C18 Just Let Nature Take Its Course

Yuan Ge didn't hesitate to count the pieces of dried meat before him—there were exactly seven. The savory scent tickled his nostrils, nearly causing him to drool. Yet, he chuckled like a child, tucked one piece in his mouth, and stashed the rest in his beast skin bag.

The High Priest rubbed his hands together, smiling as he spoke, "Now that we have some food, you'll tell us, right?"

Munching on the jerky, Yuan Ge replied in a childlike voice, "Oh, he mentioned his stomach was hurting. Said he'd tell me more when he had the chance, then poof, he was gone!"

"Damn!"

All three cursed silently. Seven pieces of top-notch jerky for news of a deity with an upset stomach? They were so frustrated they wanted to pin Yuan Ge down and throttle him. But what could they do? They had to believe him. Yuan Ge was a known glutton; without divine intervention, no one would credit him with such discoveries.

Yuan Ge's performance was utterly convincing. Let them think what they wanted; he would just enjoy his jerky. A brash kid owes no explanations.

Finally, the High Priest conceded, "Alright, if that person speaks to you again, you must inform us immediately!"

Yuan Ge nodded, "Only if there's jerky involved!"

With a pained expression, the High Priest assured him, "There will be, without a doubt!"

Once Yuan Ge had departed, Jieyang leaned in and whispered to the High Priest, "Do you think the kid might know more?"

Jieyang wouldn't dare challenge the tribe's deity, but questioning Yuan Ge was fair game. Even the High Priest had abandoned the notion that Yuan Ge had come up with these ideas on his own. To a glutton, such matters were beyond his intellect. The only exciting prospect was the ancestors' promise to continue their conversation with Yuan Ge after their bout of illness.

But the question lingered: out of everyone in the tribe, why choose Yuan Ge? Surely the High Priest was the foremost authority on divine matters. Yet, this shared doubt was swallowed down by each of them, for voicing it would be an act of irreverence. As the High Priest often said, "Do the divine need to justify their actions to you?"

At that moment, the High Priest finally spoke up, "We should prepare more jerky!"

Jie'ao, however, couldn't hold back any longer. "Father, High Priest, I still insist that we ban the use of bows and arrows in our tribe!" He had been bottling up his thoughts all night, and if he didn't voice them now, he felt like he would collapse. He had planned to seize the opportunity when his father and the High Priest met with Yuan Ge to express his concerns. He hadn't anticipated that he would only foresee the beginning of the issue, not the end. After suffering the loss of seven pieces of jerky, he had certainly made an impression on both men. If he didn't take a stand now, he feared Yuan Ge might become too bold in the tribe.

But no sooner had he spoken than Jieyang erupted in anger, "You be quiet! Ban archery? I'll ban you tomorrow!" Jieyang was utterly disillusioned with his son. Anyone who had experienced the use of a bow knew it was incomparable to a stone spear. To ban archery was to halt the tribe's advancement. When would Jie'ao learn to look to the future?

Jieyang's tirade left Jie'ao speechless. The High Priest, however, simply laughed and said, "My child, we cannot ban archery, nor will we promote its development. Let nature take its course."

It must be acknowledged that the High Priest had a comprehensive view. Jie'ao represented not just himself but the entire conservative faction of the tribe. These individuals were quite comfortable with the status quo and would never consider embracing new concepts unless faced with a catastrophe. Furthermore, they constituted a significant portion of the tribe. Thus, rashly discarding the tribe's traditions now would surely meet with their resistance.

On the other hand, the effectiveness of the bow and arrow would inevitably win over everyone in time. When that day arrived, there would be no need for a concerted effort to popularize it; acceptance would come naturally. Of course, all of this hinged on a pivotal figure—Yuan Ge. To date, only Yuan Ge had demonstrated the true potential of the bow and arrow. Only he could gradually lead everyone to accept this formidable weapon. Since everyone needed time to adjust, that's exactly what they would be given.

Since the High Priest had spoken, Jie'ao had no choice but to suppress his deep-seated resentment. His only option was to comply.

The days leading up to winter were the tribe's busiest. They needed to stockpile not just food for the winter months but also timber for heating. During this time, Yuan Ge, aside from honing his arm strength, joined Jietu in the mountains to chop wood.

It was an annual tradition for the tribe to distribute food to each household around this time. This year, however, Jieying's family received a double portion, in line with the rations for high-ranking warriors. Additionally, the High Priest had someone deliver thirty pieces of dried meat and a premium beast skin specifically to Yuan Ge.

Even though the tribe's food reserves were notably low this year, the combination of the distributed provisions and the hundreds of rabbits Yuan Ge had previously hunted meant they were well-prepared to endure the winter.

Jieying meticulously cleaned all the beast skins in her home and traded a few rabbits for thicker ones. With the scarcity of food, its value had soared. A high-quality beast skin, once worth ten pieces of dried meat, now could be obtained for just three rabbits. Everyone was doing whatever they could to secure enough sustenance for the winter, allowing Jieying, with her ample food stores, to relish the feeling of affluence.

As dawn broke, the sky began to blanket the world with thick snowflakes, signaling the stealthy arrival of winter.

In a mere day, a foot of snow had piled up outside. The arrival of the heavy snowfall brought a hush over the tribe. Nearly everyone stayed inside their stone houses, huddled by the fire for warmth, as no one dared venture out into the harsh, dangerous winter.

At night, the tribe was serenaded by the continuous roars of wild beasts, their food sources dwindling, leaving them to fend off hunger and the cold with their cries.

Yuan Ge had never imagined the tribe's winter could be so severe. The season's first snowfall persisted for over ten days, relentlessly adding layer upon layer. Each time Yuan Ge peered through the door's crack, the snow seemed thicker, until eventually, he could no longer discern anything outside. The snow had entirely engulfed the house.

Aside from his daily routine of eating and sleeping, Yuan Ge dedicated himself to the relentless practice of lifting the stone lock. He had progressed to the point where he could hoist the stone lock above his knee with one hand, extending the duration of each lift from barely three seconds to over ten seconds. Moreover, he had increased his practice from just a few times a day to more than ten. Yuan Ge was quite pleased with this improvement, as each lift of the stone spear brought him closer to fully drawing the bow.

With the intensified training came a significant increase in Yuan Ge's food consumption. His appetite had nearly tripled, leading him to devour at least three pieces of dried meat daily. Jieying, aware of Yuan Ge's efforts to build his arm strength, decided that she and Jietu would allocate their saved dried meat solely for his consumption, while they sustained themselves on corn porridge and rabbit.