Why? Why are the ways night falls in the primitive era all so strange? Richard Thompson felt increasingly confused. If the strength and speed of primitive people were greater than his, he could at least try to understand it, but the night also fell much faster than in later times, which he simply couldn’t comprehend. He tried hard to search his mind for some natural knowledge about the primitive era, but… it was a complete blank.

After a while, a big fire finally blazed up in the fire pit, and the sky had already turned completely dark.

The women brought the children back into the cave, and Richard Thompson was also called in by Brian Cooper, because it was time to distribute dinner. Only four young men were left outside to tend the fire pit.

A fire was also lit inside the cave, much smaller than the one outside, but enough to illuminate the cave.

Everyone sat on the ground around the fire. They really seemed to love the light, and at the same time were very afraid of the night. The little kids stared at the fire, their eyes sparkling with joy.

Several women moved among them, distributing food.

Richard Thompson also received his dinner, wrapped in a leaf. Inside were three green fruits, one large pink fruit, and a few things that looked like roots or stems.

This actually surprised Richard Thompson a bit. He thought for sure they’d be eating meat tonight—after all, they’d just eaten offal earlier, and had been discussing what to make for dinner. But he didn’t ask much, since the people here were still somewhat wary of him.

Soon, the sound of chewing filled the cave.

Richard Thompson glanced around and saw that everyone was eating happily. He looked down at the food in his hand. Although the colors were very bright, he didn’t recognize a single thing. He couldn’t help but wonder: Did they wash this stuff? Do they wash their hands? Will I get diarrhea if I eat this? And if I do get diarrhea… right! There probably aren’t any toilets here. I don’t even know how they go to the bathroom, and it’s so dark outside…

After thinking it over, he decided not to eat for now, quietly wrapping up the food and holding it in his arms.

The others, meanwhile, quickly finished off their dinners.

“Brian Cooper, tell a story, tell a story.”

Suddenly, a child shouted.

“Tell a story.”

“Tell a story.”

The other children immediately joined in, all looking very excited.

This time, Richard Thompson could understand their excitement. After all, they were still young and couldn’t have children yet; telling stories was probably their only entertainment at night. He also wanted to learn something about this era from the stories.

With the children clamoring excitedly, old Brian Cooper stood up and walked to the stone wall with the cave paintings. With the firelight shining on his face, he somehow gave off the aura of a wise man.

“All right, all right! I’ll tell you a story.”

As Brian Cooper spoke, he let out his signature “hehe” laugh. He scratched his fluffy, withered hair and said, “Tonight I’ll tell you a story about the night.” He tapped his forehead with his wooden staff, and after a moment, he wiped a layer of charcoal ash from the ground with his finger and said, “A long, long time ago, when I was as small as you… hehe… even Henry Wright hadn’t been born yet. We could only rely on the fire given to us by the heavens. I remember one night…”

As soon as he mentioned the night, the little kids’ eyes immediately showed fear.

Then old Brian Cooper continued, “We didn’t manage to keep the fire going, so we could only block the cave entrance with big stones to guard against beasts. While we were sleeping, we suddenly heard a ‘ying ying ying’ sound outside the cave. The adults told us it was the six-legged beast luring children, and warned us never to go out. But there was a child named Samuel Harris, who was very curious, because he had never seen the six-legged beast. So he secretly crawled out through a crack in the rocks.”

As he spoke, he drew on the stone wall.

Oh… so that’s how the cave paintings came about. Richard Thompson looked closely at his drawing—it was really crude. The only thing clear was that the creature had six legs, and its front pair looked like hands, raised up. He wondered, what kind of beast is that? Sigh… he really regretted not learning more about primitive society.

“What… what happened to him?”

A chubby little boy asked nervously.

Richard Thompson also looked curiously at Brian Cooper. After all, a story like this should have a twist, otherwise how could they pass the long night?

“He was eaten by the six-legged beast!”

Brian Cooper suddenly said.

The little kids all jumped in fright, some even shrinking into their mothers’ arms.

“All right! All right! The story’s over!” Brian Cooper laughed again.

That’s it? Richard Thompson was dumbfounded. That ending was… really unexpected. What a “nutritious” story.

He then heard some women warning their children, “Don’t go out at night, or you’ll be eaten by the six-legged beast.”