Chapter 434: The Pitch‑Black Stones on the Wall

"Li Xiang hurried forward and came to her side; Nan Qinghuan's mood brightened when she saw Li Xiang. 'Senior brother, look—these are the earliest dwellings of the primitive people. I never expected we'd still be able to see these things. If we tell the people back there everything we see and hear here, they'll be amazed.'"

"Indeed, they have traveled to a savage, blood‑thirsty era, which is also an era on the brink of decline."

"Li Xiang naturally understood her meaning; he also found it unbelievable that all the cultures here are at the most primitive level—his ancestors were truly clever."

"'Yes, and this primitive society is about to end. I see the people over there are increasing; I'm afraid it will become a town next year.'"

"Nan Qinghuan had long anticipated this; she nodded. 'Yes, a town— even if Ying is unwilling, nothing can be changed.'"

"She had originally discussed this with Ying; Ying feared that Rongdi and Yao would disagree about turning the Tribe into a town—how could that work? It would mean no Clan Leader."

"How could there be no Clan Leader? Ying didn't want to lose the title of Clan Leader; to him, 'town' is an unfamiliar word."

"He doesn't want to change!"

"'Don't worry, they will all be reshaped by history.'"

"Li Xiang's gaze fell on the pitch‑black walls; he also wondered why the walls were so oddly black—what had the primitive people rubbed onto them? 'Qinghuan, these stones are so strange.'"

"'You noticed it too; I find it odd as well—what kind of stone is that black?'"

"Li Xiang turned his head toward Duo Luo. 'Duo Luo, bring the torch.'"

"Duo Luo didn't know what they intended, hurriedly fetched a torch and came over; the torch's light made the stones shine brighter, a sea of darkness still looming."

"All of them are this kind of black stone."

"With the brighter light, Nan Qinghuan wanted to chip some away to see what made the stone so black, but Li Xiang reached out, 'Step aside, let me try.'"

"Duo Luo saw the two senior siblings unsure of what they were doing, hurried over and asked, 'Li Xiang, what are you doing? It's just black stone—what use does it have?'"

"Duo Luo, though a woman of the primitive Tribe, is still quite sharp. She has now become Li Xiang's woman, and Li Xiang will teach her some knowledge of modern civilization, so she saw that the senior siblings thought the black stone might be useful, which is why they were trying to dig it up. Li Xiang ignored Duo Luo, then drew the Stone Axe he kept at his waist, intending to strike the stone to see what it was. Here they were examining the stone beside the Bonfire. After Ying had told them everything, Rongdi was the first to comment, 'Sure enough, it's Luosang's work. That old man wants to block your street—he's gone mad. We should never have driven him out that day, because we killed him and ate him.'"

"Ying shook his head. 'The people of the Lasi Tribe who ate him will come looking for us.'"

"'What are we afraid of? If they come to rescue, we'll kill them.'"

"'Rongdi, you're still the same as before—killing a Luosang is easy, but it brings us no benefit.'"

"'Ying is right; it's snowy now, not suitable for attacking a Tribe. Let's wait. When Spring arrives we'll strike. Rongdi, what do you think?'"

"Yao's temperament is rather steady; he also thought Ying's words made sense. A great war brings them no benefit; even if they annihilate the Lasi Tribe, they would gain nothing."

"Moreover, when they wipe out a Tribe they don't usually kill everyone; they let the survivors surrender, keep the women and children, and use the men as labor."

"Now the three Tribes are already full; they can't accommodate another Tribe. They'll have to wait until next year when this house is repaired."

"Rongdi saw Yao and Ying say that, smiled awkwardly, drank a bowl of water, and said, 'Alright, we'll wait for now, as you wish. But how shall we deal with the Giant Tribe?'"

"If the Giant Tribe were to confront them, it would be very difficult."

"Three or five Giants are manageable, but too many is another story; moreover, the Giant Tribe excels at volley fire and possesses formidable weapons."

"Their size is massive; even though Nan Qinghuan has now tamed their Giant Dragon, they still have other beasts—truly a formidable opponent."

"When the Giant Tribe was mentioned, everyone fell silent."

"Only the Bonfire crackled with thunderous pops."

"Thump thump thump… only then did they realize Nan Qinghuan and Li Xiang were not there. Ying turned his head backward, 'Qinghuan, Qinghuan.'"

"'Ying, look what treasure we found?'"

"Nan Qinghuan cheered over there; upon hearing they'd found a treasure, A Lei was even more stunned. They had been hammering at the wall for ages, and he dared not speak. 'We found a treasure—could it be those pitch‑black stones? Treasure?'"

"Ying, Rongdi, and Yao exchanged glances and all stood up; Rongdi became even more interested."

"'What other treasure does this broken cave hold? Let's go see.'"

"A Lei and a few tribe members just watched them. They came here to eat and drink, and now they were also hammering their own wall—so they wanted to take these black stones away? The tribe members, seeing them pass, whispered cautiously beside A Lei, 'A Lei, those black stones are treasure, why didn't we know? Can we eat them?'"

"Those tribe members were only thinking about eating. 'What treasure? Those are useless things.'"