Volume One, Chapter 18: Who Will Spend the Night with His Majesty?

Three days had already passed, and the rescue team had yet to arrive.

As they witnessed more and more deaths, their fear grew—afraid that one day, they too would meet such a fate.

To be precise, in this land ruled by primeval forest, death could come at any moment.

Here, they truly had no survival skills.

“Tonight, I’ll keep watch. You all rest while you can!” Gao Fei’er suddenly said, taking Ye Feng’s baseball bat and moving aside, though not far away.

“We’re all exhausted; relying on just one person won’t work. You and I will take the night watch in shifts, Chen Jing, you take good care of Ye Feng. Only if he’s awake will our chances of survival be greater.”

None of the women objected.

Time slipped by second by second, and the third night on this deserted island seemed somewhat quieter.

Compared to the previous two nights, it was indeed much quieter.

Yet beneath this calmness, a deep-seated terror crept into their hearts.

The bonfire blazed wildly, bringing warmth and a semblance of security.

But such security was merely a psychological comfort.

In the primeval forest, this fire was undoubtedly a source of danger.

A black figure slithered in through some crevice.

It twisted its body, slowly inching closer to the fire.

At this moment, Chen Jing, Lin Xiao Xiao, and the relieved Gao Fei’er, who had just taken over the watch, were curled up near the fire, fast asleep.

Ye Feng lay beside Chen Jing, also asleep.

Suddenly, the fire flared up fiercely, crackling loudly, snapping Chen Jing’s nerves taut and forcing her eyes open instantly.

Had she not opened them, it might have been better—but once opened, she could not close them again.

Under the firelight, the black-and-white body of a banded krait was visible. It seemed threatened by Chen Jing’s gaze, standing upright immediately.

In that instant, terror flooded Chen Jing’s eyes.

The venomous snake was less than a meter from her—indeed, it was right in front of Ye Feng.

If it attacked Ye Feng, it would surely strike true.

Yet its attention seemed not on Ye Feng but locked onto Chen Jing.

Tall figures often exert an invisible pressure—not only on people but also on animals, especially aggressive ones.

Chen Jing forced herself to calm down, searching her mind for knowledge about snakes.

Slowly, she propped herself up on her forearms and sat up.

Cold sweat drenched her head during the movement.

But to her slight relief, the banded krait did not strike as she rose.

Her increased height had clearly intimidated the snake.

The banded krait dared not act rashly.

“Chen Jing, what’s wrong?” Lin Yao, on watch nearby, instinctively turned around and saw Chen Jing.

Before she could finish speaking, she clammed up, her beautiful eyes filled with terror.

Though not right beside her, her whole body trembled violently.

What was meant to be a time to rest had given them no respite on this island.

The crisis of daytime had passed; now came the danger of night.

Though it was not wolves, the peril of venomous snakes was often the most terrifying.

“Ch-Chen Jing, what… what do we do?” Lin Yao stammered, panic creeping into her voice.

Her words roused the others from sleep.

In an instant, all their faces were etched with fear.

None had Chen Jing’s courage to sit up; trembling, they remained lying down.

Their collective awakening seemed to frighten the banded krait.

Its upright body tensed, as if preparing to strike.

Everyone held their breath.

“Did you get my permission to harm my friend?” a sudden cold voice cut through the tension.

Ye Feng sat up abruptly, holding the banded krait in his hand.

The very snake that had threatened them was now caught.

“Ah, Ye Feng, you’re finally awake!!!”

His awakening instantly revived the terrified women.

Especially when they saw how quickly he subdued the snake, their excitement soared.

Their pillar of strength had returned.

“You all missed me so much? Well, now I have to think carefully,” Ye Feng said with a grin.

“Think carefully? What do you mean?” Chen Jing, whose emotions were most stirred, wiped the cold sweat from her brow and asked, puzzled.

Seeing Ye Feng awake and seemingly well eased her mind.

“Think carefully about who’s going to keep me company tonight,” Ye Feng chuckled.

“Get lost!!!” Without surprise, his words were met with a barrage of playful blows.

“Ahem, am I being a little awkward here?” Ye Feng rubbed his nose sheepishly.

“Enough nonsense, just toss that snake away. It’s giving me the creeps!” Lin Yao snapped.

“Such a delicacy? Tossing it would be a waste. If grilled over a fire, I could make it taste exquisite,” Ye Feng said with a smile, taking a Swiss Army knife from Chen Jing.

Amid the stunned silence of the women, he swiftly cut off the snake’s head and extracted its gallbladder.

His smooth, practiced motions left them all astonished.

“This is a potent tonic. Anyone want some?” Ye Feng held up the snake’s gallbladder.

“Is it, is it safe? Not poisonous?” Lin Yao asked naively.

That single question revealed her as a pampered, innocent young lady.

Ye Feng smiled and, with a carefree flourish, tossed the gallbladder into his mouth.

The clear sound of swallowing echoed peculiarly through the quiet cave.

Before university, he had grown up in the mountain valleys.

During holidays, he often caught fish, shrimp, loaches, and eels to earn pocket money.

He’d encountered snakes countless times.

Perhaps due to his talent, he had never failed in catching snakes.

But he knew all too well that one mistake could be fatal.

Especially in the years at university, he hadn’t caught any snakes.

Facing one head-on might not be so easy now.

But this one had come right to him, and its attention was elsewhere—just his hands were enough.

“Fresh fire, and I’m hungry anyway. Those who want snake meat, wait a bit. Those who don’t, get some sleep. I’ll keep watch,” Ye Feng said as he began skinning and removing the sinews.

His expert handling left the women in awe.

“Ye Feng, let me see your wound. Though you look fine now,” Chen Jing said with concern.

But when she uncovered the injury, she was shocked.

“How is this possible?” she said in disbelief.

“What’s impossible?”

“It hasn’t been long, and the wound is nearly healed—that defies all logic!”

“Could it be that the herbs on this island have doubled potency?” Chen Jing said, astonished, uttering words that stunned them all.

Double potency—that was a terrifying thought.

“It seems this island is not as simple as we imagined. From now on, we must be even more cautious,” Ye Feng said.

He hadn’t expected his injury to heal so fast, but he knew his body and spirit had recovered almost completely.

According to Chen Jing, the herbs were truly miraculous.

Combined with the possibility of mutations from wolf bites, it was clear this island was extraordinary.

“Ye Feng, how’s the snake meat? Is it tasty?” Lin Yao asked, watching the satisfied expression on his face as he chewed.

The third night on the island had brought a new kind of peril—and with it, a glimmer of hope.