Peach Blossom Land On Longyin Island Chapter 18

Whale

The sun was high overhead by the time they reached Seaside Island. An Le had assumed they would be sleeping in caves or setting up tents, but upon arrival, he discovered that the hunting team had actually established a camp here: dozens of small wooden cabins clustered in a clearing in the forest, surrounded by trees, with the sound of running water nearby.

An Tong explained to the two of them, “There are several such camps in the forest. The hunting team chooses one for each hunt. The camps are built in relatively safe locations, and there are many traps nearby. I will teach you how to identify them later. You two will stay in that one,” An Tong said, pointing to a small wooden cabin. “Go find An Nan for bedding and blankets. Go settle in and rest for a bit. We will set off after lunch.”

In the camp, several members of the hunting team had already started a fire and were preparing food. An Linmian and three others were collecting bedding, entering the small wooden cabins in pairs. After giving instructions to An Le and An Xiaoyu, An Tong went to organize the rest of the hunting team members.

An Le and An Xiaoyu collected their bedding and entered their small wooden cabin. While An Xiaoyu was making the bed, An Le surveyed the cabin:

The small wooden cabin was not large, containing only one bed, a round table made from a large tree stump, and several small tree stumps used as stools. Although simple, An Le was quite satisfied—it had a certain fairytale quality to it.

An Le pushed open the window. Outside was lush, vibrant green. Hunting team members moved back and forth within the camp, busy and orderly. An Le, who hadn’t left Longyin Village for half a year, felt his spirits lift considerably.

“The bed is ready. You should go rest on it for a while,” An Xiaoyu said, walking over to An Le after finishing the bedding.

“Okay!” Although they had arrived by boat, they had walked a long distance after disembarking to reach the camp. An Le did indeed feel a bit tired, so he didn’t try to act tough. He plopped down onto the bed and leaned back, relaxing completely.

“An Xiaoyu, what are you doing?” An Le asked casually, lying on the bed and staring at the spiderwebs on the ceiling, listening to the sounds of An Xiaoyu moving around and busy working.

“There’s dust. I’m cleaning up,” An Xiaoyu replied.

Hearing this, An Le sprang up into a sitting position. He saw An Xiaoyu wiping the table and chairs with a strip of cloth he had found somewhere, dust motes dancing in the sunlight.

An Le hadn’t thought about cleaning at all and couldn’t help but feel awkward. “Ah, then I… I’ll help too.” As he spoke, he prepared to get up and clean, but An Xiaoyu said, “No need. You rest. I promised you wouldn’t have to do any work.”

“Hmm… That’s true,” An Le said, feeling justified as he lay back down. He swung his legs and tilted his head to glance at An Xiaoyu. “After all, I’m making such a huge sacrifice. I’ll be a widower once you leave, so you doing more work now can be considered atonement.”

An Xiaoyu paused his movements, took three quick steps to the bedside, and looked down at An Le, frowning. “You’re not leaving?”

This was the second time An Xiaoyu had asked him this question. An Le looked into An Xiaoyu’s dark eyes, blinked slowly, and said, “It will be later.”

“How much later?” An Xiaoyu’s brow remained furrowed, his voice deepened, carrying a hint of interrogation.

An Le frowned, silent for a moment, then said, “I don’t know.”

An Xiaoyu’s frown deepened further. He stared intently at An Le, asking, “Half a year, is that enough?”

“Huh?” An Le didn’t quite understand An Xiaoyu’s meaning at first. “Enough for what?”

“To say goodbye. Is half a year enough time for you to say goodbye to this place?” An Xiaoyu rarely spoke to An Le with such a sharp tone. As far as An Le could recall, this was the first time, and the unusual tone left him feeling somewhat bewildered.

Seeing An Le remain silent, An Xiaoyu stared into his eyes and added, “One year, a year at most. I will stay here for a maximum of one year.”

An Le remained silent. The two faced each other, locked in a wordless confrontation. Suddenly, An Wen’s voice called from the doorway, “Brother An Le, Brother Xiaoyu, time to eat.”

An Le shifted his gaze, sat up, and said flatly, “You don’t need to wait for me. I am a person of Longyin Village.”

“You won’t—”

“An Le is,” An Le interrupted An Xiaoyu, raising his voice slightly. Seeing An Xiaoyu’s face turn cold, he softened his tone and said calmly, “Let’s go, time to eat.”

“A strip of cloth like this will be tied near all the traps. Be careful when you walk. Although there are no sharp stakes inside the traps, if you fall in, you’ll still be sore for a few days.” After the meal, An Tong took An Le, An Xiaoyu, and the others into the forest to teach An Le and An Xiaoyu how to identify traps. A conspicuous red cloth strip was tied to the dry grass and vines covering the trap. An Tong pulled aside the dead vines, revealing the wooden board underneath. As he lifted the board, he said, “When you use it, just remove the board and cover it with dead vines and grass. Remember to cover the board when you leave.”

“Cover it?” An Le asked. “Shouldn’t anyone besides the hunting team come here?”

“No one will come,” An Tong chuckled. “It’s to prevent animals from accidentally falling in. If an animal falls in by mistake, it will starve to death within ten days. The hunting team won’t stay here to guard them, and sometimes we might not return for a month. Doing this is to reduce unnecessary killing. Village rules stipulate that we cannot overhunt.”

“I see,” An Le said.

“If the prey that falls into the trap is a fierce beast like a wolf, you shoot it before pulling it up. If it’s something like a deer, you bring it back alive,” An Tong continued. “Also, if you catch a cub or a pregnant female, you must release it.”

After introducing the traps, An Tong handed the group a bundle of blue cloth strips. “Mark the traps you make with blue strips. Whatever you catch is yours. Since this is your first time here, don’t wander too far. Be sure to wear your bone whistle. Blow it immediately if you sense danger, hide, and don’t try to be brave. Wait for the hunting team to find you. Make sure to remember this point. Especially Le Le and Xiaoyu, since this is your first hunt, safety must be your priority. Don’t stray too far from us, understood?”

“Yes, I understand, Brother Tong,” An Le replied obediently, touching the white bone whistle hanging on his chest. He suddenly realized that the material of the short flute An Linmian had played was very similar to this bone whistle.

Could it also be made of bone? An Le had a guess, but since An Linmian wasn’t here, he couldn’t verify it right away.

At that moment, An Tong patted An Xiaoyu’s shoulder and said, “Xiaoyu, protect Le Le well.”

An Xiaoyu smiled slightly. “Yes, I will.”

An Tong smiled with satisfaction and said to the group, “One last point: at least two people per group. No solitary action is allowed. Go on. An Shun, An Tu, this is your field test. There will be accompanying examiners with you, so perform well.”

An Tu looked excited. “Got it, Brother Tong.”

“Assessment?” An Xiaoyu asked upon hearing this. “The assessment to join the hunting team?”

“That’s right,” An Tu said. “To join the hunting team, you must pass tests of physical strength and martial prowess, as well as a field test.”

“What are the passing standards for the assessment?” An Xiaoyu asked again.

An Tong interjected, “The field assessment mainly tests your comprehensive abilities, including your trap design skills, tracking abilities, and ability to handle danger, among others. The accompanying examiners will follow you constantly, recording your performance. Finally, combined with the quantity of prey you catch, the examiners will make a comprehensive judgment on whether you pass the test.”

“Can I participate?” An Xiaoyu asked.

“Oh? Have you made up your mind?” An Tong asked, surprised.

An Xiaoyu nodded. “Yes, I have. I want to join the hunting team. Can I take the assessment?”

“Hmm… Although you usually have to pass the physical and martial tests before participating in the field test, we all saw your archery skills yesterday, Xiaoyu. We’ll make an exception and allow you to participate in the field test first, and you can make up the physical test when we return. What do you all think?” An Tong turned to the rest of the hunting team members.

“We agree, of course!” the others shouted.

An Tong waved his hand. “Good! Let’s begin then. We return at noon four days from now. That period is your assessment time. An Nan, you are responsible for An Shun. An Bei, you are responsible for An Tu. An Dong, you will follow Xiaoyu. The accompanying examiners will not help you, nor will they get too close to disturb you. Just pretend they don’t exist…”

“Don’t exist? How can I pretend a person that big doesn’t exist?” On the path, An Le turned his head to look at An Dong, who was five steps behind them and looked burly and strong. He couldn’t help but whisper a complaint to An Xiaoyu.

It wasn’t just that the man was conspicuous; more importantly, the strange smile on his face was truly hard to ignore!

He had seen that kind of smile on a female classmate—that classmate wore the exact same smile as An Dong when she was shipping a couple.

And she was shipping two men!

An Le felt that this wasn’t An Xiaoyu’s assessment; it was a reality show performance for them, the first male-male couple in Longyin Village.

An Dong wasn’t an examiner for the hunting test; he was an audience member observing the life of a gay couple. While shipping them, he was conveniently assessing An Xiaoyu.

Otherwise, why would he be smiling like that! His mouth was practically reaching his ears! Just now, when he was whispering to An Xiaoyu, An Le could feel An Dong’s lips curving up even more without even turning around.

An Le really wanted to turn back and shout: Stop smiling! We weren’t saying sweet nothings! We’re not a couple! We’re just brothers! Brothers who share a bed!!!

But the reality was that An Le could only sigh deeply, rubbing his forehead, and distance himself slightly from An Xiaoyu to vent his inner frustration.

“What’s wrong?” An Xiaoyu was focused on observing the surroundings, seemingly unaware of the fervent gaze behind him. He only noticed An Le subtly falling back a step, so he slowed down and asked.

An Le gave An Xiaoyu a helpless look and said listlessly, “Nothing. What do you plan to do?”

“Let’s walk around today and observe where there are more traces of prey activity,” An Xiaoyu said.

“Mm.” An Le thought the same. When you get an exam paper, you should always scan the entire test before starting to answer. Since this was their first time here, familiarizing themselves with the area was necessary.

An Tong hadn’t given them a precise boundary for the testing area, but An Dong would stop them if they walked too far. After half a day, they had roughly figured out the assessment area and, by observing animal droppings and fur, found several places with high prey activity. Water sources were naturally the most important. Perhaps because they were young men, the two noticed that there weren’t many traces of fierce beasts in this area.

As sunset approached, the two returned to the camp. Some members of the hunting team were already back, starting fires and cooking. An Linmian and An Mai were among them, but An Shun and An Tu were nowhere to be seen.

An Xiaoyu handed over a few chickens and rabbits they had caught while scouting the terrain that afternoon to the hunting team members for processing.

An Le was still filled with astonishment from An Linmian summoning the whale that morning. Seeing that it was a convenient time to talk, he quickly rushed over. “Hey, An Linmian, how did you do that this morning? You can summon whales?”

An Linmian looked up at him, his gaze murky and uncertain. He replied in low spirits, “I can sometimes succeed. Some whales swim over when they hear the sound. Grandpa says they like the music.”

Since the whale incident that morning, An Linmian’s attitude toward him had been distant. She didn’t seem very keen on talking to him, but she wasn’t angry either. An Le was confused, thinking she would be normal after an afternoon, but An Linmian still seemed unwilling to engage. An Le was good at controlling his curiosity and reading the atmosphere, so he just quietly said, “Oh,” and stopped talking, sitting down across from them to warm himself by the fire.

A moment later, An Xiaoyu walked over with two cleaned wild chickens skewered on branches. He set the chickens over the bonfire and sat down right next to An Le. Before long, An Shun and An Tu also returned. The six of them gathered around the bonfire, roasting meat.

The bonfire crackled softly, and the firelight illuminated everyone’s faces with a warm glow. An Tu was still full of energy, gesticulating wildly as he told An Linmian and An Mai about his afternoon adventures. Several hunting dogs wagged their tails, playing in the camp.

Having woken up early and spent the whole day active, An Le’s energy was completely depleted. He sat cross-legged on the ground, resting his chin on his hand, which was propped against his knee, staring blankly at the flames.