Hallucination?

A faint rattling noise suddenly echoed in the forest. The sound gradually got louder and louder until it reached Xiu Mei's ears startling her awake from the sound. 

"W-Wha—!" She flinched from the sound. Her heart almost jumped from surprise as soon as she woke up.

Fudge, what was she doing ah? How can she sleep like that?! Or did she faint? 

Goodness. Thankfully they hadn't found her yet. Maybe they ran towards the stream? 

Xiu Mei didn't know how long she had been napping and wit her body still in pain, she slightly shifted into a more comfortable position while leaning on the tree. 

Then she heard the rattling sound again. 

This time, her senses were on full alert. 

She turned her head from side to side to observe whether someone was nearby but she couldn't even see a shadow at all. 

The rattling sound returned.

Xiu Mei flinched. Her instincts finally kicked in as she realized that the sound may not be from a human at all.