CHAPTER 134: CHAPTER 134 JUST WANT TO LOOK GORGEOUS

The man and the squirrel tormented each other until the water in the pot boiled. When Anan called Meng Rui over to pluck the chicken feathers, Meng Rui finally, with great compassion, let Little Squirrel go.

Anan took out the two most injured pheasants and a hare to begin slaughtering them.

The few that weren’t heavily injured would survive the night without issue and could be saved for eating tomorrow!

Hot water made plucking the chickens much easier.

This was Meng Rui’s first time doing this task, and he found it quite novel.

The moment Meng Rui let go, Little Squirrel quickly scurried over to An Yan’s side, rubbing its little head against her foot.

Mo Shiyan and An Yan were responsible for cleaning the mushrooms they had picked.

After rubbing against An Yan, Little Squirrel obediently sat aside, watching them wash.

As it watched, it seized a moment when An Yan wasn’t paying attention, grabbed a mushroom, and began to happily nibble on it.

At dusk, some lingering sunlight still graced the mountaintop.

Over there, Anan was slaughtering the hare, and Meng Rui was plucking chicken feathers.

Over here, An Yan and Mo Shiyan were washing mushrooms.

Beside them sat Little Squirrel, its tail fluffed up.

A sense of tranquil beauty emerged vividly from the scene.

[Amazing, simply amazing!]

[Everyone has their role; they understand cooperation.]

[I’ll bet a pack of spicy strips that this team will win!]

[I’ll bet two packs they’ll win for sure!]

[...]

After stewing the meat, the group sat down to review the clues they had recovered.

"North!"

"Oak tree!"

"Beach!"

Three clues pointing out the direction and location. It shouldn’t be hard to find the boat now.

"From here, we’re at least twenty kilometers away from the northern coast. If we walk, it will take at least half a day, and the journey is through the jungle, where it would be difficult to find another campsite," Anan explained.

"Based on my experience, there’s a high chance of a downpour tonight! So, my suggestion is that we camp here and set off when it’s light tomorrow," Anan recommended.

"Agreed!"

After dinner, Anan set up his own tent but didn’t place it next to Mo Shiyan’s. Instead, he chose a wind-sheltered spot.

Once finished, he moved Mo Shiyan’s tent to this spot as well.

After securing the tents, he reinforced them with wood.

He also constructed several drainage ditches around the tents.

In case of heavy rain, the ditches would divert the water, preventing their tents from being submerged.

"One tent for the guys and one for the girls," Anan declared. "The tents can shield us from wind and rain, and the sleeping bags will keep us warm! Considering we might encounter wild animals, we need to arrange a night watch. It’s 8 o’clock now. Miss An Yan, you can take the first two-hour shift. Mo Shiyan and Meng Rui, you take the next four hours, and I’ll take the rest. Does that sound good to everyone?"

An Yan knew Anan was looking out for her. After all, during the first two hours, everyone would likely still be awake, so while it was her shift, it would feel as if many people were keeping her company.

Mo Shiyan and Meng Rui had no issues with the arrangement. Although they had to keep watch for four hours, at two in the morning, they would still have enough time afterward to get some sleep.

"Sounds good!" Meng Rui exclaimed. "Besides watching out for wild animals, we also need to guard against the other team. They were way out of line!"

Meng Rui was furious that the other team had stolen their tent. Even a child like him knew not to take what belonged to others, so why would the four adults in that team do such a thing?

"Right," Anan said, "we also need to be careful not to let the opponents steal our things, including the clues. We can’t tell them about the clues either!" As he spoke, Anan tossed the paper with the clues written on it into the fire, burning it to ashes.

An Yan took out the fruit she had picked during the day and shared it with everyone.

Upon seeing the fruit, Little Squirrel became agitated, staring at An Yan with an accusatory look.

An Yan, her heart softening, beckoned Little Squirrel over and handed it a piece of fruit.

Little Squirrel, clutching the fruit, continued to look at them reproachfully as it ate.

Meng Rui felt uneasy under its stare. "Sister An Yan, why is it looking at us like that?"

"Because you’re eating its fruit. Or at least, it thinks all the fruit on that tree belongs to it."

"Ah?" The boy seemed a bit unable to continue eating.

Mo Shiyan said with a smile, "This squirrel is domesticated. You can exchange some of our food with it!"

"Really?"

Meng Rui picked a chicken leg from the leftovers and offered it.

Little Squirrel immediately dropped its fruit and started gnawing on the chicken leg.

"It really eats it!" Meng Rui frowned. "Sister An Yan, I strongly suspect it was staring at us just now because it actually wanted the chicken leg."

"That’s possible," An Yan replied.

While An Yan’s group was eating fruit and teasing Little Squirrel, Bai Zhi’s group had finally found a campsite on the other side, by a river. It was just a few hundred meters away from An Yan’s campsite.

Since this place met Bai Zhi’s ideal of camping, with mountains and water, they pitched two tents and set up the barbecue grill.

It wasn’t fully dark yet, and without a single clue, they had already stopped thinking about looking for them. No, it seemed like they had never cared about clues from the beginning!

Abei felt a headache coming on!

Bai Zhi, who had just changed into a pretty dress, smiled at Abei and said, "It’s a pity there’s no piano!"

Abei was speechless.

Let it all fall apart! He had thought that by taking good care of Princess Bai, he could then take Fu Xiao, the other guy, and look around for clues.

But Fu Xiao sat down directly next to Bai Zhi. Leaning back, he said, "Miss Bai, we can actually see the stars here!"

Bai Zhi looked up and started stargazing with him.

Jiang Xiaoze, not to be outdone, quickly looked up at the sky as well.

The branches swayed, and the stars twinkled intermittently. It was indeed a beautiful sight.

"You guys..." Abei sighed. "Never mind. Stay here for a while. I’m going out to gather some ingredients and will be back!"

Although all three heard him, not one of them responded.

Bai Zhi certainly didn’t want to be running around at this time. Night was about to fall. Wild animals roamed the forest, and encountering one would not be fun at all. She was here to be a beautiful star, not to show viewers how bedraggled she could become.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xiaoze quietly checked her bag—the Green-tailed Snake was still inside. She wanted to find an opportunity, when no one would notice, to send Green Tail into An Yan’s tent. An Yan, bitten all over in the middle of the night, suddenly seeing a snake—that would be so delightfully agonizing! The thought alone was satisfying! So now, she had to preserve her energy and not run around unnecessarily.

As for Fu Xiao, he was contemplating his role as Bai Zhi’s protector, wanting to let her see his charm. As for the competition, it had never been part of his plans!

With none of the three moving, Abei could only shake his head and walk alone into the woods with his gear.

...

「The other team.」

After everyone had finished the fruit, they prepared to rest.

Meng Rui and Teacher Anan went to the men’s tent first.

Mo Shiyan, not used to sleeping early, stayed outside with An Yan.