Cuijue Slope, Black Hilichurl Tribe.
Gurgle gurgle…
On the open ground stood an enormous iron pot. Water boiled inside, sending up thick, steamy clouds.
Several scrawny Hilichurls—round-headed and covered in beige fuzz—circled the pot.
"Mita! (Meat!)"
Behind them, a short Geo Hilichurl Shaman leaned on a stone staff and called out in a low voice.
"Mosi! (Eat!)"
At the command, the Hilichurls cheered and dashed toward a rickety granary where their "prey" lay.
The prey was a humanoid monster they'd found on the plains—perhaps dead from a fall, for it hadn't moved in hours.
Meat! Good meat!
One eager Hilichurl ran ahead. As it drew near, the "prey" suddenly opened his eyes.
"Mimi Mosi ye! (We're going to eat you!)"
It howled, tightening its fists to show off dark, knotted muscles.
Bound tight with hemp rope, Gu Baizhou lay on the ground, frowning faintly.
Oddly enough, he could almost understand the creature's words.He was a transmigrator—there was no reason he should know their language.
What now?
Dragged inch by inch across the dirt, Gu Baizhou's heart pounded with panic. He struggled, but the rope was strong and expertly tied.
"Fresh meat!" the Hilichurl hauling him cried with delight.
Damn it—why?!
Gu Baizhou thrashed harder, face flushed, arms aching from the cords' bite.Still, he was pulled along like a lamb to slaughter, toward the giant boiling pot.
Hiss…Steam from the fire licked his face, a scalding warning.
If they threw him in, he'd be cooked in seconds.
What to do? What to do? What to do?
Naa naa naa…
The Geo Shaman in a one-horned smiling mask danced forward, stone staff raised.
"Olah Mita. (Hello, meat.)"
At that moment a burst of dazzling data flooded Gu Baizhou's mind:
Level UpHilichurl Language Lv 1 → Lv 2EXP to next: 0/10
The translucent screen vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Hello!" Gu Baizhou gasped, speaking halting Hilichurlian."You can't eat me. Humans are vengeful creatures!"
The shaman froze mid-dance.The other Hilichurls also stopped in surprise.
Seeing an opening, Gu Baizhou pressed on:"If you eat me and I disappear, my companions will come looking. Your tribe will face disaster."
"We… have no food."The shaman's single bright eye fixed on him. Its old voice rasped:"You humans took all the plants, all the good meat."
"I can teach you how to get food," Gu Baizhou said quickly, seizing the lifeline.
The shaman fell silent, thinking.
"You should believe me. Eat me and it's over. But if you learn my method, you'll have food forever!" Gu Baizhou's heart hammered."I know your language because I love Hilichurls. I've studied for years to talk with you. I'm far more trustworthy than other humans!"
The Hilichurls murmured among themselves:
"First time… hearing human speak… our words.""Can we trust him?""Meat! Eat! Good!"
Their low intelligence left them swayed but undecided.They waited for the elder's judgment, hunger gnawing but discipline holding.
Seconds stretched like ages as Gu Baizhou's pulse raced.
Tap.The stone staff touched earth. The shaman finally spoke:"How… teach us… to hunt?"
Forty tense seconds had felt like forever.
"Fishing," Gu Baizhou said, regaining composure."Use plant fiber to weave nets or make fishing lines. I can show you."
He actually knew nothing about making rods or nets—but he had to prove himself fast.Farming was impossible here: no fruit trees, no game. Fishing was the only bet.
In his mind, glowing text updated:
+1 Hilichurl Language EXPHilichurl Language Lv 2: 3/10
He would figure out nets and rods on the fly.
After a pause, the shaman nodded. "Good."
Several Hilichurls grabbed torches, entering a sort of guard stance. One scurried over to untie him.
"We believe," the masked elder said. "Speaker of our tongue—very good."
Freed at last, Gu Baizhou exhaled in relief, though the circle of torch-bearing, meter-and-a-half-tall Hilichurls still kept him on edge.
His speech grew more fluent:"Let's cut plant stalks for rope and weave a fishing net."
"Yo dada! (You're awesome!)" the shaman cried.
"Meat awesome!" another echoed.
Bonk!The shaman rapped that one on the head with his staff, then turned to Gu Baizhou. "Follow me."
Under their escort, Gu Baizhou observed the village:a fenced compound with two timber-plank huts—empty inside. Counting the shaman, only seven Hilichurls lived here.
"After fishing fills your stomachs," he ventured,"would you like to learn farming?"
Not out of pity—he simply saw cheap labor.Teach them to farm, harvest crops, sell produce in the city for Mora:zero cost, high profit.
"Farming?" The shaman tilted his head. "Plant food… not tasty."
"But fish and animals will dwindle if you only hunt," Gu Baizhou reasoned."Farming means self-sufficiency. With potatoes in your huts and land all around, you can grow food—and trade surplus crops for meat."
"Meat! Awesome!" a Hilichurl shouted.
The shaman, persuaded, declared:"Meat is awesome! We will learn!"
Plan successful!
Gu Baizhou smiled brightly through the dust on his handsome face—handsome for a human, at least.
"First, let's measure the river's width to weave the net," he said, gathering plant stalks as they walked to the mountain-foot river.