Qu Xiangyun's actions made me feel uneasy, but I still took a couple of steps back and looked her over.
I had to admit, being mixed-race had its advantages.
Her face was delicate and sculpted.
Her hip-to-waist ratio was superb.
"You're beautiful, of course. Why are you suddenly asking this?" I asked seriously.
Qu Xiangyun stared at me, giggling, "Since I'm pretty, why did you shy away so quickly? To tell you the truth, I'm a bit lonely."
Hearing this, my heart stirred.
Damn, what did this vixen mean? You're lonely and come to me for solace, your intentions are impure.
But I didn't show it, looking at her calmly and waiting for her to continue.
Qu Xiangyun suddenly lifted my chin with her index finger.
"Lu Ziye, you're the only man in our group. Don't fall asleep tonight. I'll come find you."
After saying that, she gave me a meaningful look and walked back.
Whoa, I was surprised!
Did Qu Xiangyun mean she wanted to have a friendly spar with me tonight?
My heart was tickled by Qu Xiangyun, and I couldn't wait for night to come.
After we finished processing the cassava, we all walked back.
Along the way, Qu Xiangyun chatted with the other girls from time to time.
As for me, I was somewhat distracted. I always felt that Qu Xiangyun's sudden closeness to me had a purpose. It didn't seem like just a friendly spar.
But I thought about it for a long time and couldn't figure out Qu Xiangyun's motive, so I hardened my resolve.
After all, it's a win-win situation for both of us.
If Qu Xiangyun were to make a fuss about this, I'd play along to the end.
But then, something unexpected happened!
As some of us reached the cave entrance, we saw that the bear meat we had dried outside was gone!
My heart sank, and I rushed into the cave. Pan Lili was nowhere to be seen, and all the edible food had been cleared out!
Damn it, Pan Lili had taken all the food and run off by herself!
I was shocked and furious, my face as dark as if it could drip water.
Guan Hai'er slumped to the ground in despair, muttering, "It's over. Everything is over. All the food we've stored for so long is gone."
Luo Yaqin, full of anger, yelled at Shangguan Yao, "This is your good subordinate! Li Degui too, and Pan Lili! How did you find such a den of vipers?"
Shangguan Yao couldn't believe it, saying, "Impossible. Pan Lili couldn't have taken everything! Did someone rob us!"
Qu Xiangyun, however, appeared calm. She looked around and shook her head at Shangguan Yao.
"There are no signs of a struggle in the cave, and nothing else is missing or damaged. Pan Lili must have taken it willingly."
Shangguan Yao slowly crouched down, her head buried in her knees, looking utterly dejected.
In the increasingly cold weather, food was our lifeline. We all understood the importance of food, so Pan Lili's betrayal was exceptionally deadly.
Luo Yaqin became more and more infuriated as she thought about it, and couldn't help but curse, "I knew it! Pan Lili wasn't a good person. For the past ten days, she's been secretive, sometimes going out alone!"
I suppressed my anger and carefully observed the cave environment, suddenly finding it strange.
"How do you think Pan Lili left? We had at least a hundred pounds of food. With Pan Lili's slender build, how could she have carried it all away in half a morning?"
My words attracted everyone's attention, and they all began to ponder.
Guan Hai'er also asked with some confusion, "That's strange. Pan Lili didn't suffer any mistreatment with us, so why would she leave? How can she survive on her own?"
Guan Hai'er's words seemed to be a beacon, illuminating me.
Pan Lili's strange solo excursions before, and now her taking all the food, the series of events connected in my mind like an invisible thread.
I suddenly realized, and said to everyone in a deep voice, "Pan Lili must have met someone else during this time. While we were away, she called them over, and they moved the food together!"
I quickly arranged for everyone to search the vicinity for any traces left behind.
They only had half a morning, so they wouldn't have had time to cover their tracks in their haste!
Luo Yaqin and I teamed up to search westward. Luo Yaqin, while searching, vented her anger to me, "If I find Pan Lili, I'll beat her up! We treated her as a companion, and she treated us like fools!"
A surge of anger had been building up in my heart as well.
As we searched, we suddenly saw Guan Hai'er running towards us, panting.
"Brother Ye, we found tracks to the east!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Yaqin and I followed Guan Hai'er to the east.
Under a tree in the eastern jungle, we found a piece of bear meat that we had previously dried. There were also footprints, deep and shallow, leading into the depths of the jungle.
But as we followed the footprints, they led to a small stream and then disappeared.
Qu Xiangyun squatted on the ground and touched the damp soil.
"They must have made something and floated down the stream."
We couldn't search for them at this point, so we had no choice but to turn back.
I remained silent on the way. When we reached the cave entrance, I said to everyone in a deep voice, "Fortunately, we dug up some cassava this morning, which can last us for a while. We'll go find more food this afternoon, and tomorrow I'll follow the water downstream to see if I can find Pan Lili."
After saying this, I cast a grim look into the distance.
Pan Lili, this is the second time you've betrayed me!
If you are unrighteous, don't blame me for being ungracious.
You'd better hide well, because if I find you, I'll send you to see Li Degui with one swift blow!