The hunting party in the mountains was shocked to discover that the sun was being blocked by a large flock of mutated birds, and the dark clouds overhead nearly scared them to death.
They hurriedly sought cover to hide themselves, thinking that these mutated birds had come out in droves to forage for food. They kept praying in their hearts that these terrible creatures would not find them, and their hearts jumped into their throats.
The mutated bird flock circled low around the valley all day, but found nothing, so they had to angrily turn back and return to the orchard.
The hunters, who had been on tenterhooks all day, finally dared to crawl out of their hiding places, wondering suspiciously what had gotten into these birds, as they raced down the mountain.
The more they ran, the more frightened they became. They had no idea that such a large flock of mutated birds was hiding in this valley, and they had been swaggering around the valley all this time. Now that they thought about it, they were terrified.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaoxiu and Sister Monkey had already returned to the lakeside campsite.
Today's harvest was plentiful. Zhao Xiaoxiu directed Sister Monkey to use stones to build a pond by the lake, and the wild fruits waiting to be washed filled the entire pond.
Monkey Sister ate while washing the food, and didn't forget to stuff one into Zhao Xiaoxiu's mouth as well.
Peter Pan floated in mid-air, his big eyes blinking, filled with longing for wild fruit.
Zhao Xiaoxiu asked in surprise, "Little Flying Man, you eat fruit too?"
Peter Pan immediately opened his giant mouth, and Zhao Xiaoxiu chuckled as she tossed one in. It swallowed it whole without even chewing.
After swallowing, he looked at the monkey sister who was eating with relish, and then at the beautifully colored wild fruits in the pool, puzzled. These fruits had no taste.
Zhao Xiaoxiu sat barefoot on a rock by the pool, her little feet splashing water intermittently. Her hands were full of sour wild apples on one side and lightly sweet autumn pears on the other.
One bite on each side perfectly balances the flavors, making it incredibly delicious with its sweet and sour taste.
Sister Monkey washed the fruit hastily, rinsing it briefly before scooping it out and piling it in the only container, a frying pan.
The pot was full, so the rest had to be wrapped in large leaves and piled up in the corner of the tent.
A few fell down along the way, rolled several times on the ground, and Sister Monkey picked them up and put them back. She immediately ran to Zhao Xiaoxiu and asked for praise.
"Sister Monkey is awesome." Zhao Xiaoxiu chuckled, not caring about these details. If she wanted to eat it again next time, she could just take it to the lake to wash it again.
As the sun set, rustling footsteps could be heard all around. Zhao Xiaoxiu looked up and saw that the mutated animals had come to the lake to drink water.
Two plump, mutated pheasants, with their long, sharp feathers trailing behind them, swaggered around the tent and came to the lakeside to peck at the fruit pits floating in the fruit pool.
Zhao Xiaoxiu glanced at Sister Monkey and littered.
Sister Monkey grinned, disliking criticism.
Then, it excitedly glanced at the two fat pheasants and wanted to pounce on them.
Zhao Xiaoxiu held it back and glanced at it in the water a few times.
Sister Monkey nodded, indicating that she understood.
The calm lake surface rippled, but the pheasants, engrossed in pecking at fruit pits, didn't notice until a mysterious force caused them to float uncontrollably, at which point they cried out in alarm.
Sister Monkey scratched her ear, "That's awful howling, I can't stand it anymore." She ran out from behind the tent, shoved one monkey into the pool with each paw.
The pheasant wasn't big, but its struggle before death was extremely fierce. Its sharp feathers cut Sister Monkey, which angered her so much that Sister Monkey used all her strength to snap the pheasant's neck, preventing it from flapping around anymore.
The commotion was quite loud. The mutated animals that were drinking water in other parts of the lake were startled and turned to run away, disappearing in no time.
However, some were unlucky and ran too slow. They were controlled by Peter Pan and "thumped" from mid-air into the depths of the lake, becoming dizzy and then Peter Pan's dinner.
At night, Zhao Xiaoxiu sat on the fire in front of the tent, munching on a fragrant chicken leg, very satisfied with the hunting skills of her monkey and fish.
It's a pity the Green Fairy isn't here, otherwise none of these mutated animals by the lake would have escaped today.
Zhao Xiaoxiu thought to herself with delight that as long as she guarded this lake, there would definitely be mutated animals coming down the mountain to drink water, and she would never have to worry about food and drink again.
No, no!
I still need to find my father; I absolutely cannot let myself be blinded by these small benefits.
but......
"Why hasn't Xiwa come back yet?" Zhao Xiaoxiu muttered to herself, "Could he have really run away?"
Thinking of this, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment, and suddenly the chicken in my hand didn't taste good anymore.
Zhao Xiaoxiu handed the chicken leg to Sister Monkey, who was overjoyed. She took it and devoured it in two bites, then spat out a bone and threw it into the lake.
The disturbed Peter Pan flew out in a huff and spat a jet of water at it.
Zhao Xiaoxiu touched the three evolution potions she had left in her bosom. Could she have no chance to hand over this reward?
Looking up at the monkey and fish playing 'happily' at the tent entrance, Zhao Xiaoxiu sighed helplessly, "Sigh, these two heartless fellows."
Let's wait a little longer.
We'll wait two more days. Whether or not Xiwa comes back in two days, we'll set off to find her father.
Having figured it out, Zhao Xiaoxiu put aside her worries, picked up the last roasted chicken leg from the fire, and began to eat it heartily.
To my utter surprise, while I was halfway through eating the chicken leg, I suddenly heard a joyful voice coming from the mountain.
"There's a fire! There are people there! We've finally made it out!"
Suddenly, a stranger's voice rang out by the quiet lakeside, causing Monkey Sister and Peter Pan to stop playing abruptly, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Zhao Xiaoxiu's heart skipped a beat. She panicked for a moment, but forced herself to calm down.
"Hide!" Zhao Xiaoxiu said.
Peter Pan immediately disappeared into the lake, while Sister Monkey and Zhao Xiaoxiu quickly hid in the tent and closed the curtain.
No one added fuel to the burning fire, and the flames slowly grew weaker. Chicken feathers and broken bones were scattered around the tent, and a few fruit pits lay on the shore.
The lakeside was quiet, and the footsteps and breathing of people approaching grew closer and closer, as if they were right next to my ear.
Where are they?
Is anyone there?
The three people stopped in front of the tent. The faint firelight cast their shadows on the tent, making them crooked and ghostly.
There was no response for a while, but two shallow breaths could be heard from inside the tent.
The middle-aged man who was leading the group said, "We had a bad day. We ran into that group of mutated birds in the valley and hid from them until evening before we had a chance to go down the mountain. We almost got lost while walking at night, but luckily we saw a fire here and found the right direction."
"Brother, are you the lord of the nearby planting area?"
The person inside the tent still did not answer.
The three exchanged strange glances. Logically, if they encountered someone of their kind by this secluded lake late at night, shouldn't they come out to check on them?
Perhaps there were only two people on the other end, and they were being so cautious because they were afraid the other party would steal their things?
But if it's a local lord, there's probably no need for him to pitch a tent in the mountains, right?
They don't look like hunters from a hunting party. Hunters usually travel in groups, and there are at least three people on a mission.
"A wanderer?" the middle-aged man probed again, his tone sounding particularly polite and concerned.
Zhao Xiaoxiu, who was inside the tent, felt a jolt in her heart.
A lone wanderer, at the very bottom of society, is the easiest to bully.
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