Si Cheng led the way into the mountains and forests, but the conditions here were much worse than in the back mountains. Apart from the resting places they had encountered before, everything else was barren and dry.
They say that looking at a mountain can make a horse run itself to death; we've walked for so long, and we haven't even reached the deepest mountain area yet.
"There isn't even a single animal here. Where did all those bright green eyes go?" Yun Jianying took a deep breath.
Si Cheng hadn't expected the first day in the mountains to be so unsuccessful, and they hadn't even found a campsite for the day. "Let's make do here for now! At least there's a rock wall here. If we continue forward, we might not find a suitable campsite."
No one else had any objections, and they began to skillfully divide the work of tidying up the camp, especially being more careful in collecting firewood, choosing only the most durable and easily flammable pieces.
Because there was no water source, everyone had to make do with the dry food and water they had brought for one meal.
Wang Dali and his group returned to the village entrance before dark, at which point their families at the village entrance became anxious.
Normally, even if they go out to find food, they will come back early, but today we didn't see anyone until it was almost dark.
As soon as Cen Ran's aunt saw her, she rushed over and grabbed her arm tightly. "I was so worried! You didn't even say anything before you went after us. I asked so many people, but they all said they hadn't seen you. Xiao Xiang was so anxious she cried."
Cen Xiang ran over at this moment and hugged her legs tightly. "Sister, you're finally back. I thought you were like Mom and Dad, leaving and never wanting me again."
Upon hearing this, Cen Ran almost burst into tears. Her parents had also gone out to find food and never returned, no wonder Xiao Xiang was so worried.
Cen Ran squatted down and hugged her younger sister. "Sister went out to find food. Look how much there is. Sister will make you more today."
Cen Ran pulled over a large bag from the side. Although this trip was somewhat risky, the harvest was worthwhile. Their food supply would be guaranteed for the next few days. As long as they continued to endure this, once the crops they had planted nearby grew, there would be hope for their future.
"Today is truly a good day. I caught two fish with the two hooks I put in the lake earlier," Liu Fang happily told her about her catch.
Cen Ran was surprised to find that her family had caught something today. "We've never caught anything before, how come we're so lucky today?"
Liu Fang said happily, "It's probably because the people from Pinghe Village went fishing in the middle of the lake today, so some fish have scurried to this shore. Anyone who put a fish trap or hook in the water today has basically caught something."
“This Pinghe Village is truly a blessed place for everyone. It seems we really chose the right place.” Cen Ran was somewhat relieved at this moment. She hadn’t gone to Gaojia Village back then, otherwise, given Gao Dongxing’s mother’s personality, they definitely wouldn’t have gotten along well, and she would have suffered a lot of mistreatment.
Holding her sister's hand in one hand and carrying a bag in the other, she said, "Come on, let's go back. We'll have a big meal today to celebrate this new beginning."
As night deepened, the cries of various wild animals echoed from the mountain, but this time, none of the people below, except for the children, slept. They looked anxiously at the distant mountains, praying for the safety of those on the mountain.
"This is just like a zoo, except this time we've switched places with the animals, and they're taking turns 'watching' us." Yun Jianying smiled wryly as he looked through the fire at the animals that came and went.
Hou Yunhai noticed something different: "Didn't you notice that these animals aren't afraid of people at all?"
"Isn't that obvious? If we were afraid of people, we would have come over to watch us." Wu Tianxiang retorted irritably.
Yun Jian raised his bow and arrow, then put it down again. "They're so friendly, I'm almost embarrassed to use them."
As the leopard came and went, the people around the fire became uneasy. They could even see the leopard's scrutinizing gaze, as if it were assessing their intentions.
This wasn't the first animal to pass by them, but strangely, none of them attacked their group.
"These must be the animals that escaped from the zoo that Chen Rongtian mentioned, otherwise they wouldn't be so unafraid of people." Yun Jianying was now completely speechless, and even put down his bow and arrows to carefully observe the situation outside.
Si Cheng, however, did not think that way. He knew that animals' nature was there. Even if they had been tamed before, after such a long time of survival in the wild, their nature had already been brought out.
His curiosity about this group of people was just a vague impression in his mind, but they were not friendly to humans, so he was always on guard.
Seeing that everyone was so dismissive and even joking around, Si Cheng reminded them, "Remember the nature of animals, everyone make the fire burn even brighter."
“Brother, the animals in this zoo have all been domesticated, so they must have a deep-rooted fear of humans. There shouldn’t be any major problems.” Zhao Dongwei was the first to jump out and object, even feeling that these animals weren’t as terrifying as he had imagined.
Si Cheng stared at the leopard in front of him and said, "Haven't you noticed that all the small animals around here have disappeared? All night, it's been carnivores that have been appearing in front of you."
When everyone heard his analysis, they couldn't help but shudder.
Yun Jianying touched the goosebumps on his body. "Although this is the law of nature, why does it feel a bit like a horror movie? It's like all those herbivores have been wiped out, and now they're trying to lure and kill us."
"This means they've already decimated most of the grazing animals in the area, and now we're just easy prey in their eyes."
"If that's the case, then these animals are too clever; they've even started to use cunning."
"So what do we do? Just keep confronting them?"
Several villagers who were holding bows and arrows quickly picked up their weapons again. "We should be careful! The consequences of being bitten by these things are very serious. Many of the injured people in Gaojia Village got rabies and couldn't be saved."
"Everyone, pay attention, they're almost losing patience." Wu Tianxiang had been keeping a close eye on the leopard and had noticed that it was getting impatient; it seemed to have its eye on their group.
“Damn it,” Zhao Dongwei couldn’t help but swear again, “We almost fell for their trick. Those cunning bastards. If we hadn’t been prepared and lit a fire nearby, we might have been ambushed like last time.”
Zhao Dongwei was referring to the last time his uncle was attacked by a leopard while transporting salt; he still felt lingering fear when he thought about it.
Si Cheng also took this opportunity to walk around the fire and carefully observe the outside movements, trying to see if there were any other wild animals hiding nearby.
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