248: Chapter 248 Salt Under the Stone

In the darkest hour before dawn, even the wind seemed weary, leaving only a faint air current carrying the chill and the scent of dust.

Ling Ye, like a weightless shadow, slid silently out of the Water Source depression. Instead of returning to his cave along the gully, he turned southwest, moving stealthily and quickly toward his chosen "delivery point."

He had to complete the placement and retreat to an observation point far enough away before The Stranger arrived to fetch water.

Time was tight; every step felt like walking through a minefield. He had to be fast, silent, and avoid any place where he might leave clear tracks.

The "Crouching Ox Stone" soon appeared in his field of vision.

It was even larger than it appeared from a distance, its weathered surface covered in deep gullies, resembling an ancient beast crouching and sleeping in the dim light.

Ling Ye did not approach immediately; instead, he lay behind a low ridge nearby, concentrating on observing and listening for a full five minutes.

Confirming there were no signs or sounds of any living thing nearby, he darted out like a leopard, reaching the base of the giant rock in a few steps.

He had noticed earlier that there was a natural, inward-recessed crevice here. Its position was neither too high nor too low; it was just right to shelter from rain and was not too conspicuous, yet if someone passed by and paid a little attention, they would be able to spot it.

He quickly pulled from his chest the small bag of salt carefully wrapped in plastic, along with the flint flake tied to it.

He placed these two items side by side at the deepest part of the crevice, gently pinning the edges down with a few small pebbles to prevent them from being blown away by the wind.

Then, he stepped back a few paces and looked at it from different angles.

It was placed quite naturally, as if blown in by the wind or accidentally brought in by an animal, yet it was conspicuous enough that anyone who searched deliberately or took a second look while passing by would notice it.

Having done all this, he did not linger for a moment. He immediately turned and retreated along a concealed route he had scouted earlier, far away from the main path, quickly heading toward the back of a higher hill in the distance that overlooked the "Crouching Ox Stone" and parts of the path.

He chose a hollow that was sheltered from the wind, blocked by rocks, and offered a relatively open view, and hid inside.

From here, using a homemade, simple "periscope," he could barely observe the situation within a hundred-meter radius of the "Crouching Ox Stone" while remaining extremely well-hidden.

What followed was a long wait.

In the anxious wait, the sky gradually brightened.

Lead-gray clouds hung low. There was no sunlight, only a colder, more oppressive white light shrouding the desolate hills.

Ling Ye remained motionless, as if he had merged with the rock beneath him.

Only his eyes occasionally scanned the direction of the "Crouching Ox Stone" through the gap in the periscope.

Hunger, thirst, and physical exhaustion were forcibly suppressed; all his focus was concentrated on that small crevice.

Shortly after the time when The Stranger usually came to fetch water, that familiar, hunched, and vigilant figure indeed appeared in his field of vision.

He appeared from the southwest direction again, walking along that familiar path toward the Water Source depression.

When passing the "Crouching Ox Stone," he seemed not to stop at all, not even glancing at it, and hurried past, disappearing in the direction of the downhill slope.

Ling Ye's heart sank slightly.

Had he not seen it? Or had he seen it but paid no mind, thinking it was just an ordinary rock?

He remained patient and continued to wait.

About half an hour later, that figure appeared again, holding that deflated plastic oil jug, returning along the same path.

He walked very slowly, appearing even more exhausted than when he had gone, stopping from time to time to catch his breath and vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

When he passed the "Crouching Ox Stone" again, his footsteps seemed to falter slightly.

His head tilted ever so slightly toward the base of the giant rock.

He had seen it!

Ling Ye held his breath, his eyes fixed intently on the periscope.

The Stranger did not immediately walk over to check.

He stood where he was, vigilantly and slowly turning his head, carefully scanning his surroundings three hundred and sixty degrees, especially the area behind the giant rock and the high ground on both sides.

His body was slightly tense, and his right hand seemed to subconsciously reach for a spot at his waist (though it was unclear exactly what, due to his ragged clothes).

After confirming there were no ambushes or anomalies nearby, he moved his feet extremely slowly and cautiously toward the crevice at the base of the "Crouching Ox Stone."

Every step was taken extremely lightly, as if there were landmines beneath his feet.

He stopped about two or three meters away from the crevice, bent down, squinted his eyes, and carefully examined the items inside the crevice.

His expression was obscured by his headscarf and shadows, making it unclear, but Ling Ye could feel his focused scrutiny.

After looking for about a dozen seconds, The Stranger seemed to have confirmed something.

He did not reach out to take it immediately; instead, he raised his head again and scanned the surrounding environment once more with an even sharper, more careful gaze, especially in the direction of the small hill where Ling Ye was hiding!

His gaze, like a tangible probe, lingered for a moment near the hollow where Ling Ye was hiding.

Ling Ye felt a shiver in his heart and immediately lowered his head further, holding his breath completely.

He could feel that contained within that gaze was a near-beastly intuition and vigilance honed by long-term exposure to danger.

The other party had very likely sensed something "unnatural," or perhaps it was simply out of extreme caution.

Fortunately, The Stranger's gaze soon shifted away.

He seemed not to have discovered any specific flaws.

Then, he made a move that slightly surprised Ling Ye—

He did not take the bag of salt and the flint flake.

Instead, he slowly stepped back a few paces, then turned around and, as if he hadn't seen anything, continued along the path toward his shack, though his pace seemed to have quickened slightly.

He hadn't taken the "gift"!

Was he not interested? Was he afraid to take it? Or... was he testing him?

Ling Ye's heart sank again.

The plan seemed to have failed.

The other party had chosen to ignore it, which might imply extreme wariness, or perhaps the other party simply did not need salt and flint.

He remained patient and waited in his hiding spot for nearly two more hours.

The Stranger did not return, and the "gift" under the "Crouching Ox Stone" remained untouched.

It seemed the first attempt had ended in failure.

Perhaps the other party simply did not believe in such "pie in the sky" good fortune and viewed it as a trap.

Ling Ye was somewhat disappointed but not discouraged.

Surviving in the wilderness required extreme patience to begin with.

He decided to temporarily hold his position.

He would leave the "gift" where it was and see if the other party changed their mind over the next day or two, or if other creatures (like small animals) would disturb or take it away.

He silently withdrew from the observation point, took a wide detour, and returned to his cave.

Along the way, he was extra careful, erasing his tracks to avoid possible counter-tracking.

Back at the cave, he ate some plant leaves and drank some water.

Exhaustion washed over him, but he did not rest; instead, he began to think about the next step.

If the other party never took the "gift," what should he do?

Abandon the contact plan and continue struggling alone?

Or try a more proactive, but also more dangerous, approach?

Or... perhaps the "gift" itself was the wrong choice?

Perhaps the other party really didn't need salt, or didn't trust its source.

Perhaps the other party already possessed better tools than the flint flake.

He needed to find something the other party truly needed and would find hard to refuse.

What was something urgently needed by someone struggling in the wilderness, who could make fire, seemed to have a small reserve of meat, but was highly vigilant?

Medicine? This was the most likely to move the other party, but it was also a trump card Ling Ye dared not easily bring out.

Weapons? Equally dangerous, and the other party might already have something for self-defense.

Information? About safer hiding spots in this area? About the long-term reliability of the Water Source? About the warning of the Dark Nest explosion and airstrikes? Such information might be valuable, but how could it be conveyed safely and credibly?

High-calorie, easy-to-store food? This was exactly what Ling Ye himself lacked the most.

It seemed to be stuck in a vicious cycle.

Just as Ling Ye was racking his brains, at noon the next day, when he was once again extremely stealthily heading to the Water Source to fetch water, he unexpectedly discovered that there was something new on a flat stone slab beside the Water Source depression, near the path he often walked.

It was a small pile of dark red, dried meat strips, about the length of a thumb, two of them.

The meat strips were placed in the center of the stone slab, and a small pebble was pressed on top of them.

Ling Ye's heart jumped violently!

He immediately lowered his body, hid behind a rock, and vigilantly observed his surroundings.

He saw no sign of anyone.

He waited for a long time, and after confirming it was safe, he cautiously stepped forward.

It was indeed meat!

Dried, he didn't know what animal's meat it was; the color was dark red, and the texture was hard, but it was genuine protein!

The pebble pressed on top seemed to be just a simple marker to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

Was this... a return gift?!

The Stranger hadn't touched the salt and flint under the "Crouching Ox Stone," yet he had placed dried meat here as a response?

What did this mean?

Was he accepting the implication of his "gift" and conducting an "exchange" in this way?

Or was this a warning or a probe— "I know it's you, don't try any tricks; this bit of meat is 'hush money' or a 'warning'"?

Ling Ye picked up the two small pieces of dried meat; they felt solid in his hand, and he could smell a faint, salty, fishy scent characteristic of dried meat.

He hesitated for a moment, then carefully put the dried meat away.

Then, he carefully checked around the stone slab; there were no traces of writing or other marks left behind.

He quickly finished fetching water and returned to his cave.

His heart was filled with confusion and a faint glimmer of hope.

The other party had clearly discovered and understood the intention of his "gift" and had made a response.

But the way of responding was so obscure, and they hadn't taken the salt and flint; the meaning behind this was thought-provoking.

Perhaps the other party was also extremely cautious and unwilling to accept "gifts" of unknown origin, especially things like salt that could potentially be tampered with.

But using dried meat as a response also indicated a willingness to engage in some kind of "interaction."

This was an extremely restrained, distant, and tentative "contact."

Perhaps the other party was telling him in this way: I know of your existence, I don't trust you, but I can engage in some transactions to a limited extent, through "barter" without meeting directly.

The premise is that you must keep your distance and follow the "rules."

If this was the case, then the salt and flint under the "Crouching Ox Stone" might have been viewed by the other party as an "unsafe" or "unequal" initial bid, and thus "returned" (by not taking them).

And the dried meat that the other party actively placed in a public area (beside the Water Source) was a new, "safer," and more "explicit" trading signal initiated by them.

Ling Ye repeatedly pondered the logic behind this.

This was very much like the extremely subtle and complex behavior exhibited by two wary, solitary beasts in the wilderness when they were demarcating boundaries and probing each other's intentions.

He needed to respond.

But how to respond so that he could express his willingness to "accept the trade" without exposing himself too much, and without offending the other party's sensitive wariness?

He thought for a long time and finally decided to adopt a more "symmetrical" and "conservative" way of responding.

He once again took a smaller pinch from his own precious salt, about the size of a fingernail, and carefully wrapped it in a small, clean leaf.

Then, he found a relatively smooth, small white pebble and used burnt charcoal (found from the embers of his previous fire) to draw an extremely simple, abstract symbol representing "meat" (an irregular oval shape) on it, with a dot next to it, as if indicating "a little meat."

He placed this leaf containing a trace amount of salt and the white pebble with the symbol on another clean stone slab beside the Water Source depression, likewise pinning the leaf and pebble down with a small pebble.

His meaning was: I will trade a little salt for a little of your meat.

If you agree, we can continue next time.

After placing it, he left immediately and returned to the cave to wait.

This was a more primitive, more "safe" way of communicating.

The amount of salt was extremely small, reducing the other party's wariness (even if there was a problem, the harm would be minimal).

The drawn symbol was simple and easy to understand.

The trading location was chosen at the Water Source, a "public area," avoiding pointing directly to either party's lair.

The rest was just waiting for the other party's next response.

This silent, tentative "transaction under the stone" was like a small, extremely faint flame of cooperation quietly ignited in the wilderness, flickering with difficulty amidst the cold wind and suspicion, not knowing whether it would be blown out by the wind in the next second or ignite a larger flame that would bring warmth and hope.

Ling Ye curled up in the darkness of the cave, chewing on a bitter plant stem, but his gaze seemed to penetrate the rock wall and cast toward that silent Water Source depression.