The Survival of the Wild Tribe

57

"Fish, gone?" Lu Zhan glanced at the half-eaten fish in his hand, then at the two large, roasted brown fish in the tub. The fish was coated with some juice, giving off a fruity smell.

Luo Zhen's expression soured. It hadn't taken long to grill these fish, and he hadn't left the room during the process. How could such large grilled fish suddenly disappear?

He scanned the house. Two cuckoos were nestled in their hideouts, fast asleep. Luo Zhen had left them a few eggs in the nest, ensuring there were enough for them to start hatching. Besides, cuckoos preferred raw meat over cooked fish. Luo Zhen had even cut half a bowl of fish to feed the little guys, so it was impossible for them to have taken it.

But there was no one else here besides him and Lu Zhan.

"How many fish did you grill?"

"Sijos, I grilled them according to your appetite." This guy's stomach was like a bottomless pit. Usually, if Lu Zhan didn't hunt for extra prey, he would always control his appetite. Even though Luo Zhen knew this, he hadn't eaten enough, but after checking their food storage, there was no way to say anything more. Today, Luo Zhen wanted to make sure the other party had a full meal because they had returned today with a lot of medicine.

"Sijo?" Wasn't half of the grilled fish missing? Lu Zhan angrily picked up a grilled fish from the basin and held it in his mouth, sniffing around the room.

Luo Zhen also wondered how such large grilled fish disappeared, and followed Lu Zhan to find the culprit.

Lu Zhan’s nose was much more sensitive than Luo Zhen’s. After a while, he found a corner where wood and animal skins were piled up. After clearing things away, a cold wind suddenly poured in, and Luo Zhen shivered. He leaned over and found a huge hole drilled underground, surrounded by soft soil and covered by firewood and animal skins. Luo Zhen hadn’t even noticed it in the corner.

There were still fish bones dropped around the hole. Luo Zhen observed the size of the hole. According to the size of the two grilled fish, there was no way they could have been carried out of the hole. The thief who stole the fish must be right in front of the hole. They had broken down the grilled fish and moved them away bit by bit.

Lu Zhan grabbed a handful of mud from the mouth of the hole and put it under his nose, sniffing, then chewed the grilled fish in his mouth together with the bones and swallowed it. These thieves dared to steal their food.

"Do you know who stole the fish?" Luo Zhen looked at Lu Zhan's fierce look. He knew that the other party was mad. Even though Lu Zhan was usually carefree, eating the food he provided had ignited an instinct to protect it. Normally, even the children in the tribe who wanted to grab food from him had to be stared at for a long time, so much so that even Ah Shui didn’t like to approach him anymore.

"I know." Lu Zhan didn't explain to Luo Zhen. He stuffed a few pieces of wood into the cave, then filled it with soil and stepped on it firmly. After confirming that the cave entrance had been completely blocked by him, he turned back to the pretend. He picked up the remaining grilled fish from the tub, bent over, and left the room without even putting on the animal skin coat.

Luo Zhen: "..."

Seeing the other party's determination, Luo Zhen knew he was going to find the thief to fight. At this moment, he didn't know whether to feel distressed about the missing two grilled fish or distressed that he was about to be found by Lu Zhan, the thief.

Luo Zhen shook his head and sat back by the fire pit to serve himself a bowl of bone soup. Without leeks and garlic to season it, Luo Zhen didn't plan to cook fish soup. He had cooked it once before, and the fishy smell had been so strong that not even Lu Zhan wanted to drink more. One bite, and he didn't know when spring would come and he'd have to find all kinds of seasonings by then.