Chapter 16

As Shao Xuan lifted the curtain and walked in, Caesar also squeezed in, but he didn’t dare to touch things randomly. Once, out of curiosity, he sniffed at an object in the room, and as soon as he touched it, his nose got pinched. No matter how he tried to pull it off with his paws, it only tightened. Even though Shao Xuan quickly helped him remove the trap, it still hurt for a long time. Since then, Caesar has been especially well-behaved whenever he comes here, only following Shao Xuan closely and not being overly curious.

Ke’s house is larger than most of the others nearby, about a hundred square meters. The walls are hung with various stone tools, from daily-use stone cups and bowls to hunting tools like stone knives and spearheads. There are many types, including mechanical tools made from deer antlers and animal bones, as well as fully stone tools. However, the most common are composite tools, which combine the two, and these are the ones most frequently used by the warriors of the tribe.

After glancing at the hanging tools, Shao Xuan retracted his gaze and went directly to the small room where Ke was working on the tools.

Ke, with his gray hair and aged appearance, sat there. Due to his daily work of grinding stone tools, the animal skin he wore was covered in a layer of grayish-white stone powder. His hands, calloused and also covered in a layer of grayish-white powder, held a stone tool.

Ke’s gaze remained fixed on the stone tool he was grinding, not moving even when Shao Xuan entered, as if the entire world only existed in the stone tool in his hands.

Understanding Ke’s personality, Shao Xuan directly took out a leather bag, removed two stones from it, and handed them to Ke.

"Uncle Ke, can you help me grind two stone knives or daggers?"

The two stones Shao Xuan took out could only be ground into short knives or daggers, not long ones.

Ke stopped his work, looked at the stones Shao Xuan handed over, and then glanced at the two fish Shao Xuan had dragged over. "Sure, one fish is enough." This meant he could grind the stones, and one fish would be enough for the labor.

"Both fish are for you. The other one is a gift, thanking you for your help over the past six months," Shao Xuan said with a smile.

Whenever he found stones that could be processed, he would come to exchange them with Ke. At first, Shao Xuan was not familiar with the business and brought some bad stones, but Ke still exchanged them for food. Later, when Shao Xuan could identify the stones, he realized that someone who grinds stone tools every day would certainly be able to tell the quality of the stones. This only showed that Ke had been intentional.

Although Ke always had a stern face and gave off a distant vibe, he had indeed helped Shao Xuan a lot. Moreover, a few days ago, Shao Xuan saw Ge, who was responsible for transporting food, here. When Ge spoke to Ke, his words were familiar, indicating that the two had a good relationship. Shao Xuan guessed that when Ku left the cave to go up the mountain, Ge had let Shao Xuan take over the management of the cave, likely due to this stone tool maker.

Ke frowned, about to speak, but Shao Xuan quickly took out a small stone knife and handed it to Ke. "Uncle Ke, this is a new stone knife I ground myself. Please take a look."

The stone material of this knife was not of high quality. By the standards of stone tool makers, it was only of medium to low quality, slightly better than the stones on the ground. It didn’t take much effort to grind, and Shao Xuan finished it in three days.

Ke took it, glanced at it, and ran his stone-powder-covered fingers lightly over the blade, finally pointing to a spot about a third of the way from the handle. "Here, it’s no good."

Shao Xuan knew that experienced stone tool makers could spot the flaws in stone tools at a glance. For example, they could see where the grinding of a knife was the worst. The spot Ke pointed to was telling Shao Xuan where the grinding was the worst.

Why was it the worst?

Shao Xuan, after all, was an outsider. When grinding stone tools, he relied solely on his imagination. The techniques and skills that stone tool makers valued were completely unknown to him. In Ke’s eyes, this stone knife was a failure in many ways, and the spot he pointed to was the worst of the worst.

The more people Shao Xuan interacted with and the deeper he understood the tribe, the more he realized that he shouldn’t underestimate the wisdom and abilities of the people here. By showing this stone knife, Shao Xuan hoped to learn more grinding techniques from Ke.

This stone knife only had the shape of a knife and was barely usable. It was far from the quality of the knives used by the warriors who went hunting. In Ke’s eyes, it was full of flaws, where it was prone to breaking, where it was over-ground, and where it lacked refinement. These flaws were obvious at a glance.

From the expression on Ke’s face, it was clear that he was not very satisfied. He only said this much because Shao Xuan was a child and had no experience grinding knives. If another warrior had brought such a stone tool to Ke, Ke wouldn’t have said a word, just thrown the knife away and ignored it completely.

"Uncle Ke, can I learn to grind stone tools from you?" Shao Xuan asked. His time was not tight, and with the upcoming winter, if he could learn some grinding techniques, he could practice during the winter when he was holed up in the cave. He had the stone materials.

Unfortunately, Ke shook his head. "Not now, wait until you awaken your totem power."

Grinding stones had to wait for the awakening of totem power? What was the logic behind that?

Although puzzled, Shao Xuan didn’t press further, knowing from Ke’s expression that he didn’t want to elaborate.

Since Ke said this, there must be a reason. However...

Shao Xuan calculated that after this winter, he would be ten years old. According to the other children in the cave, the earliest they awakened was around eleven or twelve, so he would have to wait at least one or two more years. The later ones, like Ku, awakened at thirteen or fourteen.

Thinking about it, he still had a long time.

Although he couldn’t learn now, he could still watch. Shao Xuan squatted down and watched Ke grind the stone tools.

Some things seem simple when observed, but are completely different when you try them yourself. Shao Xuan looked at the short knives Ke had ground and then at his own... sigh, it was only by comparison that he realized the difference. Without even looking at the stone material, the shape alone clearly showed the difference in quality. No wonder Ke had looked at Shao Xuan’s knife with a restrained expression, probably silently criticizing it a thousand times, but refrained from scolding him because he was just a child.

As the sky grew dark, Shao Xuan helped Ke set up the stone pot and start a fire, chopped the fish, and then bid farewell, taking Caesar back to the cave.

Not long after Shao Xuan left, Ke put the ground stone tools in a box, wiped his hands, and started preparing food. The water in the stone pot was already boiling. As he put the fish Shao Xuan had already cut into the pot, there was a light sound from the window, followed by the whistling of arrows.

"Ouch!"

Thud!

The person who climbed in through the window fell to the ground.

Ke didn’t even look up, stirring the soup in the stone pot with a spoon.

"Hey, Old Ke, why did you change your trick again? Ouch..." Ge, the one-armed man, rubbed his buttocks, which had hit the ground first, and his legs were tightly bound by a leather rope. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fallen so easily. He was only missing an arm, not a leg, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have fallen so easily.

While Ge was still grumbling, Ke continued to stir the soup, ignoring the chatty man who had climbed in through the window.

After struggling to untie the leather rope and stand up, Ge sniffed the air and immediately moved to the stone pot. "Fish soup?"

Glancing around the room and seeing the fish on the side, Ge smiled. "That kid came by?"

"..." Ke didn’t respond.

"Xuan brought fish to me yesterday and exchanged them for a large bag of salt. His ambitions are big. I went to the cave today, and wow, you wouldn’t believe it. The cave is full of fish. The kids will have a good winter. No wonder you recommended Xuan to take over from Ku. In just a short time, the situation in the cave has changed dramatically. Half of the salt I have was exchanged by that kid." Ge sighed.

Near the mountain where the tribe lived, there was a natural salt pool, and the tribe’s salt came from there. However, the tribe controlled the salt, distributing a certain amount to each household regularly to meet the minimum needs of life. To get more, you had to exchange something. Stealing was not an option, as the salt pool was guarded by warriors, and the people responsible for the salt pool were from the mountain. People from the lowlands had to go up the mountain to exchange for more salt. However, Ge, who was in charge of food, naturally had more salt, so Shao Xuan directly brought fish to him.

Seeing that Ke still didn’t respond, Ge found a stone stool and sat down, talking to himself. "I saw that kid grinding a stone knife the day before yesterday. He probably came today to get some guidance from you, right?" Without waiting for Ke’s response, Ge continued, "Actually, that kid is pretty good. He’s enthusiastic about learning and has a flexible mind. He’s full of tricks, just like you, suitable for your kind of work. Since he came and showed sincerity, why didn’t you agree?"

Swinging his feet, Ge glanced at the chopped fish on the table and the stone pot set up. This was different from how Ke usually set up the pot, clearly done by someone else, likely the kid who had just left.

Ke shook his head and spoke this time. "It’s dangerous."

"True, without awakening the totem power, an accident would be bad. After all, the things you work with... are quite dangerous."

Ge pulled out an arrowhead from the animal skin coat under his armpit. When he climbed in through the window, he only noticed the arrows flying in and didn’t see the leather rope attached to the window sill, which is why he got caught.

The arrowhead, made of wood and easily broken with a finger, had pierced through his fur coat in an instant, showing how fast it was shot.

Playing with the small arrowhead between his fingers, Ge flicked it lightly, and it accurately shot into the narrow-mouthed wooden tube hanging in the corner.

He didn’t know where the arrowheads had come from, so he put them in the wooden tube. The tube was filled with things he had thrown in, and when it was full, Ke would take everything out and sort it.

"Old Ke, you have a long wait ahead. According to the physical condition of the kids in the cave, you’ll have to wait at least two more years." Ge sighed.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A new week, a new story, please support with recommendations~~

Previous page AD starts

Previous page AD ends