Now, she thought as she charged at the monster. Using the momentum, she vaulted onto the monster, her hands clutching onto its back. This one was completely different from the ones she had seen in the past, with thick scales on its back, scales that cut right through her skin. Soon, her arms were filled with scrapes and cuts, but she couldn’t care less as she made her way up the monster’s back. The monster had its attention on the savages, trying to take them out with its large tail. None of the savages died, however. It even made Shi Jia think that the monster was only playing with them, like how cats play with mice before they get hungry and swallow them whole. Still, a monster of that size should be feeding on fish, not humans.
As the monster toyed with the savages, Shi Jia had reached a spot on the monster’s back, where there was no skin to protect it.
She drew her dagger and stabbed at the patch of unprotected flesh.
The monster felt the pain and began to struggle violently, flinging Shi Jia to the ground in the process. She knew how to break a fall to minimize damage, but Tarzan bolted to her anyway. He was simple-minded but athletic, with quick reactions and running speed to boot.
He caught Shi Jia right before she landed. Tarzan smiled stupidly, his teeth gleaming white. They all had good teeth, despite the lack of toothpaste. Perhaps it had something to do with the water they drank and their diet of raw meat and bones.
Even the old savages preserved their good teeth.
This must be natural selection. Strong teeth are probably an important factor when it comes to surviving.
Just as she was thinking about the savages and their teeth, the monster fell limply with a ground-shaking crash.
The savages cheered, brandishing their hand-made weapons.
The meat from the monster was enough to feed the whole tribe for a few months.
Yao Xiaoyu retrieved her wooden first-aid kit, applied some medicinal herbs to Shi Jia’s wounds, and wrapped them up in pelts.
“I have disinfected all of these, so you are safe from getting an infection.”
“And how did you do that?” asked Shi Jia. There wasn’t any disinfectant here, so how could she have disinfected her tools?
“With hot water, of course. The most primitive way.”
Yao Xiaoyu finished the wrapping with a pretty bowtie. Despite the lack of tape, her self-made bandage proved to be rather sturdy.
“By the way, these monster pelts are good stuff. We can use them to make shoes,” said Yao Xiaoyu. She had been eyeing on it for a while already. The pelt made good material for shoes, and the scaly side was great for soles, thanks to its durability. Not only that, it had good suction, which would help prevent sliding. The rough landscape had long worn out the shoes they arrived in. If they don’t make new pairs soon, they would probably end up roaming barefoot like those savages.
Shi Jia walked to her, squat down, and tore off a piece of the pelt to feel its texture. It was soft on the inside, which made it perfect for a pair of leather boots.
“Can we have the pelt, Zhang Peng?” she asked over her shoulders.
“Of course,” said Zhang Peng, in the middle of conferring with his savage friends on what to do with the monster carcass. He was deft and sure-handed. Clearly, his five years of experience had made him a passable savage.
“They aren’t interested in the pelts. All they want is the meat. Plus, you were the one who slew it. You can have all the pelts if you want them.”
Zhang Peng translated her notion to the barbarians, which provoked a lengthy response. Shi Jia did not understand their words, but she sensed the friendliness in their smiles. Smiles are the best way of communication, a universal language that bypassed any barriers.
And so Shi Jia began working on skinning the monster. It was a tedious process, for every bit of pelt came off with a chunk of flesh, which she removed with her knife and tossed the female savages who were in charge of cooking.
Before she could carry on, Yao Xiaoyue ran up to her, snatched the dagger, and took things into her own hands.
“Have you done this before?” asked Shi Jia.
“Yes. A lot of times,” replied Yao Xiaoyu.
“What type of skin do you usually deal with? Fish? Chicken?”
“Humans.”
Ye Jia paused, then understood.
Yao Xiaoyu wasn’t lying about peeling human skins; she was a surgeon after all! Her scalpels had probably sliced through countless skin. An honest person like her doesn’t lie.
And so they took the pelts, disinfected them, and made them into shoes and clothes.
With a patch of pelt on her lap, Yao Xiaoyu picked up a bone needle and began working on it. At length, she looked up.
“I can’t sew, though, Director Jin.”
Director Jin’s eyes twitched.
“Fine, I’ll give you a lesson,” he said as he demonstrated the art of sewing, giving concrete instructions along the way.
“Wow! You are good at these things, Director Jin. What a model husband,” praised Liang Chen, giving him a thumbs-up.
Director Jin smiled. “Things were rough during my time, and everyone had to pick up a bit of sewing to get by.”
“Here,” said Director Jin, handing the needle to Liang Chen. “Go ahead and give it a go.”
Liang Chen thanked him, took the needle, and began sewing. Yan Huan sat at the side, her head leaning against a tree. Her head was hurting a little. When she opened her eyes, she saw Qi Haolin sitting down beside Liang Chen to start a conversation. They laughed as they talked, a heart-warming sight to behold. But looking at them made Yan Huan feel awful, and her head seemed to hurt even more.
She stood up and walked to the doctor.
“What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
The doctor quickly got up and cleaned Yan Huan’s wounds carefully. The state of the wound worried him.
“The wound has opened up a little. Do you want to take a few days off?”
“I’m fine,” said Yan Huan, feeling her hair. “Help me patch it up. I still have more scenes to film in the afternoon. I can’t stop here.”
“That is important, but this is important too. If you go on like this, this patch of your head might become permanently bald.” Was she fine with that? Yan Huan should know better than anyone how important looks are to an actress.
