21: Chapter 19: Thunder Tree and Earth Armor Beast 21: Chapter 19: Thunder Tree and Earth Armor Beast Editor: Atlas Studios March 18th, the rain finally stopped, and the warm sunlight once again bathed this primitive jungle.
“March 18th…”
In the morning, Jiang Xuan got up and carved today’s date on the bamboo tube that recorded the days, along with a small “sunny” character beside it.
After finishing the carving, he stretched lazily, put the bamboo tube away, and walked out of the bamboo house.
At this mont, the orange-red sun had just risen from the mountain across the river, looking not dazzling at all and very beautiful.
“Chief, can we go hunting in the mountains today?”
Gou Teng could not wait to ask Jiang Xuan.
Jiang Xuan replied affirmatively, “The weather is nice today, we can go mountain hunting!”
“Great, I’ll start preparing!”
Gou Teng excitedly went into the house to prepare hunting tools, and others were just as happy; those rainy days were really hard to endure.
Once the five had prepared their hunting tools, they carefully painted the Vine Tribe’s totem pattern on their faces, along with a horizontal stripe of red paint.
This horizontal red stripe is the mark of the One-Color Warrior, a very important honor for the warriors.
Everything ready, the five added large, durable wood to the fire pit, locked the bamboo house’s door, and stepped into the southern jungle.
After the rain, the forest air was particularly fresh, and even the sll of decaying leaves was diluted.
To ensure a good harvest, they would adjust their hunting route every ti, although the general direction remained unchanged.
After two hours of walking, they arrived at a strange forest.
“Rustle, rustle…”
A fat green worm was munching on tender leaves on a big tree ahead; it’s over fifty centiters long, with eye-like patterns on its head as large as a bowl, which looked quite intimidating at first glance.
These worms can be eaten and are considered ga, but Jiang Xuan and the others were not willing to waste effort on a worm after traveling so far.
They still preferred prey like the Big Horned Sheep.
“Screech!”
A large bird with a wingspan of five or six ters swooped down from the sky like lightning, snatched a big snake coiling on the tree, and flew away swiftly.
The branches and leaves were still shaking, but the snake had already been taken away.
Jiang Xuan had seen too much of this; his heart was untouched, while he remained vigilant of the surroundings, searching for huntable prey with his eyes.
He stepped over a thick, old vine and after a short walk, saw a patch of strange big trees.
Underneath these big trees were many scattered round fruits, each about the size of a soccer ball, but strangely, every fruit was incomplete, as if it had been exploded.
Moreover, Jiang Xuan found nurous beast bones scattered under the trees, so already rotted, and so still quite sturdy.
“What is this?”
Jiang Xuan randomly picked up half of a fruit and found it hollow with no pulp or seeds inside.
Chi Shao walked to Jiang Xuan’s side and said, “This is a Thunder Fruit.”
“Thunder Fruit?” Jiang Xuan looked at Chi Shao in confusion, not understanding why it had such a na.
Chi Shao pointed at a big tree, “Hunting Team calls this tree Thunder Tree, and its fruits are called Thunder Fruit.”
“Every year, Thunder Fruit Trees are full of various sizes of fruits, and when they mature, any beast passing beneath the tree may cause the mature fruits to fall and explode, killing the beast.”
“The explosion sounds like thunder, so the hunting team calls them Thunder Fruits.”
Chi Shao pointed at the scattered bones on the ground, “These are the beasts killed by the explosion.”
Jiang Xuan looked at the Thunder Fruit shell in his hand, amazed by Chi Shao’s explanation.
This world has so many strange and bewildering plants.
Chi Shao continued, “I’ve also heard from the hunting team about a beast that lives under Thunder Trees, called Earth Armor Beast.”
“These Earth Armor Beasts have tough scale armor, sharp claws, are very skilled at digging holes, and are quite cunning.
They like to dig holes underground to steal the exploded beasts from Thunder Trees.”
Chi Shao searched the surrounding ground and soon dug out an earthen hole from among the fallen leaves, but this hole was covered with moss, clearly unused by Earth Armor Beasts for a long ti.
“This must be a hole dug by an Earth Armor Beast, but as the Thunder Tree hasn’t borne fruit yet, they aren’t here for food.”
Jiang Xuan used the Bone Plow to dig and uncover a segnt of the hole, indeed finding so leftover beast bones inside, with clear tooth marks on them.
This discovery piqued Jiang Xuan’s interest, and he planned to return in the fall to witness the Thunder Fruit explosion and the Earth Armor Beast that loves stealing beast corpses.
“Let’s dig up so saplings.”
When the Thunder Fruits explode, their seeds scatter far and wide.
If landed in suitable spots, they can take root, sprout, and grow into another Thunder Tree.
Therefore, where Thunder Trees grow, one often finds many small saplings.
Jiang Xuan intended to build a defensive line with dangerous plants around the tribe, and Thunder Fruits made a good choice.
Though they only act in the fall when the fruits mature, their power remains formidable.
“I’ll do the digging.”
Gou Teng volunteered to dig up the saplings, much to Jiang Xuan’s delight.
They dug up a total of eight Thunder Tree saplings, all with roots and soil intact, enhancing survival rates and ensuring quicker recovery once planted.
After finishing with the saplings, Jiang Xuan circled the forest, finding intact sheep and deer horns, along with so beast bones yet to decay, suitable for crafting bone tools.
These horns and bones were valuable to the tribe and never went overlooked when found.
Finished collecting horns and bones, the group continued their search for prey and edible plants.
By noon, Jiang Xuan shot a flightless large bird with an arrow, and the five had a feast.
After eating their fill, they proceeded onwards.
They found edible tuberous plants and wild vegetables, which Jiang Xuan dug up to cultivate.
The Vine Tribe’s current variety of grains and vegetables was limited, so Jiang Xuan seized every chance to expand the options.
As they arrived in front of a small mountain, Chi Shao suddenly pulled Jiang Xuan into a bush to conceal them both, signaling the other three youths to hide as well.
“What happened?”
Jiang Xuan asked in a low voice.
“There’s soone ahead!”
Chi Shao’s expression was serious, tinged with so nervousness.
They had been worried about encountering people from other tribes, and now their concern beca reality.
Jiang Xuan followed Chi Shao’s gaze, observing closely, and indeed noticed sothing amiss.
At the mountain’s base, there was a sowhat concealed rock cave, its entrance stacked with large, dry branches—evidently placed by humans.
Additionally, faint smoke wafted from the cave, unnoticed if not scrutinized carefully.
Gou Teng whispered from behind, “Chief, what should we do now?”
Shi Qiu and Nan Xing also gazed at Jiang Xuan, and even Chi Shao watched him without speaking.
As the Vine Tribe’s chief, Jiang Xuan had to stand up and make a decision at this mont.
Jiang Xuan pondered for a while and said, “Let’s first hide in a tree, observe how many people there are, and then decide.”
Everyone nodded in agreent, carefully climbing a tall, dense tree to conceal themselves among the branches, observing the cave from afar.
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