I am a Primitive Man

"Those few who went with the compliant captive to scout out the secrets of the Sheep Tribe and the Green Sparrow Tribe—come back quickly.

That way, I can understand the actual situation of these two tribes and formulate the appropriate countermeasures.

Then our tribe can have many sheep, plenty of exquisite pottery, and delicious salt."

Although she was pretty brilliant, in terms of language expression, she wasn't as gifted as Mao. So far, she had only been able to guess some details about the Sheep Tribe and Green Sparrow Tribe based on what those surrendered people had said, but knew little beyond that.

All of these would have to wait until those few scouts returned.

Recently, the prestige of the Semi-Farming Tribe's female shaman and the chief had soared unprecedentedly within the tribe.

It was because the female shaman had ordered the migration, and the chief led the hunting parties, that they managed to capture people from the Sheep Tribe, gaining some insight into the secrets of the Sheep and Green Sparrow tribes.

Once those two secrets were unraveled, life in their tribe would become much better.

Days passed one by one with this expectation, long and anxiety-inducing.

More and more Semi-Farming Tribe members would glance westward while working. Even their chief, when hunting, led the group as far west as possible.

On one occasion, they had even reached the place where they once fought the Sheep Tribe.

However, those who went to find out the secrets with the compliant captive never returned. It was as if they vanished into thin air, or never existed at all.

As the days went by, hope gradually turned into anxiety, and finally, thick unease.

The usually cheerful female shaman of the Semi-Farming Tribe could no longer keep her spirits up.

The tribe chief, who had always smiled, no longer showed that smile.

The tribe members, who had been dreaming about sheep, pottery, and salt, were suddenly awakened by this. They nervously looked around at their wise shaman and strong chief.

The wise shaman remained calm and composed as ever, which reassured many in the tribe.

But when the tally marks on a stone slab inside the house reached fifteen—and those who went out still hadn't returned—the shaman could no longer remain composed.

She summoned the strong chief and began briefing him.

That day, after breakfast, the chief took nine tribe members, mounted on sleek donkeys, and with the lead of another submissive from the Sheep Tribe, headed westward.

Watching them leave, the usually wise and calm female shaman touched the back of her head and started praying…

"#%%…"

Just like the previous captive from the Sheep Tribe, this one also led the Semi-Farming chief to the place where they had hunted a large number of sheep.

Looking at the scattered piles of sheep bones on the ground, the chief's eyes shone brightly.

From the bones and imagining how the not-so-powerful Sheep Tribe could have caught so many sheep, he understood how many sheep had once lived here.

After his excitement died down, he suddenly recalled that none of his tribe's scouts were here.

He raised his stick high, not lowering it, and the reluctant Sheep Tribe guide was forced to lead the chief and his group toward the place where he had lived for a long time…

"￥%…"

Looking at the empty cave before him, the abandoned sheepfold, and the pile of ash mixed with some bones at the cave entrance, the captive from the Sheep Tribe was stunned.

On one hand, he was glad his people weren't there; on the other, he felt lost and deeply uneasy seeing the hollow cave.

The Semi-Farming chief was furious—not only because he had visited two places and found nothing but sheep bones, and hadn't found his people, but also because after he requested to go to the Green Sparrow Tribe, this normally obedient guide dawdled here instead of moving on!

After hitting the man five or six times with his stick, the man limped off in another direction.

The chief could sense the guide's fear.

This made the chief even more curious.

What kind of existence was the Green Sparrow Tribe? This man hadn't shown such fear while leading them to his former tribe, but now he was scared.

The chief looked at the weapons in his hand and the donkey beneath him, and the unease that had risen vanished immediately.

With these two things, plus his own strong body, he thought he could face whatever place awaited him!

…

At the Bear Tribe, some distance away from the Green Sparrow Tribe, the Green Sparrow Tribe's trade caravan had just arrived.

The people of the Bear Tribe gathered, but the usual cheerful scene that followed trade visits did not appear today.

The atmosphere was tense and uneasy.

The source of the tension was the elderly, primitive man wrapped in an old sheepskin cloak in their midst, who was now tearfully babbling incoherently.

With Mao translating on the side, the Bear Tribe understood this tribe's misfortune—they learned that a powerful and evil tribe had appeared near them.

This powerful and evil tribe killed the weaker tribes' people and seized their food…

Like everyone else who heard the news, the Bear Tribe members' faces tightened with worry, fearing that this powerful and evil tribe might attack them next.

What would they do if that tribe attacked them?

Just thinking about it made their hearts ache.

In such worry and anxiety, some more intelligent people noticed the fully armed Green Sparrow trade caravan.

They recalled what the Sheep Tribe captive had said—that the Green Sparrow people had helped kill some of the evil tribe's men and rescued the remaining people of their tribe.

A ray of light rose in their hearts, cutting through the fog that had tightly surrounded them…