Chapter 114

After a moment of stalemate, the lead jackal let out a few reluctant howls, then spun around abruptly, leaping onto the nearby rocks with the other two, vanishing into the gullies of the desert in seconds, leaving only a flurry of rapid footfalls and a cloud of swirling sand.

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 slaughtered them 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 all over, its hind leg wound continuously oozing blood, its eyes filled with terror as it let out weak, desperate bleats.

Qin Yun ignored all of it, roughly checked its condition, 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 a miscarriage."

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

"Miscarriage? Seriously? First time hearing an animal have a miscarriage."

"Master Qin is clearly a gynecological master."

"Awesome."

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

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

Far away, Qin Yun watched the monitor screen and smiled: "I hope this bharal leads me to the 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 had 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 this walk lasted half an hour.

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

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

In the camera's view, the bharal climbed along the rock ridges of the wall with effortless grace, its long limbs showing extraordinary balance—as if walking on level ground, not a narrow cliff.

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

"Awesome, moves so steady."

"Bharal: I know there's a bad guy following me—see if you can keep up."

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

Qin Yun smiled: "As a typical mountain animal, the bharal evolved exceptional climbing ability to survive in high-altitude rocky terrain and steep cliffs, allowing agile movement on precipices. But countless of them still fall to their deaths."

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

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

There, on the narrow desert wall, was a naturally formed circular depression—about two meters in diameter—with a small pool of clear, pristine water inside.

Qin Yun perked up: "Perfect—we found the water source."

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

But the instant he crossed the dune and stepped onto the desert's saline crust, his foot suddenly sank.

"Crack—!"

A sharp cracking sound erupted—the saline crust beneath him collapsed instantly; before he could react, his entire right leg plunged helplessly downward.

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

"Quicksand!! It's saline crust quicksand!"

Qin Yun's face darkened.

Livestream viewers were stunned by this sudden turn—the comment section exploded.

"Holy shit, that scared the hell out of me."

"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 a trap. This is way too dangerous."

Qin Yun ignored the comments—he stayed calm: "Friends, if you find yourselves in this situation, don't struggle. The more you panic and thrash, the faster you sink—and the faster you die. Now I'll show you how to save yourself in this situation."

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

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

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, press both hands firmly into the ground and slowly pull your leg out. Luckily, this isn't desert quicksand—it's just loose saline crust, so we don't have to fear being swallowed whole."

He bent his arms, using their strength to slowly, inch by inch, extract his right leg from the sand—each movement took seconds, barely moving an inch; soon, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"As long as your movements are steady and slow, you can 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, he kept his prone position, alternating arm strength, sliding his body along the quicksand's surface toward the nearby solid edge.

"When crawling, don't rush or strain—press yourself flat, imagine you're swimming—never panic."

Soon, Qin Yun successfully escaped the sand. When he stood on solid ground, he finally exhaled slowly.

He looked down at his right leg, caked in sand, and at 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—it didn't affect him. 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 wall: "Though there are many protrusions, this desert wall isn't unbreakable—many sections have softened and crumbled over years of erosion, so I can't be careless."

As he'd predicted, during the climb, several handholds crumbled the moment he grabbed them—each advance required constant testing, then retesting.

Although it was only about ten meters high, he spent a full twenty minutes climbing.

Just as his head emerged, the bharal lifted its head at the noise—the two locked eyes—and…

"Baa—baa—"

The bharal's eyes widened in visible panic, its hooves trembling wildly as it tried to rise, yet slipped helplessly, unable to get to its feet.

This scene made the livestream viewers burst into laughter.

"Damn, that's hilarious."

"Qin Ye popped his head out from the edge like a ghost—wouldn't you be terrified if you were the bharal?"

"Hahaha, now I can picture it."

Qin Yun rolled over and landed on the ground, then quickly soothed the bharal.

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

"Damn it, shut up!"

Qin Yun slapped the bharal's face—*thump*—and all its sounds instantly ceased.

Though the noise stopped, its trembling body remained agitated.

"Qin Ye is so violent—I love it."

"UC: Man beats pregnant woman…"

"This bharal has zero sense—it treats its savior like this. Qin Ye did well to hit it."

Qin Yun ignored the bharal and walked straight to the edge of the pit, pulling out his tarp to collect water; he filled two tarps and one canteen before saying, satisfied: "This water is natural freshwater—no need to worry about bacteria. Even if there are any, they're from this bharal. But such a tiny amount won't harm humans—just drink it."

He scooped up water from the pit, took a sip, and relieved his parched mouth.

At that moment, a string of repeated comments flashed into his view: "Qin Ye, I'm from the relevant department. This bharal is almost certainly the one that went missing near the mountains last month—it was pregnant then. Its current condition makes survival in the wild nearly impossible. Could you please take it with you?"

Qin Yun paused, stunned. The bharal was a nationally protected Class II wild animal, legally safeguarded—but carrying it through this wilderness… was that really feasible?

Before he could speak, another comment appeared: "This bharal's pregnancy period is abnormal. Normally, bharal gestation lasts a little over five months, with birth in May. This one still has two months left until delivery."

Qin Yun thought for a moment and said: "I can take it, but are you sure? I might face dangers I can't even protect myself from—how can I guarantee its safety?"

Hearing this, the livestream viewers immediately flooded the chat.

"Yeah, the dangers Qin Ye's faced these past few days would've killed anyone else."

"The people in the relevant department probably don't realize how much more dangerous it is to follow Qin Ye."

"Besides, having a bharal follow Qin Ye 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? Am I supposed to forage 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. As for food, just give it a little water each day. Plants along the way are enough for the bharal to survive. Even without food or water, two or three days won't kill it."

Qin Ye was speechless.

But since they said that, he didn't refuse—instead, he joked: "If I can't hunt any food, can I just slaughter it?"

He expected an immediate, firm refusal—but the reply that came stunned him.

"Of course it's fine. Human life comes first."

"Pfft—I seriously doubt this message is even from the relevant department."

"Hahaha, so realistic."

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

"Qin Ye is baffled—is a Class II protected wild animal really this worthless?"

Qin Ye was indeed baffled. In his understanding of the law, hunting any Class II or higher protected wild animal was strictly forbidden under all circumstances. Of course, if he were truly starving, who the hell cared? In such cases, the law must yield to human survival.

"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 to meet me then—if things go smoothly."

"Thank you, Qin Ye!"

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

He connected the strips end to end, and soon had a rope over ten meters long.

"Look up!"

Qin Yun crouched before the bharal, lifted its neck upward, then wound one end of the rope in loops around its neck.

The bharal stayed still—perhaps it sensed this creature was even more terrifying than the jackals, since this human had driven them away.

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