Zhou Youlan raised his head to see Zhang Tongtong staring right at him with wide, terrified eyes.
To be precise, Tongtong was staring at something directly behind him.
Wei Yan furrowed his brow slightly as a snake, as thick as a man’s arm, was draped lazily over the tree branches right behind Zhou Youlan.
Just as Zhou Youlan was about to turn his head to look, Wei Yan stopped him: “Don’t move.”
Though Wei Yan’s tone didn’t betray any panic and remained as calm as ever, Zhou Youlan still stiffened, not daring to move a muscle because he could hear a faint hissing sound right beside his ear, proving that the snake’s forked tongue was already terribly close to him.
The tense expressions on Zhang Tongtong and the others made him hold his breath as well. He glanced sideways from the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t make out the snake’s exact position.
Lightening his footsteps, Wei Yan bypassed the obstruction of the branches and slowly groped for his dagger. The hilt spun once in his palm as the blade tip locked onto Zhou Youlan’s direction.
Initially, Zhou Youlan had been quite nervous due to the others holding their breath, especially since he didn’t know whether the creature was venomous. But the moment he caught sight of Wei Yan, his tense shoulders gradually relaxed.
Perhaps it was because he had witnessed the precision and decisiveness with which Wei Yan used his blade, he felt an inexplicable sense of safety and trust.
Wei Yan wouldn’t hurt him, nor would he let that snake harm him.
The voices behind them quieted down. When Chen Nan turned back and saw both Zhou Youlan and Wei Yan frozen in a deadlock, he also spotted the snake clinging to the tree near Zhou Youlan’s shoulder.
He hooked the corners of his lips and deliberately walked toward them, the fallen leaves crunching beneath his feet as he raised his voice: “This place is great for hunting. Let’s set a trap!”
Startled by the commotion, the snake hanging from the branch suddenly grew restless. Before Zhou Youlan even had time to duck, he felt a sharp gust of wind slice past the side of his face. Following a dull thud, he looked back to find that the snake had already been pinned dead against the tree by Wei Yan’s dagger, struck squarely through the vital seven-inch mark.
The snake was easily as thick as an adult man’s arm, yet its body had been completely pierced, with the dagger embedding itself thumb-deep straight into the trunk.
Zhou Youlan drew in a slight breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing repeatedly as a wave of shock rippled through him.
He shuddered to think what would have happened if Wei Yan had thrown that dagger at a person instead, as the target wouldn’t even have had a chance at survival.
When facing danger, Wei Yan was always ruthless, whether dealing with people or beasts.
Much like how he had handled Lao Gui last time or hunted down that wild goat, he always ensured that a single strike guaranteed he took the upper hand, simply because he loathed lingering negotiations and detested dragging things out.
Such a composed personality, combined with vicious and decisive methods yet an integrity that wasn’t entirely evil, was something he had never encountered or experienced before.
It was novel, thrilling, and especially unique.
The sense of security Wei Yan brought with him naturally drew people’s gazes toward him and made them follow his lead.
It also tempted one to delve deeper into his past and explore the depths of his mind.
“Crap! Brother Wei, have you had professional training?” Zhang Tongtong was so shocked his eyeballs were practically glued to Wei Yan. “I’ve played darts since I was a kid and I’m nowhere near as accurate as you. You just, you just threw it like that and hit the target. That was way too cool!”
Big Mac let out a breath of relief and turned to glare at Chen Nan: “Why did you have to shout so loud? Didn’t you see everyone keeping quiet? Good thing my brother didn’t get bitten by that snake.”
Chen Nan let out a muffled scoff through his nose while putting on an apologetic expression. “Sorry, I didn’t see. Is everything okay?”
Zhou Youlan answered: “I’m fine.”
The others crowded around. Seeing the dagger embedded straight into the trunk, Ke Feiyang sighed in silent admiration.
Even with regular training back in the military, he wouldn’t have been able to throw a dagger with that kind of force. Yet Wei Yan didn’t look nearly as brawny and robust as them, and somehow possessed such wrist strength.
Wang Qinqin suddenly started to believe that the goat really had been hunted by Wei Yan. An ordinary person wouldn’t be able to pull off something so steady, accurate, and vicious, unless Wei Yan had undergone specialized training.
Wei Yan walked over to the tree and pulled out his dagger, his gaze fixed intently on Chen Nan.
Chen Nan looked away and raised an eyebrow. Even if Wei Yan realized he had done it on purpose, so what? If he denied it, nobody could pin the blame on him.
“I was actually worried about what we’d eat tonight, but look, now we have food.”
Looking at the snake on the ground, Ke Feiyang said with a smile.
“Huh? We’re eating snake?” Zhang Tongtong’s face was plastered with disgust.
“We won’t find anything else anyway. We’ve been walking all day without a break, so let’s just make do for now.” Big Mac deliberately thanked Wei Yan: “If it weren’t for Wei Yan today, we’d probably be starving again.”
Big Mac hoisted the snake onto his shoulder: “Bro, what do you think?”
Zhou Youlan glanced at Wei Yan, his lips twitching unnaturally before he gave an ambiguous response: “Yeah.”
After stripping the centipede fruit trees clean of their harvest, the group finally retraced their steps back to the campsite.
Along the way, Wei Yan spotted a few star anise trees and decided to dig up a few sections of their roots.
Walking at the back of the group with Wei Yan, Zhou Youlan noticed him lingering behind and stopped as well. “What is this?”
“Star anise tree roots.”
“What are they used for?”
Wei Yan brushed the dirt off them: “Medicinal purposes.”
Zhou Youlan: “…”
Did he really have to keep it that brief? What kind of illness were they meant to treat? Would it kill him to say one extra sentence?
Zhou Youlan grumbled internally for a long time, his lips moving soundlessly as he rehearsed his words. Finally, with an unnatural expression on his face, he muttered, “Um, just now, thank you.”
Zhou Youlan mumbled the last part so vaguely that Wei Yan didn’t quite catch it and turned his head: “Huh?”
Wei Yan’s eyelashes were thick and naturally curled. That pair of striking eyes could make anyone lose all self-control and fall deeper just by looking into them a little longer. Zhou Youlan had no idea why such a thought had popped into his head, but Wei Yan truly possessed that kind of appearance.
He cleared his throat, turned his face away with an awkward expression to avoid meeting Wei Yan’s gaze, and said very sincerely: “Thank you.”
“However, don’t get the wrong idea,” Zhou Youlan quickly added. “I’m only thanking you for helping just now, nothing else. Don’t go thinking it’s anything like that, all those messy things.”
“And don’t ever think that because you’ve helped me and protected me a few times, my attitude toward you will change. I don’t like obsessive stalkers, and I don’t like men either.”
Wei Yan shoveled the excavated soil back over the roots beneath the tree. Without even lifting his head, he gave a perfunctory reply: “Right.”
He shook all the dirt and dust off the dug-up roots, tossed them back into his pack, and stood up to walk away.
Zhou Youlan assumed that upon hearing those words, even if Wei Yan didn’t finally realize that obsessive stalking behavior was wrong, he would at least look a little disappointed or upset. Yet Wei Yan remained completely expressionless, clearly not caring in the least.
It was his first time meeting someone so thick-skinned and persistent. Given how many fans and suitors adored him, he had to admit that Wei Yan was truly the one who had left the deepest impression on him.
Could this be considered a form of success for Wei Yan?
Zhou Youlan felt helpless, his heart genuinely heavy with distress. His charm was so powerful that it made people love him to this extent, something he sometimes wished wasn’t the case.
The shelter was already mostly built. Big Mac spotted Ruan Mengmeng busy spreading leaves across the floor of the shelter, so he slipped the snake off his neck and quietly laid it down right beside her feet.
Stepping onto something soft and squishy, Ruan Mengmeng looked down, let out a piercing shriek, and stumbled backward in terror.
Niu Xixi turned his head, caught sight of the snake tail, and began screaming at the top of his lungs as well. Instantly, their dueling shrieks pierced the air, shattering the tranquility of the jungle.
“What is it, what is it?”
Lin Yue hurried over to grab her: “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a snake!” Ruan Mengmeng cried out in fright. “There’s a snake, Sister Lin Yue, wuwu.”
The foragers trickled out of the woods one after another. Zhang Tongtong laughed: “Big Mac, why are you trying to scare them?”
Seeing that the snake wasn’t moving at all, Ruan Mengmeng was so angry she wanted to hit someone: “Big Mac! Are you out of your mind? You scared the life out of me!”
Big Mac squatted on the ground, snickering to himself, only to receive a kick from Zhou Youlan.
He scrambled back to his feet in a hurry: “Just a joke, just a joke, playing around with you, don’t be mad.”
“Who’s joking with you? Such a huge snake, are you trying to scare me to death?”
Big Mac hurriedly offered up the wild fruits he had gathered, wearing an ingratiating smile: “Sorry, sorry, forgive me, I won’t ever dare do it again.”
Lin Yue took the fruit from his hands and handed them to Ruan Mengmeng: “Alright, alright. Don’t pull pranks like that next time, it’s genuinely terrifying.”
“What even is this thing?” Ruan Mengmeng wiped away her tears. “It’s all black, is it edible? What if we eat it and get poisoned?”
“Don’t worry, Wei Yan said it’s edible.”
Ruan Mengmeng wiped the fruit on her sleeve and took a direct bite out of it: “If Brother Wei says it’s edible, then it definitely is.”
Big Mac chuckled. Good grief, Wei Yan had practically become their standard benchmark by now.