Chapter 17

When Shao Xuan returned, the children in the cave had already come back from the river. Today's harvest was good, and the joy on their faces was evident. Two groups were even competing to see who could pull in more fish.

"A Xuan, someone came to trade with you earlier, but you weren't here. They said they'll come back tomorrow," Tu, who was sitting nearby weaving grass ropes, said.

In the past, Tu was more timid and frail, but he had become more outgoing and spirited over time, and he talked more.

"Alright, I got it," Shao Xuan nodded.

It seemed that someone in the tribe had been inspired to go fishing and had come to Shao Xuan to trade for the black blocks that could float on the water after learning the technique.

At night, the two moons hanging in the sky were darker, with only a thin crescent visible. Looking out through the ventilation hole, the area near the cave was pitch black, with only the sound of the wind and the night swallows flying around. Winter was coming, and even the night swallows lacked energy; in the past, they didn't make such a commotion when they flew.

In the following days, whether it was the children in the cave or the people in the lower mountain area, as long as the sun hadn't set, they would rush to the river, hoping to pull in as many fish as possible before the river froze.

Perhaps because the tribe had never targeted these fish in the past, the river was full of fish, and even with so many people fishing, the number of fish didn't seem to decrease. These fish were extremely fierce but not very intelligent, making them easy to catch. Once the technique was mastered, the number of fish caught increased rapidly.

Fortunately, the fishing went smoothly for several days without encountering any creatures with tentacles.

One morning, when Shao Xuan and Caesar went to dig for stone worms in the gravel field, they found that the number of stone worms had drastically decreased, and they only managed to dig up three in half a day.

The fish in the river also suddenly decreased, and it took a long time to pull up just one not-so-big fish with the stone worms.

Both the children in the cave and the people in the tribe felt a heavy sense of foreboding.

"A Xuan, why is this happening?" The children in the cave looked dejected, staring at the grass ropes in their hands, looking heartbroken.

"Because winter is coming," an older child said. He had once heard that in winter, many prey would hide, and no matter how hard you searched, you couldn't find them. You had to wait until winter was over for them to reappear. This was why the tribe didn't like winter, as it brought various difficulties and a sense of oppression.

Seeing the other children still staring at him, Shao Xuan sighed, "It's indeed likely due to this reason. In winter, stone worms no longer appear on the surface but burrow deep underground where it's warmer. The piranhas in the river also leave the shallow waters near the shore and swim to deeper parts of the river that won't freeze in winter. That's why we can't catch stone worms or pull up fish."

Shao Xuan's words cast a gloomy and depressed atmosphere over the cave.

In the children's memories, winter was cold and dark. Sometimes, when they were sick, they would sleep soundly, not knowing whether it was day or night, and only wake up to eat when someone called them. They would then continue to sleep, feeling like zombies. Normally, this didn't bother them, but now, recalling the recent sunny days of fishing, their moods couldn't be worse.

Some children were even sitting in the corner, hugging the fish they had caught that afternoon, looking sad and stroking the fish's head. The combination of the child's sad expression and the fish's lifeless, wide-open red eyes and the mouth full of sharp teeth made the scene look eerie. In Shao Xuan's previous life, such a person would have been labeled as "psychotic" and "mentally twisted," but here, it was normal.

Shao Xuan covered his face, shifting his gaze away from the child hugging the fish in the corner.

In the past few days, Shao Xuan had had the dry grass used for bedding in the cave taken out to dry, and even the fur traded for had been washed and dried. The preparations were quite thorough, but no one could shake off the shadow of the approaching winter. The impression left by past experiences in the children's minds was too deep, and they couldn't remain optimistic.

It was only noon, but the sky outside had already turned gloomy.

While Shao Xuan was thinking about what to do during winter, the stuttering boy came over.

"A Xuan... I... I... want..."

The stuttering boy took a long time to express his thoughts clearly.

The stuttering boy had a younger sister. When he lost his parents, his sister was adopted by a family on the hillside. The tribe valued girls more, and those who adopted girls received more subsidies from the tribe.

Most people in the tribe would awaken their totem power, with boys usually awakening around the age of ten, not much later than that, and never later than fifteen. This was why the children in the cave and those living near the mountain foot only focused on eating and sleeping, as they didn't need to work hard; as long as they didn't starve or fall ill, they would naturally become totem warriors when they reached the right age.

Compared to boys, fewer girls awakened their totem power, with about one-third never awakening it. However, the tribe didn't treat them poorly; instead, girls received better treatment than boys. Therefore, even as orphans, some families were willing to adopt girls, which was why there were no girls in the cave, only boys.

The stuttering boy wanted to visit his sister before winter arrived and give her a fish from his share. He came to ask for Shao Xuan's opinion. Since Shao Xuan had taken the children fishing, his position was unshakable, and even the oldest children wouldn't oppose his decisions. Now, they would also seek his opinion on matters.

The stuttering boy finished speaking, standing there nervously rubbing his fingers, worried that Shao Xuan would refuse. His eyes were filled with caution.

"Of course, just make sure to be back before dark," Shao Xuan said.

"Thank you, A Xuan!" The stuttering boy excitedly ran back, grabbed a fish, and left the cave.

Watching the stuttering boy leave happily with the fish, Shao Xuan smiled, "He doesn't stutter when he thanks me. It seems a little encouragement can help. Maybe if he gets excited, his stuttering will improve."

Not long after the stuttering boy left, Moer's mother came again. She wanted to take Moer up the mountain, but Moer was unwilling, even after much persuasion. It seemed he had a big conflict with the children from the family on the hillside a few days ago.

In the end, Moer's mother left with tears in her eyes, leaving behind a thick fur coat and some dried meat.

In the afternoon, Ge came to deliver food, bringing Shao Xuan some dried meat, a fur blanket, and a piece of clothing.

"This is from Mai, and the clothes are from Langga," Ge said. "They are busy today, as the shaman said winter will start tomorrow. Everyone is checking their houses and preparing, so they asked me to deliver these things."

Mai's hunting team returned yesterday, completing their last hunting trip before winter. The harvest was abundant, and the prey they carried or dragged was enough to last through the winter. Many of the hunters also had food stored at home, so they wouldn't go hungry. The hunters who returned yesterday all had relaxed smiles.

Shao Xuan looked at the items. The dried meat was fresh and of good quality, and the fur blanket and clothes were better than what he had traded for recently.

It was impossible not to be moved.

"Thank you, Uncle Ge. Please also thank Uncle Mai and Langga. Oh, right."

Shao Xuan brought over two fish and asked Ge to deliver them to Mai and Langga. Although he knew Mai's harvest was enough for the winter, Shao Xuan still wanted to show his gratitude. These two fish were from his share, and the others in his group had no objections.

"Hey, you're not afraid I'll keep the fish for myself," Ge said, throwing the fish into the empty stone basin and carrying it away with one arm.

Since the shaman said winter might start tomorrow, Shao Xuan informed the others in the cave. The fur had already been distributed, and they knew what to do. These children knew how to take care of themselves.

That night, the sky was pitch black. The crescent moon that was visible a few days ago was completely gone.

The darkness was oppressive.

Shao Xuan was woken up by the cold, feeling as if he was lying in ice, shivering. But strangely, after waking up, he didn't feel as cold.

Sitting up, Shao Xuan pulled back a bit of the grass blocking the ventilation hole and was immediately chilled by the piercing cold wind.

Winter had officially arrived.

With the arrival of winter, the children's lives in the cave returned to the usual routine of eating and sleeping. The temperature outside was very low, and even when they woke up, they couldn't do much, so they just slept, hoping that the next time they woke up, winter would be over.

With food and thick fur blankets, they slept quite comfortably, at least more comfortably than they remembered winter being.

During winter, Ge still came every day, braving the cold and snow to deliver food. Shao Xuan thought it was unnecessary to suffer so much, so after discussing with Ge, he decided to bring three days' worth of food each time and come every three days. The cave was no longer as chaotic as before, and Ge knew Shao Xuan could manage it, so he didn't object. He even left Shao Xuan a fire starter to make it easier to start fires.

Actually, winter wasn't without other activities, such as the tribe sending someone to teach reading and counting. As usual, someone would come every twenty to thirty days, even during winter.

This day, it was time for the teacher to come. The day before, Ge had informed Shao Xuan to prepare. This way, the children wouldn't miss this rare learning opportunity by sleeping too deeply.

So, when the old hunter responsible for teaching, wrapped in fur, shivered and lifted the curtain to enter the cave, he hadn't even felt the warmth of the fire before he saw the children, who should have been lying on the ground, all sitting up, looking bright-eyed and eager, making him shiver even more.

Because he lived on the mountain and had other matters to attend to, he hadn't come for nearly forty days and wasn't aware of what had been happening in the lower mountain area. The day before, he had first gone to see Ge to ask about the situation in the cave. He had only intended to ask as a routine, but he was surprised to learn that the cave had undergone a significant change in just twenty days.

When he heard from Ge that a child under ten, Shao Xuan, was in charge of the cave, the old hunter was quite dissatisfied. Wasn't this bullying? The children in the cave weren't easy to deal with. In the past, when he came to teach, only Shao Xuan would learn seriously, and he had a good impression of Shao Xuan.

Ge's explanation didn't convince him at first, but now, seeing the situation in the cave with his own eyes, it seemed different...

Under the unusually eager gazes of over twenty children, the old hunter stiffly walked in, sat on the stone bench he usually sat on, and took out a piece of fur with numbers written on it. He looked at it by the light of the fire, confirmed it was the right one, and cleared his throat.

"Cough, today, I'll teach you to count from one to ten. Listen carefully, I'll read them once, cough, one, two, three..."

After reading them once, the old hunter felt the atmosphere was a bit off. He looked up from the fur and saw that the previously eager gazes had turned impatient, and some even looked disdainful.

What? Just starting, and they're already impatient? The old hunter was also annoyed. In the past, when he came to teach, the same thing would happen. After reading a couple of numbers, the children would yawn and roll off to sleep, making him so angry his head would hurt.

Just as he was about to scold them, he heard a child complain, "In the middle of winter, I wake up just to listen to this?"

"Only one to ten? This old man is no good."

"Exactly!"

"Hey, old man, are you capable? Do you only know one to ten?"

"A Xuan, if he's not good, let him go and get someone else."

"Exactly!"

"Change the person!"

"Change the person!"

"Let him go!"

Shao Xuan looked at the old man holding the fur, noticing the veins on his forehead pulsing.

How rare, the old hunter never thought these children would actually want to learn.

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