Chapter 43 Encountering an Ambush

You will slowly understand that things are not so simple here! I suddenly fell into a silent mood, without even flying into a rage.

This matter was indeed infuriating, especially Lan Fang's hidden intentions. Although the exact reason remained unknown, she had actually tried to exploit my kindness.

I desperately wanted to expose her petty cleverness right in front of Ou Xiang, pointing out how she was trying to manipulate my soft heart. Yet, recalling my initial choice—made purely out of sympathy for her plight—I forcefully swallowed the words back down.

Afterward, I glanced at Huang Jianfen, who still lay motionlessly where she had been. After all, I had no relation to her whatsoever. This was not a matter of human selfishness; rather, for the sake of surviving by instinct, I had to be cautious. Especially within this rainforest, I had no obligation to plunge myself into deeper trouble on her account.

Yet, seeing Lan Fang's true motives at this moment, I could not help but imagine what I should do if staying with them led to the worst possible outcome. It was not that I was overthinking, but the crisis she had drawn upon us last night left me with no choice but to consider every possibility!

"A-Jing, since Sister Fang has put it that way, can't you just..." Ou Xiang clearly hadn't considered this angle yet. Seeing Lan Fang's gentle tone coupled with my silence, she assumed I was weighing my options and hurriedly tried to chime in with Lan Fang. Perhaps noticing my darkened expression, however, her voice lacked conviction.

Naturally, I did not answer immediately. Instead, I frowned as I approached Huang Jianfen and checked her pulse once more. To my astonishment, this woman turned out to have the tenacity of a cockroach, which somewhat exceeded my expectations.

Whether it was due to the medicine or not, even though her wounds looked terrifying, the anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drugs—while not yet showing any dramatic healing effects—had at least kept her condition from deteriorating. In particular, I could already feel the faint beating of her pulse at her wrist.

"A-Jing, how is A-Fen?" Perhaps seeing my silence and noting that my expression had grown no darker, Ou Xiang asked with a trace of trepidation, having received no initial answer.

"It's hard to tell for now. You wait here for a moment; I'm going to look for yesterday's wild banana tree hearts. Not only can they fill our stomachs, but I can also press some juice out of them to give her a glucose boost and see if she shows any signs of improvement!" The truth was, I was extremely hungry myself, and since I wanted to avoid looking at Lan Fang while finding it difficult to refuse Ou Xiang, I decided to slip away for a while.

"Oh!" My response clearly left Ou Xiang at a loss for how to reply. Seeing Lan Fang's tear-rimmed eyes, she could only shake her head at her, stopping Lan Fang from speaking out.

Lan Fang noticed I never once looked at her, and for some reason, her shoulders suddenly slumped in defeat. Especially upon seeing my back, she felt for the first time that I had become somewhat unfathomable. Of course, I had no inkling of what was passing through Lan Fang's mind; I simply wished to avoid facing her and hearing her so-called schemes.

Just as I was about to climb down the tree, I could not resist giving Ou Xiang a reminder: "If A-Fen manages to wake up, we might learn some secrets about last night, and perhaps we won't be quite so passive."

"There has been no change from today until now, and that is not a good sign. If that person truly had accomplices and was dealt with by Peng Qian and his gang, that would be one thing. Otherwise, staying here means we are simply waiting to die!" Naturally, I had considered every possible scenario, and regarding our current plight, I felt anything but optimistic.

Without waiting for their reply, I raised the sharpened wooden spike at Ou Xiang to signal my departure, and then swiftly vanished into the surrounding rainforest. After all, we had not strayed far from our initial location, but cloaked by the dense foliage, everything had grown shrouded in mystery.

In truth, using the river as a reference point, finding yesterday's spot was not overly difficult. Yet, having experienced last night's ordeal, I was undeniably proceeding with heightened caution and a lingering sense of unease.

The once picturesque plants around me now seemed cloaked in mystery. It felt as though every gap between the trees harbored greedy perils.

With a firm grip on my wooden-handled spike, I even drew my wooden bow and notched an arrow, keeping it ready in my hand. Inspecting the surroundings every step of the way, I moved as quickly as possible through the rainforest, unwilling to linger anywhere lest I become someone else's prey.

Although I had never undergone professional jungle survival training and understood very little about rainforests, thanks to my inquisitive nature, I retained some knowledge of the various taboos. Thus, I approached the surrounding environment with a sense of reverence, though thankfully, the journey ended without mishap.

Drenched to the bone, I returned to the spot where I had cut the fishtail bamboo and found the cluster of wild banana trees still standing. I never imagined I could feel such intense gratitude toward a clump of wild banana trees.

First, I ate my fill. Though the lack of oil and salt left a hollow feeling in my heart, being able to feel my stomach full at a time like this was something to be deeply grateful for. Suppressing my lingering disappointment, I chopped down four more tree cores and wrapped them securely in banana leaves.

Because I was already carrying the bamboo-vine rope and bow and arrow, I had to strap these tree cores directly onto my back before carefully retracing my steps with the same vigilance as before.

This time, I encountered neither Brother Wen's group nor the shadows of Peng Qian's people, which I had half-expected to find. Everything here remained as calm on the surface as it had been the past few days.

Yet my heart remained unsettled. Even with all my caution, a helpless necessity drove me to be utterly thorough. I feared that a moment of carelessness would plunge me into a desperate abyss. Therefore, I had to tread carefully, and upon nearing our hiding place once more, I did not forget to scout the area first.

It seemed I had truly become a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow!

When I spotted Ou Xiang in the distance, holding a sharpened spike and half-concealing herself behind a tree trunk while scanning her surroundings—using the method I had taught her—a glimmer of relief finally washed over me. At least she was aware of the danger and understood the basics of self-preservation.

Creeping closer, I called out to her softly to prevent her from panicking before climbing back up the tree. Sure enough, upon realizing it was me, her posture instantly relaxed, replaced by a flash of joy and anticipation. Meanwhile, Lan Fang, half-drowsing nearby, seemed entirely indifferent.

I was not surprised by Lan Fang's reaction, nor did I care to argue with her at the moment. Especially when I saw Ou Xiang looking at me with a mixture of caution and a silent plea not to be angry, I actually managed a faint smile toward her. That slight gesture seemed to deeply move Ou Xiang, and I saw her eyes grow moist.

In truth, I am not a particularly sentimental person, but in an environment like this, one truly needs a bit of emotional solace. Yet, dwelling on our current predicament made me realize that overthinking was merely a form of self-torture.

Although these banana tree cores lacked any bizarre flavors, using them as sustenance—to be entirely honest—after going days without oil or salt, I could fully understand why watching Ou Xiang and Lan Fang struggle to swallow them was such a trial.