Arriving at the riverbank, Zhang Ye was no longer reckless. He first examined the small river. The water was clear, and the depth appeared to be no more than knee-deep, with no large creatures in sight, so it seemed safe.
However, to be cautious, he found a long stick and poked it into the water. No danger emerged, but he did stir up several crabs that looked like rocks.
Without hesitation, Zhang Ye cast an appraisal spell on them.
[Stone Crab: A river crab that camouflages as a rock. It is a non-magical creature with a hard shell, edible.]
Since they were non-magical, they didn't fall under the category of magical beasts. Zhang Ye relaxed and grinned. "Gu Jiu, wait here while I catch you some crabs!"
He rolled up his pants and carefully stepped into the river. As he expected, the water only reached his knees, and there was no danger. He bent down to start catching the stone crabs.
The stone crabs were only slightly larger than a coin, and the biggest ones were about the size of a regular mud crab. Their shells resembled rocks, making them hard to spot while curled up on the riverbed. But Zhang Ye had a way around this: whenever he stirred the water with the stick, the stone crabs would scuttle out.
The crabs were slow-moving, and their pincers weren't particularly dangerous. Zhang Ye quickly grabbed them, not even bothering to avoid getting his hands dirty, and stuffed them into the side pockets of his pants, buttoning them securely so they couldn't escape.
In no time, all four of his pockets were filled.
"A bountiful harvest!" Zhang Ye chuckled as he jumped back onto the shore, holding a small stone crab in front of Gu Jiu. "Here, eat up, Gu Jiu."
"Gu Jiu~" Gu Jiu made a happy sound and wrapped its round body around the stone crab. The crab struggled and bubbled as its hard shell rapidly dissolved before Zhang Ye's eyes. Within moments, the small stone crab was completely digested, leaving nothing behind.
Gu Jiu's body seemed to grow slightly larger.
Zhang Ye quickly fed more crabs to Gu Jiu. "Come on, eat some more. Get bigger and plumper."
"Gu Jiu~" After devouring a dozen or so crabs, Gu Jiu's size had increased to about the size of a pomegranate. It had regained the energy it spent healing Zhang Ye's injury earlier.
Zhang Ye planned to eat the remaining stone crabs himself to taste how the crabs from this world compared to those in his own.
"My stomach's a bit hungry. Time to solve lunch," Zhang Ye said, looking around. "Let's start a fire first."
There were many ways to start a fire, and Zhang Ye had learned a few methods from videos. While the traditional fire-by-friction technique was the most well-known, it was also the hardest. So, Zhang Ye decided to go with the simpler option: the easy fire-starting method with a scraper.
This method involved carving a groove into a softwood plank, placing flammable tinder at the front of the groove, and then rubbing a harder stick back and forth until a spark ignited the tinder.
Zhang Ye found some soft wood and sticks and went to the river to collect stones. He struck them together to produce a sharp-edged stone shard, which he used to scrape the wood into a flat shape.
It was a bit laborious, but Zhang Ye was patient because he wanted to eat the stone crabs. Soon, he had a wooden plank with a groove, a stick, and wood shavings to serve as tinder. He also gathered dry twigs and leaves for fuel.
Now, it was time to begin!
He sprinkled some sand into the groove to increase friction and make it easier to start the fire. Then, he began rapidly rubbing the stick back and forth in the groove. It was tough work, but after several attempts, the groove began to blacken, and smoke started to rise.
A spark appeared, but it extinguished quickly. Zhang Ye didn't give up and tried again. After three attempts, he finally saw a spark appear again.
"Got it!" Zhang Ye carefully moved the spark into the wood shavings and gently blew on it.
The spark flared up, igniting the wood shavings. The smoke grew thicker, and before long, a small flame appeared. Zhang Ye's face lit up with excitement as he continued to add dry leaves and blow gently.
Soon, a small fire was burning, and Zhang Ye felt a great sense of achievement. Although it took him over an hour and left him covered in sweat, for a beginner like him, it was a pretty good start. Even Aira couldn't help but praise him. "Nice job, you actually got a fire going."
Zhang Ye grinned proudly, then went to find more firewood. Once the fire was strong, he tossed the stone crabs into the flames. The crabs struggled briefly before falling still, and the delicious aroma of cooked crab soon filled the air.
While waiting, Zhang Ye took off his wet pants and hung them by the fire to dry with some branches. This scene made Aira blush slightly, though she said nothing.
Before long, the stone crabs were cooked. Zhang Ye pulled them out using a stick.
"Hot, hot... wow, smells so good!" Zhang Ye exclaimed as he cracked open a crab shell, revealing the golden yellow crab roe inside. He grinned and began eating eagerly.
The crab shells were incredibly hard, and Zhang Ye had to use a stone to crack them open. Meanwhile, Gu Jiu climbed over to the discarded crab shells and started devouring them too.
Seeing this, Zhang Ye quickly stopped it. He couldn't let Gu Jiu eat the leftovers.
"Here, Gu Jiu, try the cooked crab," Zhang Ye offered, holding a freshly cooked crab in front of it.
"Gu Jiu!" Gu Jiu made a delighted sound, and the two of them started eating the crabs together.
Soon, both of them were full and ready to continue their journey. Zhang Ye stood up to extinguish the fire, but just then, Aira pointed toward the river. "Look, there's someone over there!"
"Where?" Zhang Ye quickly looked over and was stunned.
A person was floating on the river, drifting downstream from up-river. When they reached the shallow part of the river near Zhang Ye, they bumped into the rocks, causing the person to stir.
Zhang Ye rushed over immediately, unsure if the person was dead, but decided to drag them to the shore first. After a lot of effort, he finally managed to pull them to the fire.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a woman—an incredibly striking woman.
Why striking? He couldn't say for sure, but there was something about her that just radiated an unusual aura.
Her features were exquisitely sharp yet soft, with a distinctly western look. Her large eyes were closed, and her lashes were red, giving her a slightly wild appearance. Her brows were also red and shaped like swords, adding to her fierce vibe.
Her hair was a fiery red, wet from the water, but it looked like flames dancing in the water. Despite being soaked, she didn't look disheveled. In fact, there was an otherworldly beauty to her.
Her attire was unusual, with a dark red robe on the outside and a white form-fitting inner shirt. The high collar accentuated her long neck like a swan's, and her chest was quite impressive, even when she was lying down. Zhang Ye could tell from the exquisite design of her robe that she wasn't an ordinary person.
The robe, despite being soaked, remained dry, and Zhang Ye guessed that it was enchanted with powerful magic resistance, which likely helped her float.
"A mage," Aira said.
"A mage?" Zhang Ye's eyes lit up before he shook his head. "Wait, magic isn't important right now. Let's see if she's still alive first."
He gently opened her eyelid and saw that her eyes were red like rubies, seemingly filled with flame.
"Her pupils aren't dilated. She's not dead, but she's not breathing. Probably drowned. We need to do CPR!" Zhang Ye said, then hesitated. "But... what if she wakes up and kills me for this?"
After a moment of thinking, he shrugged and decided, "Whatever, saving her is the priority."
He opened her mouth, checked for any obstructions, pinched her nose, and gave her a forceful breath.
As for the sensation of her lips? Well, saving her was the only thing on Zhang Ye's mind right now.
Then, he checked her chest to see if it was rising and falling, beginning chest compressions. It wasn't perfect, but he did his best.
After about ten minutes, just as Zhang Ye was about to give her another breath, she suddenly coughed violently, expelling a mouthful of water straight into Zhang Ye's mouth.
"Shit!" Zhang Ye gasped and quickly spit the water out.
Water from someone else's mouth—no matter how beautiful she was—was definitely not sweet.