Chapter 134 – Cooperation (1/2)

Translated by Sunyancai

The group was large, and the warriors in this group were very curious about the beasts that accompanied them.

When Caesar had accompanied the group for the first time, everyone had been nervous, but now they became used to him. This time, with so many beasts in the group, they showed off with pride, for they were the first group to go hunting with so many beasts.

However, after climbing over the mountain, and reaching the first holdout, they found that it was not good for them to have so many beasts accompany them, because they got much less prey.

Shao Xuan did not put them together at once, but divided them into two groups, one led by Mai and the other led by Qiao. Mao, Mo Er and Lei, with their own beasts, were in Mai’s group. Ah-Yang and Ah-Guang were in Qiao’s group.

As for Shao Xuan, his priority was to record the performance of these beasts, and hand in the records to the Shaman.

So, to some extent, Shao Xuan worked as a class teacher who examined the students on their performance, and this group of “primary school students” would make every effort to give outstanding performance.

The first arrival to this strange place made them over cautious at the beginning, but after a few days, they adjusted themselves and felt free to hunt.

Three days later, when the hunting group returned to the cave, Shao Xuan wrote down in the animal skin roll, and the others glanced at it, for they wanted to know the results. However, Shao Xuan did not show them, and even if he showed them, they would not understand.

Since they could not read the records, they had to ask Shao Xuan indirectly.

“Brother Xuan, what do you think of our performance?” Ah-Yang and Ah-Guang were sent to inquire from him.

“Not bad.” Shao Xuan did not raise his head, but continued to write down some symbols in the animal skin roll, which were not understandable for other people.

What did he mean by saying “not bad”? Was he satisfied or dissatisfied?

They looked at each other for a while.

“I think we can challenge ourselves.” Then said Lei, the eldest among them.

It was not difficult for them to catch the bow beasts, giant tapirs, and giant-antler deers every day. The majority of the warriors in the tribe believed a serious injury proved the difficulty of the hunting mission and their strength. Since this result would be shown to the Shaman, they had to work hard to seek more achievements. It was not a big deal to get injured.

“What do you want to do, catch the mega-antler deer in the giant-antler deer herd?” Mao said ironically.

Lei shook his head and said,“The number of mega-antlers deer is so huge that it is too difficult to do so.”

“I heard there is a new Thorn Black Wind in the lake.”

“It only comes out at night.”

“What do you want to hunt?”

“The other beasts!” Ah-Yang and Ah-Guang also joined in the discussion.

“There is a giant bear near the tar pit!”

…

They argued about which one they should challenge to catch.

The quarrel in the cave made Shao Xuan feel a headache. He waved his hand and said to those arguing, “Shut up, and keep quiet.”

They became silent at once, but soon, Shao Xuan felt something wrong. He looked up and saw there was a huge beak coming towards him.

Shao Xuan: “…”

He chased away the large-headed bird, and said, “I am not talking about you, and you go away too.”

According to the observations of these past days, Shao Xuan analyzed the pros and cons of the beasts they had just discussed. Shao Xuan said, “If you really want to challenge yourselves, you can try to catch that bear, but you have to have a plan. There is only meaning for those who live.”

He had to remind them of what should be paid attention to. Otherwise, they would be too overconfident that they would lose their lives due to overestimating themselves, and Shao Xuan would have difficulty in reporting their deaths to the Shaman.

To catch the giant bear, they had to cooperate. Only one or two could not defeat the bear, for it was a ferocious beast.

The two animals kept by Ah-Yang and Ah-Guang grew up together while continuously fighting with each other. After growing bigger, they still fought with each other at home, but cooperated to defeat the external enemies. They had a tacit understanding of each other. And they also learned self-protection.

Before leaving the tribe, the phorusrhacos kept by Ah-Guang had learned to chase the prey from one side rather than in the rear, for it would get a kick easily if it was in the rear. The beast raised by Ah-Yang also learned to be more flexible in avoiding attacks. This was why these two outperformed the other beasts in the tribe. Their cooperation in the following few days was obviously successful.

Two days later, they left for the tar pit together.

To help them, Mai and Qiao did not take the others to go hunting, but were hidden in the surrounding in case of accidents. This way, they could come out and help them immediately.

Shao Xuan let Caesar help them and take action if necessary.

“Ah-Xuan, why don’t you help them?” Lang Ga asked Shao Xuan, who hid himself in another tree.

“Everything depends on them.” Said Shao Xuan. This was the intention of the Shaman. He asked Shao Xuan to pay attention to them, and help them with Caesar if necessary.

Thinking of the talk with the Shaman, Shao Xuan sighed and whispered to himself, “This old liar is always asking me to do many things.”

“What?” Lang Ga was just paying attention to what was happening over there, and did not hear what Shao Xuan had said.

“Nothing, I said they did well today.”