Because the opening was quite wide, the lighting inside was quite good for at least ten meters.

Before entering the cave, the natives, as usual, sent Luo in first to scout ahead. After all, this cave had been abandoned for a long time, and only heaven knew what kind of creatures might live inside.

Fortunately, after Luo explored the cave thoroughly, he didn't find anything unusual, so the cave was safe for us.

At that moment, my gaze was drawn to something on the rock face: a series of pictures that resembled hieroglyphics.

These paintings are beautifully composed and are primarily painted using red and blue as the two main colors.

I believe the red pigment in these dyes is the same red ochre used by the high priest. As for the blue, it was probably made from lapis lazuli or malachite ground into powder.

I don't know how long these pictures carved on the rock wall have been there, but the cave is sheltered from the wind and rain, and the natural mineral pigments have seeped into the granite.

These exquisite and vivid murals look as if they were painted just yesterday.

The cave's location is also excellent, situated at a high elevation. Even if the nearby super-large river floods during the rainy season, there's no need to worry about it submerging this area.

At this point, I was a little puzzled. Since the cave had pretty good conditions, and the water source was nearby, and the land was very fertile due to the humus brought down by the water, I was wondering why.

You can easily achieve high yields by planting any potatoes or cassava here, so you don't have to worry about food at all.

Why did they abandon this well-located cave and instead choose to painstakingly build a new tribe deep in the rainforest?

This was also the question the High Priest had been waiting for me to arrive, the question he wanted to discuss with me. As for why he was so certain I would come, that involves another civilization in the western region.

Because of the language barrier, we couldn't communicate well for the time being. And just as if by fate, the tribe was taken over by red tiger ants.

So the high priest brought his people here to stay temporarily, and the murals on the stone walls were the answer the high priest wanted to give me.

The murals on the cliff face are rich in content and information. They extend from the cave entrance into the depths of the cave, densely and neatly distributed on the granite.

There wasn't much work to be done at the moment. At the high priest's request, some indigenous men began to collect stones from nearby areas to rebuild the cave entrance and make it smaller.

Even the top of the hole was blocked again with branches and other things, just enough for one person to pass through.

At first, I thought the stones were piled up to keep out wild animals, but later I learned that the purpose of these stones was not just to keep out wild animals.

In the days that followed, the tribe’s most senior high priest told me that some demons lived in this jungle, and that they were more ferocious and bloodthirsty than large beasts.

The primary purpose of these stone walls was to defend against the invasion of demons. Even so, the stone walls might not be able to withstand them.

After all, those were beings that even Luo would be afraid of, and the tribe could only pray to heaven that they would not encounter those demons.

These messages have once again shattered my worldview, leaving me utterly shocked. Just what kind of being could possibly frighten Luo Du?

It made these natives, who already had access to weapons and fire, turn pale at the mere mention of it.

But when I tried to delve deeper, a look of pain flashed across the high priest's face, and he refused to say anything more.

They simply asked me to look at the murals on the rock walls on both sides; the answer was hidden in those murals.

The high priest declared, "I am the son of heaven, chosen by God. I can lead them out of their predicament and defeat those demons."

I told them that I wasn't chosen by any god, just like them. The high priest looked at me, his wise and experienced eyes seeming to see something in me, but he just smiled faintly and didn't say anything more.

With the joint efforts of many members of the tribe, the bones and ashes that were originally left in the cave were all removed.

Here I discovered that the indigenous women already knew how to use thatch stalks tied together, with the fluffy end facing down, to make brooms for sweeping the ground.

Although the brooms they made didn't look as nice as the ones sold on the street, this progress showed that they had their own ideas and a certain level of creativity.

This was most evident in the young indigenous man. Through conversations with him in the days that followed, I learned that the blowguns used by the men in the tribe were all his creations.

When I asked him how he came up with the idea to do this, the young indigenous man just grinned and said that he accidentally put a small stick into a hollow bamboo tube and blew on it when he was bored.

Later, he gradually discovered that as long as the end of the stick was sealed enough, and the bamboo tube was a little longer, the stick could actually pierce leather like an arrow over a short distance when blown on.

He later became fascinated by this weapon, which was significantly more accurate than a bow and arrow, and continued to explore and improve its structure, turning it into a more powerful and practical weapon.

The fact that these indigenous people possessed such imagination and creativity proves that they had already entered the Homo sapiens period.

Their brains are developing rapidly; the evolution of ancient humans has begun, and their wisdom is no longer comparable to that of primitive humans.

...

Today is May. As usual, I added a stroke to an unfinished "正" character in my notebook with an ink pen. This stroke just formed a new "正" character.

I counted, and there are exactly three tally marks on this month's chart, which means it's mid-May.

To save space, I only labeled the year and month on my notebook.

I only mark important events by date; for example, the day I met these indigenous people is an event worth recording.

Looking at the date on it, I felt a bit worried. It seemed impossible for me to get back to my original place now.

The rainy season has arrived in the rainforest due to the significantly increased rainfall in the past few days. Water levels are now rising in various areas, and some forests near water will be flooded.

The continuous heavy rains over the past few days had dampened everyone's morale. When they had nothing to do, they could only sit at the entrance of the cave, staring blankly at the pattering raindrops falling.

The river not far from us has seen its water flow nearly double in just a few days.

The surging river water churned with crimson waves, and its terrifying roar could still be clearly heard even inside the cave.

These past few days, the leader sent people back to the original tribe to check on things again, and the red tiger ants were still entrenched in the tribe and showed no sign of leaving.

I was happy to have some free time, and I would study the murals on the stone wall every day. After a few days, I did gain some information.