Chapter 39 Part 1

Li Yuanxi’s heart pounded like there was a giant frog trapped in her chest. Her lashes fluttered. She put her hand over Wei Shu’s.

Wei Shu hugged her for two minutes, rubbed her cheek once more against Li Yuanxi’s back, then let go and took her hand. Seeing Li Yuanxi still standing there, she patted her back to signal they should keep going.

“Mm,” Li Yuanxi said, taking Wei Shu’s hand, feeling a little disappointed. She lamented inwardly, Why couldn’t she have held me a little longer? What a shame.

They walked hand-in-hand through the sparse woods. The sunlight filtering through the leaves was warm. The salty, damp sea breeze rustled the leaves.

Wei Shu watched the dead branches and rotting leaves underfoot, occasionally hearing the chirping of insects. A white seagull flew through the thick canopy overhead. Wei Shu looked up at the sound but only saw a flash of a white tail.

Slap—slap—

The pathfinder stick tapped on the ground and brushed against the wild grass. Wei Shu had gotten into the habit of scanning the woods for edible wild vegetables or herbs.

Most of the edible plants along this route had already been picked clean. She withdrew her gaze, a little disappointed. Li Yuanxi held her hand tightly, sweating but not letting go, and Wei Shu didn’t ask her to.

Neither of them let go. They just continued walking in silent agreement, even when Wei Shu got a little tired, she didn’t call for a break. She just stubbornly followed Li Yuanxi.

The forest around them started getting denser. The stick slap-slap-ped against the ground. The leaves underfoot began to thin, revealing bare black earth.

In this area, a quick glance showed there wasn’t much wild grass. Without needing to stop, they continued climbing. When they reached a large blue stone, Li Yuanxi stopped.

She turned to look at Wei Shu, whose small face was flushed and beaded with sweat. “Let’s rest here. Have something to eat before we go on.”

Li Yuanxi took off Wei Shu’s backpack basket and found a clean rock for her to sit on. She took out some boiled, dried, ready-to-eat venison and handed it to Wei Shu, along with a bottle of cooled boiled water.

“Thanks. Come sit down too.” Wei Shu smiled faintly as she took the venison. “I’m not tired. Are your feet still sore? Do you want a massage?” Li Yuanxi asked, looking at Wei Shu’s feet with concern.

Wei Shu shook her head. She pulled Li Yuanxi down to sit beside her. “They don’t hurt anymore. You’ve walked this whole way too. You must be tired. Just sit down.”

“This little walk is nothing. With you here, I don’t feel tired at all.” Li Yuanxi laughed and slapped her chest, making Wei Shu smile softly. Wei Shu took a refined bite of the dried meat and chewed slowly.

The air-dried and smoked venison was already quite fragrant. Li Yuanxi had boiled it in water and then pan-fried it dry before they left, making it easier for them to eat without worrying about stomach trouble.

They had come up from the direction of the reef cluster, following the paths they usually took, so they hadn’t found anything to pick.

For the next part of their journey, Li Yuanxi planned to cut straight toward the island’s center. She turned to look up the slope at the dense forest, with some waist-high wild grass and low thickets.

She frowned. Pushing through thick woods was easy to scratch your arms. She looked at Wei Shu, who was still eating contentedly, unaware. Li Yuanxi bent down and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind Wei Shu’s ear.

Wei Shu looked up and smiled at Li Yuanxi. In her black, onyx-like pupils, Li Yuanxi could see all the tenderness meant for her.

They rested for a while. Then Li Yuanxi crouched down and used some saved fishing line to tie up the cuffs of Wei Shu’s sleeves, to prevent her wrists and arms from getting scratched.

She meticulously checked Wei Shu’s shoelaces and pant legs. She did everything she could to protect her.

Wei Shu watched Li Yuanxi crouched beside her, carefully checking her sleeves. She reached out and stroked Li Yuanxi’s hair. She looked at her skilled movements. “Have you always been this careful?”

“No way,” Li Yuanxi said without looking up. “I climbed a mountain once that was full of leeches. That’s when I learned to tie up my own cuffs and pant legs.”

“Phew. All set. Let’s go.” Li Yuanxi stood up and dusted off her hands. She looked at Wei Shu, who took the initiative to hug her. Li Yuanxi rubbed her cheek against Wei Shu’s shoulder in a coquettish way. “This is my reward.”

Wei Shu, held in her arms, smiled, her eyes curving. She hugged Li Yuanxi back. It was just a simple hug, but it held a special sweetness.

Li Yuanxi cherished this simple physical contact. She lingered for seven or eight minutes before reluctantly letting go, taking Wei Shu’s hand again to set off.

After going around the large blue stone where they had rested, the path ahead was new territory, one they would have to forge themselves. Li Yuanxi helped Wei Shu climb over a half-meter high ledge.

The deeper they went into the mountains, the more bird calls they heard. The leaves underfoot began to pile up again, filling the air of the woods with a not-so-pleasant smell from years of accumulated decay.

After crossing another ledge, Wei Shu’s sharp eyes spotted a yellow fruit hanging on a tree. “Chuyi, look over there.” Wei Shu patted Li Yuanxi’s shoulder and pointed in the direction.

Li Yuanxi followed her finger. A yellow fruit, the size of a fist, hung high in the tree. Li Yuanxi was stunned. She walked over to the tree and smelled a sweet and sour aroma.

She looked down at the leaf litter on the ground, which had some rotten fruit and signs of being pecked at by birds. Even if they couldn’t identify the tree, the fruit was definitely edible.

Thinking this, Li Yuanxi’s eyes lit up like little lanterns. How long had it been since they’d had any fruit? Aside from the lemons back home, they hadn’t seen any other fruit.

Li Yuanxi turned to look at Wei Shu, who was carefully examining a leaf. She looked up again at the golden fruit on the tree. She looked around, then at her walking stick, and an idea formed.

She took some fishing line from her backpack basket and tied the axe to the walking stick, making a makeshift sickle to cut the branches bearing the fruit.

“It’s a passion fruit,” Wei Shu said, picking up a not-quite-rotten fruit. She had been hoping for fruit, so she was trying hard to identify the tree. When she picked up the unspoiled fruit, she recognized it immediately.

“Yes, I see it’s passion fruit.” Li Yuanxi nodded with a deep sense of agreement, then deliberately handed Wei Shu a perfectly intact, golden passion fruit.

Wei Shu gasped, dropping the bad fruit and taking the perfect one from Li Yuanxi. The sweet and sour scent of the fruit made both their mouths water. They looked at each other and smiled.

“How did you get it down?” Wei Shu asked curiously. She hadn’t seen Li Yuanxi climb the tree. Li Yuanxi smiled mysteriously and held up her homemade long-handled sickle. “See this? This.”

“Clever. Using what you have, adapting.” Wei Shu gave her a thumbs up, praising her without restraint. Li Yuanxi preened, grinning smugly. “Oh, it was nothing. All thanks to President Wei’s excellent guidance.”

“Hahaha, Li Yuanxi, when did I discover you had such a thick skin?” Wei Shu pinched Li Yuanxi’s nose between her thumb and forefinger and gave it a playful tug, making Li Yuanxi open her arms to hug her. Wei Shu dodged, slipping away.

Li Yuanxi wasn’t upset at missing her hug. She caught Wei Shu’s hand and held it in her own. “Let’s check around here. There might be other passion fruits we missed.”

Wei Shu looked around. There was a row of passion fruit trees with the same leaves. She nodded. Li Yuanxi told her to wait there while she searched among the trees.

The passion fruit trees had quite a few fruits, but most had either been knocked off by the sea breeze before they were ripe or had dried up on the branches.

The trees were densely packed together, their branches intertwined. The leaves were thick and lush, making it hard to see the fruit without looking closely.

Li Yuanxi slipped between the trees, occasionally having to crouch and look up. Green leaves and dead leaves tangled together, blocking the view. She searched and searched, but didn’t see any fruit. Finally, she spotted a few among the green leaves.

The yellow fruit was very striking. Li Yuanxi raised her makeshift sickle and carefully applied pressure upwards. The fruit dropped instantly, and Li Yuanxi, with quick eyes and steady hands, caught it, determined not to bruise a single one.

She cut down a total of six passion fruits, and a shower of dead leaves along with them. Li Yuanxi picked them up from the ground and carried them out.

Wei Shu saw her and hurried over. When she saw the leaves in her hair, she reached up to pick them out. Seeing the six passion fruits in Li Yuanxi’s arms, she gasped. “Wow, so many!”

“Yeah. I think there are more inside. I’ll go look again. Since we came all the way out here, we should bring something back.”

Li Yuanxi put the passion fruits in her backpack basket. She picked one, washed it with water, cut it open with her axe, and handed the exposed fruit to Wei Shu. The yellow flesh and seeds gave off a sweet and sour aroma.

Wei Shu took the passion fruit, sniffed it, and quickly scooped a bit into Li Yuanxi’s mouth. Li Yuanxi’s eyes widened. It was sweet at first, but then the sourness hit. It was so sour she almost cried.

Seeing the pained look on Li Yuanxi’s face, Wei Shu chuckled and took a bite herself. It was okay, just a little sharp.

Seeing Li Yuanxi about to spit it out, she warned her lightly, “Don’t you dare spit out the seeds. Eat them. They’re dietary fiber.”

Li Yuanxi, who had been about to spit out the seeds, swallowed them back down with an effort. Wei Shu tried to feed her another bite, but Li Yuanxi shook her head.

Wei Shu wouldn’t let her off that easily. She shoved it right into her mouth. Li Yuanxi pouted, swallowing the sweet and sour fruit with tears in her eyes. She swallowed before she even tasted the sourness.

This was a rare fruit on the island. Passion fruit seeds had unsaturated fatty acids, good for the body. It also helped with bowel movements, cough relief, and fluid production. It was a valuable find.