The hunting captain Yonggang is over forty years old, his face is covered with rough and hard stubble, his skin is dark and rough. He pushed away the noisy crowd, strode to the leader Fusong, and exclaimed a long breath of white hot mist, his voice full of fatigue and depression: "This trip was not going well. We encountered the Rap Maned Bear, lost twelve people, Tianfeng and Xuping were seriously injured. No prey was found... The Rap Maned Bear this season is too strong, and we can't bring all the corpses back."

Following his guidance, Fusong, the leader of Panshi Village, focused his attention to the place where the hunting team had put down his prey before the hunting team. The dead white faces that had frozen into ice and covered with frost flowers all looked familiar to him. Next to the corpse, there were more than a dozen snow chickens and hares strung with ropes.

For some reason, Fusong suddenly remembered the crude house made of thick logs in the middle of the village. It was a warehouse that the clan usually used to store prey. The room was very large, and if it was properly placed, it would be enough to hold hundreds of bisons. However, on the prey rack made of thick wood, there were only a few dried snow frogs hanging in a mess, dozens of large loaches with black surfaces, and two wild roe deer that were frozen hard.

These are the only food left by more than 200 people in the tribe.

This winter came very early. The sudden heavy snow turned the whole world into white, and it completely cut off people's hope of survival.

I originally thought that before the snow-covered road was closed, the hunting team could bring back enough prey from the mountains. Now, it has taken the lives of twelve hunters.

The loss is huge. For hungry villagers, dead hunters are also food.

"Chief...what should we do?"

A voice that was obviously suppressed, with a bit of loss and pessimism slowly came from behind him.

Without looking back, Fusong knew that it was the elder witch move in charge of the witch sacrifice in the clan.

Not only Panshi Village, but also all the tribes of the northern barbarians, and all the wizards take "witch" as their surname, and their status is comparable to those of nobles, and they are much higher than ordinary tribes without surnames.

Although Fusong, as the leader, did not receive the gift from the patriarch, could not have a surname.

He shook his head helplessly and sighed: "...Tomorrow, take a few women and go to the south..."

Behind the ridge to the south is a large village with a population of nearly 1,000, with most of the members of the villages. They are strong and strong, and have more demands for women. In normal times, a woman can change to a bison or a few wild sheep there.

A beef has more meat than a person. Just to get enough, the transaction is worth it.

"This..." The old Wu Xing hesitated and did not answer for a long time.

He didn't understand what the leader Fusong meant. It was just that there were few prey this winter. Even if the large tribes in the south were numerous, there might not be much reserves in the cold. At that time, I was afraid that bartering people would not be able to be taken away by the other party. Maybe they would be slaughtered as food for the winter.

But what can I do if I don’t change it?

The hunting team brought back not much, and there was only a little bit of food stored in the warehouse, mixed with some grass roots and tree bark, which could barely last for a while. If there was no harvest in the past few days, the whole tribe would have to starve to death.

Or, eat each other by drawing lots until the weather is warm next year and the snow is melting.

Thinking of this, Wu Xing, who was nearly 70 years old, couldn't help but shiver. On his wrinkled cheeks, the atrophic muscles were also twitching slightly. If he could only spend the winter in this way, by next spring, there would probably be no more than one or two people in the tribe who could survive.

Winter has just begun, so you have to live by cannibalism. This is definitely not a good sign.

What to do next year?

Fu Song's eyes were full of bitterness and helplessness. He approached the stretcher surrounded by the crowd and issued a loud order: "Get out of the way, carry Tianfeng and Xuping into the house, they need to rest."

...

When the alerter made his first shout from the entrance of the village, Tianhao left the wooden house as fast as possible. He did not attract anyone's attention and quietly saw everything. The conversation between the hunting captain Yonggang, the leader Fusong, and the priest and witchcraft, could be heard clearly without missing a word.

Walking over, he lifted the stretcher from the ground with his second brother Tiankuang, and took the injured eldest brother Tianfeng back to the wooden house.

According to the standards of the civilized era, Tian Kuang, who was two meters tall, was a giant. He did not wear thick leather robes like other hunting team members, and only had a thin short-sleeved leather vest. The wheat-colored skin was tight, and the muscles as hard as steel were distributed on his arms. Although his physical fitness was strong, he could not resist the cold. As soon as he walked into the house, he immediately ran to the fire pit to sit down, stretched out his shaking arms, and enjoyed the long-lost warmth with a comfortable expression that had gradually melted on his face.

His leather robe was covered with Tianfeng. If he had not done so, Tianfeng, who was seriously injured and unable to move, would have been frozen to death.

Tianshuang, who was sleepy, stood up from the pile of animal skins and stumbled over. Seeing Tianfeng who was unconscious, her eyes were filled with fear. She bent her knees and knelt down next to the stretcher, and cried with a "wow": "Brother, what's wrong with you?"

Tian Kuang, who had just relaxed, was upset by the crying. He suddenly turned around in front of the fire pit and let out a deafening roar: "Don't cry! If you cry again, I will throw you out!"

The roar was loud, scaring Tianshuang, who was touching tears, also awakened Tianfeng who was unconscious, and groaned in pain.

Tianhao walked to Tianshuang, not so calm as to say he had no feelings: "Go, find Pingjun to get back our share of meat today."

Both of their parents were dead. Their skull was inserted into the wooden stake outside the door. The hunting team just returned, and Tianfeng, the eldest brother who was also the "head of ten people", was seriously injured again. There were so many eyes in the village to look at Tianshuang. Even if Pingjun wanted to attack her, she would not make a fool of herself. Now.

Watching Tianshuang push the door out, the cold air flow pouring in made Tian Kuang get closer to the fire pit. He glanced at his younger brother Tianhao, who was sitting in front of the stretcher, frowned, and asked in a muffled voice: "Do you have any food at home?"

"Wait! There will be some." Tianhao lowered his head and stared at his host elder brother Tianfeng who was parasitized.

He kept moaning, his arms were completely turned around, and the skin and muscles on the wound were black and purple, and he had already lost the softness he should have. This pain was unbearable, especially tearing and spraining. But when he saw Tian Hao, a very forced smile appeared in Tianfeng's eyes full of pain.

"...Brother...we met the violent maned bear. Those guys were very big, with several. Asheng and the others were slapped to death on the spot, even their heads were broken. I was slapped. If Uncle Yonggang had not been protecting him for his life, I would have probably not come back."

When Tian Kuang heard the words, he quickly turned around in front of the fire pit and knelt next to Tianfeng with great concern: "Brother, do you feel better?"

"It's very warm... it's much better when I get home." Tianfeng, twenty, comforted his younger brother, who was mature far beyond his actual age.

Tianshuang brought back half a piece of meat. She washed it with melted snow water, then put it on the fire and baked it slightly, burning off the hair on the surface, put it in a wide pot that was blackened by fireworks, and boiled it with water.

Although Panshi Village is not far from the ocean, it is difficult to get salt due to the climate and nearby terrain. Every household in the village has the same seasonings. No matter what ingredients are stewed, a little sea water will be added.

Tianhao sat down in front of the stretcher and quietly stared at Tianfeng's distorted face because of the pain. A light of thought flashed faintly in the depths of his pupils, he pursed his lips tightly, and said nothing.

There was a knock on the door outside.

A feeling of surprise arose in my mind. With doubts, Tianhao stood up and walked over. When he opened the door, he saw the old priest Wuxing and his eldest son Wu standing outside.

The behavior of "knocking the door"... searching the host's memory, the entire Panshi Village was probably only the priests who followed such etiquette.

Looking at Tianhao, the old priest's face sank. He did not hide the disgust in his eyes, and did not say anything. He walked directly past Tianhao and came straight to the stretcher.

Tiankuang and Tianshuang knelt respectfully and saluted. The priest was the most noble person in the village, even surpassing the leader Fusong. Those who could communicate with the gods were full of mystery and must be respected.

Wu Xing held a bowl of black liquid in his hand, which looked like a soup. He placed the bowl on the floor near Tianfeng's head, and sighed with a little pity and helplessness: "Drink this, it will make you feel more comfortable."

Tianfeng had difficulty speaking, so he could only nod his head weakly.

The burly Tian Kuang had his eyes full of respect. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily, his face full of excitement and indescribable expectations: "High priest, help my elder brother, please save him."

The old Wu Xing stared at the dying Tianfeng for a moment, stood up, turned around and walked towards the door in silence.

Tianhao stood in that position and did not move. When Wu Xing and his son left, he once again saw the eyes of the old priest. In addition to disgust, there was also deep disappointment in those eyes.

The broth in the pot was boiling. Tianshuang ran over and served a bowl with a wooden spoon. Although the meat was not rotten, the soup could be drunk. She felt that the injured elder brother Tianfeng now needed a bowl of hot broth, not the medicine sent by the high priest.

Only those who have truly experienced hunger will understand the torture. Even the strong Tiankuang has a good face. He has been sucking his nose hard, as if the fragrance in the air has a substance and can fill his empty stomach. Seeing his sister deliver the broth to his elder brother and carefully feed it into his mouth with a wooden spoon, Tiankuang felt that his stomach was screaming, but he had to endure the temptation and swallow his saliva.
Chapter completed!