If the Water Tribe joins the Wood Tribe, it means that, except for the written language, they will also have everything the Wood Tribe has.
Lu Shuang asked uncertainly, "Wood Tribe Priest, do you mean we can join the Wood Tribe?"
Shen Nong finally finished writing the last stroke. He looked up, smiled, and asked, "Okay, are you still willing?"
That smile stunned Lu Shuang for a moment. The priest of the Wood Tribe had such a beautiful smile!
"Hmm?" Shen Nong wondered why the boy had suddenly fallen into a daze again. "Lu Shuang?"
Niu Si couldn't stand it any longer and nudged Lu Shuang from behind. This brought Lu Shuang back to his senses, and after confirming that he hadn't misheard, he quickly nodded.
"Yes! Priest, from now on, I will do whatever you ask!"
Lu Shuang turned to look at her people and shouted happily, "Quickly call the priest!"
Niu Si and his group followed the Wood Tribe and caught fish many times. It was thanks to these fish, as well as the fire-making tools and methods provided by the Wood Tribe, that their Water Tribe was able to safely get through the winter.
They were already grateful to the Wood Tribe, and their children spent the winter there and integrated into the tribe.
Now that their priests are saying they want to add to the Mu tribe, as members of the tribe, they have even less reason to object.
The members of the Water Tribe crossed their arms, knelt on one knee, and followed the priest, submitting to the new tribe. "Priest!"
From then on, there were no more water tribes on this land.
Meanwhile, the Wood Tribe grew stronger and stronger.
——
The Water Tribe has more than forty members, and with the children who came earlier, there are more than sixty people in total.
The number of people is about the same as the original number of the Wood Tribe.
Including Yanbu Baoqiu and his group, the Mu tribe now has more than 150 people.
The Water Tribe members were temporarily housed in the caves where the Wood Tribe members had previously lived. Following Shen Nong's advice, Monkey Five led a few people to the brick kiln to learn how to make adobe bricks. The adobe bricks they made were then used to build earthen houses.
After the hunting team finished their training, Shen Nong sent them out to hunt wild pheasants, wild goats, wild cattle, and wild boars.
Spring has just arrived, and the snow in the mountains hasn't melted much yet, making it quite difficult to find them.
However, if they are found, they will catch an entire family.
The quantity should not be underestimated.
Niu Si and his group from Xiangshan each brought seven or eight men, who were taken by Shen Nong to build cowsheds, chicken coops, and pigsties.
Lu Shuang was intelligent; she understood the construction process diagram drawn on the wooden board that Shen Nong gave her at a glance.
Shen Nong was happy to be a hands-off manager and handed the work over to Lu Shuang for supervision.
Lu Shuang would point out the mistakes in the covering from time to time, followed by another series of banging and clanging sounds.
The wrong parts were dismantled and rebuilt.
People from the Mu tribe carrying hoes passed by behind them, and they waved and greeted them with smiles.
Lu Shuang followed their example and waved, receiving even warmer smiles in return.
The Mu tribe members were not surprised by the extra people in the tribe, as the priest had already told them about it.
The thought of other tribes voluntarily requesting to join the Wood Tribe always fills them with a sense of excitement and a feeling that is hard to describe.
They used to struggle to even fill their stomachs, but now other tribes want to join them.
Wouldn't that make them just like those large tribes?
Hey, I'm so happy!
Their stomachs rumbled loudly; they were starving after working for so long. Without further ado, they shouldered their hoes and continued on, discussing with their companions whether to have grilled meat on a stone slab or fish soup when they got back.
"For grilled meat, put some oil on the stone slab. Put the meat on it, sprinkle some fine salt and chili powder, and it'll be very fragrant and spicy."
"I originally wanted to drink fish soup, but now that you've said that, I want to eat barbecue too."
"Then come to my house, and we'll eat together."
"Okay, I'll bring some meat from home later."
As the sounds of discussion faded into the distance, Lu Shuang swallowed hard.
Life in the Wood Tribe was better than he could have imagined.
Chapter 35 Bed Identification
You're not perceptive.
The snow in the forest had not completely melted, and it was still a vast expanse of white.
Because the snow was so thick, snowflakes would occasionally fall from the high branches and crash into the snow-covered ground, becoming one with it.
The heavy snow had been falling for a long time, and the snow was very thick in the deserted forest. Countless dead branches and broken trees were buried under the snow, and one could easily trip over them if one was not careful.
Ze led the hunting party, proceeding very cautiously.
Tiger Roar was walking along when he suddenly dodged to the side. A small clump of snow brushed past his shoulder and landed on the ground with a "plop".
“We’ve been out here for almost a day, and it’s getting dark, but we haven’t seen a single prey the priest mentioned.”
He sighed and muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He would even step forward to examine anything that seemed suspicious, afraid of missing anything.
Looking up at the sky, it did indeed appear rather gloomy. The road ahead was crisscrossed with withered branches and tangled trees, making searching difficult in the dark.
The ground beneath our feet was relatively flat, and there weren't any messy branches under the snow, making it a good place to rest. Ze suggested everyone find some branches nearby to prepare for spending the night there.
Wild animals are hard to find in the forest, but dead branches are easy to find; you can just bend down and dig a few out of the snow.
However, since they were needed for starting a fire, they only collected relatively dry items.
This time, each member of the hunting team carried a fish skin backpack containing food, a prepared hemostatic medicine kit, and fire-starting equipment.
After piling up a pile of firewood, Hu Xiao stopped Ze from taking out the fish skin bag, looking eager to try. "Ze, don't move, let me do it!"
He couldn't wait to take a small bamboo tube out of the fish skin bag.
The bamboo tube was tightly stuffed with scraps of animal hide, leaving no gaps. Tiger Roar grabbed the hide and pulled hard, "pop."
He first blew slowly and carefully into the bamboo tube, then gradually increased the speed. The bamboo tube contained a mixture of black charcoal ash and saltpeter powder, which, now receiving fresh oxygen, ignited with the dry grass, vines, and reeds inside, producing sparks.
Tiger Roar immediately blew even harder until he felt his vision darkening, and finally flames ignited at the mouth of the bamboo tube.
The hand that wasn't holding the bamboo tube deftly took out a large clump of dry grass from the fish skin bag, placed it in the gap under the branches, and then extended the bamboo tube to light it.
The small flame rose upwards and slowly expanded.
Tiger Roar's eyes reflected the firelight, and he grinned incessantly. He had seen the priest demonstrate it before, and he had wanted to try it then, but the priest wouldn't listen, insisting it was too late and he couldn't disturb the priest's sleep.
He had been thinking about it for so long, and now he finally got his wish, staring intently at the fire.
Hey! It actually happened!
Ever since experiencing the inconvenience of not having portable lighting in the caves of the Ze tribe, Shen Nong began to recall all the information about tinderboxes she had read in ancient books after returning to the tribe.
The simplest method is to mix in white phosphorus powder, because it has an extremely low ignition point and will spontaneously combust upon contact with air.
However, white phosphorus is difficult to extract, and moreover, it is toxic and must be stored in water. If it is accidentally exposed to air, the resulting flames after spontaneous combustion are difficult to extinguish even with water.
Even in a completely oxygen-free environment, it will reignite upon contact with oxygen again.
Unlike interstellar space, the beast world is far more difficult to control once this thing appears, so Shen Nong gave up on it. She chose a safer method of creation, though it required more effort to ignite.
...
They walked all day, and in order to find the prey the priest wanted as soon as possible, they did not stop to make a fire along the way.
When leaving the tribe, although he had eaten and drunk a large bowl of meat soup, it had long since been consumed.
The fire crackled and popped. The orcs had a huge appetite, so each of them carried a fish-skin backpack and a net woven from straw rope, inside which was a rather large earthenware pot.
They moved the large bonfire aside and lit their own small fires. They took down their earthenware pots and scooped fine white snow from a nearby fallen tree trunk. After filling the pots more than halfway, they placed them on the fire to heat.
As the snow melted, the bottom slowly began to churn. Each person took out a piece of chopped cured meat from their fish skin bag, swallowing their saliva as they waited for the hot broth.
The forest, which had been quiet all winter, began to fill with a salty aroma.
Within a radius of 100 meters, hidden in every corner unseen by the naked eye, small animals with a keen sense of smell peek out from the entrance of the burrow.
Listen to the bubbling sound inside the pot, while also discerning the subtle sounds around you.
After determining several locations, he got up to investigate and see if there was any prey that the priest wanted.
Cat Cloud used a twig to skewer the cured meat in the pot, and was about to take a bite when Ze walked away without a sound. It was already getting dark, and in some places, because of the bushes and big trees, it was even darker.
Seeing that Ze's hands were empty, without even a wisp of fire, she quickly put down the meat she was carrying, pulled a torch from the fire, and chased after him.
"Ze, it's getting dark. Go out and get a torch!"
Ze didn't stop; his deep, magnetic voice spoke sparingly, "No need."
She quickly followed Ze, and due to her rapid movement, the torch's flame suddenly dimmed. She raised her hand to gently gather the flames around her, slowed her pace, and the fire was restored. "This is a secret mission the priest gave me; no one else can know about it except you."
Upon hearing the word "priest," the person in front of him immediately turned around, no longer having his back to Cat Cloud.
Ze was tall and broad-shouldered. Although Maoyun was about the same size as Tufeng, he still had to raise his head slightly when facing Ze.
She held up a torch, its light illuminating Ze's face, the flame flickering slightly in the evening breeze. In the dim light, she seemed to see that Ze's eyes were golden, as beautiful as his wings.
But it was only for a moment, or perhaps I was seeing things; it was just a fleeting flash of light.
Ze looked down at Maoyun and asked, word by word, "Priest, what did you say?"
Seeing that the people had finally stopped, Maoyun glanced at Huxiao and the others not far behind her.
Afraid that they might overhear something, she leaned closer, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered, "The priest told me to keep an eye on you when it gets dark and make sure there's a fire nearby."
Ze felt his heart pounding. He stared at the firelight, and couldn't help but smile.
Maoyun moved the torch towards Zeshou's direction; she was in a hurry to get back and eat meat. "Take it quickly."
Ze reached out and took the torch, but the smile on his face didn't fade.
Before going back to eat meat, Maoyun couldn't help but advise, "Ze, don't smile like that in front of the priest, you look as silly as Huxiao. The priest loves your face the most, he can eat several more bites of meat just looking at your face. If he sees you smiling like that, he won't like you anymore."
Ze instantly stopped smiling, his face hardening as he left with the torch in hand.