Translated by Pure

Edited by NovaLeir

Chapter 3: Time Spent in the Mountains

It's the tenth day.

Su Shuilian took a stone and placed another line on the cave wall.

She couldn't help but feel anxious. If she couldn’t get out of this forest, how could she live well?

Originally she thought it was just a small forest in the mountains, but it took her six days to explore six directions. She could spend half a day walking in each direction, but still couldn't see the end of the forest and had to return each time.

Looking at the two little wolf cubs, "Xiao Chun" and "Xiao Xue", who were happily chasing and playful by her feet, Su Shuilian smiled. Fortunately, they were there to accompany her. Otherwise, how could she have endured for ten days? She would have starved to death, frozen to death, or been taken as a feast for the wild animals.

Thinking of this, Su Shuilian came to the entrance of the cave. On the simple drying rack made of several thick branches, there were strings of dried meat hanging.

On the bushes next to it was a white tiger skin that was big enough to fit two Su Shuilian while laying down.

Yes, it took Su Shuilian two days to completely separate the skin and flesh of the white tiger that was killed by the two big wolves. Under the leadership of the two wolf cubs, they found the closest water source to the cave. It was a clear stream that meandered about 30 meters away. After the tiger skin is washed clean, it is sundried on the bushes.

After a week of drying, the tiger skin has gradually shrunk and become dry and silky. Thinking of sleeping on such warm and silky white tiger skin at night, instead of being pricked by those dry branches and leaves, Su Shuilian couldn't help but smile.

Gently rubbing her hands that were no longer tender, the scars on them that had increased due to hard work, she sighed in her heart. She was unsure whether or not she could get out of this forest, let alone embroider again. It’s best just to plan the basics of living here for now.

Fortunately, before the age of eight, she had played around with her cousin who was four years older, at her grandmother's house and knew some secrets about outdoor barbecue. In addition to the books she read after embroidery, she learned some local customs and specialty foods from various places. Su Shuilian was able to think of many coping measures to survive when she dealt with the white tiger. If you can read this, it means this chapter was stolen from puretl .com

She was able to peel off the tiger meat from the skin – all thanks to the gorgeous dagger in the bag, which she now tied to her calf with hemp ropes woven with withered vines, so that she could use it to protect herself from any accident when she went around.

Unexpectedly, this short dagger, which she recognized as just a decoration, could be so sharp, and a weapon that cuts iron like mud.

Thanks to it, it didn't take much effort to cut the tiger meat by herself. Of course, because of her unfamiliar craftsmanship, she cut the skin of her hand several times. She had even cut it too deep once and this led to her wound to bleed continuously. When she washed her hands in the puddle under the stalactites, she found that the liquid could quickly stop the bleeding. Otherwise, Su Shuilian would have fainted again due to excessive blood loss.

This crystal green and transparent liquid is simply the ambrosia of the immortals. Not only was her body nourished by a few drops of the liquid, it even helped with injuries and wounds.

“Haha,” Su Shuilian couldn't help laughing again. Although she was initially frustrated when she came to this world inexplicably, after picking up two little wolf cubs and having a place to rest, she was even lucky enough to discover such a miracle liquid; Su Shuilian has calmed down.

There was an old saying: To make the best of everything. Since the Heavens did not let her die but changed her environment to continue living, then she shall do her best to live a good life. Presumably, if mother and eldest brother find out, they will be relieved; your daughter did not give up on herself but worked hard to live on her own.

As for the rest of the crystal green liquid, she must use it sparingly. It is estimated that there are no more than two small spoonfuls left. She will not randomly use it until she finds a way to leave the forest. Thinking about exiting the forest, Su Shuilian decided to wait a little longer and counted the tiger meat jerky on the rack. It is estimated that it will last her for another ten days to half a month. puretl. com is the original translator, please do not repost

At that time, "Xiao Chun" and "Xiao Xue" should also be bigger and strong enough to follow her further. She needed to prepare more food. When she was exploring a few days ago, she found a lot of wild fruits. From the marks left on the pecked fruits by birds, they must be non-toxic.

She will explore more carefully tomorrow. If she had fresh fruit to eat, she would be happy. These days, it has been either water or dried meat. Unless she was really hungry, she wouldn't want to eat it at all.

Although the tiger meat is very fragrant after being roasted, it is not seasoned with honey or salt, so it is impossible to have more than a few mouthfuls. Watching the two little wolf cubs eating happily, Su Shuilian turned around speechlessly, preparing to find some wild sour fruits that could be used as seasonings. It's best to find a salty fruit described in ‘Exotics’ that can replace salt in the wild. Su Shuilian exerted a lot of energy trying to remember the things she had read and heard before and strived to integrate the knowledge into her current life.

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"Xiao Chun, Xiao Xue?" Su Shuilian went into the cave and woke up the two little wolf cubs who were sleeping. There was a hint of joy on her pale face.

"Woo woo," the two little wolf cubs opened their hazy eyes. They saw it was Su Shuilian, and arched towards her slightly cool body – they closed their eyes again and continued to enjoy a good sleep in the morning.

Su Shui smiled and gently placed them on the tiger’s skin and let them continue to sleep.

She went to the puddle under the stalactite and took out the few fruits that made her smile.

Yes, these seemingly unremarkable dried green fruits are the salty fruits described in the ‘Exotics’, which can be substituted for salt.

She tasted it carefully when she found it; it was indeed salty, but slightly bitter. It should be handled according to the method described in the foreign book. Su Shuilian couldn't help but feel the joy in her heart and hummed the soft and melodious Suzhou tune while meticulously handling these few fruits. She peeled off their skins, carefully picked out the cores with a dagger, and placed the pulps one by one in a stone bowl.

The so-called stone bowl is just a piece of stone similar to a notched tile, which can hold a small bowl of water. She found it by the creek and brought it back. She found two in total. She kept one for herself and gave the other to the pups to use. She also found a stone that looks like a crock pot, which can be placed on a fire and used to make broth. If you can read this, it means this chapter was stolen from puretl .com

As for the spoon and chopsticks, she carved it out with her dagger using a tougher piece of wood. Although it took several days, the outcome was very good. On the handle of the spoon, she even used her dagger to carve some flower patterns when she was bored. The chopsticks were made so that it was thicker on top and gradually became more slender towards the other end.  Mushroom-shaped round heads were carved on the top of the thicker end of the chopsticks – it looked quite artistic.

It's just that the dagger was not as delicate as using an embroidery needle. It was very difficult to master the art of embroidery on cotton and silk and it took Su Shuilian several mornings to practice. She had wasted a lot of wood before she was able to make the pair of chopsticks she was currently using. In her eyes, these wood carving art were pleasing to the eyes. This should be making the best of things, right? She had integrated into her new life.

With the wooden spoon, the savory fruit pulp was smashed into pieces. There were five savory fruits in total, and the peeled pulp only took up half of the bottom of the stone bowl. Su Shuilian thought about it. If the method of removing the astringency was successful, she would bring a rattan basket to pick the rest of the fruit. There should be more than a hundred fruits from that savory fruit bush. Perhaps because this fruit tasted really bad, it was avoided by birds and beasts.

Su Shuilian put the pulp in the stone bowl on the largest stalactite, and after drying it for an hour, squeezed out the juice from the sour berries she found a few days ago, and stirred it into it. This is the simplest and most practical method mentioned in the ‘Exotics’. However, she has not yet found the sour berries with orange-red juice described in that book, but has found a small skinless fruit similar to mulberry that tastes extremely sour.

With the tip of her chopsticks, she picked some juice, and put it on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes lit up instantly: there was really no bitterness! It tasted sour and salty, enough to be used as a seasoning. She could finally simmer a pot of sour and salty soup rather than a bland broth.

Seeing that the two little wolf cubs were still sleeping soundly, she did not call them up. Taking her water gourd and a roughly-made basket, Su Shuilian decided to go out to pick more sour and salty berries. She will also stop by the stream to see if the wild strawberries there were edible.

Feeling the temperature in the woods, it should be around the fifth lunar month? The flowers among the branches and bushes had gradually bloomed, and the freshly green wild strawberries were already red. Counting the days, it should already be a month since she had arrived into this forest.

The clear creek flowed along the uneven terrain, and Su Shuilian left the rattan basket and gourd on a relatively flat rock beside the creek, while she rolled up her trousers. She put her pair of faded embroidered shoes to the side and stretched her fair and small feet into the stream.

“Hahh,” she let out a light sigh. In the morning, the stream water was still very cold. However, after nourishing with a few drops of crystal green liquid, the physique of this body is getting better and better. Since then, Su Shuilian has long been accustomed to soaking her feet in the stream once a day. If she couldn’t take a bath, then soaking her feet could slightly alleviate her regret.

She took out the sandalwood comb, straightened the black silk over her shoulders, and casually tied them into two braids.

Back in the Su Family, those beautiful, but complicated buns were all combed by the maids. She, herself at that time, besides embroidery, after washing her hands and burning incense, where did she need to do these heavy tasks?

When she came back to her senses, the wrinkled silk tunic, that previously gorgeous blouse, had long since been washed by her, and packed into her bag. Although she was sick of that gorgeous and embellished outerwear, as the weather turned colder in the future. If she still couldn’t get out of this forest, she would need to use it for winter. Although she doesn't know how cold the winter here was, or whether the outerwear alone is enough to withstand the cold, it's better than nothing. If you can read this, it means this chapter was stolen from puretl .com

The Su Shuilian now was no longer the Eldest Young Lady of the Su Family who did not touch the spring water with her ten fingers. Everything had to be experienced without complaints, and she had to work hard to make plans for her own future life.

Thinking of this, the corners of Su Shuilian's lips curved slightly. In fact, these days were not all that bad. At least she did not have to be careful taking every step cautiously to avoid breaking any complicated rules of her prestigious family. There is also no need to listen to lectures all day long about the charm and restraint that a lady should have. If the old Master and her father from the Su family saw her so disheveled and her taking off their shoes in public, what kind of expressions would they have?

“Hehe,” Su Shuilian held back her smile with some guilt. That was really inappropriate. Surviving in the wilderness for more than a month has made her mind wild. Thinking of her outwardly strict but loving mother, Su Shuilian couldn’t help but feel distressed: Mother, your daughter is still alive, but just in a different environment, and she will work hard to live. You must not hurt yourself and your mind for your daughter.

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