Chapter 151: Rocks cannot stand the hot and cold too.
"Add more firewood."
Han Cheng looked at the stone and instructed someone to continue adding firewood.
Afterward, he assessed the size of the stone, glanced at the two jars of water placed not far away, and felt that the water might not be sufficient. He sent someone back to fetch clay jars to transport more water.
The people who were supposed to fetch water hadn't arrived, but Shaman and the Eldest Senior Brother had already arrived. After learning about the Divine Child's task, they couldn't resist their curiosity and wanted to witness how the Divine Child would overcome the challenge of the stone.
Without objections from Han Cheng, who understood that entertainment options were scarce in this era, they left some people to guard the tribe and brought the rest along.
With five loads of water brought over, everyone eagerly watched Divine Child. However, Han Cheng didn't make any other moves; he simply placed the water on the side and continued adding firewood under the stone.
Seeing a large firewood burning almost entirely, Han Cheng picked a dry, dead grass from nearby, extended his arm, and placed the grass stem against the stone.
He positioned it near the top of the stone, about thirty centimeters above the flames below.
After a short while, faint green smoke emerged. Han Cheng retrieved the grass stem and observed that the part in contact with the stone had turned black.
He broke off the burnt section and held the grass stem out again, this time directly at the highest point of the stone, about twenty centimeters above the previous position.
The grass stem had been in contact for almost a minute, yet no smoke appeared. Suppressing the heat waves, Han Cheng withdrew the grass stem and found only a slightly scorched area where it touched the stone.
It seemed that it hadn't burned through.
Stepping back a few paces to avoid the scorching heat, Han Cheng ordered to bring more firewood, and then
"Splash!"
"Crack, crack!"
Throwing away the blackened grass stem, Han Cheng gave the command. The people holding clay jars near the large stone immediately began pouring water onto the thoroughly heated stone.
When cold water met the heated stone, it instantly boiled, and white smoke billowed, enveloping the surroundings. This sensation was far more intense than pouring water on hot stones in a steam room in the modern world.
The people of the Green Sparrow tribe, who had never experienced such a situation, became frantic. Some had already shouted in panic.
Standing by Han Cheng's side, Shaman, still groping, grabbed Han Cheng and pulled him behind his body.
However, Han Cheng showed no signs of panic. On the contrary, he felt overjoyed because, at the beginning, he heard the cracking sound mixed with the sound of water. It was the sound of the stone breaking.
"Keep pouring water upwards!"
After a brief excitement, he stuck his head out from behind Shaman, and with a loud voice, he began shouting.
However, the white mist covered everything at this moment, and people were panicking. Besides Shang, who heard Divine Child shouting and fumbled to pick up a water jar, everyone else was too preoccupied to notice.
Fortunately, the water vapor came and dissipated quickly. After pouring water onto the stone without stopping, the mist soon vanished.
As the white fog cleared, the panicked crowd gradually quieted down.
They looked at Divine Child, who had hurriedly calmed Shaman and emerged from behind him. In their eyes, there was a mix of surprise and fear.
Although they had seen white mist before, this sudden thick fog without any warning was a first for them. Accompanied by the rising mist, various piercing sounds echoed. It would be strange if they weren't frightened.
"Quiet, don't be afraid."
Han Cheng looked at the shattered clay jars on the ground and then at the anxious crowd. He spoke out to calm them.
Eldest Senior Brother and the others, seeing the Divine Child present with a calm demeanor while the adults were in a state of panic, couldn't help but feel embarrassed. They needed Divine Child to boost their courage.
"It's opened, it's opened!"
Someone suddenly shouted in excitement, pointing a finger at the massive stone.
Now realizing what they were doing, others gathered around to look at the large stone. They quickly made way for Divine Child and Shaman behind them.
However, unlike before, they now looked at Divine Child with more reverence.
They had dealt with many stones, and in their understanding, large stones were immovable. In less than half a day, Divine Child had managed to split a stone that seemed impossible to move. How could they not feel reverence?
Many people couldn't help but lower their heads to look at their own hands, then at the clay jars holding water and the wet firewood on the ground, expressing an incredulous look.
They couldn't believe they had achieved this.
With Shaman showing a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, Han Cheng approached the large stone to inspect it. He saw that it had cracked into seven or eight irregular pieces, with only a few small chunks falling off, while the rest still formed a cohesive whole.
This should be due to not pouring enough water onto it while it was still hot.
"Divine Child, Divine Child!"
Under the lead of someone, a chorus of respectful and excited shouts rang out.
Not knowing what was happening, Fu Jiang bounced around, wagging his tail and adding to the noise.
The sound traveled far, and nearby birds foraging for food, startled, spread their wings, and flew away in a hurry, afraid that these overly excited two-legged creatures might do something to them.
Boom!
A stone fell from the large rock. Early on, before the stone fell, Shang, who had agilely dodged to the side, waited for the situation to stabilize. Once everything settled, he came over and moved a smaller stone aside. Picking up two wooden wedges, one thrown to the side, she held the other in her hand. After heating it in the fire and sharpening the bottom, she inserted it into another crack on the large stone.
Leaning to the side to ensure the falling stone wouldn't harm him, Shang began using the stone to strike the top of the wooden wedge.
"Thud, thud, thud, splash."
This crack was relatively large. The stone loosened, and before the wooden wedge had been hammered in much, a large piece of stone peeled off from the now much smaller rock.
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