After the sacrifice, Nanxing finally became a three-color warrior. He excitedly rode the big-antlered deer and ran around the tribe several times.
Undo looked at Nan Xing's back and smiled, then turned and walked towards his house.
The tribe now has more than 500 people and has built a lot of houses. If conditions permit, they naturally don't have to squeeze into one house.
Jiang Xuan and Chi Shao have independent courtyards, and each leader in the tribe has a house of his own, which can be regarded as one of the benefits of being a leader.
Undo used to be a cheerful person, always with a smile on his face, and he was also very kind to the warriors of the tribe.
Ever since he went hunting with Jiang Xuan and was almost killed by a wild boar that jumped at him, some shadows were left in his heart.
He became less talkative, the smiles on his face became fewer, and his personality became cautious. He did not seek merit, but sought no faults.
With such a leader, when the hunting team goes out, it is natural to focus on stability, with few casualties and no outstanding performance.
Others thought that Uncaria had become calmer due to age, but that was not the case. The scene of the wild boar rushing towards him often became his nightmare, waking him up in the middle of the night.
Although Jiang Xuan guessed that there might be some problems with Unmo's psychological condition, he had no idea. After all, he was not a psychiatrist, and he didn't know how to eliminate Unmo's psychological shadow. He could only rely on himself to adjust it.
"Squeak..."
Uncaria returned to her house, untied the knot on the door, and opened the door.
The fire in the fire pit was still burning, and Uncaria added some whole sections of wood to it. This kind of wood is very resistant to burning, and two pieces can burn for a long time.
Afterwards, he washed the pottery tripod clean, added some water, placed it in the fire pond, and then added some diced stone eggs, bamboo shoots, animal meat and other foods to it and boiled it.
Tribal people eat like this, either grilled or stewed. They don’t have many choices, and they don’t have the time or energy to make complicated dishes.
While the food was cooking, Uncaria began to patiently sharpen the stone spear.
Stone utensils are easy to wear and need to be polished frequently until they are no longer usable.
Because of this, tribal people like high-quality stones, and one piece can be used for a long time.
"smell good!"
While Undo was concentrating on polishing the stone spear, a woman walked in generously.
The woman is about eighteen or nineteen years old. For tribal people, she is already a very mature adult at this age.
Her name is Fuling, and she is one of the tourists who was rescued from the mosquito tribe.
She has a round face that the tribesmen love, and she shows two cute tiger teeth when she smiles.
She has a very strong figure, wheat-colored skin, and long hair tied back casually with a straw rope.
Uncaria raised her head, glanced at Poria, and then lowered her head to grind the stone spear again, but her movements were obviously not as natural as before.
I knew this woman Undo. She was particularly good at sewing animal skin clothes, and the leaders all praised her sewing skills.
"Leader Uncaria, am I ugly?"
Poria sat generously next to Uncaria and helped him stir the food in the pottery tripod.
"It's not ugly..."
For the aesthetics of tribal people, a strong woman like Poria is the most beautiful. What's more, she is also very capable. Whether she is sewing animal skin clothes or doing other tasks, she is very quick.
Many warriors in the tribe were thinking about Poria cocos, but they were all rejected by her.
"Then why don't you dare to look up at me?"
"Who said I don't dare anymore?"
Stirred by Fu Ling, Uncaria immediately raised her head and looked directly at Fu Ling.
Poria looked into his eyes and said: "Leader Uncaria, you always seem to be depressed, why?"
Uncaria lowered her head again, continued polishing the stone spear, and said, "I'm not depressed."
Poria thought for a while, and did not continue to ask, nor stared at Uncaria, but looked at the dancing flames in the fire pit.
"Have I ever told you about me?" Poria asked.
"No." Uncaria shook his head.
"I participated in the sacrifice today and became a true member of the Vine Tribe and a warrior of one color. I am very happy. Let me tell you about my past."
Poria sat next to Uncaria as if chatting, telling stories about what had happened to her.
Talking about their previous tribe, her dead relatives, the days when they were raised as livestock by the Mosquito Tribe, and the confusion and bewilderment they felt when they first came to the Vine Tribe.
The flame was burning slowly, Uncaria was slowly sharpening the bone spear, and Poria was talking about herself bit by bit like an old friend chatting.
Uncaria slowly relaxed and was not as nervous as before.
Sometimes he would reply with a sentence or two, and he would learn more about Poria cocos.
After Fuling said those things, she looked at Uncaria and said: "When I first came to the Vine Tribe, I was actually very scared. I didn't know if the Vine Tribe would treat us like the Mosquito Tribe."
"It was you who led people to help us build houses, gave us food, and gave us clothes to wear. It made me feel warm."
Undo raised his head and retorted: "The leader asked us to do it."
Fu Ling smiled and said, "But all I see and remember is you."
Uncaria had nothing to say and continued to sharpen the stone spear.
Fu Ling said: "Leader Uncaria, if you are willing, I will go and tell the leader now that I want to live with you."
"I've got the sticks ready, look."
Fu Ling took out a stick, about a foot long and as thick as a spear shaft. It could be seen that the stick had been carefully polished and its appearance was very smooth.
A long time ago, tribal people were not very particular.
When a man falls in love with a woman, or a woman falls in love with a man, he will prepare a stick, knock the woman unconscious with a stick, and take her into the cave to achieve good things.
But there are big drawbacks to doing so.
For example, if someone is unwilling or doesn't like the other person, they will often make a big fuss after waking up. There are also many people who strike unmeasuredly and crack people's heads, resulting in many casualties and causing headaches for the witches of the tribe.
Later, with the development of the tribe, most people moved out of the caves. Many tribes have derived a rule that you can no longer use sticks to do evil things casually, and you must obtain the consent of the other party.
When the two parties reach a consensus, they will not hit the person's head as hard as before until they are knocked unconscious.
Gradually, the stick became a symbolic thing. Often, with a light tap, the other party would cooperate and pretend to faint, and then good things would happen.
Grain grass
Uncaria is already fifteen years old. At his age, many people have already given birth to babies, so he naturally knows what this stick means.
Fu Ling said it so bluntly that he didn't know how to answer.
Fu Ling did not force him, but her tone of voice became much softer.
"Uncaria, I know you may have some uncomfortable things in your heart. It doesn't matter. As long as you agree, I can face it with you."
Uncaria stopped grinding the stone spear, but did not reply.
A look of disappointment flashed across Fu Ling's eyes.
She silently put away the stick and said, "If you don't want to, then forget it and just pretend I haven't been here."
Fu Ling stood up and walked out the door.
"etc……"
At this moment, Uncaria finally stopped her.
"You agree?" Fuling turned around in surprise.
Undo hesitated for a moment and said, "Can you give me some time to think about it..."
Fu Ling nodded and said, "Okay, but don't think about it for too long."
"Okay." Undo nodded solemnly.
"Then I'll leave first."
Fu Ling turned around again, but her mood had improved and her steps were much lighter.
After Fuling left, Unteng looked at the empty door and felt a little reluctant to leave.
He suddenly wanted to ask those who had already started a family what it felt like to have a family.
…
In the hinterland of the Western Wilderness, the Frog Tribe.
"Chief, a few more giant frogs are dead."
A warrior hurriedly found Huo Meng, the leader of the frog tribe, and reported to him the news of the death of the giant frog.
"I know, let's go out first."
Huo Meng sat in the stone house and waved his hand feebly.
The soldier retreated.
As of today, one-third of the giant frogs in the frog tribe have died, and most of them are not adapted to the increasingly harsh climate.
Where the Frog Tribe lives, desertification is more severe than when Jiang Xuan and the others arrived, and rain is scarcer.
Not only that, various extreme and severe weather also occur from time to time.
The water level of the soul that the Frog Tribe relies on for survival is already very low. If it continues like this, it won't be long before the Frog Tribe's drinking water will become a big problem.
It is impossible for those giant frogs to inhabit the sacred lake as before.
"Is it true that we can only migrate?"
Huo Meng sighed helplessly. At this moment, he felt very powerless.
The frog tribe is too weak. Not only does it have no living totem god, but there are also very few powerful warriors in the tribe.
Even he, the leader, is just a three-color warrior who usually scares people by being tall and with six horizontal stripes on his face.
Once they migrated, he was not sure whether the frog tribe would be wiped out halfway.
But if you don't migrate, staying here will just cause slow death. Without water, not only the giant frogs can't survive, but the members of the frog tribe can't survive either.
For a moment, Huo Meng was caught in a dilemma.
"It's better to ask the witch for his opinion."
Huo Meng thought a lot, finally got up and walked towards the stone house where the frog tribe shaman was.
After he walked out of the stone house, he was faced with a strong wind, carrying a lot of sand and dust, making him almost unable to open his eyes.
After the strong wind passed, Huo Meng glanced at the sky with a melancholy expression. There were almost no clouds in the sky, and the extremely hot sun was so bright that it scorched the earth.
In the distance, many trees have dried up due to lack of water. The forest where the frog tribe lives is getting smaller and smaller.
The Divine Lake, which once had plenty of water, now has not much water left. It has turned into a huge pit. A large number of giant frogs gathered at the water's edge, lingering.
The people of the Frog tribe either hide in stone houses or hide under the shade of trees to enjoy the coolness. They can only go out to hunt in the morning and evening, and there are very few prey.
The whole tribe was in despair.
Huo Meng felt his heart become heavier, and he walked step by step towards the stone house where the tribal shaman was.
In the stone house, the frog tribe shaman was praying for the blessing of the frog god in front of a stone jar filled with water.
But their frog god was long gone, and no matter how much he prayed, he couldn't get any response.
After Huo Meng entered the stone house, he waited patiently until the frog tribe shaman finished praying and opened his eyes in disappointment.
The frog tribe shaman looked at Huo Meng and said weakly: "What does the leader want from me?"
Huo Meng said: "Witch, some giant frogs died today."
The frog tribe witch was silent for a moment and said, "I understand."
Huo Meng continued: "Witch, maybe we really should decide on tribe migration. If the drought continues like this, we won't be able to survive for long."
The frog tribe witch said: "But migration is too dangerous. If there is an accident on the road, our frog tribe will be doomed."
"It's better than waiting to die here, right?"
The frog tribe wizard's expression froze. In fact, he really didn't want to give up the sacred lake and the place where the tribe had lived for many years, but he knew that although what Huo Meng said was unpleasant, it was also the truth.
Finally, the frog tribe witch said bitterly: "Just... wait a few more days. If it still doesn't rain, we will prepare to migrate."
"Then just wait a few more days."
Huo Meng left the stone house disappointed, but he no longer had any hope for rain.
It has been dry for so long, if it was going to rain, it would have already happened.
