Chapter Thirty-Six: The Old Ape

  "It's actually this old guy, looks like he really has some weight!"

  With a sudden movement, Chen Xu dragged the panting ape-man to one side and threw him to the left. Instantly, three well-prepared ape-man warriors pounced on him, grabbing his arms, pulling his legs, and locking his throat. In no time, they dragged the somewhat dazed ape-man to the left.

  There, a group of apemen were eagerly waiting with ropes. As soon as they saw the prey coming, they immediately followed Chen Xu's orders and several people worked together to tie him up tightly in no time, even stuffing his mouth with a few rotten leaves, which was also taught by Chen Xu.

  At the moment when the ape-man was thrown out, Chen Xu clearly saw the appearance of the first prey. He was the old guy who had been pampered in the tribe before.

  As the old ape's excited roar was issued, other apes in the mountain crevice moved faster and faster, unaware that the old man, who had been excited just now, had become a prisoner of war.

  The second ape-man walked out, greedily took a breath, and was slammed to the left by Chen Xu. The three warriors who had been ready early on immediately rushed over, dragged him to the back, and tied him up.

  And with the second ape, there was another ape that was thrown to the right by Ape No. 1, where three warriors were waiting in ambush and quickly dragged it to the right and tied it up.

  After that, the pipeline was thoroughly turned on, and one by one, the apes were thrown into the net, coming out of the mountain seams in a continuous stream, being tied up and having their mouths stuffed.

  In the end, the terrifying flames almost completely submerged the valley, and even at the mouth of the valley where wormwood did not grow, the temperature was frighteningly high.

  Even if the apes found something wrong, at this time there was no choice but to run out as soon as possible, just like Jiang Taigong fishing in his previous life, everyone was willing to take the bait!

  Half an hour later, including the fifteen members of the hunting party, a total of one hundred and ten apemen in this new tribe were rounded up, divided into two groups, and piled on that empty land between the valley mouth and the dense forest.

  At this time, the fire in the valley was getting bigger and bigger. Inside, except for a piece of crimson red, no other scenery could be seen. The black smoke on the mountain also completely enveloped the entire valley floor. I believe that even if there were any living creatures that survived, not being burned to death by the fire, they would still suffocate to death from the black smoke.

  Seeing that no more apemen came out, Chen Xu understood that this tribe should have only one hundred and ten apemen. Even if there were any more, they would not be able to survive. Immediately, he ordered the apemen in his tribe to leave the mountain pass.

  As time went by, the temperature here also rose higher and higher, now estimated to be around 40 or 50 degrees. The apes had long been suffering from the heat, scratching their ears and cheeks. With this order, they naturally retreated quickly.

  The commander of the apes brought together one hundred and ten apes with faces full of joy and terror, and placed them in the open area at the edge of the valley. Chen Xu arranged for a dozen or so apes to hold weapons and stand guard personally, then ordered Ape No. 1 to bring over the old man, whom he was now somewhat interested in.

  The old fellow was clearly different from the other apes, and soon after being brought before him, he quickly understood the identity of the person in front of him. His eyes rolled around restlessly, as if thinking about something.

  Undo the bindings on the old ape's body, remove the rotten leaves from the old man's mouth. Chen Xu ordered others to stand guard aside, and he himself was quite playful, sizing up the old ape from top to bottom, gradually revealing a smile on his face.

  Under Chen Xu's gaze, the old man seemed to be enveloped by an aura of intimidation, as if he was a sheep being cornered by a big grey wolf. He appeared quite uncomfortable, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, seemingly unsure of which part of his body to use to defend himself, exuding powerlessness and weakness.

  "Alright, let me introduce myself. I am the leader of the Fire God tribe, the Fire God! What is your tribe called? And what's so special about you?"

  With a smirk, Chen Xu looked at the trembling old ape man and directly pulled out a golden dagger from his waist, placing it on the old ape man's neck, saying "Do you see? This is a weapon made from the teeth of the jungle overlord. If I can kill the jungle overlord, what are your tribes worth?"

  "Speak up, otherwise I don't mind killing you!"

  With a slight exertion of his arm, the sharp tip of the golden dagger had entered the old ape-man's neck, and a thin stream of blood flowed down along the thick hair.

  A terrified howl, the old ape's eyes flashed a hint of fear, shouting repeatedly, speaking in crude ape language, answering Chen Xiang's questions one by one.

  It's clear that this old ape is different from the others, his answers are very logical and not like other apes, if you don't ask to the point, they simply don't know how to answer.

  In about a moment, under the threat of Chen Xu's dagger, the old ape roughly told the situation in the tribe. Although many things were said to be unclear due to the simplicity of the ape language, the general meaning was more or less conveyed.

  This tribe may have survived due to the benefits of the valley, and in the vague expression of the old ape people, it can be called the Valley Tribe.

  The tribe has been living here for many years. To say, Chen Xu's tribe and the leader of the ape people are outsiders in this place, while the mountain valley tribe is the indigenous people of this region.

  After countless years of exploration, they knew more about the local terrain than other apemen, so they could tell where it was dangerous, where it was safe, where the jungle lord's hunting ground was, and where their own survival jungle was.

  The old ape man himself was the wise man of the tribe, who had inherited some knowledge of herbal medicine from his ancestors and could relieve the pain of the injured person, which also made him a shaman in the tribe.

  At this time, the custom of totem worship in the Stone Age had not yet risen, or because this valley tribe was too closed off, so the elder's identity in the tribe was only a little special and did not become a spokesperson for the gods, but could obtain prey without going out to hunt.

  Apart from this, there is nothing special.

  However, as a wise man, he gradually grasped the right to arrange the hunting range of the hunting team during the hunting activities.

  Also because he lived the longest, he knew the most about the surrounding jungle, so the hunting team he arranged almost always got the most prey with the least damage.

  As time went on, his prestige gradually increased, and because he knew a few medicinal herbs, his status in the tribe was able to reach its current level.

  "Unexpectedly, it's still a witch doctor, and judging from appearance, the IQ is quite high!"

  A glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, and Chen Xu's heart stirred, realizing that he might have discovered a talent, someone who could take on the task of teaching knowledge to other apemen.

  Just bringing over the old ape and other apes for comparison, Chen Xu found it a bit strange in his heart, because the difference in IQ between the two was really big.

  If we say that the intelligence of the old ape has reached the level of a 12- or 13-year-old child, then other apes have only reached the level of an 8- or 9-year-old child.

  In addition, Chen Xu also found that the apemen in his own tribe, although they may not be much better than those in the mountain valley tribe in other aspects, are far superior in intelligence.

  "Isn't there something more to be said about this?"

  As soon as his mind moved slightly, looking at the old ape in front of him, Chen Xu's heart emerged with an idea, but whether it was correct or not could only be known after trying.

  Thinking of this, Chen Xu directly took out two golden crystals that combined into one from his neck and fully revealed it in front of the old ape man, saying "Your tribe is also very ancient, so I believe you must recognize this thing. Don't know if your tribe still has a legacy crystal?"

  As soon as this was said, combined with the crystal in Chen Xu's hand, the old ape man immediately understood what Chen Xu meant. He couldn't take his eyes off it and saw him staring wide-eyed, revealing an unbelievable expression. Then he trembled and stretched out both hands, as if wanting to touch the crystal.

  However, due to Chen Xu's presence, the old ape stretched out his hand several times and then trembled with fear, withdrawing it. With his intelligence, he clearly knew that he was now a prisoner, and the person in front of him could control his life and death at any time, so he didn't dare to be excessive.

  "It seems you're gone, indeed! Evolution and this crystal really are connected!"

  He let out a sigh, withdrew his palm, and brought the crystal back to his neck. Chen Xu slapped the old ape-man who was in a daze to the ground, making him sober up, and asked, "Speak, tell me everything you know about the inheritance crystal, otherwise, you know what will happen."

  This time, the old ape was much more proactive. After being knocked to the ground by Chen Xu several times, the old ape finally realized who was in charge here and began to make a sincere comparison.

  But in Chen Xu's view, the old man's expression was completely different from before. Earlier, it was the standard attitude of a captive with spiritual intelligence, but what about now?

  The attitude of a traitor? A captive who has seen hope?

  The old man's sudden enthusiasm and the excitement that flashed across his face made Chen Xuan, a sane person, suspicious.

  After a while, the old ape told about the crystal again, which was roughly the same as what Ape No. 1 and Captain Ape said, but the old ape knew more.

  Originally, in this jungle, if there were only a small number of apemen, whether or not they had the inheritance crystal didn't matter. However, if their numbers expanded to a certain extent and reached a specific limit, and the leader did not have the inheritance crystal, then they would encounter a calamity that threatened their very existence, and an incalculable danger would descend upon them.