Voices in the Woods

"You can't go, look, you're wearing a skirt. You won't be able to walk in the primitive woods. What if a snake slithers in? " Luo Jun's words sent a shiver down Li Shi's spine and she took an instinctive step back, squeezing her legs together.

Clearly, girls are afraid of snakes.

Luo Jun pinched her cute cheek again: "Be a good girl and wait here. Don't go anywhere before I get back."

Li Shi was obviously a little reluctant, but considering she was wearing a skirt, it was indeed inappropriate.

"Okay...Uncle, be careful!" Seeing the girl's concerned eyes, Luo Jun felt a warmth in his heart. In all these years, except for Xiao Ya, no one else cared about him.

"I'll be careful." Luo Jun said before bidding them farewell.

Before leaving, Luo Jun took away the iron case containing the sniper rifle and buried it in the sand more than 100 meters away from the shelter.

Following the bloodstains, Luo Jun soon discovered bloody footprints on a patch of loose soil.

The footprints were about 30 cm long and 18 cm wide. The front end had five claws with toes close together and clear claw prints. They were obviously left by a bear paw. The back of the hind paw print tapered off and could easily be mistaken for a human footprint.

By observing the relationship between the footprints and bloodstains, Luo Jun deduced that the sharpened stake had injured the front chest of the bear.

Since the grilled fish was hung up, the bear must have stood up to eat it. When it pulled the fish down, the trap was triggered and the powerful elasticity drove the stake into its chest.

"No wonder it was able to escape after being hit, it turned out to be a big fellow!"

Luo Jun regretted a little that he didn't bring a gun, but it was just a passing thought. That thing was an anti-material sniper rifle. Firing it could easily attract the armed sentries hiding in the woods.

Although Luo Jun was eager to scout out the danger, his current condition was simply unsuitable.

He carefully followed the bloodstains and found that they became sparser. However, there was no shortage of weeds and shrubs on the island. Wounded bears could smear blood on them when passing through.

Even if its wound had stopped bleeding, Luo Jun could still find some bloodstains.

After struggling along for more than two hours, Luo Jun was extremely hungry and thirsty. But he finally arrived at the foot of a small peak, which was covered with boulders of varying sizes.

The larger ones weighed over ten tons, while the smaller ones were still several hundred jin. They were all covered in moss.

Luo Jun ripped off a large piece of damp moss and took off his socks to squeeze the moisture into his mouth.

The taste was naturally not very good, but at least he had replenished some fluids now.

"I was too reckless. I should have drunk a coconut before coming in." Luo Jun felt regret at his carelessness. Among these piles of rocks, it was difficult to see any bloodstains compared to the woods.

Sure enough, Luo Jun had lost track of the big fellow.

But Luo Jun was not discouraged, because he discovered bees. At this time of year, bees had very low activity and were hiding in their hives eating the honey they had made in spring, summer and autumn.

The activity range of bees is usually within three kilometers of a water source.

Discovering these lovely little creatures, Luo Jun felt his trip today would not be fruitless.

Luo Jun observed the terrain and decided to search downhill to see if he could find a place where water converged.

If so, looking for a suitable place to live long-term wouldn't go amiss.

Struggling with thirst, Luo Jun searched for another hour and discovered a bamboo grove. This delighted him tremendously as bamboo was a very important natural resource for survival in the wild.

With bamboo, Luo Jun could make many tools and traps, and also use it to store food.

In addition, bamboo usually grows where there is plenty of moisture.

Luo Jun cut a small bamboo to explore the way ahead. This area was full of ferns taller than a human, a favorite place for snakes to sleep.

There were no trails in the woods unlike the country mountains with paths worn down by people. To move forward, Luo Jun had to clear a path while advancing, otherwise he wouldn't have made such little progress in over three hours.

In the bamboo grove, Luo Jun found some bamboo shoots with yellowed tips. These bamboos were filled with clear water, also known as bamboo liquid.

These were not normal bamboos. During growth, damage to the inner ducts from insects or other external factors caused internal seepage of water that gradually accumulated in the bamboo nodes.

The water inside could not only be drunk directly, but also contained many elements useful to the human body.

Luo Jun was overjoyed. He immediately opened a hole in a bamboo shoot and water gushed out. He stuck his mouth over it and drank his fill.

"This is a good place!"

Luo Jun wiped his mouth then continued searching. Soon he heard the sound of gurgling water downhill.

Luo Jun hurried over and saw a huge rock below the bamboo slope with a pool underneath!

The pool was about forty square meters, crystal clear and only a little over one meter deep.

The water source was from under the huge rock. It flowed downstream from the pool forming a very small creek.

The creek was overgrown on both sides with plants. If not for the sound, this little creek would have been completely undetectable. Luo Jun couldn't believe he had come to catch a bear but accidentally discovered such a good place.

"Building a shelter here shouldn't be a problem."

After surveying the surroundings, Luo Jun had already identified a flat piece of bamboo forest and was planning for the new shelter.

There was still time so Luo Jun cleared the flat bamboo area, felling the bamboo. However, with an empty stomach, he was in no shape for labor. After chopping one water bamboo shoot, he hurried back. By the time he returned to the beach, it was noon. The two women had already started grilling fish. Seeing Luo Jun return with a bamboo shoot but no prey, they were only startled for a moment but did not seem disappointed.

"Mr. Luo, we caught fish! Come eat!" Lorna called out. Li Shi ran over and took the bamboo shoot from Luo Jun's hand.

"Uncle, you didn't catch anything?"

"No, but there will be another chance next time. Also, I found a water source. We can head over first thing tomorrow morning and build a shelter there without any issues." Luo Jun said.

Just then, Li Shi asked worriedly:

"When can we leave this island after hiding in there?"

She clearly did not realize how dangerous it was.

"As long as it's confirmed there is no danger, we can build a boat and head for the California Peninsula. Staying inside will only be temporary."

Luo Jun could only reassure her this way.

He needed to confirm whether the danger on the island existed before considering leaving.

Lorna did not comment on this. She brought grilled fish to Luo Jun.

"Eat your fill first, then talk."

Luo Jun took it with a nod. Li Shi was surprised by the weight of the bamboo shoot and Luo Jun explained it to her.

Just then, some strange sounds came from the woods.

It sounded like people talking.

The two women hadn't noticed yet when Luo Jun covered their mouths.

"Don't make a sound. There seems to be movement over there!"

As he spoke, Luo Jun had already drawn out his dagger and crouched towards the woods.

The two women also turned nervous. Were there really other people on this island?