Chapter 435: Can Pitch‑Black Stones Provide Warmth?

A Lei has lived in this Cave for many years; it's the place he was born and has stayed in, so how could it be a treasure, edible, stones edible—only a ghost would believe that? A Lei doesn't believe it, but Nan Qinghuan and the others say it is a treasure. After Ying and the others stepped forward, they saw them hammering some pitch‑black stones and putting them on the ground.

Li Xiang is still hammering.

Rongdi coughs, "Li Xiang, what are you doing? How can these stones be a treasure?"

Yao also finds it unbelievable, but Nan Qinghuan is delighted; she picks up those stones and says, "Ying, give me a hand, help me carve these stones out."

Her big belly makes it inconvenient; although Ying doesn't understand what they're doing, he still complies.

Nan Qinghuan has him place those stones beside the Bonfire, "Right, just put them here and it's done."

Ying and Yao both bring the stones over, and everyone still doesn't know what she intends. "Qinghuan, are these stones a treasure?"

Ying doesn't believe it; what's special about these stones? They're pitch‑black and ugly. If they were outside, he would completely disregard them, even the stones used for door thresholds are too ugly.

But then he notices that the ancestor's Cave is full of such stones, densely packed in the walls. He still dislikes them, yet Qinghuan calls them a treasure.

How could that be? Li Xiang also stops hammering, looking very pleased, and walks over with a grin, "Come see what treasure we've found."

After saying that, he squats down and puts the stones by the Bonfire. Seeing this, A Lei can't help himself, "You've ruined our place; can these stones be burned and eaten?"

"Burn stones to eat?"

Nan Qinghuan is speechless; how do these primitives think everything can be eaten? "If you don't burn stones to eat, what use are they?"

The group waits for an explanation; Nan Qinghuan smiles, sits down, and looks at Li Xiang, "Senior brother, tell them what this pitch‑black stone is as a treasure?"

When those words are spoken, everyone looks at Li Xiang, and Rongdi becomes especially interested, seeing these things looking red as if burning in fire.

It's very hot.

Is this firewood? No, how can a stone be firewood? "Li Xiang, tell us what stone this is and how it can be set alight?"

As soon as Rongdi finishes speaking, Li Xiang quickly squats, "These stones aren't ordinary stones; you may have never heard of them. They're a resource formed by crustal movements many years ago, called Coal, not stone."

"Coal?"

Rongdi touches his nose, looking at the coal turning red, "It really does burn, just like firewood, huh?"

"Let me see."

Yao also discovers that the stone truly burns, just like they burn horse dung and cattle dung. How miraculous that a stone can burn! "Exactly, this is called Coal, a natural fuel. I never expected Ying's ancestral Cave to contain so much Coal. Though it's black, when it burns it's very warm and far more useful than firewood—for heating in Winter, cooking, boiling water, all can use Coal."

Dashan seems to have understood, "So these stones can burn after all. How long will these pieces last? Are they more durable than firewood?"

"Of course, these pieces can burn for a long time. If we have Coal, we won't fear lacking firewood in the deep Winter; as long as we have Coal we can make fire, cook, and keep warm."

"Ah, that's wonderful! With this Coal, who will bother gathering firewood? This thing is great, really great."

Dashan is overjoyed; despite the Coal's pitch‑black appearance, he didn't expect it to be so useful.

Nan Qinghuan picks up a stick to test those pieces of Coal; they have already ignited. The Bonfires would have gone out without firewood, but this Coal supplies all the heat.

"See? If everyone could use this, it would save a lot of firewood, and it's convenient, hygienic, and not dirty. Would you say this is a treasure?"

Rongdi slapped his thigh, "Of course it's a treasure. With this treasure, living in the Treehouse becomes much easier; firewood is hard to carry up to the Treehouse, but this thing is much more convenient."

"Yes, this really is a treasure."

Ying never expected Nan Qinghuan to discover such useful Coal here; he now respects and likes her even more—Qinghuan is practically his lucky goddess!

"Qinghuan…"

"I just looked, and there's a lot of Coal in this Cave. But if we were to mine it, the people here might have to move, we couldn't live here any longer, fearing collapse."

When those words were spoken, A Lei was the first to object.

"I don't agree to move, and I won't let you take Coal from here."

A Lei, having just heard, knows these things are Coal, burnable, and a treasure. He could take the Coal out to trade for food, meat, even Beast Skin, and he won't let them take this treasure away!

When he said that, everyone gave him a cold stare; in their eyes, this place already belongs to Ying, and A Lei's words mean nothing!

Hearing A Lei refuse, Ying slowly rises, then steps toward him. He's a head taller than A Lei, and his presence feels imposing.

"What did you just say?"

A Lei is a bit frightened of Ying; after all, an angry Ying can kill, but now that he's protecting these treasures, A Lei isn't afraid of him.

"These things here are mine, they have nothing to do with you. You already have a Tribe; are you saying you won't let us live in this Cave?"

"Ying…"

Nan Qinghuan knows this isn't ideal; forcing them would surely lead to fighting, so peace should prevail. Moreover, the Cave is huge and contains so much Coal; if we mine it daily, it could supply Ying's Tribe, and later we could trade the surplus together with Rongdi's group for other goods.

But we must find a peaceful solution.

"Don't be angry; we can discuss. This Cave truly is a treasure trove, and rest assured you'll also enjoy these treasures. However, if we mine, the Cave will collapse, and you won't be able to live here."

"That won't do; we've always lived here and can't leave. You may not mine these stones unless I die."

A Lei is about to fight Ying, Ying squints slightly, clenches his fist, takes a deep breath and suddenly throws his head back laughing, "Ha ha, how laughable, everything here has already been given by the ancestors to my offspring; this is my territory. On what grounds do you refuse to leave?"

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