Chapter 46 Advance Preparation

"Yeah, yeah! I never thought I'd actually witness a murder firsthand!" Qu Xiang said, her voice filled not with mere emotion, but with a deep, crushing terror.

If catching a glimpse of Luo Wei had served merely as a dangerous warning, then Huang Jianfen's desperate struggle last night, followed by our frantic escape, made death feel terrifyingly close.

The lingering memory of how near death had been was enough to turn anyone's limbs to jelly. Qu Xiang must have felt it most acutely; supporting Huang Jianfen as we ran for our lives, she had tasted despair more than once. Though it was unclear what Lan Fang might have felt, the gruesome state in which I had ultimately left that creature must have given her some inkling.

"Do you think that person will be found?" Qu Xiang asked suddenly, a lingering panic shadowing her face and unease gripping her eyes as she looked at me anxiously. Although she hadn't seen what I did to that wretch, she knew he was finished.

That naturally reminded her of Brother Wen's gang. When they first discovered Luo Wei, their reaction made it clear they wouldn't hesitate to kill. If they were to get involved now, Qu Xiang shuddered to think of the outcome.

"Discovery is just a matter of time, but look at our situation now—do we have any other choice?" I wasn't feeling helpless so much as practical. Looking at Huang Jianfen, who still appeared unconscious, and recalling the events of the previous night, I knew we simply couldn't carry her with us unless we were willing to abandon her completely.

If we had somehow managed to survive this far, the entire chain of events felt surreal, like a waking nightmare. "If his accomplices come looking for us, we won't be able to hide! Our weapons are no match for them, and given our current physical stamina, we're just waiting to be slaughtered!"

"I'm sorry..." Hearing my flat, helpless tone, Lan Fang, who had been crying silently, suddenly spoke with a trembling voice, meeting my eyes directly for the very first time.

Her complexion was deathly pale—whether from terror or her physical injuries was hard to tell—yet a hardened resolve crept into her eyes. "I... I will try my best not to be a burden to you..."

I couldn't tell if this was a compromise on her part or a sudden awakening to our harsh reality. After all, I owed her nothing, and the mere fact that I stayed behind to care for her was already a one-in-a-million chance. Looking at us with lingering unease, she whispered, "But... shouldn't we... do we really need to move to another place?"

I was slightly taken aback. Meeting her steady gaze, I realized she had finally understood the gravity of our situation. A wave of complex emotions washed over me, but I remained silent and looked at Qu Xiang instead. Finding that Qu Xiang was also staring at me, clearly devoid of any ideas of her own, I could only nod slowly at Lan Fang to let her know she was right.

***

"We definitely need to move, but first, it takes time, and second, we need to find a suitable place," I said directly, knowing there was no point in avoiding the issue or keeping secrets from them.

"I'm already a burden to you both. Whatever you plan, don't worry about me. I can at least manage on my own!" With that, Lan Fang finally broke down and wept openly, her voice trembling with emotion.

Qu Xiang sighed, cast a glance at me, and patted Lan Fang's shoulder to comfort her. Noticing my indifference, a strange look crossed Qu Xiang's eyes, quickly replaced by deep contemplation.

"If I'm not mistaken, that bastard last night definitely wasn't alone! Waiting here is a death sentence; it'll kill us all. I need to scout the surrounding area first, and also wait for Ah Fen to regain consciousness to see if she can give us any more clues. Her experience is vital to us."

Seeing Lan Fang's vulnerability didn't make me want to mock her. Instead, I stared at Huang Jianfen's face. Though faint traces of pain lingered there, it didn't seem overwhelmingly intense. A wave of puzzled suspicion washed over me. "Peng Qian and the others had a group, so why was Huang Jianfen the only one who fled here? There's something deeply suspicious about this."

I felt the situation had grown far more serious than Qu Xiang and Lan Fang realized. If last night's brute wasn't part of Brother Wen's faction, it meant outsiders had crossed into our territory. But if he *was* one of them, Peng Qian and his companions were likely doomed, given that creature's sheer ferocity and combat prowess, which were enough to terrify any normal person.

As for whether Brother Wen's group would spare us, that was entirely up in the air.

Of course, I knew speculating right now was pointless. Therefore, I decided to wait for Huang Jianfen to wake up in hopes of gathering more information.

We had very few supplies left—the bitter fruit of Peng Qian's ruthlessness when he took everything we had. Now, with Huang Jianfen added to our numbers, though we didn't know if she would ever wake up, she brought no provisions of her own, effectively acting as another mouth to feed.

***

"Xiangxiang, we need to prepare in advance!" I said with a solemn expression, making no move to comfort Lan Fang.

"Huh? Prepare for what?" Before Qu Xiang could respond, Lan Fang, still sobbing quietly, turned to me with clear nervousness.

"What do you think we should prepare for?" Seeing her anxious expression and remembering that she used to be my boss, a strange surge of satisfaction flickered in my chest. "What do we have left to eat? How long do you think these tree hearts will last? Besides, we can't just go out foraging every single time we run out of food—that's no different from waiting to die!"

My words left not only Lan Fang with a crestfallen expression, but rendered Qu Xiang speechless as well. Although we hadn't starved over the past two days, watching me bring back banana tree hearts time and again made it clear to both of them that food was agonizingly difficult to come by.

"A-Jing, is there really no other way?" Sensing that Lan Fang had been crushed, Qu Xiang glared at me secretly.

I pretended not to notice, though for the first time, a sense of relief washed over me. I wasn't trying to torment Lan Fang out of spite, but if we were going to survive, she had to face reality. Qu Xiang might not have been wrong, but she would always try to protect Lan Fang's pride. She was an absolute trooper, at least skilled at smoothing things over.

"I have a hunch that no matter how much we circle around this area in the coming days, we won't find a damn thing!" I let out a soft sigh. I wasn't just trying to scare them; based on our recent ordeals and Brother Wen's words—even hinting at consuming the flesh of their own companions—everything was far more grim than they imagined.

Whether my intuition was correct, I had not an ounce of certainty, nor would I voice my darkest suspicions. The immediate crisis remained unresolved, Huang Jianfen was still unconscious, and what lurked in the surrounding wilderness was entirely unknown to us.