Chapter 26: Youchao

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The silt that reached his chest initially still felt okay. However, as time passed, it made breathing difficult, and his legs also became numb from standing.

The saber-toothed tiger next to the swamp had teeth that were around 20 centimeters long sticking out of its mouth. They were razor-sharp. The saber-toothed tiger paced by the side of the swamp pit for a while before turning around. It went to tear up and consume the carcass next to the swamp pit with its companion.

After more than an hour, the corpse was reduced to a pile of bones. The two saber-toothed tigers finally disappeared into the undergrowth without a trace.

Xia Ping’an, who was stuck in the swamp pit, waited for a while longer. After he suspected that the two saber-toothed tigers had already gone, Xia Ping’an said to the other two people, “You two wait here. I’ll go take a look first.”

The two of them nodded. Xia Ping’an slowly walked toward the edge of the swamp pit. When he reached the edge, he picked up two stones and threw them far into the undergrowth. He observed for a while. When he discovered that the saber-toothed tigers were indeed not lying in ambush, only then did he climb onto shore.

His entire body below his neck was covered in mud. Aside from mud, he had nothing on him at all, not even clothes.

Recalling the period Youchao was living in, Xia Ping’an could only accept his current appearance.

After igniting the divine fire, Xia Ping’an began to understand that his current role should be that of Youchao. In other words, he was now taking up the historical calling of Youchao.

When the other two fellows saw Xia Ping’an climb onto shore, they followed him and came out of the mud pit. However, after they left the mud pit, they squatted down and picked up some mud from the pit. They then applied the mud on their face, head, and neck. They rubbed mud all over their bodies, leaving only their eyes, mouths, and noses clean.

Xia Ping’an was aware of the reason behind these ancient humans’ behavior. In the era when clothes were still not a thing, applying mud all over their bodies could save them from being bitten by bugs. Besides that, when they were in the forest, the mud could help to cover their body odor so that they would not be discovered by beasts. Xia Ping’an copied them and applied mud on his body too.

The three of them approached the gory pile of flesh and bones. The other two people wailed as they cried, “Ah Da is dead.”

The deceased was named Ah Da. He was their companion and friend.

The ancient humans in this era had no names. They addressed each other with simple designations.

Just now, the three of them witnessed how Ah Da became food for the beasts.

Xia Ping’an sighed and said, “Let us bury him in the ground. We should not let his corpse be exposed in the forest and once again become food for the bugs.”

Xia Ping’an got to work while recalling all the historical records related to Youchao. Youchao was one of the forebearers of Huaxia civilization. His position in Huaxia history was extraordinary. He was one of the important figures who established Huaxia civilization.

Youchao’s deeds and contributions were recorded in various historical manuscripts, including “Records of the Grand Historian: The Memoirs of the Three Emperors,” “Zhuangzi: The Memoirs of Dao Zhi,” “Han Fei Tzu: The Five Vermins,” “Records of Pre-Qin Dynasty,” and “Readings of the Taiping Era.”

There were many legends related to Youchao’s contributions. In some legends, Youchao was the first person to introduce and encourage burial among the Huaxia people. Burial served as a method to uphold the dignity of the deceased.

The other two guys stared at Xia Ping’an, puzzled. It was because nobody had ever done this before. In the past, when someone from the tribe died, they were disposed of wherever they lost their lives. The body of a dead human was no different from that of a beast.

Xia Ping’an didn’t explain anything either. He used his spear and hands to dig a hole nearby. He would walk his talk.

Even though danger was lurking in the forest and the two saber-toothed tigers might come back at any moment, Xia Ping’an still insisted to bury the corpse of the man, which had been torn apart.

The ground in the forest was soft. Soon, Xia Ping’an managed to dig a small hole. The other two fellows immediately understood what he was trying to do. They joined him in digging. With the three of them working together, a hole big enough to bury a person was formed in a short while.

Next, Xia Ping’an picked up some remaining pieces of the corpse and put them into the hole. The other two people also followed suit and collected the bones and flesh scattered on the ground.

After all the pieces were placed into the hole, Xia Ping’an covered it with earth.

The two fellows who worked together with Xia Ping’an noticed that their own mood had improved after they buried their companion.

Not far away from where they were, there was a broken spear on the ground. It was the weapon used by the deceased. Xia Ping’an picked it up and stabbed it in front of the grave.

The other two fellows collected some acorns that were scattered on the ground and the stone tools that they dropped just now.

Then, Xia Ping’an followed them, and they returned to the cave where the tribe resided.

Along the way, they could hear bugs buzzing, birds chirping, and beasts roaring. They had to proceed with caution.

On their return trip, Xia Ping’an noticed that there was taro growing by the side of the road. The leaves were huge, and there were also plenty of other types of weeds. He paused in his tracks and used his stone tool to harvest a few taro leaves. He then strung the taro leaves together using the stem of an herbaceous plant. He had made himself a garment made of leaves. It could cover his private parts.

When the other two fellows saw what he did, they were both curious and envious of him. Xia Ping’an taught them how to make clothes using leaves to cover their bodies.

After walking for more than an hour in the forest, the three of them finally returned to the cave inhabited by the tribe. They carried the acorns with them.

More than a thousand people were living in the cave. There was no fire, and everyone was naked. They ate raw meat and drank fresh blood. Everyone shared the beasts that they hunted and the nuts and fruits that they gathered.

During the day, everyone ventured out to look for food. When night came, they returned to the cave and slept at random spots in the cave.

When Ah Da’s family members received news of him being killed by a beast, they wailed in agony.

However, this occurrence was not rare for the tribesmen. Even though everyone moved cautiously, there were always people who ended up being the food for the beasts once in a while.

Some of them were sorrowful. However, many of them, men and women alike, were attracted by Xia Ping’an’s outfit. They couldn’t help but approach him to have a closer look at it. The crowd touched Xia Ping’an and the other two fellows to feel what they were wearing. Xia Ping’an instructed the crowd to collect some leaves and vines. Then, he taught them how to make clothes using the materials.

At night, Xia Ping’an ate a few acorns and a little bit of freshly sliced raw elk meat. Then, he curled himself up and spent a cold, sleepless night in the cave.

The next day, more and more people were dressed in leaves. They followed Xia Ping’an’s example. They realized that it was indeed better for them to be covered.

Xia Ping’an gathered his two companions from yesterday. He told them, “It’s not safe for us to live in the cave. Poisonous snakes and bugs can kill us too. We need to learn from the birds and build our nests in the trees. That way, we can protect ourselves from those snakes and bugs and we can have a comfortable spot to sleep.”

His two companions felt that what Xia Ping’an said was true. However, they didn’t know how to build a nest in trees like the birds.

Xia Ping’an said, “I know how to build a nest, but I need your help. You just need to listen to my instructions.”

The two companions nodded.

After successfully recruiting two helpers, Xia Ping’an found a big tree with luxuriant foliage near the cave. He would begin building his first wooden nest here.

The rest had no idea what Xia Ping’an was up to. However, the two fellows who went to gather fruits with Xia Ping’an yesterday were very obedient. They became his helpers.

Xia Ping’an instructed them to chop some branches using their stone tools. Each branch should have a diameter of a human’s arm. Xia Ping’an went and found some vines. He peeled the vines and used them to make simple ropes.

There were no nails in this era. Hence, to build a nest in the tree, they could only secure it with vines and ropes.

The tribesmen knew that Xia Ping’an was busy with something. They were very curious as to what he was up to, but they had no idea. The wooden nest that Xia Ping’an planned to build in between two big tree branches was slowly taking form.

Xia Ping’an used the three-way split in the center of the tree trunk as the support pillar. He then overlapped the branches that they had chopped and secured them to the tree trunk using the vine ropes. It gradually formed a small space.

He stuffed the gaps between the branches and the tree trunk with dried grass. He then smeared them with mud to seal them up. After that, he then used wild taro leaves and reeds woven together to cover the top of the nest. The inside of the nest was also layered with some warm quilts woven from dry grass.

After three days of hard labor, a simple, crude, and small nest that could barely fit three people inside to sleep was completed.

This nest appeared crude in Xia Ping’an eyes. It was like a child’s plaything. However, in the eyes of the cavemen, this nest was equivalent to a luxurious mansion.

Once the nest was completed, the cavemen discovered that three people could sleep lying down in the nest Xia Ping’an built. They no longer needed to sleep in the cave. It could also shelter them from the elements and keep out insects and snakes. Everyone who lived in the cave was in an uproar. They came over to take a look at the nests. All of them were envious and impressed.

Everyone wanted such a comfortable nest as they would no longer need to sleep in the cave. However, they did not know how to build one. Naturally, Xia Ping’an began giving the crowd instructions. He began to teach the crowd how to select the trunks, weave the vine ropes, and chop the tree branches. He taught them how to use the branches and the vine ropes to slowly construct the nests on the tree trunks as well as how to seal off the gaps in the nests with mud and grass.

Now, Xia Ping’an was Youchao. He was slowly teaching the tribesmen how to build nests and live in trees.

The days passed. The whole tribe built more and more nests in trees. Unknowingly, Xia Ping’an became the most prestigious person in the entire tribe. Everyone obeyed his commands.

These past few days, some tribesmen hunted elk and bison. Xia Ping’an also taught them how to use stone chips to slowly cut beast skin. After cleaning off the fat from beast skin, he used ash and the powder from making stone tools to soak, tan, and dry the beast skin. In the end, he cut up the beast skin to make swaddling clothes to keep the infants of the tribe warm and clothes to warm and cover up the adults.

An elder in the tribe died. Before this, the elders who died would simply be thrown into the forest. However, Xia Ping’an instructed the members of the tribe to dig up a pit and bury the dead person underground. He even arranged a funeral ceremony, no longer letting the dead to be simply thrown aside and decay in the wilderness.

After he realized that he had prestige and that everyone listened to him, Xia Ping’an began to arrange to train the youth in the tribe to use their wooden spears as javelins by throwing them. He taught them to hurl them at prey to hunt instead.

A single person throwing a wooden spear would not necessarily deliver a fatal blow to the target. However, if dozens or even hundreds of people came together, coordinated and divided up the labor, the efficiency and success rate of hunting would greatly increase. No matter how ferocious the beasts, when faced with men who were organized and had tools, they could only become food.

The people in Xia Ping’an’s tribe gradually moved into the nests. They began to wear beast skins and leaves to cover themselves up. The amount of prey that they managed to hunt also increased. The quality of life for the entire tribe was greatly improved and garnered a huge reputation.

Two months later, the surrounding small tribes began to come over and learn how to construct nests from Xia Ping’an. They also learned how to make clothes from beast skins and how to weave hay and cypress straw into duvets.

The people in the tribe began to call Xia Ping’an Youchao.

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