A few minutes passed. As the blood circulated, Qin Tian’s legs gradually regained feeling. He immediately tried moving them, but when he inadvertently saw Ye Lin’s fair and shapely legs, he was momentarily stunned.
He kept staring at Ye Lin’s beautiful legs—not because his mind was running wild with inappropriate thoughts, but because he was genuinely astonished.
Ye Lin had originally been wearing a long skirt, but now that skirt had been turned into a knee-length short skirt. The part below the knee had all been torn off by Ye Lin herself, and the reason was obvious: for convenience while riding.
Half of the torn-off fabric had been tied to Ye Lin’s legs with hemp rope, used as makeshift leg guards. Unfortunately, these guards weren’t long enough, only covering from the knee down to just above the ankle.
In the light of the fire, Qin Tian could clearly see several fine scratches on Ye Lin’s exposed knees. Looking further down, her ankles had even more scratches, some of which were red and nearly bleeding.
***
It was only at this moment that Qin Tian realized that Ye Lin’s arms also bore quite a few marks.
There was no need to guess; Qin Tian knew that these were the marks left when Ye Lin had groped her way forward through the Forest, unable to see her surroundings, getting struck by branches.
The remaining fabric was also tied up by Ye Lin with hemp rope, fastened around her waist. Judging by the look, she likely intended to use it as gauze.
On the other side of her waist, Ye Lin had tied several sticks of wood, each wrapped at one end with hemp rope—obviously, these were spare torches.
Such thorough preparation truly surprised Qin Tian. He couldn’t help but glance at Ye Lin, at her resolute face.
From the Bamboo Forest to the Camp, it normally took just over an hour. But with Han Pi carrying both Qin Tian and Ye Lin, their speed was much slower, and it took much more effort. The frequency of rests was naturally higher as well.
They alternated between running, walking, and stopping. Nearly two hours later, Qin Tian and Ye Lin finally reached the river near the Camp safely, just as dawn broke.
The tension in both of them relaxed, and exhaustion hit them like a flood. At that moment, Qin Tian and Ye Lin felt as if their bodies had been filled with lead, becoming several times heavier.
“Let’s wash up here.” At that moment, Qin Tian spoke, letting go of Ye Lin and plunging straight into the water.
He floated on the water, motionless, letting the current wash away the grime on his body and ease the fatigue inside him.
After Qin Tian, Ye Lin also entered the water. Because she had been carried by Qin Tian, her clothes were also stained with quite a bit of filth.
Han Pi followed suit, laying its body in the water. After a hard battle the night before, it hadn’t yet recovered, and had then accompanied Ye Lin in searching the entire night. Even for a fierce beast, such exertion was hard to endure.
With the rising sun, in this tranquil moment, Qin Tian, Ye Lin, and Han Pi all soaked in the water. Their exhaustion was so great that none of them spoke a word.
***
After soaking for more than ten minutes, Qin Tian and Ye Lin, with tacit understanding, turned their backs to each other and retreated to different corners. They took off their clothes, washed them inside and out, wrung them dry, and put them back on before heading toward the Camp.
As they approached the Camp, Han Pi suddenly let out a furious roar. At the same time, Qin Tian and Ye Lin saw three or four wild wolves dart out of the kitchen, fleeing in panic.
The appearance of the wolves served as a warning to Qin Tian and Ye Lin. After returning to the Camp, the first thing they did was to circle around, making sure there were no other wild beasts, before they felt at ease enough to walk into the Cave.
Without a word, Ye Lin went to the bed and collapsed. Qin Tian, after putting away the stone axe and other things, picked up a bamboo mat and turned to leave the Cave. “Don’t fall asleep yet. Take off your clothes and hang them up to dry before you sleep. Don’t catch a cold.”
“And also, I’ll be hanging my clothes in the kitchen. Let me know when you come over.” Qin Tian left these words before departing.
“Mm.” Ye Lin responded, but made no move.
Leaving the Cave, Qin Tian took off his own clothes and hung them on the wooden rack on the grass, leaving only a pair of shorts on. Like that, he walked toward the kitchen.
As soon as he entered the kitchen, Qin Tian saw the floor was covered in blood. The innards of a Wild Boar were scattered everywhere, and much of its body had been gnawed by wolves down to the bone. Fortunately, the caged Rabbit had not been eaten.
It’s important to know, Rabbits are double-uterus animals. They can have litters of seven or eight, reach breeding age in four or five months, and every pregnancy takes just about forty days.
Back in the day, Australia became a desert in just six years, all because of the unchecked breeding of five wild Rabbits. That alone proves just how powerful their reproduction is.
Just imagine: the mother births children, the children birth grandchildren, generation after generation. In less than a year, Qin Tian and Ye Lin could have dozens or even hundreds of Rabbits!
Looking into the clay pot on the stove, Qin Tian saw the pork fat had already congealed, though there were still lots of cracklings inside. From this, he could infer that the pork fat had been rendered rather hastily.
Naturally, wolves wouldn’t render pork fat, so it was obvious that Ye Lin had done it for making torches.
Staring at the pot of pork fat, Qin Tian’s gaze lingered.
Pork suet is located inside the Wild Boar. To take it out, one must cut open the boar’s belly and scoop it out. Yet no matter how he thought about it, Qin Tian couldn’t picture Ye Lin doing such a thing.
Retracting his gaze, Qin Tian found a relatively clean spot, spread the bamboo mat on the ground, and lay down.
He and Ye Lin were both soaked, and the early morning was chilly. The wet clothes felt icy against the skin. This was why Qin Tian had come to the kitchen—to leave Ye Lin some privacy to take off her clothes.
Hungry and exhausted after a whole day, both physically and mentally, Qin Tian was at his limit. The moment he lay on the bamboo mat, his eyes closed, and he fell asleep.
***
After two days of gloom, the weather finally cleared.
The clouds in the sky gradually dispersed. Gentle sunlight spilled over the Camp, and as time passed, the light became stronger, then slowly turned golden and dim.
In a flash, it was already afternoon when Qin Tian slowly woke up.
Just as he tried to get up, a jolt of pain shot from his knee to his mind, making him grunt and fall back down.
After resting a moment, Qin Tian propped himself up with both hands and slowly sat up. Looking at his knee, he couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.
After a sleep, his knee had become red and swollen. He could feel it; his knee was as hot as his forehead during a fever.
“As expected, it’s turned out like this.” Qin Tian had already anticipated it.
The state of his knee wasn’t due to poison or anything else, but rather a lingering problem from continuously using his Talent.
Still, it wasn’t a serious problem. With some proper rest, he’d recover. But if he didn’t want any lasting damage, he absolutely could not use his Talent again for the time being.
“Ding—Host has completed the ‘Escape from the Snake’s Mouth’ mission and earned 5000 points!”
As if offering comfort, the System’s voice suddenly rang out.
“This 5000 points… is really going to kill me.” Qin Tian closed the System. If he could, he wouldn’t even want these 5000 points.
Enduring the pain, Qin Tian got up and staggered out of the kitchen.
After a day of drying, his clothes were already dry. Qin Tian put them on and headed into the Cave.
Inside the Cave, Han Pi was sleeping soundly, and Ye Lin had not yet woken. She was curled up under the Wild Boar skin, looking so pitiful, so pitiful that she seemed in need of protection.
“I seem to know too little about you.” Staring at Ye Lin, Qin Tian murmured with a faint smile.
Thinking back on what had happened last night, Qin Tian couldn’t help but feel dazed. He never expected Ye Lin to come searching for him, and at the most dangerous hour, no less.
Moreover, the way Ye Lin made torches, tore her skirt, prepared bandages—her hands-on ability, decisiveness, courage, and meticulousness—all took Qin Tian by surprise.
It’s important to know, since he’d met Ye Lin, she’d never shown these qualities before. Thinking it over, Qin Tian began to understand why.
In terms of survival, he was stronger than Ye Lin, and Ye Lin understood this, so she always followed his arrangements completely. As a result, she never had a chance to show her abilities, giving him the impression she was fragile.
It was only last night that Ye Lin proved herself. Though physically not as strong, she was definitely not a useless woman!
Without waking Ye Lin, Qin Tian went to the campfire, took some smoked fish, and started gnawing on it. Starved for a whole day and night, he was famished and desperately needed something to fill his stomach.
Ye Lin woke up around nine in the evening. Even after a full day’s sleep, she still looked exhausted.
Looking around, she didn’t see Qin Tian in the Cave, but from the blaze of the campfire outside, she could tell Qin Tian was at the Camp.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ye Lin dressed herself. Just as she was about to get off the bed, Qin Tian walked in with a bowl of meat broth.
“Awake? Perfect, I made some broth for you. Drink it to warm your stomach.” Careful not to bump his injured leg, Qin Tian stepped toward Ye Lin one step at a time, lest he spill the soup.
“What happened to your knee?” Accepting the bowl, Ye Lin fixed her gaze on Qin Tian’s swollen knee, concern evident in her voice.
“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine after some rest.” Qin Tian waved his hand and sat across from Ye Lin.
“Really?” Ye Lin’s face was full of worry.
“Why would I lie to you about something like this?” Qin Tian continued, “Hurry up and drink the broth before it gets cold.”
Hearing this, Ye Lin felt much relieved and finished the meat broth.
After a day’s rest and a full meal, both felt much better mentally, but the soreness in their bodies kept them from wanting to move. Qin Tian and Ye Lin lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about nothing at all.
“Did you encounter some kind of beast yesterday?” Ye Lin suddenly asked.
“Mm.” Qin Tian nodded, then shook his head. “That thing was already beyond the category of a beast.”
After briefly organizing his thoughts, Qin Tian began to recount everything that had happened the previous day. Ye Lin listened closely.