The next morning, the three of them picked up their bags and began their trek.
Before leaving, Yang Chen even picked some burnt wood and placed it into his bag.
Liu Mingyu was curious and asked, âHubby, wouldnât you get tired? Why would you carry the burnt wood? We might not have food and water, but we have a lighter. Starting a fire is no big deal.â
She wasnât used to calling him intimately in front of Xiao Zhiqing but ever since the incident, she couldnât resist.
Yang Chen explained with a smile. âItâs not for fire. The water here isnât clean and itâs full of parasites and toxins. We donât have time to boil the water so we can use this wood to make a rough filter to remove the toxins. Itâs better than having a stomachache.â
Yang Chen didnât dare to risk it. His body was still fighting the venom and if something were to happen to them, he wouldnât be able to help.
Liu Mingyu didnât expect him to think so far ahead. She didnât ask any further and smiled at him instead.
Yang Chen led them towards the north by following the sun, but halfway through he realized that his stamina was depleting. It was becoming harder for him to move and he was perspiring heavily just like the girls.
The humidity of the tropical rainforest made him realize why no one lived here. It was practically a sauna all day every day!
Liu Mingyu and Xiao Zhiqingâs lips were cracking due to dehydration and perspiration but they were more worried about Yang Chen.
There were hardly any water sources on their way there and when they passed by a dried-up lake, Yang Chen couldnât be bothered to explain himself before he jumped into the muddy soil and dug up the river bed.
After digging around half a meter deep, to the ladiesâ surprise, water started to flow out of it!
âMost of the time when it comes to rivers like this, thereâs usually water underneath the soil. It was just a theory but I guess we got lucky.â
They were overjoyed to hear this. Even though they didnât show it, the two of them were extremely thirsty.
âLet me help you!â
Liu Mingyu jumped next to Yang Chen and started to widen the hole with her bare hands.
Xiao Zhiqing was dumbfounded at first but she quickly smiled and joined her.
Yang Chen chuckled at their reaction. âYou guys donât need to help me, Iâve got it.â
Liu Mingyu rubbed the sweat off her face. âWhy are you trying to act tough? Stop talking and let us help you. Are you afraid your pride will be badly hurt?â
âYouâŠI didnât mean that.â Yang Chen smiled bitterly. He gestured at her face with his lips. âMingyu babe, you rubbed the mud onto your nose, are you applying a mask?â
Only then Liu Mingyu realized that her hands were dirty. She pouted out of annoyance and glared at Yang Chen before continuing to dig.
Even though it wasnât anything major, Yang Chen felt warmed at heart seeing how she was willing to dirty herself in order to help her. It was obvious that she didnât want him to overwork himself.
No matter how frustrated he was, Yang Chen was willing to convert his feelings into motivation.
Water flowed out of the hole continuously when it was finished.
Liu Mingyu furrowed her brows and said, âThe waterâs out now but how are we going to get it out. It looks so murky too.â
âWatch me.â
Yang Chen raised his eyebrow and took out a T-shirt to absorb the murky water from the hole. After that, he squeezed it into the container and purified it with charcoal to get drinkable water.
The ladies were surprised to see this and they were once again impressed by Yang Chenâs survival skills.
They moved on once again after drinking water and refilling their bottles.
Due to the loss of his cultivation, Yang Chen paid more attention to the bushes but they were lucky enough as they didnât face any danger.
However, because they kept rushing, Xiao Zhiqingâs stomach growled when it was around noon.
Liu Mingyu and Yang Chen heard it clearly since they were the only ones next to her.
Yang Chen looked behind and saw Xiao Zhiqing lower her head out of embarrassment while covering her stomach.
âHubby, Iâm hungry too. We didnât eat anything yesterday and weâve been walking for a long time,â Liu Mingyu said.
Xiao Zhiqing was embarrassed. She knew Liu Mingyu was trying to cover for her so she cast a grateful glance at her.
Liu Mingyu had changed her opinion towards Xiao Zhiqing, no longer thinking of her as a vixen.
After all, a vixen wouldnât try to stop her yesterday night and wouldâve run away by herself.
Now that Yang Chen lost his cultivation, she didnât show any other feelings except for sadness.
Being a woman herself, Liu Mingyu could tell that she was genuinely worried about Yang Chen.
Even though it felt awkward, Liu Mingyu was willing to believe that she was a kind and friendly person.
Yang Chen nodded in agreement. He had forgotten about their stamina since his body was quite resistant to hunger.
True, they wouldnât last any longer if they kept drinking instead of eating something.
Yang Chen looked around and he couldnât see anything that was edible. But when he laid his eyes into a tree that was growing near a pile of rocks, he gestured them over. âFollow me.â
Plenty of fruits were growing on the tree.
Yang Chen climbed onto a branch to pluck off the fruits. âLook, this is a wild fig. The leaves are oval-shaped and there are fine hairs on it to retain water. The whole fruit can be eaten including the skin. It might not look tasty but just bear with it and replenish some vitamin C. We will walk a bit more and see if we can get any food.â
The ladies couldnât be bothered by the sourness and they forced themselves to eat a few. Anything was better than nothing.
Yang Chen took some with him, but he knew they wouldnât be able to last any longer without high-calorie food.
It felt as though he had returned to his childhood, trying his best to stay alive in the wilderness.
However, this time he had the ladies with him and his cultivation was gone too. His strength was barely comparable to Liu Mingyu who could use her internal energy. Things were worse than last time.
After walking for a few more kilometers, they finally walked to a riverside. Since it was already evening, he asked the ladies to find a resting place for tonight.
âBe careful and try to collect some dried grass and tree bark for sleeping. Iâll try to find some food in the river.â Yang Chen told them.
They ladies had nothing against it. They had learned lots of survival skills from Yang Chen and they immediately went to search for materials to start a fire.
Yang Chen ran to the river and looked around. Because he didnât have the appropriate tools, it would be impossible to do some fishing. Plus, it was impossible to fish in a river with no fishes.
Fortunately, with his sharp eyes, Yang Chen noticed a plump looking water snake swimming towards him.
Yang Chen recognized it as a non-venomous snake. As a matter of fact, most water snakes werenât really venomous.
Besides, Yang Chen wouldnât be afraid of a venomous snake. With a swift move, he caught the snake easily!
Yang Chen was an expert in catching snakes, gripping its head to stop it from getting away.
Yang Chen didnât hesitate and he opened his mouth to bite the snakeâs head!
âPfft!â
After biting the snakeâs head off, Yang Chen spat it onto the ground. Now that the snake was dead, it would be easy to carry it back.
Because he didnât bring any knives, Yang Chen had to use the primitive way to save time.
Luckily he had eaten his fair share of raw animals so even though biting a snakeâs head was disgusting, he was used to it. The ladies would have been terrified if they were to witness this.