Humanoid Flame

Due to walking too much during the day, the pain in his left leg worsened, and Wu Dongfang did not sleep soundly at night. He was awakened in the early hours of the morning by strange sounds coming from outside.

The strange sounds continued after he woke up. They seemed to be coming from a large animal, somewhat like the mooing of a cow but heavier and more piercing. The source of the sound should be in a river valley to the southeast, somewhere downstream from where he had been resting and healing.Wu Dongfang had never heard such a sound before. Judging by the sound, the animal should be extremely large in size. Furthermore, the sound was mixed with pain and anger, indicating that it was in a struggle with something.Filled with curiosity, Wu Dongfang limped out of the cave with a makeshift crutch. It was early in the morning, with no moon in the sky, and it was very dark outside. In the river valley to the southeast, there was a flickering firelight, faintly visible, flickering and erratic.Feeling his way to the top of the mountain, he saw a terrifying and bizarre scene. In a river valley more than ten miles away, a huge snake-like creature was climbing rapidly up the cliff on the east side of the valley. The creature was about twenty meters long, more than a meter wide, and somewhat resembled a python, but it was definitely not a python. This was evident from its head, which was much wider than that of a python. Although he couldn't see the details due to the distance, he could tell that its head was much wider than that of a python and more like a bull's head. In addition, from the way it moved on the cliff, it was very likely that this big guy had claws.What truly horrified Wu Dongfang, however, was the creature's opponent. A humanoid red flame, resembling a person, was rapidly and repeatedly moving in the air and the river valley, occasionally emitting round fireballs to attack the bull-headed monster on the cliff, trying to force it back down the valley.The monster was hit by the fireballs and let out a piercing scream, but instead of turning back to the valley bottom, it accelerated its climb. Just as it was about to climb to the top of the cliff, the humanoid flame quickly approached it. Wu Dongfang didn't see clearly what happened next, but he saw that after the humanoid flame approached the monster, the monster screamed in anguish and fell back into the valley.The humanoid flame quickly followed, falling into the valley and disappearing, leaving the valley in darkness.It wasn't until then that Wu Dongfang came to his senses. He was certain that what he had seen just now was not his illusion. The bull-headed, snake-bodied monster did exist, and it was indeed defeated by the humanoid flame. It was four thousand years ago during the Xia Dynasty, and the existence of large unknown creatures was normal. However, what was abnormal was the humanoid flame. The flame, resembling a human form, showed obvious tactics when attacking the monster. If there was a person inside the flame, how did this person withstand the high temperature of the flame and how could they float in the air? If it wasn't a person inside the flame, why did it show human-like tactics when attacking?Just as he was puzzled, light appeared again in the valley. This time, the light did not rise into the sky but quickly moved upstream along the valley, leaving the valley and coming to a spacious area. After a short pause there, it quickly rose into the sky and sped off to the east.Due to the shortened distance, Wu Dongfang could clearly see that there was a person inside the flame. Although he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, young or old, he could be sure that there was definitely a person inside the flame.The inexplicable scene left Wu Dongfang sleepless. Sitting on the mountaintop, he was lost in thought. He had thought that the difference between the Xia Dynasty and the modern era was only in terms of scientific and technological advancements and the level of civilization. But now he realized that he had oversimplified the issue. In addition, his confidence had been greatly undermined. If the person in the flame had attacked him, it would not have been more difficult than stepping on an ant.In the early morning at five o'clock, it started to drizzle in the mountains again. It often rained here, sometimes four or five times a day, but the rain was not heavy, and it did not last long.As it was getting light, Wu Dongfang left the cave. On the way, he cut two Y-shaped branches with his dagger to use as crutches. He walked down to the river valley to the east, walking along the riverbank downstream. He wanted to see the place where the monster and the humanoid flame had fought last night.Because of the injury on his leg, he walked very slowly. It took him two hours to reach the lower reaches of the river valley. From a distance, he saw the body of the monster lying belly-up on the sandy beach on the east side of the river bank. His guess from last night was correct. This monster did indeed have four claws, somewhat similar to the claws of a crocodile. Its body was covered with obvious burn marks. The parts that were not burned were covered with palm-sized black scales. Its head was split in half, and the red and white brain pulp was shocking to the eye.The belly of this huge creature was also cut open, and the stinking intestines spilled out, with a pile of corroded and gruesome bones mixed among them.There was a dark cave entrance several hundred meters below the cliff at the bottom of the valley. Half of the entrance was submerged in water. From the scattered claw prints outside the cave, it was easy to see that this monster had probably been hiding there before.Wu Dongfang did not stay here for long. On the way back, he felt a deep sense of dread. The humanoid flame he had seen last night was likely a clergyman of the Fire Tribe, who had come here to find the three Fire Tribe members he had killed yesterday morning. If it wasn't for the monster that had eaten their bodies acting as a shield and a scapegoat, the other party would have been able to find the real culprit, which was him, very quickly.Returning to the flat area upstream, a worried Ming Wan ran towards him. Anxiously, she said something to him.Wu Dongfang smiled at her and responded. Ming Wan might have noticed that he was not in the cave and had come here to look for him.Unable to communicate due to the language barrier, the two could not converse. Ming Wan helped Wu Dongfang back to the cave and handed him a small pottery jar. Wu Dongfang took it and found that it contained half a jar of corn porridge."I've already eaten. Take it back to your children," Wu Dongfang said, putting down the pottery jar.Ming Wan didn't understand and offered it again. Wu Dongfang carefully took it and placed it on the ground, pointing to his mouth, "I've eaten."Ming Wan looked puzzledly at Wu Dongfang. Wu Dongfang smiled at her.Ming Wan did not insist further and walked out of the cave, carrying the pottery jar. As she left, she pointed solemnly at Wu Dongfang's leg, then pointed at the cave, indicating that his leg was injured and he should not run around.Wu Dongfang smiled in acknowledgment and watched Ming Wan leave. Throughout the encounter, he had not seen Ming Wan's husband. Their house was the most dilapidated in the village, and she risked danger to seek food by the river, indicating that her husband was likely deceased. Bluntly put, Ming Wan might be a widow.After seeing Ming Wan off, Wu Dongfang once again thought about the events of last night. He couldn't be completely sure if the person who could fly using flames was a clergyman of the Fire Tribe, but he was certain that this person was a master of Qi cultivation. Even in modern times, there were practitioners of Qi cultivation, although they couldn't fly with flames, practicing Iron Qi Gong to the point of being able to knock down a cow or lightness skills to run on walls was still achievable.As a soldier, Wu Dongfang was a materialist, but this did not prevent him from believing in the existence of Qi. Special forces all practiced Iron Qi Gong; if they didn't believe in Qi, what would be the point of practicing?After sitting for a while, Wu Dongfang left the cave again. He couldn't walk fast now, and the only prey he could catch was snakes. On the west side of the ridge, between the cave and the village, there was a small stream. After drinking water from the stream, Wu Dongfang returned to the cave with two cleaned snake meat pieces. He preferred this place to the riverbank. Although the water was farther away, he could avoid the rain here. Moreover, the higher ground was relatively cool, and there weren't as many mosquitoes as by the river.This time, he ate roasted snake meat. The villagers already knew of his presence, so there was no need to hide anymore.Snake meat is fishy and eating too much can cause dryness. As the saying goes, "Injure the tendon and bone, and it will take a hundred days to heal." A leg injury won't be good and agile for at least three months. Eating this stuff all the time won't work.He could use the dagger as a throwing knife, but the dagger couldn't be thrown too far. Also, in case the prey wasn't killed by the throw, it might run away, so after careful consideration, Wu Dongfang decided to make a bow and arrow.Making a bow and arrow wasn't difficult for him. Bamboo was abundant here. The curvature of the bow, the length of the arrow, and the insertion of the feathers were all training subjects for special forces' wilderness survival. After gathering the necessary materials, he remembered that he didn't have a bowstring yet. The first thing that came to his mind was the monster's tendons. However, although it had been a long tradition to use animal tendons to make bowstrings, the manufacturing process was very complex and required a long time of soaking in oil.At a loss, Wu Dongfang had a flash of inspiration. He took off his bulletproof vest. The bulletproof layer of the vest was made of multiple layers of fabric woven from special fibers, with extremely strong toughness and elasticity. However, because they were woven together, it was impossible to peel off a single layer. He could only use the dagger to slowly cut off a strip.This could be considered making the best use of what was available. Although the bulletproof vest could stop bullets, it did not provide much protection against sharp objects. In simple terms, a bulletproof vest could not act as a stab-proof vest, so keeping it around was not very useful.The cut fiber fabric was no different in appearance from ordinary silk, and cutting off some did not damage the main body of the bulletproof vest. After putting on the vest again, Wu Dongfang began to bend bamboo to make a bow and arrows.By evening, the bow and arrows were completed. Due to his unstable stance now, he could only shoot more than a hundred meters, and the effective range was only about forty to fifty meters, which was passable.The next morning, Ming Wan arrived and was greatly surprised by the situation in the cave. There were bird feathers everywhere, and Wu Dongfang was outside the cave, grinding a bird's leg bone on a stone.Seeing Ming Wan, Wu Dongfang pointed to several waterfowl outside the cave. These were large birds that lived by the water. The reason he had hunted them first was because he needed their leg bones to make arrowheads. Bird bones were very hard, and the holes inside could be used to quickly drain blood with a bamboo stick at the back. Without metal arrowheads, he could only use them as a substitute.Ming Wan was very happy to see the waterfowl. She put down the clay pot and picked up the bow and arrows outside, examining them carefully.Wu Dongfang temporarily stopped his work and turned his head to look at Ming Wan. Judging by her actions, she was not unfamiliar with bows and arrows. But for some reason, few people living here hunted.The men in the village went to the northern mountains every day for digging. If he wasn't mistaken, there should be a small open-air copper mine there, and mining was the men's work in the village.With the main labor force digging all day, where did the food in the village come from? Relying solely on women would definitely not be enough. The most likely explanation was that this village was not completely independent. It was just one of the many villages of the Jin tribe. They mined ore for the Jin tribe, and in return, the Jin tribe regularly provided them with food and supplies.But he dared not be sure about the facts because of the language barrier. He couldn't ask or confirm."Come here, come here," Wu Dongfang waved to Ming Wan.Ming Wan put down the bow and arrow and walked over.Wu Dongfang picked up a stone and drew a square with four circles on the ground, then pointed at Ming Wan and said, "Ming Wan." He then pointed back at himself, "Wu Dongfang." Finally, he pointed at the stone in his hand."To the west," Ming Wan said.Wu Dongfang frowned and then placed the stone into the small circle on the south side.Ming Wan didn't understand what Wu Dongfang meant. The language barrier made communication difficult between them, so they often had to rely on gestures, which made both of them look like fools in the end.Wu Dongfang, feeling helpless, picked up another stone. Ming Wan said, "West," again.Wu Dongfang placed the stone into the small circle on the south side again, imitating Ming Wan's pronunciation but adding a questioning tone, "West?"This time, Ming Wan understood. She picked up a stone and placed it one by one to the east, north, and center, saying, "West, west, west."Then, she picked up a twig and placed it in the five directions, saying, "Here, here, here, here, here."Wu Dongfang was relieved. The immediate task at hand was to learn the language of the Xia Dynasty. However, before that, he needed to make sure that the language Ming Wan used was the same as that of the other four tribes. Only after confirming this could he dare to start learning. It was like a foreigner going to China; to learn Chinese, they must make sure they are learning Mandarin. It would be a disaster if they painstakingly learned a dialect of a minority ethnic group.Once the language's commonality was confirmed, Wu Dongfang immediately began learning. Ming Wan also taught him diligently. Ming Wan would return to the village around noon, probably to cook and deliver food to the men working in the mine. In the afternoon, she had nothing much to do. Wu Dongfang was very skilled at hunting, bringing back prey for Ming Wan every day. This meant she didn't need to spend extra time looking for food for her two children, giving her more time to teach Wu Dongfang to speak.People generally think that to be a special forces soldier, one must be tall, strong, and very muscular. In fact, this understanding is wrong. Special forces soldiers need to learn shooting, combat, assassination, explosives, photography, eavesdropping, swimming, skiing, climbing, parachuting, vigilance, reconnaissance, search and rescue, and other tactical skills. They also need to master disease prevention, knowledge of wildlife, and plants. Learning this long list of skills is not easy, so when the military selects soldiers, the first consideration is not appearance or physique, but intelligence. Idiots are absolutely not allowed.Wu Dongfang was very intelligent. In the process of learning, he did not simply memorize but tried to find the similarities and differences between the language of the Xia Dynasty and modern language. After more than four thousand years, the language must have changed a lot, but there were still some similarities or similarities. Finding these patterns made learning faster and more memorable. After a month, he could already have simple conversations with Ming Wan...