After finding a temporary place to settle, Lin Xiao Tian began searching for food in the valley. While the flesh of the monsters could replenish spiritual energy, its taste was truly awful, and Lin Xiao Tian longed for something more human.
He didn't venture too far, as the valley seemed to be in constant motion. If he strayed too far, he feared he might not find Li Xue and Yang Xin upon his return.
Lin Xiao Tian climbed a tall tree, carefully observing the various locations within the forest.
From such a height, he truly began to grasp the moving nature of the place. For instance, the two women's resting spot, initially behind him, inexplicably shifted to his left after half an hour, a transition he barely perceived. However, the changes around him weren't sudden or uniform; they were localized. In half an hour, only two or three spots within a few hundred meters of Lin Xiao Tian had changed, while the rest remained as they were.
As Lin Xiao Tian surveyed his surroundings, he also kept an eye out for prey.
Soon, a commotion caught his attention. The magnitude of the disturbance led him to believe a large creature was approaching. If it were a sizable animal, Lin Xiao Tian would likely abandon the hunt. Such large animals' meat couldn't be consumed in one sitting, and preserving food here was difficult. Letting it spoil could attract other monsters, posing significant trouble for Lin Xiao Tian.
Upon closer inspection, Lin Xiao Tian discovered that the disturbance wasn't caused by an animal, but by a group of people! Their clothes were tattered, and some wore animal hides. Lin Xiao Tian immediately recalled the survivors Yang Xin had mentioned. Could these be them?
Out of caution, Lin Xiao Tian didn't reveal himself but observed from a distance.
After a while, the group settled down nearby. Lin Xiao Tian listened intently to their conversations and realized they were speaking Mandarin. It seemed certain they were the survivors from the exploration team.
"Boss, can we finally eat canned food today?" one of the hide-clad members asked excitedly. This canned food was something they had traded from Wang Li previously. To people outside, it was ordinary fare, but to these stranded survivors, it was a delicacy.
"Heh, I knew you had an ulterior motive. I was wondering why you kept sticking close to me. I thought you'd suddenly gone gay," the boss replied with mock disappointment.
The others burst into laughter.
"Xiao Liu Zi, I think you should just give in to the boss!"
"Hahaha, the boss is so gentle!"
Prodded by the group, Xiao Liu Zi began to panic. "What are you guys doing? The boss is a straight man, don't ruin his reputation!" he shouted.
"Xiao Liu Zi, aren't *you* the one ruining the boss's reputation? The boss just suspected *you* were gay, he didn't say anything about himself?"
Hearing the continuous teasing, Xiao Liu Zi grew even more flustered. They had been trapped here for so long without seeing a single woman, and he himself was fair-skinned and delicate. If some perverts showed up, he would be the victim!
Xiao Liu Zi pondered for a moment, then an idea struck him. "Huh? Didn't that group have two women in their party? What if we captured those two women?"
As soon as Xiao Liu Zi spoke, the atmosphere shifted. Greed flashed across the faces of some of the men. The most senior among them hadn't been with a woman in over a decade. In this environment, some of them had developed psychological issues.
"No, those people have guns. We can't go charging in to our deaths," the boss said decisively, despite his own desires.
"We'll find an opportunity. Even tigers doze off sometimes, let alone them," Xiao Liu Zi added fuel to the fire.
The boss fell silent. Truth be told, ever since he saw the two women in Wang Li's group, he had been restless. Both women were stunningly beautiful. If not for seeing Wang Li's gun at the time, they would have acted then.
"Forget it. We'll plan this later. Let's eat first," the boss said, pulling out the canned food they had traded from Wang Li. After everyone finished eating, they departed.
Lin Xiao Tian vaguely sensed the presence of internal energy fluctuations from several people in the group. However, their internal energy flow was chaotic. Lin Xiao Tian guessed that having survived here for so many years, they must have consumed some monster meat, absorbing a bit of spiritual energy. But lacking the knowledge to utilize it, the energy accumulated internally, with some leaking away. Through some chance, it was converted into internal energy. Nevertheless, their internal energy was not high, at best mid-to-low level, nowhere near comparable to Lin Xiao Tian's.
Later, Lin Xiao Tian finally found something to eat. Several sparrows happened to land on the branch he was on, and he caught them with ease. Lin Xiao Tian also gathered some herbs. Fortunately, the herbs that masked a person's aura were not rare, and he collected them easily.
Night fell. A drizzling rain began to fall in the forest. Fortunately, Lin Xiao Tian had chosen a cave for shelter, preventing them from getting drenched.
Li Xue offered to take turns keeping watch with Lin Xiao Tian, but he refused. Nowadays, he only needed one or two hours of sleep a day to be fully rested, so staying awake at night was not an issue. Moreover, Lin Xiao Tian keeping watch would be far more secure than Li Xue, as he could detect changes in the environment more quickly. However, with Li Xue's persistent insistence and unable to reveal his cultivation, he finally agreed.
Li Xue took the first half of the night, and Lin Xiao Tian took the second half. Yang Xin, lacking professional training, did not participate in the watch.
Rain in the forest was quite cold, especially at high altitudes like Kunlun Mountain. At night, the temperature could even drop to freezing. In other places, they would build a fire, but here, a fire would attract monsters and cause greater trouble.
Li Xue, guarding the cave entrance, was already shivering. Yang Xin, despite wearing the thickest clothes, was also trembling from the cold. Seeing this, Lin Xiao Tian persuaded Li Xue to return inside.
The two women huddled together for warmth inside the cave, while Lin Xiao Tian stood at the entrance, doing his best to block the wind. But it was exceptionally cold tonight. What started as a light rain had turned into hail, and the surroundings began to freeze. Lin Xiao Tian looked at the two women. Li Xue was barely covered, and Yang Xin's clothes only just concealed her body. If this continued, they would freeze to death.
Lin Xiao Tian thought for a moment and finally went to their side. At this moment, only he, who could easily manipulate spiritual energy, was unaffected by the frigid temperatures. He intended to let them know, but as soon as he sat down, they instinctively hugged him, seemingly understanding his presence as a source of warmth. They were clearly freezing…