251: Chapter 251 Moss Marks

The time spent waiting for a "reply" seemed to be stretched and solidified by an invisible force. Ling Ye guarded the cave, his stomach feeling a long-lost warmth from the nourishment of the dried meat, but his heart was left hanging in mid-air due to that "information package" full of uncertainty. The sketch of the Water Source, the aerial warning, the inquiry about the moss... any misunderstanding or over-interpretation of this information could break this hard-won, fragile balance.

On the third day at dusk, he finally could not hold back and quietly snuck toward the Water Source again. The twilight provided the best cover for his movements, but it also made the unease in his heart even heavier.

The stone slab lay quietly on the edge of the depression, looking like a silent tombstone under the dim sky. On it, surprisingly, lay an object far larger than anything before—a long, slender package wrapped layer by layer in tough, seemingly large plant leaves, and tied firmly with flexible tree bark fibers. It was nearly half a meter long and as thick as a wrist. Beside the package was the dark stone slab Ling Ye had left earlier, covered in symbols. The "Dark Gray Engraved Stone" and plant debris previously left by the other party were gone.

There were no new patterns, no new arrangements of stones.

There was only this silent, mysteriously radiating long package, and his own "returned" stone slab.

What was this? Did the other party respond to his complex information inquiry with silence and a physical object? Was it some kind of tool? A weapon? Or... a warning?

Ling Ye's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, his vigilance instantly rising to the maximum. He crouched behind a rock, observing intently for a long time. Only after confirming there were no ambushes or abnormal energy fluctuations did he approach extremely slowly and cautiously.

He first checked his own dark stone slab. The patterns and symbols on it remained, with no traces of being smeared or added to. This meant the other party had "received" it but did not respond directly on the slab.

His gaze fell back to the long package. It was bundled very professionally and sturdily, revealing a sense of neatness and practicality honed by long-term wilderness living. He touched it carefully with his fingers; it felt hard and angular, seemingly a combination of wood and metal.

He did not open it immediately. Instead, he picked it up carefully; it was not light, feeling solid in his hand. He quickly scanned the way the package was bundled to memorize the details, then took the package and his stone slab, retreating from the Water Source at top speed to return to the cave.

Back inside the relatively safe cave, he used the last bit of daylight filtering through the entrance to begin carefully studying this mysterious package.

He first untied the tree bark fibers, then peeled back the layers of tough, large leaves that emitted a bitter, fresh scent. When the last layer of leaves was removed, the contents were revealed.

Ling Ye's breath hitched involuntarily.

It was a bow.

A well-crafted, nearly artisanal recurve hunting bow!

The bow was about a meter long, presenting a deep, nearly black dark brown color. The wood was dense with clear, smooth grain, clearly hardwood that had been carefully selected and treated. The two ends of the bow curved elegantly backward, and the bow limbs had smooth, powerful lines. The bowstring was twisted from some kind of tough, translucent pale gold fiber, pulled tight and with excellent elasticity. In the middle of the bow where it was gripped, circles of tanned, flexible animal hide were wrapped to increase grip and friction.

Beside the bow, twelve arrows were placed neatly. The arrow shafts were straight, whittled from the same kind of thin, straight wooden rods. The fletching was made of some kind of dark gray, tough bird feathers, trimmed uniformly. And the arrowheads... were black flint arrowheads polished extremely sharp, glinting with cold light, firmly bound to the front of the shafts with dense plant fibers and some kind of adhesive. Each arrow exuded a simple, deadly beauty.

Underneath the bow and arrows, there was a piece of tanned, soft animal hide. On the hide, several simple symbols were drawn with charcoal:

A simplified bow symbol.

An arrow pointing to the bow symbol.

Next to it was the oval symbol for "Meat," but the oval was crossed out by a line, indicating "exchange" or "trade."

At the very bottom was the sketch of the "Dark Gray Engraved Stone," but the engravings were deepened and thickened. Beside it was drawn the sketch of the "Moss Cave" Ling Ye had asked about previously. At the cave entrance, a huge, blood-red X was drawn! And next to the X, drawn with extremely thick lines, was the outline of a falling aircraft with an antenna. The aircraft pointed toward the cave, and next to it was an explosion symbol!

The information exploded in Ling Ye's mind like thunder!

The other party had responded to his "Stone Language" with a bow and arrows!

Bow symbol + arrow: "（This is a） bow, used for （obtaining）."

Meat symbol crossed by a line: "Use the meat （obtained with it） to exchange." The other party was not using the bow to trade for his items; rather, they were giving him a bow so he could obtain meat himself, and then use the obtained meat to continue their trade! This was a deeper level of "giving a man a fish vs. teaching him to fish"! The other party was helping him establish an independent, sustainable food acquisition capability! This went beyond simple material exchange; it was elevating his overall survival ability and trading value!

And the warning pattern on the animal hide below explained everything!

"Dark Gray Engraved Stone" + "Moss Cave" + huge red X: "That cave with that kind of moss is extremely dangerous! Absolutely do not go there!"

Falling aircraft + explosion fire pointing to the cave: "That place was once destroyed by an aerial strike! Just like the one you warned me about!"

Connecting it all, he understood everything!

The "Dark Gray Engraved Stone + plant debris" left by The Stranger before was warning him: there was a cave nearby with that kind of gray-green moss, which was very dangerous. And the danger of that cave likely came from an aerial strike by The Plainclothes Organization! The other party had seen it with their own eyes or knew that the cave had been destroyed! So they used "danger occurred in the past" (rough black stone) and "need to be vigilant in the future" (Dark Gray Engraved Stone) to warn him.

And the aerial threat symbol of "aircraft with antenna + X" that Ling Ye had drawn previously clearly made The Stranger confirm—Ling Ye also knew of this threat and might possess more information (such as the patterns or reasons for the strikes?). Therefore, after receiving Ling Ye's Water Source information (containing the aerial warning) and the inquiry about the moss cave, The Stranger decided to respond in the most direct, most shocking way—a bow, and a terrifying image depicting the cave being completely destroyed by an aerial strike!

The other party was saying: "I understand your warning, and I am also warning you. That place is a death zone. Now, I am helping you arm yourself so you can hunt for food yourself, survive, and allow us to continue exchanging the information and Materials we need."

A complex emotion, indescribable and mixed with shock, gratitude, vigilance, and a heavy sense of responsibility, surged into Ling Ye's heart.

This bow was not just a weapon, a generous gift. It was a heavy trust, an invitation to equal cooperation, and even a silent covenant to face the wilderness and unknown threats together.

The other party believed he could understand this complex "Stone Language," believed he could use this bow well, believed that after he obtained food, he would continue to abide by the rules of "trade," and also believed that he could keep the secret about that "death cave" and the aerial strike.

And the shocking scene of destruction depicted on the animal hide was like a heavy hammer striking Ling Ye's heart. It was not just a warning; it was a sharing and confirmation of information. The other party was telling him: "Look, we are facing the same deadly threat from the sky. We are on the same side."

Ling Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the surge in his heart. He reached out, slowly and solemnly, and grasped the bow.

It felt cool to the touch, the wood hard and warm. The bowstring was taut and full of elasticity. He tried pulling it slightly (not a full draw), and the bow emitted a subtle, pleasant "creak" sound; the bowstring's rebound was even and powerful. This was a good bow, maintained extremely well.

He picked up an arrow again. The shaft was straight, the fletching neat, the flint arrowhead polished extremely sharp, the edges glinting with cold light in the dimness. This craftsmanship could not be achieved overnight. The other party was definitely an extremely experienced wilderness survival Great Master, and, very likely, possessed access to some relatively stable sources of flint, arrow shafts, and bow Materials.

The other party's survival situation might be much better than he had previously speculated, at least in some resources (such as tool-making Materials, hunting skills), far surpassing his own.

This caused him to raise his assessment of his "Neighbor's" strength once again. At the same time, it made him more convinced that maintaining this "alliance" relationship with the other party was crucial to his own survival.

He carefully re-wrapped the bow and arrows with the animal hide and hid them in the place he considered safest. Then, he took out his own dark stone slab and examined it carefully again.

The other party "returned" the slab without adding new symbols, the meaning clear: "I have received your information; my response is in the 'gift' and on the animal hide. The stone slab conversation is paused; focus on understanding and using the 'gift'."

He needed to respond. With actions, not symbols.

He took out the rest of his salt, his last and most precious portion, about twice the total amount of the previous few exchanges. Then he wrapped it in the cleanest leaves. He did not draw any more symbols; instead, outside the leaves wrapping the salt, he tied a small piece of the thick, fleshy leaf of the edible succulent plant he had collected earlier with a thin grass stem.

His meaning was: "Salt. And, a type of edible plant from here (as supplementary information/reciprocity)." He could not reciprocate at the level of a "bow" gift, so he could only give his all and share his limited plant knowledge as a token of sincerity.

He placed this package of salt and plant leaves on the Water Source stone slab. Then, he stepped back a few paces and stood quietly for a while, facing southwest—the direction of The Stranger's shack.

No words, no gestures. Only a silent gaze across the wilderness hills, as if confirming that heavy and solid "wilderness alliance" that had just been forged.

Then, he turned and returned to the cave.

From today on, his survival strategy would change completely because of this bow. He needed to practice archery, needed to find suitable prey, needed to plan new hunting areas (avoiding the dangerous cave and the other party's activity range), and needed to put more energy into active food acquisition.

And in his heart, the originally vague image of The Stranger code-named "Neighbor" also became clearer, taller, and more... worthy of awe and reliance.

They would still not meet, still maintaining a silent distance. But an incredibly tough bond, woven together by salt, meat, symbols, warnings, bows and arrows, and survival skills, had already tied these two lonely wilderness Souls tightly together.

Facing hunger together, facing danger, facing the destructive fire that might descend from the sky at any moment.