Translator: StormFrost
Editor: Misogi
Primitive Society is Good [13]
Chen Liguo"s dinner was roast chicken.
While he ate, his fat yellow chicken stood to the side and innocently looked at him. Gunzi smelled the fragrance and also came over calling "meow meow".
Chen Liguo glanced over and threw half the chicken at it.
Lang Qing hadn"t returned yet. People said that he was out hunting. Game was the most plump during this season, so it was a suitable time for the warriors to hunt.
Both Gunzi and Chen Liguo happily ate their chicken.
Chen Liguo"s mouth was covered with oil. Although the chicken was large, its crispy meat tasted very delicious after roasting it.
Half a chicken was just enough for Chen Liguo to eat. After eating his fill he let out a burp and patted his bulging stomach. Then he prepared to go to the river to wash his hands.
Of course, half a chicken was too little for Gunzi, so after eating it slowly turned its eyes to the fat bird that followed Chen Liguo.
The tender plump bird was still chirping, completely oblivious to Gunzi"s dangerous thoughts……
Fortunately, Chen Liguo noticed. He looked at Gunzi and said, "You can"t eat ah, that"s your little brother."
Gunzi was a little unhappy and cried out meow meow several times as if it were bargaining with Chen Liguo.
"Not. A-llowed!" Chen Liguo accentuated each syllable and said, "This is my beloved little little chickchick."
Gunzi: "……"
Bringing along his beloved little chick, Chen Liguo went to the river to wash his hands.
There was no soap in this world but there was saponin. It was said that Fu Die had already made simple soap, so he might as well go ask her for a block when he had the time. As he thought so, Chen Liguo was then suddenly pushed from behind.
He was caught unaware and directly fell into the water. He blankly looked at the sh.o.r.eside only to find that the person who pushed him was actually the priest of the tribe.
The priest was over 60 and was already an elderly in the primitive world. Black totems were painted onto his face. He hatefully glared at Chen Liguo as if he were looking at something dirty.
Chen Liguo nearly let loose a torrent of abuse but in order to not break his character he could only reach out and gently wipe the water off his face, telling himself that he was a weak white lotus in the water, swearing at people and such things weren"t right……
The priest said, "You demonic spirit!"
Teardrops glistened in Chen Liguo"s eyes as he sorrowfully bit his lips, not saying anything.
The priest angrily said, "You must have bewitched our chief, or else he would never be so partial towards you——"
Chen Liguo slowly stood up from the water and choked with sobs, unable to say a word——He was afraid that if he spoke he would directly say "f.u.c.k your father".
The priest said, "One of these days I"ll burn you to death with my own hands!" When he finished saying this he heavily struck his walking stick against the ground.
Chen Liguo smiled bitterly as a tear fell from the corner of his eye.
This scene was distinctly forlorn. The weak and helpless slave Zhi Shui was being maliciously threatened by the priest. Not only was he threatened to return to the tribe by Lang Qing he was also treated so brutally by the people of the tribe…..
Such a scene was what Fu Die saw.
Fu Die originally came to find Lang Qing to negotiate something and did not expect to see such a Zhi Shui. They hadn"t seen each other for a long time now because of Lang Qing.
Fu Die rarely came to Lang Qing"s tribe and it was even less possible for Zhi Shui to go to Fu Die"s tribe like before.
Fu Die watched as Zhi Shui stood in the water, his expression forlorn as he watched the priest who bullied him leave. Then, he slowly climbed out from the river and went home at a very slow pace.
Fu Die"s heart seemed to be grasped by something. She hated her incompetence. If it weren"t for her failing to kill Lang Qing Zhi Shui would not have to face such a cruel situation.
A slave who betrayed their master once again returning to their side, it could be guessed what kind of life he was living.
Fu Die looked at Zhi Shui"s back, her heavy expression sinking into a contemplation.
Chen Liguo still didn"t know that his miserable appearance was seen by Fu Die and was using a gentle voice to greet that priest"s eighteen generations of ancestors.
Chen Liguo said, "I want to tell on him to Lang Qing!"
The system was rendered speechless at Chen Liguo"s vile character. Don"t look at Chen Liguo"s "I"m so weak, please don"t treat me like this" appearance every time he was bullied. This person would routinely and easily snitch on them.
First he would weep secretly and when Lang Qing asked what was wrong he would say he didn"t blame those people, it was all his own fault, it was all him being bad.
Then Lang Qing would very cooperatively ask which people.
Chen Liguo would then say, that blabla wearing sackcloth and has a ponytail, that blabla wearing yellow deerskin…… He explained everything in full detail as if he was afraid that Lang Qing could not figure it out. At the end he would also add in, "you must not blame them".
After listening to everything Lang Qing would indifferently tell Chen Liguo that he deserved it. Who let Chen Liguo betray him? This was what a traitor deserved……
Hearing this Chen Liguo would cry even harder.
However both of them were acting out a routine. Although Lang Qing"s mouth said such things, his body was very honest——So long as Chen Liguo complained then he would not have to see the person who cursed him for the next few months.
Of course, the old priest was the exception.
Chen Liguo once again said that he was bullied by the priest today. He said that he was pushed into the water. The water was so cold, so deep, he thought that he would die in it.
Lang Qing was silent for two seconds. He listened to Chen Liguo"s account and wondered how deep the stream at the entrance could even be…… In fact, it barely reached Chen Liguo"s calf if he stood inside it. As for it being cold……. Summer hadn"t completely faded and most of the people in the tribe still wore no tops.
Lang Qing brought Chen Liguo into his arms and rubbed his head. He said, "Let"s have the priests go to Fu Die"s tribe and teach them."
Chen Liguo: "……" Tsk, this method is pa.s.sable.
In any case Fu Die would not dare kill the priest. Killing a tribe"s priest is tantamount to declaring war with said tribe. Lang Qing wanted to kill Fu Die even more now and played around with her but Fu Die wouldn"t be so stupid. Although she wouldn"t kill the priest, how she decided to disgust him was uncertain.
And so this matter was merrily settled just like that.
The calamitous enchantress Chen Liguo was still distinctly beautiful and charming today.
After this spring"s thousand flowers festival there were another dozen of pregnant women in Fu Die"s tribe. There was no need to worry about reproduction in her tribe because most of them were women and very few of them were men.
Chen Liguo originally thought that Fu Die"s destiny completion degree might decline after he was taken away by Lang Qing.
However, he did not expect that after he lived in Lang Qing"s tribe for some time Fu Die"s destiny completion degree did not drop but instead increased. She seemed to have figured out something important……
Chen Liguo really started admiring this girl more and more. Compared to him who had no ambition, this girl was simply the cream of the crop example of transmigrators.
Lang Qing not killing Fu Die was entirely based on giving Chen Liguo face.
However, ever since finding out that Lang Qing was a fellow from the same hometown Chen Liguo loved acting even more.
After Lang Qing came back he found Chen Liguo sitting on the bedside in a daze.
Lang Qing put the prey aside and called, "Zhi Shui?"
Chen Liguo raised his eyes and looked at them, then swept away the tears from the corners of his eyes. He said, "I"m fine."
Lang Qing thought, "Who were you bullied by again?". He asked, "Why are you crying?"
Chen Liguo smiled bitterly and said, "I, I didn"t cry."
Lang Qing walked over and wiped away his tears. He said, "Don"t cry, what happened?"
Chen Liguo softly choked back a sob and said, "It hasn"t rained in a dozen days. They, they say it"s because of me……"
This summer was particularly sad because there was almost no rain ever since the start of summer. The stream near the tribe has already dried up and the lake in their vicinity has shrunk by half.
If it still didn"t rain then this summer would be particularly difficult to get through.
On top of that, the system"s weather forecast told Chen Liguo that there would be no rain the following week and according to the system"s prediction, a drought could not be avoided.
In the primitive world, natural disasters were even more terrifying than wild beasts.
Lang Qing asked, "Who scolded you?"
Chen Liguo"s eyes were melancholic. He shook his head slightly.
Lang Qing said, "Tell me."
Chen Liguo still refused to say it.
Lang Qing was a little angry when he saw this. He guessed that there were a lot of people saying such things——Otherwise Chen Liguo would definitely complain about them one by one.
Lang Qing said, "Don"t be sad, there"s still me. They can"t hurt you."
Chen Liguo smiled bitterly.
The sun scorched the earth. For people who lived in places with temperatures below 30 degrees all year round, temperatures over 30 was a huge disaster.
No one in the tribe moved around anymore and everyone stayed in a ventilated place. A number of them did simple work.
Chen Liguo was roasting fish which was obtained by Lang Qing. The meat was delicious and there were no small bones. After roasting and sprinkling some salt on it, it tasted the same as Chen Liguo"s favorite salted dry fish.
Once the weather became hot Gunzi ran into the forest to escape from the heat, so Chen Liguo only had his little yellow bird who stared at him for company.
The bird wasn"t small anymore but it was still covered with yellow feathers. Its wings and body were all plump. It looked like it would taste very good if you roasted it…… Oh, that was wrong, it looked very cute.
This bird was very human-like. Everytime Chen Liguo roasted meat it came over to sell meng for Chen Liguo to give it a bone to nibble on.
Gunzi wasn"t around, so Chen Liguo generously gave half the fish to the bird.
The little bird rubbed its head against Chen Liguo while eating the fish. It probably learned these habits from Gunzi and acted cute like a cat.
With the hot winds, the smell of fish pervaded the air around Chen Liguo.
Because of Lang Qing"s regulation no one dared to speak ill of Chen Liguo to his face anymore. Even so, they still liked to quietly say things in private, for example, some people said that it was because of Chen Liguo that it didn"t rain for so long.
As a priest that could predict the weather Chen Liguo was naturally somewhat mysterious in everyone"s eyes. If he were an old man who was in his seventies or eighties it would be fine, but the problem was that he was beautiful and young, practically the perfect incarnation of the evil demons in bedtime stories.
With the addition of the priest"s deliberate propaganda Chen Liguo"s image was even further demonized in the eyes of the people.
Lang Qing wasn"t present these days. It was said that he went to look into the installation of irrigation works.
The most awesome thing about Fu Die wasn"t only that she knew a lot of things, but that she could transform that knowledge into productive capability.
Some people around Chen Liguo were once again beginning to curse him lowly. Chen Liguo"s ears perked up as soon as he heard those voices and he turned around to glare at them.
The person who was glared at by Chen Liguo immediately stopped talking.
If it were before then the old priest definitely would have brandished his cane and beat Chen Liguo but Lang Qing had put the priest in Fu Die"s tribe to spend some time.
Fu Die was not polite either. She put a lot of strange things before the priest and then very, very frankly said that these were G.o.d"s gifts. This G.o.d also said that Zhi Shui was a gift and she told him to be more careful. Provoking Zhi Shui was tantamount to provoking G.o.d.
The priest did not believe her but was shocked by the things before him, so his mind was tangled up for half a day before he determined that Zhi Shui must have bewitched G.o.d——Just as how he bewitched Lang Qing.
The person before him was as white as snow. His eyes were like the most expensive gems, his expression somewhat sullen. There was actually still a pile of firewood in front of him in this hard summer.
The more he looked at this person the more irksome he seemed. The priest thought to himself that only a demon spirit could stay so close to a fire on such a hot day.
Chen Liguo didn"t know what the priest was thinking. If he knew the he would probably smile coldly. After all, he was a man who would go eat hot pot even when it was 38 degrees. This thirty three degree weather was nothing but fart……
Lang Qing had not returned for many days now and the people of the tribe were getting restless.
The priest chanted an incantation to himself, as if he could cast the person out of his eyes by doing so.
Chen Liguo did not doubt the least that if something actually happened to Lang Qing again, then this group of people would not hesitate to chop him up.
Lang Qing finally came back another three days later. He returned with good news. He said that they found a new water source which would allow them to safely get through the summer.
This was good news. Everyone rejoiced but the old priest"s expression was somewhat cloudy.
Lang Qing told Chen Liguo, "Fu Die has made something new."
A little curious, Chen Liguo asked what.
Lang Qing said, "She called the thing cement."
Chen Liguo: "……"
Lang Qing said, "It"s very useful for repairing homes. This clay is very hard." As he said this he gently caressed Chen Liguo"s hair, his eyes showed a sliver of dejection.
Chen Liguo noticed Lang Qing"s strangeness and asked, "What"s wrong?"
Lang Qing said, "She wants to see you."
Chen Liguo seemed to understand Lang Qing"s meaning.
Lang Qing said, "Go on."
After this period of time Fu Die"s destiny completion degree finally pa.s.sed 90. It was still climbing higher slowly. What made her destiny completion degree increase seemed to her change from acting to thinking.
Fu Die seemed to be thinking about what path she should take and now she seemed to have grasped something in her mind.
When Fu Die saw Chen Liguo her first sentence was, "The economic foundation determines the superstructure; bread determines the thought." She hopefully looked at Chen Liguo, seeming to be waiting for his response.
However, Chen Liguo was destined to let Fu Die down. He revealed an ignorant expression and asked, "What?"
…… He really isn"t. Although it had been determined before, there was still an inkling of hope in Fu Die"s heart. She was once again disappointed but fortunately this disappointment was not big.
Fu Die sighed lightly and hugged Zhi Shui. She said, "Zhi Shui, how great would it be if you were."
Chen Liguo could sense a loneliness in Fu Die"s sigh. No one in this world could understand her and she was doomed to be alone.
Chen Liguo was lonely before too but now he wasn"t anymore. Now there was Lang Qing who could accompany him to act. Although they couldn"t talk about poetry and the philosophy of life, acting was still a very happy thing.
Fu Die said, "I think too much and do too little." She looked at Zhi Shui, melancholy in her eyes. "Sorry."
Chen Liguo said, "I can sense, you are special."
"Thank you." Fu Die knew that Zhi Shui had always been gentle and would never hold a grudge even if he were bullied and insulted——If Chen Liguo knew what Fu Die was thinking he would probably blush and say that he wasn"t that good ehehehehe.
Fu Die asked, "Is Lang Qing good to you?" The scene of Zhi Shui being bullied was always weighted heavily in her heart.
Chen Liguo smiled and nodded. He answered "So-so."
Fu Die smiled bitterly and said, "Lang Qing really is strange." She thought that Lang Qing would kill her when he came back but he didn"t. Not only did he not kill her but he also worked with her. Although the conditions were harsh they did not push her into a dead corner.
"I should like it here." Fu Die said. "After all, I have to stay here for a long time."
Chen Liguo deliberately showed an ignorant expression.
Fu Die smiled and said, "Zhi Shui, I really miss you." Her eyes saw through Zhi Shui and saw another person similar to him.
Not only his appearance, but even his character and spirit made Fu Die feel a sense of familiarity.
Chen Liguo finally understood why Lang Qing"s expression was strange when he let him come. As Fu Die spoke the progress bar above her head increased.
After so many years she finally put aside her heart"s desire to return to her original world and accepted the facts before her.
Chen Liguo heard the system say, "It"s almost full, do you want to say goodbye to Lang Qing?"
Chen Liguo asked with horror, "Why are you being so nice to me?"
The system coldly said, "Oh, then forget it."
Chen Liguo: "……"
The progress bar on top of Fu Die"s head was finally full. She said, "Now that I"ve gotten cement I can think over the blend"s proportion and then build large reservoirs. This way, summer won"t be so difficult."
Zhi Shui listened quietly.
Fu Die continued, "I don"t know if you understand what a reservoir is…… Alas, winter is too cold too. Fortunately, there"s coal, just carbon monoxide is a little dangerous."
She talked endlessly, giving all her knowledge to Zhi Shui without any reservations, not caring if he could understand her or not.
Zhi Shui leaned on her shoulder, seeming to have fallen asleep.
Fu Die thought that he was too tired and did not disturb him. It wasn"t until night came that Fu Die discovered Zhi Shui"s strangeness.
She called, "Zhi Shui?"
The person leaning against her softly fell into her arms.
Fu Die"s expression froze and her voice quivered. "Zhi Shui, what"s wrong?" She found that Zhi Shui"s skin was ice-cold.Then, with a trembling hand she moved her finger to feel for his breath.
There was none, there was no breath.
Fu Die felt like she was having a nightmare. Even during the sweltering summer her blood seemed to be frozen.
Fu Die said, "Zhi Shui, don"t scare me."
Zhi Shui couldn"t respond anymore. He lay in her arms, so beautiful, just like a painting.
Fu Die looked at Zhi Shui and didn"t even know what sort of expression she should make. She foolishly sat there until Lang Qing walked to her.
"Give him to me ba." Lang Qing seemed to have already guessed everything and said to Fu Die, "He"s gone."
"What do you mean gone?" Fu Die asked. "You knew that he would commit suicide?"
Lang Qing shook his head. He did not say anything and just took Zhi Shui from her arms.
Fu Die saw the tenderness in Lang Qing"s eyes.
She suspiciously asked, "Aren"t you sad at all?"
However, Lang Qing lowly smiled and said, "I am always with him."
Fu Die felt that Lang Qing was crazy. He, who saw Zhi Shui die really was crazy.
Lang Qing said, "Live on well, don"t let down Zhi Shui"s expectations of you." After he said that he turned and left.
Fu Die wanted to catch up to him but saw Lang Qing get on Gunzi"s back and vanish into the dense forest.
That was the last time Fu Die saw Lang Qing. She watched as his back was covered by the night and gradually fused with the darkness.
A few months after Lang Qing"s disappearance Fu Die took advantage of his absence and took over his tribe. When she did this, she thought, if Lang Qing came back would he fight with her again? Then this time, could she beat him?
However, even if she fought Lang Qing it seemed pointless. The person she wanted to take with her was already gone.
"Chief." Someone called Fu Die. "The thing you want is done."
Fu Die turned her head and saw a stone tablet. The words "Zhi Shui" were engraved into it.
"En." Fu Die said. "When someone leaves in the future, we"ll carve a stone tablet for them." She lowered her head and picked up Zhi Shui"s clothes. She planned on making a grave for Zhi Shui nearby.
When she went out she lifted her head and looked at the sky.
The sky here was a beautiful tender blue, just like a beautiful uncarved gem.
The grave was slowly built up with stones. Fu Die looked at the stone tablet, lowered her head and kissed the two words "Zhi Shui".
"Zhi Shui." Fu Die seemed to indistinctly feel something in her heart and sighed softly. She said, "I really don"t want to forget you……"
However, could she really withstand time? Would she one day see the tombstone in front of her but not remember what the words "Zhi Shui" meant to her?
Fu Die smiled bitterly and reached out to wipe away the dust on the tombstone. She said, "Zhi Shui, if I forget you, remind me in a dream okay?" She made such an agreement with Zhi Shui.
However, even until the day she died of old age, that appearance blurred away with time and never once appeared in her dreams.
The Author Has Something To Say:
Died serenely, moved ?
Thank you darlings for the mines, grenades, and rockets _(:з」∠)_.
StormFrost: Extra for this arc, will be named 119.2 and will be posted on Sat.u.r.day, February 8. It"s an unofficial alternate reality nsfw short extra with an M-preg warning. Please skip if you don"t think you want to read it!!!
On another note, we"re heading to the next arc! Arc 11: Pandora"s Box. It"s got 15 chapters XD and the first chapter will be posted on Tuesday, February 11! ＼(^▽^＠)ノ