I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 900 – Who?! (Two-in-One)
The sound of “ch-ch-ch” continued incessantly until the man, rubbing the wooden stick with his hands so vigorously he felt as if smoke would rise from his palms, finally saw smoke curling from the fire-starting material.
He sped up his motions, rubbing a few more times with extra force, and the smoke thickened, spiraling upward.
Satisfied, he stopped, quickly moved the stick aside, and carefully lifted the smoking fire starter, blowing gently.
Soon, small flames flickered to life.
He used these flames to ignite the remaining prepared kindling, and the room quickly brightened.
Some people, seeing the fire, could not help cheering.
Those who looked at the male primitive who had started the fire now gazed at him with respect and admiration.
Several female primitives’ eyes shone even brighter, as if little flames were flickering inside.
The male primitive basked in the attention, feeling rightfully proud of the admiration directed at him.
He carefully stored the fire-starting tools in a high place within the strange cave and arranged stones around the fire he had built to contain it.
At the same time, the older female primitive had already gathered the grain from outside.
She entered the room, carefully lifted a pottery jar, and handed it solemnly to someone following her.
That person received it cautiously, cradling it as if afraid to drop it.
The older woman bent again, lifted another jar, and handed it to someone else.
After speaking a few words, the recipients nodded vigorously and, accompanied by two others, carried the jars to the water source.
Once filled, they took turns carrying the jars back to the cave.
While they fetched water, the older female primitive did not rest. She retrieved several items they had brought along: some stones with small pits carved into them and a few wooden sticks.
Distributing these, she also poured some of the gathered grain in front of several people.
They began placing the small, husked grains into the stone pits and pounding them with the wooden sticks.
Soon, the room echoed with the rhythmic “bang bang” of pounding grain.
As they worked, the grains’ shells broke, revealing the white kernels inside.
After a while, the water carriers returned.
The man who had started the fire now lit a second fire, also surrounded by stones.
He received the water-filled pottery jars from the women and placed them on the fire, supported by the surrounding stones so they were not directly on the flames.
The added heat caused the flames to wrap around the jars, enveloping them.
He carefully added more kindling under the jars to intensify the flames.
After some time, the older female primitive overseeing the grain pounding called everyone to stop.
She instructed them to take the pounded grains from the pits, holding them between their palms to blow away the shells.
As they blew, the husks fell away, leaving the white grains.
Though not perfectly clean—some husks remained—this was sufficient for her purposes.
She collected the cleaned grains into a wooden-like, roughly round container.
Once the pits were cleared, she poured the white grains into a pottery jar that was beginning to steam.
Those who had cleaned grains continued placing more into the pits and pounding them.
After a while, another batch of white grains was cleaned and poured into a second jar.
She then provided additional fruits collected along the journey for everyone to eat.
Meanwhile, she herself ate, continuing to take out more wooden-like round containers.
Soon, a pleasant aroma filled the room.
The male primitive tending the fire used a tool made from sticks and bark, along with one of the wooden-like round containers, to stir the steaming jars.
He dipped it in, stirred, and lifted it, capturing some of the pale liquid.
Tilting it, the liquid poured back into the jar, leaving the cooked white grains inside the wooden-like container.
“Excellent!” he said, pleased.
The older female primitive stepped forward, took the long-handled container from him, and transferred the hot soup with the white grains into the other wooden-like containers.
Soon, everyone held one of these containers and drank the steaming, pale soup.
Compared to ordinary soup, this one made from white grains was richer in flavor.
By the end, grains settled at the bottom; some could be eaten directly, while others stuck to the sides of the container.
If stuck, someone would scrape them off with a finger and continue drinking.
As night deepened, the temporary slave quarters in Jingguan City grew quiet.
After finishing the soup from the two jars, everyone lay on the hay to sleep.
For many, it was the first night in such a strange cave, and they were curious, initially unable to sleep.
With no entertainment in primitive times, someone soon began humming a simple tune.
At a distant temporary camp, enclosed by ropes and sticks, silence settled as well.
Except for ruminating deer and two night-watchers, everyone else slept.
The long journey had exhausted them; once they lay down, sleep quickly took over.
Time passed quietly until dawn.
With the morning light, birds chirped among the trees, occasionally flapping and flying.
Droplets collected at leaf tips fell to the ground.
The Green Sparrow Tribe’s temporary camp became lively.
Some tended deer, donkeys, and sheep, letting them graze while food was prepared.
Morning smoke from cooking wafted, spreading the scent of food.
Once breakfast was eaten and the camp tidied, the group resumed their journey south along the corrected route, leading the animals.
At the same time, the older female primitives who had eaten the white grain porridge laid out the collected small fruits and continued to gather more for future use.
The sun, tireless and repetitive, rose from the east, arced across the sky, and began to descend in the west.
By late morning, sunlight was softer than at noon, bathing the world in serene and peaceful light.
Yet beneath this surface calm, danger lurked.
“Screech screech screech~.”
A troop of monkeys playing and picking lice suddenly erupted in alarm, shrieking and leaping through the trees.
A raptor folded its wings and dove like a spear, grabbing a half-grown monkey unaware, flying away with it as it screamed.
A bee humming happily collided with a large white net strung between two trees, becoming trapped.
It struggled violently, shaking the net.
A spider, quiet in the center of the web, immediately moved, circling the bee while spinning white silk around it.
After some time, the bee’s struggles weakened.
A primitive woman, clad in animal skins and with hair disheveled, ran desperately.
She bore some injuries and carried a small infant in her arms.
Branches whipped her face and body, but she ignored the pain, clutching the child and sprinting.
She glanced behind as if something terrifying pursued her.
The infant sensed danger, eyes wide with fear but silent.
She collided with a hidden net, breaking it, and continued running.
The spider, caught in the shock, fell to the ground.
The restrained bee struggled and eventually escaped, buzzing away in terror.
Branches settled, and the spider slowly began climbing back to repair its web.
“Crash…”
The peace lasted only briefly.
Three primitives emerged from the direction the woman had fled, wielding stone and bone weapons, chasing her.
The unfortunate spider was crushed under a massive foot before it could escape.
The woman, weakened and carrying her child, began to be overtaken.
“Shout!”
“Shout!”
The men behind yelled, increasing her terror.
Despite exhaustion, she found the strength to run faster.
“Woo woo woo~”
Ahead, wild animal growls sounded, and several wolves appeared among the branches.
The woman froze, instinctively veering to the side, but dense underbrush and the approaching pursuers left no escape.
With barely a moment to hesitate, she bit her teeth and charged toward the wolves.
Sometimes, her own kind was scarier than beasts.
“What?!”
“Who?!”
Just as she braced for the wolves’ attack, a completely unexpected sight appeared:
Strange-looking people appeared before her, wielding odd weapons, shouting words she did not understand…
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