King of the Wilderness

At dawn on the second day, before the sky was fully bright, Lin Yu’an heard the sound of a zipper from the tent next door.

He opened his eyes and saw a thin layer of frost on the tent’s inner wall.

When he stepped out of the tent, Stan and George had already started packing their gear.

Stan and George’s movements were highly efficient, years of wilderness experience having turned these tedious processes into instinct.

A night of rest didn’t completely dispel the tiredness on their faces, but their eyes remained exceptionally determined.

”How did you sleep, kid?” Stan asked as he forcefully stuffed the sleeping bag into a compression sack.

”Not bad, just a bit cold,” Lin Yu’an replied.

Old George said nothing, standing at the edge of the camp with binoculars, observing for a long time.

He put down the equipment, turned around, and said to the two, ”The wind has changed, it’s a good sign. Today we go straight over this ridge and try our luck on the east slope.”

”When I was young, I saw big rams there, they liked the rock salt.”

”Alright, guys, the real challenge is about to start! Get ready to set off!”

All morning, the three of them climbed slowly and arduously upward.

This was no longer the relatively flat tundra hiking of the first day, but a climb testing core strength and balance.

They often needed to use both hands and feet, grabbing the exposed rock edges, and on the steep slopes covered with loose soil, plunging the trekking poles deeply into the ground to get a stable foothold.

By noon, they reached a predetermined observation point and began to systematically scan the opposite hillside.

However, two hours passed, and apart from occasionally wind-blown bushes and a few circling crows, the view was a wasteland.

Just as Old George was about to order a move, the weather changed without warning.

The previously clear sky was within minutes completely devoured by clouds rolling over from behind the western ridge. The sky’s color swiftly shifted from bright blue to lead gray.

The mountain wind suddenly turned fierce, carrying a bone-chilling dampness.

”It’s going to pour soon! Quick, find a place to shelter!” Stan shouted low with his rich experience.

He glanced at the wind direction and the speed of the clouds moving, immediately making a judgment: ”We have at most ten more minutes! Lin, go find dry wood, gather as much as you can! George, let’s find shelter!”

”Only five minutes! If there’s nowhere suitable, immediately set up a tent!”

The orders were clear and swift, and the three of them immediately split up to act.

Lin Yu’an didn’t hesitate for a moment, racing toward a slightly gentler slope nearby.

His target was the tough dwarf pines surviving on the edge of the treeline.

There lay a cluster of creeping dwarf pines; most of these trees were already dead, their trunks deformed and pressed against the ground by centuries of wind and snow, with cracked bark showing a pale gray.

He found a gnarled dry trunk as thick as an arm, that was it!

He drew out the hand axe Stan had handed him and began chopping. ”Bang! Bang!”

After a few dull thuds, he successfully retrieved several segments of aged firewood.

This piece of wood was extremely dense, heavy in hand, and was the best for long-lasting fuel.

He quickly broke off some thinner branches from the bases of the dead dwarf pines to use as kindling.

Meanwhile, Stan and George moved quickly on the steep slope, scanning every potential hiding rock face.

”Over there! Quick, go there!”

George pointed to a large granite rock face, where underneath a few boulders had fallen, forming a natural inwardly recessed crevice.

Old George, carrying Stan’s gear, headed first toward that crevice, while Stan came over to assist Lin Yu’an and gather the dry wood together.

When Lin Yu’an and Stan, clutching the heavy old wood and carrying a bundle of kindling, rendezvoused with George at that rock crevice, the first large rain drop already smacked onto his forehead.

They managed to transfer into that natural cave at the last moment before the pouring rain came crashing down.

The clever stacking of several large boulders at the cave entrance formed an excellent windbreak.

Almost at the instant they stepped into the cave, a curtain of rain roared down like a waterfall!

The downpour isolated the entire world, the raindrops hitting the rocks with a dense ”pitter-patter,” the wind howled at the cave entrance, and the outside world instantly became chaotic and hostile.

Inside the small cave, the wind noise diminished, forming a strange yet peaceful independent space.

Stan looked out at the white expanse, with lingering fear he said, ”Damn, that was close! We three nearly became drenched.”

”Nicely done, kid!” Old George gave an approving look to the twisted pine wood Lin Yu’an had brought back.

”This is an old root of dwarf pine, very fire-resistant.”

In the cave, they began skillfully preparing for fire-making.

Lin Yu’an used the hunting knife to scrape some resin-rich powdery wood shavings from the chunk of old pine wood.

Old George took from his best-protected waterproof bag, some tinder.

He placed the tinder on the wood shavings, striking a match, and as soon as the weak flame touched the shavings, it whooshed to life, emitting a rich, pleasant pine scent.

The flames quickly ignited the thin branches, making a ”crackle” sound, as a small stable and warm flame rose up in the depths of the cave.