accidentally igniting the bamboo forest.
Finally she moved more stones from the stream and surrounded the fire. It would be much safer this way.
As for firewood, there was no need to bother looking for it. The large amount of dried bamboo in the bamboo forest was the best firewood.
Night finally fell. Jiang Xuan and the others sat in the simple bamboo shed and looked at the dancing bonfire. They ate the wild fruits they picked on the way and their hearts calmed down slightly.
At least they wouldn't have to run around tomorrow.
"Pop!"
When the bamboo sticks burned in the fire, the air inside them quickly expanded, causing the bamboo to explode with loud bangs.
These sounds scared the nearby beasts and birds away.
This was the most primitive firecracker. It was also the tribe's means of preventing ferocious beasts from attacking at night.
-- Cadeau
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