Rebirth Counterattack with Space

"Camping by the water source is not suitable," Shitou shook his head, "If you’re tired, we can rest a bit longer before continuing."

"I’m not too tired, how about you guys?" Lu Yun looked toward Su Qiaoling, Wen Shan, Zhan Hongtao, and Zhuang Jun.

Are you kidding? Even a delicate girl who had never trained before said she wasn’t tired, how could they admit they were tired? Even if they weren’t really tired, they would have to grit their teeth and shake their heads. Therefore, all four said in unison, "We’re not tired either."

"Then let’s finish our tea and continue to stroll around to see if there are any other sights we haven’t discovered. I also don’t recommend going too far, mainly looking for a suitable place to spend the night," Shitou subtly smiled at the four, then lowered his head and softly spoke to Lu Yun.

They were out to enjoy the beauty of nature, not to undergo wilderness training, so, of course, the more leisurely, the better.

"Mhmm," Lu Yun nodded with her cup, and none of the others had any objections as they all nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon, the group followed the stream and it took them just under half an hour to come across a bamboo forest.

Seeing the lush and sturdy bamboo forest, Lu Yun’s first thought was of bamboo tube rice. She excitedly shook Shitou’s arm, "I didn’t expect to find a bamboo forest, bamboo tube rice, braised bamboo shoots, and stewed chicken with bamboo fungus are all delicious. We can also drink bamboo leaf tea."

"Little foodie," Shitou affectionately scraped Lu Yun’s petite nose.

Su Qiaoling, Wen Shan, Zhan Hongtao, and Zhuang Jun all lowered their heads, keeping their eyes downcast and their minds focused.

"Zhan Hongtao, Zhuang Jun, follow me to cut some bamboo and also check if there are any bamboo fungus. You three go dig for bamboo shoots, just one shoot is enough for us to eat. If you like, we can dig more to take back when we leave."

Shitou quickly assigned tasks and soon began cutting bamboo with Zhan Hongtao and Zhuang Jun. Lu Yun, along with Su Qiaoling and Wen Shan, circled around, selected some thick bamboo shoots, and started digging with daggers.

Spring was the best season for tender bamboo shoots, and the three of them dug enthusiastically, thinking of their delicious reward.

Before long, Wen Shan suddenly noticed a small insect clinging to the bamboo shoot beside her and exclaimed with excitement, pulling aside the shoot she was digging, she took out a lunch box from her backpack and started catching the insects.

"What are you catching that for? Don’t tell me you’re learning from woodpeckers, catching pests for the bamboo?"

Su Qiaoling saw Wen Shan catching insects and doing it eagerly, her mouth curving into an excited smile, which made her curious.

"She certainly isn’t that kind-hearted. I suspect it’s something dubious, maybe someone has started entertaining the idea of eating insects," Lu Yun also looked on curiously, seeing Wen Shan catch a yellowish-brown beetle with a long, hard snout.

"You can’t be serious, that’s edible?" Su Qiaoling remembered Wen Shan’s foodie nature, but then the thought seemed somewhat unlikely to her.

"Why not?" Wen Shan replied matter-of-factly.

Lu Yun and Su Qiaoling exchanged a look of horror, "Are you really going to eat insects?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Yeah, you guys don’t know how delicious this is. Threaded and roasted over a fire or fried in oil, it’s delicious. As a child, this was my favorite thing to eat. It’s a shame that it has been many years since I tasted it—never thought I’d encounter them here today."

Wen Shan’s face flushed with excitement as she pointed to the long, hard snout of the beetle.

"Look at this, doesn’t it look like an elephant’s trunk? That’s why they have a name called Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevil. This kind is specific to eating bamboo shoots, and despite their small size, they’re actually quite formidable—their ’trunks’ are hard enough to drill holes in bamboo."

"... Can you really eat it? Is it tasty?" Lu Yun also abandoned the bamboo shoot she was digging and squatted down to pick up a Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevil for a closer look.

"Yes, guaranteed delicious." Wen Shan nodded confidently and then, with a mischievous smile revealing her pearly whites, brimmed with pride, "Actually, there’s another kind of bug in the bamboo forest that’s also very delicious, but that type of insect is chubby and white. I’m afraid that seeing it raw might affect your appetite."

"You really do eat anything." Su Qiaoling was at a loss for words.

"I think we can give it a try."

If locusts can be eaten and are said to be tasty, a Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevil is worth a try. As for the other bug Wen Shan mentioned, better to pass on that.

Lu Yun decided to bravely trust Wen Shan, her fellow "seasoned foodie," and she too began to forgo digging for bamboo shoots to catch insects. However, she couldn’t find a suitable container at hand, so she simply took everything out of the backpack she was carrying, placed it on the ground, and started catching Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevils to throw into her backpack.

Such small insects wouldn’t have much edible part, so by such calculations, it wouldn’t be much for each person to eat a few dozen. If they really turned out to be delicious...

Lu Yun’s saliva secreted, and she swallowed, deciding to catch as many as possible.

Su Qiaoling watched the two who were happily catching insects, shook her head with a smile, and resignedly continued to dig for bamboo shoots alone.

After she finished digging bamboo shoots and saw that Lu Yun and Wen Shan were still catching "insects," she joined in too. Eventually, even Shitou, Zhan Hongtao, and Zhuang Jun all joined in. With no containers, their lunch boxes were filled to the brim, and finally Shitou simply whittled a bunch of bamboo skewers and strung the caught Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevils onto them, an idea that brightened everyone’s eyes and they all started to follow suit...

In the end, everyone carried their skewers of previously caught Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevils with them.

Their haul was plentiful: bamboo tubes, bamboo shoots, and Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevils, but they didn’t find any bamboo fungus, prompting them to remember that bamboo fungus would have to wait until autumn.

Even so, the group was still happy.

After walking forward for about another half an hour, they finally encountered a wind-sheltered spot suitable for overnight camping, not too far from a water source.

They were busy for a while, first setting up a large tent big enough to accommodate six people. Then they gathered a large amount of sticks and firewood to set up for roasting meat and cooking.

The taste of the Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevil was as delicious as Wen Shan said, even Su Qiaoling, who initially rejected them, fell in love with the taste after trying them and everyone was glad they had caught enough Bamboo Shoot Elephant Weevils that afternoon.

Before going to sleep at night, they lit a bonfire inside the tent.

Shitou first helped Lu Yun get her sleeping area ready.

Lu Yun watched him enthusiastically as he moved around, placing hot stones on the ground, then covering them with a layer of thin soil before laying out the moisture-proof mats and sleeping bags.

After Shitou finished, he patted the sleeping bag and said to the yawning Lu Yun, "Hurry and get into the sleeping bag. The weather was good during the day, but there’s a good chance of frost at night. This way, the stones will at least ensure you stay warm until dawn."