Chapter 187 - 82: River Valley Plain
April 22nd, before dawn, when the forest was shrouded in a blue-black twilight, Chen Zhou awoke from his sleep.
Sleeping in the open wilderness while still clothed, although the climate wasn't cold, he could never relax like in a cave.
If it weren't for Lai Fu guarding, his vigilance would have been even stronger, waking up at the slightest rustle.
He brushed off the bugs crawling on his body, picked up the long-handled axe beside him, slowly stood up, rubbed his sore back and shoulders, and went to look at Lai Fu.
It lay on the ground, forelegs stretched out, in a posture resembling the Sphinx around the pyramids. Its head initially rested between its two forelegs, but upon hearing movement, it immediately lifted its head, its soft ears striving to perk up, turning to look at Chen Zhou.
Woof~
It barked softly, its eyes no longer as spirited as they were yesterday.
It was clear that after guarding the whole night, it was somewhat fatigued.
"It's okay, I'm awake. You take a rest first; I'll call you when the meal is ready."
He walked over, rubbed Lai Fu's big head with a bit of heartache, consoling it.
Woof~
With a low growl from its throat, Lai Fu rubbed its head against Chen Zhou's calf, relaxed its body, and lay down in a relatively comfortable position, closing its eyes.
The sky was still dim, and everything in the forest had hazy edges.
A thin layer of mist flowed around the treetops, drifting with the wind.
The air carried the unique crisp chill of early morning. If the wind brushed your face, it would wake you abruptly from the grogginess of just getting up, as if refreshed by mint.
He found a dead tree, casually chopped off some already withered branches, split them, and set up a new bonfire.
Without any spare drinking water to wash the cookware, he plucked a few leaves to wipe the inside of the small pot, and used a thin twig to scrape the grease from the corners.
Refilling with water, he reused last night's framework and started cooking.
Having lived on the island for so long, he was no longer unfamiliar with most trees.
Although he still didn't know their scientific names.
But he knew a lot about the quality of the wood, whether the foliage was poisonous, what the flowers looked like, and the size of the fruits.
Especially trees with larger leaves, because it involved important issues like "whether it's comfortable for wiping your butt, and whether it would tear", they were given more attention.
If he accidentally used poisonous leaves to wipe, at best it would itch and develop rashes, at worst it would cause pain and swelling, making it impossible to lie down for several days.
Chen Zhou dared not take such a risk.
While cutting trees in the forest, he often observed the ones almost untouched by insects, where the leaves showed no nibbles and the bark had no scars.
Or he would cut the bark, tear the leaves, and lightly sniff the sap for any acrid smell.
Sometimes, when catching a slug-like creature, he would apply tree sap on it to see what reaction it had.
Through this method of observation, he discovered a tree with reddish-brown bark and the milky white sap underneath was the most venomous.
The sap released by that tree had a pungent stench that was off-putting. Dabbed with a short twig on slug-like insects, it took only seconds to kill them.
Chen Zhou knew of a tree called the "Blood Seal Throat", whose sap was extremely toxic, so he named this reddish-brown tree similarly—the "Crane Top Red Tree".
Even though the knowledge gained from experience was just "knowing without understanding", it played an irreplaceable role in life.
Without these usual accumulations, Chen Zhou wouldn't dare recklessly pluck a few leaves to wipe the pot.
...
After a simple breakfast, more than a third of the stored cooled boiled water had been consumed.
Seeing that the bonfire hadn't extinguished, Chen Zhou poured the little water left in the bottle, rinsed the metal pot.
Subsequently, he carried the empty bottle to the river, filled it with water, then poured it into the metal pot. After boiling, he rinsed the bottle with the hot water before refilling it with the boiled water.
During the journey, this hot water would gradually cool, and when it was time for lunch or dinner, it could be consumed normally.
He gave Lai Fu a piece of bread softened with meat broth, took out a can of rabbit meatballs, shared a few somewhat greasy meatballs with Lai Fu, packed up his belongings, covered the ashes of the bonfire with soil, and Chen Zhou continued along the river.
...
The red sun rose, and the temperature in the forest climbed rapidly.
Fortunately, the canopy provided shade, making the surface temperature tolerable.
The river meandered, and the closer it got to the end, the higher the terrain became, making the path increasingly difficult.
Slippery blue rocks, dense vines, short cliffs, gullies, and the progressively turbulent river water slowed Chen Zhou's progress.
At noon, he stopped in a ravine between two mountain peaks to make a fire and cook. Standing at a high vantage point looking down, he finally realized that this river was probably far from the River Valley Plain described in books.
Going further might indeed find the source of the water, but this source was likely not a small stream, rather groundwater gushing from the rocks.
Taking advantage of the open view without trees blocking his sight, he climbed a bit higher, circled to an open area, and gazed into the distance.
To the north of the mountain ridge beneath his feet was a barren mountain.
The peak seemed like it had been decapitated, with a flat top, bordered in black. Below the black, many low trees covered it.
The features of that mountain clearly indicated it was a volcano, probably an extinct one.
"I wonder how long it's been since this volcano last erupted, and whether the nutrients in the volcanic ash have been absorbed by the vegetation below."