Chapter 55

Originally, they thought that entering the Shenluo Valley would reveal something extraordinary, but after walking for several hours, apart from the trees becoming denser and the sounds of birds and beasts becoming more frequent, they really didn’t find anything special.

Although everyone had eaten breakfast before setting out, it was already almost one in the afternoon. Not only were they very tired from walking, but they were also hungry, so Shelin ordered everyone to stop and rest to have a meal.

He, along with Zhang Tianyuan and Xu Gang, worked together, using military shovels to dig out a patch of ground free of grass. Since they needed to start a fire, having grass was definitely not an option, and the grass was too dangerous; if there were snakes or something, they wouldn’t be visible. It was safer to clear some open ground. After all, it wasn’t much for three grown men to do this.

"Gangzi and Tianyuan, go find some dry firewood. I and Phoenix will go find some wild vegetables and game to prepare for cooking," Shelin arranged.

At this point, everyone was already familiar with each other. After all, they had all gone through a mental struggle and put their lives on the line to come here, so Shelin’s way of addressing Xu Gang and Zhang Tianyuan had gradually changed.

"Aren’t we supposed to have rations? Why not eat them?" Xu Gang asked.

"Rations are emergency food. We should only eat them when it’s a matter of life and death. If we can find fresh ingredients, we should use them first. This is common sense. Otherwise, if we run out of rations and can’t find anything else to eat, we’ll just be waiting to die," Shelin explained.

"Alright, let’s get to work."

It has to be said that Shelin and Lan Fenghuang were indeed children who grew up in the forest. They were very familiar with wild vegetables and game. When they returned, Lan Fenghuang had a bag of wild vegetables, and Shelin was carrying two rabbits and a snake.

On the contrary, Xu Gang and Zhang Tianyuan, who were looking for firewood, encountered some trouble. Because the area was too damp, it was difficult to find dry branches or even rotten grass. Fortunately, they had some luck; there was a dead tree in the forest, apparently struck by lightning and now completely dry. They broke off many branches and carried them back.

Lan Fenghuang was responsible for cooking, while Liu Mengxun and Mou Ying helped. Professor Wang sat there reading a book.

Xu Gang was assigned to patrol, carrying a gun and circling around. If anything unusual happened, he could promptly alert everyone.

Shelin and Zhang Tianyuan, on the other hand, were looking ahead and discussing the next steps.

Looking ahead, as far as the eye could see, it was all vegetation—lush trees, grass as tall as a person, and some strange plants. Whether it was the wind or something in the grass, the distant grass was constantly moving.

There was no path left, not even one for wild animals. All around were forests and grass.

"No path left. Should we start clearing a path as we go?" Zhang Tianyuan asked.

"Clearing a path isn’t the problem. The issue is that if it rains, it will be troublesome. The sky is already overcast, and the worst thing would be rain. We might not even be able to tell which direction we’re going. If we end up in a trap or a wild animal’s den, we’ll be in big trouble," Shelin said, looking at the sky, somewhat worried.

"Should we find a place to rest just in case? We don’t know where the thing we’re looking for is, so we need to be prepared for a long-term effort," Zhang Tianyuan said.

"Right. I saw a mountain not far from here. There should be a place to shelter from the rain. In the future, after we walk a certain distance, we should find a place to rest. This way, if anything happens, we’ll know where to go and won’t panic," Shelin agreed with Zhang Tianyuan’s suggestion. After all, the path ahead would have to be cleared, and the pace would definitely slow down. Having a place to rest would be better.

"Let’s head to that place after we eat. It’s not safe here; it feels like something is watching us," Zhang Tianyuan said.

"Alright, I’ll go help them with the cooking. I’ll handle the rabbits and the snake. Phoenix is brave, but she’s afraid of snakes," Shelin patted Zhang Tianyuan’s shoulder and said, "Thanks for helping with the patrol."

"Sure thing!"

For Shelin and Lan Fenghuang, who were used to living in the wild, starting a fire and building a simple stove was very easy. Since they had just entered the Shenluo Valley, they still had all their equipment, so starting a fire was simple; they didn’t need to do anything like the people on TV who had to rub sticks together to make fire.

The fire quickly crackled and burned. Lan Fenghuang washed the rabbits and placed them directly over the fire to roast. This was the simplest method, and the roasted meat was especially delicious, so most of the time, they used this method when cooking in the wild.

As for the snake, it was cut into small pieces and put into a small military pot to stew, to make snake soup.

There were also some wild vegetables, which Lan Fenghuang threw directly into the soup. Out in the wild, they couldn’t just eat meat; eating some wild vegetables was good for their health. The cooking method didn’t need to be fancy, as they hadn’t brought any cooking oil, which was too heavy and inconvenient to carry.

There was some salt, and putting it in the soup made it taste much better.

"Who brought alcohol?" Shelin asked. "It’s a bit cold, and drinking some alcohol can warm us up."

"I brought some, but it’s really good monkey wine. Everyone should save it," Zhang Tianyuan had been carrying a gourd of wine given to him by Wumu Daozhang. Since it would eventually be finished, he wasn’t worried about the weight; he had plenty of strength.

The monkey wine was brought out, but since there were no extra cups, everyone had to take turns drinking directly from the gourd.

Liu Mengxun took a sip of the wine, and her face immediately turned rosy. Her delicate appearance made all the men a bit infatuated. Not just Shelin and Zhang Tianyuan, even Professor Wang, who was over sixty, and Xu Gang, who had a girlfriend, couldn’t help but look at her a few more times.

Beautiful women, indeed, have a great impact.

"Just drinking and eating meat isn’t enough. Who can tell a story or a joke?" Xu Gang said with a smile. He loved being in the midst of a lively scene and didn’t mind a bit of trouble.

Professor Wang was a scholar and knew many stories, but he wasn’t good at telling them. A good story from him turned into a primary school student’s流水账作文 (流水账作文 means a simple, straightforward narrative).

Shelin was quiet and didn’t like to talk, so he could be skipped.

Xu Gang couldn’t be allowed to tell a story; once he started, it would definitely be some dirty joke or story.

In the end, this task naturally fell to Zhang Tianyuan again.

Zhang Tianyuan, for some reason, volunteered to take on this difficult task, but the story he told was a ghost story!

In the depths of the dense forest, even though it was daytime, the light was dim, and the rustling of the wind made it easy to be scared.

"Long ago, there was a man who went hunting in the mountains during the day. Because he was hungry, he killed a rabbit and prepared to roast it... The fire burned, and the smell of the roasted rabbit, mixed with the aroma of cumin, made the hunter’s mouth water. Just as he was about to enjoy his meal, he suddenly heard a ‘rustling’ sound in the forest..."

"Stop, stop! I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear it!" Liu Mengxun finally showed her vulnerable side. It was strange; sometimes she was fearless, but she was particularly afraid of imaginary monsters.

Zhang Tianyuan ignored her and continued, but at that moment, Shelin covered his mouth, "Shh—! Something’s happening!"

Everyone stopped eating and looked in the direction Shelin was pointing.

In the dense forest, the grass as tall as a person was making a ‘rustling’ sound, just like in the story Zhang Tianyuan was telling.

"Oh my God, buddy, your black mouth really summoned the ghosts," Xu Gang, who was trembling with fear, said with some resentment.

It wasn’t that he was cowardly; he was brave enough to do anything, but he was particularly afraid of ghosts and monsters, which he had never seen before. When he was a child, during the summer, a college student who had come back for the holidays told ghost stories to the village children, and Xu Gang once fell from a three-meter-high earthen cliff out of fear.