Many of the tropical fish we caught were ones I'd never seen before. To ensure we didn't cause food poisoning, all the fish had to be cooked thoroughly before eating.
Based on my appetite, I need at least five of these small fish per meal to barely feel full, and under the conditions of high-intensity physical labor, I need at least seven per meal.
For the six of us to consume in five days, we would need to catch at least five hundred fish and cook them all.
This was a huge undertaking. We spent the whole afternoon working on the riverbank and barely managed to gather four hundred fish. Even Lin Que and Man Jing's hair was singed from the heat.
My previous experience in the Far East gave me a wealth of wilderness survival experience.
The rainforest climate is much better than the icy and snowy Far East. That night, I directed everyone to build a foundation with stones and set up several tents with branches. We also put bed sheets around the tents to prevent everyone from being bitten by poisonous insects.
Because trekking through the jungle is very physically demanding, I declined Jiang Man's suggestion and joined the night watch team instead.
Although Jiang Man couldn't persuade me otherwise, she still put me in the first round so that I could get some rest.
After it got completely dark, I climbed to the top of the tallest tree nearby and began to survey the terrain.
Looking south from our position, the distant mountains resembled a dark cloud, dominating most of our view.
I spent a long time looking at the stars, but I still couldn't figure out the location of the dragon vein from the blurry mountain shapes in the distance. I really don't know how Qu Ruilin managed to do that.
Judging from the phases of the moon, I felt that about two hours had passed, so I got up to prepare to notify others to take the night watch.
Before I could even move, I suddenly heard the sound of leaves rustling in the bushes next to me.
My location was already fraught with danger, and this strange sound immediately put me on alert.
The jungles of Yunnan are home to many wild animals, including Asian elephants, bison, and various primates, all of which pose a threat to us.
Moreover, although the people who obtained food from us during the day said they wouldn't be our enemies, the food we provided was only enough to feed them temporarily. If these people set their sights on us and tried to steal our supplies, it would be a huge danger.
Thinking of this, I immediately raised my voice: "Who's there! Show yourself!"
"Splash!"
The shaking of the trees intensified, and everyone else rushed out of their tents when they heard my shout.
Previously, when we participated in the competition, we were not allowed to bring any tools, but smoking was allowed, so everyone was given a disposable lighter when they entered the jungle.
The monkey was the first to rush out of the tent, standing in the dark woods and asking me, "Young Master Duan, what happened?"
I lit my lighter and pointed my spear in the direction of the sound: "There's some noise over there. I don't know if it's a wild animal or something else."
The tall and burly Manjing, carrying a wooden stick and a giant stone hammer, was the first to walk over there: "I'll go take a look!"
As soon as Manjing moved, the rest of us followed suit.
Under the light of the lighter, the bushes in front were still swaying. Manjing poked at the bushes with a hammer: "Brother, there's nothing in here. Are you sure you're not mistaken? It's just the wind moving it."
I looked around warily: "Impossible. If it were the wind, the sound would have come from all directions, but the sound only came from here. There must be something here!"
Just then, Jiang Man reached out and tugged at my sleeve, pointing to the side and saying, "Look over there, isn't there something there?"
I looked in the direction Jiang Man was pointing and was immediately startled.
There was something swaying in the tree over there, about the height of a person, and it was vaguely visible, like a skeleton hanging from the tree.
"Damn it! Who's playing tricks on us?"
Lin Que saw something in the tree and quickly walked up. But when the light illuminated the area, we were all stunned.
Several handcrafted short bows were hanging from the branches of that tree.
The bow was made of tree branches, and the bowstring looked somewhat damp. It was made of animal sinews and hides. There was also a bundle of arrows made of tree branches under the tree, with the fletchings made of tree bark instead of branches.
The monkey stepped forward, picked up a bow and arrow, examined it, and looked at me with a bewildered expression: "Young Master Duan, the sound you just heard, was someone delivering weapons to us?"
"Strange, we have no allies here, and we're all competitors, so why would someone send us weapons?"
Jiang Man thought for a moment: "Could it be that those people who took our grilled fish earlier have caught some prey and want to repay us in kind?"
I reached out and touched the bowstring, which I couldn't tell was made of any kind of animal hide: "These bowstrings are all handmade, and they haven't been made for long. If the people who delivered the weapons are really the same people who received our aid before, why are they acting so suspiciously?"
"That's not hard to understand. When they appeared before, we showed great hostility. They secretly delivered the goods to avoid causing unnecessary trouble. Otherwise, I really can't think of anyone else who would help us like this... As it stands, they are definitely not enemies, otherwise they would have already fired a volley of bullets."
The monkey picked up a bow and examined it: "I didn't expect these people to be so righteous, knowing they wouldn't eat other people's food for free."
The sudden delivery of weapons to us did not bring us joy; instead, it heightened everyone's vigilance.
After all, if the other side can provide weapons, they must also have the ability to harm us.
I had thought about making a bow and arrow before, but using shredded bed sheets as bowstrings wouldn't be tough enough to be lethal, so I gave up on the idea.
The bowstring sent by the enemy could shoot arrows more than twenty meters away. Although it was not very lethal, it could play a key role in defense.
Because of the presence of unidentified people around us, we didn't get a good rest that night. As soon as it was dawn the next day, we packed our bags and set off on our journey to find the dragon.
I don't have Qu Ruilin's ability to excavate tombs from flat ground. To find the direction of the dragon vein, I must climb to a high place and look into the distance, combining the terrain to find the location where the token is hidden.
We walked for a whole day before finally arriving at the foot of a high mountain just as the sun was setting.
I glanced at the mountains shrouded in greenery and waved to the others: "Hiking at night is too dangerous. Let's camp here tonight. Everyone get ready, and we can have dinner after we set up camp."
As soon as we finished speaking, we took advantage of the glow of the setting sun and began to cut down tree branches.
Just as I found a suitable spot, I suddenly heard a shrill scream coming from Jiang Man in the distance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com