Chapter 80

Ning Jinli's footsteps rang out.

The black shadow that had intended to devour the wild boar's entrails silently slipped into the nearby river.

The black shadow was huge in size, yet extremely fast, and utterly silent.

By the time Ning Jinli ran over, it had vanished, leaving only a ripple on the river surface that quickly dissipated in the current.

"Huh… what a strong fishy smell." Ning Jinli looked at the pile of wild boar entrails and pinched her nose.

She originally didn't want to waste any of the ingredients, but the smell was too overpowering.

It made her feel waves of nausea.

"It's really strange—just now when Xiao Qidi was handling it, the smell wasn't this strong; why does it make me feel more nauseous the more I smell it…?" Ning Jinli looked up at the sunlight that was about to be blocked by the cliff.

Could it be that after being exposed to the sunlight just now, the rising temperature made the smell more noticeable?

Forget it, I'll just throw it away.

Even if I could use wild fruit to counteract the fishiness, such a heavy odd smell would be hard to suppress.

Moreover, cleaning these entrails thoroughly would be too much trouble, not worth the effort.

Ning Jinli had no choice but to endure her nausea and toss the heap of wild boar entrails into the river.

Judging by the current preparations, we'll likely need to stay in this cave for several more days; if we didn't throw the entrails into the river, once they rotted the consequences would be easy to imagine.

After quickly throwing them away, Ning Jinli hurriedly washed her hands at the riverbank, then began cutting the wild boar meat into small pieces.

In the river, a school of fish was attracted by the wild boar entrails and swam up from the depths.

Just as the fish were about to feed, a pitch-black mouth silently opened, swallowing the fish along with the still-sinking wild boar entrails in one gulp.

Everything happened beneath the water's surface; above, only a few ripples appeared.

Ning Jinli, squatting on the shore processing the wild boar meat, didn't notice at all as a large, long black shadow swam past just under the water less than three meters away from her.

Just the fleeting torso was as thick as two adult persons…

……

Ning Jinli spent half a day, finally cutting the wild boar meat into pieces suitable for drying over the fire, then laid them out in slices on the crude wooden rack she had built in the cave.

The wild boar meat probably weighed several hundred jin, so it could only be dried in batches, slowly.

Fortunately, the temperature in this mountain stream is usually low enough that the meat won't spoil before it can be turned into jerky.

Although there was still some time before nightfall, the mountain stream had already grown dim, and the fog rolled in again.

Ning Jinli gathered some firewood and brought it into the cave, drew water with a bamboo tube, and began preparing dinner.

Just like at lunch, she had roasted wild boar meat with boiled pork soup, plus some fresh wild fruits.

Xiao Qidi sat cross-legged on the haystack, meditating, completely still.

Ning Jinli leaned in to examine him, smiling and teasing: "These past few days you've practically turned into a wild man—your hair's a mess, and you've grown a beard; good thing you're handsome, otherwise you'd be pretty scary."

Xiao Qidi's eyelids twitched slightly, but he neither opened his eyes nor spoke.

"You martial artists heal internal injuries through meditation and qi circulation—could you teach me that too?" Ning Jinli said. "If I ever get injured, I could just heal myself with qi."

Xiao Qidi answered with some difficulty: "Healing injuries through qi circulation… isn't as miraculous as you think… without medicine, it won't heal completely."

Ning Jinli sensed something was off with him and immediately asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiao Qidi pressed his thin lips together, his face gradually turning pale: "I… I'm fine."

Ning Jinli quickly felt his forehead and exclaimed, "So hot? You've got a fever!"

Xiao Qidi knew this was due to his successive injuries and the excessive stamina drain from hunting the wild boar; his body was truly weak, and even using qi to heal injuries could barely keep him from losing consciousness.

But he didn't want Ning Jinli to worry about him, so he kept pushing himself.

"Look at you like this, and you call that 'fine'?" Ning Jinli helped Xiao Qidi lie down and said, "I'm going to look for some herbs."

Xiao Qidi strained: "It's already dark… don't go… it's too dangerous; I'll hold out tonight… we'll talk later."

"If I don't go find herbs, whether you can make it through tonight is questionable!" Ning Jinli ignored his protests, snatched a stick from the fire pile to use as a torch, and rushed out of the cave in a panic.

Xiao Qidi very much wanted to follow and protect her, but he now had no strength at all—even crawling was exhausting—so he could only watch helplessly as Ning Jinli's back disappeared into the cave mouth.

Ning Jinli entered the thicket holding her torch.

She didn't know if she could find any herbs, but she had no other option.

The only fortunate thing is that, while living with Su Yi, Su Yi—who came from a rural background—could identify some basic herbs useful for everyday ailments; sometimes, when she had a fever or cold and couldn't afford a doctor, she would go to the outskirts of the city to pick herbs and treat herself, so Ning Jinli had at least learned a little.

Although I don't know exactly what's wrong with Xiao Qidi, looking for some anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing herbs to try should be fine.

Ning Jinli searched the thicket in a circle but found nothing, so she steeled herself and headed into the forest.

Originally her plan was to make preparations first, then expand the exploration range together with Xiao Qidi, moving outward bit by bit; now, left with no choice, she had to venture alone into completely unfamiliar territory.

As soon as she stepped into the edge of the forest, she felt her hairs stand on end all over.

Here the light was even dimmer, and a primitive, rugged, dangerous aura greeted her.

The tall, densely packed trees felt extremely oppressive; the low, tangled vines and weeds between them resembled ghostly apparitions that flickered in and out of the mist.

Ning Jinli mustered her courage, crouched low as she walked, carefully searching; her torch became the only light in this place.

Fortunately, in this untouched natural environment, plant species were abundant and lush, and Ning Jinli soon found the anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing herbs.

She didn't want to stay a second longer, feeling that something lurked in the surrounding darkness, so she hastily grabbed a large handful of herbs, preparing to return as quickly as possible.

Just then, a glint of light emerged from beneath the pulled‑apart herbs.

Ning Jinli shook her torch and realized it seemed to be light reflected off something.

She instinctively pushed aside the weeds, and a metallic object came into view, leaving her stunned.

The object was palm‑sized, L‑shaped, looked like iron, and had something like a roller in the middle; although it was rather rough overall, it was clearly not naturally formed.

The more Ning Jinli looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, so she dug it out of the soil.

When she saw its full shape clearly, Ning Jinli jumped in shock, hardly able to believe her eyes.

If it wasn't an illusion, then the object she had picked up was a revolver!

No wonder it feels familiar!

Although she had never touched a real gun, she had seen one on TV dramas or movies.

The reason she didn't recognize it at first glance is that this revolver differs greatly from a normal one, like an unskilled blacksmith imitating a gourd shape using the most primitive forging method, crudely produced.

Ning Jinli's head buzzed.

If she were in a modern-world forest, even if she picked up a proper handgun, she wouldn't be too surprised.

But this place…… is a world over two thousand years ago!

Gunpowder hasn't even been invented yet! Forging wrought iron is still an advanced technique!

How could there be a revolver?

Her scalp felt a bit numb, and she shakily tried to turn the cylinder.

Click—

The cylinder was turned open, and inside it was loaded with six bullets.

Looking more closely at the other parts, although rough, from barrel to trigger to hammer they looked proper.

Ning Jinli's pupils contracted sharply, and she took out a bullet to examine it closely.

Likewise, it was also handmade, vastly different from modern gun bullets, but it was indeed a bullet.

Ning Jinli was shocked for a while before coming to her senses; she crouched on the ground, frowning in thought.

"Could there be… another spacetime portal, and someone brought modern weapons here? Wait, no, that's not right…"

"Modern weapon manufacturing isn't that poor; this definitely wasn't made in modern times."

"In other words, this revolver is genuinely an ancient product."

"Hiss…"

Thinking this, she sucked in a breath of cold air.

Then there are only two possibilities.

One is that some ancient genius invented this thing and actually made it.

Although historical records say gunpowder didn't exist in this period, that doesn't mean that in some obscure places someone hasn't already tinkered with gunpowder.

Possibly due to various reasons it never became widespread, so it wasn't recorded.

According to this speculation, this genius not only invented gunpowder but also miraculously devised a way to make weapons, thereby producing a weapon similar to a modern revolver.

What an incredible genius that would be!

No matter how you think about it, it feels… overly fantastical.

The other possibility, while also quite unbelievable, is relatively more reasonable than this speculation.

That is——this world has time travelers.

Time travelers used modern knowledge to handcraft a gun in this ancient world over two thousand years ago.

After all, Ning Jinli herself came to this world through a spacetime portal.

Perhaps…… she is not the only person who encountered a miracle……

No matter which speculation, it gave Ning Jinli goosebumps all over.

But now is not the time to dwell on these thoughts; Xiao Qidi is still in the cave running a fever, waiting for her to bring back herbs.

She steadied herself, reloaded the removed bullet into the cylinder, held it carefully, and began to return the way she came.

Regardless of where this thing came from or whether it works, she'll just take it with her for now.

——

Meanwhile, back at the cave.

Xiao Qidi was about to slip into unconsciousness.

The high fever made his consciousness increasingly fuzzy; although his body was hot, he felt cold, and his whole body trembled.

He wanted to add more firewood to the fire, but even with all his strength he couldn't crawl.

Swish…

A strange scraping sound echoed outside the cave.

Under the hazy moonlight, thick fog began to spread, and in this dull, dim mist, a blurry black shadow quickly approached the cave.

Xiao Qidi suddenly felt a chill, and goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.

Moreover, he faintly smelled a strange, foul odor.

It seemed to drift in from outside the cave with the fog.

These past few days, he had intermittently noticed this faint strange smell, but due to his weakness and the environment, he hadn't thought much of it, even once thinking it was his own sense of smell gone awry or that he was just too dirty.

But now, that odor became obvious.

Xiao Qidi strained to open his eyes, staring fixedly at the cave entrance.

The fog outside the cave slowly rolled, not blown by wind, as if something had passed through and stirred it.

As the fog's undulating became more evident, a black triangular outline appeared beside the cave mouth.

The fog was too thick.

Xiao Qidi was too weak.

He couldn't make out what it was, but judging by the outline's size, that black triangle was likely larger than an adult, like a small mound of earth that had seemingly risen from the ground.

Next, the black triangular outline slowly floated up, and within it two green lights, each larger than a human fist, emerged.

"Hiss… hiss…"

A spine-tingling strange sound followed.

Xiao Qidi's pupils gradually contracted, his gaze directed below the black triangular outline, where he could faintly see a long, dark shape.

His heart suddenly jolted.

If I'm not mistaken……

That is a Giant Snake larger than any seen before, and the black triangular outline is its head; the two green glows, each larger than a human fist, are its eyes……

The reason the triangular outline just seemed to drift slowly into view is entirely because the fog was too thick, obscuring the Giant Snake's neck.

At this moment, Xiao Qidi didn't even dare to breathe.

He even hoped that this was a dream produced by his having fainted asleep.

However, as the Giant Snake's large half-head had already probed into the cave entrance, a huge snake face covered in scales fully appeared in his field of view, and he could not help but accept the fact.

Hiss…… hiss……

The Giant Snake spat out a blood-red Fang, gazing at the burning fire in the cave.

Xiao Qidi did not dare to act rashly; he knew that any wild animal, no matter how fierce or huge, has an innate fear of fire.

Now all he could hope for was that the fire would block the Giant Snake.

Otherwise, once the Giant Snake rushed in, he would surely become its belly's contents.

With such a large head and such a thick body, simply opening its mouth could easily swallow him whole.

One person and one snake, separated by the fire, fell into a stalemate.

The Giant Snake's eyes, glowing with a dark green light, stared fixedly at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi realized that this beast was also very intelligent; it had probably been watching him in secret for a long time, only beginning to move in for the hunt after confirming that its prey had little capacity to resist.

The Giant Snake flicked its Fang, stared at Xiao Qidi for a while, then turned its head and began eating the wild boar meat in the cave.

Hundreds of catties of meat chunks were swallowed clean by it in just a few bites.

Yet it seemed far from satisfied, and continued to stare at the large living person in the corner of the cave.

Whoosh——

A gust of wind blew into the cave.

The campfire swayed.

The Giant Snake lowered its head, moved closer to the fire, as if pondering something; after a moment, it suddenly exhaled a gust from its nostrils.

The campfire swayed even more violently.

The Giant Snake exhaled another, even stronger gust.

Splash!

The flames were directly doused more than half, nearly extinguished!

Xiao Qidi silently thought, "Not good," this beast had become so clever as to actually intend to blow out the fire!

As the fire grew weaker and weaker, the Giant Snake also began to continue advancing.

Xiao Qidi thought of an even worse scenario—Ning Jinli had gone to gather herbs; if she returned at this moment, then……

What to do?!

I simply have no ability now to drive this beast away!

At this moment, an idea surged into his mind.

Just now the Giant Snake swallowed several hundred catties of wild boar meat; even if it's not full, it should be about half-full, right?

If we give it something more to eat, perhaps it would leave.

Then……

All we can do is sacrifice myself, striving to buy Ning Jinli a little more time to survive……