Chapter 10

Li Cunxin brought the man back to the adobe house. On the way, the four of them learned his name was Xu Yin, his talent was Hunting, and he had been in this place for nearly a year.

Along the way, it was mostly Li Cunxin and the others asking questions, and Xu Yin answering.

From start to finish, Xu Yin only asked them two questions: Were they from the modern world? And did they know a way back?

The answer to the first question was a unanimous yes. Yan Baiyu and Yunxiu were even from the same province and city.

As for the second question, Yunxiu and Xia Qing had arrived even more recently than Xu Yin and had been stuck in the forest the whole time. Survival alone had consumed all their energy; they had no spare time to explore ways to return. They had never even considered that going back was a possibility.

Yunxiu and Xia Qing both turned their gazes to Li Cunxin, who had been here the longest.

“We can’t go back,” Li Cunxin said with utter certainty.

It was a truth everyone probably knew deep down, but they couldn’t help clinging to a sliver of hope, waiting masochistically for the cruel verdict. When those unsurprising words finally came, they all fell into a collective silence.

The door of the adobe house was open. The clearing in front was still strewn with the timber Xia Qing had hauled back. Li Cunxin led Xu Yin into the main hall, while Yunxiu went into the kitchen to boil hot water.

Xu Yin sat down on a wooden stump, his upper body slumping forward onto the table. The thin ice of cold indifference in his eyes melted away, and a faint light of life flickered back into his dark, deep eyes as he silently surveyed everything inside the room.

Yan Baiyu and Xia Qing worked together, using a knife to cut slits into the animal hide he wore for warmth. They removed the hide first. The close-fitting T-shirt beneath was difficult to take off, so they simply cut the cloth around the area where the arrow was lodged, exposing the wound.

Li Cunxin pounded and ground some panax notoginseng on a stone, managing after a long while to produce a small amount of coarse powder.

Yunxiu brought the hot water over, and Xia Qing took it from her.

Li Cunxin said to Yunxiu, “It’s getting late now, and everyone is hungry. We’ve got things handled here. Since the stove fire is still lit, go ahead and start cooking.”

“Alright.” Yunxiu glanced back into the room and whispered to Li Cunxin, “Call me if you need anything.”

Without any ceremony, Yan Baiyu tore a strip of fabric from Xu Yin’s T-shirt, scrubbed it in the hot water for a moment, wrung it dry, and began to wipe the wound on his arm.

It was a set of teeth marks, but only the two punctures on the sides were deep, leaving bloody holes. The middle had only bruises.

Yan Baiyu wiped away the fresh blood, carefully checked to ensure no broken animal teeth remained in the wound, and only then stood up to look at the arrow in his back.

Li Cunxin walked over with a handful of the crushed notoginseng powder. Seeing Xu Yin staring at her hand, Li Cunxin explained, “This is panax notoginseng. It can be used to treat external injuries.”

Li Cunxin sprinkled the notoginseng powder onto Xu Yin’s arm, slapped a withered yellow leaf over the wound, and tied it in place with a piece of dry grass, creating a crude bandage. “There. If you feel any discomfort later, we’ll take another look.”

Li Cunxin moved behind Xu Yin and, together with Yan Baiyu, examined the arrow wound.

Xia Qing interjected, “Should we cut the wound open wider?”

Yan Baiyu said, “The arrowhead doesn’t have barbs, so cutting it open probably isn’t necessary.”

Li Cunxin said, “Then… we just pull it straight out?”

“…” Xu Yin.

The more the three of them studied the plan for extracting the arrow, the more unreliable they seemed to Xu Yin.

“I’ll do it,” Xia Qing said, grabbing the arrow shaft and pulling outward with a fair amount of force. The arrow didn’t budge; the embedded end was clamped tightly, as if it had fused with the flesh.

Xu Yin’s facial muscles twitched, and he let out a howl of pain. The sound startled Xia Qing so much she shivered and jerked her hand back.

Xu Yin was built like a bear, with a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear, a full beard covering most of his face. Still, it couldn’t hide his ferocious, intimidating features. There was a scar under his right eye, a vertical line set among the tough muscles of his face. When he frowned, his forehead creased into deep lines and gullies.

What frightened Xia Qing most was the look in Xu Yin’s eyes—too savage. None of the thugs and hooligans she’d encountered on the streets could manage such a terrifying aura.

Yan Baiyu said, “We still need to be careful. If the arrow shaft breaks and a flint shard stays lodged in the wound, it’ll be even harder to deal with.”

Xu Yin, who had been mostly tight-lipped, suddenly spoke up, his voice rough. “We don’t have a scalpel here to make a clean cut. A dull blade scraping flesh is torture. Just pull it straight out. If the arrowhead breaks, we’ll deal with it then.”

The three exchanged glances. Ultimately, Li Cunxin, who had the most brute strength, stepped forward. She studied the arrow for a moment; the long arrowhead was embedded halfway.

She went to the kitchen, grabbed a handful of plant ash to dry her hands and improve her grip, then grasped the exposed shaft. She didn’t forget to pat Xu Yin’s back. “Relax. Let the muscles in your back go slack. Don’t tense up.”

Bracing a foot against the wooden stump Xu Yin sat on, Li Cunxin mentally counted down. Suddenly, her eyes focused, and she yanked with all her might.

The arrowhead came out intact, drawing a bit of blood and minced flesh with it.

Li Cunxin staggered backward and was about to fall when Yan Baiyu caught her around the waist. Li Cunxin said urgently, “Xia Qing, apply the medicine, quick!”

Xia Qing pressed the yellow powder in her hand onto the bleeding wound. Before the blood could wash the powder away, she slapped a leaf over it and held it down firmly.

Every muscle in Xu Yin’s body trembled, and sweat beaded heavily on his forehead.

Yunxiu appeared at the doorway, glanced inside, and said to Li Cunxin, “The meal is ready.”

Li Cunxin steadied herself, tossed the arrow aside, and let out a sigh of relief. “Good, good. Let’s eat first. After all that fuss, everyone must be hungry.”

Xia Qing scurried out, casting a backward glance at the expressionless Xu Yin. She squeezed next to Yunxiu and whispered in her ear, “That guy has such a scary look in his eyes. He’s built like a bear.”

Li Cunxin sat down next to Xu Yin and sized him up carefully.

Xu Yin had been here for over a year, sharing a similar mental journey to Yan Baiyu’s. Neither had been willing to put down roots where they landed. After long, slow travel, one had crossed snow mountains and forests to reach this place, the other had crossed the plains from the southeast to arrive here.

Unlike Yan Baiyu, who even in hardship made sure to keep herself well-groomed, maintaining the last shred of her human dignity, Xu Yin looked like a wild man. His undershirt was so stained with sweat, blood, grime, and dust that its original color was unrecognizable. His hair had grown past his shoulders, tangled in clumps, with bits of grass and debris faintly visible within the knots.

Li Cunxin, however, was not frightened by Xu Yin’s face or his gaze. She now found all sorts of faces merely novel. Moreover, looking at Xu Yin’s features, she felt more than anything a sense of life’s wear and hardship.

Li Cunxin asked Xu Yin, “Why did you have to go digging up seedlings in my field?” Without that incident, the accidental injury that followed might never have happened.

“…In winter, prey is hard to find. For miles around, that patch of seedlings was the only green. I wanted to try my luck, look for some mole holes,” Xu Yin said. “I ruined your field. I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, just a small patch, it doesn’t matter.” Li Cunxin smiled. “How many days has it been since you last ate?”

Xu Yin didn’t answer.

Li Cunxin noticed Yan Baiyu standing stiffly behind Xu Yin, not saying anything, not going to the kitchen to help, just standing there. She said, “What are you standing there for? Come sit down.”

Without a word, Yan Baiyu sat down beside Li Cunxin, positioning herself between Li Cunxin and Xu Yin.

Yunxiu carried the dishes in, Xia Qing hugged the rice bowls. After setting them on the table, Yunxiu said, “We have extra chopsticks, but no extra rice bowls.”

Xu Yin stared at the table; ripples finally stirred in those eyes, which had been like deep abysses or ancient wells.

Li Cunxin said, “Then use one of the serving bowls for rice. We should have extra serving bowls, right?”

“Oh, right.” Yunxiu turned and went back to the kitchen.

The serving bowls were two sizes larger than the rice bowls. Seeing there was an extra person today, Yunxiu had added more rice, generously packing a bowl for him.

Xu Yin held the bowl of firmly packed white rice. The smell rushed straight into his nostrils. A layer of golden, crispy crust lined the edge. Li Cunxin handed him the chopsticks.

He stared blankly for a long moment, then silently accepted them.

Li Cunxin said, “Eat, eat. Any big matters can wait until after the meal.”

The long table, which usually sat four, had an extra person today. It was impossible to squeeze three on one side. Yunxiu and Xia Qing sat on one side, Yan Baiyu and Xu Yin on the other, and Li Cunxin sat facing the door, looking very much like a family elder.

Seeing Xu Yin hadn’t moved, Li Cunxin asked, “Why aren’t you eating? Can you still use your arm?”

Xu Yin just hung his head, looking at the bowl of rice. Then suddenly, he lowered his head and shoveled the rice into his mouth along the edge of the bowl. Unafraid of the heat, he took a massive bite from the firmly packed mound, revealing the bottom of the bowl. Grains of rice clung to his beard, and his puffed, full cheeks were hidden behind it. He barely chewed twice before swallowing.

In the blink of an eye, half the bowl was gone. His throat seemed like a suction vent; a deep inhale, and the rice vanished. Yunxiu and Xia Qing stared dumbfounded. Li Cunxin said, “There are also dishes. If there isn’t enough rice, we have more.”

Yunxiu added, “Yes, I steamed a huge pot.”

Xu Yin ate three large bowls in a row, each packed solid. He even poured the last bit of vegetable juice into his bowl to mix with the rice.

“You really can eat,” Xia Qing gasped, staring at Xu Yin’s stomach and muttering, “Aren’t you afraid of bursting?”

Xu Yin’s appetite for one man matched that of three of them. Even though they hadn’t personally grown this grain, they still felt a pinch of heartache.

Seeing that the sky was about to darken, everyone cleared the bowls and chopsticks.

Yan Baiyu left Beta and Gamma at home, bringing one Gray Wolf with her. She led Li Cunxin all the way to the pond.

In the dusky twilight, the withered grass by the pond’s edge cast blurry, flickering shadows.

Li Cunxin smiled and said, “What words require you to walk this far to tell me? So mysterious.”

Yan Baiyu’s expression was serious as she asked, “Do you want to let Xu Yin stay?”

“Yes,” Li Cunxin said. “He was injured by us accidentally. No matter what, we at least need to wait until his injuries heal…”

“I’m not trying to change your decision,” Yan Baiyu said. “I just want to give you a warning. Xu Yin is a man, and a strong one at that. Now we must add his Hunting talent to the equation. His personal combat strength completely surpasses ours. If he wanted to, he could grab Yunxiu and Xia Qing with one hand each, leaving them unable to resist. Do you understand?”

This world had no laws or order to restrain human nature. A person could commit any insane, beastly act using force alone, without facing punishment. The only constraints were morality and conscience—the most unpredictable and unstable things imaginable.

Yan Baiyu chose her words carefully, not wanting to be too explicit.

“Li Cunxin grasped her arm, “I understand, Baiyu. One must not have a mind to harm others, but one must also have a mind to guard against harm.”

“Let him stay in the storehouse. Knives, tools, and ironware should all be collected and placed in the main room. Make a den in the main room and let Alpha and the others sleep inside at night. Xia Qing stays with you, Yunxiu with me. Wherever we go, we go in pairs. If he shows any abnormal behavior, we drive him away.” Li Cunxin paused. “I’ve thought about this. It’s just… when I meet people, I like to treat them with the presumption that they are good. Especially in this strange world, where we’re all fellow countrymen, all struggling so hard. I always think, help as much as you can. But I know, while we should treat him as if he’s a good person, we must also guard our own safety as if he has bad intentions.”

Li Cunxin added, “It’s just… I get easily heated when I see a living person. I forgot that I’m not living alone anymore, I have you all. I’m sorry. I should have asked for your opinions before bringing him back. If you’re still worried, then I… I’ll think of another way…”

Yan Baiyu was silent for a long moment. As the sky grew darker, her face became indistinct. Li Cunxin couldn’t make out the faint, gentle smile on her lips.

“No need. You’ve already thought it through very thoroughly,” Yan Baiyu said, unable to resist patting Li Cunxin on the head. She was both pleased and surprised by Li Cunxin’s clarity. She wasn’t as naive as she’d assumed.

Li Cunxin clutched her head and laughed. “Why are you patting my head?”

Yan Baiyu withdrew her hand. “I’ll keep Alpha with me and let Beta and Gamma stay with you. From now on, wherever you or Yunxiu go, take them along.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Li Cunxin was persistent. “Why did you pat my head just now?”

Yan Baiyu turned and started walking back toward the adobe house. “Let’s go back. It’s already dark.”

“…” Sometimes Li Cunxin didn’t quite understand Yan Baiyu. Sometimes she was so polite and distant; other times, so caring and gentle.

She just couldn’t figure her out.