Chapter 15

The next morning, before the sun had even risen, all the children in the cave woke up. A few of them, who had probably been thinking too much the night before, had dark circles under their eyes.

Mol was puzzled when he was woken up, as this was something that had never happened before in the cave. He had killed a few night swallows with his knife the day before, and his arms bore several new wounds of varying depths, which had already been treated with herbal medicine.

Despite his confusion, Mol got up, picked up his knife, and waited for what would happen next. He noticed that the other children in the cave were grouped in fives, holding grass ropes and black objects that could float, huddled at the cave entrance, discussing something. They occasionally looked at Shaoxuan with anticipation.

"The sun is up! The weather is sure to be good today, and we can go fishing," one child said, looking at the sun on the horizon.

"But it was such good weather yesterday, and we still couldn't fish. Will it be the same today?" another child countered, dampening the mood.

Most of the children in the cave couldn't bear to hear such ominous words and glared at the child who had spoken.

Regardless of whether they could fish today, breakfast still had to be eaten, or they wouldn't have the strength to work. Since they had started to have a steady income, Shaoxuan had been eating something every morning. At first, some children were reluctant to eat, but they ended up being weak and inefficient when fishing, so the next day they all set up stone pots like Shaoxuan. There was no choice; without food, they had no strength, and without strength, they couldn't work, which meant fewer prey and more hunger, creating a vicious cycle.

After eating and drinking to their satisfaction, they felt refreshed.

Seeing that Mol seemed fine, Shaoxuan called him to go fishing together. The few night swallows Mol had killed the day before were given to the group for breakfast, and the others' attitude toward Mol had softened considerably.

All the children left the cave, and no one was left to guard it. Shaoxuan wasn't worried about the things in the cave being stolen. They brought the grass ropes and the black objects that could float. As for the fish, the tribe wouldn't steal the children's food, or they would be severely punished and ostracized by the entire tribe. So, even if the fish were left out to dry, no one would take them. Besides, there wasn't much in the cave that would attract the tribe, so there was no need to send someone to guard it. Even Caesar was with Shaoxuan.

The river surface was calm today, but not as eerily still as it was yesterday. Seeing the shimmering water, Shaoxuan felt a bit more at ease. He called Stutter and Butcher to tie the grass ropes to the stone insects and threw one in to test.

About twenty children stood behind Shaoxuan, their eyes fixed on the stone insect as it was thrown into the water. When they couldn't see the stone insect, they anxiously watched the black objects floating on the surface.

"Xuan, how's it going?"

"Should be fine, right?"

"Have the fish come back?"

Those who couldn't contain their curiosity asked in low voices.

Shaoxuan watched the water. Today, he didn't "see" the aquatic creatures with tentacles, and the black objects were trembling as they usually did, indicating that the stone insects were struggling underwater.

"Should be fine..." Shaoxuan's words were cut off by the sudden change in the water. The black objects that had been floating on the surface suddenly sank, and the ropes tugged familiarly. Shaoxuan's heart leaped with joy, and he and the others tightened their grip on the grass ropes, pulling them back quickly.

"There are fish!"

"It's fish!!"

"The fish are back!!"

Seeing this, the other children jumped with joy. When the familiar and fierce faces of the fish were fully exposed, the twenty children finally felt completely at ease.

After just one day, they had missed the fish so much. The grass ropes in their hands were already eager to go. At Shaoxuan's signal, the children began to fish in groups of five, as they had done before.

"Mol, go with them. Butcher, tell him what to watch out for. I'll take Caesar to dig for more stone insects; the ones we dug up earlier aren't enough. Remember, don't go into the water, and don't fight. The time it takes to fight could be better spent catching more fish. Winter is coming soon, so make the most of the time. If anything goes wrong, find the warriors guarding the area." Shaoxuan said this to the others standing by the riverbank.

Actually, Shaoxuan didn't need to remind them much. After yesterday's experience, the children cherished today's opportunity. None of them knew if the fish would leave again tomorrow, so they wanted to catch as many as possible. Who had the time to fight?

While the children who had left the cave were busy fishing, some people from the area near the mountain foot also came over to fish together.

This scene had become common recently. The warriors guarding the area no longer ran over to warn people when they saw them approaching the water. Instead, they sat nearby, occasionally reminding them not to get too close to the water and to report any unusual activity.

It had to be said that these fish had indeed solved some people's immediate problems. A few families in the area near the mountain foot had been injured during hunting trips and couldn't participate in the last hunt before winter. Without hunting, they would have less food, and winter would be difficult. Now, they were much more relaxed. Who would have thought that these creatures in the water would be so easy to catch? Even the elderly, sick, and weak in the tribe could lend a hand.

Through these experiences, Shaoxuan had become well-known in the area near the mountain foot. Before, people only remembered a child who wandered around with a wolf. Now, because of the fish, they wanted to trade with Shaoxuan for the black objects that could float. Finally, everyone remembered Shaoxuan's name. Hearing that Shaoxuan wanted to trade for animal skins, new or old, they cleared out the skins they didn't need at home and rushed to trade with him.

When Shaoxuan arrived at the rocky area, there were already seven or eight people there. They greeted Shaoxuan, and upon hearing that fish could be caught at the river today, their eyes grew even more eager. They couldn't wait to dig up the stone insects and take them to the river to lure the fish.

Recently, the stone insects in the rocky area had suffered. As soon as they poked their heads out of the ground, they were dug up by the people. Some of them even severed themselves to escape, while others were pulled out whole. In the past, even if they crawled out of the ground and moved slowly in front of people, no one would have paid much attention. Now, even the slightest movement of the ground would draw people to dig, checking if there were stone insects underneath.

However, compared to Caesar, these people were much less efficient. The people digging for stone insects watched as Caesar could dig up a stone insect with just a few sniffs, and they envied him.

This wolf's nose is really amazing!

Some people even thought about weaving a large net with grass ropes to catch the fish, but it turned out to be ineffective. The net would catch many fish, but before it could be pulled up, the fish would bite through it. By the time the net was retrieved, it was empty. Reluctantly, they had to use the more laborious method of catching the fish one by one.

In the afternoon, after the children fishing by the river were called back to the cave to eat the food distributed by the tribe, they didn't want to stay in the cave to weave more grass ropes. They had woven enough the day before, and it wasn't dark yet. They wanted to go back to the river to fish for a while.

Shaoxuan didn't object, but he didn't go with them in the afternoon. They had already caught many stone insects in the morning, enough for the five groups to use.

Judging by the moon last night, winter was coming soon. They needed to catch as many fish as possible before winter arrived. Once winter came, the outdoor temperature would drop sharply, and the river near the shore would freeze. At that time, people without awakened totem powers would mostly stay indoors, unable to withstand the wind and snow, and without thick fur clothing, going out could be fatal.

Shaoxuan didn't go to the river with the children but left the cave with two fish. He pulled one and had Caesar drag the other. He also carried a leather bag containing stone blocks he had collected from the training area recently. Because more people were digging for stone insects in the rocky area, Shaoxuan had moved the stones. Now, with the stones by his side, the children in the cave wouldn't dare to take them.

Whenever he found good stones that could be used to make tools, Shaoxuan would trade them with a stone tool maker for food. He always traded with the same person, whom he had chosen after observing several stone tool makers near the mountain foot.

This stone tool maker was named Ke. It was said that he used to be responsible for setting traps in the hunting team but lost a leg during a hunt and retired from the team. He became a stone tool maker in the area near the mountain foot, helping people make stone tools to earn a living.

Shaoxuan pulled the fish to a wooden house. Many of the houses around didn't have doors, just thick leather curtains or grass curtains woven from plant vines. Ke's place was the same. Shaoxuan could hear the sound of stone tools being polished inside and called out, "Uncle Ke."

The person inside didn't respond, but the leather curtain moved slightly, indicating that the owner allowed him to enter. If Shaoxuan had tried to lift the curtain without permission, he wouldn't have been able to. Many of the things in Ke's place looked simple but were actually more complex than those in nearby residents' homes. In other houses, the curtains could be lifted directly, but not in Ke's. If someone tried to force their way in, they would be the one to suffer.

Even with one leg missing, Ke had still retained the skills he had learned from setting traps in the hunting team.