HEIFEIGU -Chapter 53

Under the kerosene lamp, Xuan Caiyan’s tent cast a huge, terrifying shadow.

The thing had a long front half, like a snake, though not bent, occasionally extending a horrifyingly long tongue that curled and probed the ground.

Its midsection was swollen, with short, thick limbs.

Most terrifyingly, its back seemed to have swallowed something still alive, moving slightly from time to time.

A thin rear half dragged behind, swinging back and forth.

“What kind of monster is that?!” Luo Feiang exclaimed, shocked.

As he prepared to dash into Xuan Caiyan’s tent, the “monster” extended something tongue-like from its back, in and out.

“Holy sh*t!” Luo Feiang cursed instinctively, no other words could express his feelings.

Xie Jixing emerged from his tent without a second thought and immediately entered Xuan Caiyan’s tent, silently locking eyes with her curled up in the corner.

“Don’t be afraid! We’re here to save you too!” Luo Feiang, still shaken, mustered his courage in a dramatic, over-the-top way and ran in—then froze.

The crew had also been woken by the scream. The director, still without shoes, rushed over.

Now a group of people were crammed at the tent entrance, many utterly bewildered.

Inside, there was no monster.

The “monster” opposite Xuan Caiyan was actually two small anteaters.

A mother carried her baby on her back, licking ants off the ground in a stacking motion.

The mother anteater was slightly longer than an adult forearm, about 70% pristine, with slightly yellowed white fur and faded black markings on her back.

She seemed scared, cautiously watching the humans brandishing entrenching tools and acting aggressively.

Luo Feiang, Fei Zhehan, and Meng Zezhou stared dumbfounded at her, holding their tools like weapons.

The baby anteater was slightly bigger than a grown man’s hand, 99% pristine, with soft white fur, looking even warmer than a blanket. Its two black stripes were clearly defined, resembling a plush toy wearing black suspenders.

The baby’s face wasn’t elongated like an adult’s; it was round. Likely just woken from sleeping on its mother’s back, it blinked its tiny black eyes, flicked its tongue, and pawed playfully.

Xie Jixing’s eyes lit up. He turned to Qian Shuyun. “Can we keep it?”

This was way too niche—Qian didn’t know either.

He thought for a moment. “I guess not.”

Before he could stop him, Xie Jixing had already picked up an ant from the ground, offering it to the baby anteater. “Here, eat up, little one.”

The baby remained unmoved.

After some time of coaxing, Xie Jixing didn’t blame himself, instead glancing disdainfully at the ant. “It’s your fault, you look too fierce; the little one won’t eat you!”

The ant wasn’t an ordinary tiny ant—it was large, nearly as long as a fingertip, with big mandibles that looked very ferocious.

At that moment, the veteran medic squeezed in. “I know this ant—it’s a big-toothed aggressive ant.”

He pointed to the anteater. “This little one should thank those two babies. A bite from this ant really hurts. Also, it has a poisonous stinger at the tail; if it pricks you, your hand would swell for days.”

“Shh.” Xie Jixing tossed the ant toward the baby anteater. Indeed, it looked ferocious.

Though the mother anteater was still cautious, her long tongue shot out and wrapped the ant, swallowing it in one go.

We really can’t keep it? Such a pity.

Xuan Caiyan had completely lost her fear now, even replaying the events in her mind.

Back in the tent that night, she’d secretly eaten half a chocolate bar, probably leaving some crumbs that attracted the ants.

Then, somehow, the two little ones had unzipped the tent and come inside.

In her sleep, she’d been sprayed with hot air and brushed by something sticky, wet, and soft, instinctively screaming for help.

When she finally raised the kerosene lamp, she was dumbfounded.

They were…actually adorable.

Inside the tent, Xie Jixing was trying to hug the baby anteater, while Qian Shuyun prevented him from doing so.

Outside, a circle of curious teammates had gathered, peering in.

They were all the first to arrive, rushing in without a moment’s hesitation to save her.

Xuan Caiyan felt a warmth in her heart. The shadow of being abandoned by Xia Letian under the snake pit had been completely dispelled. Now, even corpses seemed to have regained warmth.

She touched her nose and chuckled sheepishly, “Hehe, sorry, everyone, for disturbing your sleep.”

The small anteaters were slow-moving but their front claws were extremely sharp. Qian Shuyun had a hard time resisting the imploring look in Xie Jixing’s eyes.

“No, you can’t carry them out!”

Then, a few of them worked together to chase the two little creatures out of the tent.

Everything on this side was settled, yet they still hadn’t seen Duan Yanming, who had been fawning over everyone earlier.

“Teacher Duan is really slow to show up,” Xie Jixing mocked, having missed out on cuddling the anteaters. “We might as well start calling him Slow Teacher from now on.”

“Shall we go check his tent?” the director asked, uncertain. “Could something have happened?”

As they reached Duan Yanming’s tent, a weak voice cried out, “Hee… help…”

“Crap!” The director yanked the tent open in one motion. Several flashlights shone inside, revealing Duan Yanming sitting outside his sleeping bag in obvious pain, clutching his crotch.

And he wasn’t wearing any pants.

Luo Feiang quickly covered Xuan Caiyan’s eyes and dragged her away. “You… you stay back, don’t come closer.”

Xuan Caiyan’s curiosity wanted to peek, but with everyone surrounding him tightly, she couldn’t see anything—only hearing occasional moans of pain from inside.

The old army medic squatted in front of Duan Yanming, his expression grave. “This bite isn’t light! It’s swollen and shiny.”

He moved aside the only layer of covering and pointed it out. “This is what happens when a large-toothed soldier ant bites. They clamp onto the skin with their mandibles and then inject venom.”

“The patient first feels a stinging sensation, followed by burning pain—it’s extremely painful.

“Look at this swelling, it’s like a lump of iron.” The medic pressed his hand against it.

“Pain, pain, pain! It hurts!” Duan Yanming screamed, tears and snot blurring his face. “Be gentle… be gentle.”

“Doctor, can you give me some painkillers? I can’t take it!”

The old medic hesitated. In the army, they rarely dealt with pain relief; the priority was keeping someone alive. This was unfamiliar territory.

He avoided Duan Yanming’s pleading gaze and tried to soothe him: “Calm down… if you calm down, it won’t hurt as much.”

“I’ll give you some anti-inflammatory and swelling medicine. Apply it yourself.”

Duan Yanming looked at the medic like all hope was lost, asking the critical question: “Will this recover? Will it affect… normal functions in the future?”

“Generally, no. The ants inject only a small amount of venom, and once metabolized, it won’t affect physiological functions.”

Hearing this, Duan Yanming felt slightly relieved.

“But…”

No, why are you still saying “but”?!

“Sometimes, extreme pain or trauma can affect normal functions. We’ll have to wait and see how it recovers.”

A man, naked from the waist down, clutching his swollen, shiny “family jewels,” was wailing in pain—it was truly a shocking sight!

Xie Jixing couldn’t bear it anymore and left the tent, his face pale; he wished he could just pop his eyeballs out and wash them.

Where’s the anteater? Come here and lick a few ants off my eyes.

Xuan Caiyan: curious.

Following them out were a serious-looking Qian Shuyun and a grimacing Meng Zezhou.

Xuan Caiyan: even more curious.

Fei Zhehan came out with a face full of sympathy.

Curious, Xuan Caiyan went up and grabbed him. “Teacher Fei, what exactly happened in there?”

“Nothing major. Teacher Duan got bitten by ants—the same kind you found in your tent earlier.”

“Just bitten by ants? Why does everyone have that expression?” Xuan Caiyan asked skeptically.

“Ah, for a girl, some things are better left unasked,” Fei Zhehan said briefly and quickly slipped away.

When Luo Feiang finally emerged with a very complicated expression, Xuan Caiyan’s curiosity reached its peak.

The top-tier influencer had always been disgusted by Duan Yanming before. Why did his face now show… sympathy?

“What exactly happened?” Not getting the gossip was driving Xuan Caiyan crazy.

Luo Feiang recalled the scene and shuddered. “Duan Yanming got bitten pretty badly…”

The quail egg swelled into the size of a chicken egg, the enoki mushroom swelled into a seafood mushroom.

“Ah!” In Xuan Caiyan’s mind appeared a horror movie scene where ants crawled all over a person’s body.

Her voice trembled, “Is he still alive?”

“He’ll survive,” Luo Feiang said, scratching his nose and looking at the sky, “but the bitten area is… special.”

Xuan Caiyan froze. “Where was he bitten?”

How can one even answer this?!

Luo Feiang thought for a moment. “He got bitten… on the tool he uses to eat with…”

“On his face? That’s horrible,” Xuan Caiyan sighed.

“Well… you could say it’s a man’s second face…” Luo Feiang couldn’t hold it either, gave a vague answer, and slipped away.

A man’s second face?

What the heck?!

Shockingly, despite the director’s repeated inquiries and persuasion, Duan Yanming firmly refused to quit the show. He insisted on walking to the end with everyone.

No one could understand his choice.

What is he thinking?

Does it mean he’s willing to sacrifice his “family jewels” just for one program?

Xie Jixing was now watching the playback sent by Sister Yue.

Duan Yanming had returned to his tent, eaten a chocolate bar, and then checked the battery and signal on his hidden foldable phone.

That action probably spread residue to the wrong place, attracting the ants.

One could only say: karma works fast. Xie Jixing was momentarily satisfied with the outcome.

This incident made everyone realize that even though this wasn’t a truly uninhabited forest, night watches were still necessary.

They discussed it and decided that, except for the injured Duan Yanming, they would take turns guarding the fire in pairs.

Xie Jixing and Qian Shuyun happened to be the first group. After the crew left, everyone returned to their tents to rest, and the camp returned to calm.

Sitting in front of the fire, Xie Jixing quietly recounted to Qian Shuyun what Sister Yue had seen.

Commenting on Duan Yanming’s refusal to quit, he said, “His commercial tool is already damaged. Who knows if it’ll ever recover? He might as well use this chance to fawn over Xuan Caiyan and play the victim.”

“Now that he’s painfully attached himself to Xuan Caiyan, he can later live comfortably as a kept man. If he gave up now, he wouldn’t even be able to ‘sell’ himself, only end up exploited by high-interest lenders.”

Qian Shuyun frowned. “Your surfing territory is vast… and you still know about high-interest lenders?”

“Of course, 12G worth,” Xie Jixing said proudly, then looked genuinely puzzled. “Teacher Qian, how did he manage to commercialize that size?”

“It’s not that big, even swollen like that.”

Qian Shuyun lost patience, pressing Xie Jixing’s head against his shoulder and said through gritted teeth, “Weren’t you tired earlier? Go to sleep!”

Some things were better left unthought.