Having Yuanmou Man use a lighter was somewhat unrealistic. This fire was merely to first capture their attention, making them completely let down their guard so they would bring outsiders like He Mu along during hunts.
He Mu gathered dry, dead wood and revealed a gentle smile. However, since she was wearing a mask, her smile couldn’t be seen, so she switched to gesturing while saying, “Let me teach you how to make fire.”
Lu Shiyan immediately understood and said, “Drilling wood to make fire?”
He Mu nodded, then demonstrated the entire process of drilling wood to make fire.
He Mu crouched on the ground, using a sharp-cornered stone to carve a small indentation into the dead wood. She placed dry grass into the indentation, then found a small wooden stick and sharpened one end.
Holding the small wooden stick with both hands, she aligned the sharpened end directly with the indentation, applying downward pressure vertically while rapidly twisting the stick to make it rotate.
Continuous friction generated heat. After a while, a wisp of black smoke rose from the indentation—it was about to succeed.
The Yuanmou people watched He Mu’s movements with intense focus. When the smoke appeared, their mouths involuntarily fell open and their eyes widened in astonishment. As a spark leaped out, they couldn’t contain their wild excitement, dancing and waving their arms while making strange “wow wow wow” sounds.
Lu Shiyan stood beside He Mu, his gaze fixed on the red-haired girl’s focused expression. He smiled and said, “You’ve got some skill, succeeding on the first try. Even the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage in short videos don’t succeed every time—you’re even more impressive.”
He Mu’s lips curved upward. “You flatter me.”
Her words were humble, but her tone clearly conveyed, “I’m the best.”
He Mu then found some suitable pieces of dead wood and handed them to the clan leader and several men. With an encouraging look, she said, “Give it a try. Create the first flame of your lives.”
They were all eager to try, but once they had the tools in hand, a hint of fear crept in, and their movements noticeably slowed.
“Don’t be afraid. Failure is the mother of success. As long as you persist, you will surely succeed.”
“Keep it up!”
Inspired by He Mu’s enthusiasm and encouragement, the Yuanmou people began earnestly imitating her earlier actions, twisting the wooden sticks in their hands.
They had the ability to learn, but their talent was truly lacking. Over an hour passed without any sign of smoke, though they managed to ruin quite a few pieces of dead wood and drilling sticks.
Lu Shiyan remarked, “They are Yuanmou Man, after all. It’s perfectly normal for them to fail. I even doubt if their IQ reaches 30.”
He Mu chuckled. “Don’t underestimate your ancestors too much. No matter how foolish they are, can they be more foolish than pigs? Haven’t you heard what parents tutoring their children at night shout?”
“Even teaching a pig would’ve worked! How on earth did you get 1+1=3?!”
Lu Shiyan stifled a laugh. “You mimic that quite well.”
He Mu made a playful face at him. “Stop grinning foolishly. Let’s roast some meat.”
The Yuanmou people still had half a goat and some live fish. As the saying goes, “When you escort Buddha, go all the way to the West.” After making fire, she would also teach them to cook the raw meat before eating it.
He Mu called over the female Yuanmou people, instructing them to prop the goat meat near the fire to roast and skewer the fish on bamboo sticks for grilling. The aroma soon began to waft through the air.
The female Yuanmou people’s gaze toward He Mu gradually shifted from fear to reverence, and slowly, a sense of closeness began to emerge.
Su Miaomiao and Su Mu returned, drawn by the smell.
Seeing the male Yuanmou Man gathered in a group drilling wood, while the female Yuanmou Man gathered around the fire with He Mu and Lu Shiyan roasting meat.
In just a few hours, He Mu seemed to have smoothly integrated into this Yuanmou Man tribe.
He Mu waved at Su Miaomiao, “Miaomiao, are you feeling better now?”
Su Miaomiao covered her face, “I’ve stopped vomiting, but eating raw meat is still too much of a shock.”
Su Miaomiao and Su Mu sat beside He Mu, and Su Miaomiao asked, “Are they drilling wood to make fire?”
She pointed toward the Yuanmou Man.
He Mu nodded, “I demonstrated it for them. We’re going back tomorrow, so whether they can learn to use fire depends on themselves.”
If they never learned to make fire and continued eating raw meat, their already dwindling tribe would likely face extinction.
They were just a small group of people in primitive society, a tiny family. Whether they would thrive or decline depended on their adaptability.
[Ding! Hidden mission triggered: Enlighten the Yuanmou Man to use the fire element. Reward: Fire Spiritual Root.]
[Will the host accept the reward?]
What?
Just by starting a fire, a hidden mission was triggered?
He Mu was stunned for a moment, then saw the tribal leader weeping with joy as a wisp of smoke curled up in front of him.
It worked!
The tribal leader had successfully made fire by drilling wood!
“See, I told you not to underestimate anyone, especially our ancestors.”
Lu Shiyan curiously rushed over to watch them ignite the flame. Su Miaomiao was also curious but didn’t dare get too close to the Yuanmou Man, so she pulled Su Mu along to watch.
He Mu took this opportunity to exchange the reward with the system.
[Fire Spiritual Root has been implanted into the host’s body, awaiting cooldown and revival.]
“How long will it take?”
[It varies from person to person. It can take as long as a hundred years or as short as ten years. Very few people can absorb and revive the Fire Spiritual Root in just a few days.]
What does it mean to be disappointed after getting excited? This was it.
He Mu didn’t think she was one of those rare individuals. Even the fastest would take ten years, and it might even take decades to a hundred years. By then, she would probably be long gone.
Instantly, the Fire Spiritual Root felt a bit useless, like a mere collectible.
The tribal leader usually took the tribe hunting in the early morning or evening, as these times aligned with the activity patterns of many prey—venturing out to forage at dawn and returning to rest at dusk.
Because of the fire and cooked food, the Yuanmou Man of this tribe almost worshipped He Mu and specially invited her and the others to join the hunt.
Hunting.
This was exactly what He Mu had been waiting for after doing so much!
Complete the system’s mission, return to the modern era, and save her grandmother, who had unconditionally doted on her.
“Alright!”
He Mu agreed to the tribal leader almost without hesitation.
She then looked at Su Miaomiao, Su Mu, and Lu Shiyan, asking for their opinions, “I’m going. What about you?”
Su Miaomiao immediately said, “I’m going!”
Since Su Miaomiao was going, Su Mu naturally wouldn’t refuse. After all, the reason this social elite, Su Mu, embarked on this journey through time was for his younger sister, Su Miaomiao.
He was afraid his innocent, kind-hearted, and naive little sister would be deceived by He Mu.
He was here to be her protector.
Lu Shiyan didn’t even need to be asked. His excited state showed he was even more enthusiastic about joining the hunting activity than He Mu.
Although the Yuanmou Man were not highly developed mentally, they were still human and possessed basic cooperation awareness and coordination skills.
The tribal leader would send agile young adults to track the prey. Once the location was scouted, everyone would go together to hunt and capture it.
At this moment, a Yuanmou Man who had been out returned to report to the clan leader.
They had no language ability, communicating only through gestures and incoherent sounds.
He Mu almost effortlessly interpreted the other’s meaning.
This was because the system played a key role in translation—she could understand them, and they could understand her.
“Let’s go!”
He Mu and the other three followed the Yuanmou Man, heading into the valley to ambush their prey.