After eating and drinking to his heart's content, he began the final wrap-up work. He carefully wrapped the remaining grilled fish, along with the nearly finished fish head skeleton and tail, in banana leaves and placed them in the back basket.
These would be his strongest cards against fatigue and hunger for the next two days.
Then, he completely extinguished the fire, erasing all traces.
Saying goodbye to the bamboo forest that brought him countless surprises, Lin Yu'an strapped on the heavy basket of willow branches again and set off once more on the rugged path over the mountain ridge.
"Alright, fellows, breakfast time is over, now it's time to pay the debt! Yesterday, due to resupply, we made far less progress than anticipated."
"Today, I must make up all the lost time! The goal is to cross this damned ridge before dark!"
He no longer paused frequently to explain as before, instead entering a state of near sprinting.
