50: Chapter 46: The Helpful Elderly 50: Chapter 46: The Helpful Elderly On the outskirts of the Vine Tribe, a bamboo hut had appeared, home to a mysterious old man and a fearsome giant eagle.
Initially, the people of the tribe were not quite accustomed to it and were quite fearful of the giant eagle.
After some time, they discovered that the mysterious old man was quite kind, and the giant eagle would not attack people indiscriminately, so they slowly accepted the presence of the old man and the giant eagle.
By the small stream, Nan Xing practiced blowing the bone whistle continuously.
He had now learned how to use the bone whistle to mimic bird calls and occasionally managed to get the birds in the trees to call back.
He then tried to use the bone whistle to mimic the call of a deer, but the sound from the bone whistle was always a bit off, making him feel somewhat frustrated.
“After blowing for so long, it’s still not working.”
Nan Xing had always wanted to mimic the Hunting Team from the Deer Tribe by using the bone whistle to produce an almost lifelike call of a deer, enough to attract deer during mating season.
This had become an obsession in his heart.
Unfortunately, after many attempts, he kept failing.
“Young man, why do you look so glum?”
The mysterious old man approached from a distance, standing before Nan Xing, his expression gentle as he inquired.
Like all the people of the Vine Tribe, he was wary of this mysterious old man.
The old man, however, seemed to see through his thoughts, smiling as he said, “You need not be afraid; I’m just an old man nearing the end of his days, walking is laborious enough, I can’t harm you.”
Nan Xing thought this was true; the old man was very aged and looked frail, and with the giant eagle not by his side, what was there to fear?
After all, he was a One-Color Warrior!
Nan Xing’s wariness relaxed a little but he still didn’t speak, keeping his head slightly lowered.
The old man glanced at the bone whistle in his hand and asked, “Let me guess, is it this bone whistle?
Could you let me have a look?”
Nan Xing, feeling disappointed with the bone whistle, handed it to the old man.
The old man took the bone whistle, rubbed it with his hands and said, “The material is good, but the finishing is a bit rough, which makes the sound inaccurate.”
Nan Xing raised his head, looking at the old man in surprise.
“How do you know the sound isn’t accurate?”
“I’ve been hearing you blow it for a while now.”
Nan Xing lowered his head again, feeling a bit embarrassed.
The old man pointed at the bone whistle and said, “These three holes are a bit small and not smooth, so the sound produced is not accurate.
If you don’t mind, I can help you polish it again.”
“After polishing, will it produce the sound of a deer call?” Nan Xing looked at the old man with hope.
The old man didn’t give a definitive answer: “Probably, it should be better than it is now.”
“Well, then, please help me polish it…”
After saying that, Nan Xing suddenly remembered something and added, “I can give you some wild fruits; they’re very sweet.”
The old man smiled and said, “Sure.”
After speaking, the old man found a large, flat stone to sit on, and then took out a small stone knife from a beast hide bag he carried.
The small stone knife was a pale yellow color, just about the length of a palm and over a finger wide, appearing quite petite.
On the side of the stone knife were some ancient primitive pictograms, but Nan Xing couldn’t recognize them.
Nan Xing’s eyes brightened, and he couldn’t help but say, “What a beautiful stone knife, it should be Gem Level stone, right?”
The old man smiled and nodded, saying, “You have a good eye.
This knife has been with me for many years.
It wasn’t this small before, but after countless uses, it’s worn down to its current size.”
Nan Xing’s eyes were filled with envy.
For most tribe members, a Gem Level stone knife is a coveted treasure.
This is because ordinary stone isn’t hard enough and wears down easily, requiring frequent replacements.
But knives made from Gem Level stones are resistant to wear and breakage; one can last for many years, just like the one in the old man’s hand, the handle polished with use over time.
The old man sat on the large stone and started helping Nan Xing polish the bone whistle with the small stone knife.
He placed the knife tip into the holes of the bone whistle, constantly rotating it, scraping off layers of bone powder, gradually enlarging the holes until all three holes on the bone whistle became smooth and nearly the same size.
Then, he found a coarse stone by the stream, poured some water on it, and polished both ends of the bone whistle until they were very smooth.
As time ticked by, after more than an hour, the old man finally finished the polishing.
“Try blowing it again.”
The old man handed the bone whistle back to Nan Xing.
Nan Xing took the bone whistle, surprised to find that after the old man’s polishing, both the feel and appearance of the bone whistle had greatly improved.
With an excited heart, Nan Xing placed the bone whistle to his lips and blew it tentatively.
The first sound he made was a bird call, which was very pleasant, much better than before.
With growing excitement, Nan Xing tried to blow a deer call again.
This time, it actually worked!
After the re-polishing, the bone whistle produced a deer call nearly identical to that of a real Great Horned Deer.
Nan Xing jumped up excitedly.
He never expected that his failure to produce a deer call with the bone whistle was due to insufficient polishing on his part.
“Old man, I… I’ll go get you some wild fruits now, please wait for me.”
Overjoyed, Nan Xing dashed back to the bamboo hut.
Jiang Xuan, who was inside polishing arrowheads, saw Nan Xing’s energetic demeanor and curiously asked, “Nan Xing, what happened that’s made you so happy?”
“Chief, look, my bone whistle can produce a deer call now!”
Much like a child showing off a new toy, Nan Xing took out the bone whistle and blew it a few times in front of Jiang Xuan.
Jiang Xuan was surprised to find that the bone whistle indeed emitted a deer call.
“It was the old man with the giant eagle who helped me polish it.
I promised to give him some wild fruits as a reward.”
Nan Xing looked imploringly at Jiang Xuan, saying, “Chief, can I give him some red-haired fruits?”
“Of course you can, go ahead.”
Jiang Xuan readily agreed.
After all, they were just some wild fruits, and it was autumn when the forests were abundant with them.
Ecstatic, Nan Xing ran to a corner of the bamboo hut, found a large vine basket, and lifted the dried bamboo leaves covering it.
Inside the basket were wild fruits that the tribe called red-haired fruits, resembling kiwis in appearance.
These wild fruits had lots of red fuzz on their skin, and once peeled, revealed sweet, fragrant flesh.
Nan Xing wrapped up a dozen red-haired fruits in his Beast Hide Clothing and ran back to the stream, presenting them to the old man.
“These are red-haired fruits; peel the skin and you can eat them.
The old man didn’t refuse.
He peeled one of the red-haired fruits, tasted it, and nodded in satisfaction, “It’s really sweet.”
“See, I told you so.”
Nan Xing beamed brightly, displaying a neat row of teeth.
In the following days, this mysterious old man often helped the people of the Vine Tribe solve some issues.
Gradually, though they hadn’t fully accepted him, they were no longer as hostile towards him as before.
Jiang Xuan was puzzled by the old man’s actions, though he discerned that this mysterious old man was very knowledgeable and skilled, likely hailing from a large tribe.
Anyway, besides the Totem God, the Vine Tribe didn’t have much anyone would scheme for.
For now, the benefits of the old man’s existence outweighed the drawbacks.
However, Jiang Xuan was a cautious person and didn’t fully relax his vigilance.
He just didn’t show it.