ALL NOVEL Chapter 24: In the Wilderness
“Or are you planning to chew on the dry pancakes we brought?”
“That won't do—!” At this remark, Zhang Lei tapped his newly acquired 'treasure' on the ground and exclaimed, “At the very least, we should prepare a beggar's chicken!”
“Let's move—!”
Waving a dark wooden stick forward with flair, Zhang Lei confidently declared, “Today, I'll show you how much I've improved recently—!”
Watching Zhang Lei stride ahead, swinging his stick energetically, Ling Yi smiled softly and shook his head. He glanced down at the stick in his own hands, and with a touch of nostalgia, silently mused to himself, 'If I'd had this stick in my youth, not a single flower would remain standing in ten miles—'
Then, after lightly tapping the indestructible trunk of an "Iron Birch Tree" beside him, producing a clear "clang~clang~" sound, Ling Yi signaled Ah Huang and Meow Meow to spread out and stay alert as he followed in Zhang Lei's footsteps.
...
Time seemed unnoticeable in the cold and eerie atmosphere of the old forest. The light above remained the same throughout, neither brightening nor dimming.
However, within Ling Yi's spiritual perception, the sunlight above the twenty-meter-high treetops felt particularly intense at this moment.
It was probably around noon now.~
As the thought crossed his mind, Ling Yi carried a bundle of branches in his arms and walked toward Zhang Lei, who was not far ahead, wielding his spirit tool—a scythe—to dig a pit. As he walked, he called out, "Lei, it's getting late. Let's pick up the pace. Once we're done, we can meet Meow Meow for dinner..."
"Whew—"
Hearing this, Zhang Lei wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, giving a firm nod to Ling Yi, who had reached the pit's edge, "Don't worry, it's almost done. This depth is sure to keep that thing's whole family from getting out..."
Without waiting for Ling Yi's response, Zhang Lei continued to focus on wielding his spirit tool—his pickaxe.
Seeing Zhang Lei's unwavering enthusiasm, Ling Yi sat squatted at the edge of the spacious pit—about ten feet wide and roughly two meters deep, with smooth, straight walls—and began swiftly slicing branches with his sickle, each as thick as his arm.
In no time, roughly the length of a cup of tea, Ling Yi finished trimming the last branch. He then addressed Zhang Lei, who was at the pit's bottom, patting the walls with a wooden stick to make them more solid, "Alright, Lei, place the wooden spikes in the bottom, and we're good to go..."
Saying this, he tossed the pile of sharply pointed branches stacked beside him toward the pit bottom, about two meters from Zhang Lei.
As Zhang Lei bent down to collect the wooden spikes, Ling Yi leapt down, landing beside him. With outstretched arms, he gathered six or seven spikes and moved to one side of the pit bottom, inserting each spike into the ground, about two feet deep, leaving only about a third above the surface.
With their combined effort, this sizable trap pit was soon completed.
Climbing out using the rope, they stood at the edge of the trap pit, Zhang Lei feeling a deep sense of accomplishment in his heart.
This large pit had been meticulously dug over a month of repeated efforts by him and Ling Yi. Throughout this time, they had been apprehensive about the target, or some other thing, accidentally stepping on it and ruining everything.
Fortunately, luck was on their side, and none of that had occurred.
He really didn't want it to turn out like Ling Yi had said, blaming a failure midway on practicing their ‘Swing Hoe Style’.
If they truly intended to hone the ‘Swing Hoe Style’, wouldn't it be better to dig a fishpond near the village? There, they could work without the constant strain and anxiety.
While Zhang Lei was lost in reflection, Ling Yi had already laid out several long, slender sticks, each about one and a half meters in length, across the pit as a cover, and then tugged his arm, guiding him to a clearing not too far off.
After walking several dozen steps, a field of ‘Bluesilver Grass’ roughly twenty square meters wide spread before their eyes.
Without hesitation, they continued their task.
Thankfully, the past month was not spent in vain; this patch of grass had long been managed by the two of them.
Upon completing everything, both Zhang Lei and Ling Yi couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Exchanging glances, they chuckled lightly before Ling Yi said with a grin, “Let's go, let's head to the creek up front for a wash, and then we'll find Meow Meow~”
Turning around, Ling Yi whistled softly towards the forest.
In the next moment, a streak of yellow shot out from behind a large tree, arriving before the two in the blink of an eye.
It was Ah Huang, who had been assigned by Ling Yi to patrol and stand guard around the area, vigilant against any intrusion by wild animals from the forest.
The two of them, accompanied by Ah Huang, gathered their ropes, sickles, and other tools, then began walking towards the northeast.
There, a small brook trickled gently, nourishing the trees and greenery in the forest, making the place flourish even more.
It was also the southeastern edge where the outer and inner parts of the old forest met, a spot commonly chosen by birds and beasts for drinking water.
Upon reaching the stream, they washed their hands, faces, and necks in the flowing water.
Ling Yi and Zhang Lei did not directly drink from this seemingly clear stream.
Instead, they turned and continued upstream, traversing another hundred meters, until they stopped at a stony beach.
Bending over beneath a towering gray-white rock, Ling Yi removed some fist-sized pebbles and lifted a wooden board, revealing a pit as thick as an adult's thigh beneath it.
The waterhole was now brimming with clear water, reflecting Ling Yi's handsome face, his lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"Ah Yi~ Ah Yi—!" Zhang Lei's call came from about seven or eight meters away.
Ling Yi stood up, following the voice, and saw Zhang Lei holding the iron birch stick he just acquired today. He gestured toward Ling Yi, having pulled two pitch-black mud balls from a pile of half-extinguished black charcoal.
Ling Yi filled a bamboo tube with water from the pool and approached Zhang Lei. He poured the water into a roughly polished stone pot, took the mud ball Zhang Lei handed over, and casually cracked it open on a large stone, revealing the yellow-green lotus leaves inside.
Instantly, the air was filled with the fragrance of lotus leaves and the enticing aroma of chicken, spiraling into the noses of Ling Yi, Zhang Lei, and Ah Huang and Meow Meow who had come lured by the smell.
Meow Meow was fine, staring intently at the beggar's chicken in their hands, yet maintaining its elegant posture, squinting on a large stone, waiting to be fed by Ling Yi and Zhang Lei.
Ah Huang, on the other hand, could barely contain its excitement, its fluffy tail wagging like a fan, circling around the two men with its tongue out, visibly drooling, much to Meow Meow's disdainful glance.
Ling Yi added several pieces of kindling to the soon-to-die fire, rekindling it into a blaze, while holding a chicken wing in his mouth. He tore off the head and tail of the beggar's chicken, tossing them to Meow Meow and Ah Huang respectively to satiate their appetite a bit.
Zhang Lei followed suit, nibbling on chicken leg meat after feeding them, helping Ling Yi place the stone pot on the fire heap with his hands.
Ling Yi gathered a few damp yellow mud balls from under Meow Meow’s large stone, peeling them open to reveal the marinated wild rabbit and grass carp wrapped in lotus leaves, and two skinned water snakes with their flesh exposed.
Next, Ling Yi and Zhang Lei occasionally tossed pieces of chicken into their mouths, as well as the mouths of Meow Meow and Ah Huang. At the same time, they roasted the wild rabbit and grass carp over the fire.
As for the two water snakes, they cooked them into a delicious pot of snake soup using a stone pot.
In the afternoon, satiated and well-rested, Ling Yi and Zhang Lei buried the earth and dead leaves around the trap pit, which were soaked with the scent of urine and droppings left by Ah Huang and Meow Meow over the past month. Only then did they start their journey home.
(End of Chapter)
