It took Shao Xuan more than 20 days to go from the small tributary in the hunting area, to the wider river, and then to find the main river drawn on the map. Moreover, Shao Xuan has been in the area for more than 20 days. Hurrying on the road, he didn't make too many stops. He didn't expect that it would take so long just to find the main river.
No wonder the people of the Taihe tribe said that when their ancestors went out to find medicinal plants, they would leave for a year. If it was for some medicinal plants with seasonal flowering and fruiting, the medicinal herb collectors would even wait longer, because they might If you miss the opportunity, you can only wait for the next year.
Shao Xuan didn't need to wait, he just needed to find a place.
Climbing up a tree, Shao Xuan stood on the branch, took out the animal skin scroll, looked at the map he had drawn, and speculated where he was now. There is no positioning and navigation, and it can only be judged according to the place passed and the general environment.
The surrounding trees are not high, the ground is watery and damp, there are many potholes and ponds, and there are many water plants.
This area belongs to the swampy area. In order to quickly find the main river, Shao Xuan directly passed through this dangerous swampland, and did not walk from the safer mountain. Although the mountains and forests are also in danger, they are still better than the swamps.
Now, the surrounding trees are not dense, and there are sparkling waves underneath. When Shao Xuan is standing on the branch looking at the map, he must also devote his energy to pay attention to the surroundings.
"It should be good here." Shao Xuan looked at a big river not far away, calculating how long it would take to find Gongjia Mountain. He only knew some vague geographic information and couldn't find detailed information. If it didn't go well, it would take longer.
Just thinking about it, Shao Xuan's eyelids moved, and he couldn't care to fold the animal skin in his hand.
At the next moment of Shao Xuan's action, the originally calm water surface under the tree broke open, and a huge slightly narrow mouth full of fangs opened upward, biting in the direction where Shao Xuan stood just now.
It was a crocodile with a huge body and a body length of more than ten meters. As for how long it was, Shao Xuan had no time to speculate. Because of the sudden jump, some aquatic plants and leaves floating on the water were also lifted high.
The slightly turbid water droplets scattered around with the waves, and Shao Xuan could even smell the muddy water and the smell of aquatic plants, as well as the murderous stench.
Those cold, emotionless eyes looked at Shao Xuan in the air, and their open mouth snapped together, but Shao Xuan stepped back first, and it only bit the branch that Shao Xuan was standing on just now.
Click!
The crisp and decisive cracking sound showed that the branch as thick as one person was as easy as biting a cookie for this crocodile.
The place where Shao Xuan stood just now was at least seven meters above the ground, but the crocodile easily surpassed this height, even its entire head. The bite of the big mouth continued to rise due to the upward rushing trend. Shao Xuan could see that its nasal cavity was slightly larger than that of an ordinary crocodile.
The crocodile didn't give up when the blow missed, but shook its head vigorously in the air, opened its bite mouth again, and swept towards Shao Xuan for a second bite.
Judging from the hook-like tooth structure at the front end of the crocodile's snout, they are better at catching prey. As long as Shao Xuan is bitten in one place, even if it is only the leg of his trousers or the corner of his clothes, it will be tightly hooked and dragged down.
However, Shao Xuan's reaction just now was too fast. Even though the crocodile had already caught the second time, Shao Xuan was still out of its grasping range. It was only half a person's distance away. However, the crocodile had already started to land at this time, and it was unable to make a third bite.
The closed mouth made a bang, and the scaled jaw epidermis trembled due to the bite, as if to express the master's unwillingness. In the end, the crocodile plunged into the water violently, smashing up a large number of turbid water splashes with water plants.
After falling back into the water, the crocodile didn't get up again, and moved away as the water ripples fluctuated.
Shao Xuan landed on another tree, but did not stop. Instead, he continued to jump several times in a row. The branches seven or eight meters high were not safe at all. He had to find a bigger tree to rest on. Be safe. The water under the tree was deeper than he thought, otherwise the crocodiles could not have completely submerged their bodies.
When Shao Xuan was looking for a taller tree, he encountered a jumping crocodile. At the same time as Shao Xuan bounced, he pulled out the bronze sword that Zheng Luo gave him, twisted his waist and turned it over, holding the arm of the bronze sword. Swinging with the trend, the blade slashed on the crocodile's mouth vigorously.
Clang!
The tremor transmitted by the blade shows the hardness of these crocodiles' skin and scales. However, they were still cut by Shao Xuan, and the blade also pryed off one of its teeth. If Shao Xuan's strength was stronger, he might be able to try it. Cut the crocodile's jaw directly.
Walking in this swamp is like walking between the teeth of a crocodile. Be careful.
This swamp is very wide. After Shao Xuan found a taller tree, he tried to find land, so that the banks of the river were not all swamps. But Shao Xuan didn't know where there was land. Even the notes and maps left by the ancestors of Taihe did not explain it. Shao Xuan could only find it by himself.
After putting away the map, Shao Xuan continued to jump over the swamp. It is not good for him to leave in the direction away from the river, away from the river bank. It is true that he can leave this wet swamp faster. It is impossible to determine the orientation of the main and tributaries. After all, the main and tributaries have made several bends, not flowing in a straight line.
After walking on the swamp beside the big river for a long time, when the swamp gradually narrowed, Shao Xuan saw a large forest in front of him, which was a taller and more lush woodland, and could see mountains.
The swamp is coming to an end. Shao Xuan thought to himself.
There were a lot fewer crocodiles around. There were always a lot of crocodiles on the banks of the rivers they passed through before, and crocodiles were often seen in the swamps. Only.
Like the beasts in the mountains, a huge crocodile needs to occupy enough area to obtain the food for it to survive. In such a large area, there are not many crocodiles... The danger that the ancestors of the Tai River surrounded by has not yet been seen. The area should still be the crocodile's territory. If something goes wrong, there must be a reason. Shao Xuan was even more vigilant in his heart.
When running towards the woodland, Shao Xuan caught a glimpse of something floating on the river from the corner of his eye.
After jumping to the tall tree, Shao Xuancai looked towards the river.
There was a mass of aquatic plants on the river, but after carefully observing the structure, Shao Xuan felt a little sense of disobedience.
The group of aquatic plants floated up and down with the ripples of the river water on the river surface.
Bang!
The group of water plants shook, floated a little bigger, and some water splashed out from it. At the same time, Shao Xuan also felt that the sound of the impact was very strange. There was more than one sound just now, and it seemed to be a metal collision. sound.
What exactly is that
Shao Xuan stared at the ball of water plants, and there seemed to be something in it.
Crocodile? Crocodile trapped in aquatic plants
No, take a closer look, the group of water plants is square, and the two sides of the water plants are... wood
Because of several violent vibrations, the edges of the water plants were a little loose, and the exposed places on both sides could be seen as tree trunks.
That's not aquatic plants! That's a cage! ! is a trap! ! !
Shao Xuan felt a huge shock in his heart. If it was a trap, it would mean that there were human activities around, and a trap was specially made. Judging by the size, it should be to catch the prey in the water.
Some fishermen fish by casting nets, some are good at fishing, and others are caught by water traps. However, the third type is very rare. This is the first time Shao Xuan has seen the trap of catching crocodiles.
Bang bang!
The crocodile trapped inside struggled and bumped again, loosening the water plants covering it and allowing Shao Xuanneng to see the trap more clearly.
It was a metal cage. The people of Yanjiao, Taihe and other tribes were reluctant to use metal as traps. Although copperware has become popular, the use of copperware has always been very economical. How big are the crocodiles in the river? Such a cage would be at least fifteen meters long, how much metal would have to be used
The farther away from the six cities, the less bronze utensils should be used. When Shao Xuan came here, he also saw people from other tribes. The people from a tribe he saw recently used horn bone tools when hunting. , very few bronzes.
Suddenly seeing such a large metal cage, Shao Xuan was very surprised.
At the same time, Shao Xuan pondered, could it be that he was already approaching Gongjia Mountain? Others use less bronze ware, but the craftsmen are different. Besides, the person who can create such a trap for catching crocodiles is definitely not an ordinary tribal person.
Shao Xuan was not in a hurry to leave, he found a suitable tree, stood on the branch to hide, and waited. Now that the trap has caught the prey, it is believed that the person who set the trap will come soon. If the crocodile in the trapped cage continues to struggle, the trap will be more damaged.
Sure enough, it didn't take long before Shao Xuan heard someone approaching quickly. The sound was not loud. The other party was very good at walking through the jungle, and he listened to the movement. Hesitantly paused, quite confident.
The whizzing sound soon came not far from the river bank, Shao Xuan looked at it, and then was stunned.
I didn't see the front, but at first glance, I thought it was a small crocodile moving, but if I looked again, I would find that it was actually a human figure, and there were hands that belonged to a human being exposed.
It really looks like a crocodile, even when the people of the Mo tribe are totemized, they don't look like this person.
However, after further observation, Shao Xuan found that this was actually a man in crocodile skin.
When the people of the Zan tribe use the power of totems to totemize, it is the change of the facial features, bones, etc., and this person is only covered with a layer of crocodile skin, and the real appearance is still similar to the average person.