Even though Xue Yue had seen plenty of coconut trees near the shore, the shells were too hard and it was hard to open them. Moreover, coconut juice was a natural laxative and he would have diarrhea if he ate them every day.
Diarrhea would then result in severe dehydration. That would not be trying to survive but instead, trying to meet his maker.
It was not known how much time had passed since the plane crash happened and he was carried by the current to this deserted island. Xue Yue currently felt exhausted, hungry, and sleepy. The appearance of the banana trees was similar to a cardiac stimulant that allowed him to recover some fighting spirit.
After seven to eight bananas went down his stomach, Xue Yue breathed a sigh of relief. The problem of food and clothing was resolved for the time being: next would be to find a place to take shelter!
He hoped to find a cave somewhere near the seaside and see if he could start up a fire. With that, it would be much more comfortable to spend the night. Of course, it would be best if he could find a freshwater source and more resources for his survival.
The hillside slope was rather gentle and it did not take strenuous effort to go up. However, the overgrown grass and trees made the journey inconvenient. Ten minutes later, Xue Yue finally reached the top of the small hill.
After arriving at the peak, he discovered that the area of the island was beyond his expectations. What was reflected in his eyes was a small lush valley.
On the other side of the valley was a larger mountain. It was erected in the middle of the island and was several times taller than the hill Xue Yue stepped on. When compared against each other, the hill beneath his foot would be more suitable to be called a hillock.
There were two small hills similar in size to where he stood, on both sides of the large mountain. The small valley before him had separated the mountain from the other three hills.
It was unknown what was behind those three hills and looking at it from afar, the few hills were covered with dense tropical plants, making it difficult to discover if there were any caves.
"Since there's a valley, perhaps I can find a stream…"
When left stranded on a deserted island, the discovery of bananas had made food available and the only remaining factor that threatened his survival was fresh water. When he looked at the small valley before him, Xue Yue felt that perhaps he could locate freshwater resources such as streams.
Generally speaking, streams were the easiest to find on lower ground.
Even though he was faster when he descended the hill, he felt increasingly uncomfortable when those broad leaves scratched against his face. Just a slight touch would cause burning pain.
The dense and tall forest made him feel that this place was more like a primitive forest instead of an island. Moreover, he could see birds scurrying back and forth as they sang.
"Birds? That's another source of food… but the environment on this island is so primitive to the extent that there's a great possibility that large animals will emerge!" Thinking of that, Xue Yue felt his heart shiver and he started to be wary of his surroundings.
With his eyes on alert and his ears perked up, Xue Yue gradually descended the hill and when he was about to reach the ground, a familiar sound could be heard.
Gu, gu…
"Is this the sound of water?" Xue Yue was ecstatic and even his footsteps sped up. Soon a clear stream appeared in his field of vision.
It was a small stream around one to two meters wide. The water was extremely clear as it flowed out from the depths of the valley crookedly.
Xue Yue was overjoyed and directly jumped into the stream. He crouched down and started drinking greedily. The sweet freshwater had deeply refreshed his mind. He swore that it was the sweetest water he had ever drunk in his life.
After he drank his fill, Xue Yue undressed and cleaned his body from head to toe. As he was previously soaked in seawater for a long period of time, his whole body was covered with sticky salt which made him very uncomfortable.
Xue Yue was not worried in the slightest about being naked on a deserted island and he started scrubbing his clothes after he washed up. His coat had gone missing after experiencing the plane crash and he only had a single shirt on his upper body. As for his lower body, it was rather complete, with his pants and shoes still around.
After he was done, Xue Yue followed the direction of the stream and walked towards the depths of the valley. Even though the stream flowed relatively gently, some large stones were slippery and made it easy to slip and fall.
After he walked for around 20 minutes, Xue Yue finally arrived at the end of the stream and what appeared before him was a small waterfall twenty-meters high. The water poured down from a high altitude and converged into a deep pool.
The pool had a radius not exceeding seventeen to eighteen meters and dense weeds were growing around its surroundings. What pleased Xue Yue the most was the cave around two meters tall and three meters wide that was located a few steps away from the right side of the pool.
"The Heavens are helping me!"
Xue Yue was overjoyed and hastily ran over to check out the cave. The entrance of the cave directly stretched inside and it seemed to be around fifteen metres deep.
The mouth of the cave was small, but the inside was spacious, with the deepest part of the cave unusually tall and wide. There was some gravel, weeds, and bird droppings on the ground, making it seem a mess. However, it would be a good place to stay after slightly cleaning it up.
On top of this, the pool was located at a high altitude with a wide field of vision and he could see the sea from a distance when standing here. Therefore, if there were any boats that approached the island, he would basically have a clear view. This was a perfect place to stay!
Xue Yue breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he had managed to find food, shelter and water, his chances of survival was greatly increased!
Xue Yue started to tidy up the cave before the sun would set. Firstly, he threw out some of the larger stones and pulled out the weeds. Next, he snapped some of the branches to make a broom and swept out the dust, bird droppings, spider webs and other debris inside the cave.
When he was finished, he went out to find some grass, leaves, and dried branches to make a bed. After which, he returned to the seaside to pluck several bunches of bananas to store inside the cave before he stopped working for the day.
"My clothes are dirty again?"
As soon as he was about to sit down and rest, Xue Yue found himself filthy from head to toe. It was most probably caused by him cleaning the cave earlier.
"I'll go wash my clothes and clean myself up!"
Even though Xue Yue was tired, he saw that the sun was about to set. He did not wish to move around at night. So, he stood up and walked to the pool in preparation to clean himself up.
Looking at the clear and cooling pool, Xue Yue smiled happily. He grew up in Dalian, a coastal city. He might not be good at anything else, but his swimming skills were definitely good.
He was good at swimming and he also loved to swim!
"The Heavens treat me rather well, allowing me to find a stream on a deserted island. At the very least, it won't be too lonely here in the future!"
"Haha!"
While he thought of that, Xue Yue could no longer restrain himself as he directly jumped and dove into the pool without even taking off his shirt and pants!
"Refreshing!"
The moment his weary body entered the water, a cool feeling swept across his whole body. Xue Yue felt that all the cells in his body were opened wide and he almost cried out in comfort. The feeling was too refreshing.
The familiar sensation temporarily made him forget all his troubles and he took a deep breath, stretched out his hands, kicked his legs, and started swimming like a happy fish.
When he came closer to the bottom of the waterfall, Xue Yue lightly pushed his feet, changed direction effortlessly and swam towards the shore on his back.
Backstroke was the most effortless swimming posture. Xue Yue flipped over with his back resting against the water while gently peddling with his feet. The water was similar to a soft quilt that softly and gently supported his body, making him feel comfortable to the extent of wanting to sleep.
He closed his eyes and quietly experienced the cool and gentleness of the water. Xue Yue honestly hoped that he could lie down like this forever.
However, at that moment, a sharp and piercing pain came from his leg. His eyes rolled back and he nearly fainted from the sensation.
"What's going on?"
Xue Yue turned white from the shock and his brain somewhat short-circuited. Pain, it was too painful. Moreover, traces of blood surfaced in the water and dyed it red. When he saw that, he started to paddle like crazy to come ashore.
However, Xue Yue had been disappointed. Not only was there a severe pain from his leg, there was also a strong pulling force that tried to pull him into the water.
"What is pulling me?"
Xue Yue was scared to death as he looked ghastly pale. His heart was beating like a drum as it sped up while his hands paddled desperately. But even so, it was all in vain.
"Sav…. save me… someone save me please!"
All his cries and struggles were for nothing. An irresistible force attacked and he was finally pulled underwater. He was already short of breath before that and had his mouth open wide. After he was pulled down, the water instantly flowed down his throat, causing Xue Yue to choke and nearly faint.
"Even in a plane crash, I managed to survive. But am I going to die in such an aggrieved manner?"
*Throb*
*Throb*
*Throb*
*Throb*
At this critical moment of life and death, Xue Fu's heart was beating at an unprecedented rate. His blood was flowing several times the usual speed, and just as ten seconds was about to pass since he was pulled underwater…
Suddenly a flash of silver appeared on the right leg that was grabbed and strange 'zinging' sounds could be heard before silver spikes emerged from his leg one by one.
Shortly after, a shrill roar sounded and Xue Yue felt that the pulling force had disappeared. Following which, both his arms desperately paddled.
Whoosh!
Xue Yue finally emerged from the water and shortly later, he climbed ashore. Even at that point, he did not dare to linger around, so he ran for quite some time before collapsing on the ground.
His bleeding right leg had dyed his trousers red and several huge dental marks were clearly visible as blood continuously flowed out.
It was only after some time had passed before Xue Yue recovered slightly from his state of shock. However, he was still in a state of lingering fear and his complexion was ghastly white.
"I was too careless to rashly enter an unfamiliar pool and take a bath. I nearly lost my life… It was honestly…" Xue Yue looked at the teeth marks on his right leg and gasped for breath. He regretted it so much his intestines turned inside out.
"What animal was that? It was a small pool, but looking at these teeth marks, it must have been caused by some ferocious aquatic animal. Was it a shark, or a crocodile?" Xue Yue could not picture what animal it was that had such a strong pulling force where he could not even resist!
It must have been some sort of large sized aquatic animal, but what could it possibly be?
"Also, since it was biting me, why did it suddenly let go? If not for that, it would have been impossible for me to escape. I heard a shrill sound underwater… could it be related to that?"
Several questions filled his mind and a hazy cloud surfaced in his heart.
The sun had finally set and the afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded away. Unknowingly, darkness began to descend and Xue Yue wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.