Chapter 98 This disaster exceeded expectations...
This disaster was beyond the capacity of the human race, which had only survived for less than twenty years. They never expected to encounter such a cataclysmic calamity.
When Cang Li returned, he saw his tribesmen standing blankly. Nini was standing at the front. A third fewer people had been taken to safety by Nini, which was much better than Cang Li had expected. At least most of the people had survived the disaster.
When Nini saw Cangli and Nuwa approaching, her eyes instantly filled with tears:
"Big leader, Mother Goddess..."
Many people died, homes were destroyed, and the harvest that was almost ready was all gone.
Nini doesn't know how she's going to get through this winter.
Cang Li breathed a sigh of relief and comforted Nini: "It's alright, as long as everyone is safe. The food stored in the cave is still intact and will last you until next year. Nini, send people to check the disaster situation in each tribe and then have the tribe leaders bring their people to collect the food."
Now is not the time to be sad. The flood has passed, and people still have to live.
When the human race was first born, Cangli dug a cave to store grain. Later, each tribe would send grain to be stored in the cave every year. Cangli would also take out the old grain from the cave and replace it with new grain every year.
The cave from that time has now expanded to the size of the entire mountain. Cang Li even learned protective magic to add a waterproof and fireproof barrier to the cave.
Now it comes in handy.
Seeing Cang Li's calm expression, Nini instantly felt reassured, wiped away her tears, and nodded vigorously.
"Yes! I'll arrange it immediately!"
Then he turned around and started to select people to take the remaining food and set off to various departments to inform Cang Li of the arrangements.
Cang Li first took Nuwa to the cave, which was also in a mess due to the flood. Cang Li didn't have time to protect the cave, and the beds, tables and chairs inside were all washed away and piled up in a corner of the cave. Only the pots and pans that Cang Li had exchanged from the system were spared because Cang Li had carried them with him and put them in his backpack.
"Mom, there's no place to sit here for now. Why don't you go outside and rest for a bit? I'll tidy up."
Cang Li pushed Nuwa out of the cave. There was still a lot of silt that had rushed in, burying the stone slabs she had laid. Cang Li sighed. Luckily, she was now an immortal. If she were still a mortal, she wouldn't have such good manners.
Nuwa looked with pity at the land that was no longer prosperous. The two races fought each other, but in the end, it was the innocent lives that suffered. How cruel is the way of heaven?
Cang Li used her cleansing technique to clear all the silt from the cave and put it into the pond she dug at the cave entrance. She planned to plant some lotus flowers in it later.
Several stone slabs in the cave were missing, and the furniture was completely unusable. Cang Li simply threw everything out onto the open ground to dry and burn as firewood, which also removed the moisture from the cave, making it dry.
The stone slabs were washed several times to remove all the mud and sand.
The extension platform outside the cave had also been turned into a messy slope, covered with pebbles.
Cang Li sighed and, seeing that Nuwa wasn't outside, quickly restored the extension platform to its original state.
The fields outside are no longer marked with dikes and irrigation canals; they are just muddy silt covered with stagnant water. Winter is just around the corner, and there's no time to plant anything else. We can only plant some cold-resistant potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Before planting, the silt must be cleared and the accumulated water allowed to flow into the river.
The bridge over the river is still intact. As expected of a product of Taiqing, it is durable and did not collapse even during the flood.
Nini led her people over from the other side and asked Cangli, "Chief, I've already had everyone clearing the silt. Now we want to go up the mountain to cut down trees to build houses, but we've run out of axes."
Now, Nini has changed from her previous dejection to a determined look on her face, with only the confidence to lead her people to rebuild their homeland remaining.
Cang Li took an axe out of his backpack, handed it to Nini, and said:
"Go ahead, this is all you need. If it's not enough, sharpen some more stone axes. Also, pick up any fruit that hasn't been washed away on the mountain."
Nini took the axe and waved it behind her: "Let's go! Let's try to build the house within ten days."
Cang Li watched with a smile as Nini led her people up the mountain to cut down trees, then turned around and continued clearing the silt and diverting the accumulated water into the river.
About half a month later, the leaders of the various tribes arrived one after another. Everyone looked pale and sickly, obviously because the disaster had caught them off guard and they were unprepared. After the flood receded, there was a shortage of food, and they had been hungry for many days.
Nuwa returned to the Nuwa Palace ten days ago, and before leaving, she advised Cang Li to seriously consider her proposal.
Cang Li declined and turned back to continue his great cause of rebuilding the human race.
Taiqing is still alive, but he hasn't returned to Kunlun Mountain.
Cang Li didn't bother to ask Tai Qing why he wasn't going back. Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, he led his men to open the cave where the grain was stored, counted the remaining number of people in each tribe, and then distributed enough grain to last until the autumn harvest next year.
It was only through this census that Cang Li learned that nearly half of the human race had been killed or wounded in the flood. Fortunately, the human race had multiplied considerably in recent years, and even with half the casualties, there were still over 100,000 people left.
Cang Li sighed, "There are still too few people. I hope there can be more."
Taiqing stood behind Cangli and said, "Don't be anxious. The Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Evolution is forty-nine, and one escapes. All things in the world have their own glimmer of hope. You should be more open-minded."
Cang Li turned to look at Tai Qing and nodded in deep agreement: "You're right. The human race is gradually recovering. I have some business to attend to at the Witch Clan."
Taiqing: "...What are you going to the Witch Clan for? To tell them the sword is in my hands?"
Cang Li shook his head: "It's not about that. They crashed into Buzhou Mountain and caused the human race to be in such a state, yet they have no remorse whatsoever. They are still fighting to the death with the demon race. I'm angry."
Cang Li spoke the last three words with unusual calmness.
Taiqing could sense the murderous intent in those three words.
"...It's not a good time to go now; the human race still needs you."
In contrast, Taiqing felt that Cangli should calm down and think things through first.
Cang Li pouted: "Give me back the Xuanyuan Sword. I don't want to keep it for you anymore. That sword isn't very useful for anything else, but it's still quite useful for killing a member of the Wu Clan."
Taiqing remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I gave the sword to my third brother to take back to Kunlun Mountain. I'll get it for you when we get back."
Cang Li: "Alright, don't forget."
Taiqing: "I won't forget. Didn't you say you wanted to take advantage of the fact that all the tribal leaders had come to teach them new skills?"
Cang Li slapped his forehead: "Right! I almost forgot, I just got a new method for firing pottery. I can teach them how to build kilns to fire pottery and tiles. Once they master this skill, even if there is a disaster, they can recover quickly with the help of technology."
After saying that, Cang Li hurriedly ran to the open space where the grain was being distributed. Nini was leading people to move grain from the granary, Siye and Amu were maintaining order, and Hua Xu was distributing the grain.
Upon seeing Cang Li, Hua Xu immediately handed over her work to the person next to her and rushed to Cang Li's side: "Great Chief! I haven't seen you in so long!"
Despite having just survived a disaster, Hua Xu still maintains her passion for living.
Cang Li patted Hua Xu's head. Hua Xu was someone she had watched grow up and was the first second-generation human.
"How is your territory? Raize is a low-lying area, has the damage been severe?"
Hua Xu nodded: "Yes, it's very serious. Many people have drowned, and all the food has been washed away. Before I came, I asked them to clear the silt first, and when I get back, they will cut down trees and build houses to prepare for the winter."
Cang Li comforted Hua Xu: "It's alright, we can just plant more grain next year."
Hua Xu rested her chin on her hand and said to Cang Li, "Everything else is fine, but the big hole we dug to take refuge in is full of water, which is hard to remove. We dug it really deep, and now we don't need that much water, so we can only surround the entrance to prevent any little ones from falling in."
Cang Li looked at Hua Xu with amusement, then looked around and asked in confusion:
"Why isn't Ah Qi here?"
Hua Xu shook her head: "I don't know, maybe they're from a farther place and haven't arrived yet."
Cang Li agreed, as the south is mountainous and it's understandable that A Qi would be slower in traversing the mountains.
After the tribes had received their food, Cangli introduced the pottery firing method and taught it on the spot. He built a small kiln according to the instructions on the tree, then found clay to make tiles, and after drying pots, pans and bowls, he put them into the kiln to fire.
After sealing the kiln, he said to everyone:
"Using this method to fire tiles, which is different from straw, you can also fire large water tanks, earthenware pots, and other useful utensils. When you go back, you can use this method to fire bricks and tiles to build houses."
After saying this, Cang Li did not keep them any longer, and told everyone to take the food back with them, so that the surviving tribesmen left behind in each tribe would not starve to death before the food arrived.
After the tribal leaders who had gathered left, Cangli quieted down again. A messenger from Aqi's tribe arrived and relayed Aqi's message.
"Great Chief, our chief said that our tribe has no shortage of food. We found a lot of food in the water, and we can still eat it if we collect it. The chief told the Great Chief not to worry, and that she will come to see the Great Chief when she is done with her work."
Cang Li nodded, "It's good that we won't go hungry. We can only do other things if we're full."
Before the first snow fell, the human houses were all salvaged, and the trees and dead branches washed away by the flood were all collected to serve as charcoal for the winter.
In the kiln used for firing pottery, Cang Li also found a way to burn some charcoal, and reminded everyone that if they used charcoal for heating, they must leave the windows open for ventilation, otherwise they would suffocate.
This winter was not as comfortable for humans as usual, but fortunately no one starved or froze to death, it was just a bit tough. By the following spring, they could replant their fields.
When Cang Li had some free time, she remembered the matter of settling scores with the Wu Clan. She immediately followed Tai Qing to Kunlun Mountain to retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword.
Taiqing never expected that Cangli would come to Kunlun Mountain with him because of the Xuanyuan Sword.
In reality, the Xuanyuan Sword was still on him, not on Kunlun Mountain. The previous statement that the Xuanyuan Sword was on Kunlun Mountain was just a delaying tactic; otherwise, he was a little worried that Cang Li would actually use the Xuanyuan Sword to cause trouble for the Wu Clan.
It's not that Taiqing is biased towards the Wu tribe, but the conflict between the Wu and Yao tribes is becoming increasingly intense. It's not appropriate for Cangli to get involved at this time. With the great calamity of heaven and earth, if Cangli gets involved, it won't end well.
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