Chunks of earth were thrown out, falling to the ground, the dry soil rustling and scattering countless fine grains into the air, raising a thin layer of yellow fog.
Soon, a large pit had been dug out, and only then did everyone see that beneath the unassuming small roots lay an extrely huge rhizo, flat and oval, resembling an oversized curling stone.
Once the top layer of hard soil had been removed, the layer below beca looser. Bi Fang inserted his dagger into the ground and started digging by hand, eventually lifting the entire rhizo out of the ground.
Harley, who had been watching, got up and approached, sniffed it, but did not sll what he was expecting. He made a few noises and then lay back down on the ground, resting his head to the side to watch what Bi Fang was doing.
"This thing is quite heavy, takes quite a bit of effort."
Bi Fang lifted the large rhizo out, placed it on the ground, patted the dust off his hands, then drew his dagger and started carving into the rhizo, the clash of steel on wood producing a dull thudding sound.
Against this dull backdrop, Bi Fang looked up at the drone and said,
"I don't know if you've heard of a place called Namibia."
"I've watched 'The Legend of Namibia,' and it left a deep impression on with its polar bears (eating waterlon)."
"The Golden Compass, right?"
"Is there a chance that the movie is called 'The Legend of Narnia'?"
"It's pretty normal to rember wrong, human mory isn't exactly reliable (though embarrassingly confident)."
"As far as I recall, the fa of Namibia should be on par with Kenya, belonging to the T1 tier, just like Egypt is well-known."
"Previously, from Nemo Point to South Arica, then by plane to the Sahara Desert, I've looked down through the plane's window at Namibia, another stunningly beautiful place."
"The desert there is not yellow, but a reddish color."
The beauty of Namibia can be described as "breathtaking."
The Namib Desert, one of the world's oldest and most beautiful deserts,
Due to its iron-rich sand, upon oxidation, the desert's surface turns red.
"This oxidized red," with changing angles of sunlight throughout the day,
the most magical being at sunrise or sunset, when the slanting sun casts one side in vivid red and the other in deep ink.
The striking contrast of the two colors provides a powerful emotional impact, stirring both the heart and soul, with each curved shape and shadow flickering with captivating arcs of light.
Bi Fang happened to fly over at sunset, sitting by the window, gazing down at the narrow ridges of the dunes, carving out divisions of light and dark—with one side vibrant red and the other calm black.
The red desert, sculpted by eighty million years of ti, shimred under the sunlight, casting enchanting colors and delicate lines.
Bi Fang always regretted that his route through the Sahara didn't include Namibia, but of course, that wasn't his main point now.
"In the Mariental Region of Namibia, there lives a primitive tribe called the Bushn People, who have been inhabiting that land for nearly twenty thousand years."
Twenty thousand years!
The audience was stunned upon hearing this figure.
"Is that a mistake, twenty thousand years?"
"Did Master Fang misspeak? Are you sure it's not two thousand years?"
"There's no way I could misspeak about this; because of this, the Bushn People are considered the oldest indigenous residents."
"Bushn are also known as 'San People.' The Central Nation Colonizers nad them Bushman, which is the transliteration of the term in our language, originally aning those who live in shrubbery. It described the status of the Bushn's lives, and now it has also beco a universal term to address them."
"As a unique group, they are the most primitive ethnic group in Africa. Most of them live in Namibia, with a minority in Botswana and Zimbabwe."
"Until over 20 years ago, the Bushn were still living in prehistoric tis, almost unknown to the rest of the world."
"The first knowledge about the Bushn ca from an article published in a magazine from the Ugly Country during the 1990s; a young female scholar ca to a Bushn tribe in Botswana and stayed for three months."
"She indicated in an academic paper that the Bushn were living under harsh conditions and were at risk of extinction, urging the political circles of the Ugly Country to push the Botswana governnt to return the jungles they occupied back to the Bushn."
"I guess the old uglies refused (Dog's head)"
"There's no oil underground, so how could they possibly care whether you survive or not?"
Seeing the comnts, Bi Fang shook his head, "No, the old uglies really got involved; they directly wrote a lengthy advisory paper."
"Then as soon as the Botswana heard from the old uglies, they quickly made a plan to give the jungle back to the Bushn."
"But not long after the Bushn joyfully moved back to their original territories, geologists announced the discovery of world-shocking diamond deposits in the jungle they had just left."
"!!!"
"So, it wasn't oil, it was diamonds!"
"Damn, that's too cunning."
"As to whether there was any foul play, I'm not sure, but one of the most discussed topics among travelers across the African continent is the Bushn."
Under the cutting of the dagger, a large amount of debris fell from the roots, revealing the white root tissue, and everyone also saw the milky sap, clearly indicating ample water content.
"They live in the most barren and desolate desert regions, as the earliest rulers of this land, living like in the Old Stone Age, surviving on hunting, gathering plant roots, stems, and wild fruits, without fixed abodes, often moving their dwellings according to the locations where they can hunt."
"To get the water and food necessary for survival, Bushn often stay in tribes during the sumr, and in the winter, when water and food are insufficient, they start moving in different directions with their families in search of food and water sources. However, so Bushn are forced to gather around the only water source during the driest season of winter."
"Since they live by hunting, naturally, they have capabilities unknown to other ethnic groups, and similarly have many unique survival skills."
"Like the Sherpa people and the Bajau people, Bushn are highly tolerant of thirst, to a peculiar extent, and they are familiar with which plants are edible and can replenish water."
"Just as I am digging this root now, it is indeed taken from their survival skills; otherwise, nobody could know from a small root sticking out of the ground that there is a water-filled plant below."
"Bushn cut the roots into tiny pieces and then squeeze the juice out to drink."
"What you have to do, is use a stone or dagger to scrape down shavings, then grab a handful, squeeze hard, and hold your thumb toward your mouth, waiting."
"Human walking encyclopedia, terrifyingly knowledgeable!"
"I often wonder if a person's brain capacity is really limited."
"This kind of erudition really fascinates people."
"I've always felt that knowledgeable boys are particularly attractive (shout)."
Bi Fang wiped his hands, held the freshly cut debris in his hands, looked up, squeezed it, and a thin stream of water flowed down his thumb right into his mouth.
Cool and refreshing, it had a revitalizing feel.
"Tastes much better than the groundwater just now, with a unique fresh fragrance."
"Actually, this type of water-rich plant is known not only to humans but also to so animals. So after digging it up, Bushn will look for acacia trees nearby, pull out their branches, cover near the roots, then bury the roots back, and after so ti, when they have grown, they reuse them."
Bi Fang looked around nearby and successfully found an Acacia Tree.
Using a dagger, he cut off a branch and dragged it to the rootstock, carefully burying it on top of the rootstock.
"Acacia Trees are very common in Africa. They actually belong to the legu family. We also have so of their relatives in our country, like the Albizia Trees commonly found in parks, and we often see them in botanical gardens and as street trees."
"Additionally, Mimosa pudica and wild mountain locust trees are also mbers of the Acacia family."
"In the southern part of our country, there are also shrubby types of Acacia, and locals even eat their tender leaves as wild vegetables. Rember the stinky vegetables I ate in the Banna Rainforest? Those were from the Acacia family."
"Of course, they are completely different in Africa."
"In order to survive in the harsh local environnt. As food for herbivorous animals, for millions of years, they have been coexisting with herbivorous animals through constant struggle."
"As the most common type of tree on the sparse grasslands, Acacia Trees' thod is to grow thorns, and various Acacias have various kinds of thorns."
"Look at this one, the leaves have hardly grown, but the thorns are already quite long. The thorns can first protect the young leaves from so animals climbing the trees, and their trunks also grow many thorns, preventing animals from climbing up."
"So Acacias, although they do not have such long thorns, have hook-shaped thorns that are also very formidable."
Bi Fang inserted the branch into the ground, then adjusted its direction, and finally wrapped the entire rootstock.
"Sothing like this."
Having done all this, Bi Fang clapped his hands, "In fact, we can't possibly co back here, so let's just leave all these things here. Maybe soday tourists who co here will see it and make use of it."
[Animals: You're amazing, you're above it all]
[Where did my big piece of rootstock go, where did it go?]
[Old Fang: My treasure? If you want it, I can give you all of it. Go find it, everything in this world is there!]
[From then on, the Era of the Grasslands began!]
Bi Fang continued walking north through the grasslands with Harley.
As their walk deepened, the entire grassland seed to beco increasingly lively.
Various kinds of hunters appeared, from insects to venomous snakes, from mammals to birds, an eye-opening experience.
Stones slipped.
A Puffy Hissing Krait, startled by the rustling from the tree stick, swiftly fled, causing Harley nearby to jump, almost leaping mid-air; however, Bi Fang just glanced at it without much concern, having spotted the venomous snake hidden in the pile of rocks three ters away, and had intentionally poked the stones to scare it away.
At this mont, Bi Fang's attention was more on the large tree in front of him, looking quite surprised.
"Myrrh Tree."
[Myrrh Tree? What's that?]
[I guess, definitely poisonous, then the poison must be particularly strong, with no cure, so it's called a Myrrh Tree!]
[Dang, feels like the truth]
"No, it's not like that. The Myrrh Tree itself is not poisonous; on the contrary, its tree resin has dicinal properties, especially great for relieving toothache."
While explaining, Bi Fang walked around the large tree, looking down at the ground, occasionally squatting to dig in the soil, seemingly searching for sothing.
"The Myrrh Tree, which includes the word 'dicine' in its na, has its English na Myrrh derived from the Hebrew word Murr, aning 'bitter,' and it holds substantial significance in religious history."
"In the Bible, when the Three Wise n from the East found the six-month-old Jesus under the guidance of a cot, the three gifts they gave Jesus were gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
[So Old Fang has a toothache? Or is he preparing a backup?]
[Then what are you looking for?]
"Not really."
Bi Fang shook his head again, as he had no real need for this major herb.
"Myrrh trees are not poisonous, but there is a type of beetle that likes to parasitize within them, a beetle that is of great use to us... Found it, here!"
Using his terrifying experience as a Wilderness Traveler, Bi Fang quickly discovered what he was looking for underground near a myrrh tree—the cocoon of a Chrysolidae beetle!
[What's this?]
[Damn, that's a big bug]
"A poisonous insect."
Bi Fang's explanation was concise.
In countries throughout Africa, Bushn hunters usually make use of lightweight bows and arrows for their hunting activities, which ans the bows and arrows are often not deadly enough to fatally wound larger prey.
However, the Creator provided another lethal weapon for the Bushn in the vast jungles—arrow poison.
The most commonly used poisonous bow and arrow by the Bushn hunters originated from a unique insect—the Chrysolidae beetle.
And Chrysolidae beetles typically parasitize the inside of the "Myrrh tree"!
That's why Bi Fang was surprised and delighted when he saw it.
"These cocoons are usually hidden about 0.5 to 1 ter underground, and each cocoon generally contains one beetle larva in a bound state before pupation, these larvae can remain dormant inside the cocoon for years."
"After obtaining the larvae or pupae of the Chrysolidae beetle, Bushn hunters can quickly locate the lymphatics in their blood system, and then squeeze the blood lymph onto the arrowhead by hand."
"Sotis, to poison a single arrow, the blood lymph of up to 10 larvae is needed."
Bi Fang raised the cocoon in his hand, which was quite massive, almost occupying half of his palm, and through the sunlight, the plump insect inside could be clearly seen.
"It is worth noting that the hunters only apply this poisonous liquid to the front part of the arrow shaft and not the arrow tip, with the purpose of avoiding accidental contact with the hunter's own body and causing poisoning."
Bi Fang placed the cocoon in a small compartnt inside his backpack to prevent Jerry from sneakily doing mischief, anwhile pushing away Harley who had co close out of curiosity once again.
Harley, this guy, had never road the plains for so long and was therefore very curious about everything.
"The toxic substance contained in the Chrysolidae beetle's blood lymph is a venomous protein, and as everyone knows, the toxicity of proteins usually diminishes over ti, but the Chrysolidae beetle's poison is different, usually lasting for a year."
"There are three main types of Chrysolidae beetles that Bushn hunters use to make arrow poison."
"Interestingly, these three kinds of Chrysolidae beetles are all parasitized by the Walking Leaf Beetle, hey, speak of the devil, look at this."
Bi Fang found another one underground and lifting it up, pointing to a specific part of the insect within the cocoon, one could see another much smaller white insect clinging onto it.
"When the forr encases itself in a cocoon, the larvae of the latter take the opportunity to attach themselves to the larvae of the forr and then remain dormant inside the cocoon, feeding on the host's blood and the soft parts of its body, eventually killing the host."
"But this is not a bad thing for us. The larvae of the Walking Leaf Beetle are also poisonous, even more potent than the larvae of the Chrysolidae beetle, and many Bushn hunters prefer to use the larvae of the Walking Leaf Beetle to poison their arrows."
"Even if the targeted animal is as large as a giraffe, it usually cannot withstand the toxin, though the injured animal can often manage to flee 60 to 100 kiloters before finally slowing down and falling dead, which greatly tests the hunters' tracking skills."
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