59.9 million years later.
In a mountain forest.
Several people were parting the leaves and branches of the trees, peering into the distance.
They wore feathered crowns and held spears. Nearly half-naked, they wore garments crudely sewn and woven from animal hides and thatch that barely covered their private parts.
“Hunting Chief Yan Shou, how is it?”
A gentle and soft female voice came from behind, hushed so that only the people in front could hear.
The sturdy, broad-shouldered man at the very front crouched down upon hearing this, turning his head back to address her. “Chieftainess, we lost the trail. That dragon is no longer nearby.”
The female voice behind him went silent for a moment before asking, “...Then what do we do?”
The man addressed as Hunting Chief Yan Shou looked up at the sky and sighed. “It's getting late. We can only rest first and resume our search tomorrow.”
Not far across from him, an eleven or twelve-year-old girl crouched on the ground like a female leopard poised to strike. Hearing this, her tense posture relaxed slightly. She lowered her head, her gaze heavy as she bit her lip. “Our time is running out. The strength of our tribal hunters is slowly fading, and the prey available for us to catch is getting smaller and smaller...”
She glanced behind her, scanning the rest of the tribe before her eyes settled on the only woman and child. “That Horse-Faced Bear is still following us. It has been stealing our prey for half a month now. If this continues, more and more of us will starve...”
The crowd lowered their heads in silence at her words.
Their tribe had fled here, suffering heavy casualties along the way. Only sixteen of them remained now. Excluding the woman and her child, there were eleven men and three women—one of whom was the Chieftainess, another a handmaiden, and the last the wife of a hunter.
Since the tribal hunters needed to hunt and keep watch, their energy consumption was naturally higher, so they required relatively more food.
With even the tribal hunters currently unable to eat their fill, one could well imagine the state of the others.
“It's a pity we can't deal with that Horse-Faced Bear right now. As the strength of our tribal hunters gradually declines, the way that Horse-Faced Bear looks at us has started to feel off over the past few days,” a young, strong hunter said, gritting his teeth.
“...” Si He fell silent.
As the Chieftainess of the tribe, she was too young and lacked experience, leaving her helpless in this situation.
Just then, a strange noise came from the nearby forest, and three disheveled figures limped out.
Their straw shoes were nowhere to be seen. They stepped barefoot onto the muddy ground littered with rotting leaves, their feet covered in cuts, their clothes tattered and torn, and two of them were wounded.
Si He's handmaiden and the other woman went over to apply herbal medicine to their wounds.
“Si Cang, how is it? Have you found any other suitable shelter these past few days?” Si He asked the man in the middle.
Si Cang was Si He's cousin, twenty years old, and the second-in-command of the hunting squad. He was relatively strong and had escaped injury this time.
Hearing Si He's question, he sighed and shook his head.
“Si Shan, Si Chuan, and I split up to search several hills. We couldn't find any suitable shelter, and we even ran into a few fierce beasts, nearly losing our lives.”
The rest of the tribe's eyes dimmed upon hearing this.
“It seems that dragon is our only way out. He is fifty meters long, incredibly powerful, and has a gentle temperament. He would make an excellent guardian,” Hunting Chief Yan Shou said.
He was the hunting chief of the tribe, and his name was Yan Shou.
“But He flies too far. Even now, we've only been able to determine that He often frequents this mountain range. This region is vast, making Him difficult to locate, and it harbors many fierce beasts,” Si He said, shaking her head.
They had encountered this dragon six months ago during their flight.
At that time, they had been attacked by several colossal fierce beasts, and the tribe had suffered heavy casualties. This dragon descended from the heavens, incinerating the beasts with a single blast of fire. He only took two of them before flying away, leaving the rest to them.
From this, they concluded that this dragon was gentle and suitable to worship and serve.
However, the dragon was too adept at flying.
They followed His tracks and spent half a year just to narrow down His frequent haunts.
Every time they seemed on the verge of catching up to Him, He would fly away.
“Why don't we settle for the next best thing and seek out a guardian of twenty or thirty meters?” a tribal man suddenly suggested.
“If we do that, what will happen to the hunting squad? Besides, without extraordinary power, how can we contend with... those monsters?” Si Cang said. Staring into the empty air, he clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, a trace of indignant hatred surfacing in his eyes.
“But the Horse-Faced Bear is drawing closer and closer. When I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday, I found it quietly watching me from not far away. That look in its eyes was absolutely that of a man-eater!” Terror flared in the man's eyes, his face turning pale. “If we don't find a guardian soon, if we delay any longer...”
Hearing his words, a shadow fell over the faces of the ordinary tribespeople. They possessed no extraordinary power and were completely defenseless, whether facing common fierce beasts or those monsters.
Si He looked at Si Cang, then at the man, and took a deep breath. “We will search for seven more days. If we still can't find Him, we will go and join another tribe...”
“Chieftainess, but—” Si Cang immediately tried to protest.
Si He raised her hand, silencing him.
“We have no other choice. A guardian of twenty or thirty meters might not possess extraordinary power. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to protect us.”
Her gaze gradually grew resolute.
“I will marry into their tribe. By securing their trust through marriage, I will win you the chance to cultivate, and then...”
Si He bit her lower lip.
While it was easy to say, the hope was slim. Every tribe's cultivation resources were limited. Ultimately, they were outsiders; why would another tribe easily grant them the opportunity to cultivate?
Hearing her words, Hunting Chief Yan Shou raised his head.
“No,” he refused sternly. “I promised the former chief that I would protect you. How can I let you marry yourself off for the sake of the tribe?”
“But... I am the Chieftainess.” Si He looked up at him. “We have already—”
“That is still unacceptable!” Hunting Chief Yan Shou suddenly interrupted her. Realizing his tone was too intense, he immediately knelt down, yet he still held his head high. Looking at her, he said with deep sincerity, “You are only eleven years old! The former chief entrusted you to me on his deathbed. How could I fail my duty!?”
“We still have a way!” he added, his mind racing. “As long as we kill the Horse-Faced Bear, we will have more time to keep searching!”
“But we only have sixteen people left now, and only the eight in the hunting squad can actually fight,” Si He said.
“Eight people are enough, as long as we have a proper plan.” Hunting Chief Yan Shou looked at her earnestly. “I will come up with a plan tonight!”
Si Cang also looked at Si He, his gaze carrying an unspoken agreement.
Si He looked at her cousin, then back at Hunting Chief Yan Shou. Seeing the determination in his eyes, she felt a stir in her heart.
After all, he was doing this for her sake.
But she was the Chieftainess.
“Very well. If we can kill it, then we shall try. After all, even if we decide to seek shelter with another tribe, it would likely still trail us for part of the journey.”
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