Chapter 409
Together
Gongjia Heng stayed up all night, hammering the bronze piece . On the next day, he heard Shao Xuan come down the tree in the morning . When he walked out of the stone house, his eyes were bloodshot . He looked terrifying .
“What happened to you?” Shao Xuan heard the clanging last night too . However, he wanted to sleep and the sounds were still bearable . A person who frequently hunted in the forest would have to get used to loud beasts, birds and insects even while he rested . If the hunter couldn’t stand noise, then he would never be able to sleep . It was rare for the forest to be completely quiet .
When Gongjia heng heard him, he looked up at Shao Xuan with his reddened eyes . The muscles on his face twitched . “Nothing . ” Then, he turned to walk towards the cave .
There was some water stored in the cave . Gongjia Heng used a fruit shell as a ladle, scooping up some unto his face to freshen up . The water calmed his chaotic thoughts .
“I’ve been thinking,” he said in a low voice as he squatted next to the wooden bucket filled with water . His hand was still holding the fruit shell in the bucket but he had stopped splashing water on himself .
Shao Xuan turned towards him to show that he was listening, and Gongjia Heng could speak .
Gongjia Heng did not look up, merely sloshing the water around in the bucket with one hand, his eyes on the ground . As if there was something very interesting there .
“You’re looking for Gongjia Mountain, right? After some thought, I feel like I should go with you . ” However, when Gongjia Heng finished, he felt the need to quickly defend himself . “You’re so young, it’s your first time here . You must be very unfamiliar with the terrain here . I’ve been here for twenty years and have been out three many times . I’ll be able to guide you . ”
Shao Xuan was stunned for a moment . Then when he suddenly snapped back to reality, he laughed and clapped, “ . . . That would be awesome!”
“Don’t you laugh at me like that! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking! Hmmph . ” Gongjia Heng tossed the fruit shell and picked up the bronze hammer he used to fight beasts . “Eat first, then you’ll have the strength to work!”
They had to prepare a survival kit if they were going to look for Gongjia Mountain . First, medicine for wounds and antidotes for poison and venoms . Then, food, tools etc . They had to be fully prepared .
Gongjia Heng had recently gone for an excursion looking for the mountain . If Shao Xuan hadn’t arrived, he had no plans to make another trip so soon . That was why he did not have many tools prepared . However, with the change of plans, he had to work overtime to prepare all that was needed .
Shao Xuan made armour out of the crocodile’s bony plates . He wasn’t very used to it in the beginning, even the crocodile’s movement was limited due to the plates . Although Shao Xuan could adapt and still function in it, it was a lot less comfortable than wormskin . Under the current circumstances, he could not afford to be choosy . This was better than nothing .
After putting on armour, Gongjia Heng brought Shao Xuan out to pick out some herbs . “We have to prepare more medicine for treating wounds . ”
When they returned, Shao Xuan continued getting used to his armour while making traps for Gongjia Heng .
Preparations required three to five days so he did not stop setting up traps .
The underwater cage used to catch crocodiles was set up once again . Gongjia Heng used some beast meat as bait, it had a dash of medicine in it and hung inside the cage . Once the crocodile swam into the cage and bit on the bait, the door would snap shut . Unless someone came to open it or it was smashed open by brute force, it would never open . However, at that point, the crocodile would be weak from the medicine so it would not be strong enough to smash the door open .
“Be careful with the medicine, only a little bit is needed . ” Gongjia Heng gestured with his thumb and index finger to indicate the size of a green bean . “This much, and a human will be knocked out . Of course, people as strong as us will be able to last longer . Any weaker person would collapse . ”
One small bit was enough to knock a grown man out cold, yet the ball of herb he put in the bait was as big as a ping-pong ball . And the crocodiles would still be able to struggle after eating the bait .
The effects of this sedative were relative to the type of animal . Some animals would be knocked out cold, while others might die . A person might fall into a coma if he consumed the same dosage as a crocodile . He would not just faint- he might never wake up .
At the same time, Gongjia Heng reminded him that he shouldn’t put too much medicine in the bait either . They were going to eat the animal later and would also be affected if the dosage was not right . Or they would collapse after eating crocodile meat!
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Within three days, Gongjia Heng had prepared the tools he needed . He even gave Shao Xuan an axe . If Shao Xuan did not have enough weapons, Gongjia Heng would have to be the one to save him . Giving him an extra weapon would be to both of their conveniences .
During these three days, no crocodile took the bait in the underwater cage . They didn’t know if the crocodiles hadn’t noticed the bait or they just hadn’t been in the area .
“How do we cross the river?” asked Shao Xuan .
Although this main flow of the river was wide, he could still see the other end when he stood on the bank . It was nothing compared to the river that isolated his entire tribe .
“Should we make a boat? A raft?” asked Shao Xuan .
“Don’t even think about it . We can’t be on the surface . While the river looks quiet, remember that we haven’t even caught one crocodile in three days . This means that big one has been walking around this area . If we use a raft or a boat, we’ll have to use it far from here . We’ll be swallowed together with our boat if we cross like this . That bastard is very annoying and it will be time-consuming to fight it,” said Gongjia Heng .
The underwater cage wasn’t just for hunting . It clued him into the environment . If he caught a crocodile, it meant the large guy wasn’t here . However, if he couldn’t catch even one in three days, that meant all the ‘smaller’ guys had been scared off . They would never stay to fight for food with the big guy .
“What now?” Shao Xuan waited for Heng’s idea . Since Heng often went out for trips, he must have had his ways .
Heng chuckled, then pulled out a wooden whistle . He blew it consecutively, three blows per beat .
“Beep--- Beep--- Beep---
The whistle was sharp-pitched, echoing across the forest .
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Very soon, Shao Xuan looked up in the sky .
A huge, dark brown figure flew over . It was four meters long .
“Look, that’s our ride,” said Gongjia proudly as he looked at the bird in the sky, as if showing off .
It was a bird that looked like a stork . Most of it was dark brown with very little grey spots .
The bird did not land immediately . It stopped on a tree, eyeing the strange man, Shao Xuan, cautiously .
“Come down! This is Shao Xuan . He’s crossing the river with me today,” said Heng .
It didn’t seem like the bird understood . It looked at Shao Xuan, then at Heng . Then it squawked . But it did not come down the tree .
Gongjia Heng dragged out some animal carcass leftovers to lure the bird over .
“I called you down and you ignored me! And now you’re here the moment you see food? Asshole!” Heng kicked the bird as it landed to eat . However, he was gentle and did not hurt or scare the bird .
Squawk!
The bird squawked and then ignored him, pecking on its food quickly .
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“Bring us over there when you’re done, do you hear me? Or I’ll squash you with my hammer!” Gongjia Heng held his hammer threateningly . Unfortunately, the bird did not even look at him . All it saw was food .
However, a keen eye would see that it would slightly cock its head at Heng when he spoke . It was indeed listening .
When he saw the bird ignoring him, Heng’s face darkened . He huffed and then tossed his hammer on the ground, sitting down . He talked to Shao Xuan about this bird .
“I caught it years ago using a trap . I looped a chain around its neck and planned to kill it that night . However, there was an avalanche that night in the mountains . A lot of rocks rolled down the mountains . The real danger wasn’t even the rocks, it was the panicked beasts . It was very chaotic and all my traps were useless then . I was almost knocked out by a fierce animal . I was lucky that day because I saw this bird struggling . So I took out its chain and climbed on its back .
“In the beginning, it kept trying to shake me off once it took off . After I pinched its neck a few times it calmed down a lot . After some time, when it was calmer on land, I forced it to land . I was thinking of using brute force if it did not listen . It was just a forest beneath me, plus I would not die if I have the bird under me . I didn’t expect this bird to listen though .
After everything was calm again, every time I returned from a hunt, if it was nearby, I would toss some meat for it . Then we got closer to each other . Sometimes, if it was hungry because I couldn’t find food, or hurt because it fought other birds, it would come to me for food . Now that I think of it, it’s been ten years!” Gongjia Heng looked nostalgic . “What do you think, isn’t it great! Although it’s not the most obedient bird, it has helped a lot . Without it, it would have been very difficult to cross the river . We would have to risk the crocodiles . Or maybe even meet the large guy . ”
“Actually, I used to have one too . Bigger than yours, and very obedient,” reminisced Shao Xuan .
“Where is it now?” asked Gongjia Heng . He thought Shao Xuan was lying .
“I haven’t seen it in a year,” sighed Shao Xuan .
Gongjia Heng let out a snicker . “Yours has probably left with its flock already . ”
“No, it’s a solitary animal,” said Shao Xuan . Giant mountain eagles lived in solitude unless they had a mate . Usually, they lived alone and would fight if they met each other .
What was Chacha up to these days?
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