The cave was located below a steep cliff, and the place they were passing through was right at the bottom of the cliff.

There was originally a huge rock at the entrance of the cave, which was right in the middle and hard to spot when people walked by. It was Yan Zheng who caught a glimpse of it when he was marking the trees along the way.

The cave is not large, about five or six meters deep. It was probably formed by the compression of cracks. It is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, shaped like a conical hat. The cave walls are not very smooth, and are covered with traces of natural cracks in the stone.

When they arrived at the cave, it was already completely dark. Yan Zheng casually gathered some dry grass, swept away some fallen leaves and pebbles, unloaded the firewood from the deer's back and put it into the cave to start a simple campfire.

The moment the firelight illuminated the cave walls, Jiang Xi finally relaxed completely, took off her backpack, and began taking out pots, pans, and cooking utensils.

Indeed, you need fire to feel safe in the wild.

Yan Zheng led the fawn into the cave entrance and whispered for it to lie down.

He took the pot out to collect snow. The only good thing about winter is that you don't have to go through the trouble of finding water when you go out. The snow in the mountains and forests is not as dirty as the snow in the city. As long as you choose the snow from the trees, you can drink it directly after boiling it.

Suddenly, Yan Zheng heard an unusual sound—the sound of tree branches being trampled. The sound was faint and not very clear, but his intuition told him something was wrong. He had a feeling that there was something to his right front.

Then a dark figure flashed out from the front line. Yan Zheng immediately put down the pot and drew the bow and arrow from his back.

Wire-drawn launch.

Immediately afterwards, several intermittent animal calls could be heard.

Jiang Xi, who was packing her backpack, also heard the noise and quickly put down her things and ran to the cave entrance to check.

It was pitch black and nothing could be seen, but Yan Zheng could be heard saying coldly from a few meters away, "Stay in the cave and don't come out! I'm going to take a look."

He casually broke off a branch more than a meter long from a nearby tree and went over to check it out.

As I got closer and looked at it in the snowy light, its outline resembled that of a deer. It must have been shot in the abdomen and was lying on the ground, barely alive.

Yan Zheng cursed under his breath, thinking to himself, "What a nuisance."

There's no way to deal with it in the middle of the night, and leaving it nearby might attract something at night.

He had no choice but to drag the roe deer and throw it a few dozen meters away from the cave.

It seems the fire can't be extinguished tonight.

Yan Zheng brought back the snow, and Jiang Xi quickly went to check on it. Afraid she would worry, Yan Zheng hurriedly said, "I killed a roe deer. It's dark, so it's not easy to deal with."

Then he added, "I was afraid the smell of blood on him would attract some troublesome beasts, so I threw him far away. I'll go check on him again tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Jiang Xi was finally relieved.

She teased, "You're still got it! You're still got it."

Yan Zheng found it amusing and pretended to frown, saying, "Am I that old?"

Jiang Xi pretended to think: "Hmm... it's still not comparable to when you were twenty."

Yan Zheng chuckled to himself, looking down: "Xiao Xi, you're targeting me."

Jiang Xi only realized what he meant after he finished speaking, and her ears turned red instantly.

These words sparked all sorts of speculation, and the atmosphere in the cave instantly became ambiguous.

Yan Zheng gave her a knowing look.

Just then, Jiang Xi's stomach started growling embarrassingly; after traveling all day, her body was the first to protest.

Yan Zheng laughed out loud: "I'm telling you, you're really spineless."

"How about we eat first?"

"Um."

For dinner, Jiang Xi took out the steamed dried duck, cut off more than half of it and put it in a pot, and also cut a few sweet potatoes to cook together.

Add plenty of pepper.

The air-dried duck has a naturally salty and savory flavor, which, combined with the spiciness of pepper, makes the broth rich and flavorful. A warm bowl of this warms you from your stomach to your feet, dispelling the chill from your body.

A thin layer of sweat appeared on my forehead, and only then did I feel the temperature in the cave warm up.

Actually, Jiang Xi doesn't really like drinking soup or broth, as it always makes her feel bloated. But in the dead of winter in the wild, only drinking soup or broth makes her feel alive again.

The two of them drank the whole pot of dried old duck soup clean.

After the meal, they boiled another pot of water, cleaned their teeth with charcoal powder, and Jiang Xi took out a towel. The two of them washed up briefly and then prepared to rest.

Jiang Xi took off her snow-soaked boots and put them by the campfire to dry, and also warmed the soles of her feet.

A campfire burned continuously inside the cave, raising the temperature by a few degrees. In addition, the cave entrance was not large to begin with, and there was a huge rock at the entrance. A deer was also lying at the cave entrance, so there was no cold wind.

Yan Zheng cleared a space with weeds, and the two of them were wearing down jackets and cloaks. He took off his cloak and spread it on the ground. He was tall and big. Jiang Xi had used twenty pieces of rabbit fur to sew this cloak for him. Now that it was spread on the ground, the two of them didn't feel cramped lying on it.

But Jiang Xi liked to sleep in his arms, probably because his body temperature was high.

He took off his down jacket and cloak and covered himself with them. Yan Zheng put one arm around her and placed the other on her waist. Jiang Xi felt that this was the warmest place in the world, and let herself curl up in his arms.

Yan Zheng felt a surge of heat in his body and kissed her on the back of her neck. His other hand caressed her lower back, drawing her closer to him.

It had been a long time since they had been this close, and at first, Jiangxi instinctively wanted to dodge.

Gradually, his body went limp.

Yan Zheng's warm hand slid into her waist, the calluses on his thumb slightly rough, gently caressing the smooth, delicate skin of her lower back.

She could clearly feel the mischievous hand moving upwards, down her lower back, tailbone, spine, and then her underwear.

The small cave was filled with the sound of intertwined breathing.

It was Yan Zheng who calmed down first, took a few deep breaths, and hurriedly pulled her clothes down to prevent her from catching a cold.

After a long silence, Yan Zheng smiled bitterly: "Make him move out after spring. If you keep torturing him, your fiancé might as well become a monk."

Jiang Xi's face was still flushed, and she chuckled upon hearing this: "You were the one who wanted to keep him, and now you regret it."

Yan Zheng pulled her into his arms: "I brought this on myself."

Then he said, "You go to sleep first, I'll take over for you in the second half of the night. The campfire must not go out tonight."

Jiang Xi hummed in agreement. Hearing him speak made her feel even more tired. Without being polite, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

I don't know how long I slept, but after drinking a lot of soup in the evening, I needed to go to the bathroom. When I came back, the two of us had just switched shifts.

Fortunately, the night passed peacefully without any unusual events.

The next morning, Jiang Xi followed the same method, cooking the remaining half of the duck and yams together, adding plenty of pepper. The two drank it while it was hot and then set off to return to the cave.

I dug up seven or eight ginseng roots last night, which is enough. This kind of thing is not suitable for long-term use, especially ginseng that has been around for a long time. Often, just one ginseng root can produce a noticeable effect.

Yan Zheng went to check on the roe deer from yesterday, and as expected, only a skeleton and fur remained on the ground.