Chapter 15: Zhuang Yu's True Colors
Thinking about the possibility of having fish to eat in the future, having a stable source of meat, Zhuang Yu felt very excited.
There was no way around it. His current food sources were unstable. For example, the bamboo shoots on the mountain, once he dug them all up, he didn't know where to find food.
But fish were different. That river should be a river of life. Golden Centipede Tribe lived by this river, which was large and long, teeming with fish. As long as it didn't dry up, they should be able to continuously obtain fish from it.
The current problem was how to avoid those ferocious wild beasts in the water and scoop up fish from the river.
He could think of fish because they were the only edible animals he had seen so far. He hadn't been to the Golden Centipede Tribe yet, so he knew nothing about the outside world.
Zhuang Yu's method was to tie arrows with spider silk, shoot fish with a crossbow, and then pull back the fish shot with the spider silk.
He had tried Zhi's spider silk, which was very tough and soft, even surprisingly resilient. It would definitely withstand the weight of a fish.
Of course, after hitting the fish, there would be a bloody smell, attracting wild beasts to fight for the wounded fish. He wasn't sure if the spider silk could withstand the pull of the wild beasts, so he had to pull back the arrows before the wild beasts snatched the wounded fish.
As for the crossbow, Zhuang Yu, as an archaeologist, had heard someone explain the production process of the ancient crossbow, a very old and simple craft. But that was one of the most lethal weapons left by the ancients.
Because he had only heard about the process of making it, he had never actually tried it himself, so he had to try the craft himself.
So, under the big pear tree, Zhuang Yu started chopping wood.
A group of little radishes had already jumped into the water, with curious little heads poking out of the surface, "What is Brother Yu doing again?"
"Making wooden shelves, right? The wooden shelves Brother Yu made for us are so useful. We put all our stone bowls on them, all neat and tidy. Our collective mountain cave is not messy at all now."
Zhuang Yu not only chopped wood but also boiled a pot of water to cook the tendon from the dinosaur, making it tougher for use as the crossbow string.
Perhaps because it was his first time making a crossbow, Zhuang Yu spent a little more time, and the finished product was not a crossbow but a ballista.
To provide enough force to penetrate the fish scales, the ballista was slightly larger and not very easy to move, and it was also difficult to string. So he simply made it into a ballista.
A group of little radishes looked at the strange ballista curiously, "What is this? I've never seen it before."
Zhuang Yu smiled and waved, "Let's go, let's go hunting."
The children were stunned. Hunting? Wasn't that something only the hunting team members could do? Only the giant beast warriors could hunt, that was their glory and pride.
But Brother Yu just said, let them go hunting together? So a group of little radishes were completely stunned. This was something they admired but found hard to believe.
In the Tribe, giant beast warriors were respected and admired by others because they could hunt for the Tribe.
The children were first stunned, then they climbed out of the pool excitedly, "Ah, Brother Yu, are we really going hunting?"
Their faces were flushed with excitement.
If they could hunt too, they would be awesome.
"Just follow me, and you'll see."
Zhuang Yu said, then pushed the ballista towards the riverbank.
The ballista wasn't very easy to move, and the children were shouting and helping to push, which was quite spectacular.
Along the way, they attracted a lot of attention, "What is Yu from the Water Marsh Tribe doing again?"
"He used to hang around Young Chieftain every day, now he's not hanging around him anymore. He's leading a bunch of kids around idly."
Zhuang Yu hadn't spoken yet, but a group of children were already shouting, "Are you eating our food? Drinking our soup?"
They were snappy, each one like a hedgehog being poked.
Zhuang Yu not only provided them with food but also made their collective cave clean and beautiful. In their hearts, no one could speak ill of Zhuang Yu.
Although these children were small, they were numerous, chattering away, and they were really noisy when arguing.
"Hmph, you adults have been taking our water all the time. How dare you say that Brother Yu is idling around? If it weren't for Brother Yu's self-made water pipes, you wouldn't have any water to drink."
"I heard that you guys have been learning Brother Yu's method to bring water by yourselves, but unfortunately, the water that comes out is smelly."
These past few days, people from the Golden Centipede Tribe did indeed try Zhuang Yu's method to bring water by themselves. However... they didn't connect the bamboo sections into flexible pipes, instead, they pierced the bamboo segments with a complete bamboo, making them unable to bend. They also didn't understand the principle of atmospheric pressure, resulting in only three or four out of ten bamboo sticks they buried being able to produce water.
Even so, they were very happy. But not long after being happy, the water coming out of the pipes actually changed its taste.
Actually, it's very simple. Their water pipes started to rot. Bamboo buried in the ground without processing would definitely grow moldy and smell bad.
So now they were still very curious about why the water pipes they made, drawing water from the same river, had a strange smell, while Zhuang Yu's water pipe, which had been used the longest, had no smell at all.
Zhuang Yu listened and was momentarily stunned. Actually, people from the Golden Centipede Tribe had come directly to ask him about his water-drawing method, and he wouldn't hide it. It was just a small matter.
But since they were planning to do it themselves, then let them do it themselves.
A group of people from the Golden Centipede Tribe were left speechless by a group of children. Because they did indeed go to draw water from Zhuang Yu's water pipe, but Zhuang Yu did seem idle. He spent every day in his cave and didn't come out, doing nothing. All the people from the Golden Centipede Tribe were saying, "After he finishes eating the meat given by the Young Chieftain, let's see what he does."
But there were also some people from the Golden Centipede Tribe who looked at Zhuang Yu differently because they heard that Zhuang Yu actually shared the meat given to him by the Young Chieftain with a group of children from the collective cave.
Except for the hunting team, who had some extra meat, the rest of the people couldn't even eat their fill, so how could they share their meat with others?
It's no wonder that these children from the collective cave are now so supportive of Zhuang Yu.
Now the people from the Golden Centipede Tribe had two attitudes towards Zhuang Yu. One was the same as before, unable to get used to it no matter what.
This is easy to understand. People are such strange creatures. After the first impression, it seems that no matter what others do, it can't change this impression.
The second attitude was still in a wait-and-see state. From Zhuang Yu actively distancing himself from their Young Chieftain, making an automatic water pipe, and giving things to the children from the collective cave to eat, they found that Zhuang Yu was somewhat different now. What kind of person Zhuang Yu really was, they were still waiting to see. This was the attitude of some of the remaining people from the Golden Centipede Tribe.
Zhuang Yu lightly chuckled. Say he's idle? He's just improving his life step by step according to his own pace. If they see someone they call "idle" living better every day, I wonder how they would feel?
Zhuang Yu's mouth curved up. Catching fish was more important. As for their nonsense, it probably wouldn't change their attitude much. It's better to let them see it for themselves. Fortunately, it was only these people who were suspicious of him, whereas before, the whole Golden Centipede Tribe...
But a group of little radishes were extremely dissatisfied, silently keeping it in their hearts. They must let everyone know how good Brother Yu was.
Zhuang Yu pushed the ballista with a group of little radishes, walking towards the riverbank under the strange gaze of these people.
The closer they got to the riverbank, the fewer people from the Golden Centipede Tribe there were because they would instinctively stay away from this dangerous place.
Even a group of little radishes became nervous, "Brother Yu, if we get closer, the river monsters will jump up and bite us."
In fact, they were still far away.
When Zhuang Yu said he was taking them hunting, although these little radishes were excited, they actually thought they were just going out to play. They, a group of people like the Queen Bee, the Red Spider, and Zhuang Yu's Mushroom, didn't look like they could hunt at all.
Zhuang Yu pushed the ballista to a place with a very good view, where they could clearly see the situation in the river and were within range.
Then a group of little radishes saw Zhuang Yu busy, adjusting the angle of the ballista and tying one end of the spider silk to a nearby big tree. This way, even if they accidentally hit a river monster in the water or the arrow was bitten by a river monster, the river monster wouldn't drag them into the water through the spider silk.
A group of little radishes were very puzzled, "Brother Yu, what are you doing?"
Zhuang Yu put his finger to his lips and made a hushing sound.
For some reason, a group of little radishes became nervous, then looked at Zhuang Yu with great confusion.
Zhuang Yu adjusted the ballista. The ballista was equipped with the simplest iron sight, and the arrows were made from the strongest small tree trunks, with very sharp arrowheads, and a barb was carved at the top to prevent the fish from slipping off once hit.
The river was very clear, without any pollution from sewage, and most of the fish in the river weighed six or seven catties, with many even larger.
A group of little radishes saw Zhuang Yu stop moving, closing one eye and aiming at something. Just as they were about to speak, a "swoosh" sound suddenly rang out beside them, and something very fast broke through the air, creating a buzzing sound in the air.
The little radishes were momentarily stunned, then they saw the river become muddy, with a large group of things struggling in it, and they could vaguely see several water monsters fiercely fighting over something.
The little radishes swallowed their saliva. How did the water monsters suddenly go mad? Fortunately, they were still some distance away from the riverbank, otherwise, they would have been scared to death.
But Zhuang Yu was delighted. His vision was good, and he could vaguely see that the arrow he had just shot had pierced a big fish directly. He quickly said, "Quick, pull."
Then he grabbed the spider silk and started pulling it up. He didn't dare to exert too much force, afraid that the silk would cut his hand.
The group of little radishes reacted and began to pull with Zhuang Yu, although they didn't know what they were pulling.
Zhuang Yu felt a heavy sensation in his hand, frowned, could it be that he hit a water monster?
"Oh no, oh no," the group of little radishes shouted slogans and began to exert force.
"Whoosh."
Then they were stunned, because a huge fish was pulled onto the shore, still struggling vigorously. Once the fish was out of the water, the pulling force was not as strong as before.
Zhuang Yu also breathed a sigh of relief. He had hit the fish, but he couldn't relax, because several huge water monsters in the river had pounced.
The group of little radishes opened their mouths, forgetting to pull the fish. Fortunately, Zhuang Yu saw that he had hit a fish and wasn't afraid of cutting his hand with the spider silk. He exerted force and pulled the fish towards them desperately.
The water monsters pounced onto the shore but quickly retreated. As Zhuang Yu expected, they were afraid of the intimidation of the ancestral beast and didn't dare to pursue them for too long.
The fish, pierced by the arrow with a barb, was pulled to the side of the ballista. The group of children still couldn't believe it and screamed, "This is a fish, such a big fish."
"Ah, Brother Yu hunted a fish in the river."
"Ah, ah!"
They all screamed with excitement, their faces turning red with joy.
Brother Yu said he was taking them hunting, and it turned out to be true.
They knew how dangerous this river was. Even the Tribe's beasts didn't dare to approach the riverbank, lest they be dragged down by the water monsters in the river.
But just now, they hunted a fish in such a dangerous river.
"Ah, ah! We actually hunted like the warriors of the giant beasts."
Although the difference between this fish and the prey hunted by the warriors of the giant beasts was huge, this was a fish they hunted in the dangerous river, which didn't affect their excitement at all.
Hunting meant something very different to these deeply rooted children. It was glory, it was blood, it was something that everyone admired and yearned for.
Zhuang Yu was also very happy because now it was proven that fishing from this big river was feasible, although the method was a bit troublesome.
This river was so big, they couldn't see its source. Even if they caught fewer fish nearby, they could still go a little further away to catch them.
They now had a way to obtain meat.
"Ah, ah, ah!" The group of little radishes screamed and pounced on the fish still struggling on the ground, pressing it firmly, "Don't even think about escaping, you are our prey."
This fish was really tenacious. It was pierced by the arrow and hooked, yet it still struggled so fiercely.
But under the excited pressure of the group of children, it was difficult to break free even if it wanted to.
The little mushroom also used its little stick to continuously hit the fish's head, preventing it from escaping even if it wanted to.
The little mushroom had tasted the fish Zhuang Yu cooked last time, and it wouldn't let go of such a delicious meal.
Zhuang Yu watched with the corners of his mouth twitching. This fish was really pitiful. He was worried that the fish would be squashed by the excited children stacked on top of each other.
After a while, "It seems to have stopped moving. It should have been pressed to death by us."
The little mushroom's head tilted. Clearly, it was hit to death by the little mushroom hitting its head with a stick.
The group of little radishes got up, leaving only a weak fish on the ground.
Zhuang Yu's mouth twitched. This fish must weigh at least ten catties. No wonder he felt so strong when it was struggling in the water just now. He even thought he had hit a water monster.
Zhuang Yu began to retrieve the fish, removed the arrow, and then said to the group of little radishes, "Quickly use vines to string it up. This is our first prey of the hunt."
The group of little radishes were excited, their faces flushed red. They nodded vigorously, found a large vine, and strung the fish up.
Then they looked at the ballista beside Zhuang Yu. It was this thing that shot out a spear made of a tree trunk just now, killing the fish. They dragged the fish back from the mouths of those water monsters.
Zhuang Yu smiled, knowing what these children were going to ask. He said, "Who says we can't hunt without giant beasts? With it, we can hunt like giant beast warriors every day from now on."
Hunt like giant beast warriors every day?
"Ah, ah, ah!"
The group of little radishes screamed with their mouths open. They, the children of the cave without giant beasts, could actually hunt like giant beast hunters.
That excitement, perhaps even Zhuang Yu couldn't comprehend.
Zhuang Yu continued, "As long as this river exists, as long as we are diligent enough, we can eat meat every day in the future."
The group of children looked at the river, then at the fish hanging up. Previously, this river was more about fear for them. Even though they knew there were many fish in the river, they never thought about snatching fish from the water monsters in the river.
Not to mention them, even the warriors of the giant beasts in the Tribe never thought of catching fish on a large scale from the river. The river belonged to these water monsters, and the beasts would be greatly weakened if they entered the water.
The group of little radishes blinked their somewhat confused yet bright big eyes. They couldn't even afford berries before. Since following Yu, they ate their fill every day, and their cave became better than ever. Now they could hunt by the river every day and have meat to eat every day.
Zhuang Yu smiled, "What are you standing there for? One fish isn't enough for us to eat. Let's continue fishing."
He reloaded the arrow onto the ballista. This was not an easy task. It required the effort of the group of children to pull the string.
The river in front of them had become very muddy due to the chaos just now. Strangely, the fish that had been frightened in the river had returned boldly.
Zhuang Yu thought, maybe these fish had never encountered terrestrial predators before, so they didn't have the instinct to avoid them in their nerves and genetics.
However, even if they caught a few more times, no matter how stupid the fish were, they would eventually escape. But it didn't matter. They could just change positions later.
For now, they continued to fish.
The most excited ones were the group of little radishes. After Zhuang Yu taught them how to aim, the children argued, "I think we should move a little to the left."
"Clearly, this is the best position right now."
Beside them, the little radish named Zhi still looked bewildered. His spider silk turned out to be so useful?
Zhuang Yu rubbed his head, "Even if it's a non-combat giant beast, it has its unique uses. It's just that many people may not know how to use them. Your giant beast is really amazing."
Zhi clenched his small fists, nodding vigorously, tears in his eyes. He still remembered how everyone used to dismiss his red spider as useless. Even when he got the giant beast, they wouldn't let him stay on the back of the ancestral beast because they said his giant beast couldn't fight, it was just a waste. With or without it, it was all the same. He could never forget how those people evaluated him. He could never forget the feeling of being hit on the head with a stick when he was happiest and most excited to get the giant beast.
Now, Brother Yu said his giant beast was really amazing and useful.
Beside him, the bee named Honey Kiss also held his hand tightly. Brother said all giant beasts, even if they couldn't fight, were useful. Then his honey king...
Zhuang Yu began to shoot fish with the ballista again.
Every time the arrow shot out with a "whoosh," it elicited excited screams from the children, and then they began to pull up the fish that had been hit.
One after another.
The riverside became like a joyful paradise. Even though they had seen fish being shot time and time again, when the fish were pulled ashore, these children couldn't help but scream with excitement.
It was a very pleasant hunt.
Of course, there were accidents too. Arrows missed and hit the water monsters in the river.
Watching the water monsters pulling the spider silk, pulling up the trees that were tied, even Zhuang Yu's face turned a little pale. The danger of this river was evident, and it also explained why people in the Tribe didn't fish in the river anymore. These water monsters were too ferocious.
Finally, the spider silk couldn't withstand the pulling of the water monsters and broke into two pieces.
The expression on the faces of the group of little radishes turned sour. Their hunting tool was broken. What to do in the future? Zhi's Web.
Zhi raised his little head, "I collected a lot of spider silk before, and if it's not enough, I can make my red spider keep spinning silk."
Zhuang Yu rubbed the red face of Zhi, who looked proud.
However, they couldn't continue today. Zhuang Yu looked at the string of fish, which was definitely enough for them to eat for a day, eating until they were full.
Zhuang Yu led the group of children back. He originally wanted to carry the fish back like this, but the group of little radishes shook their heads vigorously. Instead, they hugged the fish in their arms and insisted on carrying them back like this.
Zhuang Yu looked at the small children, who were holding the large fish in their arms, very joyfully. As long as they could carry the fish back, he would let them be.
A group of children, each carrying a fish larger than their bodies, caused a sensation as soon as they entered the Tribe.
"Is this fish? How is this possible? How did they catch fish?"
Everyone knew how dangerous the river was. How could a group of cave children catch fish?
People from the Golden Centipede Tribe came in droves to watch.
The little radishes turned their noses up, "These are the prey brought back by Brother Yu from our hunting trip. Look, so big and so many."
Hmph, who said Brother Yu was idle? If you have the ability, show us your hunting.
People from the Golden Centipede Tribe looked at each other, somewhat incredulous. Was this caught by Yu from the Water Marsh Tribe with this group of children?
How could this be possible? Yu didn't have giant beasts, right? He wasn't even a giant beast warrior. How could he dare to approach the river? Oh yes, someone recently said that Yu had a strange creature the size of a fist, like a mushroom, but even so, it was just a useless creature that couldn't fight.
No one knew how many people showed surprised expressions. This Yu was completely different from the one they used to know.
And those who showed surprised expressions were not just these people. In the mind of the Witch of the Golden Centipede Tribe, there was also an inexplicable shock because the team responsible for the procurement of the Golden Centipede Tribe had returned, bringing back some strange news about Zhuang Yu.
The Witch said to Shang Lian, the leader of the Golden Centipede Tribe's procurement team, "You said that when you passed by the Water Marsh Tribe, you got some information about Yu. Yu's reputation in the Water Marsh Tribe is widespread, is he a promising young man?"
Shang Lian nodded, "Not only in the Water Marsh Tribe, but also in the Tribes near the Water Marsh Tribe, they have heard of Yu's name. It can be said that his reputation has spread throughout the surrounding Tribes."
The Witch's brows furrowed even tighter, "But when Yu came to our Tribe, he behaved completely like a little rascal. Why did he hide his original personality and enter our Golden Centipede Tribe as if he had changed into a different person? I used to think it was because he knew about Shaohao's identity that he used all means to come to our Golden Centipede Tribe, but if it's really for Shaohao, he shouldn't have behaved so badly, but should have behaved more perfectly. But if it's not for Shaohao, why did he come to my Golden Centipede Tribe?"
Shang Lian nodded, "That's also something I can't figure out. After learning about Yu's information, I kept it in mind. As soon as I came back, I came to inform you. Yu must have some purpose for coming to our Golden Centipede Tribe, which is completely different from his previous behavior as if he came for Shaohao."
Beside him, Shaohao's expression was very strange. So, the guy who used to cling to his thigh, crying and making trouble every day, saying he wanted to reconcile with him, was completely pretending? Just to cover up his hidden purpose?
Everyone was stunned. How could things be so complicated? Originally thought to be just a momentary impulse of young people, now it seems not at all, but premeditated.
And at this moment, a tribal member hurriedly ran over, "Witch, something big happened. Yu actually took a group of cave children to hunt in the river, and they caught a lot of fish."
The Witch: "..."
Shaohao: "..."
Their heads were spinning even more. Which one was the real Yu after all?
According to reason, Yu had hidden for so long, pretending to be a little rascal, ruining his reputation, and coming to the Golden Centipede Tribe under the pretext of getting close to Shaohao, there must be some undisclosed purpose.
But after pretending for so long, why did he suddenly stop pretending?
Taking a group of cave children to hunt in the river and harvesting quite a lot, this reputation spreading out was completely different from his previous image as a little rascal.
The Witch felt like his head was exploding, completely entangled in it. But one thing he could be sure of was that Yu's coming to their Golden Centipede Tribe was probably not because of Shaohao, but for another purpose.
Shaohao's expression was now expressionless, his brows furrowed tightly. So, the guy who used to cling to his thigh, crying and making trouble every day, saying he wanted to reconcile with him, was completely pretending? Just to cover up his hidden purpose?
How complicated was this person Yu? Why did he suddenly change his image now?
What they didn't know was that if they were to question Zhuang Yu now, Zhuang Yu would be even more confused than them. How could he know why the previous owner of this body came to the Golden Centipede Tribe? Obviously, he was talented when he was young, but he had to pretend to be a little rascal, and pretend to be a little rascal, and let him clean up this inexplicable mess.