Ground Stars / 地上星 · Ch.40 第40章 天星横贯大陆-2
第40章 天星横贯大陆–2
Chapter 40: The Heavenly Star Split Across the Earth – 2
「唷，这是知道错了？」
“Hey, so now you know you were wrong?”
杨子藏倒是没有跟原始人置气的意思。
Yang Zicang, however, had no intention of getting angry at the primitives.
「呜嗷呜嗷。」 全身毛发被烧秃的首领趴在地上往前拱了两下。
“Woo-woo-woo-woo.” The leader, whose entire coat of fur was scorched bald, crawled forward a couple of times on the ground.
「可惜我不是龙王爷，给你们灭不了火。」
“Too bad I’m not the Dragon King, and I can’t put out your fire.”
在这些野人眼中，杨子藏无疑是这一切的罪魁祸首。
In the eyes of these savages, Yang Zicang was undoubtedly the chief culprit behind it all.
见杨子藏没反应，两个身材粗壮的野人爬起身来。
Seeing Yang Zicang unmoved, two burly savages stood up from the ground.
它们举起石头就要砸死那地上的首领。
They raised stones, ready to smash the leader lying on the ground.
众野人趴在地上跟著叫唤。
They all prostrated on the ground, howling along.
这些野人觉得是队伍首领触怒了这位无法形容的存在，或许要将之处死才能熄灭这位的怒火。
These savages believed that their group’s leader had offended this indescribable entity, and perhaps only by putting him to death could they quell this being’s wrath.
「停！」
“Stop!”
野人哪里听得懂他的话，巨石脱手而去，首领认命似的匍匐在地毫无反抗之意。
But the savages couldn’t understand a word he said; the boulders flew from their hands, and the leader prostrated himself in resignation, showing no intention to resist.
[轨迹调度！]
【Trajectory Deployment!】
嘭嘭！
Thump-thump!
两块岩石诡异的落在首领头颅两边。
The two rocks landed eerily on either side of the leader’s head.
他们分明瞧见这瞬间，在杨子藏胸口诞生了个微弱的银白光圈，以及几根一闪而逝的线条。
They clearly saw, in that instant, a faint silvery-white ring emerge from Yang Zicang’s chest, accompanied by a few fleeting lines that vanished in a flash.
两个野人啪地倒地，颤抖不已。
The two savages slammed onto the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
杨子藏走上前去，地上毛发焦黑一片的野人泪汪汪抬头。 他呜咽叫唤著，看上去尤其可怜，像是个知道自己闯祸的孩子。
Yang Zicang stepped forward. A savage with singed, blackened hair on the ground looked up with tearful eyes. He whimpered and cried, looking especially pitiful, like a child who knew he had caused trouble.
「就是你小子最先吃的地瓜吧。」
“So you were the first one to eat the sweet potatoes, huh.”
都烧得差点认不出来了。
All burned up—I barely recognized you.
「行了行了，我也跟你们说不来话。 这样吧，你们都加啊呜，你以后就叫阿武好了。 正好跟你另一个世界的某个著名兄弟一样，都叫小五。」
“Alright, alright. I can’t talk with you guys anyway. How about this — all of you, say *Ah-woo*. From now on, you’ll be called A’wu. Just happens to share a name with one of your famous brothers from another world—both called Little Wu.”
杨子藏打算去他们的部落看看。
Yang Zicang planned to pay a visit to their tribe.
他还记得在地球时，某些亚马逊部落里有著人类记者留下的物品。 这里说不定也是一样。
He remembered that back on Earth, some Amazon tribes had items left behind by human journalists. It might be the same here.
「或许雕像就在那里。」
“Maybe the statue’s over there.”
半天以后，充满期待的年轻人跟随著这批将自己视作神人的生物，来到依山傍水的凹谷外。
Half a day later, the expectant young man followed the group of beings who viewed him as a divine figure, arriving outside the hollow nestled against the mountains and waters.
可挡风避雨，深入崖壁的大横坑外聚集着好些身无丝缕的大小野人。
At the entrance of a large crevice deep in the cliff—capable of blocking the wind and sheltering from rain—gathered several savages of all sizes, clad in nothing at all.
一见到杨子藏，它们就呜呜直叫，充满敌意的举起石头和木棒，这动作吓得阿武一群外出觅食的野人队伍赶紧上前连比代划的解释。
As soon as they saw Yang ZiCang, they whimpered and wailed, raising stones and wooden clubs in hostility. This frightened A’wu’s foraging group, and they hurried forward, frantically gesticulating and explaining in makeshift sign language.
杨子藏越看心里越凉。
The more Yang Zicang looked, the colder his heart grew.
虽然极其不愿意承认，但从一眼就能看完的崖壁凹坑可以看出，这里毫无人类文明造物的迹象。
Though extremely unwilling to admit it, from the hollows in the cliff face that could be seen at a single glance, there was not a trace of human civilization or man-made objects.
他们甚至都不会造石刀。
They didn’t even know how to make stone knives.
「看来要去别的地方寻找才行。」
“It seems I’ll have to look somewhere else.”
果然加速能力不是随便给自己的，一日百里，不知要多久才能探索完这个世界。
As expected, the acceleration ability wasn’t granted for nothing—traveling a hundred li a day, who knew how long it would take to explore this world.
没多久，身背硬弓的杨子藏离去。
Before long, Yang Zicang, with a hard bow slung across his back, departed.
……
几日之后，遇见人类尸骸的杨子藏看著这片染血的土地。
A few days later, Yang Zicang encountered the remains of human corpses and gazed upon this blood-stained land.
人类尸身残破不堪的散落各处，看上去没两天的事。 不知是被人丢在这里，还是被野兽分而食之。
The human bodies were torn and broken, scattered everywhere; it didn’t look like more than a couple of days had passed. He couldn’t tell if they’d been left here by someone or were torn apart and devoured by beasts.
但至少说明这附近有其他人的存在。
But at least it meant there were other humans nearby.
「呜嗷~」
“Woo—howl~”
走了没多久，刚翻过山头的杨子藏就听到了周围传来的狼啸声。
Not long after he set off, just as he passed over a mountain ridge, Yang Zicang heard the howling of wolves echoing around him.
「狼？」
“Wolves?”
不对，还有别的声音，是极其含糊的惨叫声。
No, there was something else—extremely indistinct, desperate screams.
杨子藏快速向著那声音方向狂奔而去。
Yang Zicang sprinted toward the direction of the sound.
远处的树林边缘聚集著十数只左右游走的狼犬，它们牙齿锋利，呲牙咧嘴，散发著令人恐惧的气息。
At the edge of the distant woods, about a dozen or so wolf-like canines prowled back and forth, their razor-sharp teeth bared in vicious snarls, exuding an aura of terror.
而被狼群围著的，是一个离地半人多高的洞穴，惨叫便是从其中传出。
The wolves were surrounding a cave about half a man’s height off the ground, from which those miserable cries emerged.
那里正在进行著一场野兽发动的屠杀。
A slaughter unleashed by beasts was taking place inside.
依稀可以见到有人形生物被惨烈分尸。
Vaguely, one could make out humanoid forms being brutally torn apart and dismembered.
[调度！]
[Deploy!]
嗖嗖！ 两只箭矢划破长空精确射中两只冲在最前方的头狼身上，瞬间将其干翻。
Whoosh, whoosh! Two arrows pierced the night sky, precisely striking the two lead wolves charging at the forefront, instantly knocking them down.
几个与狼犬作战的野人大脑懵圈的看著这突然飞出来的小树枝。
Several savages locked in battle with the wolfhounds stared dumbly at these small branches that had suddenly come flying out of nowhere.
射出两箭的杨子藏再次动了起来。 他奔跑的轨迹顷刻间加速，接近翻倍的奔跑速度冲向狼群周围。
Yang Zicang, who had loosed the two arrows, moved again. His running trajectory suddenly accelerated, nearly doubling his speed as he charged toward the wolf pack’s perimeter.
「哇啊，呜啊！」
“Waaah, ooh-aaah!”
远处空地上，几名全身长毛，赤著身躯的野人赶紧用石块打砸著这些狼犬。 树上和岩石高处的野人，则如猩猩般佝偻著身子，看著下方几个失去生命的族人唔喔痛哭。
On the distant open ground, several savages, their bodies covered in pitch-black hair and stark naked, desperately pelted the wolfhounds with rocks. The savages perched high up in trees and on rocky crags hunched over like gorillas, watching the lifeless bodies of their clansmen below, and burst into mournful cries.
「畜生，受死！」
“Bastards, meet your death!”
「唔嗷~」狼犬们调转队伍，直著尾巴窜入林间扑来。
“Grrrrowl!” The wolfhounds wheeled their formation, pelting into the forest with tails held straight before charging in for the pounce.
杨子藏左右腾挪，拳头上金辉浮现一拳打在身前这只狼犬身上，但这狼犬根本没有任何被时序打击到的现象，只是被杨子藏掀翻于地而已。
Yang Zicang dodged left and right. Golden light flared around his fist as he caught a wolfhound before him with a heavy blow, but the beast showed no sign of being affected by Chronos whatsoever—it was simply knocked to the ground.
「这…」
“This…”
果然是梦境的训练场，虽然真实感比上次更强，但始终不是现实世界。
As expected, this was just the training ground of a dream. Though the sense of reality was stronger than last time, it was still not the real world.
在这儿虽然能够运用能力了，但时序却无法伤害到里面的生物。
Here, he could finally use his abilities, but Chronos could not actually harm the creatures within it.
野人们尖叫著指向林中如同猎豹窜动的年轻人。
The wild men screamed, pointing at the young man zipping through the forest like a fast-pouncing leopard.
有了杨子藏的加入，这些危险生物被其吸引过去。
With Yang Zicang joining the fray, these dangerous beasts were drawn toward him.
野人的压力骤减。 战况在一两分钟内便扭转。
The pressure on the wild men suddenly lessened, and the battle shifted within a minute or two.
「呜嗷~」
“Aaroooo~”
众狼犬仰头呼啸。 一只身材壮硕的威武银狼跃上巨石高声回应，目光冰冷它的死死盯住树林边缘的杨子藏。
The wolfhounds lifted their heads and howled in chorus. A mighty, majestic silver wolf leaped onto a massive rock and answered with a loud roar, its cold, piercing gaze locking onto Yang Zicang at the edge of the forest.
众狼犬默契后退，这是狼犬之王才能应对的对手。
The wolfhounds fell back in silent agreement—this was a foe only the Wolfhound King could challenge.
野人营地中。 见到狼犬居然被那人引走，一个岁数比较大，身材略有佝偻的长毛人从树上跃下。
Inside the wild men’s camp, seeing that the wolfhounds had been lured away by that man, an older, slightly hunched hairy man jumped down from a tree.
他腰间裹著稻草和干狼皮所作的装饰，在人群后方指著杨子藏大声叫著。
He wore a decoration made of straw and dry wolf skin around his waist, pointing at Yang Zicang from behind the crowd and shouting loudly.
「哇呀，啊呀呀，哇啊呀哇阿呀！」
“Wah ya! Ah ya ya! Wah ah ya wah ah ya!”
当年轻人看了过来，他便指了指旁边的树，示意上去。
When the young man looked over, he pointed to a nearby tree, motioning for him to climb up.
狼犬王可不管这么多，它从巨石上一跃而下，喉咙发出阵阵低沉咆哮，脚下作出前扑动作。
The Wolfhound King paid no heed to any of that. It leaped off the massive rock, letting out a series of low, rumbling growls from its throat, its paws clawing the ground as it prepared to lunge forward.
周围这些原始人大呼小叫的冲上高处，看著杨子藏。
Surrounding primitive humans scrambled noisily to higher ground, staring at Yang Zicang.
唯一挂著皮草的「老猿人」见这人不为所动，焦急不已。
The only one draped in animal fur—the “old ape-man“—grew anxious upon seeing that the man wouldn’t budge.
「吼~」
“Roar~”
狼犬王身形闪动，带起残影飞奔而至，这速度哪怕是杨子藏运用调度能力也不过如此。
The wolfhound king’s form flickered, leaving afterimages as it charged forward—even Yang Zicang, wielding his deployment ability, couldn’t match this speed.
见到这威猛的生物即将扑倒那瘦弱无毛之人，老猿人遗憾至极。
Seeing this ferocious beast about to pounce on that scrawny, hairless man, the old ape-man felt a pang of deep regret.
但下一刻，只听「轰隆」一声。
But the next moment, only a “boom” was heard.
杨子藏一脚踹在狼犬王头颅，冷冷喝道：「哈啊！」
Yang Zicang kicked the wolfhound king square on the head and barked coldly, “Haah!”
狼犬王轰地在地上接连翻滚几圈，刚抬起头，一块西瓜大的岩石呼啸而至，嘭！
The wolfhound king tumbled several times across the ground with a thunderous crash. As it lifted its head, a rock the size of a watermelon hurtled over—bang!
众狼犬哗地四散跑远几步，无不哀鸣，但还未等它们嚎完，又一块石头对着只体型膘肥的狼犬砸去，转瞬间便是两头狼犬失去性命。
The other wolfhounds scattered in panic with a yelp, whimpering incessantly. But before their howls faded, another stone slammed into a plump wolfhound, and in an instant, two wolfhounds lay dead.
老猿人脸上一愣。
The old ape-man’s face froze in bewilderment.
在他那有限的智商思索下，似乎除了那些凶猛的巨型野兽，从未有谁能如此简单杀死狼犬的首领。
Within the limits of his meager intelligence, it seemed that aside from those ferocious giant beasts, nothing had ever so effortlessly slain the wolfhound pack’s leader.
这个青年瘦得不行，身上连毛都没长，却能和自己恐惧的对象单挑。
This young man, so gaunt and hairless, could actually go toe-to-toe with the creature he himself dreaded.
杨子藏上前将自己射出的两根箭矢拔下，这东西目前可是用一根少一根。
Yang Zicang stepped forward and pulled out the two arrows he had shot—such ammunition was dwindling fast.
剩下的狼犬们夹着尾巴逃了，如同猿人般的众人「呀呼」直叫，兴奋不已。
The remaining wolfhounds fled with their tails between their legs; the ape-like humans whooped and hollered, brimming with exhilaration.
老猿人走到杨子藏不远处，双手如同猩猩挥舞般打着招呼。
The old ape-man approached Yang Zicang from a distance, waving his hands in greeting like a gorilla.
「别叫了，烦死了。」
“Shut up, you’re annoying.”
四望一眼，这里除了树木就是一个天然的岩石洞穴。
Glancing around, there was nothing here but trees and a natural rock cave.
洞外的岩石上画着宛如幼童的壁画，看得出来有四只腿的，以及长着翅膀的，可能画得是翼龙，或者蝴蝶。
On the rocks outside the cave were murals that looked like the paintings of young children. Some creatures with four legs and some with wings could be seen; perhaps they were meant to be pterosaurs, or butterflies.
杨子藏摇摇头，这里似乎也没有文明社会的人类来过，但他还是自顾自的爬上洞穴进去观看。
Yang Zicang shook his head. It seemed no one from civilized society had visited this place, but he still climbed into the cave on his own to have a look.
作为救了这里的强者，众野人倒也没拦着他。
As the strongman who had saved the day, the savages made no move to stop him.
洞里黑乎乎的，墙上画着比甲骨文还不如的画。
The cave was pitch-black inside, and its walls were covered in drawings even more primitive than oracle bone script.
没有雕像。
There were no statues.
杨子藏失望不已。
Yang Zicang was disappointed.
洞口，老猿人捧着干瘪的枣儿，咧嘴笑着递给出来的年轻人，杨子藏犹豫了下还是捡起一粒。
At the cave entrance, the old ape-man, grinning wide-lipped, held out withered dates to the departing young man. Yang Zicang hesitated for a moment before picking up a fruit.
「好了，诸位好好发展，争取早日出现文字。我先撤了，再见。」
“Alright, you all, develop well. Strive for writing to appear as soon as possible. I’m off now. See you later.”
说罢，他握弓跳下洞口，准备离开。
With that, gripping his bow, he leaped down from the cave’s ledge to leave.
谁知老猿人跑上前扯住自己，指了指他手上的弓。
Unexpectedly, the old ape-man ran forward and tugged on his clothes, pointing at the bow in his hand.
「你想要这个？这可不行。」
“You want this? Not a chance.”
周围大多数野人都不明白这弓的价值，只是害怕。唯有这老猿人一眼瞧出了最开始时，正是它灭杀了狼犬。
Most of the surrounding savages didn’t understand the bow’s worth and just feared it. Only the old ape-man had clearly seen from the beginning that it was this very bow that had annihilated the wolf-dog.
「唔喔唔喔。」
“Ooh-ah, ooh-ah.”
老猿人指了指弓，又对着身后几个族人一阵唔呀说了阵。
The old ape-man pointed at the bow, then spoke a string of grunts and shouts to a few of his tribesmen behind him.
两个女性野人迟疑地往前走了几步，上下打量着杨子藏，其中一个居然略带害羞的对着老猿人点点头。
Two female savages hesitated, stepping forward a few paces, sizing up Yang Zicang up and down. To his surprise, one of them even manage a shy nod at the old ape-man.
见着这两位野妹子的眼神，杨子藏突感阵恶寒。
Seeing the looks in these two barbarian girls’ eyes, Yang Zicang suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
「喂，等等，我可没兴趣在这里当赘婿。」
“Hey, wait up. I have no intention of becoming some sort of live-in son-in-law here.”
他连再给这群野人演示下拉弓射箭的兴趣也没有了，赶紧加速时间消失在了原地，看得众野人大惊，乱成了一片。
Losing all interest in even demonstrating the bow and arrow technique for these savages, he quickly accelerated time and vanished on the spot, provoking the wildlings into a cacophony of alarm and chaos.
三个月过去，在为一个原始部落留下柄自己制作的石矛长枪后，杨子藏彻底失望了。
After three months had passed, having left behind a stone-tipped spear made with his own hands for one primitive tribe, Yang Zicang was utterly disheartened.
通过时序加速，他走向许多地方，见到了好几个原始「部落」。
Using his temporal acceleration, he had traveled far and wide, encountering several primitive “tribes.”
这些野人聚集之地大多都没有自己的语言，连武器也没有制作出来。
Most of these gatherings of savages lacked their own language, and had not even crafted weapons.
能使用石头作为武器的已经算是比较高级点的族群了。
Those who could use stones as weapons were already considered the more advanced clans among them.
「根本没有文明，它们连石块都不会打磨，如何制造雕像呢？」
“There’s no civilization at all. They can’t even grind stones; how can they possibly make statues?”
自己恐怕因为描述过多的要求，而被邮徽送到了个什么都没有的世界，这里恐怕只满足「足够安全」的条件。
He realized that, perhaps due to the overly specific demands in his description, the mail-courier had sent him to a world with nothing. Likely, it only met the condition of being “sufficiently safe.”
但若就这样醒来，又太不甘心。
But waking up like this, with nothing accomplished, felt too unbearable to accept.
「血脉雕塑到底在哪？」
“Where the hell is this bloodline sculpture?”
远方出现几个野人的身影，他们刚经历一场血战，捕获到几只野兽。
In the distance, figures of several savages appeared, having just emerged from a bloody battle, capturing a few wild beasts.
这些都是拿人命换来的。
These gains were bought with human lives.
见人类的「先祖」们在这样的世界艰难求生，杨子藏心中难免酸楚。
Seeing these, humanity’s “ancestors,” struggling to survive in such a world, Yang Zicang’s heart felt a pang of bitterness.
「这只是梦，等我走后，你们会解脱的。」
“This is just a dream. Once I’m gone, you’ll be set free.”
他转身离去，喃喃自语道。
He turned and walked away, muttering to himself.
十年后。
Ten years later.
杨子藏站在块凸起的高耸岩石上，神色肃然地遥望远方。
Yang Zicang stood on a towering, protruding rock, his expression solemn as he gazed into the distance.
他已经走遍了方圆两千多公里内的每一寸区域，却找不到任何史前文明的遗迹。
He had traversed every inch of land within a radius of over two thousand kilometers, yet found no trace of any prehistoric civilization.
因此他打算去往更为遥远的地方。
Thus, he decided to venture even farther.
或许在大陆另一端有别的文明或文明遗迹也说不定。
Perhaps on the other side of the continent, there might be other civilizations or their remnants.
杨子藏低头看了眼自己的手，以及手上的火石。
Yang Zicang looked down at his own hand, and at the flint resting in his palm.
虽然跟刚进入时一样，但整整十年时间，哪怕是有加速能力，依旧切身经历了近两年的时光。
Though it appeared just as when he first entered, a full decade had passed—even with time acceleration, he had personally weathered nearly two years.
「虽然这是梦境，但对于其中的你们来说，还是有痛苦有快乐。」
“Though this is a dream, for those within it, there is still pain and joy.”
在离开前，杨子藏想回到几年前最开始遇见的那个小族群，他想看看他们还在不在那里。
Before leaving, Yang Zicang wanted to return to the small tribe he had first encountered years ago. He wanted to see if they were still there.
[我要进行时间加速，前往半个月以后。]
[I initiate time acceleration, jumping ahead to fifteen days later.]
[我消耗了15R。]
[I have consumed 15R.]
拄着长矛杖的杨子藏从变得繁茂些的树林中走出。
Yang Zicang, leaning on his long spear, emerged from the woods, which had grown slightly lusher.
刚下过一场雨，野人们都躲在远处的岩壁凹坑内缕着身上的毛发，或是在一旁用木锤敲打着石块。
It had just rained. The savages had taken shelter in a recessed concave pit of a distant cliff, tousling their body hair, or pounding stones with wooden hammers nearby.
他们在制作相对趁手的岩石工具。
They were crafting relatively handy rock tools.
忽地，这些人此起彼伏的嚷起来，纷纷冲着远处的人影呲牙。
Suddenly, these people erupted in a cacophony of shouts, baring their teeth at the distant silhouette.
但马上一道声音将他们震慑住。
But immediately, a voice silenced them.
已略微有些老态的魁梧野人站起身来，迟疑地探头看向杨子藏。
A burly savage, slightly aged, stood up. Hesitant, he craned his neck to peer at Yang Zicang.
「唔。」
“Mm.”
「唔，唔唔！」
“Mm, mm-mm!”
几只野人吊着手臂半蹲在这直立探头的野人身旁。
A few wildmen, with arms dangling, crouched down beside this upright, peering wildman.
看着那深一片浅一片的毛发，杨子藏脸庞浮现笑意，字正腔圆的道：「小武！」
Seeing the patchy layers of hair, Yang Zicang’s face broke into a smile, and he spoke with perfect clarity: “Xiao Wu!”
阿武哇地大叫，连滚带爬从坑内跑出来，脚丫子插在淤泥中，脚指缝涌起道道泥浆。
A Wu let out a loud cry, tumbling and scrambling out of the pit, his feet sinking into the mud as streams of slime oozed between his toes.
杨子藏含笑看着他跑来蹲在身边。
Yang Zicang smiled as he watched him run over and crouch by his side.
「好久不见，小武。」
“Long time no see, Xiao Wu.”
杨子藏摸了摸他头上油腻的黑发，在此生活两年的杨子藏已经不再嫌弃这些。
Yang Zicang ruffled his greasy, black hair. After two years of living here, he no longer shied away from such things.
有阿武的表率，又有两三名中年或是老年的野人跑来，这些都是当年那只队伍里还活着的人。
Following A Wu’s lead, two or three middle-aged or elderly wildmen came over—those still alive from the group of that time.
看着这些变化很大的面孔，哪怕只是梦境，杨子藏内心依旧有些难受。
Looking at these faces, so changed by time—even if only in a dream—Yang Zicang still felt a pang of sorrow.
对他们来说，三四十岁就已经很老了，当年十七八岁的硬小伙，如今已经退居二线，在群落里做些磨石摘果的事情。
To them, thirty or forty already meant old age. The robust youths of seventeen or eighteen back then were now retired to the second tier, doing tasks like sharpening stones and picking fruit in the community.
「对不起，是我的错。」
“I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
阿武当然听不懂他在说什么，只是觉得「无法理解之人」的声音抑扬顿挫，清晰多变，很是神奇。
A Wu, of course, couldn’t understand what he said, but he found the “incomprehensible one’s” voice rhythmic, clear, and wonderfully versatile.
阿武故意如猩猩般半蹲着拉起杨子藏的手，想要带他去往旁边。
A Wu deliberately pulled Yang Zicang’s hand while crouching like an orangutan, urging him to follow him to the side.
杨子藏疑惑的跟着他而去，众野人也都围在他左右随之前行。看来阿武依旧还是有些威望。
Yang Zicang followed him with confusion, while the other savages gathered around and trailed along. It seemed that A-wu still held some prestige.
没多久杨子藏来到了堆聚集在一起的树枝堆旁。
Before long, Yang Zicang arrived at a pile of stacked branches.
这堆砌的形状，好像当时自己升的那堆篝火。
The shape of the heap resembled the campfire he had built himself.
阿武期待的看着他，用手指指了指自己的嘴，以及身上的烧伤疤痕。
A-wu looked at him expectantly, pointing to his mouth and the burn scars on his body.
「你们…好吧。但这些被雨淋过的木材可点不燃。跟我来吧，小武。」
“You guys… fine. But these rain-soaked logs won’t catch fire. Follow me, Xiao Wu.”
接下来半日，杨子藏带着众野人去寻找了相比下较为干燥的木材，在太阳下晒去表面的水泽。
For the next half day, Yang Zicang led the savages to find relatively drier wood, letting it dry under the sun to evaporate the surface moisture.
又寻了干树枝、干草和被水打湿的草木，他打算接下来用之作生火的对比。并且杨子藏还用一种类似葫芦的硬果，破开后作为水瓢，从溪畔盛了水来。
He also collected dry branches, dry grass, and plants dampened by rain—intending to use them later for a comparison in fire-starting. Additionally, Yang Zicang split open a hard fruit resembling a gourd to use as a water ladle, scooping water from the stream.
路上，年轻人顺手用弓箭解决了只路过的类似蛮牛的生物，看得众野人头皮发麻。
Along the way, the young man casually took down a passing beast resembling a wild ox with his bow and arrow, sending a chill down the spines of the watching savages.
众野人再次看他身上那根弯曲「柴火」的时候变得极其畏惧。
The savages now looked at the curved “firewood” on him with even greater fear.
傍晚，新的柴火堆摆好，旁边准备了水，以及另一堆青草。
By evening, a new pile of firewood was set, with water prepared beside it, along with a heap of green grass.
在众野人的好奇目光下，杨子藏从衣兜中掏出火石。
Under the curious gaze of the savages, Yang Zicang pulled a flint out of his pocket.
他蹲下去，先拿出小撮干草放在身前拿火石敲击，四冒的火星吓得众野人哇哇大喊。
He crouched down, first taking a small pinch of dry grass and placing it in front of him, striking the flint. The sparks that flew in all directions startled the wildlings, who let out loud shouts.
没几下，这撮干草便燃了起来。
After just a few strikes, the dry grass ignited.
再次见到火，阿武等小族群的「中老年」野人顿时既欢喜又畏惧得不行。
Seeing fire again, older wildlings like A’Wu, who belonged to the “middle-aged and elderly” group of the small tribe, felt both joy and overwhelming fear.
它很快就烧尽了。
The fire burned out quickly.
「欸咦？呀咦？」众人不解的看着他。
“Eh? Huh?” They stared at him in confusion.
杨子藏用手比划指着干草与青草的区别，并拿青草作示范，火星四冒却点不燃它，当这次失败后，他又拿干草来点，一下便燃烧了起来。
Yang ZiCang gestured, pointing out the difference between dry grass and green grass, and demonstrated with the green grass—sparks flew but it wouldn’t catch fire. After this failure, he tried again with the dry grass, and it ignited instantly.
「这就叫做‘生火‘，这是‘干‘，这是‘湿‘。」
“This is called ‘making fire.‘ This is ‘dry,‘ and this is ‘wet.‘“
杨子藏重复了几次这读音，结果无异于对牛弹琴。
Yang ZiCang repeated the pronunciation several times, but it was no different from playing music to a cow.
这小堆火快再次熄灭时，杨子藏往里面丢入了新的柴火，它便再次燃烧起来，一些小野人露出恍然的神色。
Just as the small fire was about to die out again, Yang ZiCang tossed in a fresh piece of wood, and it flared back to life. Some of the younger wildlings showed dawning realization on their faces.
杨子藏又用湿树枝作示范，要好一会儿才会燃。
Yang ZiCang then demonstrated with a wet branch—it took a good while to ignite.
火光映照在众人脸上，阿武沉思的看着它。
The firelight flickered on all their faces, and A’Wu stared at it, deep in thought.
但下一秒，啪地声响。
But in the next second, with a *smack*.
阿武跳到一边，大惊失色的看着杨子藏的动作。
A’Wu leaped to the side, staring in alarm at Yang ZiCang’s actions.
只见他用水瓢里的清水泼到了火上，这小堆火瞬间被熄灭。
They saw him pour clean water from the gourd ladle onto the fire, and the small blaze was extinguished instantly.
「啊诶咦？」
“Ah? Eh?”
杨子藏指了指水，又指了指火，他这才明白，是不是这位存在又发怒了。
Yang ZiCang pointed to the water, then to the fire. Only then did it dawn on him—had this deity fallen into another rage?
「天色不早了，今晚我们来吃大餐吧。」
“The day is growing late. Tonight, let’s have a feast.”
被箭矢放倒的野兽当然不可能丢弃，杨子藏从腰间取下半臂长的锋利岩刀，用之将这些东西解剖，看得众野人目瞪口呆。
Of course, they couldn’t discard the beast felled by arrows. Yang Zicang pulled a half-arm-length, keen rock knife from his waist and used it to dissect the carcasses, leaving the savages utterly astounded.
他们从未见过如此干净利索就能隔开肉的东西。
They had never seen anything that could slice through meat with such clean efficiency.
这神秘存在的身上随便一样都是好宝贝，好些野人露出崇拜目光。
Every random item on this mysterious being was a prized treasure, and many savages cast gazes of worship.
夕阳完全沉没，火光噼啪燃烧着。
The sun had completely vanished, and the fire crackled as it burned.
黑夜，隐藏无数危机的黑夜，漫长岁月以来的每个夜晚对于众野人来说，都是随时会冒出豺狼虎豹，夺取脆弱生命的危险世界。
The night—a night fraught with countless dangers. For endless ages, every night had been a perilous world for the savages, where wolves, leopards, and tigers could suddenly emerge, snatching away their fragile lives.
可今晚不一样。
But not tonight.
火光映照着山壁与远处的树林边缘，烤肉的香味更是让人仿佛开辟了新的大脑区域般，一些路过的野兽瞧见火光立即跑得老远。
The flames cast their glow on the mountain walls and the edges of the distant forest, while the savory aroma of roasting meat seemed to open up new regions of the brain. Some beasts that passed by, upon seeing the fire, immediately fled far away.
见到火光再现，曾跟随阿武出去的那批野人中，还存世的寥寥几人回忆起当年的恐怖景象，根本不敢再上前。
Upon witnessing the reappearance of the fire, the few survivors among the savages who had once followed A’Wu recalled the terrifying scenes of yesteryear and dared not approach.
「来吃啊。」杨子藏指着篝火道。
“Come, eat,” Yang Zicang said, pointing at the campfire.
后方一个小孩般的猿人藏在老人们身后许久，闻着肉香，吮着手指的他终于鼓足勇气走上前。
Behind him, a childlike ape-man had been hiding behind the elders for a long time, sucking his fingers as he sniffed the meat’s fragrance, until he finally mustered the courage to step forward.
「这叫火，火。」
“This is called fire, fire.”
「活。」
“Fyre.”
小孩吃力用生涩的口音道。
The child laboriously uttered in a crude, slurred accent.
听到这个不太标准的字眼，杨子藏笑着点点头，将手上烤好的一串肉递向那孩子。
Hearing this not-so-standard word, Yang Zicang smiled and nodded, handing a skewer of roasted meat toward the child.
阿武咽了口口水看着前方的人。
A Wu swallowed hard, staring at the person in front of him.
他无时无刻不在怀念当年那一口的地瓜。
He never stopped reminiscing about the sweet potato from back in the day—every single bite of it.
在周围数十双蕴含各种情绪的目光中，身材纤细的小男孩咽着口水，迟疑的看着杨子藏举着的手臂，缓慢伸出黢黑小手，将其接过。
Under dozens of eyes swirling with all kinds of emotions, the frail little boy gulped, hesitated while looking at Yang Zicang’s outstretched arm, then slowly reached out his small, dark hand to take it.
小男孩嗅了下，尝试着用牙齿撕下块肉，随后他目光就定住了，仿佛石化般。
The boy sniffed it, tried to tear off a piece of meat with his teeth—and then his gaze froze, as if he had turned to stone.
周围的野人们看得紧张无比，两三秒后，这小孩唔嗷一嗓子嚎叫，狼吞虎咽的将烤肉塞进了嘴里。
The surrounding wildmen watched nervously. Two or three seconds later, the kid let out a sudden cry, wolfing down the roasted meat into his mouth.
还没嚼完，小孩就目光炯炯、喘着粗气的盯着篝火上其它肉块，眼神仿佛是只锁定目标的小老虎。
Before he even finished chewing, his eyes were blazing, his breath ragged as he stared at the other pieces of meat over the fire, like a little tiger locking onto its prey.
有了他的示范，更多的人走出，他们吃力的发出「火」这个发音，只要成功的，都得到了杨子藏亲自烤的肉。
With his lead, more people stepped forward, laboriously uttering the sound “fire.” Those who succeeded all received meat personally roasted by Yang Zicang.
没多久，整个原始族群的众人都跳了起来，仿佛捅了猴窝。而带来如此「美味」的杨子藏，已经被众人膜拜，他们迫切想要吃到更多这样的东西。
Before long, the entire primitive tribe erupted as if a monkey nest had been stirred up. And Yang Zicang, the one who had brought such “delicacies,” was now worshipped by the crowd—they were desperate to get more of this stuff.
接下来几天，杨子藏教导着这些人如何生火，以及打磨石刀，以及烤肉。
Over the next few days, Yang Zicang taught these people how to make fire, how to sharpen stone knives, and how to roast meat.
他们已经会用藤蔓作绳索，智商方面并不是不可救药，有人手把手教导，其中一些人终于开始展现出天赋，特别是些小孩，学会了些简单技巧。
They had already learned to use vines as ropes, their intelligence not beyond hope. With someone guiding them step by step, some of them began to show talent, especially the children, who picked up simple skills.
「以后，这个就给你们了。」
“Hereafter, these are for you all.”
离去前，杨子藏将两块火石放在蹲在前方的阿武毛躁的掌中。
Before leaving, Yang Zicang placed two pieces of flint into the rough, fumbling palms of Awu, who crouched in front of him.
众野人不可思议的看着这一幕，这个神奇的人居然把能制作「照亮黑夜」的东西给了自己的族人。
The primitive people stared at this scene in disbelief—this miraculous being had actually given their tribe something that could create “that which lights up the darkness.”
「啊呜！」「下啊胡！」「些姆。」「唔武！」
“Ah-wu!” “Xia-hu!” “Xieh-mu!” “Wu-wu!”
他们学着杨子藏的发音在周围跳唱吼着。
They hopped and shouted, trying to mimic Yang Zicang’s pronunciations.
阿武低头看着手中的石子，他的大脑还未反应来，当他再抬起头时，身前已经失去了那人的踪迹。
Awu looked down at the stones in his hands, his brain slow to react. When he raised his head again, the figure before him had vanished.
几年后，杨子藏拄着杖，吊着水壶行走在戈壁沙漠中。
A few years later, Yang Zicang limped through a gobi desert, leaning on a staff and carrying a clay canteen.
这陶水壶不是为了自己，而是为了这里的某些人。
The clay canteen was not for his own use but for certain people here.
每当遇到被沙地大蜈蚣追得不知跑到什么地方的人时，他就会为这些因逃命而失去方向的原始人喂上几口壶中清水，补充他们的体力。
Whenever he encountered someone being chased—panic-stricken and lost after fleeing from enormous sand centipedes—he would lend them a few sips from his canteen to restore their strength.
「这里也没有雕像，也没有遗迹。我是不是真的来错了梦境。」
“No statues here, no ruins either. Have I truly come to the wrong dream?”
[我竟然怀疑王庭的实力，太可笑了。]
[I doubted the power of the king’s court—how laughable I am.]
杨子藏无语的摇摇头。
Yang Zicang shook his head, speechless.
每当自己想要苏醒之时，Moexl就会这样。
Whenever he felt about to wake up, Moxel would always appear like this.
「又不让我醒，又不带我去雕像之地。搞出这么大范围的梦境是来干嘛呢，显示你们的神奇伟力吗？」
“If you won’t let me wake up and won’t take me to the Land of Statues, what’s the point of pulling off such a massive dream—just to flaunt your miraculous power?”
杨子藏习惯性的抱怨，不知何时开始，这是他每天都要作的事情。
Yang Zicang grumbled on habit, unaware when this had become his daily chore.
没有回应，他吐了口气坐在烈阳下，看着前方的海市蜃楼。
There was no response. He let out a breath, sat beneath the scorching sun, and gazed ahead at the mirage.
那里面有着绿洲和溪水的画面。
Within it lay scenes of an oasis and flowing streams.
在这片戈壁沙漠中，类似的幻象多有出现，一般那些方向上都能找到被完全蒸发水分的干尸。
In this Gobi desert, similar illusions often appeared, and generally in those directions, one could find desiccated corpses with all moisture completely evaporated.
谁要信那儿有食物和水，就等着干死吧。
Anyone who believed that food and water waited there had better prepare to die of thirst.
「哈塔！」
“Hatta!”
一道声音从身旁传出。
A voice came from beside him.
杨子藏扭头看去，是个晒得小脸绯红的女孩，她顶着片宽大的绿叶，身上也披着由宽树叶作的简单衣物。
Yang Zicang turned his head to see a girl with her little face flushed from the sun, shielding herself with a broad green leaf and draped in simple clothing made from wide leaves.
在这样的暴晒下，若是没有东西遮挡身体，会被晒伤的。
Under such relentless exposure, without something to cover the body, sunburn was inevitable.
在这里的原始人，大多都会这些技能。
Most of the primitive people here possessed such skills.
「是你，居然跟我这么远。」
“So it’s you—didn’t expect you’d follow me this far.”
两天前将一个人送回原始人聚落时，见过这个精力旺盛的小家伙。
Two days ago, when escorting someone back to the primitive settlement, he had seen this energetic little sprite.
此刻她扑闪着大眼睛看着杨子藏拄着的木杖，目光在那陶罐水壶上一动不动。
Now, she blinked her wide eyes, staring intently at Yang Zicang’s wooden staff, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the clay pot of water hanging from it.
「想要？」
“Want it?”
杨子藏笑着将其取下，晃了晃后递给这孩子。
Yang Zicang chuckled, took it off, shook it gently, and handed it to the child.
「咦？阿么？」她指了指自己。
“Huh? Ah me?” She pointed at herself.
「送给你，小心别搞坏咯喔，它可不经摔。」
“It’s a gift for you. Be careful not to break it—it can’t handle a fall.”
小孩子将绿叶放在一边，拿起沙堆上的水壶抱着晃了下。
The child set the green leaf aside, picked up the kettle resting on the sand dune, and hugged it while shaking it lightly.
杨子藏伸手将木塞取下后，小孩赶紧拿一只眼睛望进去，边望边抬起了水壶，像是想对着阳光能将里面看得更清楚。
Yang Zicang reached out and removed the wooden stopper; the child quickly peered in with one eye, tilting the kettle as if hoping to see its contents more clearly against the sunlight.
然后第一口水就被她的眼睛喝下了。
And then, the first sip of water was swallowed by her eyes.
「哇瓦！」
“Wow wa!”
小孩震惊了。
The child was stunned.
她是听被救回的那人用简单的词汇描述了杨子藏的神奇，说他有「水」，于是小孩就一路追了上来。
She had heard the rescued man use simple words to describe Yang Zicang’s magic, saying he had “water,” so she had chased after him all the way.
这尽然是真的。
And this was real!
「阿么，阿哟瓦。」
“Ahm eh, ah yo wah.”
小孩抱着神奇的葫芦状陶罐，不太确信的指着它道。
Clutching the magical gourd-shaped pottery jar, she pointed at it without quite believing it.
「你还挺有礼貌的嘛，臭小宝。」
“You’re quite polite, aren’t you, you cunning little runt.”
杨子藏揉了揉她的头:「拿去吧，叔叔说送当然是送的。」
Yang Zicang tousled her hair: “Take it. Uncle says if I’m giving it, then I mean it.”
说罢，他站起修长笔挺的身躯往前走去，对方听不懂自己的话，但做出动作对方肯定能懂。
With that, he stood up tall and straight and walked ahead. She couldn’t understand his words, but she could surely grasp his actions.
小孩看看水壶，又看看杨子藏，目光中不知在思索着什么。
The child looked at the kettle, then at Yang Zicang, pondering something deep in her gaze.
她仰头喝了几口水后，对着杨子藏呀啊叫了几句，又跟了段路，才抱着水罐顶着绿叶飞快跑远了。
She tilted her head back, took a few gulps of water, then shouted something at Yang Zicang—yo ah arhs—and only after following him for a short stretch did she rapidly scurry away, clutching the water jar with the green leaf perched on her head.
杨子藏转头看她离去，但没跑多远，那孩子也不知是太过激动还是沙地太烫太滑，居然摔倒在地。
Yang Zicang turned to watch her leave, but just as she hadn’t gone far, the child—whether from sheer excitement or because the sand was too scorching and slippery—tripped and fell.
瓦水壶碎成了好几片，剩余的清水渗入沙地迅速消失。
The clay water jug shattered into several pieces, and the remaining clean water seeped into the sand, rapidly disappearing.
孩子愣了下，哇哇大哭起来。
The child was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud crying.
在沙漠中能得到如此奇特的储水工具，这是从未有过的事情，可自己却搞砸了。
In the desert, obtaining such a unique water-storage tool was unprecedented—something never seen before, yet she had messed it up.
「你还真是没什么福气。」
“You really don’t have much luck, do you?”
远处的杨子藏笑呵呵的抱臂看着她，几分钟后这孩子居然还在哭。
Far away, Yang Zicang watched her with a grin, arms crossed; minutes later, the kid was still crying.
「唉，你该不会是知道自己搞坏了什么对吧。」
“Oh, you wouldn’t happen to know what you just broke, would you?”
他往小孩那边走去。
He walked toward the child.
「反正我时间大把，就在这里重新开炉吧。这次我捏个更漂亮点的。」
“Anyway, I’ve got plenty of time, so I’ll restart the furnace right here. This time, I’ll mold a more beautiful one.”
带着孩子回到了那处部落附近，又从老远的地方寻来可以制作陶器的粘土、木材和煤炭，在此地建起了窑炉。
He brought the child back to the nearby tribal area, then searched from afar for clay, wood, and coal to make pottery, setting up a kiln on that spot.
二十多天后，经过几次失败，能用的丑陋陶器出炉了。
Over twenty days later, after several failures, some crude usable pottery emerged from the firing.
刚开始还只是小孩在他身旁，但后面几天来的原始人越来越多。
At first, only the child stayed by his side, but in the days that followed, more and more primitives gathered around.
他们最初只是好奇，或是被杨子藏的武力所吸引，因为他几块石头就能砸跑那些沙地蜈蚣。
They were initially just curious, or perhaps drawn by Yang Zicang’s might—because with a few stones, he could drive off those sand centipedes.
但后面他们就不淡定了。
But soon, they could no longer stay calm.
随着各种形状的陶器呈现眼前，众人看杨子藏的目光已经从看人变成了看待圣贤。
As pottery of all shapes appeared before their eyes, the crowd’s gaze at Yang Zicang had shifted from looking at a person to revering a sage.
「这个给你拿去玩。」
“Here, take this to play with.”
杨子藏随手从这一炉中的青蛙状陶俑中，拿出个递给小朋友。
Yang Zicang casually picked up a frog-shaped clay figurine from this batch and handed it to the little one.
「哇啊。」
“Wow!”
小孩的眼中都在冒着星星，看得周围的孩童们羡慕不已。
The child’s eyes were sparkling with stars, drawing envy from the surrounding kids.
「阿塔塔！」小孩举着陶俑青蛙，仿佛举着皇冠般自豪。
“Atata!” The child held up the clay frog, as proud as if raising a crown.
「啊塔塔啊塔塔！」
“Ah-tata, ah-tata!”
然后她的东西就被抢走了。
Then her possession was snatched away.
杨子藏看着他们笑闹。
Yang Zicang watched them laugh and frolic.
好些日子后，这个原始部落的人差不多大半以上学会了运用陶器去盛水。
Many days later, roughly over half of the people in this primitive tribe had learned to use pottery to hold water.
当然两者的差别并不太大。
Of course, the difference between the two was not too great.
如此又过了四十多年。
Thus, another forty-plus years passed.
杨子藏已经走过不知多少地方。
Yang Zicang had traveled through countless places, lost track of them all.
他已经懒得骂好久以前那个光芒邮徽了，同时他也不对雕像抱有幻想，只是想寻找有用技能的同时，顺便找找那东西罢了。
He had long since grown too lazy to curse that Light Emblem from ages past; likewise, he held no illusions about the statue. He merely sought useful skills while incidentally looking for that thing.
身披蓑衣，抬头望了眼天际消散乌云的杨子藏叉腰转了转脑袋。
Clad in a straw raincoat, Yang Zicang looked up at the dissipating dark clouds in the sky, planted his hands on his hips, and twisted his neck.
他拉起裤脚迈入水中涉向前方的小船。
He rolled up his pant cuffs, stepped into the water, and waded toward the small boat ahead.
这说是船，实际上是将大树裁断凿空后的独木舟，只是它比普通的独木舟要大些。
Calling it a boat was generous; it was actually a larger-than-common dugout canoe, carved and hollowed from a felled tree.
虽然几十年来自己已经找到铁矿，打造出不太耐用的易脆铁器，给自己补充了箭矢，但造船这种需要技术的活儿自己还是干不了。
Although over the decades he had found iron ore and fashioned brittle, unenduring iron tools, and replenished his arrows, he still couldn’t manage the artisan skill needed to build a boat.
杨子藏转身看向那些对自己叩拜的原始人，这只小部落还算发展得比较快，已经有简单的语言，以及会用藤蔓来捆东西了。
Yang Zicang turned to look at the primitive people bowing to him in reverence. This small tribe had developed relatively fast—they had a simple language and knew how to bind things with vines.
但他们只有十几个人，杨子藏猜测他们可能是从别的地方学的。
But there were only about a dozen of them. Yang Zicang guessed they might have learned these skills from elsewhere.
自己当着这十几人的面制作了更为复杂的藤网，并用来捕到了鱼和小型野兽，应该有人以后能摸索出来它的更多用法吧。
In front of these dozen people, he crafted an even more complex vine net and successfully caught fish and small beasts with it. Surely, someone among them would eventually discover more uses for it in the future.
「未来再见，野人们！」
“See you in the future, savages!”
「窟拉谷啦！」
“Kurakuraura!”
扛着锯片与斧头的野人们依依不舍的送别。
The savages, carrying their saw blades and axes, reluctantly saw him off.
杨子藏拉起兽皮风帆驶离此地，他要跨海而去，他想寻找更遥远的地方。
Yang Zicang hoisted the beast-hide sail and departed from this place, aiming to cross the sea and seek out more distant lands.
或许还海上有新的发现。
Perhaps there would be new discoveries on the ocean.
或许一出去就能见到停泊在远方的东印度公司的废弃货船，他期待的想到。
Or maybe, as soon as he set out, he would come across the abandoned cargo ships of the East India Company anchored in the distance—he wondered eagerly.
「六十年了，是时候做出新的尝试了！接下来我就是：郑.麦哲伦哥伦布.杰克藏！」
“Sixty years have passed; it’s time for a new attempt! From now on, I am: Zheng. Magellan Columbus. Jack Zang!”
青年一脚踩在船舷上，一手戴上了遮阳草帽，虽然自己手艺不怎么样，但有种别具风格的粗旷美感。
The young man stepped onto the gunwale, his hands donning a shade-crown of woven grass. Though his craftsmanship was crude, it possessed a rugged, unpolished beauty all its own.
如果再失败，这枚邮徽就当被贪心的自己搞废了吧。
If another failure ensued, this post emblem would be written off as ruined by his own greed.
忽地，后方岸上的原始人更大声的叫了起来，而且好些人的声音充满恐惧。
Suddenly, the savages on the shore behind him shouted even louder, a note of terror creeping into many of their voices.
杨子藏疑惑转头，随着他们的目光抬头望去，天空出现抹流星光芒，如针点远远挂在遥远天边。
Puzzled, Yang Zicang turned around and followed their gaze upward. A streak of meteor light dotted the far edge of the sky, like a pinprick shining in the distant heavens.
「嚯嚯，这是流星，不对，应该是彗星。」
“Whoa, a shooting star! No, wait—it’s a comet,” Yang Zicang chuckled.
杨子藏哈哈笑道，这些原始人好单纯。
These savages were so innocent, he thought.
不过也不能怪他们，这样在白天都能看见彗尾的彗星很难见到，突然在天空看见这般异相，的确是难以理解。
Still, he couldn’t blame them. A comet with such a visible tail, even in broad daylight, was a rare sight. Having such an anomaly suddenly appear in the sky must indeed be beyond their understanding.
他们产生恐惧也是自然的。
It’s only natural that they feel fear.
「这只是梦。」
“This is just a dream.”
几天后，看着四顾苍茫的大海，杨子藏喃喃道。
A few days later, gazing at the vast expanse of ocean in every direction, Yang Zicang murmured to himself.
虽然这是梦，但他觉得自己已经是活在这其中的人了。
Though this is a dream, he already felt as if he were living within it.
唯一的人类。
The sole human.
碧海蓝天，还好自己不需要食物和水，连觉也不用睡，否则恐怕会在这海上死去数百上千次。
With the emerald sea and azure sky, at least he didn’t need food or water, nor sleep—otherwise, he’d have died hundreds or thousands of times drifting over these waves.
杨子藏看了眼天际。那彗星还在天边，只是前进了没多远的距离，若要跨过整个天际，恐怕还需要不少时间。
Yang Zicang glanced at the horizon. The comet was still there, having barely moved. It seemed it would take a long while yet to span the entire skyline.
「是我先跨过海洋，还是你先穿过天空呢？」
“Will I cross the ocean first, or will you conquer the sky?”
杨子藏自娱自乐般的道。
He spoke almost to himself, a dry chuckle lacing his words.
随着数十个昼夜过去，天气逐渐降温。
As tens of days and nights passed, the weather gradually turned colder.
正午，细雪初停，百无聊赖的杨子藏用扁平如长刀的铁矛划动了几下水后，忽然感觉有些心慌，周围空气中弥漫着些许阴森之气。
At noon, final fine snow ceased. Bored to distraction, Yang Zicang rowed with a flat, long-blade-like iron spear a few strokes, then suddenly felt a pang of unease—chill foreboding seeping through the air around him.
他皱眉取下早已散开帽檐的草帽，四下望了望，却没发现有哪里不对。
Frowning, he removed his straw hat, whose brim had long frayed free, and looked around but could find nothing wrong.
忽然，莫大的阴森恐怖之感出现。
Suddenly, an overwhelming aura of dread emerged.
「什么东西？！」
“What is that?!”
木舟舷上，扁平铁矛阴影汇聚，似乎有什么要从上面形成。
Shadows congealed on the edge of the wooden boat, centered around the flat iron spear, as if something was meant to manifest from it.
久违的记忆涌现。
A long-marked surge of memory boiled up.
恶魇！
Nightmare!
杨子藏震惊的看着这杆劣质铁枪，这不是自己做的吗，为什么会诞生恶魇？
Yang Zicang stared, stunned, at this shoddy iron lance. Did I not make this? Why would it spawn a Nightmare?
它又不是来自地球的投影。
It wasn’t a projection born from Earth, after all.
「吱！」
“Squeak!”
石矛木枪上长出个奇怪的眼眸壮纹路，里面一点红芒上下晃动，随后锁定向杨子藏。
A strange eye-like pattern grew on the stone spear and wooden lance, with a red glint flickering up and down inside it, then locking onto Yang Zicang.
[我，伟大的四边形，感受到了敌意。]
[I, the great Quadrilateral, sense hostility.]
胸前Moexl自动浮显。
The Moxel on his chest automatically flickered into view.
丢在地上的石矛化为如同蛇形的暗影怪物，红色眼眸宛若蛇蝎，它身体弯曲弓起，弹射了过来。
The stone spear lying on the ground transformed into a shadowy monster like a serpent, its red eyes venomous and vicious. Its body arched and coiled before launching itself forward.
杨子藏手上瞬间亮起金色虚影，一拳砸去。
A golden phantom instantly lit up Yang Zicang’s hand as he punched out.
嘭！
Bang!
这铁矛中刚诞生的恶魇瞬间暴毙。
The newborn nightmare within the iron spear was instantly vanquished.
长枪上闪烁着无数诡异纹路，暗红的烟雾缩入武器之内掉在船上失去动静。
Countless eerie patterns gleamed on the longspear, and clouds of dark red smoke retracted into the weapon as it fell to the boat, losing all movement.
杨子藏将枪捡起，几道心念声出现在心中。
Yang Zicang picked up the spear, and several mental voices echoed in his mind.
[议员们称它为——灵物战器。]
[The council members call it—a Soul-Artifact Weapon.]
灵物战器，不是时序战器？
A Soul-Artifact Weapon, not a Temporal-Artifact Weapon?
杨子藏猛地睁大双眼。
Yang Zicang’s eyes flew wide open.
刚才自己消灭它的确没有耗费任何时序！一秒也没有减少！
He had destroyed it just now without expending any time—not even a single second had been deducted!
「呜~」
“Woo~”
怪异的悲泣声如梦似幻的响起，仿佛在耳边，又仿佛在心中出现。
A strange, mournful cry arose, dreamlike and illusory, as if sounding beside his ear, yet also emerging from deep within his mind.
久远的，又像是不久前的记忆浮现，这类似的声音…是那所谓的[母体]跟自己说话时。
An ancient, yet freshly-buried memory surfaced… that similar sound was the one he had heard when the so-called [Mother Essence] spoke to him.
更为浓烈的阴森恐怖之感浮现，杨子藏左右寻找，最后目光落在还未展开的兽皮风帆上。
An even denser, more sinister sense of dread surged forth. Yang Zicang searched left and right, and finally his gaze landed on the unhoisted beast-hide sail.
因为长期在海上飘荡，它都快受潮腐烂了。
Having drifted at sea for so long, it had nearly rotted from moisture and decay.
此刻的风帆上无数暗影如同青黑血管在兽皮与小桅杆上流动，似有东西将要从中复活。
At this moment, countless shadowy veins, like dark cyan blood vessels, writhed across the sail and the small mast, as if something was about to resurrect from within.
「又一个恶魇？不，两个！」
“Another nightmare? No, two!”
金枪插下。
The golden spear thrust down.
咚！独木舟刚刚开始凝聚的灰雾顿时被挡开，如金戈般的暗红武器深深插入其中。
Thump! The gray mist that had just begun to coalesce around the dugout canoe was deflected, as the dark red weapon, sharp as steel, plunged deep into it.
杨子藏难以接受，这到底是怎么回事，如果仅仅只是这里倒也还好，可是…
Yang Zicang could scarcely accept this—what in the world was happening? If it were only the nightmare here, it would almost be tolerable, but…
陆地上！
On land!
他不敢继续想下去。
He dared not let that thought continue.
「这是梦，这只是梦！哪怕…啊！去死！！！」
“This is a dream! Just a dream! Even if… ah! Die!!!”
他愤怒的扬起带着金辉的拳头砸向桅杆，但这东西说大不大说小不小，仅凭时序包裹的拳头根本无法打中它的主体。
He swung his golden-glowing fist in fury toward the mast, but this object was neither too large nor too small—relying merely on fist wrapped by Temporal Sequence could not hit its main body.
「噗噗！」
“Pfft! Pfft!”
两道灰雾射来。
Two streams of gray mist shot forth.
[调度！]
“Dispatch!”
灰雾也能够被调度能力拐掉轨迹，它们被射入海洋。
Gray mist could be diverted by the dispatch ability, sending them shooting into the ocean.
水面下几只游鱼被这灰雾射中，顷刻间痛苦扭曲着改变自己的形体，变得宛若八爪鱼般长出几道多余肢节。
Beneath the water, several fish struck by this gray mist writhed in agony, their bodies twisting and deforming, sprouting extra, octopus-like limbs.
即便自己的时序应该能防御这样的攻击，但杨子藏依旧看得头皮发麻。
Though his own Temporal Sequence should defend against such attacks, Yang Zicang felt a chilling creep on his scalp at the sight.
他拔起充满妖异的长枪一枪戳去，桅杆上发出幻音惨叫。
He pulled out and plunged the eerie, crooked spear once more, whereupon the mast let out a phantom wail.
这声音反而让杨子藏冷静了点。
Strangely, that sound made Yang Zicang cool down a bit.
「要趁此多搜集资料才对。」
“I should seize the chance to gather more data.”
这可是找了几十年的异相，绝不能如此就全杀了了事。
This is a phenomenon I’ve been searching for decades—there’s no way I’ll just kill them all like that.
他拿起独木舟上一根木棒抽打过去。
He picked up a wooden stick from the canoe and struck at them.
这根普通的木棒，除了将原本就快烂掉的皮革打得嘭嘭作响外，果然没什么用。
As expected, this ordinary stick, aside from thumping loudly against the already rotting leather, was utterly useless.
「看来如同那些恶魇一样，虽然你们跟它们有些差别，不需要耗费时序，但也不是普通攻击能够伤到的。」
“Seems like those nightmares—though you’re somewhat different from them, not requiring to expend time sequences—can’t be harmed by ordinary attacks either.”
噗噗噗！
Poof poof poof!
又是几道灰雾射来，一如既往被调动进入水中后，杨子藏用手上的灵物战器几下将它彻底捣烂。
Several more streams of gray mist shot forth, and as before, after being hoarded into the water, Yang Zicang thoroughly smashed them to pieces with a few strikes of the spirit weapon in his hand.
只剩木桩的桅杆上，黑色纹路渐渐不再流动。
On the mast, now reduced to a stump, the black patterns gradually stopped flowing.
青红色粘液渗出，它们干枯后，宛若半透明晶膜覆盖在上面。
Blue-red secretion oozed out; as it dried up, it formed a translucent crystalline film covering the surface.
杨子藏用手触摸。
Yang Zicang reached out to touch it.
[大概是能给小船加速的灵物战器。]
[Probably a spirit weapon that can accelerate the boat.]
又等了些时间，独木舟上再也没有更多的东西出现异状。
After waiting a bit longer, no other abnormalities emerged from the canoe.
「为什么会突然冒出这些东西，是因为进入了什么特殊的地方了吗？」
“Why did these things suddenly appear? Did we enter some special place?”
前方的海域与之前没什么不同，除了或许是冬天的缘故，偶尔会落下雪花之外。
The sea ahead looked no different from before, except for the occasional snowflakes falling, perhaps due to winter.
杨子藏抬头看向桅杆，自己触摸它后的确能感受到它可以给船加速的能力。
Yang Zicang looked up at the mast—after touching it, he could indeed sense its ability to accelerate the boat.
随后他的目光望得更高。
Then his gaze lifted higher.
要说还有什么其它特别之处——那就是天上那颗跑了两三个月才如日上三杆般的彗星了。
If there was anything else peculiar—it was that comet in the sky, which had only reached the position of the sun at its peak after two or three months of traveling.
「该不会是你？！」
” Could it be you?!”
杨子藏仰头，要真是这样，那片陆地恐怕…
Yang Zicang looked up. If that were the case, that land might be…
调转船头！
Turn the boat around!
[灵物战器，加速！]
[Spiritual weapon, accelerate!]
[调度，加速！]
[Deploy, accelerate!]
嘭！
Boom!
独木舟的速度瞬间暴涨。
The speed of the dugout canoe instantly skyrocketed.
伸脚踩在船头的杨子藏内心焦躁不安。
Yang Zicang, with one foot resting on the bow, grew restless and anxious.
他频繁抬头看向那颗彗星，现如今稍微变大些的它已经能看到表面的红色。
He kept looking up at the comet, which had now grown slightly larger, allowing its red surface to be seen.
[保持这样的速度与消耗，时间，加速！]
[Maintain this speed and consumption level. Time, accelerate!]
[我前往了7.1R以后。]
[I have advanced to 7.1R later.]
昼夜在一秒内交替数次，杨子藏发现速度慢了许多，桅杆的加速能力消失了。
Day and night alternated several times within a single second. Yang Zicang noticed that the speed had slowed significantly—the mast’s acceleration ability had vanished.
它的能量来源不是时序。
Its energy source is not the temporal sequence.
「你要补充的是什么？」
“What do you need to replenish?”
死去的恶魇不会说话，杨子藏灵机一动，伏下身子将手插入波涛之下，附近游动的鱼儿犹如自然进入掌中般被他抓起。
The dead nightmare could not speak. Yang Zicang had a stroke of inspiration and bent down, plunging his hand into the waves underneath. Nearby fish, as if naturally drawn into his grasp, were caught by him.
鱼触碰到桅杆所化的灵物战器不久，上面自然伸出几根丝线插入鱼的身体中，它摆动的幅度小了下去，随后快速干枯。
As soon as the fish touched the spiritual weapon transformed from the mast, several threads extended and pierced the fish’s body. Its struggling gradually subsided, and then it swiftly shriveled.
「一只鱼根本不够。」
“One fish is far from enough.”
杨子藏看向水面之下，隐约有巨大生物从黑暗的海水下晃过。
Yang Zicang looked beneath the surface, where a colossal creature faintly stirred in the dark sea.
长着鳞甲般的鲨鱼调转身体冲来，在独木舟旁几米处纵身一跃，直直落在船上，挺着眼被杨子藏两枪结束掉了性命。
A shark covered in scale-like armor turned and lunged forward. It leaped several meters from the dugout canoe, landing straight onto the boat, eyes wide open, before Yang Zicang dispatched it with two gunshots.
血腥味弥漫，杨子藏将它放倒桅杆旁，没多久就成了干瘪的大鱼干。
The scent of blood permeated the air. Yang Zicang hoisted it near the mast, and before long, it had shriveled into a dessicated fish jerky.
桅杆重新开始加速。
The mast resumed accelerating.
「拜托了，哪怕是梦境…」
“Please, even if it’s a dream…”
一个月后，海岸线终于出现在眼前，见到它的瞬间，杨子藏焦急站起身来，望向那里。
A month later, the coastline finally came into view. At the sight of it, Yang Zicang rose anxiously, staring into the distance.
独木舟如同冲锋快艇唰地冲上陌生的海岸沙滩。
The longboat shot across the unfamiliar beach sand like a speedboat, zipping forth.
[时间加速。]
[Time Acceleration.]
[我前往了 2R 以后。]
[I have advanced two rotations into the future.]
日月转动，杨子藏出现在离开时的那个原始部落附近，此刻这里已经没有人烟。
Sun and moon shifted. Yang Zicang materialized near the primitive tribe he had departed from, yet now it was utterly devoid of life.
但，浓重的血腥味似乎永恒弥漫在此处。
But a thick, heavy stench of blood seemed to linger there eternally, immutable.
幽深而茂密的森林边缘，当初住人的洞穴内，晦暗红光隐隐闪烁。
At the edge of the deep, dense forest, inside the cave where people once dwelled, a faint flicker of dark red light pulsed.
盛怒！
Overwhelming rage!
杨子藏从未如此痛心与愤怒。
Yang Zicang had never felt such profound agony and fury.
他手握长枪，周身冒著Moexl四倍增幅后的金辉一步步走去向那里。 还未靠近，里面的恶魇似已发现外界的生命。
Gripping *Lance closely*, his body emanated a golden radiance, amplified by quadruple *Moxel*, as he strode step by step toward that place. Before he drew near, the nightmare within already sensed the life force from outside.
轰隆！
Boom!
岩石爆开，数道如同剑鱼般长著指头大怪异人脸的东西穿过岩石射来。
Rock exploded as several things, resembling swordfish but topped with monstrous, finger-sized faces, shot through the stone.
「啊，死！」
“Ah, die!”
杨子藏哪里不知它们的脸来自哪儿！
Yang Zicang surely recognized whose faces those bore!
武器抽动，这些东西若是在地上倒也罢了，它们飞在空中，无不受到调度能力的制约，仿佛自己撞上枪尖似的。
His weapon flickered. Had these things stayed on the ground, it might have been one thing, but as they flew through the air, they fell entirely under the restraint of will—impaling themselves on his spear as if of their own accord.
枪影如风。
The spear shadow swept like wind.
在这片广阔原始大陆上练习至少十数年战斗技巧的杨子藏，早已不是当年的泛泛之辈。
Yang Zicang, who had honed his combat skills for at least a decade on this vast, primal continent, was long past being the nobody he once was.
这些小巧的恶魇怪物很快便被打倒于地，形成各种短刀石斧模样。
These small, fiendish nightmare monsters were soon beaten to the ground, transforming into the shapes of various short blades and stone axes.
他痛心疾首，后悔莫及。
His heart ached with regret, and remorse was futile.
浓重的血气涌现。
A thick, bloody aura surged forth.
｛古拉~｝
{Grrrrr~}
洞穴中，宛若人形，但周身如同藤蔓组成的恶魇怪物走出。
From within the cave, a nightmare creature emerged, seemingly humanoid yet made of entwined vines.
它顶着张扭曲猿人脸庞，看向外界赤红双目的杨子藏。
It wore the twisted face of an ape, and its gaze fixed on Yang Zicang, whose eyes burned crimson into the world beyond.
瞧见那张熟悉但扭曲的脸庞，杨子藏再也忍不住！
The sight of that familiar but distorted face tore through the last of Yang Zicang’s restraint!
「啊！死来！」
“Ah! Die!”
唰唰！
Swoosh! Swoosh!
数道藤蔓从它指见飞速扩散而出，化为大网扩散而来。
Several vines shot forth from its fingers, expanding swiftly into a net that spread wide.
还不等它们落下，又是两个稍小般的这种怪异生物出现在其身后，用类似的能力发动蔓网罩来。
Before the net could fall, two smaller, grotesque creatures of the same kind appeared behind it, launching vine nets of their own converging ability.
杨子藏瞬间化为残影，长枪挑起个蔓网，唰地将它撕破。
Yang Zicang dissolved into a blur, his spear hurling upward to catch one vine net and tear it apart with a swing.
阳光稀薄地穿透密集的树冠，洒下斑驳光影，恶魇怪物脚下的根系如同坚韧的脉络，深深扎入大地。
Sunlight, thinly filtering through the dense canopy, cast dappled shadows, while the roots beneath the nightmare creature’s feet gripped deep into the earth like tenacious veins.
｛呜古拉！｝
{Ugula!}
它们如原始人般咆哮着，鼓起根根巨大藤蔓裂地而起，如同条条穿梭的巨蟒。
They bellowed like primordial men, heaving up colossal vines that split the earth as they surged, like giant pythons darting through the soil.
杨子藏身形矫健跃动，躲避这些游走地下的根须。
Yang Zicang moved with agile grace, evading the roots slithering beneath the ground.
随着声低沉咆哮，两只小些的藤蔓恶魇挥动编织而成的巨臂，带着呼啸的风声砸来。
A low, guttural roar rang out as two smaller vine-fiends swung their woven great arms forward, bringing a howling gust of wind crashing down.
嘭！
Thud!
两道藤蔓巨臂改变轨迹，狠狠撞在一起，爆起漫天飞絮。
The two vine-like arms altered their trajectory, slamming violently into each other with an explosive burst of flying debris.
他身形一闪，轻巧地跃至一旁，同时手中长枪化作道流光飞射而出，直刺树精的胸膛。
He flickered aside with nimble ease, leaping lightly away, while the long spear in his hand shot forth like a streak of light, straight at the chest of the tree demon.
「加速！给我撞开！」
“Speed! Ram it open!”
枪速暴涨！
The spear’s velocity surged!
小恶魇并不坚韧的胸腔瞬间炸开，里面的一团红芒被枪尖戳破四散消亡。
The chest of the lesser fiend, no longer robust, burst open in an instant—the crimson glow within it shattered by the spear’s tip, dispersing into nothingness.
剩下两只恶魇见状，纷纷嘶吼着冲来。
Upon seeing this, the remaining two fiends let out furious roars and charged forward.
它们也终于知道眼前之人并非前些日子那些不堪一击的生物，开始发动全力。
They finally realized the man before them was no match for the weaklings they had preyed upon in days past, and began to unleash their full strength.
地面下的树根们轰然翻出，如同挥舞的根根长矛向杨子藏横扫而来。
The roots beneath the ground burst forth with a thunderous roar, swinging like countless spears, sweeping toward Yang Zicang.
噔噔噔！
Tap! Tap! Tap!
杨子藏脚步数次轻巧点动，一脚踏在拱起的树根上跃起。
With a series of light, precise steps, he planted one foot on a heaving root and leaped upward.
另一只小恶魇快速消耗自己的能量，它摇摆身姿，无数细小藤蔓自身体冒出，铺天盖地涌去，企图缠绕住眼前快速接近的敌人。
Another minor nightmare fiend rapidly consumed its own energy, swaying its body as countless fine vines sprouted from it, surging in all directions in a desperate attempt to ensnare the swiftly approaching enemy.
杨子藏浑身冒着金光，一拳打碎前方的无数细小藤蔓。
Yang Zicang radiated golden light, smashing through the endless web of fine vines with a single punch.
身体落在洞穴前，他拽住插入恶魇身躯内的灵物战器一把抽出。
Landing before the cave, he yanked the spirit weapon embedded in the nightmare fiend’s body and pulled it out with a wrench.
「滚回地狱去吧！」
“Go back to hell!”
枪杆拍打开缠绕而来的藤蔓，轰然插入另一只小恶魇身侧来不及运用藤蔓封锁的缝隙内。
The shaft of his spear batted away the vines coiling toward him, driving forcefully into the gap beside the other minor nightmare fiend before it could seal it with vines.
嘭！
Bang!
红色能量团炸开。
A cluster of red energy exploded.
身后无数巨藤呼啸而至。
Countless giant vines howled toward him from behind.
杨子藏扭头看去，手上随之而动。
Yang Zicang turned his head to look, his hands moving in sync.
砰砰砰！
Bam! Bam! Bam!
枪尖爆闪，他身形如同离弦之箭，猩红的灵物战器化作道璀璨的幻影轨迹。
The spear’s tip flashed explosively; his body shot forth like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, the crimson spirit weapon tracing a brilliant phantom trajectory.
随著震耳欲聋的轰鸣，剩下的巨大恶魇发出痛苦哀嚎幻音。
Amid a thunderous roar, the remaining colossal nightmare fiend let out a telepathic wail of agony.
长枪精准刺入它体内红色能量团。
The Lance stabbed precisely into the red energy mass inside its body.
轰隆！
Crashing!
斑驳阳光下，最后的恶魇也逐渐开始消散。
Bathed in dappled sunlight, the last nightmare fiend slowly began to disintegrate.
漫天碎屑中，杨子藏起身漠然转头看去，满地都是不可名状的怪物残骸。
Amid the flurry of fragments, Yang Zicang rose and turned to cast an indifferent gaze—the ground was littered with unrecognizable monstrous remains.
他沉默地走入洞穴内，四周散落十数具干枯人形。
Silently, he stepped into the cave, where more than a dozen withered human forms lay scattered around him.
墙上有胡闹的孩童拿岩石刻画的混乱线条，再高处，是族群里有威望的野人努力画出的各种生物形象。
On the cave walls were chaotic lines scratched by mischievous children with rocks, and higher up, the various living figures painstakingly carved by the respected savages of the clan.
有一道拱形、四根小短线所表示的野兽，有竖立交叉线条所代表的人，还有好几个由两条曲线线条扭曲在一起的鱼。
There was a beast represented by an arch shape with four short lines, humans symbolized by erect crossing lines, and several fish twisted together from two curves.
「你们都会捕鱼了。」
“So you all have learned to fish.”
「明明那么努力生存的人们…」
“Those people who struggled so hard to survive…”
杨子藏握紧了拳头，看向这些绘画下方，墙角被抽干精血的尸骸，
Yang Zicang clenched his fists, looking at the desiccated corpses drained of life at the base of the wall beneath these paintings.
「现在不是哀叹的时候。」
“Now is not the time for lamentation.”
这块大陆还大得很。
This continent was still immensely vast.
若异变是从这边陆续开始，那么时间上来说，或许还未完全覆盖整片陆地。
If the mutation had begun spreading from this region, then by the look of it, perhaps it had not yet entirely covered the whole landmass.
他快速前往记忆中留下过技艺与武器的族群与小部落。
He quickly made his way to the clans and small tribes he remembered passing down skills and weapons to.
几个月来彗星已经划过小半个天空，此时已经进入春天有些时候了。
In the past few months, the comet had streaked across nearly half the sky, and by now, spring had been underway for some time.
一路上杨子藏遇见一个又一个被毁灭的族群聚集地，只有少数茫然无措的野人逃出生天，再也不敢回家。
Along his journey, Yang Zicang encountered one devastated tribal settlement after another; only a few dazed savages had escaped with their lives,* too terrified to ever return home.
他们孤零零地散落在茫茫天地中，不知何时才能遇到其它同样命运的人，组建起新的族落。
They scattered alone across the endless expanse of heaven and earth, uncertain when they might encounter others who shared their fate, to form a new tribe.
轰！
Boom!
木棚所形成的恶魇被他几枪击碎。
The nightmare formed by wooden shanties was shattered by several shots from his spear.
炎炎烈日下，跨过大半个陆地的杨子藏迈步而来。
Under the scorching sun, Yang Zicang strode across most of the continent, his steps drawing him closer.
挑起碎木块低头看去，窝棚下方的尸体残骸像是死去不到半个月。
Lifting a broken wooden plank and peering down, he saw that the corpse remains beneath the shack had been dead for less than half a month.
「这恶魇应该形成不久，我的猜想对的。」
“This nightmare must have formed not long ago. My guess is correct.”
天际彗星挂在一成不染的碧蓝苍穹，如同画家的优美笔触。
A comet hung in the flawless azure sky like a masterful brushstroke from a painter.
他收回仰望的目光，正将离去，忽地听到远方几道声音响起。
Lowering his gaze from the sky, he was about to leave when he suddenly heard several voices in the distance.
一大一小两个野人冲了出来，他们在十来米外如猿猴般半蹲著唔喔看著杨子藏。
A large and a small savage burst out, crouching like apes just over ten meters away, grunting and ogling at Yang Zicang.
「对不起，这次我… 没办法教你们什么了。」
“I’m sorry. This time, I… can’t teach you anything anymore.”
他消失在原地。
He vanished from where he stood.
彗星继续稳定前进，跨过大半个天空的时候，杨子藏回到了大陆的另一端。
The comet continued its steady advance, and as it crossed most of the sky, Yang Zicang returned to the other side of the continent.
终于陆续又发现还存在的小族群，它们要么是搞忘了杨子藏教过的技巧，要么是搞坏了那些石矛、石刀之类的工具，要么就是以前未与自己相遇过。
Eventually, he found more small tribes, some of which had either forgotten the skills Yang Zicang had taught them, damaged tools like stone spears and knives, or had never crossed paths with him before.
枯黄的森林旁，杨子藏重新制作了石矛与复杂的小木屋后，并未诞生恶魇。
By the withered yellow forest, Yang Zicang made a new stone spear and a complex little wooden shack, yet no nightmare emerged from it.
自此望著头顶迟自己一步的彗星。
From then on, he simply watched the comet above him, trailing just a step behind in his own journey.
他已经确定，至少九成以上的可能，这些异变都是来自于它。
He was now certain—with more than ninety percent probability—that these anomalies all originated from it.
「这就是，这个世界想传递给我的资讯吗？」
“Is this the message this world wants to convey to me?”
坐在屋外等了两天没有异相后，杨子藏一把火将它烧得干干净净。
After sitting outside for two days without witnessing any anomalies, Yang Zicang set it ablaze, burning it to ashes.
……
巫坐著篝火前。
The shaman sat before the campfire.
老眼昏花的他身旁围著无数目光单纯，但精光四射的人们。
Surrounding him, with dim eyes and dulled senses, were countless people whose gazes were pure yet gleamed with sharp intelligence.
无论男女老幼，他们都裹著披著干净整洁的各式皮毛。
Regardless of gender or age, they were wrapped in clean and neatly arranged furs of all kinds.
风雪肆虐。 这岩壁下的凹坑内却不时露出些欢声笑语，但这些人不敢在年老的巫身边大声说话，只是偶尔在人群周边低声调笑。
The wind and snow raged. Yet, in this hollow beneath the cliff wall, bursts of laughter and chatter occasionally emerged. But these people dared not speak loudly near the aged shaman, only whispering low jokes at the edges of the crowd from time to time.
若谁惊扰到这位老人，几位族群首领会马上将这些人解开绳索腰带、拔去兽皮，丢到风雪中。
If anyone disturbed the old man, several tribal chiefs would immediately untie their ropes and waistbands, strip away their animal hides, and cast them out into the wind and snow.
因为若是没有巫，他们哪里会如此安逸度日，只能在风雪中挨饿受冻，艰难过冬。
For without the shaman, how could they live so comfortably? They would only endure hunger and cold in the blizzard, struggling through the harsh winter.
之所以这样严苛对待作出冒犯行为的年轻野人，是因为老人家的年纪太大了，已经经不起什么响动的刺激。
They treated these young savages who committed offenses with such severity because the old man was far too advanced in years to withstand any stimulation from loud noises.
从那个时代还活下来的人中，仅有寥寥几人而已。
Of those who survived from that era, only a few remained.
但可别小看这几人，他们的存活时间，已经超过了普通野人的两倍以上，因为原本大多数野人都活不过三十。 它们大多死于疾病、饥饿以及野兽之口。
But don’t underestimate these few; their lifespans had already exceeded twice that of ordinary savages, as most savages originally lived no more than thirty years. Most died from disease, starvation, or the jaws of wild beasts.
一个额头光洁的男人小声对著身旁的女孩咿呀两句，长发披肩露出圆圆脸庞的女野人瞪了他一眼后，蹑著手脚起身走出。
A man with a smooth forehead softly muttered a few words to the girl beside him; the female savage, with her long hair draped over her shoulders and a round face, shot him a glare before tiptoeing away and stepping out.
男野人嘿嘿笑了下，也鬼鬼祟祟地后退，离开了庞大的、熊熊燃烧的篝火范围。
The male savage let out a low chuckle, then sneaked backward, retreating from the vast, blazing campfire’s perimeter.
两个聚落首领互相看了眼，会心一笑。
The two tribal leaders exchanged a glance and shared a knowing smile.
他们是鼓励聚落的人员越来越多的，这意味著将有源源不绝的人力来维持聚落的壮大。
They encouraged an ever-growing number of people in the tribe, as it would provide an endless supply of labor to sustain and expand their settlement.