Chapter 50: Fifty

When she woke from her nap, Li Yuanxi felt a little cold. She opened her eyes and turned to look at the fire. The flames had died down. She loosened her arms around Wei Shu, who had curled into her during sleep.

Li Yuanxi straightened her clothes, slowly put on her shoes, and sat by the fire to add more firewood. She looked at the neatly stacked logs nearby—enough to last a long time.

Outside the cave, there was also a pile of firewood covered with plastic sheeting. They had been collecting wood whenever they could, stockpiling for winter.

Li Yuanxi watched the flames rise, a flicker of thought in her eyes, but she let it go. She and Wei Shu had discussed whether to keep making smoke signals.

Wei Shu had suggested they stop for now. They’d made smoke signals before, and even laid out an SOS sign on the beach with stones that couldn’t be blown away.

Earlier, they had made salt over a fire and smoked wild goose meat there, both of which created smoke. Especially during the goose meat process, they had smoked for many days and nights.

For months, no helicopters or rescue teams had appeared. Now that it was colder, they couldn’t spare firewood for smoke signals. They had to consider their own survival first.

Maybe, as Shu Shu said, they had strayed too far from the flight path. The main search team might even be looking for the black box.

Almost no one would believe anyone survived such a plane crash. Airplanes are the safest mode of transport, but when accidents happen, survival is nearly impossible.

The black box is in the tail. She and Wei Shu had been in first class, near the front. If the black box was found, the airline might stop searching.

It had been almost three months. Li Yuanxi sighed softly and stopped thinking about it.

From the start, they hadn’t pinned all their hopes on rescue. They’d focused more on how to survive and keep living on this island.

Wei Shu stirred in bed, her lashes fluttering. She opened her dark eyes, yawned lazily, and sat up slowly.

Li Yuanxi promptly handed her a cup of hot water, feeding it to her lips. Wei Shu drank slowly from her hand.

Wei Shu leaned against Li Yuanxi, not wanting to move. She suddenly remembered something important. “Chuyi, if I just eat and don’t exercise all winter, will I get fat?”

“Well, maybe. But that’s fine. You’re too thin. Some extra fat would insulate you from the cold.” Li Yuanxi rattled off the benefits of gaining weight, earning a roll of Wei Shu’s eyes.

Did she want a science lecture?

“But I’d still like you even if you were fat, hehe.” Li Yuanxi ended with that, making Wei Shu somewhat satisfied.

They hugged again, sticky and sweet. Li Yuanxi drained the rest of Wei Shu’s hot water, then leaned in and kissed her rosy lips. Wei Shu turned her head into Li Yuanxi’s embrace, tilting her chin up to receive the kiss.

In the following days, when the sun came out, they sat outside the cave for a while. The rest of the time, they huddled inside. With nothing to do, they watched Li Yuanxi exercise.

Occasionally, Wei Shu would do yoga. Her poses were perfect and graceful. Li Yuanxi stared at her back like a lovesick fool, not daring to disturb.

It wasn’t until the second deer hide was fully dried that Li Yuanxi considered hunting again.

After seven or eight sunny days, strong winds of force eight or above started blowing in from the sea. Walking outside felt like being slapped by the wind.

“We can wait a few more days,” Wei Shu said, looking at the oppressive dark clouds pressing down on the island. Sparse, light rain had been falling for days, and Li Yuanxi was itching to go hunting again.

“If I don’t go now, it might be harder later,” Li Yuanxi replied. Staying in the cave was fine, but if it got colder, the deer hides could be made into blankets to ward off the cold.

Their bed had been lined with wild grass, washed and dried for days. Now they’d woven it into a mattress, covered with clothes, making the wooden bed feel less cold.

If the temperature kept dropping, the blanket wouldn’t be enough. They’d freeze.

In the end, Li Yuanxi still went out. As she left, she kissed Wei Shu’s worried eyes, telling her to close them. She whispered in her ear, “Wait for me. I’ll be quick.”

Li Yuanxi put on the deer hide coat Wei Shu had specially made, covering both front and back. The hide perfectly protected her torso. This time, she went alone.

In winter, with less food on the mountain, the deer either went to the small ponds or wandered near the lower half of the island, because the middle had scarce food.

Li Yuanxi took her bow and arrows and her pathfinder stick, which had a sharp iron piece tied to it to use as a throwing spear. She was well prepared.

She first returned to the area where the deer used to graze. Nothing. Then she checked the trap she’d dug earlier. Before she got close, she heard a commotion.

Li Yuanxi rushed over. A porcupine, its back pierced, was scrambling around in the pit. Seeing her, it made excited snorting sounds, trying to climb out.

Li Yuanxi estimated the porcupine weighed forty or fifty jin. She tightened her grip on the pathfinder stick. The trap had been set for nearly half a month, and this was the first prey to fall in.

The island was only so big. As prey animals roamed, they could eventually fall into her trap.

Li Yuanxi saw the blood had stopped on the porcupine’s leg. It had probably been in the pit for a day or two.

She struck quickly, killing the porcupine with the pathfinder stick. It was fairly fat, likely with plenty of fat.

This trip had yielded prey, not her desired deer, but tens of jin of meat nonetheless.

Li Yuanxi skinned it on the spot and dismantled the trap. She still needed two deer, but she had enough meat now. No need to keep extra traps that would deplete the island’s food.

Wei Shu saw Li Yuanxi back home less than an hour later, carrying cut meat on her back. She was confused. “Did the deer come to you today?”

“Not deer, a porcupine. Look, a whole basketful of meat!” Li Yuanxi set the basket down for Wei Shu to see, with white fat on top.

She pointed at the fat. “You can render this. It’ll give us plenty of lard, which tastes better than deer tallow.”

“Okay, you go on with your work.” Already used to this, Wei Shu waved her hand, telling Li Yuanxi to drink some hot water and go. She knew what to do.

Li Yuanxi nodded with a smile. She took Wei Shu’s hand, looking at her expectantly. Wei Shu understood—she wanted a reward. She leaned in and kissed Li Yuanxi’s cold cheek. Satisfied, Li Yuanxi left.

This time, Wei Shu would later regret deeply. If she had known Li Yuanxi would come back with a high fever, she would never have let her out.

But by then, it was too late.

Li Yuanxi wiped her nose, which was runny from the cold wind. The tip was red and chafed from rubbing.

She held her bow, focusing on a wild deer drinking at a pond—a young buck, nearly adult. It took a sip, then flicked its tail.

Li Yuanxi had tracked it for a while, hiding behind a tree for an hour before slowly approaching. The buck was cautious. Any slight sound made it stop and look around.

She was afraid of scaring it off. Chasing it again would be troublesome.

The deer’s ears perked up alertly. Li Yuanxi thought quickly, picked up a stone, and threw it hard. At the same moment, she hurled the pathfinder stick.

A shadow flew. The stone splashed into the pond, startling the deer, which jumped back. The stick struck it hard in the back. Terrified, it bolted.

Li Yuanxi ran forward, grabbed the bloodstained stick, and chased.

The young deer, panicked by the pain in its back, ran blindly. Li Yuanxi followed the tracks. The wound was deep and wouldn’t heal quickly.

She chased without pause, weaving through trees and rocks, sprinting like the wind. Cold air rushed into her lungs.

She felt no cold, only the thrill of the hunt. Sweat seeped out, and her pheromones bore down on the deer.

Alpha pheromones naturally suppress other creatures. In ancient times, pheromones were like animal urine—used to mark and intimidate prey and enemies.

Now, she was unconsciously releasing the dangerous essence of an alpha.

The young buck ran toward its parents. When it joined the herd, over a dozen deer bolted in all directions. If deer parents could talk, they’d curse it for bringing disaster home.

Hoofbeats echoed through the forest. Li Yuanxi worried about encountering aggressive deer, so she stopped. At that moment, the long-threatened rain finally started.

Cold raindrops hit her face, but didn’t dampen her determination to catch the deer.

Li Yuanxi stayed cautious, following the blood trail. This time, the young buck wasn’t as unlucky as the previous one that broke its leg.

This one led her halfway around the island. They ran for hours. When Li Yuanxi got tired, she took shelter under a tree.

Finally, the bleeding, exhausted buck led her to the beach, with Li Yuanxi occasionally shooting arrows to keep the pressure on.

The chase ended at a familiar spot. Li Yuanxi struck suddenly, driving the stick into the deer’s neck. Blood spurted out.

Expressionless, Li Yuanxi wiped the blood from her face. She pulled out her short knife and finished it off. She hoisted the deer and quickly skinned it, using vines and branches to stretch the hide for drying.

The hot venison steamed in the cold air. Li Yuanxi’s hair was soaked, but she paid no attention, rapidly cutting the meat into pieces and placing them in her basket.

When she returned with the heavy basket, Wei Shu saw her completely drenched and her expression changed. The thin rain had soaked through everything.

“Little Shu, I’m back.” Li Yuanxi’s eyes sparkled at Wei Shu. Her face was flushed, and her hands were still smeared with blood, dripping in the rain.

Wei Shu ignored the basket, pulled the person inside with a dark face, and had her wash her freezing hands and face in warm water.

She immediately grabbed a towel to dry Li Yuanxi’s hair. “Don’t.” Li Yuanxi dodged, giving Wei Shu a placating smile. “My hair’s bloody. I want to wash.”

Wei Shu agreed, pouring hot water and adding cold. She wanted Li Yuanxi to wash in the cave, but Li Yuanxi refused and took the hot water to the bathroom.

Worried she’d get cold, Wei Shu also carried a bucket of water and followed her. The fine rain made her shiver.

She pursed her lips, hoping Chuyi’s body was strong enough not to get sick. Her eyes dimmed. She knew it was unlikely. Getting soaked for so long, catching a cold was almost inevitable.

She could only pray for a mild cold. Please.