That night, Lin Xuan cleaned Panda Cub up and fed it some milk.
Then he went to check on Panda Mother and her family. Seeing that they were asleep as well, Lin Xuan finally returned to his tent with peace of mind.
"Hiss~"
Xiao Qing watched from outside the tent, looking like she wanted to go in but did not dare, which made her seem rather adorable.
"Xiao Qing, do you want to come in?"
Seeing her hesitation, Lin Xuan smiled.
After hearing Lin Xuan's words, Xiao Qing waited a few seconds before slowly slithering into the tent.
"Sleep beside me. It's getting late, and I need to sleep too."
"Ah, my Xiao Qing is no longer pure! Sleeping with a man out in the wilderness!"
"Wuwu, Xiao Qing, you can't! Leave the tent now! How can you sleep with a man?"
"My Xiao Qing has already been tainted."
"I'm so mad."
"Stop acting cute, person above. Xiao Qing is obviously the streamer's. What's wrong with her sleeping beside him?"
"Besides, you're only talking big in the livestream room. If you were really told to sleep beside a venomous snake, you'd probably be too scared to sleep at all."
"I remember reading a news story before. A man was traveling and sleeping outdoors when a venomous snake crawled beside his pillow and slept next to him."
"In the middle of the night, the man woke up and was so frightened by the snake that he suffered a mental breakdown."
"So forget it. I don't believe the viewers in the livestream room are all that brave."
"Alright, everyone, it's time for the streamer to sleep too. It's getting late, so you should all get some rest as well. Good night."
With that, Lin Xuan ignored the wails of the viewers in the livestream room and directly shut it down.
After zipping up the tent, Lin Xuan lay in his sleeping bag. He glanced at the White-lipped Bamboo Viper beside him, smiled faintly, and closed his eyes.
In the middle of the night, a deafening clap of thunder suddenly exploded across the sky!
The thunderbolt jolted Lin Xuan awake from his sleep.
He sprang up at once. Listening to the thunder outside, his expression immediately changed.
"Oh no, it's going to rain!"
Sensing the commotion, the White-lipped Bamboo Viper beside him stirred and raised the upper half of her body. She had heard the thunder as well.
"Hiss~"
"Little one, stop sleeping. It's probably about to rain. We need to pack up quickly."
With that, Lin Xuan crawled out of his sleeping bag, took out a flashlight, and unzipped the tent.
As soon as he stepped outside, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating the darkness.
He had set up his tent in a relatively low-lying spot. It was fine if it did not rain, but if the rain became too heavy, the floodwater would wash the tent away in no time.
So there was no time to waste.
He hurriedly packed up the tent and put it in the car, then grabbed a large insulated box and headed toward Panda Mother.
As soon as he reached Panda Mother, he saw that she was somewhat agitated.
Perhaps she sensed that rain was coming.
Panda Mother's location was not good either. If a torrential downpour came, this place would turn into a puddle as well.
Now, Lin Xuan could only have Panda Mother take her cubs and evacuate.
"Wu wu!!"
When Panda Mother saw Lin Xuan arrive, she let out a soft cry.
"Don't worry, it's me. I'm here to take you away from this place."
Lin Xuan soothed Panda Mother, went over to her side, opened the insulated box, and said, "I'll put your cubs in the insulated box first, then you'll come with me and leave this place. Judging by things, there's going to be a torrential downpour."
"Squeak squeak~"
Panda Mother nodded, then stood on all fours and followed behind Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan led her to his off-road vehicle.
Then he opened the door and had Panda Mother climb into the back seat.
"Come on, get in. I'll drive you away from here."
Panda Mother naturally trusted Lin Xuan completely, so after hearing him, she did not hesitate in the slightest and climbed straight into the back seat.
Lin Xuan shut the door and found the White-lipped Bamboo Viper.
"Xiao Qing, come here. Get in the car."
He placed Xiao Qing in the front passenger seat, along with the large and small insulated boxes.
Then he took out the key and started the car.
The headlights came on, and then the car started moving.
Rumble!!
Just as Lin Xuan's car started, another thunderclap boomed through the sky.
Right after that, Lin Xuan heard rain striking the roof of the car.
"Phew, good thing we made it in time. A few minutes later, and we'd have been soaked."
Lin Xuan stepped on the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and drove the off-road vehicle away from there.
The rain outside grew heavier and heavier, and before long, the road was becoming hard to see.
Since it was a mountain road and the rain had washed over it, the roadside was full of potholes and difficult to navigate.
The vehicle jolted continuously along the way.
Panda Mother, seated in the back, let out soft whimpers.
She looked rather uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, Panda Mother. We'll be home soon."
Lin Xuan reassured her, his eyes fixed intently on the road ahead.
Suddenly, the sound of falling rocks came from somewhere not far ahead.
Lin Xuan glanced over and saw a massive boulder tumbling down the mountainside in front of them.
.
If that boulder landed directly on the road, they could forget about continuing forward.
The torrential rain had only been falling for a short while, yet there was already a rockslide. If they stayed on this road too long, they would only be in greater danger.
So Lin Xuan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and slammed his foot down on the accelerator. With a roar, the off-road vehicle rapidly picked up speed.
Lin Xuan gripped the steering wheel tightly. He had no intention of driving himself and the car over the cliff.
Just as the falling boulder drew closer and closer to the road, Lin Xuan's car finally made it through.
One second after they passed, the enormous boulder crashed onto the road, shook the ground, and continued rolling downhill.
Lin Xuan looked through the rearview mirror and felt a chill run down his back. If he had been one step slower, not only he, but Panda Mother, Panda Cub, and the White-lipped Bamboo Viper in the car would all have been struck by the boulder. The vehicle would have been smashed and sent plunging down with it.
But they had made it through safely.
The road ahead was much smoother.
But the rain outside was still pouring down violently.
Lin Xuan figured that with rain this heavy, it probably would not stop until daylight tomorrow.
After driving on for a few more minutes, Lin Xuan saw the lights of the village.
This was the village where he had lived for more than twenty years.
"Panda Mother, Xiao Qing, we're almost home."
As home drew nearer and nearer, a deep sense of safety seemed to fill his heart.
Before you continue