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墨書 Inktalez
In the Vast Mountains, what do these people eat? Could it be human flesh? In Ancient Times, there were cannibal tribes. Xiao Qiang was filled with trepidation, barely managing to endure the inspection that felt like having his teeth examined like livestock. He heard the inspecting man say something to an old woman that was not "Bloodsucker."
Inside the hut, the barbarians suddenly erupted into a chorus of screams. The women twisted their plump hips, their bodies moving in a strange dance, while their arms waved like Spirit Snakes.
Low, suppressed murmurs echoed around, resembling whispers, as if they were sharing secrets or resuming an ancient ritual. Later, Xiao Qiang learned from a child that this ritual was a way for the barbarians to communicate with the spirits of heaven and earth. After receiving gifts from the Father of Gods—his very presence—they expressed their gratitude to the spirits.
The child who had been peeking outside throughout the ritual enjoyed spending time with Xiao Qiang. The child's father was the leader who blew the horn. From him, Xiao Qiang learned many hidden secrets about Waji Mountain.
In Xiao Qiang's eyes, these people were crude and hideous. However, to these barbarians, he was an oddity. To blend in with these strange humans, he was dressed up as a clown by the Saint Mother.
The Waji Mountain People respected both the Saint Mother and Xiao Qiang. In their eyes, this seemingly different outsider was their future savior. The Waji Mountain People lived by hunting, capturing the king of beasts—the Mammoth—for food.
As winter approached and snow blanketed the peaks, the Waji Mountain People had to hide in their dilapidated huts to survive the cold winter, waiting until spring to hunt Mammoths again.
However, recently, Mammoths had been appearing less frequently; sometimes they would not show up for a long time. The village elders counted the days without sightings using stones.
There were over a dozen stones piled on the ground, indicating that Mammoths had not appeared for more than ten days. If this continued, the people of Waji Mountain would face starvation.
The Saint Mother treated Xiao Qiang well, offering him her treasured beast meat. The meat had a strange taste but was chewy, somewhat reminiscent of yak beef.
Here, Xiao Qiang taught them how to use knives. With his dagger, he cut the beast meat into small pieces for these curious barbarians. They carefully took the small pieces into their mouths and slowly chewed and swallowed, savoring the delicious texture of the meat.
Xiao Qiang did not like the Saint Mother.
Her appearance resembled that of a legendary Witch. Among these barbarians, those who grew older gained more respect; the Saint Mother was one of them. She had thick white substance smeared from her forehead down to her nose.
Only such barbaric old women as the Saint Mother were qualified to wear heavy white substances to signify their different and noble status.
Xiao Qiang's clothing made those bare-skinned barbarians envious. The barbarian women pointed at his clothes from afar and then looked at themselves; shyly covering their faces with their hands, they ran into their huts and did not come out for a long time.
After a while, they emerged wearing several pieces of ragged cloth wrapped around their exposed bodies. The barbarians began to imitate the first woman who wrapped herself in rags; soon enough, all women—from adults to children—had their own clothes.
In Waji Mountain, aside from the Saint Mother, there was also a man holding a White Reed Staff who was the village chief. The White Reed Staff was made from Mammoth bones and kept by the Saint Mother. As long as any man in the tribe bravely hunted down a Mammoth—regardless of whether he was old or newly adult—he would possess a White Reed Staff and gain rights over the entire village along with priority in courting its most beautiful girls.
Amidst dry grass and greenery, Xiao Qiang sat behind a large rock playing with a Time Machine Box alongside a boy named Amayi.
Amayi told him that their hunting team was allied with neighboring tribes and part of their Waji Mountain Tribe's alliance.
The situation in Waji Mountain was deteriorating; young boys were too young while older ones could no longer fight Mammoths. They could only rely on allied tribes to hunt Mammoths and share in whatever meager resources remained to survive.
Amayi also shared that his father did not believe in the Saint Mother's words and therefore did not trust that he was sent by the Father of Gods to save their Waji Mountain Tribe as a Saint. So on the second day after Amayi's arrival at Waji Mountain, his father handed over the White Reed Staff and horn to another man he had better relations with before quietly leaving Waji Mountain.
Amayi felt lonely because of his father's departure; all children and adults in Waji Mountain looked down on him. The children practiced throwing spears—sharp wooden sticks used to battle against mighty Mammoths.
During leisure time, they gathered together for spear-throwing competitions.
Amayi became an outcast among them and could only stand far away alone.
Xiao Qiang comforted him and taught him how to write his name in the dirt with a stick.
Amayi was clever and quickly learned how to write his name. Just as he became engrossed in writing, a deep roar echoed from below the mountain. He jumped up suddenly and exclaimed, "They're coming!"
"Who?"
"Mammoth"
"What do you need me to do?"
"You can't go without a Stick, or you'll be trampled by the Mammoth," Amayi said excitedly, pointing at the hunting team that was already surrounding the Mammoth down the mountain.
Xiao Qiang focused his gaze as a group of massive Mammoth appeared in view, moving with a steady gait. This was the first time he had seen such an animal, extinct in the modern world.
"Why eat their meat? You could clear land and grow food instead," Xiao Qiang lamented, speaking to Amayi without expecting a response.
Amayi didn't hear what he said; upon seeing the hunting team drive the Mammoth, his thirteen-year-old blood surged, and he wanted to capture a Mammoth himself.
Ignoring Xiao Qiang's protests, he waved his Stick and dashed down the mountain.
Following closely behind Amayi, Xiao Qiang observed that the primitive hunters' initial method of capturing prey was surprisingly similar to that of felines. They lurked in the grass, crawling slowly toward their target.
At this moment, the leader wielding the White Reed Staff had to charge forward to locate the head Mammoth. He would raise the staff high, indicating its position, prompting the other hunters to swarm out and encircle it for capture.
As long as they captured the head Mammoth, the rest would be left leaderless, creating chaos that would allow the Waji Mountain Tribe to capture another Mammoth.
The temporary leader with the White Reed Staff quickly found the head Mammoth. He raised his staff provocatively, challenging it. Naturally, the head Mammoth became enraged. It trumpeted loudly, its massive body rearing up as it prepared to stomp down on the tiny figure of the barbarian leader before it.
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