Traversing the Lonely Forest

Zhou Min slowly hauled himself up, wincing at the soreness that seemed to have seeped into every fiber of his being. His eyes darted warily around, and he muttered under his breath, "Where the heck am I?" Helplessly, he started going through the items he had on him: a pair of AirPods Pro, a vajra - bead bracelet, a nail clipper, and a pack of facial tissues. Glancing at these, he snorted in derision. "What use are these useless things when it really matters?"

As he was griping, his eyes fell on the feather and the eggshell at his feet. "These are the real deal. My future's gonna hinge on them." He squatted down, picked up the feather, and gave it a thorough once - over. "This feather needs a name that screams badass." He rubbed his chin, his mind working overtime. "It's all golden, with a few white streaks at the tip. It's just the right size to be grasped firmly in both hands, probably weighs about a pound or two. I'll call it the 'Big Yellow Blade'!" Granted, the name might sound a bit corny, but he reckoned that the calmer the person wielding it, the deadlier the blade; and the more plain - Jane the name, the more potent the weapon could turn out to be. With that thought, he nodded in contentment. That was that.

After that, Zhou Min set about scouring the vicinity to see if there were any other useful "loot". Not too far away, the python's head he'd chopped off the day before came into view. Instantly, the glistening fangs in the python's gaping maw flashed across his mind. "Those python fangs are bound to come in super handy." He made his way briskly over to the python's head and, with a whole lot of effort, pried open the snake's mouth with both hands. The menacing fangs were now fully exposed to the sunlight, glinting coldly.

"Four fangs. Two are as long as my forearm, and the other two are about the size of my palm. Perfect! These can be turned into short swords or daggers in no time." He exclaimed to himself, his voice brimming with excitement. He then found a few sturdy tree branches, propped open the snake's mouth, and picked up the Big Yellow Blade. It took him ages and a whole lot of elbow - grease to saw off the fangs one by one.

He stashed the fangs safely on his person, repurposed the eggshell as a makeshift cooking vessel, and the feather became his go - to weapon. He also gathered some large, broad leaves nearby and skillfully processed some of the python meat, packing up everything he could carry. "Time to hit the road!" Zhou Min took a deep breath. Eyeing the strange and uncharted environment around him, he resolutely set off on his adventure in this wild, untamed world.

He was well aware that the jungle was teeming with dangers: hypothermia, hunger pangs, the risk of getting hopelessly lost, ferocious wild beasts, venomous insects, and the constant struggle to get a fire going. Each one was a major hurdle. So, he made his way in the direction where the trees were thickest and the sunlight was strongest, leaving unmistakable marks on the tree trunks with the Big Yellow Blade as he went along.

The jungle was a veritable wall of trees and vegetation. Zhou Min, brandishing the Big Yellow Blade like a madman, fought tooth and nail to hack a path through the overgrown underbrush. Some plants were oozing with sap. When he cut them, the sap splattered all over him, leaving him looking like a walking rainbow. Before long, he felt a sharp, stinging pain in his lower limbs. Looking down, his calves were covered in a zillion tiny cuts, all from the sharp, unforgiving vegetation. To top it off, the sap of some plants seeped into the wounds, making them itch and throb like crazy.

"I've gotta get outta here pronto and find some water to clean these wounds." He furrowed his brow and squinted into the distance, but all he could see was an endless expanse of thick, impenetrable bushes.

After walking for what felt like forever, his arms were killing him, and he just couldn't go on any longer. He decided to take a breather. He licked his parched lips and casually plucked an unknown fruit from the tree beside him. The fruit was kind of round, about the size of a fist, and it looked a bit like a peach, but its skin was as smooth as silk, without a single bit of fuzz.

"Who gives a damn? I'm dying of thirst." Without a second thought, he wiped it on his shirt and took a huge bite. "Ugh, so sour!" The pulp was crunchy, but the taste was so acidic that it made his face scrunch up. He was pretty sure the fruit wasn't ripe yet. But he was so thirsty and hungry that he forced himself to swallow the pulp. As he chewed, something amazing happened. The sour taste gradually faded away, replaced by a faint, sweet aftertaste. It quenched his thirst and gave him a much - needed energy boost.

"I never thought this fruit would be such a pleasant surprise. Not bad at all. I'll grab a few more for the road." Thrilled, he quickly picked some more fruits and carefully placed them in the leaf - made "pouch".

Just then, the gurgling sound of flowing water reached his ears from not too far away. "Hey! That's a stream. There's bound to be people living nearby where there's water!" Zhou Min exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. He hurried towards the stream. First, he carefully cleaned and bandaged the wounds on his calves. Only then did he notice that, at some point, his wrists, forearms, and elbows also had various abrasions, so he took care of those as well.

"More injuries on top of the old ones. I've gotta get out of here as fast as I can. If these wounds get infected, I'm in deep trouble." He muttered to himself. After treating the wounds, he bent down and took a few big gulps of water, then plopped down on the gravel by the bank to take a short rest.

After a quick rest, Zhou Min resumed his journey along the stream. Not far off, a massive thatched cottage came into view, barely visible in the distance. His heart leaped with excitement. "Let's go check it out!" He quickened his pace, almost running towards the cottage.

He hid behind a huge tree and watched closely. As he got nearer, he was shocked to find that the thatched cottage was way bigger than he'd imagined. The rounded roof was covered with thick thatch and large leaves, and it was estimated to be over 150 square meters. The wooden poles holding up the roof were tall and sturdy, and the outer wall was made of a mix of mud and straw. There was a fence around the thatched cottage, filled with all kinds of strange - looking plants. Beside the cottage, there was a simple shelf, also covered with thatch and wooden boards. Under it, there was a pile of hay and branches, and next to it were several oddly - shaped tools. He watched for ages, but not a single person showed up.

"The way this place is built says it was made by humans. But this thatched cottage is over 4 meters high. Given how things seem to work around here, there's no way one or two people could've built something this huge." Zhou Min thought to himself.

"Thatch - roofed cottage, fence, farming tools. It looks like the civilization here has come a long way. Maybe it's in the tribal stage. Slash - and - burn farming is a sign of that. But it's weird. This doesn't seem like a place where a whole bunch of people live. It's a shame there are no iron tools or metal things. If there were, the civilization level here would be at least as advanced as the Shang and Zhou dynasties back home." Drawing on his limited knowledge of history, Zhou Min tried to figure out what era and what kind of place he was in, but everything around him just didn't add up. In this dangerous, wild forest, the lack of a tribe setup just didn't make sense. Whether it was a matriarchal or patriarchal society, tribes were the basic building blocks of civilization, a natural result of humans adapting to their surroundings. Even nowadays, the need to be part of a group is still hard - wired in our DNA, like how we love to join in the fun, follow the crowd, and go with the flow.

Zhou Min crept closer to the thatched cottage. Just as he was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. All sorts of strange things were making him super cautious, and he didn't dare do anything stupid. "Back in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, they used to do human sacrifices, and that went on until the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Better to be safe than sorry." The more he thought about it, the more scared he got. In the end, he decided to find a place to hide and keep an eye on things for a while.

He sat down beside a big tree and put all his stuff next to him. He looked up at the sun overhead, broke off a branch, and stuck it in the ground to make a simple sundial. "Looks like it's almost noon. I've been walking all morning. I really need a good rest." He said to himself.

"What am I gonna have for lunch?" Zhou Min looked at the sundial he'd made, lost in thought. Even though he still had wild fruits and python meat with him, he couldn't help but think about what to eat.

Just then, a faint rustling sound came from nearby, jolting him out of his thoughts. He immediately tensed up and scanned the area. "Huh? Why'd the sound stop? Did whatever it was spot me and hide?" He wondered.

At the same time, he suddenly realized that his shadow had gotten a whole lot bigger than when he'd first sat down. A shiver ran down his spine. "No way. There was a giant python above me yesterday. What's it gonna be today?" His heart started pounding like crazy. He slowly reached out his hand, gripped the Big Yellow Blade in a reverse hold, and quietly reached into his pocket with his other hand, tightly clutching the few snake fangs. He was mentally planning his moves: "If there's trouble, I'll spin around in a flash, stab with the snake fangs, take two steps back, throw the snake fangs, and then charge forward and slash with the Big Yellow Blade. No matter what kind of monster comes at me, it won't stand a chance!"

As the strange shadow got bigger and bigger, Zhou Min's heart was pounding so hard he thought it would burst out of his chest. His body slowly crouched down, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. The instant the shadow completely covered him, he exploded into motion. His front foot pushed hard against the ground, and his whole body spun around in a split - second. His right hand, holding the snake fangs, stabbed with all his might towards the back...

"Ah? What..." The sight in front of him left him completely dumbfounded, and his attack froze in mid - air. What he saw wasn't a ferocious beast, but a really strange - looking small animal. It was tilting its head, looking at him with big, curious eyes, and there was a fruit in its mouth. It seemed like this was the thing that had made the noise when it was looking for food nearby. The small animal was covered in soft, fluffy fur, with a whole bunch of bright colors, and the patterns on its body were kind of pulsing, like they were alive.

Zhou Min was stunned for a long time before slowly lowering his hand and letting out a huge sigh of relief. "So it's you, little guy. You almost gave me a heart attack!" But as soon as he relaxed, he noticed that the small animal's eyes seemed to be telling him something urgent, and the fruit in its mouth was bobbing up and down, like it was trying to send a message. Zhou Min's curiosity was piqued. He took a tentative step forward, and to his surprise, the small animal not only didn't run away, but it actually came closer to him.

Just then, a deep, rumbling growl came from the distance, like the roar of some huge, wild beast. The sound made Zhou Min's face go white as a sheet instantly, and he instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon. The small animal, scared out of its wits by the sound, immediately hid behind Zhou Min, its body shaking like a leaf. A thought flashed through Zhou Min's mind: Why'd this small animal hide behind me? Does it know I can protect it? Or is it using me to get away from whatever's coming?

Before he could figure it out, the growl was getting closer and closer, and the air around him seemed to be vibrating. Zhou Min swallowed hard. He knew that the real danger had just started. While keeping a close eye on the direction the sound was coming from, he quickly tried to figure out a way to escape. But when he looked around, all he saw was the thick jungle and the mysterious thatched cottage. He had nowhere to run.

Suddenly, the small animal darted out from behind Zhou Min and let out a series of strange cries, as if it was trying to tell him to do something. Zhou Min looked at the small animal and then at the thatched cottage. His mind was made up. "Screw it! I'm going in." He grabbed the Big Yellow Blade and charged towards the thatched cottage. But when he got to the door, he found that it was locked, and the lock was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

The growl behind him was getting closer and closer. Zhou Min was in a total panic. He pushed the door with all his strength, but it didn't move an inch. The small animal was also running around in a frenzy, constantly ramming its head against the door. Just when Zhou Min was about to give up hope, he suddenly noticed a small groove on the lock, which was exactly the same size and shape as one of the snake fangs he had. Without thinking twice, he immediately took out a snake fang from his pocket and stuck it into the groove.

Miraculously, the door slowly creaked open. Zhou Min and the small animal rushed into the house. Just as Zhou Min was about to close the door, he saw a huge map hanging on the back of the door. The map showed all the areas of this jungle, along with some really strange symbols and markings. Before Zhou Min could take a better look, he heard a loud crashing sound outside. It seemed like the wild beast had already reached the door...