Chapter 38: A Journey Well Worth It

"Zhou Chongshan..."

Muttering his new name to himself, Dashan’s face blossomed into a radiant smile.

"Thank you, Leader! From now on, I shall be called Zhou Chongshan!"

In this primitive era, people were typically named after mountains, rivers, birds, or beasts. Given this, anyone could sense the extraordinary nature of his new name.

For a moment, the tribe members who had accompanied them looked at Dashan with gazes filled with undisguised envy.

"Alright, let’s go inside and take a look."

"Yes!"

Having just received his new name, the spirited Zhou Chongshan immediately took the lead to scout the way for Zhou Xu.

Their tribe was situated on a stretch of flat plains. After walking only a short distance, Zhou Xu’s keen eyes quickly spotted the enemy’s tribal camp.

The scale was similar to their own; both were merely small tribes with limited capacity. In fact, in this era, the size of a tribe was strictly dictated by the availability of food. To expand further, one had to secure a larger and more stable food supply. To achieve that, the age of agriculture had to begin.

Of course, there were still many obstacles to overcome. While Zhou Xu had already added agriculture to his plans, implementing it officially was a daunting task. For instance, what would they plant? They didn't have a single seed of any crop. In other words, they couldn't plant anything at all.

Moving swiftly, Zhou Xu and his party soon arrived at the tribal camp. At that moment, a notification from the system echoed in Zhou Xu’s mind:

System Notification: Congratulations, 'Zhou Xu,' on occupying Black Moon Camp.

The notification did not surprise Zhou Xu; his focus was currently fixed on observing the tribe. As a primitive tribe that had once been led by a transmigrator, they had mastered the technique of making fire—this was the baseline.

Zhou Xu could see that, unsurprisingly, they possessed some basic stone tools. It made sense; their large wooden shields must have been crafted with the help of those stone implements. However, he had little interest in such things. The questions currently weighing on his mind were:

"Dashi, where is the nearest water source? How do you handle the food supply?"

In this era, a tribal camp had to be built near a water source; without a stable supply of fresh water, survival was impossible. The same applied to food.

Facing Zhou Xu’s questions, Dashi did not hesitate and led him straight out of the camp.

"Not far from our camp, there is a lake. The water is drinkable. As for food, we rely mainly on fishing, though we do hunt as well."

Zhou Xu was not surprised to hear the word "fishing." After all, given the status of the former leader as a transmigrator, fishing in the lake was clearly more convenient than hunting elusive animals on the plains.

As they spoke, a lake came into view. It was roughly the same size as the salt lake near their own camp. Two primitive-looking wooden rafts were moored at the shore, and several wooden racks stood nearby, one of which held a large, drying net.

Zhou Xu walked over to the net and rubbed the cord between his fingers, testing its texture. Dashi, standing by, prepared to offer an explanation, but Zhou Xu cut him off.

"You use those rafts to row out onto the lake and use this net to catch fish. The net is woven from grass rope. I know all of this; there is no need for you to explain."

Ignoring the stunned Dashi, Zhou Xu continued, "Your net is poorly made. The weaving and knotting techniques are flawed; the mesh is loose and sloppy. It’s lucky the fish in this lake are large, otherwise, you would be catching nothing but water."

Zhou Xu turned to look at Dashi, whose face showed a hint of embarrassment. "I’ll make you a better one later."

"..."

At that moment, Dashi fully realized that these items, which seemed miraculous to his people, were considered nothing more than mediocre—perhaps even garbage—in the eyes of their new leader.

Overall, Zhou Xu was in a fairly good mood. The presence of a freshwater lake solved their water issues, and the fish resources would go a long way toward stabilizing their food supply. This alone made the trip worthwhile.

"Let’s go. Take me to that altar."

After leaving five men to guard Black Moon Camp, Zhou Xu called for Zhou Chongshan and had Dashi lead the way. While the sun was still high, they hurried toward the altar.

The altar was some distance from Black Moon Camp. Upon arriving, Zhou Xu didn't waste time; he immediately activated his "Eye of Insight."

After a meticulous examination, he found nothing. Feeling unwilling to give up, he pushed aside some rubble and peered deeper into the ruins, but the result remained the same. It seemed he had made a wasted trip, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"By the way, Dashi, you said he found the 'True Word' on the plains. Where exactly was it? Is it close to here?"

Though Dashi had no idea what his new leader was looking for, he answered promptly and eagerly.

"It’s not far, just nearby."

"Lead the way."

As Dashi had said, it was indeed close. Zhou Xu estimated they walked less than a kilometer before reaching the plains Dashi had described.

"It was... right here! Yes, this is it. I remember this rock!" Dashi ran to a large stone, looking left and right before confirming. "Back then, there was a skeleton leaning against this stone. That is where our former leader found the True Word."

Through Dashi’s simple description, Zhou Xu gained a rough understanding of the situation. The skeleton must have been the original owner of the True Word.

"And the skeleton?"

"When the former leader used the power of the True Word, he made that skeleton move. There are many skeletons on these plains; the ones he used were mostly found here. That skeleton was among them, but I don't know which one it is now."

Listening to Dashi, Zhou Xu, who was crouched before the rock, nodded slightly. He brushed the dust off the stone. Although it had been eroded by time and weather, he could tell it was not a natural rock—it looked more like a fragment of a ruined wall.