Jiang Xi's only memory is of Yan Zheng fighting with the bear. As she listened to the bear's mournful howls, she couldn't help but feel worried for Yan Zheng.
Soon after, she heard the bear howl in agony, then fell silent. Just as she was about to emerge from behind the tree, a powerful force suddenly pulled her from above. Jiang Xi felt a chill run down her back, followed by a sharp pain in the back of her head, and then she knew nothing more.
She struggled to get up, but a sharp pain shot through her ankle, and she suddenly felt weak; she had injured herself.
Looking down at the herbs applied to her ankle, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was probably Yan Zheng who had applied the medicine to her. Luckily, he was still there.
I don't even know what dragged me, that's why I'm so badly injured.
Could it be another bear? She was just scaring herself. Then she immediately started to worry: Where is Yan Zheng?
Muttering to herself, she dragged one leg to the cave entrance, a place she had never been before. From the cave entrance, she could see directly into the dense forest outside. The sun was already setting in the west, and the entire mountain range and jungle seemed to be bathed in golden light by the sunset.
Jiang Xi felt a burning pain in her head, and she felt dizzy as if she were in a car. She thought she must have a concussion, otherwise she wouldn't feel so dizzy.
Jiang Xi held her breath, sat at the cave entrance, and leaned down to look. She knew how to choose a spot; the cave entrance was two meters above the ground, and she had deliberately made an irregular step out of stones so that even wild animals couldn't get up there.
I called Yan Zheng's name twice, but no one answered. Apart from the occasional chirping of birds, there was no other sound.
So I thought to myself: I'll wait a bit, they'll be back soon.
**
Yan Zheng searched the entire cliff top, but the only trace he could find was the drag marks on the cliff face. Ignoring his arm injury, he tied a vine around his waist, found a less steep section of the cliff top, and slowly descended.
Who? Who could have dragged Jiang Xi to the cliff?
eagle?
When people think of eagles, most only picture birds. In fact, an adult eagle can be over a meter long.
Not to mention that in the deep mountains and dense forests, where there is no human influence, the food chain here is enough to support them to grow bigger and longer. Most eagles can lift tens of kilograms of weight, and even sheep and deer are not a problem.
The only creatures capable of dragging a person without leaving a trace are eagles and humans.
people?
Suddenly, the absurd idea in my mind flashed by like a silver thread, disappearing in an instant.
A chill suddenly ran through Yan Zheng's heart.
Is it him? He's still alive.
On the other hand, she was also glad for her own idea; if it really was him, Jiang Xi would be safe.
If it's an eagle, where in the vast mountains would it go to find her?
**
When Jiang Xi woke up again, her head hurt even more.
She opened her eyes to find it was already late at night. How did it suddenly get dark? Her mind gradually cleared.
Moonlight streamed in from outside the cave, and in the hazy moonlight, Jiang Xi saw a figure sitting by the cave. She breathed a sigh of relief and touched her forehead, which was already bandaged.
"woke up?"
The people near the cave heard her voice and asked.
Hearing Yan Zheng's unusually weak voice, Jiang Xi frowned: "Yan Zheng, are you injured?"
"Yeah, I hurt my leg, so I just found a cave."
When Jiang Xi heard that he was injured, her heart clenched: "Is it serious? Let me take a look."
She paused after speaking. It was too dark, and she couldn't see clearly. Why not light a fire?
Yan Zheng comforted her, "It's not serious, just a scratch. You've been sleeping all day, eat something first."
Jiang Xi then noticed a pot next to her, along with a lump of rabbit meat that looked like she had brought with her when she set off, and a bottle of water, all by the moonlight.
Her mind wasn't on that: "Don't lie to me, if it's not serious, why don't you dare come over?"
Puzzled, he blurted out, "Why are you so far away from me?"
Yan Zheng said helplessly, "I have to stay here, in case something comes in at midnight."
Jiang Xi said, "Oh, by the way, is that bear dead?"
"No, it had accomplices; I didn't kill it."
Jiang Xi was puzzled; the bear had screamed so pitifully, yet it hadn't died.
After a moment, Yan Zheng said in a deep voice, "We most likely can't go back."
Jiang Xi sighed. When she was little, she often heard her grandmother say that bears are very intelligent and have long-term memory.
They have a strong desire for revenge. After escaping, their first action is to seek out the people or animals that hurt them to take revenge. They can even imitate human behavior, such as knocking on doors. Moreover, they have strong reconnaissance and pursuit capabilities.
This is why Jiang Xi did not explicitly object when Yan Zheng insisted on the killing.
Since they're not dead, given their beastly nature, a furious revenge is inevitable.
The meat in the cave was definitely lost, and they wouldn't be able to go back either. Thinking that all their hard work over the summer had been destroyed, she angrily picked up a piece of rabbit meat and threw it into her mouth. When she looked up, she found Yan Zheng staring at her.
Jiang Xi handed him a piece: "Why are you staring at me? Haven't you eaten?"
He shook his head: "Because you're pretty, eat more. I've already eaten."
Even after being praised, Jiang Xi's ears still involuntarily turned red.
After dinner, she packed her things, and Yan Zheng applied fresh herbal medicine to her head. The night was cool and still. Jiang Xi lay down and pulled her down jacket tighter around her: "I want to hug you."
Actually, she needed to keep warm. Yan Zheng was always very hot, like a mobile heat source. When it got cold, Jiang Xi always liked to lean against him.
The figure paused, then got up and limped over to lie down beside her, though the posture looked stiff and strange.
Jiang Xi moved closer to him, and suddenly felt dizzy. She hugged his arm and thought to herself that she must have injured her brain, otherwise why would she keep wanting to sleep?
She squinted and said softly, "Are we going to live here from now on? I've made so many clothes and blankets, I need to get them."
Suddenly, she thought of something and, fighting off her sleepiness and anxiety, said, "And the fawn, if it finds the fawn, the fawn definitely won't be able to escape."
Yan Zheng's arm tightened, and he said in a deep voice, "I've already let it go."
Jiang Xi was stunned, and murmured, "Release them?"
"We're both struggling to make ends meet right now, so wouldn't it just cause more trouble if we kept it? Let her fend for herself."
He added, "By the way, don't shout at me loudly next time. There are many wild animals in this forest, and you never know what you might attract. Don't go too far to the restroom either; just take care of it nearby."
Jiang Xi hummed in response, feeling a mix of emotions. She felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow or breathe properly. But then the drowsiness returned, and unable to grasp the thoughts in her mind, she fell asleep in an instant.
Half-asleep, she realized that Yan Zheng's hand touched her head and cheek, and he whispered something in her ear, but she couldn't hear what he said.
When I woke up again, there was no one in the cave. There was a bottle of water, a few roasted sweet potatoes and a bunch of wild fruits, including wild kiwis and raspberries, next to me.
She checked her injury; it appeared to be a sprain in her left ankle, with noticeable swelling, which was tolerable when not touched.
The wound on my forehead doesn't hurt anymore; most of the time it feels numb with a slight stinging sensation, probably because the skin hasn't fully healed yet.
She struggled, dragging one leg to the cave entrance, but all she could see was the dense mountain range with nothing in sight.
Thinking of Yan Zheng's instructions yesterday, she stopped calling his name and felt inexplicably irritated.
Jiang Xi was very unhappy with the feeling that she could only wait for him to take care of her while she knew nothing about the outside world.
**
Yan Zheng lingered at the bottom of the cliff. He had no feeling in his legs; they felt like pieces of wood. He just staggered mechanically through the jungle.
I searched all night, but there was nothing, not even a single piece of clothing, not even a trace of it falling.
A full day and night had passed since the incident, and he was completely disheveled and in a sorry state. His arm was wrapped with herbs he had picked at random; he didn't care what they were for, he just smeared whatever herbs he could find on his arm to prevent the wound from festering and affecting his mental state, in order to stay conscious.
If you get dehydrated, drink water from the mountain stream at the bottom of the cliff; if you're too weak, eat a few raspberries.
There was only one thought in my mind: to find the person.
He didn't believe that someone could simply vanish into thin air without a trace.
Regret, self-blame, anger—nothing can describe his current feelings.
All I knew was that I couldn't leave her alone, and no one could take her away from me.
Yan Zheng gritted his teeth, his taut muscles and fierce aura like an enraged cheetah. His adrenaline surged, and he was extremely alert, using his eyes, ears, and the entire body to carefully search for any traces around him.
If it's not at the bottom of the cliff, then keep going up the mountain to look for it; we have to search every mountain we can find.
**
As noon approached, Jiang Xi still hadn't seen Yan Zheng return. She couldn't help but wonder, "Picking a few fruits shouldn't have caused me to not see him all day, right?"
She's a person who can't sit still. Her foot injury has healed much better, but it only hurts a little when she exerts herself occasionally.
Now that we've moved to the cave, we should tidy it up properly. It's not good to sleep on rocks every day; our bodies can't take it in the long run.
Jiang Xi searched her backpack thoroughly but couldn't find the sword and dagger. She guessed that Yan Zheng had taken them, so she found a sharp stone to use as a blade and cut some dry foxtail grass with her bare hands.
By the time she finished weaving the mattress, the sunset had illuminated half the sky, but Yan Zheng still hadn't arrived, and Jiang Xi couldn't help but start to worry again.
She waited and waited, but no one came. She thought about lighting the fire first, but suddenly realized that the lighter in her backpack was also gone.
I felt even more agitated; my mood had been getting worse and worse ever since I got injured.
Angrily, he threw down his backpack and sat alone at the cave entrance, looking left and right. He waited until night fell and the entire forest was pitch black before he saw a figure emerge from the nearby woods.
I was startled at first, but when I saw that he was holding an axe in his left hand and a bag in his right, I felt relieved.
Suddenly, she asked, "Where did you go?"
She wanted to see what kind of prey required hunting from morning till night, one that didn't even greet her in the morning.
Yan Zheng was surprised to see her sitting at the cave entrance. He replied, "I went to find wild fruit, but I encountered wild animals on the way, which delayed me for half a day."
Jiang Xi's heart tightened upon hearing this, and she quickly asked, "Is the person injured?"
Yan Zheng smiled and said, "No, I brought you some wild apricots."
He then helped her up and led her into the cave.
Seeing his bald back, Jiang Xi asked again, "Where are your sword and bow?"
Yan Zheng's reaction was somewhat unnatural: "I lost it while fighting with the bear."
"Lost it?" Jiang Xi felt sorry for him when she heard that.
But a question arose in my mind.
Yan Zheng interrupted her question: "Stop thinking about it, come and eat."
The moon hadn't fully lit up yet, and the cave was pitch black. Jiang Xi couldn't see anything, so she reached out to Yan Zheng: "It's so dark, give me a lighter."
Yan Zheng replied, "No, it probably fell off on the way."
She was filled with doubt. If she remembered correctly, she had always kept the lighter in the inner pocket of her backpack. That pocket was made of nylon and had a zipper. How could it have fallen out?
The more I thought about it, the more something seemed off. He treated the sword like his own life, throwing it away so easily, without a trace of heartache in his words.
Something's not right with Yan Zheng.
She quickly realized what was going on and said, "I remember now, I brought it, it's in the pocket of my down jacket." She then reached for it.
The figure beside her suddenly took a few steps forward, but Jiang Xi pretended to rummage through her pockets without making a sound: "Hmm? What's wrong? Did you lose it?"
Then she saw the man's arm suddenly relax, and his steps back.
Jiang Xi remained silent, pretending to be completely puzzled as she sat down, though her mind was in turmoil.
He's nervous. What's he nervous about?
Why are you afraid to light a fire? Are you afraid she'll see something?
Jiang Xi had only eaten some wild fruits all day, and she was indeed hungry. She peeled a wild orange and put it in her mouth, seemingly focused on eating, but in reality, her eyes were fixed on the person next to her.
There was nothing unusual; his silhouette was as it always had in the moonlight, except that he looked a little thinner, probably because he hadn't been eating or sleeping well these past few days.
No, it's still different. Yan Zheng rarely eats so slowly and deliberately, but the way the person in front of me eats is different from the person I remember.
Jiang Xi pretended to chat and said, "Yan Zheng, the big red fish you caught last time was really delicious."
The person opposite hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have never caught a big red fish. You must be mistaken."
Ha, not falling for it.
Jiang Xi moved closer to his eyes: "We caught it just a few days ago, don't you remember? You were even discussing with me which tasted better, the big yellow croaker or the big red croaker."
Now I can see clearly, it's Yan Zheng's face, the exact same face, the exact same voice.
She felt a chill in her heart, but her face was all smiles.
Yan Zheng seemed startled by her sudden action: "You...you like it? I'll catch some more for you once we find the river in a couple of days."
Jiang Xi smiled and said, "Okay, you're so kind."
But the smile didn't reach his eyes.
As expected, this wasn't Yan Zheng she knew; she'd never eaten a big red fish before.
Could he be Yan Zheng from this world?
Not long after they finished eating, the man urged her to change her dressing and go to sleep.
Jiang Xi was more cautious today. She said in a tone that was half coquettish and half angry, "I'm all better now, I don't need to change the dressing. This medicine stings when I apply it."
The man was adamant: "Listen to me, changing the dressing will prevent scarring."
In the end, Jiang Xi refused no matter what. She gently shook his arm, pretending to cry and acting coquettishly, leaving the man at a loss and forcing him to give up.
Even when he went to sleep, he still stood guard at the cave entrance as before, but Jiang Xi was not satisfied with this arrangement.
He was guarding the cave entrance; how could he escape?
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