Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1154 Reaching

His heart warmed. He smiled at Ah Shi, who grinned back, revealing two rows of neat teeth. The hunting party set off, following a familiar path deeper into the Black Forest. When they first entered the forest, sunlight still filtered through the leaves, creating golden beams. But soon, the trees grew denser, and the sunlight struggled to penetrate. The air was filled with the damp smell of decaying leaves, mingled with the scent of earth and grass. Occasionally, birds chirped among the branches, and unknown insects buzzed in the grass. But these sounds didn't make the Black Forest seem lively, but rather quiet—a quiet that was almost eerie. Ah Yan followed closely behind his father, Lie, his eyes warily scanning the surroundings. He remembered when he was a child, his father had taken him to the outskirts of the Black Forest and told him that the Black Forest contained not only prey like wild boars, deer, and rabbits, but also dangerous beasts like bears and wolves, and even poisonous snakes and insects. A careless approach could cost him his life. Besides these beasts, they might also encounter the Blackwood Tribe, who were even more formidable than the beasts themselves—the beasts attacked instinctively, but the Blackwood Tribe knew how to set traps, use weapons, and attack from the side. After walking for about half an hour, Lie suddenly stopped and raised his hand. Everyone immediately stopped, gripping their weapons tightly, holding their breath, staring at Lie's back. Lie slowly bent down, his fingers lightly brushing the dirt. Then he turned and waved to Ah Yan and the others, his voice low, "Come and look here." Ah Yan and a few others nearby hurried over. They saw a clear footprint in the soft earth. The print was much wider than the animal-skin shoes worn by the Firestone Tribe, and the edges were stained with black moss—Ah Yan recognized this moss, found only at the foot of the cliffs west of the Black Forest. Because that area, devoid of sunlight year-round, was damp and dark, it was most prone to growing this black moss. "It's the people from the Blackwood tribe." Lie's voice was very deep. "Judging from the depth of the footprints, they must have been left yesterday. They took the hunting trail we often take." Ah Shu frowned: "How dare they go so deep? Aren't they afraid that our people will find out?" Lie shook his head: "They must have done it on purpose, wanting us to know that they have been to our hunting area." Ah Yan was a little angry again. He stared at the footprints, as if he could see the smug faces of the people from the Blackwood tribe when they left the footprints. He clenched the stone axe at his waist, and his knuckles began to turn white again. Before they could say anything more, a crisp "crack" sound suddenly came from not far away, as if someone accidentally stepped on a branch and broke it. The sound was very light, but in the quiet black forest, it was particularly clear. Lie's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he immediately raised his hand and made a "disperse" gesture. Everyone scattered instantly, some hiding behind trees, others crouching in the brush. Each one gripped their weapon tightly, their eyes fixed on the direction of the sound—a patch of bushes to the left, tall and dense, its branches swaying as if something were hidden within. Time seemed to slow down, and everyone's heartbeats could be heard clearly. Ah Yan hid behind a thick tree trunk, only half his head visible. He gripped his stone axe even tighter, his palms sweating. He stared at the bushes, feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement—nervous because he wondered if the people hiding there were members of the Blackwood Tribe, and how many there were; excited because if he did encounter them, he could challenge them and perhaps even achieve merit and become a true warrior. After a while, a figure slowly emerged from the bushes. It was a young boy, about Ah Yan's age, dressed in a black animal hide that looked worn and torn, with frayed edges. He clutched a sharpened stick, its tip still stained with dirt, evidently having recently dug something. His hair was messy and draped over his shoulders, and his face, devoid of the usual blackwood tattoos, looked rather frail. The young man had clearly not expected to encounter anyone. When he emerged from the bushes and saw them, his face paled, and he nearly dropped the stick. He took a step back, his eyes filled with fear, but he didn't turn and flee. Instead, he stared at them intently, like a cornered animal. "It's the Blackwood Tribe!" Ah Yan growled, about to dash from behind the tree, but a firm hand held him back—his father, Lie. Lie shook his head, urging him to calm down, then slowly emerged from behind the tree and stood a few steps away from the young man. Lie was a towering figure, standing before the young man like a small mountain. He stared at him, his voice low but not hostile: "This is the Firestone Tribe's hunting grounds. You shouldn't be here." The young man bit his lip, nearly drawing blood. He took another step back, holding the stick tightly in both hands, as if to give himself courage. After a long while, he spoke in a low voice, his voice trembling a little: "We are running out of food in the tribe, and the chief asked us to come here to find some wild fruits..." His voice was very low, but it was heard clearly. Ah Yan poked his head out from behind the tree, looked at the appearance of the young man, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He remembered how he squatted by the river and tried to catch rabbits but got nothing, remembered the increasingly scarce prey in the tribe, and remembered the expression on his mother's face when she sighed as she looked at the empty bag of dried meat - it turned out that the life of the Blackwood tribe was even harder than theirs. But before the boy could finish his words, a burst of shouting suddenly came from the distance, the sound was very chaotic, as if there were several people shouting. Then, several figures ran out of the woods in the east, all wearing black animal skins, holding stone axes and wooden sticks in their hands, and running very fast. The leader was a tall man, taller than Lie, with broad shoulders and two black lines on his face, extending from his forehead to his chin. He was holding a huge stone axe in his hand, with some dirt on the axe blade. Ah Yan recognized him at a glance - it was Hei Ya, the leader of the Black Wood Tribe. Hei Ya was obviously furious when he saw him. Shi looked at Ah Yan, then at the other people, and said slowly: "Let the hunting team bring more people today. Lie will lead the team, and let a few young and strong people follow, a total of twelve people. If you meet the people of Black Wood, don't fight them head-on, destroy their traps first, and then we will fight back if they dare to attack, but remember, don't hurt anyone if you can. What we lack most now is prey, not enemies." He paused, and added: "Also, let everyone bring wormwood to start the fire. The branches in the Black Forest are now dry.