CHAPTER 4 - Fateful Encounter in the Forest
[PART 2]
To call him human, the man truly couldn't believe it... Looking at him, he was nothing more than a wretched, starving ghost wandering in this desolate cave.
Human or ghost… it didn't make much difference to Shi Yan Si. Regardless of what the man thought, he simply said, "I found you in the forest and brought you back to treat your wounds. Once… once you recover, you can leave."
"You found me?" So he was a benefactor? Truly unexpected...
Having just escaped from a great calamity, the man thought he had come so close to death. Who would have imagined that in the depths of this forsaken forest, someone was actually living here? And judging by this person's appearance, he was far from ordinary.
Not knowing what kind of person his rescuer was, he had no energy to care for the moment—he just hoped he hadn't fallen into enemy hands. As these thoughts ran through his mind, he slowly lay back down, forcing his breathing into an even rhythm, trying to suppress the pain.
With the miserable conditions he was in now, he truly didn't know if he could survive…
Pain, hunger, and cold—an unbearable combination.
Looking down at his once-luxurious clothing, he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss… His garments had been cut into tattered strips for bandages, though thankfully, his outer cloak remained mostly intact. At the very least, he still had something to keep the chill at bay.
Seeing that the man had settled down, Shi Yan Si hesitantly approached, holding out a small bundle of wild fruit. "Here… eat this for now."
This was all he had, barely enough for two days, but thinking that the wounded man needed it more than he did, he chose to give it away.
Staring at the half-red, half-green fruit in his hands, the man was at a loss for words. "Is this even edible?"
Shi Yan Si nodded. "Of course it is. If you don't eat, you'll starve."
His stomach was already rumbling with hunger—refusing food now would only speed up his demise. With a sigh, he decided to pick out the ripest fruits, only to find them all riddled with worms.
With no other choice, he forced himself to eat the unripe ones, but even then, they were nearly impossible to swallow.
What kind of fruit was this…? The unripe ones were sour and bitter, while the ripe ones were filled with worms. Holding up the bundle of fruit, the man turned to Shi Yan Si and asked, "You survive on this?"
Hearing the question, Shi Yan Si immediately nodded and urged, "Yes! I worked hard to pick these, hurry up and eat!"
The man silently observed him for a long moment before asking, "Do you… find it delicious?"
"Delicious?" Delicious… what did that even mean? Shi Yan Si couldn't define it—he had never experienced such a thing before. Thinking for a while, he simply shook his head. "I don't know."
"You don't know..." The man furrowed his brows slightly, then casually tossed the fruit bundle away.
"Ah—Ah—!" Shi Yan Si saw it, but it was too late to stop him. In the blink of an eye, the fruit had already rolled onto the ground…
Feeling a pang of regret, he hurriedly picked them up, dusting them off while mumbling in a soft, aggrieved voice, "If you weren't going to eat them, fine, but why did you have to throw them away?"
Without hesitation, he devoured all the fruit—both unripe and overripe—without the slightest hint of reluctance. He truly couldn't understand why the other man had rejected them. If there were worms inside, all the better; it saved him the trouble of hunting and preparing meat.
"...He..." Watching the person in front of him, the man found himself at a loss for words.
Was he even human? How could he eat such things? It wasn't as if his sense of taste was broken—he still winced at the sourness of the unripe ones.
"He clearly can't stomach them, so why does he keep forcing himself? How bizarre..." This was beyond anything he had ever encountered.
After finishing his meal, Shi Yan Si simply returned to his nest of leaves, curled up, and prepared to fall into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, the other man remained in a miserable state. His stomach growled relentlessly, but with his body too weak to move, he was left lying there helplessly, enduring the hunger pangs.
The cave fell back into silence. Just as Shi Yan Si began to doze off, the loud rumbling from the man's stomach jolted him awake again.
Sitting up, he contemplated for a moment, truly torn. "I guess… I need to go back into the forest again."
Shi Yan Si had long grown accustomed to a vagrant existence, barely getting by. He had almost forgotten that normal people couldn't go without food, especially someone gravely injured like this man.
After all the trouble he had gone through to bring him back, he couldn't just let him starve to death now, could he?
Suppressing his laziness, Shi Yan Si forced himself up and headed into the forest to check the traps. Before leaving, he casually reminded, "Just stay here. I'll be back soon."
The man remained silent upon hearing this. Given his current state, where else could he possibly go?
Although he owed his life to the young man, he still couldn't fully trust him. Everything that was happening felt like a nightmare from which he had yet to wake.
Only after Shi Yan Si had completely left did the man finally feel at ease enough to close his eyes. Before long, he drifted into unconsciousness.
Time passed quietly, and night gradually fell. Suddenly, the man was jolted awake. His gaze swept around the cave.
The entire space was shrouded in darkness and silence, save for the faint, constant murmur of a flowing stream. There was no other sound to be heard.
"That strange boy still hasn't returned…" Or maybe he had come back and was sleeping outside?
The thought crossed his mind, but in his current state, he could do nothing to check.
Beyond the gnawing hunger, his entire body ached with exhaustion. Even shifting slightly sent waves of pain through him, let alone trying to sit up. "Am I really going to die here…? No… I can't…"
"If I die, what will A Yuan do?"
At that thought, his grip tightened around the jade pendant in his hand.
Just as his thoughts wandered, he suddenly heard the sound of rustling at the cave's entrance. His eyes immediately snapped toward the entrance.
Moments later, a hoarse voice called out, "It's me."
The voice was accompanied by faint, stifled groans—someone clearly in pain. A faint sense of unease settled in his chest, and he asked, "Are you hurt?"
There was no response for a long time. Annoyance flickered across the man's face. If he weren't injured himself, he would have gotten up to check. Gritting his teeth, he pressed again, "You dare ignore me?"
"No, that's not it…"
If anything, Shi Yan Si had long been used to being looked down upon. Why would he ever dare to do the same to someone else? Jaw clenched, he forced himself to endure the pain and whispered, "I'm fine."
The man said nothing more. His weariness was overwhelming, dragging him back into unconsciousness before he could think further.
Meanwhile, Shi Yan Si was anything but fine. He was, in fact, severely injured.
Earlier, while checking his traps, he had suddenly collapsed without warning. By the time he regained consciousness, the sky was already dark. Left with no choice, he struggled back toward the cave.
Fortunately, the moon was bright that night, allowing him to find his way more easily. Unfortunately, just as he neared the cave, his bad luck struck again—this time in the form of a lone wolf.
It was just one, strayed from its pack. Upon spotting the frail-looking youth, it wasted no time in lunging forward, aiming straight for the kill.
The beast's fangs sank into his calf, nearly tearing away an entire chunk of flesh.
But Shi Yan Si had spent his whole life fighting to survive. His hands always clutched a dagger whenever he ventured into the forest—his only safeguard against the dangers lurking in the wild.
His reflexes were swift. The moment the wolf attacked, he countered with precision. Moments later, the predator lay motionless on the ground, while he, too, bore deep wounds.
Recalling the encounter, he let out a long, weary sigh. His luck was truly abysmal.
He had collapsed in the forest plenty of times before, but this was the first time he had encountered a wild beast. Why today, of all days?
Normally, his injuries would heal on their own after a few days of rest. But now, there was someone else relying on him. And with his leg in this state… what was he supposed to do?
After a long moment of hesitation, Shi Yan Si clenched his teeth and forced himself up. Every step sent searing pain through his body, nearly causing him to collapse.
Yet, he endured it.
Limping, he painstakingly gathered firewood and kindling before lighting a small fire inside the cave.
Perhaps, in this streak of misfortune, there was at least one small blessing—his attacker had become his prey. With the wolf carcass at his disposal, he wouldn't have to struggle for food for the next few days.
For someone as relentlessly unlucky as him, nothing ever came easily.