Different species of bamboo shoot at different times, but generally, shoots emerge in early spring and early autumn. This doesn’t mean there are no bamboo shoots outside these periods, only that there tend to be more shoots during these two seasons.
After leaving the meeting point, Ye Lin searched around, wandering nearby for several rounds but found no sign of bamboo shoots. Judging by this, the shooting season for this bamboo forest should be in early autumn; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so hard to find them.
Left with no choice, Ye Lin had to go further away to search. Although she was alone, the bamboo forest offered good visibility, so there was no worry about unseen dangers. Plus, with a dagger on her, she didn’t feel scared.
***
After about an hour of searching, Ye Lin finally spotted a bamboo shoot.
The shoot was less than half a meter tall, standing out among the surrounding bamboo that stretched ten to twenty meters high, giving off the feeling of a chicken among cranes—truly eye-catching.
Its brown husk clashed with the lush green bamboo forest, visible from quite a distance as long as one wasn’t near-sighted.
Excited, Ye Lin hurried over.
This part of the bamboo forest was dense and very shady. Probably because of this, the soil was moist, and the bamboo shoots dotted the ground like scattered stars. Compared to the places Ye Lin had searched before, it was like two entirely different bamboo forests.
The bamboo shoots varied in size—some as tall as half a meter, thick like calves; others as small as a thumb, about the length of a hand span.
The big bamboo shoots were too thick to harvest with a dagger and had prickly outer husks. After trying, Ye Lin decisively gave up on them and shifted her focus to the smaller shoots.
The small bamboo shoots were very tender and could be broken by hand. In less than half an hour, Ye Lin had gathered over ten pounds of bamboo shoots—enough for her and Qin Tian to eat for several days.
***
Before she knew it, it was noon. After working for a while, Ye Lin was somewhat tired and found a place to rest.
But no sooner had she sat down than she heard rustling sounds from a distance. At first, Ye Lin paid no mind, thinking it was some small animal passing by. But she soon realized the noise was getting closer.
Growing cautious, Ye Lin looked toward the source of the sound. What she saw made her entire back go cold, nearly causing her to cry out.
Not far off, several wild boars were wandering through the bamboo forest, slowly heading in her direction.
***
When Ye Lin noticed the boars, they had also spotted her.
Fortunately, Ye Lin kept calm. Though her legs trembled uncontrollably, she restrained the urge to flee and retreated slowly, step by step.
After staring at Ye Lin for a while, likely deeming her no threat, the boar group resumed their wandering, digging for bamboo shoots in the forest.
Seeing that the boars weren’t paying attention to her, Ye Lin withdrew to a safe distance and then took off running as fast as she could.
***
Meanwhile, Qin Tian had just stopped his work and was about to take a sip of water when he saw Ye Lin rushing over, her expression frantic.
Knowing something was wrong, Qin Tian stood and approached her. “What happened?”
Relieved to see Qin Tian, Ye Lin stopped, panting, and said, “There… there are wild boars! Over there, about seven or eight of them!”
Though her words were somewhat jumbled, the meaning was clear. Qin Tian’s expression changed as he looked toward the direction Ye Lin had come from.
The bamboo forest was quiet and serene; bamboo leaves fluttered down, but there was no sign of the wild boar group.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. Those boars didn’t follow you,” Qin Tian said to calm Ye Lin, but he himself tensed up, alert to the surroundings.
Wild boars aren’t carnivores, but they are highly aggressive. Not daring to linger, once Ye Lin rested briefly, the two immediately turned back along their original path.
On the way back, Qin Tian felt his heart rise to his throat. He was just an ordinary man, and facing such wild beasts, it was impossible not to feel fear.
If Qin Tian was this nervous, Ye Lin was even more so. She gripped Qin Tian’s hand as if welded to his arm.
Under these circumstances, the bamboo forest suddenly felt terrifying, every little rustle pulling at their nerves.
“Wait.” Suddenly, Qin Tian stopped.
Ahead of them, another group of wild boars was sniffing the ground, searching for food.
***
These boars were brownish-black and smaller than domestic pigs, but their limbs were more robust. One boar had tusks about an inch long. Judging by the other boars keeping their distance, this tusked boar was clearly the leader of the group.
For some reason, the tusked boar was bleeding from its body, its bloodied mouth menacing, yet it seemed unfazed, lazily wagging its tail.
“Wild Boar: Animals of the pig family, averaging 1.5–2 meters in length. Omnivorous with thick, coarse skin and fur that provides insulation like a sweater. They inhabit mountains, hills, forests, and are highly adaptable to their environment.”
“Wild boars usually travel in groups of four to ten. They forage mainly in the early morning and late afternoon, hiding in dense woods at midday to avoid the sun. Notably, male boars only join the group during the mating season.”
“Wild boars are fierce by nature and have few natural enemies, though they are preyed upon by tigers. Tigers will track boar groups and attack them one by one, sometimes killing an entire group. There are, however, rare cases where wild boars have killed tigers in self-defense…”
A flood of detailed information surged through Qin Tian’s mind, far more comprehensive than previous notes, as if warning him not to provoke wild boars.
***
Seeing this group of boars, Qin Tian didn’t hesitate and turned to leave immediately, fearful of disturbing such terrifying creatures.
But the boars’ sense of smell was incredibly sharp. Within seconds, the tusked boar sniffed the air and detected Qin Tian and Ye Lin.
“Hmph! Hmph hmph! Hmph hmph hmph!”
Snorting, the tusked boar gave a command-like call. Instantly, all the boars raised their heads and stared at Qin Tian and Ye Lin.
“Big brother, you eat your food, I walk my path. What are you looking at!” Qin Tian felt utterly hopeless and grabbed Ye Lin’s hand, sprinting away as fast as possible.
At the same time, the boar group charged forward, making the ground rumble. Such a commotion would make even a tiger think twice.
Despite their bulk, boars can run much faster than Qin Tian and Ye Lin. Moreover, Ye Lin’s stamina hadn’t recovered, and the two simply couldn’t outrun them.
The distance between the boar group and Qin Tian and Ye Lin kept shrinking. Feeling the earth shake beneath them, Ye Lin glanced back, her face ashen.
Knowing she was slowing Qin Tian down, Ye Lin bit her lip, broke free from Qin Tian’s hand, stopped, and resolutely shouted, “Don’t worry about me, you go ahead!”
At these words, Qin Tian’s mind flashed back to what Zhang Lei had told him during the sea disaster. Anger surged through him, boiling over.
“Damn it, is this a drama?! Let me go first? What kind of nonsense is that?! Do I survive just because I run first?! Who said only one of us can live?!”
Suddenly, Qin Tian turned to face the charging boars and roared like venting all his rage.
***
“Roar!”
People say anger can raise one’s hair to the crown and scare ghosts. When a person is furious, even ghosts fear them. How much more so a group of wild boars?
Qin Tian’s roar startled the tusked boar, causing it to slow down.
But he wasn’t done. Still growling, Qin Tian took out the Stone Axe and struck the nearby bamboo, one hit after another.
As his excitement peaked, he even pounded his chest like a gorilla.
Why he did this, Qin Tian didn’t know. Maybe humans and gorillas share something deep down—no reason needed, he just did it.
However, Qin Tian’s actions weren’t irrational. Ever since he learned about the wild boar group, he had prepared and devised a plan.
***
“Lone wolves aren’t frightening,” Qin Tian recalled the elders saying when he was young. The meaning was literal.
Wolves are scary in packs, but a lone wolf, missing its pack, becomes timid and unable to unleash its full power.
Wild boars are the opposite: in groups, they’re especially cowardly. No one wants to get hurt or lose out; a good scare, and they’ll run.
Knowing this, Qin Tian stopped and tried to intimidate the boars this way. Though angry, he hadn’t lost his mind.
Qin Tian’s intimidation worked. Seeing the bipedal creature so fierce, the tusked boar halted.
Still not satisfied, Qin Tian hurled the Stone Axe at the tusked boar’s head.
Whether it caused damage, he didn’t know, but the tusked boar squealed and turned to run—decisively and swiftly.
Once the leader ran, the others foolishly followed. The rest of the boars gave chase.
***
Seeing this, Qin Tian’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Whether his intimidation would hold, Qin Tian had no certainty. But in such situations, survival depended on trying.
Fail to intimidate, and it’s death. Succeed, and it’s a narrow escape.
That episode was beyond thrilling for Qin Tian.
Slower to react, Ye Lin finally came to and shouted, “Qin Tian! Are you okay? Any injuries?”
Her triple concern was born from sheer terror. Even now, she was still shaken.
“You saw for yourself. What injuries could I have? At most, a sore butt,” Qin Tian chuckled, understanding Ye Lin’s state.
Though the boar group was gone, they might return. Now wasn’t the time to chat.
Qin Tian steadied himself against a bamboo stalk and got up, planning to retrieve the Stone Axe and head back to camp.
As for the bamboo and shoots? To hell with them. They almost lost their lives; there was no care for such things now.
***
Qin Tian had thrown the Stone Axe tens of meters away. Normally, he wouldn’t have the strength, but the life-or-death moment brought out his potential.
His legs were still weak, and the few dozen meters took him two or three minutes to walk.
Just as Qin Tian bent down to pick up the Stone Axe, something caught his eye out of the corner of his vision. He turned his head, and a thousand curses raced through his mind.