Chronicles of Primitive Civilization’s Growth

Chapter 21: This Is Not Loch Ness

Darkness, silence, oppression—these are all conditions that can make people tense, which is why humans yearn for light.

Luo Chong also needed light; to say he wasn’t nervous under these conditions would be a lie. And remember, this isn’t the modern world where wild animals are pitifully scarce; this is true primeval jungle.

Using the stone axe, he chopped off a section of dry branch, splitting a cross-shaped notch at one end. Inside, he placed some twigs and dry grass, then smeared it with lard. He picked up some embers, blew on them gently, and with a whoosh, it caught fire. The bright torch finally gave him a bit of security.

The lard on the torch crackled and spat as it burned, bringing sound and light into the silent forest.

After tidying everything up, Luo Chong climbed onto the natural bridge holding the torch aloft.

The branches of the black tree were extremely thick and sturdy but had one downside—they were damn slippery. Affected by the mist, the already smooth bark was covered with a thick layer of moss.

Walking was impossible, but fortunately, there were plenty of branches above that could be grabbed to maintain balance, inching forward little by little.

However, good times didn’t last long. As Luo Chong reached the middle of the river, something unexpected happened. The lard on the torch was burning fiercely, crackling loudly, when a drop of burning lard unfortunately fell into the river.

A loud splash echoed through the water, as if a massive creature had turned over beneath the surface. The mist swirling on the water rippled slightly, making Luo Chong shiver in fright.

“Shit, lucky I didn’t choose to swim across. Who knows what kind of monster could be lurking in this prehistoric river? I’m so damn clever.”

He continued crawling forward, reaching the junction between two trees. The number of branches doubled here, forcing Luo Chong to stick the torch aside and use his stone axe to clear a path.

The branches of the black tree were hard and lacked elasticity. Each strike of the axe against the trunk vibrated painfully through his hands, and the unfortunate torch eventually fell down.

In Luo Chong’s stunned gaze, the bright flame pierced through the thin mist, revealing a streak of dazzling silver beneath the water.

In an instant, the silver flashed violently, and a gaping mouth filled with triangular teeth leapt out of the water, swallowing the burning torch whole.

“Ahh! Shit, is this even a fish? Fish don’t scream, do they? Whose fish screams when it gets burned?”

The owner of the large mouth let out a painful roar after swallowing the torch, then splashed back into the water with a heavy “plop.” The resulting wave threw Luo Chong off the branch, but luckily, he managed to cling to the trunk, now dangling over the water and cursing.

But the big brother underwater wasn’t pleased either, thrashing around and creating waves that made Luo Chong kick his legs frantically, swinging back and forth like on a swing until he could hang his legs on another branch.

As soon as Luo Chong got his legs up, the creature from the water surged up again.

The surface trembled violently, and the silver flash emerged once more. Luo Chong used every ounce of strength to pull himself higher, but the monster still managed to bite his backpack. With a splash, Luo Chong was pulled into the water.

“Shit, you motherfucker!”

Fearing the backpack would fall while climbing earlier, Luo Chong had tied it tightly. Now, both man and backpack were dragged into the water, causing Luo Chong to choke on a mouthful of water.

The creature’s mouth wasn’t very large, just enough to get stuck on the backpack. Unable to spit it out or chew it, the creature began shaking its head wildly, dragging Luo Chong left and right in the water, unable to break free.

Nonsense. The backpack was specially woven from beech branches—if it broke so easily, why would Luo Chong bother cutting those branches?

The violent shaking almost made Luo Chong vomit—it was more thrilling than a roller coaster. Struggling, he pulled out the bird-beaked dagger from his boot and slashed the remaining strap and the rope around his waist, finally managing to turn around.

In the dark river water, it was impossible to see what the thing was. Turning around, Luo Chong clutched the remaining strap with one hand while wielding the dagger with the other, stabbing furiously at the creature’s head.

Two stabs later, the creature shook even more violently, lifting Luo Chong high out of the water before slamming him down hard, dazing him and forcing him to swallow more water.

The creature itself wasn’t doing well either, with two deep wounds oozing blood as it thrashed about recklessly, dragging Luo Chong along.

Seeing the rocky shore ahead, Luo Chong quickly flipped onto the creature’s head. Looking at the eyeless eyeballs on the side of its head, he plunged the knife in forcefully without pulling it out, inserting his arm halfway and stirring around inside.

The frenzied creature paused momentarily, allowing Luo Chong to yank the knife out. A gush of red-and-white paste spewed from the hollowed-out eye socket.

Taking advantage of the creature’s brief pause, another stab followed, blinding the other eye and punching a hole through the sides of its head.

Blood and brain matter sprayed continuously from the two eye sockets, muddying a large area of the river. The creature’s struggles grew weaker, eventually turning into convulsions.

Exhausted, Luo Chong lay on the water’s surface, too tired to move, convinced no such thing could exist in such a small river.

After resting a bit, the creature was dead, its silver belly flipping upward. But Luo Chong’s backpack was still firmly lodged in its mouth.

Having no choice, Luo Chong swam ashore first, found a sturdy vine, threaded it through the creature’s eye socket, and with great effort dragged the creature onto land, completely depleting the stamina he had just recovered.

Lying beside the creature, Luo Chong panted heavily, finally having time to carefully examine the monster.

It turned out to be just a fish, somewhat resembling a catfish, with a red head and silver body, no scales, about five meters long, and a diameter of over a meter. It was unclear what type of fish it was.

After resting for a moment, Luo Chong stripped off his clothes and boots, picked up the stone axe, and started knocking out the fish’s teeth. There were over fifty triangular teeth, each as big as a child’s palm. Only after finishing did he retrieve the backpack.

Checking the contents, thankfully, the chili peppers and salt were packed in snake skin bags and hadn’t gotten wet. Other items were undamaged except for the half chicken left from lunch.

What delighted Luo Chong most was that the fire starter hadn’t gotten wet. The pig leg bone tube was sealed with a wooden plug, and the wood shavings inside were still smoldering.

Just as Luo Chong was thinking about lighting a fire to dry his clothes and boots, suddenly footsteps came from the forest.

Turning around, Luo Chong saw a disheveled woman with pale skin and a little girl, both staring at him in terror.

With a shriek, the two took off running, leaving behind a round object on the ground. Luo Chong went over and saw it was a wooden bucket.