249: Chapter 249 The Silent Contract

This wait was more agonizing than any before, filled with speculation about the "return gift" and uncertainty regarding the future of this fragile "trade."

Ling Ye spent most of his time inside the cave, forcing himself to practice "Star Visualization" to calm his mind, but his attention always drifted involuntarily toward the direction of the Water Source.

The next morning, when he went to the Water Source to fetch water again, his heart was almost in his throat.

His eyes immediately darted to the stone slab where he had placed the leaves and pebbles yesterday.

The leaves and pebbles were still there, but their positions seemed to have been shifted.

The small pebble that had been holding down the leaves was moved aside, and next to it, something new had appeared.

It was a small, square-shaped object wrapped in some kind of large, tough leaf, roughly half the size of his palm.

The leaf was carefully tied up with thin grass stems.

Ling Ye's heart skipped a beat.

He quickly scanned his surroundings, and only after confirming it was safe did he step forward to pick up the leaf-wrapped package.

It had some weight to it and felt slightly cool to the touch.

He untied the grass stems and carefully peeled back the leaves.

Inside was a piece of dark red, dense, and neatly trimmed dried meat, cut into a rectangular block!

The piece of meat was about the size of his two thumbs pressed together, and it was thicker than a finger.

The clear muscle fibers were visible on the surface, and it emitted a rich, salty aroma from being dried and lightly smoked.

Next to the meat were two dark brown, fingernail-sized, round objects that looked like some kind of plant seeds.

It was meat! The portion was far larger than the two small strips from last time! And it even came with seeds? Were they food? Or some kind of medicinal or seasoning seeds?

Ling Ye's heart was filled with immense surprise and confusion.

He picked up the two seeds and sniffed them; they had a faint, nutty, oily aroma, but it wasn't quite the same.

He didn't recognize them and dared not eat them randomly, so he carefully put them away first.

Then, he picked up the dried meat. It was heavy and hard in texture.

He pressed his fingernail into it, but it was almost impossible to make a dent.

This was high-quality, thoroughly dehydrated dried meat that could be stored for a long time and was extremely calorie-dense.

The other party had not only accepted his "trade proposal" but had also provided a return gift far exceeding the value of "a little salt"!

What did this mean? Was the other party's meat supply abundant? Or was this a strong signal expressing "goodwill" and a "willingness to establish a more stable exchange relationship"?

And what about those two seeds?

He checked the stone slab again.

The leaves he had left yesterday, which contained a small amount of salt, had been taken away.

The charcoal symbol on the small white pebble was still there, but next to it, someone seemed to have lightly drawn a short horizontal line with something (perhaps a finger dipped in mud).

It looked like it meant "received" or "agreed"?

Ling Ye stared at that simple scratch for a long time.

The faint spark of cooperation in his heart seemed to have brightened and stabilized slightly because of this substantial dried meat and the clear "symbolic" response.

He needed to respond again.

This time, he couldn't just brush it off with a tiny bit of salt.

The other party had shown "sincerity," and he had to bring out corresponding "value" as well.

What did he have? Aside from salt and medicine, he had almost nothing.

But the medicine was absolutely off-limits.

Salt... he could give a bit more, but he had to control the amount so that the other party would find it "valuable" without suspecting his origins or the extent of his reserves.

After thinking about it, he divided about twice the amount of salt as last time from his remaining supply and wrapped it in a clean leaf as before.

Then, he found a flat black stone shard and used charcoal to draw two simple symbols on it: one was the oval shape representing "meat" he had drawn before, and for the other, he drew a water droplet shape with three dots next to it.

What he meant was: trade these salts for meat, and... information about "water" (the three dots might mean "more" or "situation")?

Or, it could also be understood as asking if the other party still needed water (although they clearly had a stable Water Source, perhaps they had other needs)?

The ambiguity of the symbols was, in itself, a form of protection.

He placed the leaf-wrapped salt and the marked black stone shard back onto the stone slab, weighing them down with the small pebble as before.

Then, he picked up the precious dried meat and the two seeds and quickly returned to the cave.

Back in the cave, he couldn't wait to carefully slice a thin piece from the edge of the dried meat with his fruit knife and put it into his mouth.

The dried meat was extremely hard and required vigorous chewing.

The saltiness was just right, carrying a rich meaty aroma and a faint smoky flavor, slowly releasing the luscious taste of fat and protein in his mouth.

Just this small piece brought a sense of satisfaction and calories that far exceeded all the plant leaves he had swallowed over these past days combined!

He forced himself to stop, carefully re-wrapped the remaining dried meat in the leaves, and hid it away.

He also tucked away the two seeds for the time being, not daring to try them.

With real food in his stomach, the weakness in his body seemed to have eased a little.

More importantly, this silent trade brought a long-lost, faint glimmer of hope—perhaps he didn't have to struggle in despair entirely alone in this wilderness.

The next day, when he arrived at the Water Source again, he found that the black stone shard and the salt packet had been taken.

There was something new on the stone slab.

This time, it was a larger leaf-wrapped package and a new, smoother white pebble.

On the pebble, a more complex symbol was drawn with charcoal: it looked like a simple trap pattern (a loop with a line), and next to it was the oval representing "meat," but the oval was crossed out and replaced by a wavy line.

Ling Ye's heart rate accelerated again.

He unwrapped the leaf package.

Inside were more and thicker strips of dried meat, about four or five of them; each was slightly smaller than the dried meat he had received last time, but the total weight was greater!

In addition, there was a small handful of those dark brown seeds, about a dozen or so!

And that new symbol... the trap pattern, the crossed-out meat, the wavy line... was the other party saying: trade "meat" (prey) obtained from traps, but what they wanted to trade for wasn't "meat," but... information related to "water"?

Or did they want something "flowing" (the wavy line)? Did they want more water? Or did they want information about the safety of the Water Source? Or perhaps... did "flowing" refer to something else?

Ling Ye frowned and pondered.

The other party clearly had a stable source of meat (likely from traps) and seemed to have additional needs for "water" or things that were "flowing."

And the symbols he had left last time seemed to have been misunderstood or extrapolated.

He needed clearer communication, but he absolutely could not expose too much information.

After thinking about it, he didn't leave anything new immediately this time.

He put away the meat strips and seeds, then, on the edge of the stone slab, used a sharp little stone shard to extremely lightly carve the shape of a question mark "?"; the scratch was very shallow and couldn't be seen without careful inspection.

Then, next to the question mark, he lightly dotted it with charcoal.

What he meant was: I don't understand. What specifically do you mean?

After doing this, he left.

He needed to give the other party time to understand, and he also needed to see how they would respond next time.

This slow, symbolic form of communication, while inefficient, was safe enough and could gradually build a special kind of "tacit understanding" or "code" that existed only between the two of them.

For the next two days, the trade temporarily paused.

There was nothing new on the stone slab, and Ling Ye didn't place any items either.

But he could feel that the other party must have understood his "question."

On the third day, when he arrived at the Water Source again, there was a new change on the stone slab.

There was no new package.

Only that white pebble had been moved to the center of the stone slab.

On the pebble, a new, clearer pattern was drawn with charcoal: a simple stick figure of a person, bending over, with a wavy line in front of it; the wavy line pointed to a circle, and inside the circle was a dot.

This pattern was more specific than any of the previous ones.

The little person was bending over near the "water" (the wavy line), the water pointed to a "location" (the circle), and inside the location was a "dot" (perhaps a target, an item, or it meant "there").

Was the other party saying: at some place by the water (this Water Source? or another Water Source?), there was something?

Or were they asking about the situation at a certain place by the water?

Ling Ye stared at the pattern, thinking rapidly in his mind.

By the water... this Water Source basin? Did the other party want to know if this Water Source was safe? Was there any other danger?

Or was there something the other party needed or was worried about at another Water Source?

He couldn't be sure.

But he could provide a response that was relatively safe and might satisfy some of the other party's needs.

He took out another small packet of salt (about the same amount as last time) and placed it on the stone slab.

Then, he found a new, flat grey stone shard and used charcoal to draw two patterns on it: on the left, he drew a simple symbol representing "safe" (a circle with a checkmark inside; he had drawn this based on memory and intuition, hoping the other party would understand).

On the right, he drew a question mark, pointing toward the circle representing the "location."

What he meant was: I am here (or is this Water Source?) and it is currently safe. What is the situation at the place you are asking about?

This was still ambiguous, but at least it showed his concern for "safety" and raised the question about the "location" again.

He placed the salt packet and the stone shard down and left.

This time, the other party's response came faster.

The next day, a new package and a stone appeared on the stone slab.

Inside the package were several thicker, meatier strips of dried meat, and a small lump wrapped in leaves, dark yellow in color and wax-like in texture.

Ling Ye sniffed it; it had a rich, sweet aroma similar to a mixture of beeswax and honey, mixed with some scent of pollen.

Was this... a piece of honeycomb? Or some kind of beeswax secreted by a plant?

And on the stone, this time the pattern was more direct: the circle representing the "location" had been blackened out, and a big X was drawn over it.

Then, next to it, an arrow was drawn pointing southwest (the direction of the other party's shack), and above the arrow, a small stick figure representing a "person" was drawn.

The meaning of the pattern seemed very clear: that place (blackened and crossed out) was dangerous, do not go there.

Come to me (the arrow pointed southwest).

The little person next to it might mean "meet" or "I am here."

The other party was warning him that a certain location was dangerous, and... inviting (or requiring) him to go to their dwelling? Or were they indicating that they would come over?

This exceeded the scope of "safe trade" that Ling Ye could accept!

Direct contact meant uncontrollable risks!

He had to respond immediately, clearly refusing direct contact, while also expressing gratitude for the warning and maintaining the trading relationship.

He thought for a long time, and in the end, he did not leave any physical items.

He only drew two very simple symbols with charcoal in the empty space on the stone slab: a circle with two parallel vertical lines inside, looking like a closed door or indicating "stop."

Then, next to it, he drew the oval he had previously used to represent "meat," and an arrow pointing to the "closed door" symbol.

What he meant was: Stop/do not make contact. Continue with meat (trade).

This might very well anger the other party or cause a misunderstanding.

But he had to draw this line.

Before sufficient trust and understanding were established, any direct, face-to-face contact could escalate into a deadly conflict.

After placing this "refusal" signal, Ling Ye's nerves were stretched to the limit.

He didn't know how the other party would react.

Would they angrily terminate the trade? Or would they understand and accept this boundary?

He waited anxiously for two days.

There was nothing new on the stone slab.

The trade seemed to have been interrupted.

Just when Ling Ye thought this fragile connection had been completely severed and began to regret whether he had been too cautious or had expressed himself poorly—

On the third day, on the stone slab, there quietly lay a leaf-wrapped package that was larger and more carefully tied than any before, as well as a black stone shard that had been meticulously polished to a mirror-smooth surface.

There were no new patterns, no symbols.

Ling Ye held his breath and stepped forward to open the package.

Inside was an astonishing amount of dried meat, a full dozen or so strips, and the quality was excellent, with a good balance of fat and lean meat.

There was also a large handful of those dark brown seeds, as well as several pieces of that sweet-smelling wax-like substance.

And on that smooth black stone shard, Ling Ye's own blurred and vigilant face was reflected.

The smooth surface of the stone shard seemed to have been repeatedly rubbed by someone's hand, carrying a faint warmth like body heat.

There were no traces of carvings.

Ling Ye picked up the stone shard and looked at it over and over.

Suddenly, he understood.

This stone shard was a symbol in itself. A "mirror." Reflecting each other, yet maintaining distance.

Smoothness represented "acceptance" or "understanding." Black, perhaps, represented silence or secrecy.

And this "generous gift," which far exceeded the amount of any previous one, was an... acquiescence and response to his proposal of "refusing contact but continuing the trade."

The other party had accepted his boundary.

Using silence (the stone shard) and abundant supplies, they expressed their willingness to continue this silent trade.

Ling Ye held the warm, smooth black stone shard tightly, feeling the lingering temperature and will of another struggling Soul on it.

The cold, solid ice in his heart seemed to have been quietly melted in one corner by this silent, heavy "gift."

A strange, indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.

It was no longer pure vigilance and the desire to survive, but mixed with a hint of... resonance, and, in this desperate situation, a silent contract built with another lonely Soul that was extremely fragile yet incomparably solid.

He carefully put away the dried meat, seeds, and beeswax.

Then, he took out his last and largest portion of salt (about half of what remained), wrapped it in the cleanest leaf, and placed it on the stone slab.

There were no patterns, no symbols. Only this packet of salt.

Everything was understood without words.

The trade restarted on a higher level of tacit understanding and trust.

The boundaries had been drawn, and the rules were mutually understood without needing to be spoken.

He turned and left the Water Source, his footsteps seemingly carrying a hint of imperceptible, heavy steadiness more than usual.

The dried meat in his embrace radiated a real warmth. The black stone shard in his hand was cool and smooth.