Xu An also sawed off quite a few dry branches.
The trees Qin Chuan cut down still needed to be split, and because they were covered in snow, some were a bit damp.
They would need to be dried before they could be used.
Qin Chuan’s hands didn't stop moving. As soon as one tree fell, he immediately moved to the next, continuing to chop.
Xu An watched Qin Chuan’s fluid movements and couldn't help but ask, "Are you really okay with the wounds on your back?"
After asking, Xu An mentally called out to Ze Yuan, asking it to check Qin Chuan's physical condition.
Before Ze Yuan could speak, Qin Chuan himself seemed a bit puzzled. He stretched his arms and legs.
"It seems I really am alright. What kind of antidote did you inject me with? It's so miraculous that my wounds don't hurt anymore after just one night."
Xu An’s gaze grew colder. She knew best what she had injected him with.
The antidote from the lighthouse, while effective, did little for external wound recovery.
Qin Chuan's body, not to mention his internal injuries, but the corrosive slime on his back alone, would not be easily healed.
The medicine she had given Qin Chuan was just a regular antibiotic.
Just then, Ze Yuan’s voice echoed in her ear.
"There's something unusual about Qin Chuan's body. It's like he's been modified."
Xu An's voice grew colder, "Modified? What do you mean?"
Ze Yuan explained, "Didn't you notice that Qin Chuan is as fast as you, and can even converse and walk freely with you in the snow?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" Xu An didn't notice anything amiss and retorted to Ze Yuan.
Ze Yuan: "Have you forgotten that your body was strengthened by my power? Your five senses, even your stamina, cold resistance, and speed are five times that of an ordinary person. Yet Qin Chuan can withstand the same severe cold as you. This alone proves that the other party's body is not normal."
"Moreover, I just checked the wounds on his back, and they are almost completely healed. This astonishing self-healing speed is even stronger than yours."
Seeing Xu An still looked bewildered, Ze Yuan seemed to recall something.
"Do you remember seeing Zhou Haimai before you left?"
Xu An nodded.
"Back then, in the wooden cabin, Zhou Haimai was already so cold she couldn't stand it."
"But Qin Chuan was wearing even less clothing than you. On the way here, did you see him shiver even once? If he was just being stubborn and not saying he was cold to endure it, you can see that his steps haven't been unsteady at all along the way. This is clearly abnormal."
As Ze Yuan finished speaking, Qin Chuan, as if he had rested enough, continued, "Later, I don't know what methods Xia Jin used, but the lighthouse's higher-ups all agreed to his proposal, and finally converted the lighthouse into its current state."
As he spoke, the branches beneath Qin Chuan's feet had already accumulated more and more.
Xu An was not to be outdone and quickened her pace.
"Then the lighthouse has become Xia Jin's private domain?"
Qin Chuan: "That's not quite the case. I don't know what deal the lighthouse made with Xia Jin, but Xia Jin seems to be collecting something."
He then looked at Xu An, as if appraising her, "It should be that thing you took from the desert."
Xu An's eyes darted around. After hesitating for a long time, she still did not reveal her secrets to Qin Chuan.
Meanwhile, Xu An kept sawing branches and conversed with Ze Yuan in her mind, "Are you saying Qin Chuan's body was also modified?" Xu An whispered mentally.
Ze Yuan: "I don't know."
Xu An thought: What can you know? No one is giving me answers.
Qin Chuan chatted for a long time and, seeing Xu An still evasive and not answering his questions at all, became curious.
He was curious about the secrets Xu An was hiding, and also curious about the secrets she had taken away.
Finally, as if resigned, Qin Chuan said helplessly, "If you don't want to say, I won't force you. I just want you to know that I am not your enemy. I don't know what three things you want me to do, but I want to tell you that someone at the lighthouse has set their sights on you. Once you return to the lighthouse, more and more people will be watching you. Be careful."
Xu An nodded. She had clearly heard Qin Chuan's warning.
She wasn't worried about herself. Her only concern was Xu Yan.
At worst, she still had her space.
If she hid in her space, she could live on the mainland. But if Xia Jin knew that she was the one collecting the 'little mushrooms' from behind the scenes.
Would he target her mother?
Xu An didn't dare to gamble, nor did she dare to gamble with her mother's life.
She needed to make plans for this matter.
After a while, the two had gathered enough firewood.
Xu An: "These branches are enough. Let's carry them back. We've been out for a long time."
Qin Chuan also realized that Xu An was worried about Zhou Haimai being alone in the wooden cabin and being in danger.
So he nodded, put down his axe, and used the rope he had brought to tie all the branches together and carry them on his back.
Xu An also tied up the dry firewood she had sawed with rope.
The two walked back along the original path, one after the other.
Half an hour later, Xu An and Qin Chuan returned to the wooden cabin, one after the other.
The indoor temperature had already dropped below freezing. After Xu An and Qin Chuan entered the house, they saw Zhou Haimai wrapped in two blankets, sitting on the bed and shivering from the cold.
"You... you're back?" Zhou Haimai's speech was slurred from the cold.
Seeing Zhou Haimai like this, Xu An immediately closed the door and pulled the oilcloth to block the door seams, preventing the indoor temperature from escaping.
"How did you get so cold?"
"After you left, it got colder and colder. The kerosene lamp also went out soon after, and I almost froze to numbness wrapped in blankets."
Xu An felt the temperature inside the wooden cabin. It was almost the same as the outside temperature. She had thought that adding a layer of oilcloth would help a little, but it seemed to have little effect.
However, Xu An had no other options at the moment. She had an RV in her space.
But she couldn't just take it out openly.
"Endure it for a bit. I'll start a fire now."
Xu An placed the dry firewood she had collected, which was not wet by the snow, in the center, used gasoline as an ignition source, and lit it.
Before long, the house was illuminated by the firelight. At this point, they couldn't afford to worry about whether burning a fire indoors would burn down the entire house.
Qin Chuan also quietly walked to the side, splitting the branches he had cut into lengths suitable for burning, and spread the branches flat inside the room.
The outside was all snow, so it was clearly impossible to dry the wood outside. They could only air dry it indoors.
As the bonfire burned brighter and brighter, the temperature inside the house gradually rose.
Xu An took the opportunity to look at Qin Chuan, who had taken off his jacket and was quietly chopping wood.
She thought, Qin Chuan's body indeed had problems.