Lin Wanxing collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, her palms slick with cold sweat.
Looking at Little Stone, she smiled with relief.
“Stone, you were amazing. We got through that because of you.”
Little Stone had been terrified as well. Only after resting for a while did he finally calm down.
Still shaken yet unable to hide a hint of pride, he said,
“I told you I’d protect you!”
After a short rest, Lin Wanxing relit the torch, but her heart only grew more anxious.
Getting lost and running into the venomous snake had cost them far too much time.
They had to find the cave she had scouted as quickly as possible.
She remembered the marks she had carved into the trees.
Carrying Yaya in her arms while holding Little Stone’s hand, she carefully searched the trunks lining the path.
Finally, on the crooked pine tree, she found the small carving she had made earlier.
“I found it!
If we follow this route, we’ll reach the cave soon!” Lin Wanxing said excitedly.
The three of them followed the trail of markers.
After walking for another half an hour, they finally spotted the faint outline of what looked like a cave.
Joy surged through Lin Wanxing.
She quickened her pace and soon confirmed that it was indeed the cave she had found before.
But resting immediately was out of the question.
The cave was filled with weeds and loose rocks, and the ground was littered with animal droppings.
In one corner was even a snake hole, with a discarded snakeskin still lying beside its entrance.
Even worse, several holes in the cave ceiling meant rain would certainly leak through during the day.
“Big Sis… it’s so dark and dirty in here…” Yaya frowned, too frightened to step inside.
Lin Wanxing sighed.
“We don’t have a choice. We’ll stay here for now and clean it up tomorrow.”
She gently set Yaya down on a nearby rock.
Then she took her machete outside, cut an armful of tall grass, and, together with Little Stone, gathered a pile of firewood nearby.
After piling the dry grass together with the wood, she lit a fire.
The moment the flames sprang to life, the cave was bathed in warm light.
After putting away all the supplies they had brought, she began clearing out the weeds and loose stones inside the cave.
Little Stone helped as well, carrying armfuls of rocks outside.
While cleaning, Lin Wanxing accidentally scraped her hand on a thorn.
Blood immediately flowed from the cut.
Seeing this, Yaya hurried over, took out the dried dandelion they had prepared earlier, and said softly,
“Big Sis, Granny Zhang said dandelion can stop bleeding. I’ll put it on for you.”
Warmth filled Lin Wanxing’s heart as she allowed Yaya to treat the wound.
Just then…
A wolf’s howl suddenly echoed from outside the cave.
And it was getting closer.
Lin Wanxing’s face changed.
She immediately pulled Little Stone and Yaya deeper into the cave.
Holding her breath, she gripped the machete tightly and listened to every sound outside.
The wolf howled near the cave entrance for a while before gradually moving farther away.
Only then did Lin Wanxing let out a sigh of relief.
After cautiously peeking outside to make sure it was gone, she returned to continue cleaning.
It wasn’t until the middle of the night that the cave was barely livable.
She spread dry grass over the ground to serve as bedding and covered Little Stone and Yaya with the old clothes they had brought.
“Big Sis… I’m still a little cold,” Yaya whispered.
Lin Wanxing gathered the remaining dry grass and covered the two children with it.
As for herself, she leaned against the cave wall, clutching the machete as she stood watch through the night.
She knew that in the deep mountains, nighttime was the most dangerous.
She had to remain vigilant at all times.
As the night deepened, the occasional cries of wild animals echoed outside the cave.
Lin Wanxing found herself even more unable to sleep.
When people couldn’t sleep, their thoughts often wandered.
She thought about the life she once had.
Then she thought about the desperate situation they were in now.
The food they had brought wouldn’t last long.
She needed to come up with a solution as soon as possible.
She also had to retrieve the wild vegetables and medicinal herbs she had hidden earlier in the mountains.
The vegetables could always be gathered again.
But the cold medicine Granny Zhang had given her, along with the dandelion and mugwort she had painstakingly collected, had to be recovered.
Without those medicines, even a minor illness or injury in the future could become a serious problem.
After a sleepless night, dawn had barely begun to brighten the sky when Lin Wanxing quietly got up, careful not to wake Little Stone and Yaya.
Using the faint light filtering into the cave, she inspected her machete.
She carefully wrapped up the remaining coarse rice and hid it deep inside a crack between the rocks.
The bundle containing the steamed buns was placed beside Little Stone and Yaya so they would see it as soon as they woke.
Then she prepared to retrieve the hidden herbs.
Just as she was about to leave, Little Stone rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up.
“Big Sis, where are you going?”
Lin Wanxing crouched down and gently patted his head.
“I’m going to bring back the wild vegetables and medicinal herbs I hid earlier. I’ll be back very soon. Stay here and look after your little sister. Don’t run around, alright?”
Little Stone immediately nodded.
“Don’t worry, Big Sis! I’ll take good care of Little Sister, and I’ll even gather firewood for you!”
Lin Wanxing smiled warmly.
After reminding him several more times not to wander off, she picked up her machete and an empty cloth sack before heading toward the mountain where she had hidden the herbs.
She remembered that the hiding place was near the low thicket where they had encountered the venomous snake yesterday.
Although it was dangerous, they had no choice.
They desperately needed both the food and the medicine.
She hadn’t gone very far before something immediately caught her attention.
The grass beside the trail had been trampled.
Fresh hoofprints were scattered across the ground.
Each print was larger than a clenched fist, with blunt, rounded tips.
Her heart tightened.
Wild boar tracks.
Wild boars in the deep mountains were notoriously fierce.
If she ran into one…
She slowed her pace, tightened her grip on the machete, and carefully observed her surroundings.
About half an hour later, she finally reached the place where she had hidden the vegetables.
Just then…
A series of snorts drifted from a nearby patch of brush.
Huff… huff…
Branches snapped with sharp cracks.
Lin Wanxing immediately ducked behind a large tree and cautiously peeked around the trunk.
A half-grown wild boar was rooting through the undergrowth.
It was only a dozen paces away from her hidden cache.
She held her breath, not daring to make the slightest move.
Wild boars had incredibly keen senses of smell.
If it noticed her, she stood no chance against it.
Her gaze shifted from the sharpened machete to the sloping hillside nearby.
An idea suddenly came to her.
Slowly crouching down, she picked up several stones and hurled them with all her strength toward the slope.
The crashing sounds startled the wild boar.
It jerked its head up and turned alertly toward the hillside, its snout twitching as it sniffed the air.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Lin Wanxing lowered her body and sprinted toward the hidden cache.
She pulled away the layer of weeds covering it.
The vegetables and medicinal herbs were still neatly wrapped in cloth.
No animals had disturbed them.
She hurriedly stuffed the bundle into her sack and turned to run back toward the cave.
She had barely taken a few steps when an enraged roar exploded behind her.
The wild boar had discovered her.
Lin Wanxing didn’t dare look back.
She ran with every ounce of strength she had.
Branches whipped across her face, leaving bloody scratches, but she paid them no attention.
Fortunately, there was still a fair distance between her and the boar.
It failed to catch up.
After running roughly a li, the boar’s angry cries gradually faded into the distance.
Only then did she dare stop.
Leaning against a tree trunk, she bent over, gasping for air, her hands trembling with cold sweat.
Once she had caught her breath, Lin Wanxing quickly checked the contents of the cloth sack.
The wild vegetables were intact.
The medicinal herbs were unharmed as well.
Only then did the knot in her chest finally loosen.