Chapter 39 Beyond Care

Ou Xiang and Lan Fang did not come over to look, evidently because they were too afraid to approach.

Gritting my teeth, I dragged the unconscious person into the river water. His body was not actually heavy, but seeing him sink directly beneath the surface still made my entire body turn weak.

In my memories, when we set out from that coastal city and followed Lan Fang to this place, our hearts were filled with beautiful expectations. Although there was clearly a mission involved, we imagined there would be no danger. Yet, I never expected things to turn out like this, to the extent that we could no longer contact the outside world.

I glanced around. Aside from this small river, during the day it was actually very difficult to spot other sights or dangers deeper within. Being soaked by the river water cleared my mind quite a bit. I realized that letting this body drift downstream might actually be for the best, so I did not use anything to block it.

Afterwards, taking advantage of the river water, I slowly squatted down. Even though it was still the early hours of the morning and the water carried a chill, I sat right there in my clothes, keeping my head above the surface, and washed for a full few minutes.

Hearing Ou Xiang's call, I came ashore, shivering. Naturally, it was embarrassing to take off and wring out my pants in front of them, but I still managed to strip off my t-shirt beside a patch of cogon grass, wrung it dry, and put it back on while it was still damp.

Even though the air still reeked of a fishy stench, I could no longer care about such things; there was simply no other way.

"Ah Jing, do you think we can follow the surroundings of that waterfall, pass through that stretch of woods, find a way up, and return to where we started?" Perhaps sensing the quietness here, when I returned to the three of them, Ou Xiang suddenly asked me with a hint of hesitation.

In the darkness, I immediately shook my head, though I didn't look at Lan Fang: "Impossible. Not to mention how vast this rainforest is! Look at Brother Wen and those people—they've been here for months. Do you believe there's any chance they haven't tried every possible option?"

Seeming to sense that Lan Fang's breathing had grown somewhat hurried, I finally turned my head to look into those eyes of his, which remained calm even in the dark: "Leaving aside whether that place can be climbed, if we were to walk along the base of that stone wall and through the rainforest beneath those tall canopy trees, we wouldn't even make it halfway before dying in there!"

"Could it be that this rainforest is truly this terrifying? Even these woods eat people?" Lan Fang's voice sounded like he was talking to himself, yet spoken aloud at this moment, it carried a desolate and eerie chill.

"Looking at this rainforest, it seems very peaceful, doesn't it? Xiangxiang, it is actually fraught with danger at every step!" I didn't know what Lan Fang was thinking, but I had to make everyone understand our current predicament. Therefore, I said in a deep voice, "When I used to visit Yunnan for trips, locals living near here told me we couldn't even defeat a single mosquito!"

Hearing my words, they all seemed to fall silent.

"Panicking right now is useless; we can only figure out a way to live on tenaciously!" I looked with a gloomy heart at Huang Jianfen, who had passed out, wondering if she had truly bled out, as she showed no response at this moment: "Peng Qian and the others are examples. Otherwise, how could Ah Fen have ended up like this?"

"You mean we cannot rashly enter the rainforest? Going in is just courting death. Does that mean if we can stubbornly survive, we can wait for rescue?" Hearing me say this, fueled by a glimmer of hope, Ou Xiang's voice tightened as well, and she looked at me with an almost pleading expression, clearly wishing to get some confirmation.

"Whether there will be rescue is uncertain for now, but since we people are trapped here, surely someone will find out eventually! Besides, if Brother Wen, Peng Qian, and the others can survive, why can't we?" Even in the deep dark, I looked at them with a smile.

Undoubtedly, I only wanted my words to give them the courage to survive! And to give myself a reason to hold on!

I turned my head away, pretending to look around in all directions; actually, I didn't want to let them down! There were simply too many people in this world who disappeared without a trace, let alone people like us whose very presence here was undisclosed. Thus, looking at the surrounding rainforest and smelling the faint fishy stench in the air, a myriad of complex emotions surged within my heart!

Following a brief exchange, the two of them adopted my suggestion: we had to turn back and head toward the waterfall. Earlier, Brother Wen had claimed this place belonged to his territory, but with the appearance of that person just now, doubts about Brother Wen had arisen in my mind.

Of course, this wasn't the time to dwell on such matters, but I had to save myself first!

However, given Huang Jianfen's current condition, Ou Xiang couldn't possibly carry her on her back. If we were to travel together, difficulties would obviously arise. Still, casting my gaze around, I realized that if we wanted a temporary refuge, we could only look for some large trees.

I shared my thoughts with the two of them, and surprisingly, both agreed. There was no time left to think about other things; I surveyed several massive banyan trees and elaeocarpus trees, finally choosing a banyan tree with an abundance of aerial roots.

This tree wasn't very tall, but its massive trunk and dense web of aerial roots undoubtedly provided us with a space to rest. However, I figured that without any climbing training or tools, it would certainly be difficult to get up. Fortunately, this didn't stump us completely, as I happened to have a rope woven from bamboo vines.

Using tree forks, I constructed a triangular platform, and working together with Ou Xiang, using the tree trunk for support, we managed to hoist Lan Fang and Huang Jianfen one after the other onto a branch a full four meters off the ground. I pulled with all my might from below, while Ou Xiang received them at the top.

By the time we finished all of this, the edges of the sky were already showing light. Of course, whether it was due to good luck or not, until we had settled Lan Fang and Huang Jianfen, no danger approached us again. Yet Ou Xiang and I were truly so exhausted that we collapsed directly onto the tree branches.

Lan Fang also played her part, clearly knowing that Ou Xiang and I needed rest. She proactively spoke up, telling us to rest for a while, and leaned against the tree trunk, holding a sharp thorn to keep watch for us. Though I felt uneasy, there was no other way at this moment; I simply leaned against the branch and fell fast asleep.

Actually, there were things I hadn't said, and couldn't say. Although following the banks of this small river meant one wouldn't easily lose direction, ordinary people would never choose to camp around here. In the rainforest, many animals also needed sources of water, and this place was obviously the most likely to be chosen by them as a watering hole.

This could be sensed from the fact that Brother Wen and his group had chosen not to station themselves around here. Because I had been in a state of extreme tension over the past few days, these thoughts had crossed my mind, but since I hadn't seen any animal footprints or droppings, I was certain the immediate surroundings were temporarily safe.

In truth, I simply had no capacity to worry about anything else; naturally, when death and danger are not yet felt, one does not perceive the cruelty of it all. But when life, death, and danger draw near, unprepared people simply collapse. Huang Jianfen's sudden appearance this time had undoubtedly served as an excellent warning to me!