Sisters in the Deep Forest Valley: Many Fun Things

Chapter 142 The Cave Owner Returns

Lin Chunyi pointed to the corner and said, "Lanshan, look over there, there's a really big grassy nest."

It seems like the creature living in this cave is quite large. I wonder why it's not home with such heavy rain today.

Lin Lanshan looked delighted and ran over, tearing half of the nest away. She didn't even mind the smell and just carried it over.

"Sis, we're so lucky! I was just worried about not being able to start a fire; I was freezing to death."

She gathered a large pile of hay, took out her lighter, and set half of the "owner's" nest ablaze.

Surprisingly, it's quite warm! The two people and their five pets gathered around the fire to warm themselves.

The two sisters felt their damp and cold bodies warm up a little, so they took off their outer clothes, wrung them out, and held them up to dry.

With only dry grass and a few thin twigs, the fire died down in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Lin Chunyi, holding up the clothes, shivered and said through gritted teeth:

"This dry grass won't burn for long, and it won't even dry our clothes. If this continues, we'll all get sick."

Not only her, but Lin Lanshan also sneezed, and Taozi and Tuanyuan Ankang huddled together and trembled.

The rain was still pouring down outside, and they hadn't brought umbrellas or raincoats, so they couldn't go out. Even if they did go out, it would be difficult to gather enough wet firewood to start a fire.

The cave was both dirty and clean. Because besides excrement and urine, there was only half a nest of grass...

Lin Lanshan got up and walked towards the half-buried grass. "The fire is about to go out. I'll relight it first. It's too cold."

Lin Chunyi stopped her sister, "Wait, the remaining hay is the only thing we can use as kindling."

Who knows how long this rain will last? Once we run out of these supplies, we'll really freeze to death here.

Let's go get some damp firewood. We can build a fire and dry it before using it; it's better than having nothing at all.

She racked her brains trying to recall what the protagonists in those novels used to start a fire when they went into a cave to take shelter from the rain...

"I remember now!" she said. "The old bark of a dead tree, and its trunk and branches, anything will do! Trees that are completely dry won't get too wet even if it rains!"

“Alright, once we’ve chosen a tree, we’ll start peeling the bark. Let’s not waste time searching everywhere. The rain is too heavy; the longer we stay in the rain, the stronger the cold will become.” With that, Lin Lanshan took out a wood-chopping knife from her spatial storage.

Luckily, they always carry knives with them, otherwise we would have had to scrape it bit by bit with a small bamboo knife today...

They stood at the cave entrance, searching among the oak trees a few meters away for the thickest tree whose leaves had all fallen.

Lin Chunyi pointed to the right, "That one! Come on, let's hurry!"

The two men, carrying baskets on their backs, rushed over quickly to the tree. They immediately began hacking horizontally at the tree, tearing open a slit and hacking downwards with all their might…

Soon, they removed about 1.5 meters of bark from the big tree in front of them and put it into their baskets.

Lin Chunyi was worried that she wouldn't have enough, and not knowing when the rain would stop, she grabbed her wood-chopping knife and climbed up a tree.

"Lanshan, take these bark strips back first, otherwise they'll be unusable if you water them again. I'll cut some branches down."

Lin Lanshan immediately slung a basket over her back, grabbed one in front of her, and ran back to the cave.

The fire inside the cave had dwindled to a pile of black ash and a few embers.

The lingering warmth made Peach and Reunion & Health huddle closer together, trying to keep warm.

She quickly piled pieces of tough bark vertically on top of the fire, forming a cone-shaped tower. Then she tore off half a bundle of grass and placed it underneath to start a fire.

He said to the peaches and the reunion, who were huddled together, "The fire is starting. Step back a little, or you'll burn the fuzz."

They shrank back a little bit, just a little bit.

Lin Lanshan didn't have time to say anything more and ran out. By then, a large pile of branches had fallen from the tree.

She tilted her head slightly and called out to her sister, who was still chopping at the tree branches, "Sister, that's enough. Stop chopping and come down... Pfft, ptooey, cough."

As soon as she finished speaking, rainwater filled her mouth, causing her to cough.

"Okay, I'll go down after I cut this one. You take the mess on the ground back and don't come out again. I'll be right back!"

The heavy rain continued to lash her body. Lin Chunyi was already exhausted, but she managed to cut the branch and slowly slid down the tree.

Lin Lanshan carried a pile of branches back to the cave, then returned to help her sister. The two carried the last pile back as well, then collapsed, panting, by the fire.

Once they caught their breath, the two women placed the branches around the fire and on the bark to dry. The damp firewood piled on top of the fire emitted a thick cloud of smoke, which choked them and made them cough and tear up.

Peach and Reunion Health also shook their heads and sneezed several times.

But at least everything is finally packed up.

Once their outer garments were dry, they took off their wet clothes, wrung them out, and laid them on their baskets, leaving them wearing only their outer garments.

Lin Lanshan took her sister's hand and frowned, saying, "Sister, your hands are bleeding from being rubbed raw."

"It's true, I didn't even feel it, but now it hurts a bit."

Lin Chunyi looked at her palm; it was slightly scraped, and her wrist had several bloody scratches. She must have accidentally injured herself while cutting tree branches.

She took out Jin Chuang San (a traditional Chinese medicine powder) and sprinkled some powder on a few small wounds. It hurt, but was tolerable.

It seems that buying medicine at a higher price has another advantage.

Lin Lanshan suddenly sneezed, feeling both cold and hot all over.

She rubbed her arms before taking out her thermos and medicine packet. "Sister, please prepare two packets of Jingfang granules."

Luckily, we always carry water and common medications with us when we go out, otherwise we would have suffered terribly today.

Lin Chunyi nodded and took out her own as well.

They each tore open two packets of the powder, poured them into their own cups, shook them, and then gulped down half of them.

I also gave Taozi and Tuanyuan Ankang a few cups of wine.

Lin Lanshan looked worriedly at the heavy rain outside the cave. "Sister, it's already noon, and the rain is still so heavy. Will we have to spend the night here?"

"...Don't jinx it, we won't have enough firewood for tomorrow."

They don't have to worry about food and drink; they always have enough in their space.

They really hadn't thought of firewood, otherwise they would have packed a few pounds of charcoal into their space, and wouldn't have had to worry about spending the night in the cave.

Both of them gazed sadly at the rain outside the cave, their feelings indescribable.

The fire's temperature has dropped again.

Lin Lanshan set aside the nearly roasted bark and branches, added one last handful of dry grass to the fire, and then threw in the chopped branches.

Without the shade above them, and with the addition of thick branches, the fire blazed up, making their faces glow red.

The two people and their five pets all closed their eyes comfortably, warming themselves by the fire.

Just then, faint footsteps came from the cave entrance. The two sisters opened their eyes and met the gaze of the wild beast outside the cave.

Their eyes widened, and Lin Lanshan couldn't help but shout, "Holy crap, a tabby cat???"

The entrance to the cave belonged to a large wildcat with grayish-brown fur and black stripes.

Unlike ordinary domestic cats, it has two black vertical stripes from its eyes to its ears, making it look very fierce.

It was large and robust, with a short head and a long body. Its long, round ears stood erect, and it held a gray rabbit in its mouth.