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Chapter 158 The Oath
"One, two, three, four... 97, 98, 99... days, what's after 99? Ten ten?"

After arriving at the Shepi Tribe, Xiao Xiao did not forget to review the counting. The four tribes gathered together, and the number of people far exceeded the number he had so far. After 99, it should be ten or ten, but he always felt awkward.

Zhang Tian said: "Ten to ten is called a hundred, and after 99 is a hundred."

"one hundred……"

Xiao repeated several times, although hundred is a new number, but it is essentially a simple name for ten, and it does not escape the scope of the decimal system, so there is no difficulty in understanding.

Then count down, but there are too many people, and the flow of people is still very frequent. He can't count down halfway through.

"Owl!"

He finally found a chance, squeezed through the bustling crowd, ran to Xiao, and presented her carefully crafted accessories.

"this is for you!"

The three-finger-wide pottery shard is thin at the two ends and thick at the middle, and the contours of the head, body, and tail form a beautiful arc.

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up: "Fish!"

As a seasoned fisherman, he recognized at a glance that the pottery in He's hand was in the shape of a fish.

If you look closely, there is a small hole in the head of the fish, and there are fine and dense black scales painted on the body of the fish. The fish jumped out of the water.

What a beautiful accessory!

"Really give it to me?" Xiao Xiao was flattered.

"Ok!"

Wo took a thin thread from the folds of his coat, passed it through the small hole in the fish's head, and bent down to tie it around his waist.

"You said...you like fish."

Xiao picked up the little pottery fish on his waist, the more he looked at it, the more he liked it, and he grinned: "I like fish, and I like the fish you gave me even more. It's so beautiful! It's even more beautiful than the ornaments made by my mother!"

He was a little shy, it was the first time for her to give something to someone at such a big age, but she was also happy to see Xiao happy.

"How can I thank you? Well..."

He Xiang said no, last time in the Dahe Tribe, he taught her how to make pottery, accompanied her to paint, and played with her. She was very happy, so he made this pottery fish ornament for him.

But she couldn't say such a long sentence at once, and was thinking about how to express it concisely, Xiao clapped her hands and said first: "Let me teach you how to count!"

"Number?"

He tilted his head, not understanding.

Xiao took out the bamboo flute and bone fishhook that he carried with him, picked up a random stone, put it on the ground, and asked her in a very serious tone: "Bamboo flute, fishhook and stone, can you find the similarities between them?" ?"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard a cold snort:
"Okay! If you don't see me in a cold day, you will have a new sister! No wonder you came to our tribe, but you didn't come to me, huh!"

With her hands on her hips, Sheberry glared at Xiao Xiao from five steps away.

"I'm going to find you!" Xiao immediately ran over and took her hand, "Just in time, I'll teach you how to know numbers!"

Sheberry was not very happy. She had no problem with Xiao Xiao looking for other girls to play with. What she was dissatisfied with was that he didn't think of herself immediately. If she didn't take the initiative to come to him, God knows when he will remember her!
"Owl!"

At this moment, Song Zi from the Big Tree Tribe also happily ran to play with Xiao Xiao. Seeing him holding a girl in each hand, he couldn't help being a little dazed: "Aren't you... just an adult?"

In Songzi's view, people only have the opportunity to recognize the opposite sex of other tribes after they reach adulthood, but seeing how Xiao Xiao and the other two girls are clearly familiar, she doesn't understand.

"They are all my friends."

Xiao pulled Songzi to his side and introduced the three people from different tribes.

The three girls looked at each other embarrassedly, a little embarrassed.

Only Xiao was very calm. He pointed to the objects on the ground, returned to the original question, and asked solemnly: "Bamboo flutes, fishhooks and stones, can you find the similarities between them?"

At least at this moment, he really wanted to teach his sisters how to know numbers.

The three girls' attention fell on the bamboo flute, fishhook and stone, thinking about the questions raised by Xiao Xiao, and the awkward atmosphere was gradually replaced by a learning atmosphere.

Not far away, Lin Yu witnessed this bizarre but harmonious scene, and felt a little regretful. She thought she would be able to watch a big show, but this is the end?The sisters are too good at fooling around!

Early the next morning, the four tribes left the snakeskin tribe's cave and headed for the valley camp.

Compared with the winter hunting, the speed of everyone's progress is much slower. On the one hand, it is because this is a long-distance trek, and the physical strength must be allocated reasonably. On the other hand, it is also to take care of the accompanying children so that they will not be unable to keep up.

Without a sense of urgency in time, the women took out the artifact digging sticks and collected plants along the way.

They passed a field full of daylilies, and soon they gathered all the buds and flowers, and the new roots were dug out with two or three strokes of the digging stick.

Gathering cattail roots is easier, just pull the cattails that grow in stagnant swamps directly out of the mud.

In the past, for "sustainable development", the roots were usually not dug, or only a part of them was dug, so as to ensure that there were plants to be collected every year. Now that we have set foot on the "point of no return", naturally we don't have to think about the coming year, woman They all let go of digging.

There are still many immature seedlings. If it is not because they are migrating, it stands to reason that they should be marked here and come back to collect after a while.

Especially those slender and tall plants, when the growing season, women can come back to pick their root fibers, mash them to get out the starch; even after the stems and leaves are dry, they can come back to collect the slender hairs of these plants to make swaddle babies and weave crates out of their tough stems and leaves.

It's a pity that there is no future, they can only collect what they see in front of them, but there is nothing missing.

Occasionally, when stupid hares, squirrels, and birds slipped by, the men immediately shot them with bows and arrows. As for the large animals, they fled away hundreds of meters away. any chance.

Arriving at the valley camp again, everything here has not changed much from when Zhang Tian left. The nine majestic ivory castles stand tall on the valley wall, like nine giants eternally watching the distant grassland.

The vegetation is more luxuriant, and the roaring north wind has finally stopped. Looking around, the open grassland is covered with new green clothes, groups of cattle and sheep are strolling leisurely, running deer roll up the fragrant soil, eagles and falcons are flying around. The group of heads spread their wings and glide past, a thriving scene.

The Giant Rock Tribe and the Cave Tribe had already arrived and learned that they were about to migrate. Many people from the Youyan, Youhu and Cave Lion Tribes also came to see them off.

"Mother Snake! Pine Cone! Huh? Where's Grandma?"

People soon discovered that the grandmother who was absent from the last tribal meeting was not there this time!

Lan Hua told everyone the news of Grandma's departure.

Grandma's miracle of longevity stopped forever in the last cold day, thinking that she would never hear stories from grandma again, everyone was moved to tears.

For the first time, and perhaps the last time, the River Valley Camp has welcomed so many residents since its establishment.

The children were very excited. They had heard the stories of the tribal assembly told by the hunters, and they had already heard that their ears were covered with calluses. Now that they were here in person, how could they sit still?He was running and jumping, pulling his mother's arm and asking, "Where's the mammoth? I want to see a mammoth!"

"Silly boy, mammoths only come in cold weather. They are not afraid of cold, but they are very afraid of heat. It is too hot for them now. But here are a lot of mammoth bones. Look, these houses are made of mammoth bones. built!"

The children had never seen the bones of a mammoth before, so they ran to the Ivory Castle one after another. They didn't know if they didn't look at them. They were shocked when they saw the bones of the mammoth were even taller than their heads!
Chiefs, priests and shamans from various tribes gather while children explore new things.

After many years, Miao and Kui set foot on this land again, feeling familiar yet unfamiliar. Everything here is still as it is in memory, but the people who gathered here are no longer the group of partners they used to be.

The Youyan, Youhu and Cave Lion tribes haven't forgiven the Yougu tribe for burning mountains and deforestation, but when they parted, even if they couldn't clear up the past, they didn't deliberately make things difficult. Even Yun, this time, calmed down. No excuses.

Lion Heart was very emotional: "Unexpectedly, not long after the tribal meeting ended, you made such a decision."

Lan Hua corrected: "It's not our decision, but the guidance of our ancestors."

"Well, I heard. A long time ago, your ancestors migrated here from far away, and now you decide to follow the example of your ancestors and embark on a long journey. Your courage is admirable. We all share this land together. Survive and multiply together, you are about to travel far, we should give you a gift."

Salt, Tiger, and Cave Lion Tribes presented practical gifts, mainly food, which was exactly what the tribes needed.

Everyone chatted, reminiscing about the past and looking forward to the future.

Song Guo suddenly said: "Since we left the original cave, shouldn't the name of the tribe be changed?"

Among the tribes present, except for the salt, tiger and cave lion tribes whose names are inherited from ancient spirits, the names of other tribes are all taken from the things near the caves, such as the big river tribe got its name from the river at the foot of the mountain, and the big tree tribe got its name from The towering tree at the entrance of the cave.

The chiefs of the various tribes disagree. Some people think that there are neither big rivers nor big trees, so they should not be called big river tribes and big tree tribes anymore. Some people think that the names are just to distinguish each other, and it doesn’t matter what they are called, and everyone is used to calling them. , changing the name will only increase trouble.

Everyone insisted on their own opinions and could not unify their opinions.

At this time, Zhang Tian raised his voice and said, "Whether the tribe's name is changed or not is the second priority, but there is something we must do!"

The chiefs immediately fell silent, and all eyes fell on the young sky priest. Although Tian was young, his ancestors stood behind him, and his words undoubtedly carried the most weight.

Zhang Tianzheng said: "On the way of migration, we have to go together to eat and live together. During this period, there will definitely be many differences. If we argue like just now every time, how can we live in harmony and trust each other?"

Everyone was shocked, this is indeed a problem, and this problem is difficult to solve. Everyone is a chief, has their own interests, and is responsible for their own clansmen. It is not so easy to reach a consensus.

Miao asked: "You said there is something we must do, is it related to this?"

Zhang Tian nodded and said: "We should merge into one clan."

"clan?"

The chiefs looked at each other, not knowing why.

"The descendants of the common ancestor belong to the same clan. In terms of blood, we belong to the same clan. Now, we need to inform each clan member, reach a covenant, merge into a clan in name, and elect a clan leader. If there is a disagreement, the leader can make a decision."

The ancestors in this area are still in the early stage of primitive tribes. The tribes here are different from the tribes or settlements formed by the merger of several clans in later generations, but small groups. Although they have close contacts with each other, they are closely related.

For future development, integration is necessary.

Zhang Tian had already unified his beliefs, and the stories of his ancestors had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The chiefs had also been guided by their ancestors, so after thinking for a while, they all accepted this statement and asked what to do.

When night fell, all tribesmen gathered in the open space of the camp.

After routinely looking up at the sky, Zhang Tian brought out a bowl of water, cut his little finger with a knife, and dripped a drop of blood into the water.

Then he walked through each tribe in turn carrying water.

The chiefs of various tribes also cut their fingers and dripped blood into the water.

Everyone looked at what was happening solemnly. They had already learned the whole story from their respective chiefs, and knew that they were taking an oath now. As long as they drank this bowl of water fused with the blood of the chiefs, all the tribes would die. It will be merged into a clan, and from now on, everyone will be members of the same clan.

Of course, the once small groups have not disappeared, and different tribes can still mate and reproduce without restriction.

Zhang Tian picked up the bowl of blood water, took a sip, and then handed it to Lan Hua beside him.

Zhang Tian smashed the pottery bowl that was passed back to him, and announced loudly:

"The ceremony has been completed, the covenant has been established, the ancestors are above, the Dahe Tribe, the Big Tree Tribe, the Shepi Tribe, the Valley Tribe, the Juyan Tribe, and the Cave Tribe are now the Sky Clan! People of the same clan should be harmonious and friendly, Don't fight or grab, let's fight against foreign aggression together!"

The name of the clan was naturally decided after everyone discussed it.

"Now select the clan leader."

The chiefs had already gone back to discuss with the clansmen, and at this time they reported their candidates one by one.

"The Big Tree Tribe elected Tian to be the clan leader!"

"The Shepi Tribe elects Tian to be the clan leader!"

"The Yougu tribe elected Tian to be the clan leader!"

"..."

Without exception, the six tribes all elected Zhang Tian as the clan leader.

When the clan name was determined to be Tiantian, Zhang Tian had expected this result, and he was undisputedly elected clan leader, and at the same time served as a priest.

Cheers erupted from the River Valley Camp, which lasted for a long time.

Now, they are of the same race!

When everyone looks at me and I look at you, they all feel closer to each other.

The Youyan, Youhu and Cave Lion tribes watched the whole ceremony and were deeply shocked. The clan formed by the fusion of the six tribes far outnumbered these three big tribes.

Just looking at this mass of black heads made Yun feel more stressed.

It's a good thing they're leaving tomorrow... He thought so in his heart, and on the surface he remained calm, sending congratulations and blessings with a smile on his face.

A final night of relaxation and fun at River Valley Camp.

When the first ray of morning light spilled over the grassland from the horizon, the River Valley Camp was already a busy scene.

After breakfast, everyone packed their bags again. There will be no rest stops on the road after that. What awaits them is a journey full of unknowns and adventures.

Everyone bid farewell to the Youyan, Youhu and Cave Lion tribes.

No matter what kind of quarrels have occurred, at the moment of parting, no one can express their sadness. Even Yun, who is hot-tempered, fell into inexplicable melancholy when he thought that the future tribal conference would not have the same lively scene as before. .

Lionheart said sincerely: "If you encounter trouble on the road, or change your mind, you can come back at any time, this will always be your home."

Zhang Tian thanked Lion Heart for his kindness, and led his tribe to leave.

People from the Youyan, Youhu and Cave Lion tribes stood on the watchtower, watching the migrating crowd go away, watching the familiar figures slowly shrinking, slowly blending into the vast and boundless grassland, and turning into one by one. Indistinct black dots, and in the end, not even the black dots are visible anymore.

(End of this chapter)