Chapter 47: Scouting the Way
Since Xia Lu Nong had known Kong Zhi, this was the first time he’d heard him speak like this. He turned his face to look at him and was momentarily stunned.
Kong Zhi turned his head and met his gaze.
Xia Lu Nong quickly turned his head back and gave a little cough to cover his reaction.
Kong Zhi led him forward again.
They trudged through the uneven terrain of the bushes for dozens of meters and finally arrived near a bamboo grove.
The bamboo outside was different from that inside the base.
The bamboo at the base was smooth, thick, and straight, while the bamboo outside had fine hairs on its surface, short branches extending outward in all directions, and could easily poke someone’s face or head.
They bent down and entered the bamboo grove. Xia Lu Nong’s eyes darted around and soon found their target. “I see bamboo shoots.”
Kong Zhi saw them too and said, “Be careful.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded and glanced at him before volunteering, “I’ll dig them up. You stay here.”
With the dense branches and weeds all around, Kong Zhi, being so tall, probably wouldn’t have enough room to move inside.
Xia Lu Nong thought to himself that this wasn’t something worth being proud of and felt a little frustrated.
Seeing him go in with a hoe, Kong Zhi reminded from behind, “Watch out for ants.”
“Where?” Xia Lu Nong immediately tensed up, looking around anxiously but not seeing any ants.
“On the bamboo shoots,” Kong Zhi said. “Wear your gloves while digging. Don’t take them off.”
“Okay.”
Xia Lu Nong found a good spot, bent down, and aimed where he wanted to dig. As soon as the hoe hit the ground, the soil was so compacted that the impact hurt his hand.
Kong Zhi advised, “Dig a little deeper. There’s not much meat at the tip of the shoot.”
“Got it.”
Xia Lu Nong changed his position and began digging more carefully.
Digging up bamboo shoots was not an easy task.
He struggled for a while and only managed to dig up most of one shoot. A small piece still remained stuck in the ground, and he couldn’t get it out.
Seeing Xia Lu Nong panting from bending over, Kong Zhi said, “Toss the bamboo shoot out to me first.”
“Okay, catch it.” Xia Lu Nong threw the shoot, but it got caught on some branches and vines a short distance away.
Kong Zhi crouched down and reached for it.
With his long limbs, he easily grabbed it without having to go in.
While Xia Lu Nong dug up more shoots, Kong Zhi sat nearby peeling off the tough outer layers, keeping only the edible part to store in his backpack.
What had been a large bamboo shoot shrank down to a tiny piece once peeled, barely taking up any space in the bag.
Xia Lu Nong peeked over and, seeing that, continued searching for more shoots.
After the recent rain, many shoots had sprouted, but by the time they arrived, many had already become too old to eat.
Xia Lu Nong walked past several old shoots, feeling quite disappointed.
The grove was full of tangled branches, making it difficult to move, and they had to be cautious of both insects and snakes, so their progress was slow.
By late morning, they had only managed to collect about ten kilograms of bamboo shoots.
Around noon, they emerged from the bamboo grove to rest. Xia Lu Nong lifted his shirt to fan himself, panting as he said, “Digging up bamboo shoots is no easy task.”
His face was flushed red, and sweat marks were visible on his face and neck.
Kong Zhi pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him, then took out their lunchbox. “Take a longer rest.”
Lunch was simple, just rice and stir-fried pickled vegetables with cured meat from the morning.
Xia Lu Nong, already starving, grabbed one of the lunchboxes and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.
Kong Zhi sat beside him, looking around to make sure there were no dangerous creatures nearby before starting his meal.
Xia Lu Nong noticed this and, pausing for a moment, felt like he had learned something new.
After they had eaten, Xia Lu Nong stuffed his lunchbox into his backpack, sat in the shade, and sighed, “This feels so nice.”
Kong Zhi, having served himself a slightly larger portion, hadn’t finished eating yet. He stopped mid-bite and asked, “Should we head back earlier this afternoon?”
“No need, let’s fill up the backpack first.”
“If you’re tired, we can head back. There’s no need to push ourselves. There’s always another day.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded but made up his mind that since they’d made the effort to come out, he wouldn’t go back until the backpack was full.
Bamboo shoots kept well, so it wouldn’t hurt to gather more. They could be made into dried or pickled bamboo shoots, which would last for a long time.
Since it wasn’t ideal to rest for too long in the wild, they quickly resumed their bamboo shoot hunt after lunch.
Xia Lu Nong had gotten the hang of it and could now dig one up in half a minute.
For the older shoots that were too tough to eat, he simply sliced them diagonally without digging the whole thing out, as the root would be too old and inedible anyway.
The more Xia Lu Nong dug, the more accomplished and excited he felt. By around three o’clock, his backpack was nearly full.
Xia Lu Nong stood up, stretched his back, and continued to venture deeper into the bamboo grove. “If I had known, we would have brought an extra backpack.”
Kong Zhi crouched behind him, calm as ever. “There’s no point in digging more. I can’t carry it.”
“Hahaha, no worries. If we dig too much, I’ll just transform into my cat form—it doesn’t add to the weight.”
Kong Zhi replied, “If we take too much, we might not finish eating it.”
“No way! In times like these, there’s no such thing as too much food. If we really get tired of it, we can trade it at the market. By the way, what kind of food do you like?”
“Food?”
“Yeah, what dishes or meat do you like? For example, I really love sweet and sour pork ribs and chicken wings.”
Kong Zhi responded, “I’m fine with anything.”
“Ugh, that’s the most boring answer.” Xia Lu Nong was mid-sentence when a white figure suddenly flashed in front of him, scaring him half to death. “What was that?!”
He stumbled back a few steps, patting his chest in fright.
Kong Zhi placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, looking ahead. “It’s a sheep.”
“It really is.” Xia Lu Nong looked carefully and saw a sheep in front of them. It wasn’t heavily mutated, only with an extra horn on its head; otherwise, it looked like a regular sheep.
Xia Lu Nong became excited, pushing aside bamboo branches and vines, whispering eagerly, “Hurry, let’s catch it!”
“We can’t,” Kong Zhi whispered, grabbing Xia Lu Nong’s arm. “There are too many bushes here. We can’t get through, even in beast form. We wouldn’t have enough room to move.”
Xia Lu Nong anxiously asked, “So what do we do? Just let it go?”
Kong Zhi had no better suggestion and just held him firmly, saying again, “There are bamboo branches everywhere. Be careful not to hurt your eyes.”
“Ugh,” Xia Lu Nong sighed, unable to move while Kong Zhi had him tightly in his grip. “Fine, fine, let go. I won’t chase it.”
Kong Zhi looked at him, as if weighing how believable his words were.
Xia Lu Nong looked back in frustration.
After a brief stare-down, Kong Zhi finally let go.
Xia Lu Nong watched the sheep run farther and farther away, feeling a pang of regret. “Such a big sheep.”
Kong Zhi said, “Come on, let’s keep digging for bamboo shoots.”
Xia Lu Nong muttered, “Why are you so calm? Not greedy at all?”
“If we’re destined not to catch it, why waste the effort?”
Xia Lu Nong pursed his lips, looking at Kong Zhi’s back and then at the sheep only about five or six meters away. Suddenly, he threw his machete with all his might.
Hearing the movement, Kong Zhi whipped around.
By then, Xia Lu Nong had already thrown the machete. It flew like a heavy stone, cutting through bamboo branches, vines, and bushes as it spun forward.
The machete aimed straight for the sheep’s head.
The sheep, hearing the noise, tried to run but didn’t have time to move before the machete struck it hard on the head.
Blood gushed from the sheep’s head, and it staggered a couple of steps before collapsing to the ground.
The machete continued sliding several meters before finally stopping in the bamboo leaves.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Xia Lu Nong stood there, stunned, looking ahead, then instinctively glanced at his own hand. When did his aim get so good?
Kong Zhi saw the scene too, and the two of them exchanged glances.
After his initial surprise, Kong Zhi calmly praised, “Nicely done.”
“Just luck,” Xia Lu Nong said, still craning his neck in disbelief. “Did I really kill that sheep?”
“Let’s go check,” Kong Zhi said, taking the hoe from Xia Lu Nong’s hand and using it to push aside the bamboo branches. “Follow me.”
“Okay.” Xia Lu Nong followed behind, still peeking forward.
The sheep lay on the ground, its legs twitching. Even if it wasn’t dead yet, it wouldn’t survive much longer.
It took them three or four minutes to walk the short five or six meters.
When they finally made it out, Xia Lu Nong barely had time to catch his breath before Kong Zhi checked the sheep and said, “It won’t make it.”
“Huh?” Xia Lu Nong looked at the dead sheep, mumbling, “It’s like a miracle.”
Kong Zhi walked forward a few steps, reached through the bamboo branches, and retrieved the machete. “There’s too much blood here. We should head back.”
“Okay.” Xia Lu Nong willingly took Kong Zhi’s large backpack and looked around. “Which way should we go?”
They had ventured deep into the forest, surrounded by bamboo branches, vines, and even some thorny bushes. Exiting wouldn’t be easy.
Kong Zhi stood up and observed for a moment. “This way. Follow me.”
With a surge of strength, Kong Zhi’s muscles bulged as he effortlessly hoisted the sheep onto his back with a “thump.”
Xia Lu Nong looked at the size of the sheep, estimating that it weighed about 50 to 60 kilograms.
Carrying that much weight wasn’t a problem under normal conditions, but in such a dangerous place, it wouldn’t be easy.
After assessing the situation, Xia Lu Nong volunteered, “Let me lead the way. I can handle it. If we run into danger, just warn me.”
Kong Zhi hadn’t expected him to offer and gave him a few more looks before nodding and stepping aside.
Xia Lu Nong tightened his backpack and took the lead, gripping his machete tightly in case of any trouble.
This was Xia Lu Nong’s first time leading instead of following.
As he cautiously made his way through, he didn’t exactly cut an impressive figure.
But from behind, Kong Zhi watched him with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
