After their reunion, the two of them headed towards the cave and saw from afar a middle-aged man standing on a rock at the side peak waiting. His gaze towards Luo Zheng was filled with respect, his smile revealing a row of white teeth, which made Luo Zheng almost want to laugh, but he held back and nodded in acknowledgent as he walked into the cave.
The middle-aged man exclaid excitedly in a few sentences, with an enthusiastic manner. The others looked at Luo Zheng with frenzied eyes and made strange wailing sounds, their purpose unclear. Lan Xue whispered, "They're probably thanking you. The middle-aged man went out with and saw the destroyed military helicopter. They are showing their respect for you."
"Perhaps," Luo Zheng replied indifferently and found a place to sit down. He saw the middle-aged man co over as well, crouching in front of him, babbling sothing while constantly making hand gestures, with an anxious expression. Luo Zheng was at a loss, using military hand signals, only to realize that the other party couldn't understand at all.
After a while, Luo Zheng and the middle-aged man were staring at each other, unable to communicate. He sat down on the ground in defeat, recalling the emotional expression of the middle-aged man and couldn't help but wryly smile. It was clear that the middle-aged man had sothing he wanted to say, but the barrier to communication made it impossible to understand his intention. Luo Zheng managed to make the other man vaguely understand a couple of the hand signals he made, but communication was difficult. He had no choice but to give up for the ti being.
"He seems to have sothing to say," Ghost Hand ca over and whispered.
"Yeah, he seed anxious earlier, but it's a sha we can't communicate," Luo Zheng replied helplessly. He then noticed the people standing up and preparing to head outside on the middle-aged man's cue. Luo Zheng was taken aback, guessing they might want to gather their comrades' remains. He said through the headset, "Guys, let's follow them and take a look." Their hos had been destroyed, their family mbers killed—it was tragic. If they could help, they should.
They all walked out of the cave and saw the people walking woefully. Luo Zheng felt deeply sympathetic as they headed toward what seed to be the tribe. He didn't stop them and signaled Mountain Eagle to lead the way. Everyone was vigilant, watching the surrounding woods just in case, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the tribe's village.
The burned houses had been reduced to ashes, and the ground was covered with bodies. Luo Zheng noticed that the tribal villagers were not in pain or agitated but were chanting sothing mournfully, lined up in three rows, marching forward with a solemn, orderly step skill as if they were performing so kind of ritual.
"Let's spread out and be on guard," Luo Zheng suggested. Affected by the atmosphere, everyone felt suffocated ntally, and they dispersed into the forest with a shared agreent to be on the lookout for any unexpected events.
The four of them took different directions, with Luo Zheng staying behind, accompanying the middle-aged man to the village ruins. He watched the people chanting in unison, forming a circle, and sitting quietly on an open field, continuing their chant without any intention of gathering the bodies. Their eyes were full of devotion, their expressions mournful and indignant.
Gradually, Luo Zheng felt as if he could see the battlefield's clash of arms, the thundering war drums, and countless bare-chested warriors with spears and bows charging forward without hesitation, unregretful even in death. It was bloody, brutal, and fearless, stirring a fervent emotion. Finally, when the battle ceased, and the ground was littered with corpses, a pack of Fierce Beasts ca to gnaw on the bodies. The spirits of the fallen warriors erged, their faces bearing smiles of relief and happiness as they ascended into the sky, vanishing without a trace.
The chanting stopped suddenly, and Luo Zheng ca to his senses. Shaking his head, he looked at everyone with a shocked face—it was such a strange sensation. Just then, at the middle-aged man's command, everyone got up and scurried into their respective houses. The middle-aged man crossed his hands over his chest, half-bowing, and spoke respectfully, unfortunately to the incomprehending Luo Zheng. The man then took sothing off his neck and held it in the palm of his hand, presenting it with expectation.
Luo Zheng looked closely and saw it was a wolf tooth pendant strung on a hemp rope. The Wolf Teeth was unusually large and old, and though the hemp rope was simple and made from twisted tree bark, it was sturdy. Luo Zheng pointed at the Wolf Teeth, then at himself, and seeing the other's joyous smile of confirmation, he bent down and lowered his head.
The middle-aged man placed the Wolf Teeth necklace over Luo Zheng's neck and started cheering, howling strangely. Luo Zheng heard many others howling in response around him. Glancing left and right, he saw other people erging from their houses, bows and arrows in hand. The bows were crude, all made of wood but thick, with so people even carrying them over their shoulders while holding rudintary quivers containing simple arrows. Their eyes beca sharp.
"Huh?" Luo Zheng looked in astonishnt at the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man pointed at the corpses of the Japanese pirates on the ground, made a throat-slitting gesture, and with eyes fierce and resolute, radiated a murderous aura. Luo Zheng instantly understood—they were planning to retaliate. He couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. Were they really planning to take revenge with these crude bows and arrows?
Perhaps knowing that communication was impossible, the middle-aged man did not say anything more, but spoke a few words to the others instead. They howled strangely, and soon, five robust n stood out from the rest, lining up and looking resolutely at the middle-aged man. He patted each of their chests in turn. The five n ca to Luo Zheng, crossed their hands and gave a half bow respectfully, then howled and sprinted in different directions into the forest, promptly vanishing from sight, leaving Luo Zheng dumbfounded.
"What are they doing?" Lan Xue asked in surprise through the earpiece.
"Not sure," Luo Zheng said with a bitter smile, as he looked towards the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man spoke anxiously for a short while before giving up. He beckoned the others to follow him into the forest. Luo Zheng noticed they were carrying daily essentials and food, looking like they were moving house. They seed unconcerned with the dead bodies on the ground. Recalling his recent dream, he speculated—could it be a sky burial, leaving the bodies to the fierce beasts of the forest?
With no common language, this question remained unanswered. Seeing that nobody else was concerned, Luo Zheng had no mind to bother either, and followed them into the forest, only to discover that they were heading towards that sa stone cave. It looked like a good hiding spot, so he said, "Guys, it seems like they're going to stay in the stone cave for now. Let's also take shelter and rest for a bit."
"Guess that's the only option. Communicating with these people is really tough," Ghost Hand said with a helpless and wry smile.
"Exactly, even if they were willing to be our guides, we couldn't communicate," Mountain Eagle pointed out.
The reason everyone was helping was to find a base and a guide. Now, the base had been burned down, and with the language barrier, finding a guide was difficult. But Luo Zheng didn't see it that way and laughed, "Don't worry, a guide can still be useful. If it hadn't been for them just now, we'd have been chased down by that helicopter."
"True, but it's just too much of a hassle. You, little brother, can take on this task," Snow Leopard agreed.
Once at the stone cave, they found a relatively flat area to sit down and rest, and did an equipnt check. Luo Zheng noticed the middle-aged man directed the people to rest opposite them, maintaining a certain distance, then ca over. He pointed at the bows and arrows and made a walking gesture, a signal he had learned from Luo Zheng.
Seeing this action, Luo Zheng asked, "Retaliation?" He suddenly rembered the man couldn't understand and smiled bitterly.
User Comments
0 comments from readers