Sha Qing

Chapter 64: Trap (1)

"Give me your knife." Luo Yi held out his hand to Daniel.

"What knife?" The latter played dumb.

Luo Yi quickly reached into the hem of his clothes and pulled out a fifteen centimeter paring knife from the inside of his waistband. "I saw you steal this from under Old Hei's pillow this morning ."

Daniel watched in frustration as the secret weapon was taken away from him, which made him feel substantially less safe. "That's my knife! You can get one yourself!"

"I'm the boss now, and you're the little brother, so you have to listen to me!" The Asian youth hit him with a stick and then gave him a carrot, "I'll give it back to you when I'm done with it. After we get rid of one or two hunters, we'll have knives and guns, and by then, you can take your pick."

Daniel thought that this plan was plausible so he could only accept it.

Luo Yi used the tip of the knife to pry open the compass issued to them, and not surprisingly, found a miniature signal transmitter inside.

"Damn, that's the thing they use to locate everyone and provide the coordinates to the hunters!" Daniel immediately pulled out his own compass and threw it faraway.

"But without a compass, what should we do if we get lost?" After the impulse came the regret. Why did I forget to try prying the signal transmitter off so that I can keep using it?

"They are connected together so if you remove the transmitter, the compass won't work anymore." Luo Yi seemed to have seen through as he explained, "Don't worry, the island isn't too big. You won't get lost if you know your way around."

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They are trudging through the dense forest.

A lot of Luo Yi's actions along the way were puzzling, but Daniel was smart enough to figure out the trick at a glance.

For example, he bent a green bamboo, cut off its tip, put an empty plastic water bottle over it, and tied the bamboo tip to a low place with a rope twisted from the skin of a climbing plant, so that the mouth of the bottle is facing upwards. After some time, the juice that was draining out of the bamboo filled the bottle.

Another instance was when Luo Yi inserted a small sharpened and hollow bamboo tube into the trunk of a banana tree, using it as a tap, , and then he dug a shallow pit underneath and covered it with a large banana leaf that served as a water trap. The water from the trunk dripped into the banana leaves and accumulated after a few hours.

They found quite a bit of drinkable fresh water through such means. While most of it tasted a bit strange, it was enough to quench their thirst.

As far as food was concerned, it wasn't difficult to obtain it as long as you one used their brain. There are many bushes in the jungle, some with berries, and Luo Yi would carefully identify and pick the non-toxic ones to eat.

"I want to eat seafood and meat." Daniel grinned and bit the sour berries. "Leave these sour fruits for the squirrel!"

"Let's head for the leeward beach. There's probably plenty to eat there." Luo Yi made his way ahead, periodically reminding Daniel of the cracks in the rock bed beneath his feet that were hidden by climbing plants and that if he fell, he'd never be able to climb back up.

The dense forest finally showed signs of thinning along the edge of a cliff, but the rock wall was very steep, with a drop of about fourteen to fifteen meters to the ground. Luo Yi observed back and forth, then said, "There's no road on either side, we have to go down from here."

Daniel's face turned pale: "Are you kidding me? Climbing this 90-degree rock wall with bare hands? One step missed and we'd fall down flat like a meatloaf!"

Luo Yi walked towards an extremely huge tree growing along the edge of the cliff : "Look at this Sacred Fig. In order to get more nutrients, its well-developed roots partly grow down along the rock wall. Those root vines are tough enough that we can use and grab onto them while climbing down. But be careful-the rock has become brittle because of those roots, so don't slip on it."

And without waiting for a response from Daniel, he bent down to grab a thicker root vine and started to climb down cautiously.

Daniel poked his head out from the edge of the cliff , and stared at the four stories high rock wall, he couldn't help but feel dizzy, "I can't... I'm afraid of heights ......"

"Stay up there, then," said Luo Yi as he climbed down, "Don't forget that not only do they have cars, they also have hunting dogs."

Upon hearing those words, Daniel had no other choice but to grit his teeth and grab the vertical root vines. He then followed his companion down carefully.

Luo Yi made a point of reminding him at every loose rock. He also gave him instructions on how to use the strength of his legs instead of just relying on his arms alone, which would have caused him to fall halfway because of exhaustion.

After nearly half an hour, they finally landed safely on the ground. Daniel lay on the vine net to catch his breath. He was so tired, and his limb muscles were aching and sore. He turned to look at Luo Yi, and saw that the other party was still at ease .

He felt like this Asian man was becoming more and more unfathomable.

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After a ten-minute break, they continued on their way.

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The thick vegetation had thinned out, therefore this gentle slopes of barren grass made their walk much easier. Palm trees, Pandanus trees and shrubs, and the occasional Agaves had replaced the original trees. The wind smelled increasingly more fishy and salty, and a wide white sandy beach loomed ahead from between the branches and leaves.

"Coconuts! Look, coconut!" Daniel yelled happily while pointing to the tall coconut trees ahead.

"You know, the indigenous people call coconut juice the 'water of life'." Luo Yi said as he climbed a tall coconut tree with his hands and knees, twisting off a green coconut and throwing it down, "Get out of the way, if this stuff falls onto your head you can just be buried directly at sea."

Daniel immediately stepped back for several meters, and he squinted up to see Luo Yi slowly sliding down the tree. Upon landing, the latter's face showed a rare look of pain.