The events of the past two days had been so sudden that Luo Zheng felt as if he was dreaming. His comrades had been slaughtered, powerful enemies had nearly killed him several times, and now he had met Lan Xue, who was generously sharing her knowledge. The world was changing unpredictably, and he didn't know when he would catch up with the enemy. Given the enemy's strength, they must have run far ahead. Why was Lan Xue so certain they could catch up? There must be things he didn't know yet.
Gradually, Luo Zheng grew tired and quickly stood up to stretch, adding wood to the campfire to ensure the surrounding temperature. The heavy rain continued, the water seeped through the dense canopy, falling on the rain shelter and sliding down its broad leaves, the campfire and people underneath remained unaffected.
The rain stopped around midnight. Luo Zheng found a place to sit and used the familial Breathing Skill to adjust his breathing for a quick recovery of his strength. Soon, he entered a trance-like state. In this state, he could sense danger approaching immediately. Luckily, the night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, Luo Zheng opened his eyes to see Lan Xue changing his bandages, revealing a large expanse of her fair, youthful, and elastic skin. Luo Zheng couldn't help but stare until a voice asked, "Do you like what you see?"
"Beautiful," Luo Zheng sincerely replied, then suddenly realizing how it sounded, turned his face away awkwardly and said, "Wait here. I'll get something to eat and be right back."
Lan Xue watched Luo Zheng hastily leave in disarray and smiled, blossoming like a lily after a mountain rain—pure, beautiful, and incomparably elegant. The whole forest seemed suddenly filled with vitality. Thinking of her own background, Lan Xue's face turned cold as ice in an instant, regaining her aloof expression. The air around her seemed to freeze as she fiddled with the dying campfire, sinking into deep thought.
After a while, Luo Zheng hurried back, seeing the campfire about to extinguish and Lan Xue still deep in thought, unnoticing. He quickly added some dry wood to the fire and buried a hunted wild chicken in a pit to cook, then stoked the fire even more.
Lan Xue glanced embarrassedly at Luo Zheng, but quickly regained her aloof composure. She looked up at the sky, then at the watch on her wrist, checking her weapons. Luo Zheng didn't ask much; everyone has their secrets. Although Lan Xue had selflessly taught him combat skills, they weren't yet close enough to share secrets, and he too began checking his weapons.
Half an hour later, after sharing the food, they hurried on their way. Lan Xue's wound had scabbed over, and walking was not much of an issue, enabling them to accelerate their pace. By noon, as Luo Zheng was about to look for food, Lan Xue suddenly said, "We need to speed up, eat some wild fruits if you're hungry, we'll talk about dinner later."
"That sounds good," Luo Zheng agreed without asking why, and they quickened their pace even more, almost jogging through the forest. They had already delayed too much, and Luo Zheng worried about the enemy escaping; speeding up was indeed best. If the enemy got away, he would never forgive himself for not being able to face his fallen comrades.
Along the way, Lan Xue continuously observed the ground for traces, gathering clues from a slight broken branch, an ambiguous footprint, a piece of bark rubbed off by something, and more. She determined the direction and route from these signs and taught Luo Zheng, who was from a hunter background, these tracking skills without reservation. He picked up quickly, mastering the skills after being shown just once, which surprised Lan Xue but she didn't ask further.
By dusk, they arrived at a canyon and found an abandoned camp in a grove. Lan Xue observed for a while and confidently said, "Look at the marks on the ground, the burned soil—our enemy camped here. The moonlight is good tonight; shall we travel through the night? Any problems?"
Luo Zheng carefully examined the traces on the ground and replied, "No problem."
"That's good. Let's get some food ready first. Once we move forward, we won't be able to cook anymore, so grill all the food you have hunted and take it with you. We might need it later. Remember, the most critical aspect of jungle warfare is always to prepare an escape route for yourself, which includes ammunition, food, and so on," Lan Xue said.
"Understood." Luo Zheng nodded solemnly, not daring to be careless. The fact that Lan Xue was giving such serious advice indicated its importance.
Together, the two started a fire and grilled food. After eating their fill and drinking plenty, they turned the remaining food into jerky to carry with them, then continued on their journey. The moonlight was bright that night, providing good visibility, and the two of them marched hurriedly through the dense forest, like wolves on the hunt, moving swiftly yet silently.
Around midnight, Luo Zheng, who hadn't slept in three days, felt he could no longer keep up. Seeing Lan Xue, who was severely injured and recently recovered from a serious illness, biting down and persevering, he thought of his tragically dead brother and rallied his spirits. He gritted his teeth and followed, using his family's Breathing Skill to regulate his breathing. Gradually, Luo Zheng felt his strength returning and no longer felt sleepy, which delighted him greatly. He hadn't expected the family's Breathing Skill to work while walking. It was fantastic.
Lan Xue didn't know Luo Zheng had the Breathing Skill to speed up the recovery of his strength and energy. Seeing him hold up after three days without proper rest, she gained a deeper understanding of his potential and looked forward to more, continuing at a steady pace without saying much. As dawn approached, the two suddenly saw blue smoke rising from the woods ahead and immediately stopped.
"Could it be the enemy?" Luo Zheng asked, breathing heavily, realizing his power was still insufficient.
"It likely is," Lan Xue, also considerably fatigued and leaning on a large tree to catch her breath after overcoming a severe illness and injury, demonstrated her formidable strength by enduring until now.
"What should we do?" Luo Zheng picked up his M16A4 automatic rifle, loaded it, and appeared eager to engage. His desire for revenge was getting the better of him.
"Do you think just because you've learned a bit, you're invincible?" Lan Xue bluntly put him down with her icy tone, which immediately sobered Luo Zheng. Then, Lan Xue raised her sniper rifle and began observing through the sniper scope. After a while, she put down the rifle, her face ashen, and said, "They cannot escape. Rest here for ten minutes."
Luo Zheng wanted to say something, but upon seeing the murderous look on Lan Xue's face, he swallowed his words. Lan Xue glanced at him and said, "At any time, only by protecting yourself can you harm the enemy. With our current condition, rushing in would be suicidal. Bring out the food."
"Yes." Luo Zheng had an epiphany, inwardly cursing his own recklessness, and quickly took out the jerky to share.
With Luo Zheng's Breathing Skill and Lan Xue's robust constitution, both fully recovered their strength after ten minutes. They got up in tacit agreement, walked forward while checking their weapons, and said nothing. On a hillside, they saw a group of people around a bonfire, dividing up food.