Peach Blossom Land On Longyin Island Chapter 19

Participating in the Assessment

The sun was high overhead when they reached West Island. An Le had assumed they would be sleeping in caves or pitching 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 woods, 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 of them for each hunt. The camp is built in a relatively safe place, 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 down and rest first. We will set off after lunch.”

In the camp, several members of the hunting team had already started a fire and were cooking. An Linmian and three others were collecting bedding, and they entered the small wooden cabins in pairs. After giving instructions, An Tong went to arrange tasks for the other hunting team members.

An Le and An Xiaoyu collected their bedding and entered the 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 stools made from smaller stumps. Although simple, An Le was quite satisfied—it had a certain fairytale quality.

An Le pushed open the window. Outside was lush, vibrant green. Hunting team members came and went within the camp, busy and orderly. An Le, who hadn’t left Longyin Village for half a year, was in high spirits.

“The bed is ready. You should rest on it for a while,” An Xiaoyu said, having finished making the bed, as he walked over to An Le.

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

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

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

Hearing this, An Le sprang up and sat straight. He saw An Xiaoyu wiping the tables and chairs with a strip of cloth he’d 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 was about to get up to clean, but An Xiaoyu said, “No need. You rest. I promised you before that you wouldn’t have to do chores.”

“Well… that’s true,” An Le said, feeling justified as he lay back down. He dangled his legs and tilted his head to glance at An Xiaoyu. “After all, I’m making such a big sacrifice. Once you leave, I’ll become a widower. You doing more chores now can be considered atonement.”

An Xiaoyu paused his movements, took three 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, slowly blinked, and said, “It will be later.”

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

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

An Xiaoyu’s frown deepened further. He stared intently at An Le and asked, “Six months, is that enough?”

“Huh?” An Le didn’t quite understand An Xiaoyu’s meaning for a moment. He asked, “Enough for what?”

“To say goodbye. Is six months 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 remember, this was the first time, and the unusual tone left him somewhat bewildered.

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

An Le remained silent. The two locked eyes, confronting each other without a word. 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 Longyin Village person.”

“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 lightly, “Let’s go, time to eat.”

“A strip of cloth like this is tied near all the traps. Be careful when you walk. Although there are no sharp stakes inside the traps, you’ll still be sore for a few days if you fall in.” After dinner, 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 using it, remove the board and cover the opening 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, it will starve to death within ten days. The hunting team won’t stay here to guard them, and sometimes we might not come back for a month. Doing this is to reduce unnecessary killing. Village rules stipulate that we cannot over-hunt.”

“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 out. If it’s a deer or similar animal, 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 them a bundle of blue cloth strips. “Mark the traps you make with blue cloth strips. Whatever you catch is yours. Since this is your first time here, don’t go too far. Be sure to wear your bone whistles. Blow the whistle immediately if you sense danger, hide, and don’t try to be a hero. 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, prioritize safety above all else. Don’t stray too far from us, understand?”

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

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

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 solo actions allowed. Go on. An Shun, An Tu, this is your field assessment. There will be accompanying examiners following you. Do your best.”

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

“Assessment?” Hearing this, An Xiaoyu asked, “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 ability, as well as a field assessment.”

“What is the standard for passing the assessment?” An Xiaoyu asked again.

An Tong interjected, “The field assessment mainly tests your comprehensive abilities, including your trap design skills, tracking ability, and ability to handle danger. 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 assessment, we all saw your archery skills yesterday, Xiaoyu. We’ll make an exception and allow you to participate in the field assessment first, and you can make up the physical test later. What do the rest of you think?” An Tong turned to the other members of the hunting team.

“Of course we agree!” 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 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 such a tall, burly person doesn’t exist?” On the path, An Le turned his head to glance at An Dong, who was five steps behind them and looked huge and rugged. He couldn’t help but whisper a complaint to An Xiaoyu.

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

He had seen that kind of smile on a female classmate before—that classmate wore the exact same smile 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 male 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 curling up even more without even turning around.

An Le truly wanted to turn around and shout: Stop smiling! We’re not saying sweet nothings! We’re not a couple! We’re just brothers! Brothers who sleep in the same 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 oblivious to the intense gaze behind him. He only noticed An Le subtly falling back a step, so he slowed his pace and asked.

An Le gave An Xiaoyu a helpless look and said listlessly, “Nothing. What are you planning 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 handed 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 essential.

An Tong hadn’t given a precise assessment boundary, but when they walked too far, An Dong would speak up to stop them. After half a day, they had roughly figured out the assessment area and, by observing animal droppings and fur, found several spots with high prey activity. Water sources were naturally the most important. Perhaps considering that 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 full of confusion about An Linmian summoning the whale that morning. Seeing that it was a good time to talk, he quickly ran over. “Hey, An Linmian, how did you do that this morning? Can you guys summon whales?”

An Linmian looked up at him with an ambiguous gaze and 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 eager to talk to him, but she wasn’t angry either. An Le was confused. He thought she would be back to normal after an afternoon, but An Linmian still seemed unwilling to engage. An Le could only silently say “Oh” and stopped talking, sitting down opposite them to warm himself by the fire.

A moment later, An Xiaoyu walked over with two cleaned wild chickens skewered on branches. He placed 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. The firelight illuminated everyone’s faces with a warm glow. An Tu was still full of energy, gesticulating wildly as soon as he returned, telling 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, propping his chin on his hand resting on his knee, staring blankly at the flames.