Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 204: How Should We Choose

"It shouldn’t happen, after all, there are big trees around here, and I don’t plan to cut them down." Xu Yi explained, having already considered this matter.

Now, they couldn’t be like before and cut down all the trees around the camp.

The giant beasts in the sky could come to attack.

If all the trees were cleared, it would mean putting themselves in danger.

"Exactly, if the trees around aren’t cut down, it would be much harder for them to come down." Lu Ke said with relief, knowing that the flying giant beast seemed not to be trifled with.

The location of the stilt house is quite large, but they planned to build a roof. Thus, the aerial threat wouldn’t harm them for now.

Of course, Xu Yi chose to cut down some trees to open up his view.

Xu Yi sawed a section of the log and handed it to Lu Ke, then used the method from the previous night, using a hemp rope to protect himself, and proceeded to fell three large trees in the middle.

The remaining part of these three trees was about three meters high.

This height was essentially the height of the stilt house’s floor.

Xu Yi thought that unless it could fly, it should be rare for an animal to jump this high. Any higher would be extremely inconvenient and more prone to be struck by lightning.

Therefore, he felt this was the limit.

Currently, the most difficult part was placing the crossbeam.

This height was not easy to work with.

Especially the top crossbeam, which was a little over six meters, with both ends being more than six meters apart.

But Xu Yi decided to challenge himself, feeling that if this stilt house were completed, it would be dozens of times safer than their previous camp. So investing more effort and time would be worthwhile.

After cutting down the three trees in the middle, Xu Yi strapped on his hunting bow, grabbed the machete, and headed out.

He needed to find wood suitable for making the crossbeam, and ideally, plants suitable for the roof.

However, after over an hour of searching, Xu Yi hadn’t found anything.

Not daring to venture too far, worried that Lu Ke might be attacked, Xu Yi returned.

Returning to camp, Lu Ke was fetching water with a wooden bucket.

"Xu Yi, look, I made a water bucket." Lu Ke said happily as she lifted a bucket of water.

She drilled two holes with her dagger and used bark to thread through them for carrying.

"Not bad, very efficient. This way, after lunch, we can head out to find suitable small trees again." Xu Yi said, not wanting to leave Lu Ke alone, so they brought her along.

Moreover, with her presence, the attack’s damage would be increased, making it easier to deal with beasts.

"Yeah, I can make another bucket by tonight. Xu Yi, let’s make another one; it seems more convenient than pottery." Lu Ke felt that the previous way was a waste of time.

It took several days to shape a piece of pottery, and once finished, a few days to dry. Plus, the failure rate was high.

But using this method, it could be done in half a day, saving a lot of time.

For small items, pottery could be considered.

"Yes, these trees are hard outside and soft inside, perfect for making wooden buckets." Xu Yi nodded, realizing they still needed containers.

Lunch was still braised meat.

Due to the slow water flow and low temperature, Xu Yi stored the meat at the bottom of the water, ensuring it could be preserved for at least a day.

After this lunch, there was less than a pound of meat left.

However, making a stew with it and pairing it with jerky was a good choice.

After lunch, they extinguished the fire and set out to find trees.

Over the pottery jar, they covered it with layers of branches to protect the honey.

If other animals still managed to steal it, Xu Yi and Lu Ke would just have to accept it.

Besides this, they couldn’t think of any other solutions.

The two walked upstream, traveling for three consecutive hours without finding any suitable trees.

However, they did make some gains.

They hunted two rabbits and a wild duck.

Finding wild duck here surprised Xu Yi.

The wild duck was quite small, less than three pounds, and there wasn’t much meat after removing the bones.

The two rabbits were plump, each weighing about five or six pounds. Considering they weren’t any particular breed, such weight was impressive.

Lu Ke shot both rabbits, her accuracy improving significantly, and her reactions quick.

Of course, if Xu Yi used the crossbow, he could do the same. Unlike the hunting bow, it could be fired instantly without the effort of drawing.

"Xu Yi, should we head back?" Lu Ke checked the time, aware that if they didn’t turn back, they might be returning in the dark.

"Let’s walk for another half hour, then run back." Xu Yi was unwilling to give up, deciding to continue exploring a bit further.

Lu Ke nodded, not objecting to Xu Yi.

Running back would ensure they reached camp before dark.

"Look, what’s that?" Xu Yi suddenly pointed ahead.

"Bamboo, bamboo?" Lu Ke’s eyes lit up unexpectedly, discovering bamboo in the forest.

"It probably isn’t bamboo; it seems to lack the nodes." Xu Yi inspected and said.

"You can see that from so far away?" Lu Ke found Xu Yi’s eyesight impressive.

Well, the vision didn’t improve, only the hearing.

Xu Yi mused, thinking that if Lu Ke’s hearing, vision, and smell improved, his sign-up rewards wouldn’t have much advantage.

"Not particularly clear, let’s go and see it." Xu Yi said and quickened his pace.

Upon closer inspection, Xu Yi felt these might not be bamboo.

But after a cut, he thought these plants might be bamboo.

No, it’s a type of bamboo without nodes, hollow inside, and the fiber structure is no different from bamboo.

They stood about seven or eight meters tall, possessing more hardness and flexibility than regular bamboo.

Regrettably, these node-less bamboos were scarce, only 27 in total, with three being half thin, not yet hardened, and easily scratched by a fingernail.

"Xu Yi, I think to save time, we should just build the camp here; after all, the other side only has wooden buckets and pottery jars. We could relocate them in one trip. But cutting down and moving the node-less bamboo back and forth would take a lot of time." Lu Ke proposed, considering the time spent on cutting trees, they were more than enough to fell seven.

Should they return, or stay?