Just as recorded in the Compendium of Beast Taming, after Han Pi’s Change of Diet, Han Pi’s temperament underwent a tremendous transformation.
If Han Pi used to be an active attacker before, now Han Pi had become passively aggressive. As long as you didn’t deliberately provoke Han Pi, it was as docile and adorable as a giant panda, letting you do as you pleased.
Qin Tian acted as the bridge between them, and in just two short days, Han Pi became familiar with Ye Lin’s presence. Afterwards, Ye Lin used bamboo shoots as a way to get close to Han Pi, and after a week of feeding, she was already able to play and interact affectionately with Han Pi.
With this, Qin Tian and Ye Lin started preparing to migrate the Camp.
***
By mid-April, spring had been here for quite some time, and many flowers had bloomed, quietly bringing richer colors to the entire forest.
At dawn by the creek, Qin Tian pulled the Ground Cage from the water and carried it to the fish pit, but unlike usual, he didn’t immediately release the fish into the pit. Instead, he sat down right where he was and took the fish out from the Ground Cage one by one.
He took the hemp rope he had prepared in advance and tied the tails and mouths of the fish together, bending each fish into the shape of a bow, and then tossed them back into the Ground Cage.
Qin Tian called this method of tying fish with hemp rope Bow Fish. This was a technique that allowed fish to survive out of water for over a dozen hours.
After so long accumulating, there were at least a dozen fish in the pit. Qin Tian spent more than an hour bending and tying each fish into a bow, then placed them all into the Ground Cage.
Next, Qin Tian made two loops of rope on the Ground Cage to use as straps and carried it on his back as he walked toward the Camp.
Today was the day of the Migration Task, and Qin Tian’s mood was elated. However, when he returned to the Camp, that joy faded considerably.
***
Ye Lin was digging up Mint near the Camp with a Bamboo Spade, and not far away, Han Pi was leaning against a tree, gnawing on bamboo.
Han Pi eating bamboo was something that began during Ye Lin’s period of feeding.
Back then, the bamboo shoots at the edge of the Bamboo Forest had almost all been harvested by Qin Tian. Soon, only by going deeper into the Bamboo Forest could they find more bamboo shoots. But if they did that, the chances of encountering a Wild Boar Herd would skyrocket.
Even though Qin Tian possessed unique talents and a Recurve Bow, and didn’t have to fear running into Wild Boars, it was better to avoid trouble when possible.
So, to avoid such situations, Qin Tian chopped down bamboo and tried to encourage Han Pi to treat it as food.
Unexpectedly, Han Pi immediately took a liking to the bamboo. There was no need to guide it—it just started chewing away on its own.
When Ye Lin saw Qin Tian, she stopped what she was doing and smiled, “You’re back?”
“Mm.” Qin Tian replied simply, his gaze sweeping across the Camp.
Seeing Qin Tian’s expression, Ye Lin looked around as well. She understood what Qin Tian was thinking.
This Camp was their very first resting place since arriving on this desolate island. It had sheltered them for so long—it was like their first home here. Now that they were about to leave, there was naturally some reluctance.
Not being sentimental artists, Qin Tian and Ye Lin quickly composed themselves and together dug up all the Mint near the Camp, packing it into a Bamboo Basket.
The Bamboo Basket was over a meter high, a bit larger than a water bucket, with just enough capacity to hold all the Mint.
There were three such Bamboo Baskets in the Camp. Qin Tian and Ye Lin had specially made them for the Migration Task, and for this, Qin Tian had even received a Points Reward of 500.
After nearly a whole morning, the two of them packed everything they needed to bring into the Bamboo Baskets.
***
“Han Pi! Come help out!” Qin Tian called out to Han Pi.
Hearing Qin Tian’s voice, Han Pi let out a cry, dropped the bamboo in its mouth, and hurried over. At Qin Tian’s signal, it crouched down.
One after another, Qin Tian and Ye Lin placed the Bamboo Baskets on Han Pi’s sides, then tied the two baskets together with hemp rope. Next, they dismantled the Wooden Shelter and placed its roof onto Han Pi’s back.
The Wooden Shelter was something they had to bring along. The cave was much smaller than the current Camp. It was fine for living, but if they wanted to cook inside, it would feel cramped.
Qin Tian intended to set up the shelter outside the cave entrance as a kitchen. Of course, they could build a new one, but that would be time-consuming and laborious. It was much more convenient to bring what they already had.
“Han Pi, get up,” Qin Tian called. Han Pi stood up, and with that, the two Bamboo Baskets and the shelter roof were balanced on its back.
Then Ye Lin slung the Bamboo Basket with Mint over her own back, and Qin Tian carried the Ground Cage. The two of them looked one last time at the Camp in front of them.
The Camp, now without the Wooden Shelter, looked empty. The Kiln and Clay Stove stood lonely, with only some empty Pottery left behind.
The Pottery was large and heavy, far too difficult to take along. Most importantly, if they lost the Pottery, they could always make more, so Qin Tian and Ye Lin only took a portion with them.
“Let’s go.” Qin Tian turned around and led the way out.
Behind them, the Embers still burned, but with no one to add more firewood, they would soon go out.
***
Qin Tian and Ye Lin set out at around eleven in the morning, but because they were carrying so much, their pace was slow, and it wasn’t until five in the afternoon that they finally arrived at the Grassland.
By then, the two of them were utterly exhausted, but they still couldn’t rest.
After unloading the baskets in the cave, Qin Tian and Ye Lin gathered firewood and built a bonfire at the cave entrance. After a simple meal of dried pork, they hurried to transplant the Mint around the edges of the Grassland, worried that the Mint’s roots would wither.
However, the Grassland was vast, and their Mint was not enough to encircle the Camp as before. They could only plant the Mint at intervals of a little more than a meter, doing their best to enclose the whole Camp.
Hurrying as fast as they could, they finally finished transplanting all the Mint into the ground before nightfall.
“Finally done planting.” After so much work, Ye Lin was completely spent and collapsed on the Grassland.
“We’re done with the Mint, but there’s still more to do,” Qin Tian suddenly said with a sigh.
Ye Lin, unwilling to move, immediately covered her ears and shook her head like a rattle-drum, “I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you.”
Seeing this, Qin Tian couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t call Ye Lin again and simply walked into the cave.
There were indeed things left to do, but Ye Lin couldn’t help with them. Qin Tian had only said that to tease her.
***
Back in the cave, Qin Tian picked up an empty jar, carried the fish basket to the center of the Grassland, and sat down.
After all this time, the fish in the basket were all motionless, but when Qin Tian reached in, a fish still twitched—it was clearly alive.
He took out his knife, scraped the scales off a grass carp, opened the belly and removed the entrails, tossing them into the jar.
As Qin Tian processed more and more fish, the air became thick with a mix of blood and fishy smell, but Qin Tian wasn’t worried about attracting wild animals.
This was Han Pi’s territory, and the area around the Grassland was marked with Han Pi’s scent. Even if wild beasts caught the smell of blood, their fear of Han Pi would keep them away.
Sensing movement behind him, Qin Tian turned to see Han Pi ambling over.
After arriving at the Grassland, Han Pi had gone into the cave to sleep. Now awake, it must have been roused by the scent of blood.
Han Pi sat down next to Qin Tian, watching him with its two dark eyes full of curiosity.
“What is it, want to eat?” Qin Tian glanced at Han Pi and smiled.
Though he asked, Qin Tian knew Han Pi no longer had any interest in meat.
Back when they completed the ‘Change of Diet’ task, Qin Tian, just to be safe, placed both fish and bamboo shoots in front of Han Pi. Without hesitation, Han Pi picked up the bamboo shoot, not even glancing at the fish.
Han Pi didn’t respond to Qin Tian’s question. After watching for a long time, it simply left, looking a bit puzzled.
***
While Qin Tian was processing the fish, Ye Lin was not idle either. She found a spot in the cave, spread Banana Leaves as bedding, then laid Wild Boar Skin on top—this would be their sleeping place tonight.
Then Ye Lin gathered some wood and set up a Wooden Frame. By this time, Qin Tian had finished with the fish.
Seeing the Wooden Frame, Qin Tian smiled knowingly, and together they hung the prepared fish on it.
Bow Fish could only survive for a dozen hours or so and definitely wouldn’t make it till morning. To avoid a basket full of fish dying and spoiling, Qin Tian intended to turn them into Smoked Fish.
But before that, Qin Tian hadn’t told Ye Lin what he planned to do. Ye Lin’s advance preparation of the Wooden Frame was entirely due to the tacit understanding they’d developed after spending so much time together. Even if Qin Tian didn’t say it, she could guess what he intended.
After all their busy work, night had long since fallen, and it was only now that the two finally had time to rest properly.
They collapsed onto the ground, stretching out and letting out satisfied moans.
***
The next moment, Ye Lin’s beautiful eyes became dazed, as if she were seeing some peerless scenery, and she murmured involuntarily, “It’s so beautiful!”
In the night sky, the stars twinkled, their silvery light gathering into a winding Star River, filling one with infinite longing, but also a sense of smallness and loneliness.
Before, the two had been so busy with work that only now did they notice this beautiful night sky.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen such a beautiful night. Maybe only on this desolate island can you see scenery like this,” Ye Lin sighed.
At the previous Camp, trees blocked the view. Although they could see the sky, it was just a tiny patch—unlike here, where you could see the entire Star River at a glance.
“Not necessarily,” Qin Tian smiled. “When I was little, living in the countryside, I used to see it all the time.”
“Really?” Ye Lin turned to him, surprised.
“There’s no benefit in lying to you.” Qin Tian sighed inwardly as he remembered, “But ever since I moved to the City, I haven’t seen it again.”
“Then you were really lucky. In my memories, the night sky was always dull. On a good night, if I could see a few bright stars, I was satisfied.” Ye Lin’s voice was full of envy.
At this point, the two of them fell silent, quietly enjoying this rare, beautiful sight.