Stone Village was located within the boundless mountain range, surrounded by towering peaks and huge valleys, vast and majestic.
In the morning, the sunrise glittered like scattered gold, bathing everyone in a warm glow.
A group of children, ranging from four or five years old to teens, numbering several dozen, faced the dawn on the clearing in front of the village, vigorously exercising their bodies. The young faces were full of seriousness, with the older children moving with great vitality, and the younger ones imitating the moves with more shape than form.
A middle-aged man, as strong and fit as a tiger or leopard, wore beast skin clothing, his skin was bronze-colored, and his black hair hung loosely. His sharp eyes swept across each child, diligently guiding them.
"The sun has just risen, everything begins, and the energy of life is at its peak. While we cannot feast on the glow and essence like in the legends, exercising in the morning glow has great benefits, filling the body with vitality. The plan of the day starts in the morning. Rising early each day, practicing hard, strengthening bones and muscles, activating blood and refining sinews; only then can you have the means to survive in these boundless mountain ranges." The middle-aged man standing in front earnestly admonished the group of children, then shouted, "Do you understand?"
"We understand!" The children responded loudly with full energy.
In the mountains, prehistoric creatures often appeared; sometimes, giant wings obscured the sky, casting large shadows on the ground, or desolate beasts roared from the peaks, swallowing the moon, not to mention the various poisonous insects crawling, terribly frightening.
"Understood, yeah." A little fellow, who was clearly distracted and slow by half a beat, called out in a childish voice.
This was a very small child, only about one or two years old, who had just learned to walk a few months ago and was also exercising with the others. Clearly, he had come over himself, mixed in with the older children, not meant to be part of this group.
"Hm-hah-hey!" The little fellow voiced out, energetically waving his tender little arms, imitating the movements of the older children. But being too young, his actions were crooked and unsteady. His tottering steps added to the humor, with white milk stains at the corners of his mouth inviting laughter.
A group of older children watched him, all grimaced and gestured, easing the initially serious atmosphere of the morning exercise considerably.
Little Tot was very fair and pretty, his big black eyes rolled, making him look like a porcelain doll, very cute, with naive actions and an adorable demeanor. This drew smiles from some elders sitting cross-legged on large rocks in another part of the area, absorbing the essence of the sky.
Even the grown men, who were tall and sturdy with bare upper bodies, bright and bulging muscles, looked over with smiles. They were the strongest in the village, the most important force for hunting and guarding the village, also exercising; some wielded big bone clubs from unknown giant beasts, while others held wide swords forged from black metal, swinging with thunderous sound.
The survival environment was extremely harsh, with many ancient fierce beasts and poisonous insects. Due to the need for food and survival, many men died prematurely in the great desolate area before reaching adulthood; to stay alive, one could only strengthen oneself. Morning practice was a habit ingrained since childhood, whether adult, elderly or child.
"Focus!" The middle-aged man, responsible for overseeing and guiding the children, shouted loudly. The group of children quickly refocused, continuing to exercise under the gentle and brilliant morning glow.
"Whew... Eh-yah, I'm tired." Little Tot let out a sigh, sat on the ground with a plop, watching the older children exercise their bodies. But soon he became distracted, stood up, staggered to chase a bouncing Five-colored Sparrow not far away, tumbling several times without crying, grumbling, he got up and chased again.
"Alright, finish!"
With a loud shout, all the children cheered, rubbed their sore limbs, and dispersed, rushing to their homes to prepare breakfast.
The elders laughed, rising from the stones. Even the strong adults laughed and bantered, scolding their children, though carrying bone clubs and wide swords, headed quickly toward their homes.
Stone Village wasn't very large, with more than 300 people of all ages living here. Houses were built from large stones, simple yet natural.
At the village head was a huge lightning-struck tree, over ten meters in diameter, its solitary willow branch had just lost its luster under the morning glow and appeared ordinary.
"Oh, there's Earth Dragon meat, give me a piece!"
The children were lively and active even during meals, not behaving well. Many came out holding pottery bowls from home, gathering together.
The area around Stone Village was lush with vegetation and full of fierce beasts, but despite living by the big mountain, the villagers' food wasn't abundant, consisting mainly of rough wheat cakes, wild fruits, and occasionally some meat in the children's bowls.
In fact, food scarcity had always been a severe problem for Stone Village. The mountains were extremely dangerous, the exotic beasts and fierce birds too strong and terrifying; each hunt risked lives being lost.
If possible, villagers avoided entering the mountains, because it meant possible bloodshed and sacrifice.
Food was very precious to them, not to be wasted; every child learned from a young age the link between hunger, food, hunting, life, and blood.
The village head was the courtyard of Patriarch Shi Yunfeng, built with large stones, next to a charred and massive willow wood. In the courtyard, a white liquid boiled in a pottery pot at the stove, filling the air with a milky fragrance. He was boiling beast milk, occasionally adding some herbs and stirring it slowly with a wooden spoon.
Soon, the elder shouted, "Little Tot, come eat."
Little Tot had lost his parents at half a year old, raised on beast milk, now a year and a few months old; normal children would have weaned by now, but he still loved it, unwilling to stop, often teased by the older children.
"Eh-yah, whew... can't run anymore." He had been persistently chasing the Five-colored Sparrow, breathless, and sat down on the ground.
"Little Tot's going for milk!" A group of older children cheered.
"You bunch of little monkeys were all at this age once." The old clan leader laughed and scolded.
"We weren't drinking milk at one and a half years old, heh heh."
Facing the older children's teasing, Little Tot smiled naively, his shiny black eyes narrowed into crescents, indifferent, sitting by the pottery pot, scooping milk with a wooden spoon, enjoying it sweetly.
After breakfast, several of the village's elderly men came to the courtyard of clan leader Shi Yunfeng, though their hair and beard had turned white long ago, they retained strong spirit and energy.
"Things aren't right lately. Massive creatures have been passing by at night, making too much racket. Something must have happened deep in these mountains."
"Mm, I was awoken several times last night, with chills down my skin and bones. Surely, some ancient fierce beasts and monstrous insects passed through."
Several elders spoke up, either frowning or looking thoughtful, discussing recent ominous signs, sensing unusual occurrences.
"I think something incredible may have surfaced in the depths of the great desolate area, attracting attention from some regional primordial species heading over," said the old clan leader Shi Yunfeng after pondering.
"Could there be a mountain treasure?" An elder suddenly widened his eyes, hairs bristling, showing shock.
The others also revealed peculiar expressions, eyes aglow, but soon extinguished the flames in their eyes. Such things weren't attainable for them, located deep within the mountain range, inaccessible to anyone.
No one had ever managed to venture in and out alive for all these years. Numerous formidable species inhabited the mountain range; even if everyone from Stone Village raided it, they wouldn't stir even a ripple.
"Clan leader, we haven't gone into the mountains for some time now." At that moment, a strong adult male entered the courtyard, the leader of the hunting team, and future clan leader of Stone Village.
"Things haven't been peaceful lately," the old clan leader Shi Yunfeng frowned.
"But the food is really running short," Shi Linhu said, towering over two meters, carrying a wide sword weighing over 300 pounds, as robust as a human bear, muscles bronze-colored, bulging, moving like serpents and pythons.
"The kids need to grow. They can't be starved; we need to think of something," an elder spoke.
"Though nights are restless, no unusual happenings have occurred during daylight. I'll take some men out, being cautious should be alright," Shi Linhu said.
Finally, dozens of young and strong men gathered at the village head, led by clan leader Shi Yunfeng to the neighboring lightning-struck tree, where they prayed earnestly to the old willow tree.
"Guardian spirit, please protect the clansmen, let the children catch abundant prey and return safely. With sincere hearts, we will worship and offer to you for generations."