Although we could reach the Monkey Clan's territory before midnight, doing so would clearly be unwise. Setting aside the issue of pursuers behind us, under the current uncertainty of whether the Golden-Haired Great Monkey was friend or foe, pushing forward blindly under the cover of darkness—if we fell into an enemy’s hands, wouldn't that be a case of losing both the wager and the stakes?

“Let’s wait until morning to enter the forest,” Xiao Shu suggested.

“Mhm, so these monkeys here live in the forest just like ordinary monkeys,” I remarked casually, gazing toward the woods.

“Where else would monkeys live but in the forest?” Xiao Shu, possessing a fine sense of humor, seized upon my statement, playfully teasing me.

“They should be living in caves or stone houses. I heard that the ancient peoples discovered at the Hemudu site lived in caves, subsisting by slash-and-burn agriculture,” I replied.

“You’re giving them too much credit. It would be more fitting if you and I lived in a cave. Imagine, one day we die of old age in some cave, and when we’re finally discovered, a world-shaking headline appears: In the remains of primitive cave dwellers, two modern backpacks were found, containing items like a water canteen and a lighter. It’s suspected that aliens traveled through time, bringing 21st-century daily necessities to the prehistoric era.” With that, we glanced at each other, then fell backward onto the embankment, dissolving into hearty laughter.

That day had been incredibly packed. In the morning, we were bitten a few times by the Undead Fish, which forced us to abandon the eastward route through the Sea of the Undead and instead take a mountain path. Later, on the cliff face, we encountered the phantom of Xiao Shu's childhood sweetheart, vaguely learning about the untold origins of the Ghost Infant. After spending this night here, we still have to press eastward to find the Monkey Clan's territory and uncover the secret behind the two children being snatched away. Ali absolutely must be brought back to her adoptive mother. As for what the future holds for Xing'er, Xiao Shu, Hua Gu, and I hold differing views; we can postpone thinking about that until we actually find him.

The sun finally dragged its last sliver of light below the horizon, and the dark, cold night descended. Xiao Shu and I sat on the embankment of the Sea of the Undead, sharing one compressed biscuit—the only sustenance we had taken in all day. The trek across the Sea of the Undead had been extremely arduous, fraught not only with dangerous animals but also the looming crisis of food shortages.

Before setting out, I had retrieved every bit of stored dry ration from the refrigerator, including several loaves of bread and those compressed biscuits. When we first left the tunnel, some of the bread was ruined by the civet cat, and later I fed some to the mother cat. Now, the only food remaining in the backpack, besides the compressed biscuits, was nothing. Based on our current pace, if everything went smoothly, taking the children back would still require another two to three days to reach the Villa of Reflections. The matter of sustenance along this route could not be ignored.

“Xiao Shu, do you think there’s anything edible in the forest?” I asked, patting my shrunken stomach.

“Based on my intuition, yes. Monkeys and humans share some familial connection; a lot of what they eat, we can eat too, especially fruit,” Xiao Shu stated matter-of-factly.

“It would be wonderful if the forest had fruit, something we could pick and use as rations. I wonder what Ali has been eating these past few days. I’m worried she might mistake Xing’er for a snack and eat him,” I murmured from my spot on the embankment, speaking intermittently.

“Actually, being bled isn’t that terrifying. The medical departments encourage frequent blood donation; promoting blood renewal is actually very good for the body,” Xiao Shu joked without missing a beat.

However, those words were clearly a defense of Xing’er, and I was slightly displeased by her indulgent attitude toward the Ghost Infant sucking blood. I turned my head away and stopped speaking.