Lin Xiao Tian was incredibly warm.
Thanks to the Shen Nong Heart Method, Lin Xiao Tian's body could naturally react to his surroundings. In such cold weather, he was like a small, portable heater that didn't burn.
The two women were freezing. Li Xue, wearing too little, burrowed entirely into Lin Xiao Tian's clothes.
Yang Xin was much the same. After hugging him for a while, she found it not enough and also snuggled in.
Riiip!
Then, the most awkward thing happened. Lin Xiao Tian's short-sleeved shirt was torn open.
But they still pressed closer to Lin Xiao Tian, because the warmth radiating from him contrasted sharply with the frigid outside air. Where they weren't in direct contact with his skin, they pulled on his arms, urging him to cover them.
Eventually, the three of them were pressed together.
Lin Xiao Tian mused that this wouldn't do. If only he had a blanket, they wouldn't be in such a passive situation.
As he was thinking this, a low growl suddenly echoed from outside.
Before Lin Xiao Tian could even sense it, a black bear appeared at the cave entrance.
It was an ordinary black bear, and its eyes gleamed upon seeing Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian's eyes gleamed just as intensely.
The bear thought, "Finally, food!" while Lin Xiao Tian's gaze fell upon its fur.
Such thick fur would make a good blanket, and there'd be plenty left over. Since you want to eat us, you can't blame me for self-defense.
Lin Xiao Tian chuckled and carefully extricated the two women from his body.
Suddenly deprived of their rare source of warmth, both women were reluctant. They even forgot about the black bear outside.
To avoid wasting time, Lin Xiao Tian charged directly at the bear.
The black bear was delighted and raised a paw to swat at Lin Xiao Tian.
The next second, it suddenly felt itself flying through the air.
The world seemed to turn upside down. With a single punch, Lin Xiao Tian had knocked the black bear down.
In the following moments, Lin Xiao Tian swiftly skinned the bear and handed the hide to the two women, while he himself dealt with the large amount of bear meat.
To be honest, Lin Xiao Tian really didn't want to encounter such large animals; processing them was too difficult.
But now that it had happened, there was no choice. Lin Xiao Tian found a shady spot, temporarily set aside the bear meat, and planned to deal with it the next day.
After finishing these tasks, Lin Xiao Tian returned.
With the bear hide, the two women were no longer as uncomfortable as before. Lin Xiao Tian did not go back to sleep with them, choosing instead to guard the cave entrance.
And so, the night passed.
The next day, Lin Xiao Tian went to the place where he had left the bear meat the previous night, ready to process the food.
After eating monster meat for so many days, the rare treat of bear meat was a real feast for the three of them.
Lin Xiao Tian only took a portion of the remaining bear meat, leaving the rest where it was. After all, he couldn't possibly carry it all, as it would be too troublesome.
During the day, the temperature in Kunlun Valley rose, showing no sign of the hailstorm from the previous night. Lin Xiao Tian, carrying the bear hide, led the two women onward.
He walked ahead, while the two women whispered behind him.
"Thank you!" Yang Xin said to Lin Xiao Tian.
"Thank you for what?" Lin Xiao Tian asked, confused.
Yang Xin's face flushed. "Thank you for finding us a blanket last night, and... for the food."
"It's nothing, just a small gesture."
Lin Xiao Tian genuinely didn't understand why Yang Xin was acting shy over such a trivial matter.
But after walking a few steps, he suddenly realized.
Could it be because of him having an arm around each of them last night?
After walking a bit further, Lin Xiao Tian suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed intently on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Li Xue hurried over.
"There are bloodstains!" Lin Xiao Tian pointed to the ground.
Li Xue frowned, then turned to Yang Xin. "Miss, we need to be more careful from now on. Watch your surroundings."
Yang Xin nodded.
Lin Xiao Tian then forged ahead, with the two women following cautiously behind him.
Indeed, after a short while, they heard movement up ahead.
"Damn it, this revenge must be served!"
Lin Xiao Tian recognized the voice and pushed aside the grass. He saw that the speaker was the geologist.
The geologist, named Li Xuejiu, appeared refined and scholarly, seeming like an honest man. But after witnessing how he had coerced Yang Xin, Lin Xiao Tian no longer held that opinion.
"These scoundrels can't play fair, ambushing us in the middle of the night. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have been assassinated by those people," the martial artist Wang Li said, slapping a nearby tree trunk with a resounding thud.
"Alas! At least we're still alive, and the gun is still with us. Next time we encounter them, we'll definitely fight back," Li Xuejiu said angrily.
"We absolutely must fight back. Those scoundrels actually snatched Jennifer away! She belongs to us."
Speaking of Jennifer, the two men exchanged a look, both seeing the rage in each other's eyes.
In this boring forest, Jennifer was their only source of entertainment. She was also well-built and attractive. Almost every day, they would play poker with Jennifer.
Now, their only joy was gone. In a place like this, who knew when they would encounter those people again?
"It's your fault. If you had kept a closer watch, Yang Xin would still be here, and we wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses. A woman from the Yang family! I never even dared to dream of such a thing. I thought that once I got tired of Jennifer, I'd slowly enjoy Yang Xin. Who knew this would happen!" Wang Li glared at Li Xuejiu.
"This... this can't be blamed on me! There was a monster over there at the time. Was I supposed to stay and wait for death?"
"You still have the nerve to say that? Why would you even think of taking her to the lake? Tell me the truth, did you have intentions of doing something to her alone?" Wang Li demanded.
Li Xuejiu, having been exposed, felt a pang of guilt. But to avoid further angering Wang Li, he could only explain, "I didn't... Oh! Why are we arguing? Are we fighting amongst ourselves? At a time like this, shouldn't we be united against our common enemy?"
Wang Li knew Li Xuejiu was trying to change the subject, but he didn't want to dwell on something that hadn't happened. He still needed Li Xuejiu at the moment.
"Forget it, brother, I was too impulsive."
"Heh, we're brothers, I was wrong too."
The two immediately became harmonious.
Just then, Li Xuejiu's gaze suddenly swept to the side.
"What are you gawking at? Is the water boiled yet?"
"N-no... almost done," Yang Lin's timid voice replied.
"You useless fool, it's taking you this long to boil water!" Li Xuejiu said, stepping on Yang Lin's face with his foot.
The former young master was now a slave, bullied at will. Yang Lin didn't even dare to utter a sound in response.
Yang Xin, watching from not too far away, felt a mix of emotions.
"I'm so hungry!" Wang Li suddenly exclaimed.
"We're out of food. We'll have to rely on luck later," Li Xuejiu sighed.
"Heh, maybe some prey will come to us later," Yang Lin said with a weak smile, though he was also very hungry.
Wang Li's gaze suddenly fixed on Yang Lin. "Useless thing. Even if we find something later, you're not allowed to eat."