After a while, Sylvia withdrew her hand. “The injury isn’t serious. It should heal in a couple of days.”
She looked out at the pitch-black night. “Let’s not go out tonight. We’ll rest in this cave. Let’s roast the snake meat.”
She took out a silver needle to test the snake meat. “It’s not poisonous.”
Everyone gathered to divide the large snake and started a fire to roast it.
The snake meat sizzled, and a faint aroma filled the air.
Sylvia didn’t concern herself with roasting the meat; she focused on extracting the snake gallbladder.
“The snake gallbladder can be used as medicine. It’s a top-quality ingredient, especially from such an old snake. Judging by its size, it’s quite aged,” Sylvia said as she extracted the fresh gallbladder, which had a strong odor.
She took it to the fire to roast.
“Why roast it? I’ve heard snake gallbladder is a good medicine, Sylvia. Why not eat it directly?” Vaild asked curiously.
“Fresh gallbladder can only be preserved for about two days at room temperature. If it smells bad, it’s spoiled and ineffective,” Sylvia explained while roasting the gallbladder. “To preserve it longer, it needs to be dried first.”
“Can it be eaten once it’s dried?” Mark asked. “Jaden is injured; can he eat it directly?”
“Once exposed to air, bacteria can contaminate it. Even after drying, it needs sterilization,” Sylvia continued roasting. “We’ll dry it first and treat it when we return so it can be used as medicine.”
“Eating raw or untreated gallbladder can cause side effects and possibly poisoning,” Franklin said, handing Sylvia a piece of roasted snake meat. “Try it.”
Sylvia smiled at him, her thick eyelashes casting shadows that made him want to touch them.
He reached out and touched her, making Sylvia pause. “What’s wrong?”
Feeling the soft texture, Franklin withdrew his hand. “I thought there was something on it, but I was mistaken.”
Sylvia didn’t suspect anything and took a bite of the snake meat. “The meat is tender and freshly roasted. It’s very good.”
Franklin glanced at his fingers, a smile playing on his lips, his deep eyes filled with warmth. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Hey, it’s mainly because your husband roasted it,” Vaild teased.
Sylvia shot him a look, her eyes darkening slightly. “Are you itching for a beating?”
Vaild quickly retracted his head. “No, no.”
He changed the subject nonchalantly. “Ah! This snake meat is really fresh!”
Sylvia continued roasting the gallbladder, the sizzling sound constant.
Franklin couldn’t bear to see her holding the stick for so long. “Let me do it.”
He took the stick from her and began roasting the gallbladder.
After everyone finished eating the snake meat, it was already late.
Jasper checked the time. “It’s already half-past ten at night.”
Jaden clutched his chest and took some medicine, gulping down water. “In the city, half-past ten was nothing, but out here in the wilderness, the atmosphere is different.”
“We’ve had a long day; let’s rest here,” Franklin said while roasting the gallbladder. “We’ll take turns keeping watch, two hours each.”
“Okay,” Jasper agreed and lay down.
The others also agreed and soon fell asleep.
Only then did Sylvia quietly let down her guard, leaning into Franklin’s broad chest.
Franklin looked down at her delicate features, gently kissing her forehead. “Get some sleep.”
“I want to stay with you,” Sylvia said, her eyes curving like crescent moons, reflecting the firelight as she met his gaze.
Franklin held her gently but firmly, afraid she might slip away. His usually cold face softened with endless tenderness. “Sleep now. It hurts me to see you stay up.”
Sylvia yawned delicately and leaned into his arms, gradually falling asleep.
Watching her head nodding off filled Franklin’s eyes with tenderness.
“Sleep now.”
Sylvia finally succumbed to sleep.
Franklin smiled at her peaceful sleeping face, her soft hair brushing against her small face, her slightly parted lips breathing evenly.
He gently covered her with his coat and held her comfortably in his arms.
When it was Jasper’s turn to keep watch, he woke up to see this heartwarming scene.
He quietly sat by Franklin at the fire. “Mr. Maskelyne, you should rest.”
Franklin nodded and carried Sylvia to a nearby rock where they both slept.
When morning came, the cave was still dark.
But everyone woke up promptly at seven, grateful for a peaceful night.
They had a simple breakfast and prepared to explore the stone wall where the snake had entered last night.
Jaden’s dizzy head made him frown, his face pale.
He struggled to stand from the rock he was leaning against but stumbled forward weakly.
A pair of hands caught him immediately. “Jaden, are you okay?”
Vaild’s voice brought Jaden back to reality. “I’m a bit dizzy.”
Sylvia came over to check on him. “It’s a side effect of yesterday’s injury; you need rest. We’ll move slowly today. Otherwise, your condition will worsen.”
“Sylvia, don’t worry about me. I can manage,” Jaden insisted.
Sylvia shook her head. “Your life is more important.”
The group left the cave and continued forward until they reached a forest. Beyond the forest was a cliff.
The cliff had a dried-up waterfall that looked intimidating.
Sylvia tilted her head slightly, her white neck forming an alluring curve as she looked down, squinting her eyes.
Franklin gently ruffled her hair, enjoying the soft texture that made him smile.
“Stop it,” Sylvia scolded him playfully as she observed the terrain. This man was always touching!
They were well-equipped with weapons and climbing gear in their backpacks, including quickdraws and pitons.
Each of them also carried a respirator in case they accidentally fell into the raging sea below; the respirator could save their lives.
Of course, this was an unlikely scenario.
Soon they were ready.
“We have no path ahead; we must climb down the cliff,” Franklin said after a quick scan of everyone. “If there are no objections, let’s move.”
“No objections.”
“Let’s go!”
Franklin gripped the climbing rope and descender tightly and strode towards the high cliff.
Sylvia followed closely behind him, also gripping her climbing rope.
The others moved without fear.
Franklin reached the edge of the cliff first and pushed off with his feet, leaping off the cliff.
With a swoosh, he disappeared from sight, descending rapidly.
As he flew off the cliff, Franklin faced the warm sea breeze and looked at the blue ocean below.
After descending rapidly for over ten meters, he tightened his grip on the descender to increase friction and slow down.
Otherwise, descending too fast would be harmful to his body.
After he jumped down, Sylvia followed suit, along with Jasper and Jaden.
They all descended like joyful birds.
Franklin quickly adjusted his posture and pushed off the cliff with his legs.
Soon they were far from the top of the cliff and nearing a lower ledge.
Sylvia landed accurately beside Franklin.
Jasper and the others also descended slowly along the cliff face.
They rested on the ledge until everyone was together again.
Franklin reopened his descender lock. “There’s still thirty or forty meters to go before we reach that cave below. Be careful.”
He had observed earlier that there was a cave below them.
“We’ll descend slowly along this cliff; we don’t know what’s inside that cave or if there’s any danger. Be cautious!”
As they approached the cave entrance, Franklin paused briefly. “I’ll enter first to check it out. Wait for my signal before coming in.”
He pushed off again and slid downwards. As he neared the cave entrance, he reached out like an eagle and grabbed a protruding rock on the cliff face, pulling it loose and tossing it into the cave with a clattering sound.
Hearing no unusual noises, he swung into the cave.
Once inside, he called out loudly, “Come in!”
The cave’s emptiness echoed his voice clearly.
One by one, everyone swung into the cave and began examining their surroundings.
“This cave is damp and dark; be careful,” Sylvia noted as she scanned the moist ground.
“Don’t get separated; caves like this often have water sources that could sweep you away…” Franklin trailed off; everyone understood without him finishing.