I am a Primitive Man Chapter 4: Catch a monster for dinner (2)
Previously on I am a Primitive Man...
Han Cheng remained alive.
He avoided being sacrificed or devoured. Rather, his chubby second senior brother bore him on his back. Along with a band of primitive folks, they journeyed across a woodland where the majority of foliage had yellowed.
Gazing at his second senior brother, who huffed and slobbered from the effort of hauling him, Han Cheng felt confident that without the elderly primitive man and the eldest senior brother present, he would have ended up as a meal for his second senior brother during the trip.
Now, Han Cheng pondered the makeup of the burnt crust encasing his body. It appeared overly resilient if it consisted merely of scorched meat and hide.
He got transported directly ahead, without deviations or zigzags.
Reflecting on this, he grew anxious about escaping his present condition to restore his mobility.
Naturally, this hinged on his survival first.
To this moment, Han Cheng remained unaware of his impending destiny.
He couldn't tell if these primitive people, who viewed him as some oddity, hauled him home for aid or planned to consume him.
From scraps of knowledge in his former life, the odds leaned toward consumption.
Primitive clans often proved insular.
And his current odd form didn't help.
Maybe pressed for time, this band of around ten primitives moved warily and swiftly.
They pressed on through the woods unceasingly.
The woods lacked dense undergrowth and timber in every spot; faint, meandering trails existed, uncertain if forged by primitives or stamped by countless wild animals.
En route, they crossed paths with various creatures, the most ferocious resembling oversized leopards.
In that instant, tension gripped the whole party.
The elder primitive and Han Cheng, slung on the second senior brother's back, found swift encirclement by the others. The remaining members faced off against the pair of massive leopards, advancing gradually with arms such as clubs and rocks gripped tightly.
Luckily, the duo of leopards held back from assaulting the group. Following a brief standoff, they casually bounded onto a close tree and vanished amid a cascade of tumbling leaves.
Beyond that, they mainly met harmless or low-risk animals. Even so, the eldest senior brother and fellow primitives collaborated to snag a hare and a vibrant bird.
Yet, the hare and bird varied from Han Cheng's recollections. He relied solely on prior knowledge to identify them.
As light faded into dusk, the party hastened their steps. Even minor game that surfaced got overlooked, drawing no interest.
After looping around briefly, a modest stream emerged ahead of them.
For Han Cheng, perched on his second senior brother's back with his face downward, the group's evident easing was clear.
Their home lay close by, it appeared.
The stream proved modest in width. Its broadest stretch measured roughly two to three meters, narrowing to about two meters at points. A level rock spanned the thinnest section, acting as an impromptu crossing.
Han Cheng, borne by his second senior brother face-down, spotted numerous dark shapes darting in the flow.
Upon nearer inspection, he realized assorted fish of different lengths glided through the water.
As a kid, he read about the expansive North Wilderness and yearned for it intensely, where folks could readily club rabbits, net fish, and have wild fowl plump into their stews.
In his mind, residents there enjoyed endless meat supplies each day.
Judging by the abundance of fish in the stream, it rivaled the North Wilderness handily.
The group crossed the lone stone span and ventured into the leaf-shedding woods.
This trek ended sooner than before, revealing a cavern mouth roughly man-height and two to three meters across before them.
At the opening, four or five primitive females armed with basic tools kept watchful eyes on the environs.
How Han Cheng knew their gender was straightforward: like the males, their torsos lay bare, and their prominent busts stood out markedly.
Spotting the incoming party, they cried out in delight, abandoned their gear, and dashed forward to greet them.
A swarm of young primitives soon spilled from the cavern, yelling and racing toward the arrivals even quicker than the grown females. A few playful ones latched straight onto legs.
The once-quiet cave burst into bustling energy with the men's return from their outing.
Certain primitive women tried to claim the oddly formed Han Cheng from the third senior brother, Sandy, but the old primitive man halted them.
Following a short burst of celebration, the entire group headed inside the cave, by which point night had fallen outside.
Within the cavern, primitive women and youngsters eyed Han Cheng with wonder, posing queries in an unintelligible tongue. Han Cheng, meanwhile, examined the space with equal intrigue.
The interior stayed fairly lit thanks to a fire heap close to the entrance.
An aged, shirtless primitive man crouched by it, now and then adding logs to sustain the blaze, ensuring it didn't die.
From prolonged exposure to smoke and flames, the nearby rock faces bore a sooty film.
The cavern's inner area spanned at least 150 square meters, as far as Han Cheng could judge.
Scattered about in spots were assorted heaps; some held combustibles like straw and twigs, while others, obscured by shadows or alien to his future eyes, eluded Han Cheng's recognition.
The cavern housed few occupants, perhaps fifty or sixty in total, blending grown-ups and young ones. Adult males numbered about as many as Han Cheng had observed that day.
Of course, precision escaped him, being immobile currently. The dim lighting and shifting figures inside made fine gender distinctions impossible for him.
Movement resumed for him.
On this occasion, neither the second senior brother, third senior brother, nor another bore him; instead, the eldest senior brother in the alluring tiger-pelt skirt did so.
The old primitive man led ahead, with the eldest senior brother transporting Han Cheng behind, as they progressed toward the cavern's rear depths.
After roughly ten meters, Han Cheng got set down.
By the weak glow from afar, he discerned this as an isolated nook within the cave, holding various indistinct items.
Once placed, the eldest senior brother addressed the old primitive man, then exited to address the nearby primitives aloud.
The somewhat lounging folk sprang into motion without delay.