Chapter 28
Chapter 28
【One day, I actually saw embarrassment on a deer’s face.】
“Just now... was that Qianyu jie’s voice?” Hang Sisi stared blankly at the leopard’s back as it leapt over a fallen tree and disappeared into the weeds in an instant.
Guo Yanpeng’s face went pale, but he had to admit that Lin Qianyu seemed to have saved them again unintentionally just now. “Yes.”
Yin Youlin softly said, “Awesome, even the leopard listens to her.”
Compared to the black bear and the red-tailed hawk, the leopard’s temper is the worst; it’s very hostile and not close to people, with a strong territorial instinct. For anyone or any animal entering its territory, it might only tolerate deer herds or other herbivores.
Because those are its future prey.
But precisely this xenophobic leopard would drag its prey from afar and bring it back.
Yin Youlin pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to help but think Lin Qianyu was truly astonishing.
An Lanqing hid behind others, her wet bangs sticking to her forehead, half-covering her dark eyes. Her hands hung at her sides, tightly clenched into fists, fingertips digging into her flesh yet seeming not to feel pain, her teeth clenched tighter and tighter.
Why...
Why Lin Qianyu?!
They were all miserably running around in the rain, but Lin Qianyu didn’t have to go anywhere and just hid in the cave, yet a leopard brought her food.
That big sheep was enough to feed the four guests on their team for two meals—why did Lin Qianyu have such good luck?!
An Lanqing’s jealous heart began to ache dull and slow, like a dull knife cutting little by little—wouldn’t kill her but hurt so much it made her want to vomit blood.
Perhaps her expression was too bad, Guo Yanpeng noticed and asked, “Lanqing? Are you okay?”
He reached out to check her forehead temperature.
An Lanqing suddenly stepped back half a pace, creating distance between them.
Guo Yanpeng’s hand reached out into thin air, awkwardly retracting without touching her.
For a moment, it was somewhat awkward.
An Lanqing smiled lightly, took Guo Yanpeng’s hand, and lowered it. “I’m fine, just feeling a bit cold. Maybe I’m catching a cold. Don’t want to infect you.”
She explained rejecting Guo Yanpeng’s approach as concern for his health.
Guo Yanpeng didn’t think much and just said, “Then let’s hurry and find a cave to light a fire, boil some water, and take medicine.”
An Lanqing: “Mm.”
Afterwards, Guo Yanpeng turned to look at Hang Sisi.
Seeing this, Hang Sisi immediately turned and headed toward the direction the leopard had gone. “I’ll go pick some wild fruit, you guys go find the cave first.”
No way was she going to be the sucker to lead the way first.
In the rainforest, paths were barely paths—they were made step by step by the person in front, and after the rain, the ground was muddy and hard to walk on.
If suddenly a venomous snake darted out of some grass, even the person in front might not react in time.
Guo Yanpeng said he was a man and should lead the way, but he twisted his ankle, walked slowly, and still had to support An Lanqing.
As a result, the pace was inevitably slow.Hang Sisi and Yin Youlin didn’t want to get soaked with them. The heavy rain blurred their vision, and they didn’t have time to play these little games with Guo Yanpeng. If they got sick from the rain, the one who’d suffer would be themselves.
So each picked up a stick and walked forward, tapping the ground as they went.
Right now, Guo Yanpeng was worried about An Lanqing’s health—was he really going to pretend to wait for them to lead the way ahead?
Anyway, it wasn’t raining now. They had been walking so long on empty stomachs; they just turned around to pick wild fruit.
Yin Youlin followed without hesitation. It was fine for each to go their own way.
Guo Yanpeng opened his mouth, “Hey, we still haven’t found a place to stay. Aren’t you guys missing a bite to eat?”
Yin Youlin glanced at him, “Of course. Nobody’s saving us any roasted mushrooms.”
Since last night until now, they hadn’t had a drop to drink; their lips were dry and cracked.
Guo Yanpeng choked, “If you guys know I have roasted mushrooms, why didn’t you come find me? I wouldn’t refuse.”
His generous reply made Yin Youlin laugh, “Keep them all for yourself then.”
An Lanqing spoke hoarsely, “Youlin ge, let’s go pick wild fruit together. Pick more. Who knows when this rain will stop…”
“No need,” Yin Youlin said flatly. “Aren’t you feeling bad? You should hurry back and rest.”
An Lanqing’s face paled. She clenched Guo Yanpeng’s hand tightly; her breathing grew heavier from such a blow to her pride.
It was said so clearly—if she still insisted, that would be ungrateful.
Seeing An Lanqing lose the argument, Guo Yanpeng immediately got displeased, raising his hand to scold.
But An Lanqing, feeling embarrassed, pressed down his hand and lowered her head to walk ahead. “Let’s go up first. Wild fruit is everywhere. No need to stay here and be annoying.”
“We’ll see,” Guo Yanpeng said, supporting An Lanqing as they continued up the mountain, still tossing a harsh remark.
【...How come I never realized these two are so shameless before?】
【Making other guests lead the way and open the path, while they hide behind holding their beloved—are the young master and young lady treating others like servants on their trip?】
【Apologies to those who used to be fans of Guo Yanpeng.】
【An Lanqing is truly a tough white lotus who loves to act and morally blackmail others. Should I still tag #AnLanqingQuit“Wilderness” in time?】
【So fragile but thriving on the show, pretending to be weak while camping in the wild for three days eating two meals.】
...
On the platform halfway up the mountain.
When the leopard returned, Lin Qianyu was cutting meat.
The prey dragged all the way back was covered in mud, so she didn’t cut it all at once—she peeled the skin off directly with the leftover water.
“Back?” Lin Qianyu put down the knife and petted the leopard, checking if it had any wounds. “Wash your paws, okay?”
Dragging such a big sheep, it wasn’t good to walk on the trees. If it had been in the trees, the leopard’s paws wouldn’t have gotten so muddy.
Among cats, only tigers seem to like water; leopards and lions all get annoyed by water.
The leopard let out a low growl.“If you don’t speak, I’ll take it as consent.” Lin Qianyu put down the knife, turned around, and brought out the pot. It contained water that had been boiled in advance—half a pot boiled, then mixed with some cold water. It felt warm to the touch, easier to accept than cold water.
The leopard crouched down and was about to lick its paws when Lin Qianyu reached out, “Come, paws.”
After a pause, it placed its paws in her hands.
Lin Qianyu held the furry paws, scooped water from the wooden bowl, poured it over them, and rubbed some soapberry.
Normally in the wild, the leopard would avoid dirty muddy water as much as possible. Even if it accidentally got dirty, it would clean itself thoroughly.
But now that Lin Qianyu was here, naturally she would help clean it.
Natural soapberry wouldn’t harm the leopard. Some animal shampoos and fur washes smell overwhelmingly strong—Lin Qianyu herself found the scent suffocating, let alone animals with sensitive noses.
The soapberry foam didn’t produce as many bubbles as commercial shampoo but still created small bubbles. The bubbles gathered closely together. The leopard’s ears tilted back, and the “leopard” on the foam mirrored the same movement.
The leopard tilted its head and lowered it closer, but suddenly the bubble cluster burst without warning.
The popped droplets made the leopard shrink back. If its paws weren’t still in Lin Qianyu’s hands, the quick leopard might have jumped far away.
Startled, the leopard looked at its paws and bared its teeth fiercely, “Ha!”
Lin Qianyu burst out laughing. The leopard instantly looked up at her.
After three seconds of awkward stillness, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but laugh again, “Haha...”
The leopard wagged its tail angrily behind it, “Awo!”
“Alright, alright.” Lin Qianyu washed the paws clean and wiped them with her water-absorbing shirt. She used her hands to wipe off the mud spots on the leopard’s body.
She didn’t dare wash the entire leopard. Without sun or a hairdryer, the wet fur might take days to dry. For the leopard, having constantly wet fur was very uncomfortable.
The leopard was still sulking but allowed its paws to be lifted and to turn around when told.
It was like being angry but still obediently doing this and that.
A little awkward.
Lin Qianyu curved her eyes and, while the little stubborn one wasn’t paying attention, cupped its head and kissed its forehead, “Good.”
The leopard tilted its head, “Moo…”
【Awo awo awo! So cute! Kiss kiss kiss, bald it!】
【Moo what moo, streamer can you do it or not! If not, let me do it, ahhhh!】
After cleaning, Lin Qianyu opened the door inside.
As soon as the door cracked open, the little bear hiding behind it revealed its nose. Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow and reached in to pet the bear’s ear, “Little bear? What are you doing?”
“Awo!”
The red-tailed hawk didn’t have to touch the ground while hunting and flew all the way back; its feathers were spotless and clean.
But the black bear was not like that.
So when the little bear just came back, its paws were washed clean and it was put inside the inner room.
Outside, the ground was muddy; walking more would make washing pointless.So the little bear lay by the door, secretly scratching it.
Lin Qianyu’s weather forecast was correct; by now, the sky had completely darkened.
There wasn’t enough time to finish cutting all the meat, so she dragged it all into the kitchen together.
“More meat again,” Lin Qianyu said, patting the unprocessed prey. “Sigh, there’s no way to finish all this.”
Before, they could dry meat in the sun, but in this heavy rain, the only advantage was the low temperature; otherwise, they’d have to watch the meat rot and sour helplessly.
Lin Qianyu sealed the waterproof cloth and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “It feels like these little guys at home have a mysterious obsession with hunting.”
【“Little guys” is what they call my little guys.】
【Is it possible they all think they’re providing for the family? As far as I know, the leopard and the black bear don’t usually bring prey home, and the red-tailed hawk only brings back small amounts of meat to feed its chicks.】
【Even though I know the streamer is telling the truth, it still feels so ordinary!!! The wild fruit nearby is almost gone!】
The heavy rain knocked down many wild fruits from the trees. The ripe ones hung unstably and mostly fell off.
The ones left on the trees were hard to pick, so they could only choose from those still relatively intact on the ground after being knocked down.
Luckily, the rain had just stopped not long ago, so they could still find some good fruits. Wait any longer, and the fallen fruits would be rotten and leaking juice.
Lin Qianyu put the prey away and washed her hands.
She wanted to wait for the rain to let up before cutting the meat, otherwise the outdoor shed would smell of blood and be unpleasant.
Looking at the meat, Lin Qianyu had a sudden idea: “Why not try making some jerky?”
Compared to fresh meat, jerky has a relatively longer shelf life.
Without an oven, she wasn’t sure how it would turn out if roasted over an open fire.
No time to hesitate.
Lin Qianyu took out the leftover meat from before. “There’s still honey at home; adding more honey should help preserve it longer.”
She chopped the meat finely on the cutting board.
Lin Qianyu picked two thicker, round sticks from the firewood, shaved off the edges and bark, especially smoothing the bark side, then soaked them in water.
At this time, she sprinkled some fine salt over the meat pile.
Since the meat would be shared with the little animals around, she didn’t want to add too much seasoning.
After mixing the salt evenly, Lin Qianyu picked up a wooden stick and began pounding the meat pile wildly.
The ‘bang bang bang bang’ sounds attracted the attention of the furry ones inside; the door that had been left slightly open was pushed wide.
“Want to eat?” Lin Qianyu saw they seemed interested and pinched a few meatballs with her hand.
It wasn’t enough time to turn the meat into a paste, but it was already a bit fragmented, mixed with small chunks of meat, so the texture should be quite good.
“Here,” she said, giving a palm-sized pure meatball each to the black bear and the leopard.
The leopard licked her fingertips, its tongue curling to clean off the remaining meat bits.
The red-tailed hawk got a bit more processing: the small meatballs were placed on leaves so it could peck at them slowly.“Cooking meatballs might work too, but meatballs don’t keep well,” Lin Qianyu pondered. She could refer to the method for hotpot meatballs, which can be frozen and preserved for two to three years, but once taken out of the fridge, they spoil quickly.
However, for now…
Since they liked to eat them, Lin Qianyu decided to put aside the idea of making jerky and just rolled the meat into meatballs for them to eat first.
She also brought out two bowls of fresh meat, but the leopard and black bear showed little interest in the fresh meat; the red-tailed hawk was still eating the small meatballs and hadn’t touched the fresh meat.
Lin Qianyu raised her eyebrows. “They probably aren’t hungry, just treating the meatballs like snacks.”
【Kids eat too many snacks and won’t eat their meals; streamer, I advise you to confiscate all the snacks quickly.】
【The furry ones say: you better keep one eye open at night while you sleep.】
【Haha, they don’t eat the prey they catch themselves, but when the streamer casually processes the food and it smells good, they all love the streamer.】
After making a batch of meatballs and setting them aside, Lin Qianyu continued pounding the meat, starting to try making jerky.
Turning whole meat into minced meat was the longest process.
Lin Qianyu used both hands to pound, her arms aching, and occasionally stopped to use the wooden stick to scrape and gather the minced meat that had flown to the edges back together.
“This should be about right,” she said, lifting some up—no meat chunks were visible anymore.
Without a flat frying pan, Lin Qianyu cleaned the stone slab on the right side of the stove, which was relatively flat. She spread a layer of lard on it, lit the fire, and waited for the stone slab to heat up. Once the lard melted and was evenly spread, she laid out the minced meat.
Because it was spread thinly, it sizzled and started to emit a fragrance as it cooked. Lin Qianyu sniffed—it smelled like the pork jerky sold outside. “Pretty fragrant.”
It was a bit awkward to bake this way, but at least it took shape.
Lin Qianyu was quite satisfied.
Finally, she brushed on honey.
The sweet-loving black bear rushed over as soon as the honey jar was opened, pressing against Lin Qianyu’s back, its nose twitching as it leaned closer.
Lin Qianyu patted its head and pulled its ear gently to lead the bear back. “Be careful, it’s hot.”
“Aw!”
The little bear lifted its head but still refused to back off.
Lin Qianyu broke off more than half of the jerky; this way it was a bit shapeless, seeming to rely entirely on the honey to hold together. “Good, wait until it cools down before eating.”
“Woo…”
The little bear licked its nose in grievance.
Lin Qianyu gave it two more pieces of candy as compensation. “Let’s go, rest for a while.”
This jerky still needed some time to dry, and Lin Qianyu didn’t want to stand around waiting downstairs.
She patted the little bear back inside, hugged the little hawk cleaning its feathers, and wrapped the leopard’s tail once around her wrist. “Come.”
“Chiu!”
Lin Qianyu sat down on the mat.
Her watch flashed; Hang Sisi sent a message: 【Qianyu-jie, I want to trade supplies for food, is that okay?】Lin Qianyu: 【Exchange what?】
Hang Sisi listed all her supplies. After completing the tasks from the production team, she had some good stuff, though not as much as Lin Qianyu, but still presentable.
Lin Qianyu thought for a moment, 【Did you go pick wild fruits? If you have extra, use that to trade.】
Hang Sisi didn’t reply immediately. The “typing” indicator appeared and disappeared repeatedly, and finally she responded: 【Okay, I’ll bring it to you now.】
Listening to the rain outside, Lin Qianyu messaged her to wait until the rain stopped.
Hang Sisi didn’t reply again; she was probably already outside.
...
Since they were all nearby on the mountain, Hang Sisi arrived quickly.
Unexpectedly for Lin Qianyu, it wasn’t just Hang Sisi— the other four guests came as well.
Hang Sisi awkwardly called out, “Qianyu-jie.”
Originally, she had only told Yin Youlin; after all, they were somewhat allied, and if exchanging supplies, they would come together.
But when they left, An Lanqing noticed them. After walking in the rain for a long time, Hang Sisi didn’t want to turn back and simply pretended not to know and walked on.
It turned out An Lanqing either saw it in the livestream room or was tipped off by fans, knew they were coming to exchange supplies, and stubbornly followed them.
Lin Qianyu’s expression was calm, showing no reaction. “Give me the stuff.”
Hang Sisi handed over her backpack. “The wild fruits are all here, the good ones I picked, all washed with rainwater.”
“Mm,” Lin Qianyu said. “There are many animals at home. I can only trade you meat beyond their rations. It won’t be much.”
“That’s fine. It’s already good enough to be able to trade.” Hang Sisi wasn’t ungrateful.
After all, if she calculated seriously, she and Lin Qianyu were still competitors. Those wild fruits weren’t worth much, and Lin Qianyu agreeing to trade with her seemed to Hang Sisi like just humoring her with that excuse.
Hang Sisi knew that in this environment she couldn’t catch much prey. The small animals hid, and the large animals were too much for them to confront directly.
Outside in the single kitchen room, Hang Sisi watched Lin Qianyu fetch meat for her. Guo Yanpeng and An Lanqing stood near the waterproof cloth, their raincoat hoods already removed. Their eyes landed on the interior of the room, and An Lanqing’s heart sank bit by bit.
The room still held the lingering scent of caramelized sweet meat.
Seasonings were placed on the stove, with braised sauce in small bowls.
The basket contained wild fruits and unknown greens; even the seemingly ordinary mushrooms looked very tempting in this environment.
In another basket, something gray and dull caused An Lanqing’s pupils to shrink suddenly—Lin Qianyu even had cassava!
There was a stack of firewood piled along an entire wall, meat wrapped in leaves in the corner, and whole unprocessed prey.
This was just the outer room. The inner room was separated by a wooden door, and An Lanqing stared fixedly at the door, wishing she could glare a hole through it.
After packing the meat for Hang Sisi, Guo Yanpeng glanced over. “So many wild fruits, and you only give this much meat? You have so much meat yourself, why are you so stingy?”
【What the heck??? That lousy wild fruit is everywhere on the ground. At most, this is just a small payment for your hard work, and you’re still picky?】
【We’re all on the same team, even if not on variety shows, we’re all in the entertainment circle. Seeing each other every day, Lin Qianyu is being way too petty.】
【Guo Yanpeng’s fans haven’t even left yet? I advise you all to scram. All previous accounts that came to cause trouble in the livestream room have been permanently banned.】Hang Sisi rolled her eyes and said irritably, “Wild fruits aren’t worth much. Qianyu-jie is trying to help me by exchanging meat. She hasn’t even finished eating her own wild fruits yet.”
Guo Yanpeng frowned, “I’m speaking up for you here. What’s with that attitude?”
“No need for you,” Hang Sisi said, turning her head. “Qianyu-jie, we’ll head back first, so no one uses us as an excuse to stay here and freeload.”
Seeing her look so indignant, Lin Qianyu smiled and placed the cassava she’d been holding into the top of her backpack. “Go ahead. Raw cassava is poisonous. Remember to roast it well before eating.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks.” Yin Youlin, carrying the now much heavier hiking pack, said, “Consider this a loan. When this rain stops, I’ll catch more prey to pay you back.”
Lin Qianyu only smiled, not paying much attention.
Her gaze shifted to An Lanqing and Guo Yanpeng. “You two…”
Guo Yanpeng looked displeased after Hang Sisi gave him the cold shoulder, his face darkening as did his tone. “We’re here to exchange too. I have roasted mushrooms and wild fruits. What can we trade for?”
Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow good-naturedly. “Do you think this is a supermarket? Say trade, then trade?”
Hang Sisi had asked her first and gotten permission before coming, even washing every wild fruit thoroughly so they were spotless.
Guo Yanpeng’s wild fruits looked like he just grabbed whatever was lying around near the orchard on the way here. Did he think she was a scavenger?
“If you want to trade, bring the water purifier,” Lin Qianyu said after a pause. “And bring the spare purifier filters too. Not a single one less.”
Guo Yanpeng was shocked. “You’re asking for too much?”
Since Hang Sisi’s trade was just some worthless wild fruits, why did his turn into demanding the water purifier?
That was the only water purifier in this show!
“We’re acquaintances at least. Why are you trying to rip us off here?”
“You’re trying to take advantage and waving a big flag,” Lin Qianyu waved her hand. “Bring the water purifier or forget it. After all, going out to look, if luck’s good, maybe you can pick up something.”
She didn’t really need the water purifier.
The last two mission rewards could have gotten her one, but Lin Qianyu hadn’t chosen it. Mentioning it now was just to block them.
An Lanqing wanted to be a refined beauty surviving in the wild; even if given a tent, she wouldn’t take the water purifier.
Sure enough, An Lanqing spoke next, “Qianyu, can we trade less? There are only two of us, and we won’t finish too much meat. You…”
Guo Yanpeng interrupted, “Why are you begging her? She’s just making things difficult for us.”
“…”
Before she could finish, Guo Yanpeng cut in. An Lanqing almost choked on her anger, words stuck in her throat. She wanted to scold him but restrained herself because of the livestream and because Guo Yanpeng was the only one by her side now.
Lin Qianyu caught the sharp expression on An Lanqing’s face and smiled again. Finding a simple-minded yes-man who flaunts family power is useful, but now it seemed to be backfiring.
Having stayed outside too long, even the furry animals inside were restless.
Earlier she considered Hang Sisi, but now it was just these two. Lin Qianyu simply opened the door.
The leopard came out first. The black bear had been to their previous base before, so it probably still remembered these people.
The red-tailed hawk didn’t spare even an extra glance, lowering its head to rub against Lin Qianyu’s cheek.An Lanqing didn’t know what to say anymore, her heart full of regret for choosing to join the variety show with Guo Yanpeng.
Facing the unfriendly gaze of the leopard, An Lanqing hesitated, “Sorry, if you don’t want to trade, then forget it.”
“No need to apologize!” Guo Yanpeng waved his hand grandly. “It’s just some meat. I’ll go hunting. We don’t need to trade with her.”
An Lanqing’s fragile facade completely broke. She closed her eyes, unable to even say goodbye, and turned to leave.
Lin Qianyu shrugged, “I quite admire your shameless, arrogantly brazen attitude.”
【Pfft—Haha, Lin Jie, your insults are so classy now.】
【Sounds like a compliment, but it’s just the honest truth.】
【@Guo Yanpeng, suggest you copy and paste this into your profile. Fits you perfectly.】
【Help, why did I ever like this kind of person? Starting to doubt my past taste.】
Guo Yanpeng wasn’t satisfied and reached to pull An Lanqing, wanting to say more.
The leopard stepped slowly in front of Lin Qianyu, squinting its eyes, then gave a low growl—this sound effectively silenced Guo Yanpeng.
He opened his mouth, but his throat seemed blocked, unable to make a sound.
In the end, he awkwardly picked up the hiking pack and left without saying anything, pushing aside the curtain.
Outside the cave, he saw An Lanqing standing in the rain.
Guo Yanpeng’s eyes brightened, “Lanqing, are you waiting for me?”
An Lanqing had been standing in the rain for a long time but couldn’t calm down. Under the tree, her hair was soaked but she didn’t look messy, only fragile. “We came here to trade. Why did you provoke Lin Qianyu on purpose? Can’t you be nicer?”
“I... I was just being honest. Besides, I was doing it for you.”
“Do I need you to do that for me?!” An Lanqing’s brow twitched. What an idiot.
Guo Yanpeng was stunned and looked somewhat confused.
Realizing this, An Lanqing softened her voice, “I just think what you did wasn’t right. So many people have been criticizing you lately, and I can’t stand it. You should control your temper.”
Guo Yanpeng said, “It’s fine. I don’t care about that. Their insults don’t affect my earnings.”
An Lanqing had nothing more to say. Annoyance and disgust grew quietly inside her. After a moment of silence, she said, “…Let’s go back first.”
“Mm.”
The rain lasted for five days.
Not much different from what Lin Qianyu expected.
The river level behind the cave remained dangerously high.
Water droplets lingered on the leaves, dripping down their edges.
The cold droplets ‘plopped’ onto Lin Qianyu’s arm. She flicked them off casually, then bent down to hang two more pieces of meat on the drying rack.
After the heavy rain, the cave felt damp.
Taking advantage of the sunshine, Lin Qianyu took out her clothes, sleeping bag, and the sheepskin that covered the floor to dry.Even if some animals were caught and brought back, Lin Qianyu wouldn’t eat them; she only ate those not on the list and those provided by the production team.
Perhaps because her eating habits were so selective, the furry animals at home had noticed. Later hunts mostly targeted sheep and pigs—big enough, plenty of meat, and Lin Qianyu would eat them too.
As a result, the household had so many sheepskins they could cover the entire cave floor, with plenty left over.
Lin Qianyu collected them all, planning to make small accessories when she had time, like bow ties, ribbons, or woven flowers.
The young eagle loved flower garlands, but no matter how exquisite, garlands wouldn’t last long. Woven ones were different—as long as they weren’t physically damaged, they could be kept forever.
“I hear some commotion by the river,” Lin Qianyu said after hanging the meat, “Want to go check it out?”
【Yes!!! Go find Huahua!】
【Huahua probably won’t hunt there; she stays in her own territory. To find Huahua, you have to go further up. Go find the little bear instead.】
“Okay.” Lin Qianyu took the fledglings and headed straight to the river.
Since morning, she had vaguely heard noisy sounds by the river.
After the rain, fish surfaced in the river. Many fishing animals were probably using all their skills to catch fish now.
When Lin Qianyu arrived, the first thing she noticed was the little bear splashing in the river. On the shore, quite a few fish were piled up, but no animal dared sneak over to steal one.
Although the little bear was in the river, it could immediately detect any movement on shore.
For the sake of one fish, getting caught and becoming a snack for the black bear would be a huge loss.
Lin Qianyu helped gather the fish toward the center, “So many fish. Looks like we’re having a full fish feast for lunch today.”
The fish were large, but fish meat didn’t fill the stomach much. With the little bear’s appetite, if it only ate fish and nothing else, it could eat twenty to thirty.
Noticing Lin Qianyu approaching, the little bear loosened its grip on the fish in its mouth and looked up, barking, “Ao!”
Lin Qianyu imitated its sound, “Ao ao.”
The livestream chat echoed with “Ao” sounds. Some felt typing wasn’t enough to express their feelings, so they sent short voice clips. Every few seconds, there were various creative versions of “Ao.”
Lin Qianyu accidentally clicked one. The little bear in the river twitched its ears and growled softly.
【Hahaha who played that? Look how mad it made the little bear.】
【Little bear: "Three times in one sentence, grammar error! I really can’t stand it!"】
【Alright, alright, it’s all the same 'Ao.' The streamer rolls happily in the water, but when we 'Ao,' it’s disdainful? Double standard little bear, hmph!】
【See? Even the little bear knows to give special favor to important people, but your boyfriend…】
【Break up!!!】
Gathering the fish, Lin Qianyu stepped onto the wet grass and walked to the tree. “Is the little squirrel home?”
The heavy rain had broken many branches and leaves, changing the tree’s appearance. She wasn’t sure if the little squirrel was still in its original home.
“Little squirrel?” Lin Qianyu gently tapped the tree trunk with her curled finger, “I brought you some hazelnuts.”
Just as Lin Qianyu thought the little squirrel had moved, a nearby tree branch rustled, shaking a cluster of leaves. First, the fluffy big tail appeared.
The tail hooked onto a branch, and the little squirrel looked at her upside down, “Zhi!”Lin Qianyu curved her eyes slightly. “This one is cooked, try it.”
No salt was added, grilled on a stone slab, and it smelled good even eaten plain.
Since it was already cracked open, the little squirrel bit it, breaking the shell outside, then hugged it with its two paws, nibbling bit by bit, its bright eyes glancing around nearby.
“Zhi! Zhizhi!” The little squirrel finished one quickly but didn’t take the second nut Lin Qianyu offered. Instead, it climbed up the tree trunk, running and chattering.
Lin Qianyu: “???”
Is it inviting me to play at its home?
Lin Qianyu paused, looking at the nearby trees. Climbing was no problem, but getting inside the tree trunk… the chances of success were extremely slim.
She said, “Got it, next time for sure.”
The little squirrel, which had already run off, returned and jumped onto Lin Qianyu’s hand, its fluffy big tail swaying. “Zhizhi!”
“Alright, alright.” Unable to refuse such enthusiasm, Lin Qianyu accepted the invitation and climbed the tree nearby. She parted the leaves and saw overlapping branches leading straight to a small tree hollow not far away.
The little squirrels would stuff various nuts when storing food, sometimes burying them underground.
But they couldn’t remember exactly where they hid their food, so finding it was purely a matter of luck.
If lucky enough, they might even find food hidden by other squirrels.
Seeing the small hollow wasn’t very full, Lin Qianyu grabbed a big handful of cooked nuts and stuffed them in, filling the hollow completely.
It probably wasn’t hollowed out inside.
Lin Qianyu had seen a news story before about a lumberjack who cut down a tree only to find the trunk completely hollowed out and filled with all kinds of food—little squirrels had spent the whole autumn gathering, only to have their home stolen by humans.
“Zhi?” The little squirrel crouched down to look, then excitedly ran back and forth along the branches after seeing so many hazelnuts, circling its hollow, “Zhizhi!”
The little chatterbox kept squeaking nonstop.
Lin Qianyu laughed and patted its head, “Let’s go.”
After speaking, she turned and jumped down from the tree.
Leaping down from the tall tree without any assistance, she landed lightly with knees slightly bent to cushion the fall, then stepped forward smoothly.
She patted the fledglings in her backpack as comfort after landing steadily.
Caught off guard, she inhaled sharply and choked, coughing twice.
【Cool!!!】
【Ah...? How did she get down?】
【Isn’t that two or three stories high? Just jumped straight down?】
【Hiss—those two weak coughs really seem unnecessary.】
...
After the heavy rain, the small animals hiding around the rainforest all came out to move about.
Birds could already be seen flying through the sky.The crisp and tender chirping sounded ethereal and distant; walking through the rainforest, just listening to it made one feel refreshed.
Two little sparrows circled each other in flight, then landed on a tree, tilting their heads as they chirped.
Hearing what they said, Lin Qianyu paused her steps. “I’m just passing by.”
The sparrows’ chirping stopped abruptly. The plump little round chirpers looked at each other, “Chirp?”
Lin Qianyu nodded, “Yes, I’m talking to you.”
The sparrows flapped their wings suspiciously, ready to fly down and land on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder.
“Chirp—!” A clear bird call pierced the sky.
A red-tailed hawk circled above, casting its shadow on the ground.
The sparrow about to land on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder heard the call, panicked, flapping its wings frantically, and before its claws touched the shoulder, it flew up, its fragile wings carrying its round body away.
The red-tailed hawk folded its wings and landed back at its usual spot, its tail feathers lightly brushing against her neck.
“Did you help the little bear catch fish?” Lin Qianyu touched the bird’s beak with the back of her hand. It was wet, probably from just having touched the water.
The red-tailed hawk lowered its head and rubbed its head feathers against her. “Chirp.”
Lin Qianyu followed the feathers on its chest. Birds don’t smooth their feathers like mammals; they preen by picking at feathers without swallowing them.
“Have you seen Huahua?”
“Chirp…” The red-tailed hawk looked up toward the mountain.
That was the direction of the leopard’s territory.
Lin Qianyu nodded; it should be hunting within its own territory.
【Sure enough, the longer you stay in the forest, the more little animals grow on you.】
【The streamer is so biased, only letting the red-tailed hawk stand on the shoulder, not letting the black bear or leopard come up.】
【??? Little bear and Huahua thank you for your kindness.】
Returning to the riverbank, the black bear had already come ashore, guarding the fish without leaving.
Seeing Lin Qianyu return, the little bear shook its fur from afar and called, “Ao!”
“Here.” Lin Qianyu jogged forward, “You caught so many. Eat here first. We’ll have lunch right here. After you’re full, I’ll process the leftovers.”
Then they would rub on some salt and dry them into salted fish jerky.
Lin Qianyu gutted the fish, cleaned the entrails and scales before giving them to the animals.
The black bear would bite a piece while eating, but the red-tailed hawk really swallowed the whole fish directly.
The little bear chewed the fish meat with a crisp crunch, like eating small biscuits, very delicious.
Lin Qianyu picked some nuts on the way and ate while walking. She wasn’t hungry initially, but seeing the little bear eating so deliciously, she got an appetite too. She picked a fish and started roasting it.
The whole rainforest looked as if it had been washed clean, pure and clear. Leaves had fallen, and the overlapping branches didn’t completely block the sky. Looking through the gaps, the vast blue sky was dotted with white clouds.
Lin Qianyu bit into the roasted crispy fish meat—it wasn’t very tasty.Forgot to bring seasoning after coming out. During those days living in the cave, the hiking bag was emptied.
This time she just came out to look around nearby, didn’t plan to go far, so she only brought the red-tailed hawk fledgling and those two eggs.
Fortunately, the fish didn’t have a strong fishy smell, so eating it hot was still okay.
But after days of stir-frying and stewing soup, going back to simple unseasoned barbecue definitely made the taste feel worlds apart.
Before she finished one fish, a deer drinking water by the river suddenly raised its head and looked around.
Lin Qianyu glanced at the little bear still eating fish silently; the deer probably wasn’t scared by the little bear.
So... there must be other carnivores approaching the water source.
The deer herd must have sensed something, because before long, a leopard carrying a black-and-white striped zebra slowly approached.
“Huahua!” Lin Qianyu waved, “Come eat fish quickly.”
Leopards will eat fish when they really can’t find food, usually just to fill their stomachs.
Hearing Lin Qianyu’s voice, the leopard’s ears flattened back but didn’t come over directly; instead, it turned and looked behind.
“Oh...!”
The young, tender voice of an animal cub surprised Lin Qianyu.
The leopard temporarily put down the zebra and nudged with its head a cub not even one-third its size.
Lin Qianyu squinted, “Is that... a deer?”
It was very small. Lin Qianyu put down the grilled fish, scooped some river water to wash her hands, and as she got closer, she noticed it was a little deer.
Already listed on the world’s endangered species red list, known as the "rainforest sprite," the lesser mouse deer.
This little mouse deer was estimated to be less than twenty centimeters long.
The lesser mouse deer is the smallest hoofed animal, and its cubs are even smaller.
Though they are solitary animals, most cubs of this age still stay by their mother’s side.
Seeing the leopard had no intention to eat it, instead nudging it forward, it seemed the cub had been brought down all the way from above.
Out of fear of the carnivore, the little mouse deer cried out chaotically.
“How did you bring a little deer back?” Lin Qianyu stepped forward and petted the leopard’s ear. During the days in the cave, whenever Lin Qianyu had free time, she stuck to the leopard, stroking its fur and paws; the leopard had gotten used to being petted.
The leopard squinted, “Roar…”
Raising it.
“Raising it for me?” Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. The leopard licking its lips clearly meant yes.
After a moment of silence, Lin Qianyu guessed it must be because the red-tailed hawk at home had caught two rabbits, plus the hawk fledgling were all cubs, raised at home, which made the leopard mistakenly think she liked these, so it hurried back all the way.
Lin Qianyu looked at the little deer and asked, “Where’s its mother?”
“Roar!”
Ugly thing.Eat.
Lin Qianyu nodded, barely piecing together the reason from the leopard’s sparse words. “It should be that after the rain stopped, the little deer’s mother took it out to forage and was eaten by some carnivore—so what do we do now?”
Looking at the clueless little mouse deer that didn’t dare to move, Lin Qianyu felt somewhat at a loss for the first time.
“Hmm… let’s take it with us first. I’ll contact Pei Feng.” Such a small one released back into the wild, even if lucky enough to avoid other predators, would barely survive eating grass on its own.
The forest ranger should also be responsible for protecting endangered animals. She would see if the ranger would take it to raise until old enough to release, or find a good place to settle it.
Lin Qianyu’s place wasn’t suitable for long-term keeping.
After all, there were fierce beasts at home, and the two surviving rabbits were also stored as emergency food.
The leopard casually picked up the zebra and, brushing past Lin Qianyu, twined its tail around her calf. “Woo…”
Lin Qianyu gently laid her left hand on the leopard’s back, then looked at the little mouse deer. “Let’s go, little deer, come with me first.”
Some animal cubs lack communication ability and might not understand what Lin Qianyu said, but it stood still for a moment. Perhaps because of the leopard’s attitude toward Lin Qianyu, the little deer felt that staying near her meant the leopard wouldn’t harm it, so it took Lin Qianyu as its protector and actively followed her.
Following all the way, they found the black bear by the river frozen in place. Noticing the red-tailed hawk on the backpack, it took a half-step back, its legs slowly stiffening.
【It’s hard to imagine that one day I’d actually see embarrassment on a deer’s face.】
【The kid’s scared stiff, hahaha, kind of pitiful but sorry hahaha.】
【Press 1, Buddha forgive you.】
The furry ones at home had no shortage of meat.
Naturally, they had no interest in this little deer.
Large carnivores usually don’t target cubs when hunting because they’re small and offer little meat.
Catching prey that doesn’t replenish the energy spent is just a hassle. Catching bigger prey, like the leopard who doesn’t care whether the meat is fresh, can hide leftovers in trees to eat over several meals.
The little bear still eating fish didn’t lift its head, while the red-tailed hawk spread its wings but didn’t look at the mouse deer, instead grabbing the backpack and flying toward Lin Qianyu.
Inside were bird eggs and the fledgling.
Lin Qianyu hurried to catch it, hugged it, and glanced inside. The fledgling was joyfully stepping on the eggs, poking its head out.
After soothing the fledgling, Lin Qianyu pushed a small pile of fish over. “Huahua, here’s your fish.”
The leopard sniffed, pressed its paw down, then licked once. The barbs on its tongue scraped off a layer of flesh like a brush, easily cleaning the fish.
By the end, only the fish head and the long main bone on the fish remained.
Seeing that they didn’t intend to eat it, and that here it didn’t have to worry about other animals suddenly pouncing on it, the little mouse deer gradually relaxed and lowered its head to graze.
Because they were here, herbivores didn’t dare come close. The grass across the river was almost completely eaten bare, but this side’s grass was still a large patch of tender green.
The little mouse deer, carefree, just kept eating.
Just as Lin Qianyu sent the message to the forest ranger, movement came from the hiking bag in her arms; the fledgling chirped incessantly, and the red-tailed hawk poked its head inside and looked for a long time.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Qianyu opened the bag, thinking something might be wrong. The fledgling’s claws kept scratching the bird egg. “Is it uncomfortable?”
She adjusted the egg’s position. When her fingertip touched it, a crack appeared on the originally smooth eggshell.Her fingertip paused.
Lin Qianyu: “?!!”
Why was there a crack in the egg? Did it already have it when she put the bird egg inside? Did it?
She hurriedly recalled, then couldn’t help but wonder when it might have been bumped, but thinking carefully, she hadn’t made any big movements. Her tangled thoughts were still unsettled.
The next moment, the crack in the egg widened.
A pale yellow, tender bird beak pecked out from the crack.
—“Chirp!”
Author’s note: Good night, go to bed early, love to every one of you.
A new pre-release: “After Inheriting the Zoo, I Heard the Animals’ Voices” — interested friends can bookmark it~