บท 16: Cage Vine
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
February 5, the first year of the establishment of the Vine Tribe.
"Rumble!"
"Pi pa!"
In the sky, the first thunder of the year exploded. Heavy lightning ripped through the sky from time to time, illuminating the ground.
"Huhuhu…"
The wind also blew. If one looked from the sky, the new leaves in the primitive forest were like an undulating green sea.
"Tick-tock… Tick-tock…"
Rain began to fall. At first, it was just a few drops here and there. Gradually, it became a curtain of rain that washed the ground in all directions.
Jiang Xuan stood under the roof of the bamboo house and looked at the heavy rain outside. He felt very happy.
Thunder and rain meant that spring had truly arrived.
He went back into the house and found the bamboo tube that was used as a calendar. Next to February 5, he carved these simple words: 'Awakening from Hibernation'.
Awakening from Hibernation was a very important solar cycle. It represented the sudden appearance of spring lightning, the increase of rain, and the gradual warming of the weather.
As the saying went, 'Spring thunder shocks a hundred insects.' The thunder would wake up all hibernating animals, including various insects underground.
The warm and moist weather also provided favorable conditions for spring plowing and sowing. If it was planting trees, one would start planting after the awakening.
Chi Shao walked over curiously and asked Jiang Xuan, "Xuan, what are you carving?"
Jiang Xuan thought for a moment. There was no way to explain that he was a transmigrator. In order to avoid trouble in the future, he decided to tell Chi Shao a story.
"Sister, let me tell you something. I don't know if you'd believe me."
"What is it?"
"I was unconscious when we were escaping."
Jiang Xuan said seriously, "Actually, I had a dream at that time. I dreamed of an old man wearing linen clothes and holding a walking stick. Oh right, there were complicated patterns on his face."
After listening to Jiang Xuan's description, Chi Shao said with a serious expression, "You must have dreamed of a shaman from some tribe."
As soon as they heard that it was about a 'shaman', Hook Vine, Stone Loach, and South Star gathered around and listened attentively to Jiang Xuan's story.
"This old man taught me a lot in my dreams. Like fishing, farming, taming wild beasts, building houses, and so on."
Jiang Xuan handed the bamboo tube to Chi Shao and said, "He also taught me a special language that can be used to record things, such as this, the calendar."
Chi Shao looked curiously at the words on the bamboo tube. "What's a calendar?"
Jiang Xuan said, "The calendar is used to record the days. You can also record what happened on that day beside the date. For example, there was lightning today, and the bugs came out, so I recorded it as Awakening from Hibernation."
She could not read the words on the bamboo tube, nor did she know what 'Awakening from Hibernation' meant. She only had a feeling that it was awesome.
Hook Vine, Stone Loach, and South Star also came over to take a look. They also felt that it was awesome.
"What happened next?" Hook Vine couldn't help asking.
"Later, the old man told me that he was actually dead. His soul would dissipate soon. The reason why he taught me so much was because he hoped that I could pass on these things so that he would have no regrets.
I haven't dreamed of the old man since then, but I remember everything he taught me in my dream.
A look of sudden understanding came over Chi Shao. "I see. No wonder you know so much."
To the tribesmen, shamans were very mysterious and had many unbelievable abilities. Therefore, Chi Shao and the others did not doubt Jiang Xuan's words.
Jiang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. In the future, if he came up with anything new, he could attribute it to the old man in his dream. It would save him a lot of trouble explaining.
Jiang Xuan put the bamboo tube back and said to Chi Shao, "The old man in my dream also told me about this method of farming. He said that as long as I farm according to his method, I can obtain more food than if I gather food in the wild."
Chi Shao nodded. "Then let us try."
Jiang Xuan said, "We've already opened up a lot of wasteland. We can plant Solomon's seals, hawthorns, and sweet potatoes. If we find other seeds, we can also plant them."
Ever since the snow melted, other than hunting and gathering, Jiang Xuan had focused his attention on opening up the wasteland. Now that he had opened up seven to eight acres of land, the front of the bamboo forest was wider than before.
"In addition, if you find any wild fruit saplings outside, dig up the roots together with the soil using the bone plow. Bring them back and plant them near our tribe. In the future, we won't have to go too far to pick wild fruits."
Chi Shao said, "You're the chief. We'll listen to you."
The three youths nodded. In any case, the chief was the most powerful person in the tribe. They would do whatever the chief said.
"Alright, when the rain stops, we'll go up the mountain!"
After Jiang Xuan finished speaking, he waited with everyone else for the rain to stop. He could not wait to plant all the grain and vegetables on the cultivated land.
In order to enter the mountain, he polished a few bamboo spears as weapons.
The bamboo was old bamboo that had grown for many years and was very thick.
After breaking the bamboo, he chose a thick bamboo strip about three centimeters wide. First, he polished it with a stone and ground the end into a sharp tip. Then he roasted it over a fire and dried it.
After the spear tip was roasted, its hardness would greatly increase. It was very sharp and could easily pierce into the prey's body. There was only one flaw, and that was that it was relatively soft, but the flaw did not overshadow its usefulness.
Jiang Xuan polished a long bamboo spear and three short bamboo spears. The spearhead had been roasted by fire, and the surface was slightly carbonized. It was very hard and sharp.
Around noon, the rain stopped.
After Jiang Xuan and the others had breakfast, they brought weapons, rattan baskets, animal skin bags, and other things and conscientiously drew totem patterns on their faces.
The tribesmen believed that if they drew totem patterns before entering the mountain, they could obtain the protection of the totem god.
After everything was prepared, Jiang Xuan and the others walked towards the forest in the south.
In the morning, the sun rose from the other side of the small river. Therefore, the other side of the small river was the east. Behind the stone mountain and ancient vines was the west. The direction where the Deer Tribe was originally located was the north, and the right side of the bamboo forest was the south.
The north brought back sad memories, so they preferred to go to the forest in the south.
It had rained in the morning, and the forest floor was very damp. Fortunately, there were thick dead branches and leaves on the ground, so it was not muddy.
The air was filled with the fresh smell of vegetation, mixed with the musky-sweet smell of decaying branches and leaves after the rain, forming the unique smell of a primitive forest.
After entering the forest, the five of them focused their attention. Their eyes were constantly paying attention to any abnormalities on the ground and trees, and their ears were constantly listening to their surroundings.
Jiang Xuan held a bamboo spear in his hand and carried a rattan basket on his back. He also placed three short bamboo spears in the rattan basket. He was a little nervous and excited because he did not know what he would encounter in the forest.
"Creak, creak, creak…"
The sound of sawing came from a huge rotten tree that had fallen to the ground. Jiang Xuan walked over and used his bamboo spear to open the bark of the withered tree. He saw a white fat worm that had already bitten through the withered tree and revealed its head.
The worm's body was the size of a teacup. Its head was pincer brown and it had large black pincers that could easily bite through wood.
"In fresh weight, insects contained approximately four times the protein in beef!"
Jiang Xuan muttered softly. Then he pierced the worm's head with the bamboo spear and threw it into the rattan basket.
There were all kinds of insects in the jungle. As long as they could be eaten, they were basically food for the tribe.
Because there were many of them and they were big, they were easier to capture. Moreover, they tasted good after being roasted.
It wasn't just Jiang Xuan. When Chi Shao, Hook Vine, and the others encountered bugs that could be eaten, they would also kill them and take them away.
They continued walking and saw many birds and beasts along the way.
As the weather gradually warmed up and all kinds of animals came out, the forest became dangerous and lively.
As Jiang Xuan walked, he suddenly stepped on some brown vines on the ground.
These vines were in a grid shape and looked quite strange. After Jiang Xuan stepped on them, he felt that they were quite fresh. These vines looked really strange.
"Xuan, be careful!"
Beside him, Chi Shao suddenly exclaimed, but it was too late.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The web-like vines under Jiang Xuan's feet suddenly rose like a huge net and quickly surrounded him, turning into a circular cage that trapped him.
"What the hell!"
Jiang Xuan was shocked. He wanted to pull the vine away, but he realized that this vine was very flexible. With his current strength, he could not break it!
At the same time, some smaller vines with barbs extended towards Jiang Xuan from all directions.
The thorns of the vines carried a paralyzing toxin. Once stabbed, the trapped prey would lose its ability to resist. It would eventually be strangled, left to rot, and turned into fertilizer for the vines.
The space inside the cage was too small, and Jiang Xuan could not break the vines. The situation was very critical.
At this critical moment, Chi Shao rushed over with a stone knife in her hand. She squatted on the ground and quickly pushed away the withered leaves. Then she slashed at the main trunk of the strange vine that was stuck to the ground.
This vine was called the Cage Vine. Its upper half was in the shape of a circular net, like a spider web. The lower half was the main trunk. It was shorter and stuck to the ground.
It was extremely terrifying. Once trapped, it was very difficult to escape unless one was strong enough.
Only those who understood it and were outside the cage could accurately find its main trunk and cut it off in time to save the trapped person.
Chi Shao's stone knife was extremely sharp. With her full strength, she quickly cut through the main trunk of the cage vine.
After the main trunk of the cage vine was slashed a few times, the vines that were attacking Jiang Xuan clearly slowed down. When its main trunk was cut off, those vines immediately lost their ability to attack and stopped moving.
Hook Vine, Stone Loach, and South Star ran over and hurriedly tore apart the entangled vines to save Jiang Xuan.
There was a collective sigh of relief.
"Sister, what kind of vines are these? They're too terrifying." Jiang Xuan looked at the vines and asked with lingering fear.
"This is called a cage vine. Its barbs have a poison that can paralyze people. It can trap prey and slowly strangle them to death after paralyzing them. In the future, if you see such vines on the ground, you must take a detour."
Jiang Xuan, Hook Vine, and the others nodded. They had already seen how terrifying these vines were.
"However, its sap is good. Apply a little to the arrowheads or spearheads. After stabbing the prey, the prey will slowly be paralyzed and its movements will slow down."
Chi Shao removed her own spear and short spear, as well as the stone knife, and coated the spearheads and blade with the sap of this cage vine.
Jiang Xuan, Hook Vine, and the others also smeared their weapons with this sap that had a paralyzing toxin.
Then the five of them continued walking forward. After what had happened just now, they were even more careful.
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