10: Chapter 10 Dongshan People

While listening to the patriarch's tearful complaints, Chu Xingyang observed the various utensils in the tribe.

There were clay pots adorned with patterns around their bodies, stone axes ground to exceptional sharpness, heavy stone hammers, stone arrowheads meticulously polished for bows and arrows, and handcarts with one or two wheels.

Under the walls of the thatched huts, baskets woven from rattan held a fair amount of grain, with some crude farming tools standing beside them.

In the center of the tribe sat several spherical clay crucibles, containing the remnants of failed metal smelting and stone debris.

Seeing this, Chu Xingyang's eyes widened. This race was clearly in the transition period between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age.

Because they already had agriculture, and were even attempting to smelt copper!

Logically speaking, how could a human civilization that had developed to this stage be completely wiped out during a single hunting trip?

He found it hard to believe and casually used gravity to pick up a stone spear.

"Whoosh!"

The stone spear carved a straight line through the air, easily piercing the trunk of a large tree.

The hunting weapons they made were fine, so how could they be wiped out by wild beasts?

Chu Xingyang was already beginning to doubt the patriarch's words.

At this moment, the tribespeople who had witnessed his "miracle" of throwing a spear through the void were all terrified and pale.

The old patriarch said in a trembling voice, "We pray that the Sun God grants us divine power, so that we will not be eaten by wild beasts while hunting."

Chu Xingyang looked up at himself in the sky. Indeed, the worship of the sun was almost the most primitive form of worship for all humans.

However, he still did not believe what the patriarch said. He looked down at the old man prostrate on the ground: "You do not understand the meaning of 'pulling up seedlings to help them grow.' Only by groping in the darkness can creativity be sparked, and only then can a tribe become resilient and strong. Suffering is a compulsory course for a tribe; I cannot help you."

Upon hearing the God's refusal, everyone looked ashen, as if the God they had always believed in was finally going to abandon them.

After a short silence.

A young man stood out from the crowd. He bowed, his expression humble but his words clear: "Then, Sun God, since you are indifferent to our survival, why should we believe in and worship you? If you have the ability but do not help us, are you still our God?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old patriarch stretched out his hand, which looked like rotten wood, pointed at him, and roared with eyes splitting: "Blasphemer! Burn him!"

Immediately, several males stood up, tied the young man with ropes, and carried him away. The surrounding tribespeople were also filled with righteous indignation, shouting in unison, "Burn him! Burn him!"

Chu Xingyang waved his hands repeatedly, and the clamoring crowd finally quieted down. He did not want anyone to be cruelly burned alive just for questioning him a few times!

So he beckoned, signaling for them to put the young man down.

The young man lay on the ground, crawled all the way to his feet, and trembled like chaff: "I kowtow and thank the Sun God for your mercy in not killing me, and thank you for your great kindness!"

"What is your name!" Chu Xingyang stared straight at him, looking at this human who had dared to question him just now.

"Oh Sun God, admired by ten thousand people, this insignificant person lies at your feet. This insignificant person's name is Gu!" the young man replied in a trembling voice.

"Alright, Gu. Then I will go hunting with you in a while. Firstly, you are still so pious toward me even though I refused to help, which moves me a little."

"Secondly, I want to see how a group of people holding weapons is driven to the brink of survival by wild beasts."

Hearing that the God would participate in their tribe's hunting activities, the entire tribe immediately boiled over with excitement.

"The Sun God is eternal!"

"The Sun God is eternal!"

...

Chu Xingyang frowned. He was indeed the sun, but being called a God always felt a bit uncomfortable, so he waved his hand: "Just call me Xingyang."

The entire tribe immediately changed their chant, shouting like a mountain and sea.

"Xingyang God is eternal!"

"Xingyang God is eternal!"

Chu Xingyang was a bit speechless. You all really know how to grasp the "main point." But after thinking about it, he decided not to correct them anymore.

Anyway, with the passing of these generations, no one should be hung up on whether he is a God, or what kind of God he is.

In a short while, it was time for the preparations before the hunt.

The old patriarch brought a dozen young men to sit around him. Gu held a large wooden bowl in both hands and presented it to him. Inside were boiled grains, a pasta-like food similar to steamed buns, and a few pieces of fried meat of unknown origin.

Chu Xingyang tasted a tiny bit and found it truly awful! So he distributed the nameless flour food and meat to everyone else.

Because their bowls only contained a very small amount of grain.

It seems that this tribe's hunting had indeed encountered difficulties, resulting in a severe scarcity of protein.

Without fats and without protein, eating only grain will constrain human evolution.

It was rare to have meat in their bowls, and they were also honored to eat with the God. Several young men shed tears of excitement, with teardrops falling one by one into their bowls.

But Gu was grinning foolishly while eating.

Chu Xingyang looked at him curiously: "What are you happy about?"

"Xingyang God! I feel that since you have come, our hard days are over." He wiped his mouth: "Usually, this meal before the hunt is the last meal for some people, but I have a feeling that starting today, it won't be. Your grace will bless us!"

Soon everyone had filled their stomachs, each carrying a spear and wearing a bow and arrows.

Then they all knelt down in unison and kowtowed deeply to Xingyang God.

Chu Xingyang waved his hand. The patriarch stepped forward first, walking at the very front of the team.

The others also followed and left the tribe.

Standing behind were the elderly, women, and children waiting for their return.

After walking for most of the day, the hunting party finally bypassed that not-so-tall mountain from the side.

Chu Xingyang looked at the mountaintop and asked the patriarch casually: "What mountain is this?"

"Reporting to Xingyang God, we call it Dongshan. Watching the sun rise at the top of the mountain is truly spectacular," the patriarch replied respectfully.

"Alright, then from now on, you are the Dongshan people."

Everyone knelt down in unison and said in one voice: "We kowtow and thank the Great Deity Xingyang. We, the Dongshan people, will remember the name bestowed by the God for generations to come!"

Chu Xingyang felt a bit helpless: "Get up. I just did it to make it easier for myself to remember; don't go kowtowing and kneeling all the time."

Everyone stood up one after another and continued walking toward the hunting location.

Only Gu walked over, looked down at the ground: "Great Deity Xingyang, you just said it was to make it easier for you to remember, does that mean there are other tribes?"

This kid is bold and meticulous...

Chu Xingyang recalled the Fish People and Cat People he had seen before, as well as the other fifteen races.

It was too troublesome to explain, so he simply brushed it off with a few words: "Probably, but you won't encounter them now."

Gu did not pursue the question further.

The group walked for a while longer, passed through a small forest, and arrived at the boundary between the plains and the woods.

Looking out, there were herds of wild boars, scattered antelopes...

One of them drew his bow and nocked an arrow, shooting as soon as he raised his hand.

With a "thud," an antelope fell to the ground in response.

Chu Xingyang felt he had been deceived: "It's that simple? You even said that sometimes the people who went hunting never returned. Did they eat themselves to death out there?"

The patriarch lowered his voice: "Xingyang God, it will come!"

It? What "it"?

Suddenly, the earth began to shake. Thump! Thump! Thump!

It sounded like a massive object slamming heavily against the ground. Moreover, the frequency was getting faster and the sound was getting louder!

Clearly, it was running toward them.

Suddenly, a small hill appeared in front of everyone.

Chu Xingyang's eyes widened: "What the hell! How could it be here?"