I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 112 – The truth that makes one want to kick the author in the face
Eldest Senior Brother’s sudden shout made Han Cheng startle, thinking that a wild animal or some other threat might be approaching.
Considering his life as more important than anything else, Han Cheng didn’t hesitate and returned to the tribe. The rest of the people also hastily turned back to the tribe.
Fortunately, they were all at the gate of the wall, so it only took a few steps to get inside, following the sudden shout from the Eldest Senior Brother. Despite the confusion, they all managed to return within a short time.
“Bang!”
The two doors of the tribe were swiftly closed and secured. Han Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Peeking through the crack of the door, he inquired of Eldest Senior Brother, who had already gathered people on the low wall, about what he had found. The answer was that he hadn’t seen anything but felt a possible threat, so he called everyone in and secured the defense.
Han Cheng was surprised, then had to acknowledge Eldest Senior Brother’s alertness.
While everyone else assumed it might be the return of the deer and ignored other possibilities, Eldest Senior Brother considered other potential threats, likely because of his extensive experience leading hunting parties.
In an era teeming with fierce beasts, not being vigilant could lead to disastrous consequences for their tribe.
“Rustling” sounds drew closer.
Han Cheng also climbed up the low wall. With his current height, standing on the wall allowed him to see beyond it. As the rustling approached, a shadow emerged from the blur.
In the hazy moonlight, Han Cheng could discern their outlines. Even though he saw only the silhouette, he recognized them—besides the unsettling Deer Lord, who else would it be?
“Yo, yo.”
Seeing the bipedal creatures lining up on the wall to welcome their return, the Deer Lord appeared pleased. It inspected the ‘troops’ and gave a couple of hearty calls, a familiar sound that made Han Cheng want to kick it in frustration.
Confirming it was them and not some other wild beasts, the people in the tribe relaxed their guard, opening the gates and allowing the deer to come back.
The Deer Lord hadn’t seen Han Cheng all day and seemed anxious. It walked over to him, sticking its large tongue to lick Han Cheng’s face. Salty but not unpleasant.
As it prepared for a second lick, Han Cheng laughed and scolded it, pushing its head away.
The return of the deer relaxed the tense atmosphere in the tribe, quickly turning from initial nervousness to a joyous reunion, akin to the feeling when, during Han Cheng’s childhood, their family calf went missing for more than a day and was finally found inside the sweet potato pit.
The Eldest Senior Brother arranged for someone to prepare food in the cave and then, together with Han Cheng, Shaman, and a few others, headed to the deer enclosure.
Tasks like arranging food were usually the Eldest Senior Brother’s domain, and Han Cheng didn’t usually interfere.
Inside the deer enclosure, a fire was lit, casting its glow over the Deer Lord and others as they dunked their heads into a water trough, drinking deeply as if they’d been thirsty all day.
After drinking, the Deer Lord called out to Han Cheng again.
Seeing the Deer Lord in a disheveled state and its flattened stomach, recalling its hurried drinking earlier, Han Cheng understood what it needed. He turned to Tie Tou and Ru Hua and instructed them to bring all the fresh grass harvested today to feed the deer.
He counted the number of deer while Deer Lord and most others looked disheveled. Han Cheng thought wild animals might have attacked them.
Luckily, none of the deer were missing, including the now grown-up fawn that was still nursing. All twenty-one were accounted for. This greatly relieved Han Cheng.
After confirming no casualties among the deer, Han Cheng instructed the Eldest Senior Brother and others to check if any of them were injured. The result was that most of them only had messy fur, appearing exhausted and bedraggled but without any injuries.
Watching the hungry deer happily munching on the grass brought by Tie Tou and Ru Hua, Han Cheng fell into contemplation. He couldn’t understand what these deer had experienced throughout the day.
Judging by their appearance, it seemed they hadn’t eaten or drunk water all day and had engaged in extensive physical activity, as if they had been running for a long time or even fighting.
From this perspective, they should have encountered a fierce pursuit or attack by wild beasts. However, seeing the old deer that had been lured out and secretly slaughtered by the Eldest Senior Brother, and now seeing this young fawn, still energetic and eagerly nursing, Han Cheng had to doubt this assumption.
After all, this little one had become the most vulnerable individual in the entire deer herd after the old deer was deceitfully led away and killed by Eldest Senior Brother.
This young fawn should have suffered the most significant injuries if they had truly faced a wild beast’s pursuit. Yet, now the entire herd seemed lively, with the fawn displaying exceptional vitality.
These anomalies left Han Cheng, who prided himself on having the most functional brain in this era, puzzled.
“What exactly did you go through today?” he asked, turning to Deer Lord.
Disdainful of the question, the Deer Lord didn’t bother to answer. It continued to eat the grass with gusto.
The question of what the deer had experienced troubled Han Cheng for most of the night until he fell asleep.
The truth of the matter was as follows:
Spring had arrived, and with it, the awakening of all things frozen by the cold. Having stored energy throughout the winter, the Deer Lord was no exception.
For the past few days, it had been occupied with wrestling ropes and enjoying the delight of taking the bipedal creatures for a walk. It was so engrossed in these activities that it forgot about something important.
Only today, with the absence of the bipedal creatures, did the Deer Lord suddenly feel like it was missing something. It looked around and saw a group of does casting pitiful, melancholic looks at it.
This gaze was unbearable for any male, let alone the usually haughty Deer Lord.
Seeing those gazes, the Deer Lord, with its male pride, stopped eating grass. It decided to defend its dignity with practical actions.
A fierce battle ensued a 1vs18 struggle. After three rounds of intense combat against the does, the Deer Lord realized it was getting late. Using this as an excuse, it voluntarily ended this brutal one-against-many fight.
Normally, with the Deer Lord’s strong legs, it wouldn’t have returned so late. However, this battle took a toll on its stamina, and even with four legs, it was a bit shaky while walking.
This incident was not discovered until the next day when Han Cheng, still worried, followed behind with weapons, and the wall construction stopped.
Knowing the truth, Han Cheng felt an intense urge to go over and kick this uncontrollable deer twice.
Damn it, you’re out there enjoying yourself, carefree and content, while making everyone worry at home. It’s truly inhumane.