Heaven Awaits in Hell

When Fana hugged him, Zion's whole body froze.

While playing as ten-year-old children back in the day, they hugged each other a lot, but that was when they were children.

With age, maturity came, and they naturally maintained a reasonable distance from each other.

It was the same even after knowing that they were going to be engaged when they reached adulthood.

Intimacy was only reserved for married couples in the village, and this rule had been ingrained in everyone by the time they reached adulthood.

Realising what she had just done, Fana immediately let go of Zion and said in an embarrassed manner, "I-I lost myself for a bit there, sorry."

"Yeah…I-I mean it was an accident. No need to be sorry," Zion clumsily replied.

He then changed the topic, "Now that you trust my words, let me tell you about my plan."

Hearing him, Fana let go of all the remaining traces of embarrassment and focused on his words.

"The punch which I just showed you was possible because of the energy called Qi, which I had collected in my body.

Earlier, my pace of absorbing Qi was very slow, and I could only use this punch once a month, and that's why I never revealed it to you until today."

Zion continued after a pause.

"However, things changed today, and I can keep absorbing Qi almost throughout the day. It means that I'll be able to gather more Qi in my reserve, and that would mean I can fight the beasts which we would encounter."

After hearing Zion out, Fana mused over it and asked, "How much time does it take for you to throw that punch now?"

Her gaze went towards the dented tree at the end of her words.

"It takes me fifteen hours, almost a day, to gather enough Qi. Therefore, instead of moving around this forest, it's best that we stay at this place.

We'll stay here for around ten days, and by then I'll have enough Qi to throw fifty of these punches. That's the power to take on fifty panthers.

We'll be able to traverse this forest without any worries afterwards. What do you think?"

After finishing with his plan layout, Zion asked for Fana's opinion.

"Let's do it," Fana immediately agreed. If Zion got stronger, then her chances of survival would naturally increase.

With that, they reached an agreement. Since it was going to be night soon, Zion helped Fana with the gathering of food, and then they entered the shelter.

Although Zion could keep on absorbing Qi without restraint, that didn't mean that he wasn't getting exhausted.

He had not slept the entire night yesterday, and after adding today's hours of Qi absorption to that number, it was a miracle that he could still force himself to stay awake.

After eating a few fruits that would serve as his dinner, he soon lay down. The moment his head met the bed of leaves, his eyelids automatically dropped, and he fell asleep.

The next day.

They went to the river early in the morning to freshen up and collect water. Fana also used this opportunity to clean Zion's wound and reapply the herbal paste.

One of them was always keeping a check on the water when the other was busy. This way, they were ready to warn each other the very moment they saw any signs of danger and escape.

Returning to the shelter, Zion started his Qi absorption once again. He continued doing that throughout the day and rested at that.

Fana took care of the food collection and kept guard.

Day after day, the same routine was followed, and as luck would have it, they didn't face any danger in the coming days, and Zion's Qi absorption went without any problems.

'My reserves are finally half full!' Zion opened his eyes and clenched his fists in excitement. It was a day earlier than he had anticipated.

He turned towards Fana, woke her up and told her this news.

Rubbing her eyes in drowsiness, she took her moment to understand what Zion had just told her, and she exclaimed in joy, "Great! We can finally start moving and escape this forest!"

"You're right, but before that, there's something more important for us to do." Zion looked at Fana's sunken face and eyes that lacked their earlier vitality.

It wasn't just her. Zion was facing the exact same issue because of a lack of proper food. They had been surviving only on fruits and mushrooms for the last two weeks

"What's that?" Fana asked in confusion.

"To have a proper meal," Zion said. Hearing his words, a sense of relief finally appeared on Fana's face.

They had not been eating meat because its smell would attract other animals and put them in danger. It was especially so the case when they were planning to stay at a single place for more than a week.

Like usual, they first went to the river and returned after getting their morning chores done. Zion's wounds no longer needed to be wrapped, so he was able to wear his robes back like normal.

Zion then caught two snakes with his broken spear and killed them. He then lit a fire by rotating a small branch on a larger one and started cooking them over skewers made from a tree branch.

Fana at first frowned at the idea of consuming a snake, but when the meat started cooking and its smell wafted past her nose, all her previous resistance vanished.

Zion grabbed the cooked snake and passed it to Fana before taking his.

He took a deep bite and relished the juicy taste of the meat. Seeing this, Fana too started enjoying her snake. It was the best meal she had ever had in her life.

After they were done, Zion snubbed the fire, and they soon left the area, as staying there wasn't safe anymore.

Their journey towards the east finally started once again. However, unlike before, the two of them looked more hopeful and less scared. It was all because they had something to rely upon.