The next morning Fan Zhong awoke to a slightly gray overcast of clouds peeking out beyond the canopy of the forest. With a small sigh of exhaustion, he struggled to rise to his feet, every tiny movement accenting the pain all over his body. He knew that soon, a source of food and water would need to be found otherwise the situation would only get worse.
While he stretched and felt out his body Fan Zhong’s thoughts wandered to the note that had been left in his pack. Although he had assumed it referred to five months in the wilderness, perhaps he had misinterpreted this. In all actuality, it could just as easily mean five days or five weeks.
With this in mind, he tried to think back to any amount of time that his elder brother might have disappeared for such a trial. It wasn’t that Fan Cheng had never been gone for such a length of time it was the opposite. Most of the time his elder brother and father were away at another village doing a mission or with the clan warriors taking care of some other business.
Suddenly it struck him how much of an anomaly it had been for Fan Cheng to take so much time to personally train him. For him to spend so much time on this endeavor showed how much he cared for his younger brother and the thought brought with it feelings of warmth in Fan Zhong’s heart. This quickly faded as he understood that his elder brother could have taken this trial during any number of times he had been awhile from Little Green Bamboo Village.
Although the trial may truly refer to five days or maybe even five weeks of survival, Fan Zhong felt it prudent to plan as if his original estimate had been correct. Five years simply would have been too long and five weeks would hardly have been a true display of the survival skills his training had taught him. That settled he focused his mind to finish stretching out his body.
Finally feeling good enough to set out, Fan Zhong first looked around him to take stock and locate little white. After a short while of looking and pacing around, he was unable to locate the small water wolf, this brought him a feeling of sadness. He had hoped that sharing a meal on death's door would endear the small cub to him and felt that the company would lessen his feelings of loneliness for the days to come.
Now it seemed that his would-be companion had set out without him, in this case, he could only hope that Little White was safe and that their paths would cross once more. Struggling with the effort, Fan Zhong shouldered his pack and began trekking westward once more. His first objective for the day was to relocate his supplies nearer to the stream he had located the previous day.
Remembering how useful the cliff face had been, Fan Zhong decided to make his camp atop the cliff. Ultimately he decided on a location at the intersection of the stream and cliff edge where the water fell off and turned into the waterfall that fed the pond below. That done next he decided to hang his rope down the cliff, cutting some shorter bamboo shoots and sticking them into the ground to create a post to anchor the hanging rope.
The rope served two purposes for his camp, firstly it would allow him easy access up and down the terrain. Secondly, easier movement between the pond and clifftop would allow him to make an emergency escape far quicker and safer than simply jumping off. He had wondered if the pond was deep enough to simply allow him to jump into it but dismissed the idea, reasoning that the rope was a far more practical and safe method to allow him to escape.
With this taken care next came preparations to solve the problem of water. Although Fan Zhong had often drunk from mountain streams and the Flowing Grass River itself he knew from training that this could lead to sickness. Knowing his current circumstances, anything else that harmed him could be a death sentence. Firmly set in the idea that an early grave would not be an impressive result for this trial, Fan Zhong set about building a small fire pit and tripod to hang his small pot.
During his training, he had learned a method to set a piece of cloth or large leaf above boiling water while tilting one end of the covering to one side over another container. In this way, the water would steam away and collect on the underside of the covering eventually condensing and dripping as clean water into the second container. For the second container, he decided to use the rice bowl as it was the largest thing on hand.
As he finally got the small pot in place with a sufficient cover Fan Zhong slumped to the floor as he tried to place the rice bowl under the hanging side of his water cleaning setup. Weariness felt baked into his bones at this point and he hardly remembered feeling so tired even during the harshest training that Fan Cheng had put him through. Suddenly his thoughts went back to the moment he had killed the black-robed assailant and his sparring sessions with his elder brother.
Truly his enlightenment must have been heaven-defying, he thought to himself. Otherwise, how could he, someone who had barely trained a day in his life, defeat such a foe? Indeed he now felt much regret at his lazy ways, throughout the years others had spent huge swaths of time dedicated to growing stronger. Now here he was thinking that a mere year could make up for years of hard work and dedication.
How could it? Was it that he worked harder than others? Perhaps better or smarter? The truth was that everyone was always advancing and he had stood still for far too long. Even as he attempted to struggle against the current and once again see the shadow of his peers' back’s they too were racing forward not content to stand still as he had.
Heavenly luck was truly frightening in this regard as it had briefly allowed him to bridge this distance but now reality had struck him hard in the face. For once in his life, Fan Zhong wished his elder brother was more willing to play the part of the cruel taskmaster and pummel him during their sparring sessions. Remembering the time Fan Cheng had, resulting in his face meeting the ground at an unpleasant speed, his body groaned again in pain.
At any rate, he was certain that any of the Third-grade martial artists that had chased him and Wang Qiang that day would have easily dealt with the water wolf he had encountered. Once again despair threatened to overtake him however Fan Zhong was used to this. Steadying his mind he emptied it as if to enter the void gate stance.
Soon his wits returned to him and he was able to place the rice bowl and light the fire before laying his back against the tall and sturdy bamboo shoot nearest to his fire. Here he let his calm state expand allowing his entire world to be taken up by his breathing and nothing else. The next thing he knew blackness had overtaken his vision and he was fast asleep.
When he awoke Fan Zhong could still feel the fading rays of the sun beaming down upon him and he heard a low noise. Suddenly a sharp pain ran up his leg and he recoiled, opening his eyes instantly. There at his feet sat Little white and with him were two small rabbit corpses. The small wolf seemed to have pressed up against him in an attempt to awaken him from the deep sleep that had come, in the end, it seemed Little white was impatient and took to biting his leg to do the job. Unpleasant though it was he was grateful for the wake-up call, lapses like this could prove fatal if a predator had found him instead.
Although his body felt incredibly heavy and he could barely move his arms, Fan Zhong still mustered the energy to reach down and pat the cub’s head. Little White paid little attention to him, instead, the little wolf was focusing on tearing into one of the rabbits while the other lay closer to Fan Zhong’s feet. Grateful to his small companion for the gift he moved as swift as possible firstly taking the water that had now condensed in his rice bowl and drinking it down.
Although the water was not cool it did refresh him a surprising amount. Previously he had not noticed how dry his throat and mouth had gotten but now that he had some water to rinse them and drink it reinvigorated Fan Zhong. With energy allowed he set to the task of skinning and draining the blood from the rabbit with renewed zeal.
It took only a few minutes to remove most of the meat from the rabbit, a grim task but one he finished with determination. Deliberating on the best methods to eat the meal quickly, Fan Zhong decided that making a stew would be best. With the water so close at hand it would use the available resources well and with his body so deprecated from liquid the broth formed would help him restore himself as well.
As an added benefit the cooking of the stew would boil it, in any case, allowing him to skip the step of purifying the water. Having set his mind he briefly attempted to rummage in the nearby foliage for some wild herbs and vegetables to add to his stew. After using up most of his remaining energy he came back with the sparse findings of a few wild onions with some tough root vegetables.
His most fortuitous find had been a naturally growing herb that added a minty taste, at least from what he remembered. Fan Zhong had attempted to study with the clan cooks at odd intervals but had never devoted enough time to be adept in the practice, because of this he was desperately hoping his memory did not fail him. With the sun starting to dip in the horizon and little energy left to do anything else Fan Zhong set the stew to boil and hunkered down next to his small fire. Little White seemed to have tired himself out and was laying next to the spot he had been sitting when he awoke.
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Once he was able to determine the stew would not boil over Fan Zhong decided he needed to prepare his shelter for the night. For this he would make a simple lean-to with his waterproof cloth, rummaging about thankfully he was quickly able to find a shorter bamboo shoot that was the perfect size. After cutting the shorter shoot off at the base the construction simply consisted of leaning one end against the taller shoot and pushing the other end into the ground.
What he was left with was a right triangle formation where the shoot he had cut and the ground forming the longer parts and the standing taller shoot formed the straight back. Next, he carefully draped the waterproof cloth over the top of the cut piece of bamboo so that it hung over either side evenly. Finally happy that this would prove adequate, if hopefully temporary, shelter Fan Zhong brought his pack over and positioned it to rest at the corner of the ground and standing shoot to serve as a pillow.
Finished setting up the lean-to he returned to the fire and sat down next to Little white, slowly petting the small wolf as he watched the fire. Soon enough the stew was ready and although it wasn't the high fare he was used to, Fan Zhong had to admit that eating something made by his own hands had a satisfying feeling of its own.
Looking down at his small companion he considered how fortunate he had been once again. When Little White had arrived and brought him the rabbits he was fairly certain that he would go hungry once again today. Although he had managed to purify some water by himself the energy needed to hunt prey was immense and managing that on his own might have been beyond his capabilities given his exhausted state.
This wasn’t even mentioning the dangers presented by hunting while so weakened. Not even mentioning predators at that moment even some of the larger prey such as deer might have left him injured and helpless if they fought back. It seemed these days that heaven was smiling on him.
Thinking of this he was fairly surprised that Little White had been able to hunt by himself. The last time he had seen the small wolf it had looked as starved and deprived as its mother. Yet now all of that was gone, replaced by a healthy-looking cub that had even taken down two rabbits that were only slightly smaller than it!
Just the feat of carrying two pieces of prey, who when considered together were bigger than Little white himself, must have taken a lot out of the little guy. Although he supposed that being a spirit beast the small water wolf was stronger than any other animal the same size on account of the natural energy strengthening its body. Warmth flowed through Fan Zhong’s heart at the thought of his little brother’s generosity, apparently Little White had never had thoughts to abandon him after all.
While his mind was on the matter he decided to inspect his companion slightly more thoroughly. Picking the cub up he inspected the fate the heavens had thrust upon Little White and met his small companion’s… companion. Having figured this out he supposed the title of little brother suited the wolf just fine.
Offended at having been picked up, Little White clawed at him causing Fan Zhong to drop him to the ground once more. There he lay curling back up next to Fan Zhong’s legs seemingly content to sleep the rest of the day away. As night encroached onto them and the embers of the fire ebbed under his pot Fan Zhong felt at one with the forest.
Sounds of life winding down brought to him the feeling of someone sighing in contentment at a job well done. The world had survived another day, with it life would go on. No matter the fate of man or the will of the heavens, life would continue.
In the dying light of his fire Fan Zhong saw the beauty of the world coming to rest. Quiet winds blew through the leaves of the bamboo shoots causing them to slightly rustle as birds called about high in the canopy. Running water cascaded down the nearby waterfall creating a solid background to the melody of life.
Next, he closed his eyes, smelling the smoke of the fire mixing with the smell of fresh plant life mixed in. Under all of this water, vapors interspersed giving a sense of purity and refreshment. The Smells of the forest were accents to the melody of sounds but also a melody of their own.
He felt that one was not complete without the other, half of a picture both of them but also containing parts of each other. Absent-mindedly he started humming a soft and low song. Soon this turned into a more complex song, one that told of dawns and closing, of resting and endings. Following this his hands and feet moved of their own accord, sounding out the measure of the tones with strikes to the bamboo and ground.
Within, Fan Zhong felt the familiar feeling of resonance cascade through him, and before he knew it the world around him was almost pitch black, just the barest hint of moonlight peeking through the canopy. Knowing it was time for rest he took Little White in his arms, who was now too tired to protest, carrying him into the lean-to letting the small wolf rest on his chest as he lay down to sleep. Like this, the Second day of Fan Zhong’s trial passed without incident.
In the morning he once again awoke to the sight of Little White missing. Smiling to himself he decided to go about the day, surely his little brother could take of himself. With these thoughts put aside, Fan Zhong decided to begin making his base camp here more liveable.
The first order of business he addressed was stoking the fire and getting more water to boil and purify. After taking the time to do this he once again walked as far as he could while still seeing the bamboo shoot his pack rested on. Once he reached this point he would find the tallest shoot nearby and mark it with the symbol for the direction he had walked from the camp.
This proved an easy feat for all but the westward direction. To make a mark in this direction he would need to cross the stream. Coming to this obstacle Fan Zhong considered his options. He could wade through the stream as it seemed shallow enough at points. However, this option was something he was less inclined to do.
His reason for this was simple: wading would soak his clothes through. If the pack had contained a spare set of clothes this would not be a problem however getting his clothes wet now could be a significant drawback. Wet clothes amplified cold nights and would weigh him down causing his energy to be used faster.
Also, Fan Zhong had to admit, wet clothes were miserable to wear. Having decided that wading through the stream was not an option he scouted to the south of his camp following along the banks. Doing this he hoped he would find an exceedingly shallow area to cross, perhaps one with rocks that had formed a sort of natural land bridge.
After scouting this way for what felt like an hour there was no sign of such an easy crossing point and he gave up entirely supposing that the stream itself would serve to tell what direction his camp lay. On his way back, however, he decided to spend more time foraging for edible vegetables and plants. This time his efforts were rewarded with large bundles of wild onions and mushrooms. Among what he found was even some more of the mint-flavored herb and some leafy plants that Fan Cheng had mentioned were edible.
Confident that he could now at least make a vegetable stew as food, Fan Zhong decided that he should attempt to hunt something. The meat he had eaten was full of energy and although Little White had brought him the rabbit for a growing man like him this was truly a small amount of food. He needed to hunt something larger and gather more food if he was to continue surviving here.
With this Fan Zhong set about attempting to stalk through the underbrush. One could not say he was a master assassin however he believed that he was no lumbering oaf. The forest however seemed to have a different idea and the few times he was able to see a deer in the distance the animal noticed him instantly and bolted away in fright.
By sheer dumb luck, he managed to stumble upon a rabbit that had walked next to him while he was standing still and contemplating how to approach more stealthily. Although quick, the rabbit was not able to escape the blow of his staff and he quickly dispatched it with a strike to the head.
Combat may have frozen Fan Zhong’s reflexes however when not faced with danger he had to admit that his training had truly produced results. Had he tried to react to that rabbit a year ago it would have been out of range before his staff could be brought to bear. Now however his mental exercises had trained him to notice small movements and he had been able to see it the moment it twitched in the grass at his feet, able to strike immediately.
With this Fan Zhong felt it was much easier to catch small game than expend large amounts of energy hunting large prey like deer. Thinking upon this inspiration struck, during training Fan Cheng had taught him how to make snares for small animals from strips of bamboo and plants. Combining this with some newly acquired vegetables couldn't he bait the snares causing the success rate to go up?
Quickly he set to work making five small snares and separated his vegetables into small bundles that he placed on top of large leaves of the greens he had found. With this Fan Zhong also portioned a set to save for later snares alongside deciding a better use for the mint herb. Being able to drink boiled water would save him the trouble of purifying it and he figured that he could use the herbs to make a sort of mint tea-like drink.
This way he could make larger amounts of drinkable liquid without waiting large amounts of time to use his pot while the steam condensed. Excitement flooded into his mind as he set about setting up the snares and returned to camp. Here he set water to boil with some of the herbs while skinning and cleaning the rabbit. That evening Fan Zhong ate roasted rabbit and drank his attempted mint tea. Although the drink came out bitter and without much flavor it was edible and his body was feeling considerably better now that it had liquids inside of it.
After this he checked the snares, being careful to stalk through the underbrush in case any of the game caught in his traps had attracted more dangerous predators. To his surprise, this had not happened and he had even caught two more rabbits, although two more of his snares had been set off with their bait taken and no animals in sight. Even with this Fan Zhong was elated, now he had a stable influx of food that presented little danger to him and would be easy to replicate.
With this, he set about resetting and baiting the snares while making minor adjustments to positioning based on what he guessed had gone wrong with the two failed cases. By the time he returned to camp Little White was there looking mildly irritated, or as close as a wolf face could be too irritated, and with no prey of his own. Smiling Fan Zhong set one of the rabbits by his little brother and set to work on the other intent on roasting it.
While skinning and cleaning the rabbit Fan Zhong felt at ease, truly he felt that living this way may not be so bad after all.