Jiang Xi broke off a large banana leaf and placed it on their heads to shade them from the sun. After walking for about two hours, the mountains on both sides of the lake seemed to have been chopped in half by an axe, turning into cliffs. They should now be at the bottom of the cliff.
A short distance further on, when the sun was at its strongest, they came across a small stream, or rather a small river, about a meter wide, that flowed out from the mountains beside the lake. It came down from the high ground and eventually flowed into the lake.
Their two bottles of water were almost empty, so they decided to rest on the spot, boil a pot of water, eat some figs to tide them over, and then fill two more bottles with water before continuing their journey.
This time, the two chose to walk upstream along the stream into the depths of the mountains, hoping to find more food resources or a new place to stay.
The river was full of large stones, all of which were angular and sharp, unlike the pebbles I had seen before, which were mostly flat slabs.
Yan Zheng analyzed that it was probably because there was more shale here, and the geological composition was slightly different from that on the other side of the lake, which caused the rocks here to have this shape.
The two walked fifty meters upstream into the mountains and forests along the river, and saw a naturally formed cavity on the south-facing cliff. The entrance was about one meter above the ground, somewhat similar to the cave where they had settled before. It was also formed by the compression of the mountain from side to side, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. From a distance, it looked like a huge crack.
Yan Zheng went in first with an axe, checked the area, and only called Jiang Xi in after confirming there was no danger.
It is about 100 square meters inside, much larger than the previous cave, and the temperature inside is about five or six degrees lower than outside.
The cave was very clean, probably because the terrain was high up, and most animals would have to go to great lengths to get up there. So no traces of animals were found in the cave, and there were very few fallen leaves and weeds.
Yan Zheng felt a faint, cool breeze brushing against his face. He first examined the stone wall and found it to be dry to the touch, without any moisture.
As you walk further into the cave, the crack at the end of the cave suddenly narrows, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and then you can't see anything at all.
Without torches, the cave was pitch black, and the two dared not proceed rashly. They retreated and, before reaching the cave entrance, found another hidden entrance about ten meters away.
After entering, there was another cave space, about six or seven square meters in size, with a notch more than a meter wide. Looking down from the notch, it was about ten meters above the ground, and you could see the lake and the scenery below the cliff. Jiang Xi even felt that she could feel the cool breeze from the lake.
Unsure of the situation deep inside the cave, they dared not linger there for too long, only taking a quick look before leaving and continuing upstream along the river.
After walking for about two hours, the river ahead was blocked by a cliff, and the water flowed down from the top of the cliff to form a waterfall like a silver river. The two stopped and continued. It was already afternoon, and they had only eaten some duck eggs and fruit since they set off in the morning. They were starving, so they decided to have lunch on the spot.
Yan Zheng took out duck eggs from his backpack; two or three had broken after the bumpy ride. Jiang Xi felt that in just two days, she had eaten enough eggs for the rest of the year, and even figs were quite difficult to eat. She couldn't help but miss the boiled fish she had eaten yesterday.
After dinner, they looked at the sky and estimated that it would be dark in another four or five hours. But they still hadn't found a place to stay.
Jiang Xi was a little frustrated. She followed the river all the way up. Perhaps because of the soil structure, there were few plants here, only some ferns and trees, and not even a few wild mushrooms.
In the end, Yan Zheng suggested that they return to the cave they had found along the way. After all, they had not seen any signs of large animals in the cave, which meant that it was safe for the time being. They could go back, light a fire to make a torch, and then go in to investigate. If there was no danger, the two of them could spend the night there.
So they spent another two hours turning back.
It has to be said that this was a disheartening trip. They had been traveling all day and had only found one cave. Apart from that, they had gained nothing. It seemed that the plant resources on this side were even more scarce than those on the other side of the lake.
On the other side, there are at least fruits, sumac, fish, wild mushrooms, and wild vegetables, but there is nothing on this side of the mountain. If you want to catch fish, you have to go to the lake below the river.
They didn't see any more sumac trees along their journey, meaning that if they needed salt in the future, they would have to go to the other side to pick them.
But Jiang Xi felt there was nothing to regret; compared to the human-crane war, the lack of resources was tolerable.
On their way back, they gathered some firewood. By the time they reached the cave entrance, the sun was already setting. Yan Zheng didn't waste any more time. He quickly found a relatively dry stick, split a cross on one end of it with an axe, filled it with a ball of dry grass, and lit it with a lighter. Once it was burning, a simple torch was complete.
Although the flames were small and the fire was short-lived, it was the best option for them at the moment. Just in case, they made an extra one to carry with them.
Yan Zheng originally intended for Jiang Xi to wait at the cave entrance while he went in to investigate, but she disagreed, insisting that they go in and out together so they could look after each other if any danger arose. Yan Zheng couldn't persuade her otherwise, and in the end, they went in together.
The further we went in, the stronger the wind became. After walking about sixty or seventy steps, we saw a light at the entrance of the cave ahead.
As you continue forward, the passage becomes narrower and narrower, but when you finally emerge from the cave, you are surprised to find a completely different world.
In front of the cave entrance was a vast flat area, which was a valley. The valley was lush with vegetation, but there weren't many tall trees. Most of the vegetation consisted of knee-high grasses and shrubs. The surrounding area was a range of rolling hills. A river flowed from right to left through the middle of the valley, and wildflowers of various colors grew along its banks.
Jiang Xi jogged to the riverbank. This river should be from the same source as the one they saw outside the cave. The one in front of them should be one of its branches. The water was so clear that you could see the sand and stones at the bottom of the river. The river meandered through the valley and eventually flowed to the lake on the other side of the mountain.
The path had been lined with trees and dense forests, and Jiang Xi was stunned to see such a wide-open space. She never expected that such a place would appear outside this unassuming cave.
If you were to walk from the mountain outside the cave to reach this valley, you would probably have to climb over a cliff. But coming in through this cave only takes a few minutes.
Yan Zheng put down his axe and said, "Do you know what's most abundant in valleys like this?"
Jiang Xi was confused: "What?"
"rabbit."
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