Chapter 3

As the bamboo grove gradually faded into the distance, a pine forest appeared ahead. The plants here were very territorial; where there were bamboo, there were no pines, and where there were pines, there were no bamboos. Compared to the bamboo grove, the pine forest was much safer. Venomous snakes generally did not like to stay in pine forests; the bamboo grove was their paradise. The beautiful green bamboo leaves, which looked so attractive, were the favorite of the bamboo pit vipers, who loved to bite people on the neck as they passed by...

Gathering food was something Yun Zeng had always been doing. Pine nuts were a great food source. The pine cones, over a foot long, were full of delicious pine nuts. After picking seven or eight pine cones from the low pine trees, Yun Zeng felt like a wealthy man. Even the big-tailed squirrels perched on the pine trees looked at him with admiration.

The sun was already setting, and it would be two more hours before it set. They were almost at the top of the mountain, but Yun Zeng's phone still had no signal, which made his unease grow even more intense.

He Jianqiang had fallen into a deep sleep, his head resting sweetly on Yun Zeng's neck. After all, a three- or four-year-old body couldn't handle too much physical activity.

There were no snakes in the pine forest, but there were bears. With so many animals here, it was impossible not to have large carnivores. Just by looking at the pine tree that had been rubbed smooth by bears, one could tell that the bears here must be very large.

Even primitive people knew to find a cave for shelter. How could Yun Zeng not know? Although he didn't find a cave, he was fortunate enough to find a tree hollow. He had never imagined that a tree could grow so thick, with its center hollowed out while the outside remained lush and green. There was a hole at about half a person's height, just big enough for one person to crawl in. The other cracks were only as wide as a palm. If it was dry inside, it would be the ideal place to take shelter.

He lit a bundle of pine needles and threw it inside. Soon, a large group of squirrels fled in panic. That was great; the presence of squirrels meant it wasn't damp. Squirrels also disliked dampness.

He collected a lot of pine resin in the pine forest, which would be used for lighting at night. Without a fire, they wouldn't survive the long, dark night. The sound of wolves howling could already be heard in the distance...

He gathered a lot of dry pine needles and threw them into the tree hollow. He had checked earlier, and the space inside was quite spacious. What made Yun Zeng happiest was finding traces of a fire inside. A piece of wood was charred black, though it had long since cooled. Yun Zeng was still delighted; only humans could use fire. As long as there were people, he could naturally take He Jianqiang and live well.

Lighting a fire in a tree hollow was usually a death sentence, but this was a living tree. The damp wood wouldn't cause a fire. He used pine needles and grass to make a small nest and wrapped the sleeping He Jianqiang tightly in his clothes. He then lit another fire at the charred spot.

The top of the tree also had a hole, and the smoke naturally drifted out through the hollow trunk, leaving no trace of smoke below. This was a generous gift from nature.

When Yun Zeng was knocking on the pine cones, He Jianqiang woke up, rubbing his bruised eyes and staring blankly at the bright pine resin torch. He didn't understand how he had ended up in a wooden house.

"Awake? Are you hungry? Wait a bit, and I'll roast some pine nuts for you. Eating too many raw pine nuts isn't good. If you're really hungry, you can eat a couple of pears first."

Yun Zeng turned and smiled at He Jianqiang, then continued to knock on the pine cones. The pine nuts fell out of the flattened cones, plump and full. This kind of large pine nut was something the old Yun Zeng couldn't afford.

A stone slab was placed over the fire, and Yun Zeng sprinkled the pine nuts on it, carefully stirring them. The popping sound of the pine nuts made He Jianqiang feel much better. He said softly to Yun Zeng, "How nice it would be if I had a brother like you."

"Stop talking nonsense. Am I not your brother now? Technically, I'm your teacher, and you should call me dad, but I'm so young and handsome that it would be a waste to be called dad. So just call me brother!"

Yun Zeng tried to make the atmosphere between them lively and pleasant. A person who was dejected wouldn't last long in the wild.

"I hate the surname He. Brother, can I take your surname? Just seeing that surname makes me uncomfortable. I want to take the surname Yun. It's such a beautiful surname. The reason I like you is because I heard you have the surname Yun."

"Jianqiang, as long as you like it, that's fine. I have a bad feeling that we might not be able to go back. Look at this tree hollow; someone has been here. When I was cleaning the tree hollow, I found this."

Yun Zeng handed He Jianqiang a wolf-tooth arrow. It was indeed a wolf-tooth arrow. The arrowhead wasn't made of iron but was embedded with a very sharp wolf tooth.

"Who uses such things to hunt now? Most people use guns, and some use crossbows. Bows and arrows are hard to master and have poor accuracy. Most people can't use them. We went through a wormhole, Jianqiang. We can't control the time or place, as we are passive. The environment outside might be very harsh. We need to be mentally prepared."

He Jianqiang remained calm, nodding and pointing to the pine nuts on the stone slab, asking if they were ready. Yun Zeng was very satisfied with He Jianqiang's performance. He swept the roasted pine nuts onto the ground, cracked them open with a stone, and let He Jianqiang eat while he continued roasting more.

They ate until midnight, but neither of them was full; they just didn't feel hungry. Yun Zeng added more firewood to the fire to make it burn brighter, then hugged He Jianqiang and fell into a deep sleep, listening to the howls of wolves outside...

When it was light the next morning, Yun Zeng left the tree hollow without hesitation. The lack of food left him with no other choice. The stream at the foot of the mountain had grown into a small river.

Following the river, Yun Zeng had to walk as far as possible while his energy was still abundant. The mountains on both sides became steeper, with fewer trees and more rocks. Fortunately, the ground was soft sand, and there were fish in the river. Yun Zeng knew that with his skills, he couldn't catch them, so he could only drool and continue walking.

For two hours, Yun Zeng didn't stop. He couldn't calculate how far he had walked, but he knew that if the small river turned into a large river, he would be saved. The only river in this area that could be called a large river was the Yangtze River.

The small river became wider, and the water level became shallower. Looking back at the exhausted He Jianqiang, Yun Zeng knew he had to find some food. They hadn't eaten much last night or this morning, and He Jianqiang was trying hard not to cause trouble.

There might be snakes in this area, so he didn't dare to put He Jianqiang down. He continued to carry him and found a shallow bay where several fish were swimming. They were about the size of a palm. Yun Zeng quietly built a sand dam at the mouth of the bay, hoping to catch the fish this way.