The forest was more majestic but also more dangerous than she had imagined.
The danger was not from large animals, but rather from small animals and insects. Their size made them hard to be seen by the naked eye, for example, spiders and snakes. These creatures could kill them easily if they were careless.
Therefore, they would always hold a wooden stick to sweep through the path in front of them.
The forest was warmer and more humid than the outside. The ground was also very slippery.
Stella Grace tried her best to follow Jasper Milton. She did not want to be a burden to him. However, she could feel that he was still slowing down his pace and waiting for her. He was also more careful than usual.
“It’s a pity that there is no asparagus this season. Otherwise, it would be very delicious,” Stella sighed.
“We may not have asparagus now, but we have mushrooms,” Jasper explained.
Stella stopped and looked up. There were dense leaves on the top of her head. The environment here was really suitable for fungus to grow.
She patted Jasper and said, “Over there, is that a pomelo?”
Jasper raised his head.
“I think so. Wait a minute. Be careful of the snakes and the spiders above your head,” Jasper said. He removed his belt and climbed onto the tree in the blink of an eye. His posture was really handsome.
Stella smiled and watched him pick the pomelo.
“Be careful, Stella,” He then dropped the pomelo.
Stella dodged away. Jasper only picked three of them as they were not able to carry too many.
Stella picked one up. It was very heavy. She cut the pomelo with a knife and peeled out some flesh, “Not bad. It’s a bit sour and sweet.”
She peeled off the skin of the pomelo and kept the flesh so that it would be lighter.
“Won’t it spoil easily like that?” Jasper asked.
“No, there is honey and sugar on the yacht. If we can’t finish it, we can keep it in a jar and add some honey, then we can use it to make tea. It’ll be tasty,” Stella raised her head and looked at the big tree, which was full of pomelo. She exclaimed, “Nature is really amazing.”
“I found a lot of chestnut trees yesterday. Do you want to eat chestnuts? Let’s pick some when we head back,” Jasper said faintly.
He was familiar with these scenes. He had stayed in the forest for a long time and seen the beauty, as well as the cruelty of nature.
Stella only ever came to the forest when she was following him. The last time they came, all they did was wander about. She was surprised and said, “Great. We could roast them. Chestnuts are very nutritious.”
“Well, let’s pick more when we go back then,” Jasper said. He grabbed her and continued to walk for another half an hour. Suddenly, he stopped. He chose a spot and squatted down with Stella.
Stella didn’t even dare to breathe heavily. She stared in the direction Jasper was looking at. First, the bush moved. After a while, a pair of fangs showed up and a big wild boar roared and swaggered out.
The wild boar was big and it looked like it weighed about 100 kilograms, which was much bigger than the one they had caught before. Compared with this one, the one they caught before was probably quite young.
Jasper picked up the crossbow and aimed at the wild boar. The wild boar looked at Jasper and noticed him. It ran toward the bushes on the right quickly.
“Squat down here,” Jasper ordered. Then, he jumped out of the bush and chased after the wild boar.
He did not dare to go too far because he was afraid that he would not be able to save Stella in time if she was in danger.
Stella did not want to slow him down, so she just followed his order to hide.
But…
She seemed to hear a strange sound. Looking back, she saw that very wild boar staring at her with hostility.
Stella was so scared that her legs went limp. She sat on the ground and remembered that there was a pistol in her bag.
She wanted to get the pistol but it was too late. The wild boar was already rushing toward her. Subconsciously, she threw the bag towards the boar and shouted, “Jasper.”
Hearing Stella’s voice, Jasper’s heart tightened and he rushed back immediately.
The wild boar didn’t stare at her and ran to the bag instead. It used its’ nose to nudge out the chicken from the bag and ate it.
Stella guessed that she was the wild boar’s next target after it was done eating the chicken. She stood up hurriedly, climbed up the tree, and stared at the wild boar.
Jasper arrived and shot the crossbow at lightning speed.
The arrow shot out, piercing through the wild boar’s head.
The wild boar stumbled for a while and fell to the ground.
Before he had the time to check the boar, he looked at Stella and asked, “Are you okay?”
Stella was still in a state of shock. She shook her head and said, “I’m fine.”
She came down from the tree. Before she stepped back onto the ground, Jasper carried her down and apologized, “Sorry, I was negligent. This forest is their territory, so they are more familiar with the path than I am.”
“It’s because I’m incompetent. It has nothing to do with you. Moreover, I think that the wild boar smelled the chicken on me, so I threw the bag out and it chased after the bag. You just have to carry the food in the future. I’ll improve my survival skills, so you don’t have to worry about me,” Stella promised.
Jasper was relieved to see that she was fine. He had to be more careful if he were to bring her out in the future. He would rather have no food than let anything happen to her.
Stella looked at the wild boar lying on the ground and said, “We’ve lost our chicken. That boar is very big. How are we going to get it back?”
Jasper looked at the time on his mobile phone, it was 12. 15 p. m. already. “At least with this boar, our trip is not in vain. I guess it’s enough for us to eat for several months. Let’s go back now.”
“Let’s have some cookies and then drag it back, else it will be too heavy,” Stella suggested.
“Actually, we can slice it up here. We don’t eat the viscera, but there will be other animals to eat it,” Jasper said, walking toward the wild boar.
Stella turned around and ate the cookies without looking at Jasper.
This was the law of survival in nature. The weak would be eaten by the strong. This wasn’t a place for one to live life as a fairy drinking dew.
Fifteen minutes later, Jasper walked toward her, “Let’s go. The smell of blood will attract the carnivores nearby.”
“Then…” A thought flashed through her mind. Why don’t they just catch them all at once?
Jasper could tell that she was confused, “Do you eat wolf meat?”
Stella shook her head.
“What about lion? Or tiger?” Jasper asked again.
Stella shook her head again, “Those are protected animals.”
“If we stay here, we can only kill them when they want to eat us. We should leave in order to avoid unnecessary killing,” Jasper said, holding her hand and walking quickly.
Stella looked at the sack, which was bulging and stained with blood, “Have you dealt with it?”
“Yeah, I’m almost done. Let’s go back first. After we go back, I’ll pick some chestnuts and you’ll be in charge of the meat. Is that okay?” Jasper asked.
“Sure, let me help you. It’ll take you too much strength to carry it, and you’ll get the blood stained on your body,” Stella suggested.
“It’s okay, you just have to walk carefully. This weight is not a big deal for me,” He loved her so much that he didn’t want her to be tired.
Stella knew that she couldn’t persuade Jasper, so she didn’t say anything. She just walked in front of him carefully so that he would not be worried about her.