Yuan River

Long, long ago, in a place very close to God, there was a tribe.In the tribe, the strong and thick round wooden stakes are firmly tied with hemp ropes, and three or two layers of thatch are laid on the top, forming a group of scattered nesting tents.

The Yuan River flows quietly by the side of the tribe.The river water is clear and soft, like a winding silk.At the corner of the Yuan River, there is a shallow river beach. The colored stones and fine sand at the bottom of the river are clearly visible, which is too beautiful to behold.

It's almost midnight, and the stars are shining brightly.The patriarch, the hunter, the old witch—the small tribe sleeps peacefully in the sound of slight snoring.In the empty field, there are cicadas in the air, and the autumn wind is rustling.

In the legend of the tribe, the source of the Yuan River lives in the Yuanshen—a wise and kind goddess.She is the patron saint of the tribe, warm and powerful like a mother.

At this moment, a small face of a boy dressed in animal skins was projected in the blue waves of the Yuan River.The boy was very handsome, with bright eyes like the docile eyes of some kind of herbivore.He squatted cautiously by the river, and slapped his bony hands into the water.

"Wow--" The water splashed like a shattered mirror.The boy scooped up a handful of water from the river to wash his face.

He can't sleep yet, because it's his turn to be on duty today.His name is Ache - the little wizard of the tribe, Ache.

"Autumn is here, it seems that the annual autumn hunting is about to begin." A Che looked at his reflection and muttered to himself.

He got up slowly, shook off the water on his hands, and turned to face the tribe.The large and small camps in the tribe have their own purposes.His eyes flicked over them, wandering, and finally fell on the yurt in the center of the tribe.

He nodded, tiptoed through the dark tribe under the starlight, came to the yurt, and stood there holding his breath.He looked around again and again, after confirming that he didn't disturb anyone, he let out a long breath, but his heart was still beating non-stop.

This yurt is a warehouse for storing the most important supplies of the tribe.Originally, this was a forbidden place that he could not set foot in on weekdays.It's just that there is no one around now, he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, stretched out his hand and gently opened the door curtain, retracted his head and quickly got in.

You can't see your fingers in the yurt, and all kinds of objects and curtains on all sides are quietly hidden in the blackness like thick ink, shrouded in an unfathomable solemn mystery.A Che blinked vigorously, slowly getting used to the light in the tent.In the depths of the yurt, some kind of faint and gloomy cold light was reflected, which seemed to come from some kind of smooth stone surface.

Ache carefully moved closer to the light source, and now he saw what was going on——

stone spear.The stone spear of Li Bin, the "God of War" in the tribe.In Qiushou two years ago, Li Bin used it to ruthlessly pierce the heart of an adult saber-toothed tiger.To this day, there are still dark red mottled blood stains on the spearhead, as if it is still telling the most primitive thrill of the year.

Ache stretched out his hand to caress the spearhead, and then let his fingertips slide slowly over the spear handle.When it reached a third of the way, he gripped the spear tightly and pulled it out from the stone stand with all his strength. Then, with all his strength, he resolutely inserted the spear into the dry mud under his feet.

The spearhead pierced the ground more than an inch, and it seemed like a killing momentum, like the baptism that the stone spear had experienced in countless springs, autumns, winters and summers.

hunting.This is the sacrifice and glory of every man in the tribe, the vision and passion of every boy.This has been the case since ancient times, and it will be the same in the future.

It's a pity that Ah Che didn't have such an opportunity, he was born without such an opportunity.He is the god-given orphan from the upper reaches of the Yuan River, and the guardian wizard of the tribe.Every autumn solstice, when the hunters are fully armed and embark on the journey, he can't participate in it, he can only watch their backs, and then do blessings for them from a distance.

Can't, doesn't mean don't want to.How many nights, how many dreams, the dream of young and passionate heartstrings.

"The boy is so determined."

A Che's immature fingertips slowly slid over the rough and uneven handle of the spear. He concentrated on feeling the hard texture and imagining the majesty of Li Bin holding the spear.Finally, he sighed and returned the stone spear to its original place.

The melodious and long sound of the bone flute comes slowly, passing through the whole tribe, like a breeze sweeping over a silver bell, and an elf stepping on a stream, from far to near, lingering around beams, gradually becoming clear and ethereal.

A Che was slightly taken aback, this was a tune he was familiar with.He exited the yurt as if he had realized something, and rushed to the bank of the Yuan River.

As expected, a woman in white arrived as scheduled.She stood by the river, with her back to Ah Che, Ah Che could only see that she had a plump figure and long hair reaching to her waist. The most astonishing thing was the clothes on her body, the plain white fabric was as thin as a cicada's wings, and the sleeves were flying.

"Mother God." Ache asked tentatively.

The woman turned around, with bright eyes and bright teeth, a slender waist and small steps, her white and flawless oval face smiling like a flower.

She approached step by step, looked up and down A Che with concern: "A Che, you have lost weight, how are you doing recently?"

"Mother God, Qiushou is coming soon. I have to be busy helping the old witch prepare rituals."

"But, boy, you look preoccupied today, what happened?"

"Autumn hunting is very dangerous. It's extremely cold this year, and the snow is much thicker. I'm worried about the hunters, will there be any accidents."

"But you are skilled in witchcraft. As long as you sincerely bless them day and night, I think they will be safe. And I will try my best to protect them. So don't worry."

"Well, that's good." A Che gently looked down at the ground, he was still restless, for some reason.

"You want to participate in the autumn hunt, don't you?" Yuanshen asked suddenly.

"Ah? What? Is it okay?" A Che was overjoyed.

"No." Yuanshen replied firmly.

"Oh."

"As you said, hunting is very dangerous. Hunters are often in danger. You are a wizard, so you don't have to participate in hunting. This is your blessing. In the future, you will surely live a long life like the old witch."

A Che fixedly stared at the woman in front of him.She is not always by her child's side like other mothers, but she is always there when he needs her.For countless days in the past, he obeyed her.But now, he suddenly felt dissatisfied: "Mom, if you are unhappy as a human being, what's the use of being immortal like a god?"

"Are you unhappy?" Primordial Spirit Liu frowned slightly.

"I do not know."

"Listen, kid: Although you can't go hunting, you are destined to have many important things in your life waiting for you to accomplish."

"really?"

"With righteousness." Yuanshen solemnly made two gestures on his chest, indicating that this was a prophecy.

Ah Che nodded and agreed, not as wronged as before.

"Son, there is one more thing. This year's Qiushou, I'm afraid you will have to complete the blessing alone." Yuanshen hesitated and added.

"Huh? Why?"

"Old witch - he will return to the source of the Yuan River soon."

"You mean, his illness—"

"Good boy, go and see him."

Ah Che was startled, and before he had time to say goodbye, he turned around and ran away.He made his way through the whole tribe to the gray witch's tent in the corner, and broke into it impatiently.The lights in the tent were dim, and the main lamp was dying, so the stars came to the window.On the stone couch in the tent, the old witch was lying down with a haggard appearance, motionless, without a trace of life.

"Old Witch!" Ache knelt down and walked to the side of the stone couch, his heart felt like a knife.

"Ache, you are here, listen to me..." The old witch barely opened his eyes when he heard Ache's call.

"Hmm..." Ah Che's tears welled up in his eyes.For him, it was more confusion than sadness.At the very beginning, the old man in front of him carried him back from the Yuan River, raised him, and taught him witchcraft.The two are also teachers and friends, and they have depended on each other for years.If something happened to the old witch this time, what should Ah Che do?

"Child, wait until dawn. You go to the hidden talisman cave. There are very important things recorded with the engraved talisman I taught you. Go and have a look," the old witch breathed with thick phlegm stuck in his throat. It wasn't very smooth either, he struggled to spit out words one by one, and stopped from time to time to cough fiercely, "The so-called Zangfu Point goes back along the Yuan River, bypassing three dangerous bays, and it's where the willows are dark and the flowers are bright."

"Well, I remember." Ah Che's words were choked with sobs.In any case, Ah Che always obeyed what the old witch told him.As it was before, so it is now.

"It's almost dawn, pack up and get ready to go. Don't look for me in the future. I have my own way to go. I want to go to the source of the Yuan River alone." After speaking, the old witch closed his eyes again.

Ah Che burst into tears like rain, and was at a loss for what to do for a moment.He stood up numbly, took his dry food from the other side of the witch tent, packed it up, and set out upstream.

Before leaving, he looked back at the tribe who was still sleeping.This was the first time he had left the tribe, or in other words, this was the first time he had left the old witch's asylum.He had never heard of a hidden talisman cave outside the tribe, but he had to go alone.

Along the way, the water flow of the Yuan River became much faster, like a lively deer walking through the mountains and forests, polishing the rocks in the stream smooth and making a rattling sound.Ah Che's heavy mood eased slightly.

A weedy hole suddenly appeared on the opposite bank, and the desolate atmosphere seemed to have been waiting for visitors for thousands of years.

Archer carefully felt the stones across the river and came to the entrance of the cave.The light in the cave is dim.Ache took out a torch from his bag and lit it, and looked around. There were gray and white engraved symbols on one rock wall, describing every detail from ancient times to the present.

He moved the torch closer to the rock wall with the engraved talisman, and read out the above content word by word: "The source of Yuanhe, the place of Yuanshen. The first escape from Hongmeng, protect our tribe. The current patriarch Li Hong, son of Li Qu, Li Hong has two sons and a daughter, Li Bin and Li Che are descendants of the late Xiang family, and Li Xin is descended from the Mi family."

Huh?Ah Che thought to himself, it is true that there are Li Bin and Li Xin in the tribe, but who is Li Che?I have never heard of the patriarch having such a son.

A Che held up the torch and searched around resolutely, but there were no other engraved talismans.All kinds of doubts came to mind.Where did the patriarch's father come from, was it created by the primordial spirit?And who left these engraved symbols, old witch?However, why didn't the old witch tell him the content of the inscription directly when he was dying, but asked him to find it all the way?

The more Ah Che thought about it, the more confused he became, so he had to silently write down the written content and return to the tribe the same way.