Upstream

With his plan settled, Lu Heng lingered no longer. He wiped the surface mud off the four wild radishes and put them straight into his bracelet's storage space, then looked farther upstream, intending to keep exploring deeper and find patches of wild radishes.

The cold rain continued to drizzle, its strands growing colder as the river wind drove them through gaps in his hides. Lu Heng pulled the two layers of thick hide tighter around himself and walked slowly upstream along the bank with steady steps. The rain had soaked the earth into soft muck, and every step left a shallow muddy footprint.

After he had walked a little over a hundred meters, a pale brown wooden corner jutted out from the dense, dark green shrubs along one side of the bank.

It was a treasure chest.

Lu Heng stopped at once, his gaze settling on the thick bushes as he inwardly put himself on guard. The vegetation here was far too dense to see through, making it all too easy for something to hide. To be safe, he would test it before approaching.

He bent down and picked up two fist-sized stones beside his feet, then hurled them accurately into the dense shrubs surrounding the chest from three or four meters away.

Two dull thuds rang out as the stones struck the vegetation. Branches and leaves shook, and muddy water splashed, but the depths of the bushes remained quiet. No living creature stirred, nor was there any sign of a hidden ambush.

Only after confirming there were no beasts lurking nearby did Lu Heng lower his guard and slowly step forward to part the branches. It was an ordinary wooden treasure chest, dry and waterproof, with no dampness or rot and an intact clasp. He reached out and broke open the wooden lock, and the lid opened with a sound.

The supplies inside were neatly arranged: three vacuum-sealed portions of bread, two sealed bottles of clean water, and a thick, blended-fabric thermal blanket folded at the bottom. The blanket's fabric was thick and windproof, waterproof and damp-resistant, perfectly suited to the current cold, rainy weather. It would keep him warmer against his skin than the hides.

These supplies were highly practical, filling his shortages of food, clean water, and warm bedding. Lu Heng felt somewhat relieved and put all the bread, water, and the blanket into his bracelet's storage space.

After putting away the chest's supplies, Lu Heng continued upstream.

The farther upstream he went, the more visibly lush his surroundings became. All kinds of weeds and low plants grew everywhere along the riverbank. The soil was fertile and moist, and the available resources were far more abundant than in the downstream stretch he had explored before.

His gaze shifted to the river. Small black shadows occasionally darted beneath the murky shallows, with aquatic plants swaying and ripples churning. Quite a few living creatures were moving beneath the surface.

Lu Heng's gaze flickered, and he instinctively looked away.

Even though his body had been enhanced and his physical condition far surpassed what it had once been, the river was bone-chillingly cold, its temperature even lower in the rain. Entering the water could easily leave him chilled and sick. In this unfamiliar wilderness, he had no medicine to rely on. Even an ordinary cold or fever could drain his strength and leave him in a hopeless situation if he encountered a beast. He could not afford the slightest risk.

Whatever was underwater, he would absolutely not enter recklessly.

The farther upstream he went, the denser the wild weeds and thorny bushes along the bank became. The once-level riverside path vanished entirely, leaving him no choice but to push the weeds aside by hand and force a way through.

Lu Heng looked down and examined his protection. The Soft Leather Armor on his upper body protected his chest, abdomen, waist, and back, while his hard-wearing, slip-resistant leather boots protected his feet and ankles. Only his thighs and calves remained completely exposed, without any covering. The surrounding weeds had sharp edges, and all kinds of venomous insects lurked in the bushes. His bare legs could easily be scratched or bitten.

To be safe, he stopped and tore up the exceptionally tough, long wild grass growing beside the bank. Gathering it by the handful, he wound it around his legs in layer after layer, from above his ankles all the way to the tops of his thighs. Four or five tightly packed, thick layers of grass formed a simple barrier that could protect him from scraping weeds and offer some resistance to bites from beasts.

With all his protection in place, Lu Heng readied his weapons and continued pushing through the weeds.

He had barely taken a few steps when a faint, chilling hiss carried clearly to his ears through the grass on the damp, cold wind.

The sound was unmistakable, clammy and cold-the sound of a snake flicking its tongue.

Every hair on Lu Heng's body stood on end, and a sudden chill spread across his back. He stopped immediately and retreated three steps without hesitation, putting a safe distance between them. The Bronze Hunting Blade was on the heavy side and difficult to wield in a close-quarters struggle, while the Iron Axe's blade was too short to be of much use amid the weeds.

With a thought, his bracelet's storage interface flashed. Forgoing both short, close-range weapons, he took out his long, solid-wood spear.

The spear was 1.2 meters long, giving it ample reach and making it suitable for both attack and defense amid dense weeds. Against a beast like a snake that struck at close range, it was far more useful than a short weapon.

Gripping the slightly cool shaft, Lu Heng focused on the waist-high grass where the sound had come from. Holding his breath, he raised the Wooden Spear and swept it forcefully across the grass, intending to clear it away first and force out whatever was hiding inside.

The first sweep snapped stems and sent grass fragments flying. The patch of grass was empty, with nothing inside.

He swept a second time with greater force, but again, only weeds fell, without the slightest trace of a living creature.

Just as Lu Heng swung for the third time, the instant before the spearhead swept through the center of the grass-

A blue-green blur suddenly shot out of the grass, moving so fast it was little more than a shadow. Its jaws gaped, its fangs gleaming coldly as it lunged viciously at Lu Heng's calf, which was wrapped only in grass!

Already on guard, Lu Heng instinctively shifted half a step to the side.

The snake's fangs grazed the grass around his leg, missing their bite and striking heavily against the muddy ground.

In that brief opening, Lu Heng finally saw the beast clearly: alternating dark and light blue-green markings covered its entire body, which was slender and roughly 1.2 meters long. Its scales nearly blended into the wet grass. Its triangular head was flat and chilling, its bright red tongue flicking incessantly, and it was intensely aggressive.

Not daring to relax in the slightest, Lu Heng immediately raised his wrist. A pale white glow from his bracelet swept over the snake, and the dedicated appraisal panel instantly appeared.

[Beast: Blue-Spotted Snake]

[Grade: Black iron]

[Status: Lying in ambush to hunt, aggression at maximum]

[Traits: Inhabits cold, damp areas along riverbanks year-round. Excels at concealing itself amid grass to lie in ambush, with a surprise attack speed far exceeding beasts of the same grade; possesses highly potent hemolytic venom with extremely corrosive properties. After a bite, the wound will rapidly swell, redden, and ulcerate. The venom will paralyze limb muscles and impede the circulation of qi and blood, causing loss of mobility within a short time. Without the appropriate antidote supplies, death will occur within half a day.]

[Weaknesses: Weak defenses at the eyes and seven inches behind the head; fears piercing attacks from long-shafted spears]

After reading the panel, Lu Heng's expression darkened.

This was a highly venomous black iron-grade beast, and one that specialized in ambushing from concealment. It was even more troublesome and dangerous than the jackal pack he had encountered before.

Compared with the Blue-Backed Jackals he had faced in a pack, a venomous beast like this was truly the nastiest. Even if the jackals rushed in and bit him, they would only wound his flesh and make him bleed. With his enhanced physique, he could endure those injuries and had the confidence to kill them in return.

A venomous snake was different. One bite meant trading his life for its own, and often, even if he fought with all his strength, he might not manage to take it down with him. With no antidote in the wilderness, getting bitten was essentially a death sentence, leaving no room to maneuver or turn the situation around.

Lu Heng gripped the Wooden Spear firmly in both hands. The instant the Blue-Spotted Snake lunged, he slammed the shaft down, pinning it hard across the middle of its body. The snake was immensely strong. Its body twisted and rolled as it struggled desperately to break free and lunge at his calf, its slippery length writhing back and forth in the mud with ever greater force.

Lu Heng dared not ease up. Keeping his arms under constant strain, he used the spear's length to firmly restrict its movements, preventing it from getting any closer no matter how it thrashed. After several rounds of tugging and deadlock, he seized a brief opening when the Blue-Spotted Snake's surge of force spent itself and its body steadied. He pressed down harder again, pinning it completely to the muddy ground and entirely cutting off its room to strike.

Once he confirmed the venomous snake could no longer dart forward at all, Lu Heng freed one hand and drew the short blade at his waist. Aiming seven inches behind the snake's head, he brought the blade down in a clean, decisive stroke, finishing off the Blue-Spotted Snake.

The instant the corpse hit the ground, the bracelet automatically dismantled it, yielding five materials: venom glands, snakeskin, snake sinew, snake meat, and a snake crystal.

Lu Heng looked down at his calf.

Of the four or five layers of grass wrapped around it, the outermost had been torn open by the snake's fangs. The wet stems had splayed apart, revealing the completely uninjured flesh beneath.

It had been that close.

He stared at the tear for several seconds. Cold sweat slowly seeped across his back, and the cold rain against it sent a shudder through his entire body.

The knuckles of his spear hand were still white, and he could not loosen his grip.

The instant the snake had lunged had been far too fast-so fast his body had moved before his mind. Sidestepping, raising the spear, pinning it down: the entire sequence had been almost instinctive. Only now, as he calmed down and recalled it, did the fear set in-if that thing had shifted another half inch, its fangs would have pierced his leg instead of the grass.

And this snake's venom could kill him within half a day.

Lu Heng took a deep breath and crouched for a long while to recover. Only after his heartbeat gradually settled did he pick the snake crystal out of the dismantled materials and examine it closely. Its appearance and uses were much the same as those of the spider crystal dropped by the Dongting Spider he had killed before. Both could serve as energy sources to supply the Shelter's daily consumption.

He put away every last material, and his legs were still a little weak when he stood again.

Looking farther upstream, he felt increasingly that this place was dangerous and unpredictable.

He steeled himself and walked a little farther. Everything around him felt wrong. The weeds on both sides of the river grew denser, and even after walking for a long time, he had found no useful supplies.

Lu Heng considered it. With so much vegetation along the river, it could not all be useless weeds; there had to be varieties he could use. He raised his bracelet, activated appraisal, and scanned the swaths of native wild grass around him one by one.

The results appeared quickly. Most of the weeds had only minor uses, such as binding or padding. He identified just two useful plants among them: one whose boiled juice could repel insects, and another with strong fibers suitable for weaving rope and reinforcing protective gear.

Lu Heng stopped by the river and looked toward the nearby woods, where he suddenly spotted a persimmon tree.

With the weather so cold and gloomy, he had not expected to find persimmons, yet every fruit still on the branches was fully ripe. Most of the tree's persimmons had either been partly eaten by beasts or had fallen and rotted long ago, unable to withstand the cold rain. Only a scant few remained, clinging firmly to the branches.

Their orange-red skins stood out sharply against the gray curtain of rain, like a small flame someone had forgotten.

Lu Heng stood where he was, staring at those few persimmons for quite a while.

He had not tasted fresh fruit in a long time. Back in the city, he could sit snugly in a heated room in winter and casually peel one. Cloyingly sweet juice would run between his fingers, and if he found it a bother, he could simply wipe it away with a tissue. He did not even need to wash the skin.

Those days felt like a previous lifetime now.

He withdrew his gaze, a little joy rising within him. He had never expected to find fully ripe persimmons in this wilderness on such a cold, rainy day.

But out of the caution developed through prolonged survival, he did not immediately approach to pick them. Instead, he raised his hand and activated the bracelet, aiming it at the entire persimmon tree for appraisal. He would make his move only after confirming that the fruit was nonpoisonous and harmless.