Chapter 30 p2: Leaving
After returning to the shelter, Yu Chujin ignored the large snake, not even looking at it, and went straight into the shelter.
Angry. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. After being angry for a while, she fell asleep.
She was woken up by hunger. Yesterday, she had been so busy being angry at the large snake that she had gone to sleep without eating dinner.
She had a dreamless night and slept very soundly.
She stretched, yawned, and slowly walked out of the shelter.
“My neck is a little sore,” she held the back of her neck and moved it slightly. “It seems I need to make a pillow. Otherwise, if I always sleep like this, I’ll get cervical spondylosis.”
Every day when she got up, she would stretch her body, shake her neck, twist her waist, and do some chest expansion exercises.
Halfway through, she felt that something was wrong.
What was wrong?
Oh right, the large snake, which would usually coil into a ball and block the entrance to the shelter every night, was not there today.
Yu Chujin had completely forgotten about her argument with the large snake yesterday. She had a bad temper and was unreasonable, but she was also carefree and very forgetful.
Being angry was yesterday’s business. What did it have to do with today?
She looked around and saw the large snake under a tree behind the shelter.
Yu Chujin was puzzled. What was this snake doing, hiding behind a tree by itself?
Not only was it hiding behind a tree, but it was also covered in things. The bottles, foam box, and the pig feed bag she had picked up on the seaside yesterday were all still hanging on the large snake.
Yu Chujin walked over.
“Snake, what’s wrong with you? Why didn’t you put the things down yourself? Did you stand under the tree all night with these things on you?”
“No way. I said you were silly, and you’re really silly. Don’t you know how to put the things on you down and then go to sleep? Do you have to wait for me to help you take them down?”
The large snake buried its face in the tree and didn’t look at her.
Yu Chujin had a puzzled expression. After a moment, she suddenly remembered.
Oh right, they had had a fight yesterday. She had almost forgotten about it.
“No, we just had a small fight. Why are you still holding a grudge after a whole night?”
As she spoke, she frowned, “That’s not right. You were the one who was fierce with me first yesterday. I haven’t even held it against you, and you’re holding it against me? Are you turning the tables again?”
The large snake’s ears were pricked up. It was not difficult to see that it was listening, but its face was completely buried in the tree.
Yu Chujin scratched her head, “Alright, alright, I apologize. Is that okay?”
The large snake’s face was still buried in the tree, motionless.
“I’ve already apologized, and it’s still not okay? A snake is quite petty. What are you doing facing the tree all the time? Are you reflecting on your mistakes?” Yu Chujin was amused.
Yu Chujin walked closer and poked it with her finger.
Its face hit the tree, and it mumbled, “Bad snake, I’m a bad snake, I’m a bad snake.”
Yu Chujin was stunned for a moment. So it wasn’t sulking, but it felt that what it had done yesterday was wrong, that it shouldn’t have bared its fangs at her, and it felt guilty, so guilty that it hadn’t slept all night.
So it really was reflecting on its mistakes by facing the tree.
Yu Chujin laughed in spite of herself.
The large snake hung its head, its ears drooping, and mumbled, “I’m a bad snake, I’m a bad snake.”
As it was mumbling, it brought its head over, “Asking for a beating.”
Yu Chujin placed her hand on its head, but instead of hitting it, she patted it comfortingly, “Not asking for a beating.”
The large snake had already apologized like this and had even consciously reflected on its mistakes by facing the tree all night. Even if Yu Chujin were any angrier, her anger would have dissipated.
Besides, it was just a small matter. After all, it was something she had forgotten after sleeping.
The large snake: “Asking for a beating, I’m a bad snake.”
Yu Chujin: “Not asking for a beating, not a bad snake.”
The large snake raised its head, its eyes welling up with tears, “Bad, I’m bad.”
Yu Chujin’s expression froze slightly. She put away her playful attitude and hugged it.
Although she didn’t take this matter seriously, for the large snake, it seemed very serious, so serious that it felt it had made a huge mistake.
Yu Chujin hugged it and patted it gently, her tone softening.
“Alright, alright, I also have a problem. I clearly knew you didn’t like your ears being touched, but I kept touching them. You were probably just annoyed and had a stress reaction, which is normal. Besides, you just bared your fangs and didn’t really bite me.”
If it had really bitten her, with the large snake’s bite force, Yu Chujin might have been gone.
Yu Chujin’s gaze fell on its ear. Speaking of which, its stress reaction yesterday didn’t seem to be about her touching its ear.
She had been pinching its ear for so long. If it wanted to get angry, it would have gotten angry long ago. And the large snake was not the kind of emotionally unstable snake. On the contrary, its emotions were stable and gentle beyond belief.
Before the large snake had suddenly gotten angry, it seemed she had touched the scale behind its ear.
The scale was very beautiful and would even glow with a cyan fluorescence in the dark.
So, it wasn’t because of the ear, but that scale.
Was that the large snake’s forbidden zone? A forbidden zone that couldn’t even be touched.
Why? Because it was very fragile, and once it was touched, it would trigger its instinctive aggressive nature?
Yu Chujin shook her head and didn’t think too much about it. At worst, she just wouldn’t touch it next time.
“Take the things off your body,” Yu Chujin took off the pile of garbage hanging on its body.
“You’re really a silly one. You stood here all night with these things on you. If I had ignored you all this time, would you have just stood here with these things on you?”
And it was quite possible that this snake would really do that.
After coaxing the snake, Yu Chujin went to the tree, picked up a rock, and carved a vertical line.
The tally marks on the tree trunk were getting more and more numerous.
Yu Chujin sighed and looked at the distant blue sea.
Would a ship appear? The answer was naturally no.
There was so much garbage washed up on the beach. Logically speaking, this place shouldn’t be too far from a human settlement. How could there not be a single passing ship after more than a month?
Waiting indefinitely. Was it the wrong decision?
Perhaps she should take the initiative, build a boat, and row away from this deserted island herself.
Just as the thought arose, a huge wave rolled up in the distance.
With a smack, the wave crashed down, making a huge noise and creating a huge splash.
A person, in the face of such a wave, was weak and vulnerable.
Building a boat and leaving was simply unrealistic. A single wave would not only put her in danger, but the boat would also be smashed to pieces.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to try, but there was no way to try.
In movies and TV shows, the protagonist who was stranded on a deserted island would build a boat and leave. When everyone thought the protagonist would die at sea, there would be a turn of events, and he would be lucky enough to encounter a ship and be rescued.
But that was just an idealized ending. The reality would be that he would die at sea, and there would be no ship at all.
Yu Chujin sighed again.
The large snake, which liked to copy people, was particularly obedient today. Usually, when Yu Chujin sighed, it would sigh along with her on the side, but not today.
It was obedient and quiet, not causing any trouble, not nagging, not even hissing. It was too quiet.
It seemed that the cold shoulder she had given it all night yesterday had given it a psychological shadow, and it hadn’t recovered yet.
She was used to it being noisy. When it wasn’t noisy, Yu Chujin was a little unused to it.
“What’s wrong? We’ve already made up. I’m not holding it against you for being fierce with me. You don’t have to be so careful,” Yu Chujin rubbed its large head.
The large snake blinked its eyes, not saying a word, still looking so careful.
Yu Chujin chuckled.
The large snake stared at her without blinking, judging whether her mood was good or bad, whether she had really forgiven it.
Yu Chujin: “Silly snake.”
The large snake’s eyes lit up.
Yu Chujin gave a thumbs-up, “You’re great, you’re amazing, you’re a good snake.”
After praising it, she patted it again.
The large snake seemed to be instantly recharged. It immediately perked up, no longer looking dejected. The tail behind it secretly began to wag.
“Let’s go. Take me to the stream to wash up. I’ll pack some wood ash first,” Yu Chujin walked towards the bonfire. After walking two steps, she abruptly stopped.
Her sluggish brain suddenly thought of something.
She looked at the boundless sea, then at the large snake, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two.
Yu Chujin suddenly burst out laughing, very suddenly.
Hearing the laughter, the large snake tilted its large head in confusion, left and right.
“I’m so stupid! I’m the silly snake! What ship have I been waiting for? Isn’t the ship right in front of me!!”
Wasn’t the large snake a ready-made ship? A large snake ship that didn’t need fuel and only required a compliment for power.
She didn’t want to wash up anymore. She immediately ran in front of the large snake, speaking and gesturing, asking it to take her to the sea.
The large snake tilted its head, understanding her meaning.
As expected, the large snake took her to the sea. Yu Chujin held on to the large snake tightly the whole time, for fear of falling off.
The snake’s swimming speed in the water was even faster than on land, but it did not swim at full speed because Yu Chujin would not be able to hold on and would be thrown off.
The seawater slapped against her legs again and again, carrying the chill of the early morning.
Yu Chujin had no intention of setting off today. She had the large snake carry her to the sea just to try it out and see if it was possible.
A turbulent wave appeared in front of them, but Yu Chujin did not feel afraid. Instead, she was eager to try.
The wave crashed over, like a devouring mouth, blotting out the sun, terrifying.
Yu Chujin held her breath, trying to lie as flat as possible, hugging the large snake tightly.
Splash.
The wave crashed over, drenching her and almost knocking her off the snake’s back.
The water was cold, but Yu Chujin’s heart was hot.
After passing through this wave, what lay ahead was a flat sea, a boundless sea where she could see freedom.
It was freedom, the hope of leaving!
“Ah! Ahhh!!” Yu Chujin shouted, as if venting.
The large snake twisted its large head to look at her, its eyes full of confusion.
“It’s nothing! I’m happy, very happy!”
The large snake observed her for a few seconds. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, it continued to swim forward.
Yu Chujin patted the large snake, “Alright, that’s enough. Let’s go back.”
She didn’t swim in the sea for too long and returned after half an hour.
She just wanted to verify whether this method was feasible. After half an hour and experiencing two waves, she had fully verified that her idea was feasible.
She had hope of leaving this place.
But she couldn’t be anxious now. With a feasible method of leaving, the next step was preparation.
She had to be fully prepared before she could set off.
She didn’t know how long she would have to swim to reach a place with people. She might have to swim in the sea for a long time. She needed to bring food.
Not only food, but after experiencing half an hour at sea just now, she had also discovered a problem. On land, she was very stable on the large snake’s back, but at sea, it was too bumpy, and she had almost fallen off several times.
In order to sit firmly and steadily, she had to make some preparations, such as tying herself and the large snake together with a rope.
Also, the sun was strong at sea. She had to get something to block the sun over her head to avoid getting sunburned.
What else? What else did she need to prepare?
Yu Chujin racked her brains, for fear of missing something.
She was too excited, and her mind couldn’t calm down at all. She paced back and forth on the sand.
As she paced back and forth, the snake followed by her side, also pacing back and forth.
“Snake, I’m so happy,” Yu Chujin stopped pacing and held the large snake’s face, “super happy.”
The large snake grinned, showing its large white teeth. If its mate was happy, it was happy.
Yu Chujin: “I can leave this place soon!”
The large snake was puzzled and stuttered in human language, “Leave…?”
It often heard Yu Chujin say “leave,” but it didn’t understand its meaning. But for some reason, it didn’t like this word.
It really didn’t like it.
