I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 472 – Go to the Strong Tribe
Early the following day, as the sky was beginning to lighten, the tightly shut entrance of the Donkey Tribe’s cave was opened from the outside.
The fourth leader of the Flying Snake Tribe and his people emerged from within.
The previous day’s feast and restful sleep had wiped away all their fatigue, leaving them feeling particularly spirited.
Armed with weapons and full of energy, they set out.
Accompanying them were two Donkey Tribe members who had been captured and had not escaped after being injured.
The two Donkey Tribe members were being led in front by the Flying Snake Tribe members heading straight towards the Green Sparrow Tribe.
“Move faster!”
The fourth leader of the Flying Snake Tribe was irritated by the two Donkey Tribe members’ slow pace and kicked them a few times.
He was eager to reach the Green Sparrow Tribe and seize all their precious pottery and salt, but the two were dragging their feet.
The two terrified Donkey Tribe members had no choice but to endure their pain and hasten their pace to lead the ruthless Flying Snake Tribe members to the affluent tribe.
The fourth leader’s mood improved again.
He initially thought that dealing with pottery and salt would be straightforward, but he didn’t expect to learn more information from these people.
Due to the language barrier, he couldn’t understand most of what they said, but he clearly understood that the salt and pottery the Donkey Tribe had were acquired from another tribe.
So, he set out early in the morning with his people to attack the tribe that possessed the salt and pottery.
He intended to take all the salt and pottery from that tribe, and upon returning to his tribe, he would undoubtedly earn the great praise of the shaman.
Whether the tribe was challenging to conquer or very powerful, the fourth leader of the Flying Snake Tribe didn’t consider it at all.
Since he could remember, he had never seen a tribe stronger than the Flying Snake Tribe.
And there wasn’t a tribe the Flying Snake Tribe couldn’t defeat.
Regardless of which tribe had the pottery and salt, it didn’t matter to him, as he would break through and seize the salt and pottery.
With such ambitious thoughts, he deliberately ignored the tribe that had previously caused him great trouble.
That tribe was just an accident. There were many tribes on this land, and it couldn’t be that coincidental for a tribe with strange caves to also possess precious pottery and salt.
Sunlight streamed down, and in a clearing among the trees, the Donkey Tribe leader and eight other members of the Donkey Tribe sat dejectedly.
Most of them were injured. Wounds, fear, and exhaustion… all these factors had left them in a state of utter despair.
The Donkey Tribe leader leaned against a tree, his eyes vacant as he stared at the ground.
Everything that had suddenly happened from yesterday until now left him in a daze.
His tribe had been destroyed just like that. After working so hard to build up the tribe and seeing it flourish day by day…
All of it had been abruptly shattered.
It all felt like a nightmarish dream he wished he could avoid.
The image of lively children being pierced and bleeding out, familiar faces in the tribe lying on the ground with lifeless eyes, the panicked and despairing screams of the people, and the four injured tribe members left to block the enemies…
These images swirled continuously in his mind, causing great emotional turmoil.
The thought of returning to fight those evil people, to kill them and rescue the remaining members of the tribe, had crossed his mind more than once. There were even several times when he had led the remaining people back partway, but in the end, he sat down in despair as if all his strength had been drained away.
He knew that even if they went back, it would be useless. They were no match for that tribe. With so many of their people dead, returning would only destroy the last remaining members of the tribe without changing the outcome.
Time passed slowly, and the sun sank lower into the sky. The Donkey Tribe leader, whose arm was swollen and no longer bleeding, remained silent for a while before suddenly standing up from the ground. A wave of weakness hit him, making him sway.
Ignoring this, he shouted to the remaining eight people.
The eight other Donkey Tribe members, who had also been silent, gradually regained their composure. They stood up from the ground and, despite their weakness, followed their leader, making their way with all their remaining strength.
They were heading towards the affluent and influential tribe to inform them of what had happened and beg for revenge for their tribe.
Their hasty escape had led them off the usual path to that tribe, but it didn’t matter. They had spent most of the recent years traveling and could reach that tribe as long as they knew the direction.
The thought of seeking help from the wealthy and powerful tribe strengthened them. Despite their weakened state, they moved through the desolate terrain with determination.
This thought was like the last straw…
The Green Sparrow Tribe continued to be peaceful as usual. The first batch of millet had been stored indoors, and the second batch had also been harvested in good weather.
With the millet filling several rooms, everyone felt secure; having food on hand meant no worries.
The last batch of autumn silkworms had spun their cocoons the day before.
Some larger cocoons were kept to allow them to transform into moths and produce the next generation. The rest were collected by Bai Xue, the silkworm caretaker, who threw them into a pot of boiling water.
Unlike before, when she would open the cocoons to extract the pupae and fry them, this time, all the cocoons were placed directly into the pot.
Bai Xue, who had mastered weaving with hemp thread, wanted to try weaving with silk cocoons. Brother Cheng said that silk thread fabric was better than hemp fabric.
She had started experimenting with this after the previous batch of cocoons matured, but the results were far from satisfactory, almost a complete failure.
The problem wasn’t with the weaving machine but with the cocoons. Before she could extract the silk, moths had already emerged from the damaged cocoons.
The silk broke quickly with holes in the cocoons, which was very frustrating. It was even more upsetting than her inability to grow a bigger belly during that period.
It wasn’t until she consulted Brother Cheng that she solved this problem…
As the pot’s water boiled, the cocoons floated and rolled around in the hot water. The boiling water killed the pupae inside the cocoons, preventing them from turning into moths and ensuring that the cocoons wouldn’t break.
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