Chapter 52: To Live

Qu Xiang waved at me happily, seemingly unable to care about much else as she rushed straight toward my side.

First, she looked me up and down from head to toe. Then, perhaps sensing my exhaustion, she insisted on supporting me as we walked toward the large tree.

Although I did not know why she was so emotional, I figured that when she chose to stay behind with me and help Lan Fang survive, she must have subconsciously realized that her life and mine were tightly bound together.

The dangers of the past two days and the events we had been through remained vivid in my mind. While I had no idea what would happen to this place and to us next, she probably realized that without me, they wouldn't even have had the chance to hold on for another two days.

I didn't climb up the tree immediately. It was then that I truly felt how exhausted I was, as if every inch of my body was aching. I found a flat fork in the tree and sat down, finally regaining a sliver of peace.

Seeing Qu Xiang's anxious expression, a warm current suddenly surged through my heart. "Xiangxiang, don't rush. Although our current situation is hard to change, at least today, we can have a feast!"

The things I had managed to bring back this time were not much. Not knowing the situation earlier, I had left the bear paws in the river. All I carried with me were a few bird eggs in a cloth bag and the black bear's heart I had specially kept.

Thinking about it now, I had truly risked my life to get these things. Yet, the thought of a special meal brought a touch of comfort to my heart. I knew well enough that our predicament couldn't be changed overnight, and without them, I could certainly eat my fill on every foraging trip.

I was no saint, but when I couldn't stomach Peng Qi's ruthlessness and chose to take care of Lan Fang, I understood that whatever I was clinging to probably stemmed from the most primitive nature deep within my soul.

Looking at the places on my arm where the wild bees had stung me—swollen up like freshly baked bread—even Qu Xiang could figure out with her toes that I must have faced countless dangers on this trip. Yet, I didn't mention any of that; instead, I told her about the food first, which naturally made her eyes instantly turn red.

"A-Jing, did you... encounter something out there...? Actually, every time you find food, you can eat a bit more for yourself!" Lan Fang couldn't come down, and Qu Xiang was keeping me company at the bottom, so she seemed less restrained. Her eyes red, she couldn't help asking in a low voice.

I waved my hand, signaling that it wasn't worth mentioning! But I was suddenly moved. Though I didn't cry, a wave of deep gratitude washed over me. "Don't worry! As long as I have a bite to eat, I will definitely share a portion with you!"

Afterward, I told her to go aside and gather some dry branches. Having been through the events of last night and having just witnessed wild beasts firsthand, I no longer minded making some noise here. As I watched her busy at work, my mood gradually improved, and I began preparing as well.

Qu Xiang seemed to understand that I wanted to make a fire, so she deliberately carried over a few square stones, each about a foot wide, to build me a small stove. These stones were like whetstones—not overly hard in texture, but exceptionally good for resting things on.

In the end, I enclosed an open space near the tree roots to build a hearth over two feet wide. Following my instructions, she also brought over the remaining pieces of phoenix-tail bamboo I had cut earlier. I had told her then that these bamboo tubes would be extremely useful for boiling water and cooking food.

Watching my preparations—as I occasionally used a sharp spike to carve and grind into the thinnest yellowish stone—she even guessed my intent and looked on with a trace of eager anticipation. "You were gone for so long after going to look for food, Sister Fang and I were worried to death!"

As for Huang Jianfen and Lan Fang up in the tree, I didn't pay too much attention to their state. While intermittently splashing water from a bamboo tube onto the stone to cool it, I rapidly carved several deep grooves into the stone, which was half as thick as a palm, and finally used a hard rock and a sharp spike to chip out a concave stone basin!

Of course, while bragging to Qu Xiang about how I had eluded the pursuit of thousands of wild bees and escaped the clutches of a black bear—stories that even made Lan Fang up in the tree laugh out loud despite knowing I was exaggerating—I wondered why Huang Jianfen hadn't spoken a word this time, though I didn't bother to ask.

The sky was gradually growing dark once more. Before the light faded completely, I had Qu Xiang fetch water while I went back to retrieve the bear paws.

"A-Jing, none of us have been eating well, but why do I feel like you and Sister Fang actually look a bit fatter? Am I getting fatter too?" Perhaps to lighten the mood, as we bustled about, Qu Xiang suddenly thought of this.

"It's probably because we lack salt!" I looked down at the stone basin I had finally finished hollowing out—it was a couple of finger-joints deep. Though it didn't look much like a pot, I was at least grateful to have found this kind of stone. Since it wasn't too hard, I could carve a cavity into it and use it to temporarily boil food. "Without salt, our bodies will swell up."

"Is there any way to fix that?" Qu Xiang was clearly worried, yet she didn't want to add to my burden. Still, the desire to survive was naturally immense. "If you run out of strength, what will we do when you have to go out again?"

"Didn't I make it back this time? You girls don't need to worry! If we really can't go back in the future, I have plenty of days left to accompany you!" To ease the atmosphere further, and having rested for a while, I felt much lighter all over. Though I kept it to myself, I had thought of a method, though I wasn't sure if they would dare to try it later.

Seeing her take the stone basin, wash it clean by the river, and bring it back filled with water—enough to hold the equivalent of two bottles—she couldn't help chuckling, "We're having a feast tonight!"

Qu Xiang nodded, unexpectedly remaining silent. As she watched me use a lighter to ignite the withered leaves and gradually get the dry firewood burning, her eyes seemed to light up as well. "A-Jing, I saw some mushrooms under the tree over there. I wonder if they're edible!"

"It's unsafe here now, and anyone struggling to cling to life surely knows it! But since everyone is already dropping all pretenses and acting with such bare-fenced ruthlessness, we don't need to hesitate about what methods we use against them." Seeing her squatting beside me, a strange and inexplicable urge welled up within me—to reach out and stroke her hair.

"As long as there is food, we must live well. So from now on, we need to keep the fire going and find anything edible to keep ourselves alive first." I had previously worried that making fire would attract the covetous eyes of those people.

Now, since this place was truly so cruel, I had to ensure we survived well first. I looked at Qu Xiang and said, "You can go pick some over. We'll know if they're edible just by looking!"