If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

A primeval forest somewhere in the South China Sea.

"Chief, I think we can talk to the Great Dragon People. There's no need to steal food anymore."

A dark-skinned young man was trying his best to persuade the tribal chief.

"Azure Eagle, stop fantasizing that the Great Dragon Man will help us. Didn't you talk to the Great Dragon Man before? What did you get in return? Deception."

The black bear is the leader of the Manzu tribe. The South Island is not uninhabited; on the contrary, there are quite a few people living there in tribal form deep in the primeval forest. This is why Zhou Wu did not find any traces of human activity when he sent people to explore on horseback.

Because the scouts were on horseback, they couldn't enter the forest and thus successfully missed the tribe.

“The leader is different. The previous Great Dragons were pirates, and they had absolutely no integrity. But the current Great Dragons seem to be government officials. We can give them a try.”

The eagle had once left his tribe and ventured into the outside world, so he knew that the island where he had grown up was surrounded by the civilized world, and sooner or later, his tribe would be discovered, and then there would only be two outcomes.

One possibility is annihilation. A civilization far superior to one's own tribe will crush it and wipe it out of the world.

Of course, there is a second way, which is to join the other side and become part of the other side. However, the choice of this path is not something that the tribe itself can control; it depends on whether the other side is willing to accept it.

When the White Skulls occupied the South Island, it was the first time the tribe had come into contact with people from the outside world. The other side had sharper swords and spears than the tribe, and large ships that could carry dozens or even hundreds of people, which made the tribe envious.

At the time, the eagle also suggested joining, but the black bear, as the leader, was unusually cautious. However, since the tribe members all agreed, he had no choice but to agree.

However, to their surprise, the other party readily agreed after hearing that a tribe was willing to join, but demanded that the tribe hand over all its food as a sign of its determination. The tribe agreed without hesitation.

However, after receiving all the food from the tribe, the other party reneged on the agreement and even mocked the tribe for going hungry.

"Why would we want savages like you? Dream on."

This sentence became a lifelong humiliation for the black bear. He immediately fought with the other party, but the other party's weapons and equipment were superior. Not only did he not gain the upper hand, but he also lost many tribesmen.

Later they learned that the group was actually pirates. From then on, Black Bear forbade his people from ever mentioning joining other civilizations again.

It wasn't until Zhou Wu's arrival that the South China Sea Island, which had been quiet for a while, became lively again. Moreover, this time the Great Dragon People were repairing the docks and building a city, making the entire South China Sea Island bustling with activity.

However, the tribesmen were secretly watching the dragon people's every move. The humiliation they suffered last time made them no longer trust outsiders.

However, Eagle discovered that the people who appeared on the South Island this time seemed to be from the Great Dragon Government, and were completely different from the pirates from last time. So he once again suggested to the leader, Black Bear, that they join.

After hearing this, Black Bear was furious and immediately rejected Eagle's suggestion. He also regarded Zhou Wu and his group as his accomplices who had humiliated him last time.

This led to the tribesmen constantly stealing food.

. . . . . .

Niu Er has been staking out the granary for several days, but has come up empty-handed.

"It seems these savages have received word that Grandpa Ox is coming, so they've all gone into hiding."

Niu Er originally planned to have a great killing spree, but unexpectedly, Zhou Wu not only forbade him to kill the enemy, but also forbade him to have a conflict with them, which made things a bit difficult.

Just as Niu Er lowered his guard, his men noticed something amiss.

"Sir, there's some noise."

"where?"

"I saw what looked like someone in the woods."

Niu Er and his men were in the shadows. When Niu Er heard his men's words, he looked closely and found that there was nothing in the woods they were talking about. Just as he was about to curse, he saw more than a dozen dark figures emerge from the woods.

Although it was pitch black, the moonlight allowed them to vaguely make out the other person, who had bird feathers stuck in his hair and was wrapped in animal skins. He was none other than a savage.

"Let them in first, and when they are about to leave, use a net to trap the people behind them."

"Yes."

After these savages entered the granary, they began frantically stuffing grain into the animal skin bags they carried, without ever considering why it was going so smoothly or why no one was guarding it.

"are you done."

"All right."

"withdraw."

These savages, which were not very large to begin with, were soon filled to the brim, and they began to prepare to retreat.

Everything went exactly as Niu Er had planned. As the savages fled, a fishing net fell from the sky and captured the last few of them. Those who were walking ahead were just relieved to have escaped, but little did they know that they had already been targeted.

The reason the fishing net only catches those at the back is to deliberately let those at the front escape, so that Niu Er's men can follow the fleeing people and find their lair.

News of the capture of the savage quickly reached Zhou Wu.

"Go tell Niu Er that interrogation is allowed, but torture is not permitted."

"promise."

Before confirming the other party's attitude, Zhou Wu tried his best to avoid misunderstandings.

. . . . . . .

Tribal settlement.

"Chief, the Hounds are gone."

Although the black bear did not agree with the eagle's suggestion to discuss joining, he was also afraid that the other party was an official and that if he angered the other party, it would bring disaster to his tribe.

So, in the morning, the black bear notified the tribe that they were not allowed to steal food from each other and that they should not cause any conflict.

Although the black bear disliked the dragon people, he wasn't stupid enough to oppose them; he knew his own tribe's strengths and weaknesses.

However, when the headcount was checked at night, more than a dozen people, led by the hound, were missing. This immediately alerted the black bear, who suspected that the hound had gone to steal food from the other side's territory.

Just as I was pondering what to do, a commotion arose from the crowd outside.

"What's all the arguing about?"

"Chief, the hounds are back."

Black Bear lifted the tent flap and saw the hunting dog with several men kneeling directly in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Chief, I shouldn't have disobeyed you."

"Where are the others?"

A headcount revealed that over a dozen people were missing, but only a few have returned. Could it be that the entire tribe...?

"They were captured by the Great Dragon People."

The hound kowtowed deeply to the ground, not daring to look at the chief's expression. He knew that he was the one who had caused this, and it might even bring about the destruction of the tribe.

"Gather your men and go rescue our people."

"No, Chief, we don't know the situation yet. If we rush to rescue them, it may cause misunderstandings."