Yuan River

"Well, take a good rest first, I'm going over there to organize the distribution of food now," Li Bin said, turning around and returning to the side of the piled up prey, he took the wooden frame, and carefully placed the prey one by one with a thick rope hang up.

He pointed to several hunters beside him, and said loudly in an unquestionable tone, "You two, come and hold the prey; you three, come and cut between the legs and ribs with gravel slices, and be careful of yourself Keep your distance from the gravel to avoid injury."

Under Li Bin's command, everyone performed their duties.Everyone quickly cut off the legs and ribs of various prey, removed the entire hind leg, then cut between the shoulder blade and the back, removed the front leg, and finally divided the prey's torso into small pieces and moved them to large gravels to dry.

In just half a day's work, all kinds of huge prey have been processed into small pieces of raw meat in an orderly manner.Li Bin walked back and forth calmly, inspecting the fruits of everyone's labor, and happily gave everyone high-fives: "Everyone has worked hard, and you have done a good job. Now, we have enough reserves, and you don't have to worry about winter food anymore. I Announcing that a bonfire party will be held tonight to celebrate this rewarding return! I hope everyone will have a good time then.”

Li Bin turned around seemingly casually, his firm gaze swept across the crowd, and quietly landed on A Che who was on the edge of the tribe, his pupils had a gentle background: "A Che, there is a bonfire party tonight. You go and get ready. "

Hearing this, Ah Che nodded slightly as a signal.He passed through most of the tribe and came to the yurt in the center of the tribe.

This is the first time he has been allowed to enter here aboveboard.In the past, only the patriarch, Li Bin, and the old witch were eligible to enter the reserve area.As for Ah Che, he had no choice but to take advantage of the dead of night when he was on duty, and sneak in to get a better understanding.However, the old witch is no longer there, and today is not what it used to be. As the only wizard in the tribe, Ache takes this opportunity to formally take over the secret yurt.

He lifted the curtain and got in.For a moment, memories surged, which made him feel mixed and filled with emotions.If possible, he would rather give up the privilege in exchange for the old witch to go home.However, after all, it can only be thought about.

The top and bottom of the yurt are flat and stable, and it is the largest camp of the tribe.At a glance, there are clear layers inside, displaying spears, stone tools, bone xun, mica, ginseng, dried meat and bamboo poles...everything that should be there is everything, just like a treasure house full of beautiful things.

Ache turned around a few times in the inner space under the dome of the yurt, as if he wanted to take a good look at the items stored there.Then, he came to the corner unhurriedly, picked up four bamboo poles from the stacked bamboo poles, and took another bundle of thick ropes.

He walked out of the yurt and came to the bank of the endlessly flowing Yuan River.He tied the upper ends of the bamboo poles together with thick ropes, stretched the lower ends of the bamboo poles outward, and set up a four-legged stand by the river.Then, he went to the forest upstream of the tribe, picked a large pile of dead branches and leaves, and put them under the tripod.

In the evening, the sky is different, and the sun and the moon shine together.On the west side of the bushes is the falling scorched sun; on the east side of the wilderness is the rising full moon.Warm red and bright silver alternately smear the earth, and the forests, Yuan River, and tribes are dreamlike, as if covered with a large veil, which is incredible like a fairy tale.

The breeze blew, and the fallen leaves of the golden forest fluttered, as if solemnly welcoming the return of all animals to their nests and the return of all birds to the forest.The neighing and thumping of birds and beasts echoed each other, announcing the arrival of late autumn.

People stopped their work one after another, looked up, and talked a lot.The sun and the moon are in the sky, illuminating the earth, which is a rare auspicious sign.

"When I grew up, it was the first time I saw both the sun and the moon in the sky."

"You don't understand, do you? My grandfather has seen it. The year he saw it, the weather was smooth and there was no disease or disaster."

"This is the announcement from Yuanshen to the tribe! With her protection, everyone can spend the winter with peace of mind!"

……

The patriarch chewed a piece of jerky, squinted one eye, and sat by the river thoughtfully.He also saw the sky, but he said nothing.

He stood up as if making up his mind, and went to the yurt to fetch two flints for lighting the fire.Then, he found Li Bin, solemnly stuffed the flint into Li Bin's hand, turned to face the crowd, and announced loudly: "The weather is right. The location is right. The people are harmonious. Let's start the bonfire party!"

"Father, isn't Ah Che responsible for starting the fire?" Li Bin expressed his confusion.

"Tonight is just a party and no sacrifices will be held, so there is no need for him." The patriarch's dark eyes were as deep as obsidian, bottomless and unpredictable.

Li Bin hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.He squeezed the flint tightly, savoring the tingle in his palm from the uneven surface.

Flint, struck to light a fire.Li Bin really didn't understand how the crimson flame was hidden in its light gray silicon.How did Ah Che transform water and fire in the palm of his hand?Can he commune with God as long as the fire burns earth-shatteringly?Was he really the Son of God?

The old sacrificial fire was burned out, and new combustibles were quietly piled up under the four-legged bamboo stand, as if waiting to be ignited.

Li Bin walked slowly to the side of the tripod and squatted down, looked directly at the flint in his hand, rubbed it sharply, and the flames splashed everywhere.Li Bin quickly threw them into the pile of dead leaves.A few dead leaves floated up under the force, but there was no sign of burning.

"Don't use too much force, but move faster." Ache also came to the tripod at some point, and patiently pointed out the problem.

"Brother, why don't you come"

"It's up to you. After all, you are the head hunter. Everyone is watching."

Li Bin gritted his teeth, quickly rubbed the two pieces of flint against each other, and moved closer to the dead leaves.In an instant, all the dead leaves were ignited, and thick smoke billowed.

Li Bin was in a trance for a moment.Since he also rubbed out a magnificent flame, does it mean that he has also maintained the path of spirituality?

God, where are you?What colors do you decorate, what words do you utter?Your eternity and antiquity make me so small.So let me feel you, let me hear you.You will give me - what sacred instruction?

silence.No one answered except for the crackling of the flames.

"Oh, I'm not him after all. He's a wizard." Li Bin muttered to himself in a daze, unwilling to raise his eyes to look at Ah Che in front of him, but his pure and clean face appeared in his mind, as if he had been captured by Yuan Yuan. The river water has been washed in general.

"Okay. I announce that the bonfire party has officially begun!" Li Bin restrained his wandering thoughts, stood up and shouted at the crowd, as unspoken as usual, "Everyone gather immediately and sit in a circle around the bonfire."

After the guests and hosts were seated, the routine program of the bonfire party kicked off.

Li Bin took out his six-hole bone xun from his pocket familiarly, lifted it to his lips, and breathed out gently.The bone xun emits a full and mellow long sound, with an ethereal artistic conception.It was as if a young man was gently stirring the surface of the river, trying to play in the water.

Li Bin nodded humbly, and a series of leisurely notes slipped out from the ancient xun, and the way was as long as a lifetime.Gradually, the tone is raised, the style of the song is excited, the voices overlap, and the changes are endless, like a sudden rain, like an iron ride.

Wherever Li Xinxing came, he carefully took off his pair of animal leather boots, his slender feet were like a pair of pure white pigeons, and like two white flowers dancing on a hibiscus tree.

Following the rhythm played by Li Bin, she danced selflessly by the campfire.Between jumping and jumping, every inch of the body is driven to change vividly.The heaven and the earth are amazing, and they are deeply touching.

"Haha, let's dance together." Li Xin said happily, and jumped up to Ah Che with a smile on her face, putting her hands on his shoulders.

Ache was overwhelmed by the flattery, and only felt the soft coolness from Li Xin's hands, which was refreshing.Ache couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.

Everyone got up at the same time, imitating Li Xin, put their hands on the shoulders of the person in front one by one, and danced forward in the same direction, with various gestures.If God looks down from a high altitude, what he sees is a great circle formed by people, full of joy of harvest.

Li Bin's long notes were replaced by short notes, blowing, shaking, spitting, and trembling. For a while, the rhythm was passionate, with hills and valleys in his chest, and thousands of arrows were fired, like a bursting bonfire, igniting the emotions of everyone present.The crowd sang and danced, and sang in chorus:

"The sun sets and the western mountains turn dark, and every house closes the door. Magpies and ravens rush to the forest, and house sparrows fly to the eaves. The five-clawed golden dragon returns to the North Sea, and the thousand-year-old king returns to the beach..."

Since the bonfire party does not need to dance witch dances, Ache is less stressed and anxious than usual, and completely relaxed.He danced and danced to the music with great joy.Li Xin followed behind him, couldn't help giggling: "Ache, your dance still looks very similar to the witch dance in Wu Zhushi, it's so interesting."

"Is that a good dance?" Ah Che turned around and asked.

"It's beautiful, it's really beautiful, it's very distinctive."

Li Bin played with all his attention, and his handsome face was full of tenderness.As long as it is to make the people of the tribe happy, he is willing to do his best and enjoy it.

After the song stopped, Li Bin put away the bone xun and began to speak with great satisfaction: "This hunting has yielded a lot, thanks to everyone's concerted efforts. I believe that as long as we are united as one, we will surely be able to achieve great success and win every victory in the future." .

The hunters got excited and applauded after being commended.

"Brothers have been serving the hunter for the rest of their lives!"

"It's the hunter who commands well!"

"Wait next spring, let's do it again!"

……

After listening to everyone's remarks with a slight smile, Li Bin raised his eyebrows: "Everyone who contributes deserves credit. For this harvest, we should also be sincerely grateful to one person. That is—Ache. He sacrificed continuously all by himself. There are more than seven days, so that we will be auspicious and unscathed."

"Well said, Ah Che is a good guy."

"Brother Ache, thank you for your hard work."

"The old witch is gone, we will all count on Ah Che from now on."

……

Li Bin solemnly walked up to Ah Che in front of everyone, "Ah Che, do you have any wishes for me? In order to express my gratitude, as long as I can, I will do my best."

"Ah...no need," Ah Che hesitated, "Those are all what I should do."

"Don't worry, as the leader of the hunter, I promise a thousand gold. Brother, if you have any wishes, just ask."

"Then... I want to learn to hunt." A Che summoned up his courage.