For the next few hours, Lin Feng was in a very bad mood.
He couldn't muster any enthusiasm for anything, and even grilled meat tasted bland to him.
He even felt a pang of regret, regretting that he had been too soft-hearted and let that heartless thing out.
"Oh well, I guess I'll just treat it like I've raised a tyrant. I'll treat him like a god for a few days and then leave," he consoled himself, but he still felt a sense of emptiness inside.
To distract himself and calm his agitation, Lin Feng decided to continue his unfinished work—making more glasses.
The glass he had previously successfully made, though crude, greatly improved his drinking experience.
Drinking water from a glass offers a clarity that no earthenware bowl can ever match.
Moreover, he found that using a glass to hold his hot drinks, which he brewed with wild fruits and herbs, allowed him to better observe the color and sediment of the beverage and made it easier to clean.
He took out the quartz sand, wood ash extract, and calcined lime powder that he had prepared beforehand, and carefully mixed them evenly according to the proportions he had figured out.
He tried his best to be meticulous in every step of the operation, pouring all his frustrations into this meticulous work.
The high-temperature furnace was reignited. Flames roared inside the kiln, illuminating Lin Feng's focused yet slightly gloomy face.
He pulled the animal-hide bellows again and again, continuously feeding air into the furnace, and the kiln temperature continued to rise.
The mixture inside the crucible gradually melts at high temperature, changing from a powder to a viscous paste, and then slowly turning into a clear and transparent molten glass.
It was a long and patient process, but Lin Feng was so engrossed in it that he temporarily forgot the unpleasantness brought by the Phantom.
Once the molten glass reached the appropriate melting point, he took out the ironwood blowpipe with the front end wrapped in refractory clay, carefully dipped it into a small amount of molten glass, and began blowing.
With his previous experience, he was significantly more skilled this time. Blowing, rotating, shaping…
Each movement was performed in an orderly and methodical manner.
He wanted to try making cups of different shapes and sizes, some taller, some shorter, some with wider mouths, and some more narrow.
Each glass blowing operation is a completely new challenge. The glass cools extremely quickly, and he must complete the shaping in a very short time. The slightest mistake could ruin everything.
However, perhaps his bad mood affected his performance, and he failed several times in a row. Either the glass bubbles he blew were of uneven thickness, or he used too much force during shaping, causing them to break, or he accidentally broke them when transferring them into the annealing furnace.
"Damn it!" Lin Feng slammed a broken glass tube to the ground in frustration, making a crisp cracking sound.
Wangcai was startled and whimpered as it shrank back.
Lin Feng took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. He knew that it was especially important to stay calm and collected in situations like this. Both pottery and glassmaking required extreme patience and focus.
He readjusted his emotions and tried again. This time, he was more careful and more focused.
Time slipped by unnoticed. By the time Lin Feng had finally successfully blown three relatively perfect glass cups and carefully placed them into the annealing furnace, it was already completely dark.
Inside the cabin, the fireplace crackled and popped, bringing a touch of warmth.
Lin Feng ate some dried roasted meat and then took out his precious phone, intending to read a novel to dispel his boredom.
However, just as he turned on his phone, ready to immerse himself in the virtual world, a slight, soft scratching sound suddenly came from outside the cabin door.
Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately became alert.
He gestured for Wangcai to be quiet, then quietly walked to the door and peered out through the crack.
In the dim moonlight, a small, familiar blue-purple figure was huddled at the door of his wooden house!
It's the Phantom!
It's back!
Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat, and a complex emotion that was hard to describe welled up inside him.
There was surprise, there was doubt, and there was also a hint of barely perceptible... secret joy.
The phantom seemed uneasy. It gently scratched at the wooden door with its little paws, making a soft, whimpering sound in its throat, carrying a hint of grievance and ingratiation.
Those eyes, still bright as rubies in the night, were fixed intently on the crack in the door.
Lin Feng was stunned.
He couldn't understand why the little guy had come back after running away.
Is there some danger in the mountains? Or... has it gotten lost?
He hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened the wooden door.
As soon as the door opened, the phantom darted in with a "whoosh," moving so fast that Lin Feng didn't even see it clearly.
Unlike last time, it didn't panic and run around wildly. Instead, it ran straight to Lin Feng's feet and gently, in a flattering manner, rubbed its fluffy little head against Lin Feng's leg.
Lin Feng looked down at the little guy he had lost and found again at his feet, and all the resentment and frustration in his heart had long since vanished.
He could feel that Phantom's body was trembling slightly, as if she had been frightened, or as if she was... still feeling fear?
"You little ingrate, you still know how to come back?" Lin Feng said, feigning anger, but his tone carried a hint of tenderness that he himself didn't realize.
The phantom understood his rebuke, lowered its head even further, and made even more aggrieved "woof woof" sounds in its throat, while tucking its tail between its legs.
Lin Feng's heart softened. He bent down, reached out, and gently stroked the Phantom's smooth fur. "Alright, alright, I don't blame you anymore. It's good that you're back."
The phantom sensed his kindness, raised her head, and looked at Lin Feng with her large, watery, crimson eyes, her gaze filled with affection.
Lin Feng then noticed that the Phantom's fur was covered with dew and a few withered leaves, making it look like it had been out and about for a long time.
Are you hungry?
Lin Feng asked, then remembered that he had put away the rest of the "wild spices" in anger that afternoon.
He quickly took out a few fresh pieces of "wild spice" root from the earthenware jar where he stored food and offered them to Phantom's mouth.
Phantom snatched the "wild spice" without any hesitation and wolfed it down. Lin Feng felt a pang of sympathy seeing her starving appearance.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you." He gently patted Phantom's head.
Wangcai also came over, looking curiously at its little friend who had returned, its tail wagging friendly.
This time, Phantom didn't dodge; it even touched Wangcai's nose with its own, as if to say hello.
Lin Feng felt a warm glow in his heart as he watched this scene.
He roughly guessed that Phantom was probably reluctant to give up his warm home and stable food source, especially the delicious "wild spices".
It was used to being wild outside and probably couldn't adapt to being "domesticated," so it took the opportunity to sneak out.
But after looking around outside, he realized that his own place was better, so he shamelessly came back.
"What a clever little devil." Lin Feng smiled and shook his head, his displeasure long since vanished.
Now that it had returned on its own, Lin Feng naturally treated it to the best of food and drink.
He even went so far as to pick out the smallest of the dried fish he had grilled and tear off a little bit of fish meat to feed to Phantom.
Phantom hesitated at first, but was quickly attracted by the aroma of the fish. She carefully tasted it and then happily began to eat.
Lin Feng no longer put it in the cage. Since it was able to come back on its own, it meant that it had developed a sense of belonging to this place.
Forcibly imprisoning it might backfire. He believed that as long as he treated it well enough, the little guy wouldn't leave easily.
Sure enough, Phantom behaved extremely well in the following days.
During the day, it would be active near the wooden house, sometimes chasing insects, sometimes curiously observing Lin Feng working, and sometimes chasing and playing with Wangcai in the open space.
But no matter how far it runs, as long as it's mealtime or it gets dark, it will always appear on time at the door of the cabin, reminding Lin Feng in its own unique way that it's time to feed the animals.
Lin Feng was happy to agree.
He discovered that the presence of the little Phantom had added a lot of fun to his life.
Its beautiful fur, agile movements, and occasional displays of cleverness all brought him joy.
Gradually, the Phantom became more and more familiar with the cabin environment and more and more relaxed.
It was no longer content to stay outside and began to cautiously explore the interior of the cabin.
It would show curiosity about the various tools Lin Feng made, poking at one with its little paws and sniffing another with its nose. It would even jump onto Lin Feng's bed, curl up on the animal skin bedding, and take a comfortable nap.
Lin Feng simply laughed it off and didn't chase him away.
He even thought the little guy curled up in the corner of the bed was quite cute.
On a quiet night, the fire in the fireplace flickered warmly.
Lin Feng lay in bed, preparing to fall asleep. As usual, Mei Xiang lightly jumped onto the bed, but today, instead of curling up at the foot of the bed as usual, it carefully moved to Lin Feng's side.
Then, it tentatively rested its fluffy little head on Lin Feng's arm.
Lin Feng's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed. He could feel the warmth emanating from the Phantom's body, as well as its even, subtle breathing.
He reached out and gently embraced the phantom's soft body.
Phantom didn't resist. Instead, she adjusted to a more comfortable position, nestling her entire body in Lin Feng's arms, making satisfied "gurgling" sounds in her throat.
At that moment, Lin Feng's heart was filled with an indescribable warmth and tenderness.
He held the docile little creature in his arms, feeling its supple fur and regular heartbeat, and an unprecedented sense of satisfaction welled up within him.
"Little thing, it seems you've really stuck with me." He chuckled softly and gently kissed the top of Phantom's head.
The phantom understood him, nuzzled its head against his chest, and snored even louder.
Lin Feng slept exceptionally well that night.
He was no longer alone in facing this wilderness; he had Wangcai, a loyal companion, and now he had Meiying, a beautiful and gentle "little cutie."
He felt that he had reached a certain peak in his life.
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