The next day, Lin Cong, who was played by Qin Wei, bent his bow and broke the string after running out of arrows while trying to escape. Though he successfully shook off his pursuers, his expression was still tense instead of relieved.
Having lost his way in the boundless forest on the border between the two countries, Lin Cong, though unwilling to admit it, was indeed lost.
However, he did not panic. After following Captain Zhao Yu to complete various tasks, he had long learned to survive under all kinds of adverse conditions.
But...Lin Cong touched his quiver and found only one feathered arrow left...
Suddenly hearing the bushes rustle, Lin Cong unhesitatingly took out the feathered arrow and nocked it on the bowstring.
Drawing the bow, taking aim...
"It's me!"
Just as Lin Cong was about to loose the arrow, Lu Wei emerged from the bushes and said in a low voice.
Lin Cong then breathed a sigh of relief. As an archer, it would be quite difficult for him to continue without a warrior to cooperate.
Fortunately, Lu Wei was here.
"Where are the others?"
Lu Wei frowned and looked around but did not see Captain Zhao Yu or Gong Lan.
"We got separated."
After making sure it was safe around them, Lin Cong put the only feathered arrow back into his quiver, then sat down under a tree,
"Let's rest here first. It's getting late. We'll look for them tomorrow morning..."
"But Gong Lan may still be pursued and killed!"
Lu Wei pursed his lips,
"With so many assassins after us...We can't fail the mission!"
Lin Cong looked at him with cold eyes,
"Lu Wei, has Zhao Yu ever told you not to panic when something happens? It's getting dark, you don't even know where that woman is, yet you say we can't fail? What can you do?"
Lu Wei was tongue-tied for a while before pointing to the road they just came from,
"Let's double back and look for them. What if...What if..."
"Do you like her?"
Lin Cong suddenly asked. Lu Wei's expression became solemn. Lin Cong already knew the answer even without his reply.
"How amusing."
Lin Cong gritted his teeth, came up and punched Lu Wei in the face,
"Captain Zhao Yu's life and death are unknown, the mission is in trouble, yet you are only anxious because you like her?!"
Lu Wei fought back and punched Lin Cong as well, but did not dare to use too much force out of guilt.
"What do you know? She...she saved me!"
The two then grappled with each other.
...
Before night fell, Zhao Yu climbed down from a tree and threw Gong Lan some berries while eating one himself, casually wiping it and saying,
"We'll just make do with these tonight."
Gong Lan had no appetite. She casually threw the berries on the ground,
"These are not edible. I can't eat them."
Seemingly having expected her spoiled behavior, Zhao Yu was not annoyed. She slowly finished eating the berry in her hand, then picked up the ones Gong Lan had thrown away and said to her,
"These berries are sour and astringent, but they can relieve thirst and hunger. Please bear with the harsh conditions..."
"Start a fire and catch me some game."
Zhao Yu gave her a bright smile,
"Are you afraid the enemies can't find us? Gong Lan, if you really want to go back and be a caged bird that much, why didn't you say so earlier? Do you know how many people from the envoy have died trying to rescue you?"
"I don't want to go back. I just know these berries are sour and astringent, so why make me eat them? I only want proper human food..."
"Raw okay?"
Zhao Yu asked her,
"If so, I'll go catch you some. Snake meat, rat meat, or..."
"Disgusting!"
Though Gong Lan had been living in this foreign land for years, she had always remained aloof and had never seen such things, let alone eat them raw.
Zhao Yu looked around and saw a snake as thick as her wrist. She pounced and caught the snake, immediately chopped off its head, skinned it, and drank the blood.
Just as she was about to cut out the meat to give Gong Lan, Gong Lan snatched it from her and threw it on the ground.
"I don't want it!"
"But you have to eat something. From yesterday to now, you haven't eaten anything for a day and two nights!"
Just as Zhao Yu was about to pick it up, Gong Lan shoved her hard and the two started fist fighting. After exchanging several blows, they were evenly matched.
But Zhao Yu was still stronger and eventually pinned Gong Lan to the ground.
"You must choose one, the berries or the snake meat!"
Zhao Yu held her down tightly no matter how hard she struggled,
"Gong Lan, we can't afford your fussiness in this harsh environment! Food is just fuel to sustain life. Its mission is to keep us alive...Alive, Gong Lan, please..."
As she spoke, her tone softened, and Gong Lan stopped struggling. After Zhao Yu let go of her hands, Gong Lan silently cried and picked up the berries from the ground, brushing off the dust.
"Do you want the snake gallbladder?"
"No..."
"Cut!"
After finishing this scene, Director Yuan's eyes were red and Song Huan had to hand her tissues to wipe her tears.
"Didn't you say you just wanted to stay in the car and not come to the set? Why are you here?"
Song Huan hugged her arms as she watched the monitor, where Qin Wei could still be seen dry heaving.
The snake was real, bought by Director Yuan from the market, and the blood was also real. In other words, what had just been filmed was not props but real stuff.
Fortunately Qin Wei did not have to actually eat the raw meat, only drank the blood into her mouth and spat it out again.
"I wanted to watch."
Song Huan pointed to the playback next to her,
"Watching Qin Wei eat snake reminds me of the survival training camp for hunters. Though being able to eat this is already very good. I remember I've even eaten instructor-stomped bread mixed with sand and dirt until I finished it and had stomachache...But this is still tough on Qin Wei. She'll probably have nightmares for a long time."
Director Yuan looked up at her:
"Do you miss it? I heard you were the only female recruit of that batch?"
Song Huan shook her head,
"Not the only one recruited, but the only one who successfully graduated as female in that batch. No brag, but I was very capable back then."
Director Yuan also smiled,
"No matter how capable you were back then, later you still..."
Director Yuan stopped herself in time and pointed at Qin Wei's side,
"Go comfort her. It's tough on her for the sake of realism."
Song Huan shook her head again,
"She has her own friends. She doesn't need our concern."
...
Knowing she would shoot this scene today, Qin Wei had barely eaten all day, only drinking a bottle of milk, which she had now vomited out. Shen Qingqing also brought her some mouthwash, but she still felt uncomfortable.
Director Yuan happily came over and patted Qin Wei on the shoulder,
"Qin Wei did great today! What do you want to eat? Steak? Chicken legs? Or snake soup?"
Qin Wei:
"..."
In the end, after finishing work at dawn, Qin Wei only ate two oranges.
Still feeling hungry and nauseous.
