Chapter 32: Panda! Panda!

Sea salt, or what is commonly called crude salt, is generally not recommended for consumption.

This is because it contains insoluble impurities such as sand and silt, as well as soluble impurities that could potentially be harmful to the human body.

Both Qin Tian and Ye Lin were aware of this, so after finishing the Sundial, the two immediately returned to the camp, planning to refine the sea salt until it was safe to eat.

The refining process wasn’t difficult; it basically involved four steps: crushing, dissolving, filtering, and then crystallizing.

In fact, anyone who has studied chemistry would know how to do this.

Of course, this method could only remove as many impurities as possible to make the salt edible.

To obtain the kind of fine table salt they normally use, multiple additional steps would be necessary.

Given their current conditions, that was simply impossible.

***

When Qin Tian and Ye Lin returned to the camp, it was around four in the afternoon.

If they started refining immediately, they could just finish by mealtime.

The first two steps were simple: crush the salt into powder with a spoon in a bowl, then dissolve it in clean water.

Qin Tian handed these two tasks to Ye Lin while he took some bamboo and used the Stone Axe to carve out four bamboo tubes, starting to make a filter.

Calling it a filter was a bit of a stretch—it was essentially a makeshift water purifier, but it worked just as well for filtering impurities from the crude salt.

***

First, Qin Tian used a dagger to poke several small holes near the bottom of each bamboo tube.

Then, he pulled some charcoal from the campfire and brought it to the stream to wash it clean.

Next, he layered fine sand, river sand, and small pebbles, brought from the seaside, on top of the charcoal.

With that, a simple water filter was complete.

If possible, Qin Tian hoped the filter could be filled with Active Carbon instead of regular charcoal.

It was well known that Active Carbon’s adsorption capacity was many times stronger than that of ordinary charcoal.

The difference between the two could be likened to heaven and earth.

Unfortunately, producing Active Carbon required Sodium Carbonate Solution, which he had no way to make.

***

After finishing the four filters, Qin Tian returned to camp and built two wooden racks with sticks, arranging the filters into two groups placed one above the other.

At this time, Ye Lin had already dissolved the salt in water.

Looking into the container, the saltwater was murky with a lot of floating impurities on the surface.

Pouring the saltwater into the bamboo tubes, after passing through multiple layers of filtration and charcoal adsorption, the dripping saltwater became much clearer.

After a second round of filtration from the lower filter, the saltwater dripping into the ceramic bowl was free of visible impurities and had a clean color.

However, this filtering method was painfully slow.

Ten minutes passed before the two of them had collected only half a bowl of saltwater—a pitiful amount compared to the large container they started with.

But Qin Tian and Ye Lin weren’t in a hurry.

They sat down nearby, patiently waiting.

***

“By the way, how long have we been on this deserted island?” Ye Lin suddenly asked, glancing at the Sundial.

Since that day, she had completely lost track of time and hadn’t paid attention to the days.

“Twenty-one days,” Qin Tian replied, always keeping track.

“Almost a month already,” Ye Lin sighed.

Before this, she could never have imagined that she would be stuck on this island for so long.

“To leave this island, we really have to rely on ourselves,” Ye Lin muttered.

After so long, the rescue teams must have given up on them.

Leaving this island meant self-rescue.

Remembering what Qin Tian had said before, Ye Lin looked at him and asked, “Should we build a boat?”

“Anything else? You want to fly back?” Qin Tian smiled, surveying their camp.

“But before that, we need to improve our living conditions first.”

***

Crossing the ocean with a boat wasn’t as simple as making a wooden raft.

At the very least, they’d need a fishing boat, and building that would take years, especially without proper tools and just the two of them.

So, before all that, they had to live well on this island—comfortably.

“That wooden shelter has to be replaced with something sturdier,” Ye Lin continued after Qin Tian’s remark.

“Like a bamboo house or a wooden hut.”

Since that rainy night, Ye Lin had felt the wooden shelter was far from safe and made it hard to sleep peacefully.

“If possible, we should move the camp,” Qin Tian nodded.

Ye Lin’s words struck a chord with him.

The forest was full of wild beasts, so animal disturbances were inevitable.

While bamboo or wooden houses could somewhat defend against beasts, it was only a temporary solution.

The best way was to relocate the camp out of the forest to minimize danger from wild animals.

***

As they discussed their future plans, night had quietly fallen, and the saltwater had been filtered more than halfway.

They divided the tasks: Ye Lin would boil the filtered saltwater to evaporate it, while Qin Tian prepared dinner.

Tonight’s meal was grilled fish—something they were practically tired of eating.

But unlike before, both Qin Tian and Ye Lin felt eager and excited this time.

The reason was naturally because they had refined fine salt.

Compared to the yellowish crude salt, the refined salt was pure white and finely granulated.

After grilling the fish, Qin Tian pinched a small pinch of fine salt and sprinkled it over the fish before handing it to Ye Lin.

“Try it.”

Ye Lin blew on the hot fish and took a bite.

She trembled all over, then her eyes lit up as she exclaimed, “This tastes so good! It’s better than anything we’ve eaten before!”

Her tone was so sure that Qin Tian smiled widely.

When he tasted the grilled fish himself, he knew Ye Lin wasn’t exaggerating.

***

Qin Tian was a man of action.

Since the day they finished the Sundial, he had been searching for a new place to live.

But that was easier said than done.

Centering on the camp and not straying far from the water source, Qin Tian searched one direction each day.

After three days, he still hadn’t found a suitable spot.

It wasn’t until the fourth day that he made a discovery.

***

Deep in the dense forest, Qin Tian headed in one direction.

He had already noticed that this direction seemed brighter and more open, likely the forest edge.

As expected, after a few steps, he caught sight of the view outside the woods through the gaps between the trees.

Stepping out of the forest, the strong sunlight made Qin Tian squint.

After a moment, his eyes adjusted.

Before him stretched a grassy meadow.

It wasn’t very large—about half the size of a soccer field.

It lay nestled at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by trees.

“Found it!” Qin Tian felt a surge of excitement.

This meadow was separated from the surrounding forest, with a wide-open view—an ideal spot for setting up camp!

With that thought, Qin Tian stepped out into the sunlight, already envisioning their new camp.

***

His gaze swept around and stopped at a cave at the mountain’s base.

Qin Tian had noticed the cave the moment he found the meadow.

In such a barren field, a cave was conspicuous—hard to miss.

The cave was roughly three meters wide and just over two meters high.

No noon sunlight could reach inside, making it pitch black within.

Qin Tian had no idea what was inside.

But judging from the exposed ground at the cave’s edge, some animal must frequently enter and exit, or else vegetation would have grown there.

Still cautious, Qin Tian didn’t dare investigate recklessly.

He picked up his Recurve Bow and shot two arrows into the cave from about ten meters away.

After a while, there was no movement inside.

“Is the cave empty?” Qin Tian’s guard lowered slightly as he approached.

Thanks to his Swift Cheetah talent, even if danger appeared, he could flee at top speed.

***

At the cave’s mouth, Qin Tian could already see inside.

He poked his head in for a look.

The cave was somewhat larger than the entrance but not deep; everything was visible at a glance.

There were no signs of any animals inside, so Qin Tian relaxed and stepped in.

“This cave is incredibly suitable for living!” Qin Tian was very pleased after inspecting.

The cave was dry and spacious enough to hold both him and Ye Lin, eliminating the trouble of building a new camp.

If they could fashion a door from bamboo or wood to block the entrance, even if wild boars attacked, they wouldn’t have to worry.

***

“Crack!”

While inspecting, Qin Tian heard a faint sound from beneath his feet.

Looking down, his expression darkened.

Beneath him lay a pile of animal bones.

Judging from the marks on them, the bones were still fresh.

The cave wasn’t empty; its owner had gone out hunting!

The thought flashed through Qin Tian’s mind, and he turned to leave immediately.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

As he stepped out, a Panda charged toward him.

Yes, a Panda—one twice the size of a normal panda, with thick, powerful limbs.

When Qin Tian saw the Panda, he froze for a moment.

When he first saw the cave, he had imagined it might belong to a tiger or wolf.

But he never expected it was a Panda’s den.

Qin Tian was stunned, and before he could react, the Panda had already reached him.

Against the massive body of the Panda, Qin Tian felt like a helpless lamb about to be slaughtered.

But he was still human, not an animal.

At this critical moment, Qin Tian dodged to the side.

With his talent’s boost, he disappeared instantly from his original spot.

“Shi Ping!”

A muffled thud rang out as the Panda’s paw struck the ground—missing its target.