Shelter

Seeing Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu pin down the bamboo basket covering the pheasant, Ye Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. Today's dinner and something to bribe Pu Zhi with were secured. With this, Ye Yun needed to alter his plans slightly. He no longer intended to bring Pu Zhi meat; instead, he planned to trade this pheasant for some vegetables. He even had someone in mind for the trade. Thinking of this, Ye Yun glanced at the excited Zhang Xiaofan.

In the end, the pheasant went to Zhang Xiaofan. In exchange, Ye Yun received two bowls of rice and some vegetables, while Lin Jingyu got a chicken wing and three sparrows. Everyone was happy with the arrangement.

After dividing everything up, the three continued their great sparrow-roasting endeavor. After eating six sparrows, Ye Yun no longer felt hungry, though he was not full either. Remembering the fish he had seen in the small stream earlier, Li Yun began considering things again. After discussing it with Zhang Xiaofan and the others, the three decided to give it a try. In the end, because Ye Yun was the youngest, he was left behind to watch the traps, while Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu took fish spears carved from sticks to the riverbank to spear fish.

Around noon, Ye Yun happily took the two sparrows trapped beneath the bamboo basket, tied their legs together, and set up the basket again. Just then, delighted shouts from Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu came from the woods. When they emerged, Ye Yun was surprised to see that both of them were carrying fish. The fish were plentiful and of decent size. Even the smallest was as wide as two adult fingers, while the largest was nearly four fingers wide. Between them, they had caught seven fish. Three fish about three fingers wide had already been cleaned, clearly intended for lunch.

After Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu took the fish home and returned, the pile of firewood was lit again. With their experience roasting sparrows, the three had become much more skilled at grilling. Soon, tempting aromas drifted through the deserted little corner once more. Half an hour later, Ye Yun lay on the grass with a satisfied expression. Zhang Xiaofan and the others copied him, and beneath the shade of the trees beside the woods, three peaceful-looking children appeared.

Ye Yun's body was still small, and he did not have as much energy as Zhang Xiaofan and the others. After running around all morning, he had long since become exhausted. Once he lay down on the grass, he quickly fell asleep. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu discussed it and decided to head home first. Their parents should be back by now, and they needed to explain the situation here. Zhang Xiaofan in particular also needed to tell his parents to make more food for dinner tonight.

Ye Yun knew nothing of this. He had long since entered dreamland. When he woke again, the sun was already close to setting in the west. Only Zhang Xiaofan remained here waiting for him; Lin Jingyu had disappeared somewhere.

Seeing Ye Yun wake up, Zhang Xiaofan smiled and explained, "When we saw you were asleep, we took the things back first and told our families about it. Jingyu got bored staying here and went off to spear fish. Should we wait here for Jingyu to come back, or go spear fish together?"

Hearing Zhang Xiaofan's explanation, Ye Yun felt warmth in his heart. He truly had not expected Zhang Xiaofan to wait here for him for so long. For that alone, Ye Yun decided that as long as he made it through this safely, he would do everything he could to help Zhang Xiaofan in the future and would not let the tragedies of the original story happen to him.

Zhang Xiaofan did not yet know that because of this one wait today, his entire life would change. Nor did he know what he would think if he learned all of this in the future. Of course, that was a matter for later.

Although he already had something to win Pu Zhi's favor, Ye Yun did not want to place his fate entirely in someone else's hands. He therefore rejected Zhang Xiaofan's suggestion. He needed to make another preparation. He planned to find a cave outside the village and spend the night there, only coming out tomorrow morning. However, to avoid being overlooked by Tian Buyi when he came to take Zhang Xiaofan and the others away, Ye Yun intended to bring Zhang Xiaofan along to find a suitable cave together.

Cao Miao Village was surrounded by mountains, but they were not rocky mountains, so finding a cave would be somewhat difficult. Yet when Pu Zhi and Dao Xuan fought in the television drama, they had somehow ended up in a cave. It also seemed that Bi Yao had once fallen into an underground pit nearby. Thus, Ye Yun decided to look around. Naturally, he would not look for the cave from the original story where Pu Zhi and the others entered, the one with a hole in its ceiling. That was not seeking refuge; it was seeking death.

Using the excuse that they were looking for a cave to serve as their future barbecue base, Ye Yun successfully fooled Zhang Xiaofan. After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xiaofan told Ye Yun that he knew of a cave that perfectly met Ye Yun's requirements, and it was not far away.

Upon hearing this, Ye Yun was overjoyed and hurriedly had Zhang Xiaofan lead him there. When he saw the cave Zhang Xiaofan had mentioned, his eyes lit up. Its entrance was just over a meter high, just enough for one person to enter. The cave was not deep, only about four meters, and was oval in shape. Inside, it was very dry. As long as they laid down some straw, it would make an excellent shelter.

"Good, this is the one. It's not far from the village, only a few dozen meters away, so it'll be convenient to go back and forth. Let's find some straw. Once we spread it out, this will be our secret base from now on." After merely looking over the cave inside and out, Ye Yun settled on it. He was extremely satisfied.

Since it was summer, they only needed to lay down a layer of straw to keep themselves off the ground. The place with the most straw was the meadow where they had previously looked for rice ears. Zhang Xiaofan thought Ye Yun was too small to carry much straw, so he told him to find Lin Jingyu by the river and said he would handle the straw himself. Ye Yun was happy to take it easy, so he eagerly ran off to find Lin Jingyu.

When Ye Yun arrived at the riverbank, Lin Jingyu was standing knee-deep in the stream, holding a fish spear carved from wood and staring intently at the water before him. Ye Yun had just been about to call out to him when Lin Jingyu suddenly gave a low shout. The fish spear in his hand shot into the water with a swoosh, and he then raised it with a laugh. At its tip, a fish as thick as three fingers had been firmly skewered.

"Damn, just how stupid are these fish? I thought that stuff on TV was all staged. I can't believe I'm seeing the real thing now." Ye Yun stared at the scene before him in stunned disbelief.

Lin Jingyu, who was walking toward the shore with the fish, spotted Ye Yun on the bank and said in surprise, "Hey, Xiao Yun, you're finally awake? Where's Xiaofan?"

Ye Yun nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm awake. Xiaofan and I found a good place. Xiaofan told me to come find you."

Lin Jingyu looked at the sun on the horizon and nodded. "The sun's about to set. We should head back soon too. Once I sort out these fish, I'll come with you." As he spoke, Lin Jingyu walked toward a small pool by the shore surrounded by stones. Only then did Ye Yun notice that there were actually several fish in the pool.