Chapter 114: Commission from the Relevant Department

After a moment of stalemate, the lead jackal let out a few reluctant howls, then suddenly spun around and leapt onto the nearby rocks, vanishing into the gullies of the desert with the other two, leaving only a flurry of rapid footsteps and swirling dust.

Qin Yun exhaled in relief, thinking that these jackals had been wise not to fight to the death—if they had, he might not have been able to save this bharal.

Mostly because he held back, unwilling to truly harm them; otherwise, just a few jackals, he could have easily cut them down with his knife.

After driving off the jackals, Qin Yun's gaze fell on the bharal on the ground.

"Baa—baa—"

Seeing Qin Yun approach, the bharal trembled violently, its hind leg wound continuously oozing blood, its eyes filled with terror as it emitted weak, desperate cries.

Qin Yun ignored all of this, roughly checked it over, then turned and walked away.

"The bharal's hind leg is only a superficial wound, not affecting mobility—it's probably collapsed because pregnancy triggered premature labor."

Qin Yun's words made the livestream viewers burst into laughter.

"Premature labor? Seriously? First time hearing an animal go into premature labor."

"Master Qin is clearly an obstetrics genius."

"Awesome."

Only after Qin Yun vanished from the bharal's sight did the animal attempt to rise, stumbling unsteadily to its feet—but it didn't notice a drone hovering above, its lens locked firmly onto it.

Meanwhile, livestream viewers watched through the drone, knowing the bharal's movements were unfolding exactly as Qin Yun had planned.

Far away, Qin Yun watched the monitor and smiled: "I hope this bharal leads me to a water source."

The bharal walked ahead; Qin Yun followed behind.

But as they walked, the bharal's direction gradually veered off from what Qin Yun expected, heading northwest—now far from the northeast direction he'd anticipated.

He sighed: "I expected this, but I hope the water source isn't too far—if it is, I'll have to cover a lot more ground."

And so they walked for half an hour.

The bharal crossed two sand dunes and appeared before a towering wall of desert rock, over ten meters high—a true "heavenly barrier" for ordinary land animals.

But for the bharal, it was as easy as walking on flat ground.

On camera, it scaled the rocky ridges of the wall with effortless grace, its long limbs showing exceptional balance, as if walking on level ground rather than a narrow cliff.

"666, this bharal's got serious climbing skills."

"Awesome, so steady."

"Bharal: I know there's a bad guy following me—watch how you climb up."

"Master Qin: Just a few dozen meters? I've climbed thousands."

Qin Yun smiled: "As a classic mountain animal, the bharal evolved exceptional climbing ability to survive on exposed high-altitude rock and steep cliffs, moving nimbly on precipices. But countless ones still fall to their deaths."

"I wonder if this is the bharal's water source—if it is, then my luck's in. Let's go take a look."

Saying this, he guided the drone forward, and soon the scene atop the desert wall appeared on the livestream.

On the narrow cliff face was a naturally formed circular depression, about two meters in diameter, containing a small pool of crystal-clear water.

Qin Yun's spirits lifted: "Perfect—we found the water."

He was currently atop a sand dune; now that he'd found the water, he no longer cared if the bharal spotted him—he immediately broke into a run.

But the instant he crossed the dune and stepped onto the desert's salt-alkali flat, his foot suddenly sank.

"Crack—!"

A sharp cracking sound erupted as the salt crust beneath him collapsed instantly—he had no time to react before his entire right leg plunged helplessly downward.

Immediately, within a few meters, the salt crust shattered like dominoes; the solid ground turned into yellow-white quicksand within a few breaths.

"Quicksand!! It's salt-crust quicksand!"

Qin Yun's expression changed.

Livestream viewers were stunned by this sudden turn—comments exploded.

"Holy shit, that's terrifying."

"Master Qin, run, don't freeze!"

"Run? Bullshit—struggling just makes you sink faster."

"Too close—just found water, relaxed for a second, and stepped in it. This is way too dangerous."

Qin Yun ignored the comments—he stayed calm: "Friends, in this situation, never struggle. The more you panic and fight, the faster you sink—and the faster you die. Now I'll show you how to save yourself in this scenario."

"666, Master Qin's mini-lesson is back—everyone grab your notebooks and sit down."

"Master Qin is so damn calm—I'd be dead from fear."

Qin Yun took a deep breath, then threw himself forward, pressing his chest flat against the ground.

As he did it, he explained: "This increases your surface area to counteract the quicksand and stop further sinking. Then, use both hands to push against the ground and slowly pull your leg out. Luckily, this isn't desert quicksand—it's just loose salt crust. No need to fear being swallowed whole."

He bent his arms, using their strength to slowly extract his right leg from the sand—movement excruciatingly slow, barely shifting a few centimeters every few seconds; beads of sweat soon formed on his forehead.

"As long as your movements are steady and slow, you'll gradually free yourself—patience is essential."

Minutes felt like centuries; finally, Qin Yun's right leg slowly pulled free from the quicksand. He didn't rise immediately, instead maintaining his prone position, alternating arm strength, and crawling slowly along the surface of the quicksand toward the nearby solid edge.

"When crawling, don't rush or strain—press yourself flat, imagine you're swimming. Don't panic."

Soon, Qin Yun successfully escaped the sand. Only when standing on firm ground did he slowly exhale.

He looked down at his right leg, caked in sand, and the still-churning quicksand, his tone grave: "The deadliest thing in the desert isn't wild beasts—it's these invisible traps. Once it reaches your chest, you're basically done."

For him, this was just a sudden minor incident—no real impact. He walked straight toward the desert wall, but this time he slowed his pace.

On the monitor, the bharal had finished drinking and now lay resting beside the pool.

Qin Yun tapped the cliff face: "Though there are many protrusions, this desert wall isn't unbreakable—many sections have softened and crumbled from years of erosion. I can't afford to be careless."

As he'd predicted, several times his handhold crumbled the moment he gripped it—each advance required constant testing, then testing again.

Though only ten meters high, he spent a full twenty minutes climbing.

Just as his head popped over the edge, the bharal lifted its head at the noise—the two locked eyes, and then…

"Baa—baa—!"

The bharal visibly panicked, its hooves flailing wildly, trying to rise but slipping as if on ice, unable to stand.

Livestream viewers burst into laughter.

"Holy shit, that's hilarious."

"Master Qin popped up like a ghost—wouldn't you be terrified if you were the bharal?"

"Hahaha, now I can picture it."

Qin Yun flipped over onto the ground and quickly soothed the bharal.

But the pregnant bharal couldn't calm down—it kept bleating and thrashing.

"Shut the hell up!"

Qin Yun slapped the bharal's muzzle—*thump*—its cries instantly stopped.

Though silent, its trembling body remained uncontrollable.

"Master Qin is so violent—I love it."

"UC: Man beats pregnant animal…"

"This bharal has zero gratitude—treating its savior like this? Master Qin did right to hit it."

Qin Yun ignored the bharal, walked to the pool's edge, pulled out his tarp, and began filling it with water—two full tarps and one canteen later, he nodded satisfied: "This is natural freshwater—no need to worry about bacteria. Even if there are any, they're from the bharal. But this tiny amount won't harm humans—just drink it."

He cupped water from the pool, drank a sip, and relieved his parched mouth.

At that moment, a string of repeated comments flashed into his view: Master Qin, this is **Relevant Department**—this bharal is almost certainly the one that went missing last month near the mountains; it was pregnant then. Its current condition makes survival in the wild unlikely. Could you please bring it with you?

Qin Yun paused, stunned. The bharal is a Class II national protected wild animal, legally protected—but in this wilderness, carrying it all the way… was that even practical?

Before he could respond, another comment appeared: This bharal's gestation period has gone awry. Normally, bharal gestation lasts just over five months, with birth in May. This one still has two months left until delivery.

Qin Yun thought for a moment: "I can take it, but are you sure? I might face dangers I can't protect it from."

Hearing this, livestream viewers immediately flooded the chat.

"Yeah, the dangers Master Qin faces in the past few days would've killed anyone else."

"The Relevant Department probably doesn't realize how much more dangerous it is following Master Qin."

"Besides, having a bharal follow Master Qin doesn't just endanger him—it puts the bharal in even greater danger."

Qin Yun continued: "Forget danger for now—how do we feed it? I can't go foraging for grass for it. And water—I barely have enough for myself."

The barrage of questions left the Relevant Department worker speechless. Just as Qin Yun thought they'd given up, they sent another message.

"No problem—just take it. If danger arises, abandon it immediately. For food, just give it a little water daily—plants along the way are enough for it to survive. Even without food or water, two or three days won't kill it."

Qin Yun was speechless.

But since they insisted, he didn't refuse—and joked: "So if I can't find food, can I just slaughter it?"

He expected an immediate refusal—but the reply stunned him.

"Of course—it's human life first."

"Pfft—I seriously doubt this message came from the Relevant Department."

"Hahaha, so realistic."

"Bharal: I thought I found a savior… turns out I was thrown into the fire."

"Master Qin is baffled—is a Class II protected animal really this disposable?"

Qin Yun was genuinely baffled. In his understanding of the law, hunting any Class II or higher protected wild animal was strictly forbidden. But if he were truly starving, who the hell cared about the law? Human life always came first.

"Alright, I understand. My destination is Lenghu Town. Today is November 11. I'll likely arrive between the evening of the 14th and the 15th—send someone then, if things go smoothly."

"Thank you, Master Qin!"

Qin Yun looked at the still-trembling bharal, pulled out another tarp, filled it with water, then used his dagger to cut the tarp into strips.

He connected the strips end-to-end, soon forming a rope over ten meters long.

"Look up!"

Qin Yun crouched before the bharal, cupped its neck and pushed upward, then wound one end of the rope in loops around the bharal's neck.

The bharal was very docile; perhaps it found this creature more terrifying than the jackals, after all, this was the human who had driven them away.

"Let's go down. Whether you live or die is up to your luck."