The first ray of sunlight spilled across the earth, illuminating Li Qiu's childish yet mature, thin and resolute face. Feeling that beam of sunlight, Li Qiu's eyelids twitched slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Everything glistened in the sunshine. The morning dew coated the trees in the forest with a sparkling, radiant coat, and insects and birds began to chirp.
Li Qiu had never appreciated nature from such a high vantage point. Suddenly, his heart felt wide open and his mood lifted greatly, much of the unease caused by last night's events washing away.
Just then, Li Zhuo's duck-like voice rang out from under the tree: "Big brother, big brother, it's time, hurry down... Why aren't you down yet? Could it be you're still not fully awake?"
Li Qiu hurriedly replied, "I'm coming down right now." With that, he got up and lowered himself, only to find that his body no longer ached as unbearably as it had last night.
When Li Qiu returned to the camp, the other three had already packed up and were warming the leftover meat from last night for breakfast. Zheng Shude walked up to Li Qiu and apologized, "I slept too soundly last night and forgot to take watch for big brother. Please don't blame me."
"It's fine, nothing happened anyway." Li Qiu smiled, patted Zheng Shude on the shoulder, and sat down to eat with the three of them.
As the four of them were eating, while Li Qiu was still dwelling on what happened last night, Wang Suo paused, hesitated for a moment, and said to the three of them, "After we went to sleep last night, I got up to relieve myself and had a vague feeling that something was watching me, as if it were tracking us."
Li Qiu looked at Wang Suo in surprise, never expecting that Wang Suo could also sense that gaze.
Li Zhuo interrupted him, unconvinced, "Nonsense! How come I didn't feel anything when I got up to pee last night? Tracking? Zheng Shude and I searched five miles upstream and five miles downstream along the riverbank yesterday, and we didn't find a thing. Were you scared out of your wits by those three big beasts? Hhahahaha..."
With that, he started bragging again about how things went yesterday.
"Big brother, second brother, third brother," Zheng Shude also stopped eating and said, "I also feel like something is tracking us."
Li Zhuo nearly choked to death and immediately protested, "Fourth brother, why are you joining in on the nonsense?"
"I felt it too," Li Qiu sighed and said slowly.
Li Qiu froze on the spot.
One person's feeling might be wrong, but if three people felt it at the same time, it meant that something was definitely tracking them, or at least not far behind them.
Li Zhuo was stunned, Wang Suo and Zheng Shude were panicked, and Li Qiu felt a bitter ache in his heart.
Because that feeling of being watched almost drove him to "go mad with anxiety."
Except for Li Zhuo, all three of them wore solemn expressions. The relaxed, carefree mood they had when leaving their hometown had long since dissipated.
As the eldest brother, Li Qiu knew he must not lose his composure, because doing so would only make matters worse. So he calmed his mind and reassured Wang Suo and Zheng Shude, "I think it's very likely that the bloody smell of those three big beasts has attracted other prey. We just need to handle it carefully."
Hearing this, the panic in Wang Suo and Zheng Shude's hearts subsided a lot.
That must be the reason. The smell of blood would attract prey; however, the source of the smell included tigers and leopards, so even prey that caught the scent would have to think twice. Perhaps that was why they could only track the four of them without attacking.
Li Qiu called over Li Zhuo, who was still standing there in a daze, and the four of them discussed a countermeasure. Li Zhuo was absent-minded, still acting foolish and dazed, and wouldn't speak at all. Ignoring him, Li Qiu finalized a plan with Wang Suo and Zheng Shude: they would only travel sixty miles a day; they would walk along the riverbank and not separate under any circumstances; and they must go in groups of two when searching for prey or relieving themselves. Fortunately, all four were men, so there was no real inconvenience, and they readily agreed to the final rule.
The four then packed their gear and continued on their journey.
With a plan in place, Li Qiu, Wang Suo, and Zheng Shude felt much more at ease. While they couldn't act as if nothing had happened, at least they no longer showed the panic they had felt before.
As for Li Zhuo, his initial daze was gone, replaced entirely by a look of absolute terror. After all, he was the only one who hadn't sensed whatever damned tracking nonsense there was, and he had no idea what kind of creature was following them.
The unknown was always the most mysterious, and the most mysterious things were the most terrifying.
Li Zhuo's mind was locked in an intense battle. The creature tracking him flashed repeatedly in his head: for a moment, it was a giant snake with nine heads, a body as thick as a water vat, and dozens of feet long, forking its tongue and opening its huge mouth to viciously pounce on him, swallowing him alive in one gulp; for a moment, it was a monster as tall as an elephant with a lion's head, raising a barrel-thick foot to stomp down hard on him until—*squish*—Li Zhuo was turned into a pile of minced meat; for a moment, it was a monstrous bird the size of a house, with wolf-like eyes, a three-foot-long beak, and a wingspan of dozens of yards, slashing at him with claws like sharp blades until—*crack*—it sliced him into seventeen or eighteen pieces...
Li Zhuo shuddered violently, feeling the air turn bitterly cold, and involuntarily wrapped his clothes tighter around himself. Looking dejected, he put away his folding fan and stopped playing the part of the dashing Young Lord.
Seeing this, Li Qiu knew that Li Zhuo had been pampered since childhood and had never encountered such dangerous circumstances. Running into the three big beasts had initially excited and frightened Li Zhuo, and when they managed to take down all three, Li Zhuo must have been overjoyed, thinking travel outside was thrilling. Yet, just as he was at his happiest, this potential danger dashed cold water all over him. Who could take such a blow, let alone Li Zhuo, who was only a thirteen-year-old child after all?
Unable to bear it, Li Qiu slowed his pace, waited for Li Zhuo to catch up, and when walking side by side with him, gently put an arm around Li Zhuo's shoulder and patted him reassuringly. "Second brother, don't panic. What is there to fear? Not to mention just one beast, even with three big beasts, didn't our brothers join forces and effortlessly make them kill each other, reaping a huge reward? If it doesn't come, fine; but if it dares to show up, we'll skin it, eat its meat, drink its blood, and carve its bones into dominoes to play with."
Hearing this, Li Zhuo's expression brightened considerably. "Right, right! We weren't afraid of three big beasts, let alone just one. If it dares to come, we'll beat it to a pulp, send it running with its tail between its legs, and smash its bones to pieces..."
With a sharp *snap*, he opened the folding fan in his hand, shook it a few times like a romantic dandy, and even looked radiant with excitement.
Seeing Li Zhuo go from a frost-bitten eggplant to his usual self in the span of a moment, Wang Suo and Zheng Shude were so astounded by the dramatic contrast that they almost collapsed with laughter.
Now in high spirits, Li Zhuo reverted to his old habits and couldn't help cracking jokes. With Li Zhuo as their resident clown, the group filled the road with laughter once more, as if they had completely forgotten about the danger tracking them from behind.
In the forest behind them, the thick fallen leaves were crunched beneath something's feet, making a rustling sound—a stride that was firm, powerful, steady, and relentless...