After the Old Witch returned for a few days, people from the Mountain Turtle Tribe came to the Vine Tribe Trading Area to trade, and Shan Jia took the opportunity to visit Jiang Xuan.

Jiang Xuan was very happy and personally made a table full of delicious food for Shan Jia.

After filling their bellies, the two began to discuss business.

"Although the Fierce Bird Tribe is no more, tribes from the Western Wilderness continue to migrate this way. Several small tribes have already appeared around the Great Swamp, even some medium-sized ones, but they continued migrating south without stopping here."

Shan Jia said worriedly, "We’ve dealt with medium-sized tribes before, so I’m not too afraid, but if we encounter a migrating large tribe, can we hold out?"

Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "Judging by the current situation, large tribes will definitely migrate from the Western Wilderness to the Southern Wilderness in the future. However, you don’t need to worry too much; large tribes surely won’t fancy this place."

Large tribes, with a population of at least ten thousand, surely won’t have the edges of the Southern Wilderness as their destination; the more fertile Central South Wilderness would be their real goal.

Even if they can’t reach the central area, they would at least get close to it.

Simply put, in an era primarily centered around hunting and gathering, the fringes of the Southern Wilderness are only suitable for small tribes; they can’t sustain large ones.

Only broader, more resource-rich places are suitable for those large tribes to survive. Chapters first released on noᴠelfire.net

Shan Jia shook his head and said, "I just fear that a large tribe might want to replenish their food here and wipe us out in passing."

Jiang Xuan laughed and said, "What’s meant to come can’t be avoided, thinking too much about it is useless. It’s better to make an effort to develop and grow; by then, even large tribes won’t easily move against us."

"That’s the only way."

Shan Jia casually picked up a piece of dried fruit from the table and threw it into his mouth, using food to calm his anxious mind.

"By the way, Chief Shan Jia, the matter you asked me to look into last time, I found out. The relic of your Old Turtle God actually still exists."

Upon hearing Jiang Xuan’s words, Shan Jia swallowed the dried fruit in his mouth with a gulp and asked eagerly, "Chief Xuan, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it’s true. Do you know the Red Ant Tribe?"

Hearing the words "Red Ant Tribe," Shan Jia gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I know, the Red Ant Tribe is the mortal enemy of our Mountain Turtle Tribe, and every member of our tribe will never forget it!"

"Then there’s no mistake. The relic of the Old Turtle God is inside the Red Ant Tribe, they’ve built it into a house to show off to other tribes."

Jiang Xuan repeated the words of the Old Witch.

"Damn Red Ants! How dare they treat the relic of the Old Turtle God !"

Shan Jia was instantly furious, for the actions of the Red Ant Tribe were undoubtedly a harsh humiliation to the Mountain Turtle Tribe.

However, after the anger subsided, Shan Jia felt an extreme sense of powerlessness, because the Red Ant Tribe remained a large tribe that had persisted for an unknown number of years.

As for their Mountain Turtle Tribe, they had become a small tribe now, and no matter how angry they were, what could they do about the Red Ant Tribe?

Jiang Xuan watched Shan Jia’s journey from explosion to silence, knowing what he was thinking.

Jiang Xuan patted Shan Jia on the shoulder and said, "Chief Shan Jia, don’t get discouraged; if you work hard to grow the tribe, in the future, you might have the chance to return to the central area and destroy the Red Ant Tribe in revenge."

Shan Jia just took Jiang Xuan’s words as comfort, forced a smile, and remained silent.

Soon after, Shan Jia bid farewell to Jiang Xuan, returning forlornly to his tribe with the warriors of the Mountain Turtle Tribe. Even those beautiful knife coins didn’t interest Shan Jia anymore.

March 16, Vine Tribe East Shore, Shipyard.

"Chief, our first wooden boat is finally completed. It’s ready for a test sail immediately."

"The new boat is five meters long and 1.5 meters wide, much larger than any dugout canoes we made before."

"According to the chief’s instructions, all critical parts of the new boat are joined using mortise and tenon joints and reinforced with bronze nails."

The warriors of the shipyard excitedly reported to Jiang Xuan about the wooden boat’s situation. The completion of the new boat was a significant breakthrough for them.

Jiang Xuan circled around the wooden boat, and although its structure was quite simple—merely a connection of planks and a keel—it was already a substantial breakthrough for the Vine Tribe.

Subsequent content repeats, updates to follow.