143 The Nagging Troubles of Survival 4 (1/2)
Crying aside, the young girl finally put the loose sheets of paper to good use.
A blank sheet grasped in one hand, the other flipping through the numerous pages of the book splayed before her, and the brush help between her teeth, An Fei finally brushed onto the subject of constructing a shelter to use within the forest.
Her basic requirements necessitated ample protection against the elements, and a structure that emphasized portability.
The young girl had little need for the actual shelter to be transferrable from one location to the next; that was hinging on the borders of mental insanity and delusional thoughts given her current available resources within the Wu Ji Forest.
As long as the structure of the shelter was easily replicable, that was enough.
”A rectangular assembly of wooden logs bisected and hollowed to construct a conical structure…” the young girl murmured through clenched teeth, the pair of scarlet irises refusing to depart from the characters spanning the page.
”The hollowed logs are arranged as though the covering of a tent to form a conical appearance, of which the peak is to be removed and replaced with a plateaued article to divert any incoming rainfall… necessary complements of fibrous material include twine to sustain the structure and a mud bastion to insulate the shelter's composition… that's no good.”
An Fei paused to scratch the tent-like design from the page, the brush in her hands condemning the idea to an early death.
The brush returned to its original place between the young girl's lips, the tip barely moistened by the recently ground ink.
”A paneled roof utilizing flattened planks of wood with an enclosure supporting peripheral protection – that's rather useless when encountering rain – a longhouse… useless, don't have that much time… ah…”
The young girl closed the book with a rueful gaze, her heart laden with annoyance. The sheets of paper that had been marred by her designs whilst reading were thus scrapped, and An Fei leaned against the edge of the bed, closing her eyes in thought.
”Perhaps… just hollowing out the inside of a tree would do…”
–
With that, a week passed in complete tranquility.
The Wu Ji Forest returned to its usual lifestyle following the unexpected event of slaughter, and the sensation of terror diminished within the animals' hearts after realizing that the mysterious killer had not surfaced for several days.
Once again, such phenomenon warranted mixed responses from the collective consciousness of the creatures residing within the forest.
The animals were relieved that their lives were thus spared from unwarranted killing, whereas the plants exhibited their discontent in as many forms as they could possibly conduct with their meagre existences.
Having lost the tantalizing stream of vitality that had inundated their roots, the pitiful herbs and plantlife could only return to foraging for the scraps of sunlight that seeped through the dense overgrowth.
…neither of them were aware that the killer had not departed from the forest, and was actually thriving alongside –
Boom!
”Oh, come on!”
A dense explosion rang throughout the Wu Ji Forest's undergrowth as a piercing shockwave erupted through the sea of trees.
From the source of the eruption, a weary figure dashed from within the cover of leaves and branches, weaving through the maze of trees and grass with a fearsome agility.
Roar!
A tiger's roar soon followed, a brilliant white streak surging at the figure's heels. The two raced throughout the sea of trees at an incredible pace, the mere sounds of the chase sufficient to terrify the souls of the animals hidden within the knee-height grass.
Ducking underneath a low branch whilst mapping out a possible course to throw off the malignant streak of light nipping at her heels, An Fei couldn't suppress herself from releasing a curse.
The young girl abruptly yelped, her right palm curling around the thin trunk of a nearby tree to suddenly swing around and reverse her direction, causing the blindly rushing tiger to careen and overshoot its target.
Roar!
The white-furred creature revealed a majestic aura as it glared at the young girl with a wrathful gaze, the pair of eyes threatening to devour the fragile figure before it piece by piece.
The tiger's powerful jaws opened to reveal a mouth full of sharp teeth, causing the young girl to quiver with unease.
”Easy… now…” An Fei breathed, her right hand extended towards the white tiger as she carefully retreated, a small step at a time.
”This young girl didn't intend on intruding into your territory… nor did I destroy anything, so… you can let me go – eek!?”
The tiger pounced towards An Fei without a single preparatory sound, causing the young girl to leap towards the side in panic.