Chapter 259 | Chapter 260 | Chapter 261
Chapter 259: Afternoon Nap
A stir-fried taro stalk dish whipped up under the rudimentary conditions of the mountains couldn’t quite match one made in a large iron wok back home, after all. To this, Huai Yu remarked like a seasoned expert:
“Due to the material limitations of this multi-functional pot, it lacks wok hei!”
Zhou Qian: “…Lacks what?”
“Also, taro stalks actually taste best when pickled sour, but that’s something that has to be done slowly at home… Let’s just make do for today.”
Zhou Qian found it hard to imagine how the stalks of a taro plant could be eaten in so many different ways. But regardless, the crisp texture of the taro stalks in his mouth, coupled with the slightly spicy, slightly salty flavor and the burst of fresh juice with every bite, made eating the pre-prepared flatbread significantly more pleasant than choking it down dry.
He was already quite satisfied.
Once the meal was finished and the cookware scrubbed clean, the two of them split the remaining handful of raspberries. Huai Yu glanced at the woods not far away, unable to resist hesitating: “Brother Zhou Qian…”
Zhou Qian’s scalp tightened. “If there’s something to say, just say it.”
“Well…” Huai Yu fished a bundle of hemp rope out of the back basket. “We’ve been walking all morning. Aren’t your legs sore and aching? How about we take an afternoon nap?”
“Look!” She waved the hemp rope. “This is a hammock I tied myself at home, and I can share the sleeping bag with you.”
Zhou Qian: …He was so close to laughing out of sheer exasperation! Do you think this is a picnic? Having an afternoon nap right after lunch! But just as the refusal reached his lips, it suddenly struck him that today’s trip really wasn’t any different from a picnic.
After a long pause, he finally declined: “No, my legs aren’t sore or aching. In fact, they’re full of energy. Let’s keep moving.”
He checked the time on his communicator, then thought back to Kuang Biao’s description, finally relenting: “Thirty minutes of rest, at most.”
The trees in the forest provided a thick canopy of branches and leaves. High noon wasn’t as unbearably hot as it was outside; instead, the sweltering heat would only start to intensify around three or four in the afternoon. Zhou Qian intended to arrange a proper break then.
After all, they had been walking and stopping all morning. Surely this amount of exertion wouldn’t leave them tired?
But Huai Yu had already quickly picked out two trees and begun tying up the hammock.
Zhou Qian paused, then pulled a rolled-up sleeping bag from the back basket—no wonder the basket was packed to the brim; it truly contained everything.
However, the moment he spread the sleeping bag flat under the shade of the trees and looked at Huai Yu already swaying gently in the hammock, a smile crept onto his face as well.
No need to stand guard, no need to be on high alert to clear out hazards in advance, and no need to worry about loss… This feeling was truly wonderful.
The air thrummed with a warm haze, yet the breeze beneath the tree shade carried a hint of coolness. With the sleeping bag keeping him off the ground, he didn’t have to worry about bugs or ants, and the surroundings were completely safe under the unspoken guarantee Huai Yu had established along the way.
He stared at the dappled patches of sunlight filtering through the leaves, his peripheral vision catching Huai Yu’s swaying figure as his consciousness gradually began to blur.
…
When he opened his eyes again, Zhou Qian felt a momentary haze, completely losing track of time.
The wind had begun to carry a noticeable heat, and his skin was slick with sweat. The hammock nearby had vanished, and there was no sign of Huai Yu around.
But an exceptionally rich, savory aroma was drifting through the air!
Zhou Qian snapped out of it, finally remembering what he was doing. As he quickly flipped himself up into a sitting position, he saw the familiar small pot propped up once again on the stone stove they had built at noon.
Huai Yu was using a pair of chopsticks to constantly stir something inside, the pot letting out a sharp, sizzling sound.
“What’s this?”
Zhou Qian leaned over, only to see her tilt her head up with a joyful smile: “Brother Zhou Qian, you’re awake!”
Zhou Qian stared at her. “Where did the shrimp come from?”
Huai Yu pointed at the stream they had passed earlier and explained, “I didn’t touch the water, and I didn’t even go near the edge! I used a grass stem to fish them out from a distance!”
These shrimp lacked any sense of danger. The translucent, greenish-gray river shrimp were hard to spot in the water, yet she had easily landed a large handful of them. Since it was too hot to preserve them, Huai Yu simply uncorked her small oil bottle and used the discarded shrimp heads to fry up a bottle of shrimp oil.
Later, she could heat it up and fry the wild garlic in it; anything fried in that would taste delicious.
As for the remaining shrimp, she shelled and deveined them, quickly pan-frying them in the oil. By the time Zhou Qian walked over, Huai Yu had just sprinkled a pinch of salt over them. Looking at Zhou Qian, she hurriedly pinched a small shrimp with her chopsticks and held it out:
“Brother Zhou Qian, try one!”
Faced with her eager and careful gesture, all the frustration in Zhou Qian’s chest dissipated. He had no choice but to reach out, pinch the shrimp by its tail, and pop it straight into his mouth.
To his surprise, it was fragrant and crispy on the outside while the meat inside remained tender; it tasted genuinely good.
Seeing him eat it, Huai Yu instantly beamed. She quickly transferred the prepared shrimp into a leaf cup and asked, “Are we ready to set off now?”
Zhou Qian raised his arm to check the time, and for a split second, his stoic expression almost cracked—
“I slept for over an hour?!”
Huai Yu nodded. “Yeah! But your nerves must have been so tightly strung this morning that you were exhausted. It’s only normal to sleep a bit longer, so I didn’t wake you.”
She wiped away her sweat. “It’s not too late to leave now! Even though we made quite a few detours, I still remember a cave we encountered before. We can rest there tonight.”
Spending the night out in the open jungle with a campfire really wasn’t safe. Zhou Qian nodded and helped pack up the pot. Seeing that Huai Yu had thoroughly extinguished the fire, he quickly rolled up the sleeping bag. “Let’s go.”
They still needed Huai Yu to lead the way to the cave. Although she couldn’t remember some sections of the path clearly, she somehow managed to muddle through and eventually emerge onto the old path meant exclusively for tourists. Walking on the flat surface now, she gestured with her hands as she described their campsite for the night:
“That cave is right at a bend in the tourist path. Calling it a cave is a bit of a stretch; it’s more like a hollow formed where a massive, protruding boulder connects with the ground beneath it.”
“There isn’t much dirt, it’s very clean, and it’s perfect for resting at night. I checked it out last time, and there were no bugs or ants.”
She ransacked her memory to describe it: “That cave is quite distinctive, and it seems to be right next to a scenic viewpoint. Standing on the path, you can see a stone mountain over there that sticks straight up like a finger. It’s very abrupt, very conspicuous, and very close.”
“Brother Zhou Qian, let’s check it out together this time. If it works, we can make a marker there in the future, so we can always pick that spot whenever we stay overnight on the mountain.”
She had even planned it out long ago: “That way, the next time we need to spend the night in the mountain, I’ll ask Xiao Kui for a handful of sunflower seeds in advance.”
“It’s already grown as tall as a bamboo plant now, and the flowers it blooms are so massive, yellow, and eye-catching. If we plant one at key locations, won’t we be able to identify it from miles away?”
“It can completely serve as a landmark.”
Having said this, she turned her head triumphantly. “Brother Zhou Qian, what do you think of my arrangement?”
Zhou Qian remained deadpan. “Pretty good.”
He just didn’t know if Huai Yu realized that the place she was describing sounded exactly like the spot Kuang Biao had mentioned where mutated fungi grew.
Chapter 260: The Cave
Walking all the way up along the tourist path, the cave at the bend Huai Yu had mentioned was actually still quite far away.
Zhou Qian’s original plan was to wait until three or four in the afternoon when the sun was at its fiercest and the heat from a day of direct sunlight radiated out of the earth and stone, which would be the perfect time to rest on the spot.
Then they would set off again at five, finding a suitable place to spend the night around 7:00 PM as darkness fell.
But he had forgotten that he was no longer that Captain Zhou whose orders were absolute, and he himself had become a tagalong, just as Huai Yu had become a tagalong in terms of physical stamina.
The two tagalongs stumbled along, and it wasn’t until 6:00 PM that they finally reached their planned cave.
At this moment, Huai Yu leaned against the stone wall beside the path, absolutely refusing to take another step. “Too tired! I can’t walk anymore!”
The clothes on Zhou Qian’s body had also been soaked with sweat several times over. He looked up at the cave Huai Yu had mentioned ahead—calling this a cave was a stretch; it was clearly a wide, bright hollow in the cliff face.
As far as the eye could see, it was all smooth rock. There wasn’t even a single wild weed in any direction, making it look completely unlike a place where fungi could grow.
Zhou Qian relaxed slightly.
He checked the time again—6:00 PM was an awkward time slot; they could continue walking if they wanted to, but whether they could find such a good spot to shelter from the wind, rain, and morning dew later tonight was anyone’s guess.
He had no choice but to nod. “Alright, let’s rest here—don’t go near the cave just yet. I’ll go inside and take a look.”
He was used to walking at the very front, but Huai Yu stopped him. “Brother Zhou Qian, you aren’t as safe as me on the mountain.”
After stepping closer, Huai Yu took a single glance and was instantly reassured. “It’s so dry here, most plants wouldn’t like it at all. Brother Zhou Qian, we can get a good night’s rest tonight.”
This happened to coincide with Zhou Qian’s thoughts, but he was still mindful of the mutated fungus Kuang Biao had described, so he asked curiously, “Could it be that this isn’t the cave?”
Huai Yu wasn’t clear on that either. “This mountain is so big, it’s perfectly normal for there to be hidden caves in other places—Brother Zhou Qian, hurry up and move some stones to set up the stove. I’ll go get some tree branches.”
After traveling for a whole afternoon without seeing anything edible along the way, Zhou Qian was actually hungry too. Utilizing the materials at hand, he piled large and small stones together, quickly propping up the multi-functional pot once more.
Taking stock of their provisions—a bottle of shrimp oil, six dry flatbreads that wouldn’t spoil immediately in this weather, a head of garlic, a packet of dried chilies, and a pinch of salt.
There was also a packet of dried shrimp that had been baked and dried after being caught.
The taro stalks from noon were already finished. Recalling that crisp texture, Zhou Qian couldn’t help but salivate, so he took a small sip of water.
Three large canteens, each the size of a mineral water bucket, weighed heavily on his back, but to him nowadays, that weight was nothing. Only the basket was packed to the brim; even after a day had passed, nothing much was missing except for one canteen of water—the empty container was still stuffed inside the basket, maintaining a strict policy of no waste.
He let the warm water linger in his mouth before swallowing it slowly. While being refreshed, Zhou Qian was also thinking about another matter—
Judging by today’s circumstances, Huai Yu was safe anywhere there were mutated plants. Even if a mutated animal occasionally wanted to attack, the surrounding plants would help intercept it.
In that case, she didn’t need to worry about safety on the road to the wilderness at all.
But since mutated animals dared to attack, mutated creatures in the water like that strange fish would definitely be unavoidable. Water sources were of paramount importance in the wild, and campsites generally had to be chosen nearby.
When he and Huai Yu went to the wilderness, they couldn’t exactly haul a whole truckload of water along, could they?
This would have to be resolved sooner or later.
He scanned their surroundings and noticed a tall rock structure jutting straight up not far away, resembling an abruptly protruding finger right opposite the mouth of the cave. It was indeed exceptionally eye-catching.
A thin waterfall was splashing down this rock structure from top to bottom. Although it looked close, it would actually take some effort to reach it. Apart from that, there was no other water source.
Just then, Huai Yu came dragging a dead tree back. “Brother Zhou Qian, I brought the firewood back. Snap them into pieces.”
“Dead wood?” Zhou Qian took it over and found it light as a feather; the moisture had clearly evaporated long ago, making it perfect for lighting a fire.
“Mm,” Huai Yu also took a sip of water. “The plants in the mountains compete too fiercely. Some small trees can’t get sunlight for a long time and can’t grab nutrients, so they have no choice but to wither and die like this. I asked several trees; some of them wouldn’t answer me, but after asking many of them, they finally told me about this place.”
This was likely an oak tree. Looking at its rugged bark, Huai Yu felt a bit of regret. “If I dragged this home to grow wood ear mushrooms, it would definitely be a perfect match.”
While she spoke, Zhou Qian deftly stripped off its side branches, then pressed his knee against the overly long branch with a bit of force. With a loud crack, the branch snapped.
Huai Yu: …Forget it.
They couldn’t drag this tree back anyway. Worst-case scenario, she would just buy another mushroom spawn kit. In the absence of meat and eggs, only mushrooms could provide a savory flavor; otherwise, it always felt like eating grass.
Zhou Qian found it a bit amusing. “Since your relationship with plants is so good, do you feel sad when a tree dies like this?”
“Of course not!” Huai Yu said matter-of-factly. “There’s a natural cycle between species. Why should I be the one to feel sad and sympathetic?”
“If I felt sad over even this, wouldn’t I have to kowtow to them every time I cut trees to build a house or make firewood? A life for a life?”
She shook her head. “Brother Zhou Qian, you are too narrow-minded!”
Then she muttered, “Besides, the trees I looked for hadn’t mutated any abilities at all. Even if I wanted to talk, they wouldn’t pay any attention to me.”
Narrow-minded Zhou Qian: Got it. Huai Yu’s logic didn’t stem from a human perspective, but from a species perspective—as if she herself weren’t human either.
He simply changed the subject: “What are we eating tonight?”
Good question!
Huai Yu pointed to a plastic bag on the side. “When I went to look for firewood, I encountered a black locust tree. Even though the season isn’t right, it was still willing to bloom a few clusters of flowers for me after hearing that I had nothing to eat tonight—the price is to help it grow a bit more. Because autumn is coming, it needs a sturdier root system to grow and store capacity for the winter.”
“So…”
Huai Yu stared at the ingredients she currently had available, unable to contain her curiosity: “Brother Zhou Qian, do you think using fried shrimp oil to mix with steamed locust flowers will taste good?”
This combination sounded a bit strange, but what hadn’t Zhou Qian eaten during his past missions? The nutritional fluid exclusively supplied to the Defense Army was equally terrible; Huai Yu still felt like gagging every time she finished drinking it.
So he raised his eyebrows. “Go ahead and try. No matter how you make it, I can choke it down.”
Thinking about Huai Yu’s track record, he added a necessary condition: “The ingredients have to be purified by you.”
Huai Yu gave a huff. “I haven’t tricked you that many times. Why are you so defensive… I’m going to eat the steamed locust flowers tonight too.”
Chapter 261: Mushroom
If she had known, she wouldn’t have vied for the freshness and flavor of the shrimp at noon; now, the small bottle of oil they had brought along had been entirely turned into shrimp oil. Though it was exceptionally savory and fragrant, it still carried a subtle hint of river seafood aroma. Mixing it with the steamed locust flowers left her wondering what kind of flavor would result.
The stones inside the cave were uneven. Huai Yu surveyed the surroundings and asked, “Brother Zhou Qian, these rocks are too hard. I’m going to gather some leaves to make a bed. Give me the back basket.”
Zhou Qian emptied the contents from the basket. “No need for me, I’m used to it. Just bring some back for yourself.”
Huai Yu nodded. “Then go ahead and steam the locust flowers I just picked. They’re fresh buds, no need to wash them.”
Zhou Qian had never seen such a fresh ingredient before. For some reason, he kind of wanted to laugh, wondering just how hard that little locust tree had worked to bloom for Huai Yu.
In the end, he held it back. “I know.”
Huai Yu didn’t wander far; she simply stepped down from the tourist path to the gentle slope below. She approached a random tree, and it obediently extended its branches and leaves toward her.
And all she gave in return was a tiny, insignificant sliver of her ability.
The back basket was quickly packed to the brim, and several side branches of the small tree were stripped clean. Yet in just that short span of time, the roots deep within the soil had already spread and branched out in a massive circle.
Thus, it was a win-win for both sides.
Carrying the basket back, Huai Yu even let out a sigh. “Sigh, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s too small and my heart couldn’t bear it, I could have taken some of its dense leaves even without using my ability.”
Zhou Qian carefully lifted out the steamed locust flowers. To conserve resources, he decided to wait until the water cooled down a bit before pouring it back into the empty canteen, so he could use it to rinse the pot later.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the cave, Huai Yu had evenly spread a thick layer of leaves, placed her sleeping bag on top, and laid straight down—
“It really is much softer—”
She suddenly went silent.
Zhou Qian didn’t notice; he was busy peeling garlic. Suddenly, he heard Huai Yu ask, “Brother Zhou Qian, will eating just flatbread be a bit dry?”
Zhou Qian found the question a bit baffling. “If it’s dry, I can drink water. Besides, didn’t you make steamed locust flowers?”
In a moment, the shrimp oil, minced garlic, and chili flakes would be tossed into the hot oil until fragrant, then poured over the steamed locust flowers to be mixed together. Though he couldn’t imagine what it would taste like, it would surely be much better than choking down dry flatbread.
He clapped the garlic skins off his hands. “Three cloves should be enough? Do they need to be smashed?”
Huai Yu asked instead, “Brother Zhou Qian, do you want some mushroom soup?”
Zhou Qian couldn’t help but laugh. “Do I want wha—”
His words also ground to a sudden halt. He abruptly snapped his head up to stare at Huai Yu. “Mushrooms?!”
“Mm.” Huai Yu remained lying on her soft bed of leaves, her eyes fixed on the ceiling above, filled with a faint curiosity. “It looks like a golden oyster mushroom.”
Zhou Qian followed her gaze upward. What he had initially thought was just the overhang of a massive boulder turned out to be an incredibly giant mushroom when one looked carefully up at the ceiling of the cave.
It was just that this mushroom showed no stalk; it was likely growing upside down.
Its top wasn’t any vibrant color either; instead, it was a dark brownish-black with irregular mottled patterns, covered in a layer of dust. At first glance, it looked no different from the rock itself.
His entire body instinctively tensed up. Seeing that Huai Yu still appeared perfectly relaxed, he couldn’t resist stepping closer to her while casually striking up a conversation to keep things normal:
“You can tell it’s a golden oyster mushroom even like this?”
“I can.” Huai Yu pointed toward a corner. “It’s a vibrant fat-yellow color over there. Few mushrooms have this shade, and it looks very tender and non-toxic, so it should be a golden oyster mushroom.”
“Then why is the rest of it that color?”
While they spoke, Zhou Qian had already closed the distance. He slightly bent his knees into a squat, suddenly grabbed Huai Yu, and swiftly led her out toward the mouth of the cave.
Huai Yu was yanked away by the sudden burst of strength, looking a bit dazed even as she stood at the entrance, but that didn’t stop her from answering Zhou Qian’s question:
“It has probably been growing for many years, so the outer layer weathered and aged, and it got covered in dust or something, growing a layer of old skin—it’s a mutated mushroom, after all!”
“The vibrant yellow part I saw is probably newly grown, or it left it that way on purpose…”
At this point, Huai Yu couldn’t help but sigh. “Brother Zhou Qian, you don’t know that some mutated plants are actually very artsy and vain.”
“I do know.” Zhou Qian’s expression didn’t change. “Are you talking about Kuang Biao?”
Huai Yu: …Th-that’s not quite the same thing!
“Anyway, even though the golden oyster mushroom has a protective camouflage due to time, it inherently prefers to display its yellow body.”
“If someone with an eye for beauty sees it…”
As she reached this point, Zhou Qian’s muscles tensed completely, because he had absolutely no idea whether Huai Yu possessed any resistance against fungi—
“Hello, can I break off some scraps to boil a mushroom soup?”
Zhou Qian: “…”
Sometimes, he really felt like a third wheel.
The massive mushroom overhead began to rustle and shift, making the cave feel as though it were experiencing a minor earthquake. Seeing dust and loose rocks pelting down, Zhou Qian’s first reaction was to cover the freshly steamed locust flowers!
The pot had to be covered, too!
After covering everything with lightning-fast reflexes, he felt entirely numb.
Because he realized that from this moment on, Captain Zhou—who had survived numerous life-and-death situations in the wilderness—had vanished without a trace.
Replaced by a domestic and attentive Brother Zhou Qian.
Meanwhile, Huai Yu had already stepped forward. “Before I came into the mountains, I heard there was another cave with a particularly fierce mushroom that parasitizes humans with its spores… You look so beautiful, do you have any spores you need me to carry out to the woods?”
The massive golden oyster mushroom shuddered, unable to believe there was another fierce mushroom on this mountain besides itself!
But when it came to dispersing spores… honestly, it was quite tempted.
Because this cave was sheltered from the wind and separated by a long tourist path, its spores could never blow outside. It hadn’t been able to reproduce out there for several years, which drove it mad with anxiety!
Now that two humans had finally arrived, it had originally intended to parasitize them with its spores to carry them out of the massive mountain, but it never expected this!
This strange girl actually had such an eye for beauty! She had recognized its beautiful nature and its desire to reproduce at a single glance!
Presently, Huai Yu had already scurried to the edge of the path to pluck a stalk of foxtail grass, then propped open a plastic bag:
“Come on, you’re not ticklish, right? Let me sweep the spores off your body, and I’ll take them back to the front of my house to let them grow freely!”
She even added considerately, “Don’t worry, you can grow some here too—see that log? I think it’s perfect for growing mushrooms. I’ll soak it with water later and scatter your spore powder over it.”
“That way, after a rainfall, countless golden oyster mushrooms will crop up on the log.”
This type of golden oyster mushroom wouldn’t mutate; it would just be an ordinary fungus. It carried no threat in this massive mountain and wouldn’t cause any disruption.
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