Dusk was drawing near. The dim yellow sun had already sunk into the western clouds, and its orange afterglow spread across the forest, veiling everything in a hazy amber light. But strangely enough, as the sun went down, the usual cries of birds and roars of beasts in the forest had vanished without a trace.
The trees blocked the harsh sunlight, but after riding for so long, even the two sturdy men couldn't hold off their fatigue. A little sweat still ran down their bodies.
Seeing the sky gradually darken, Nie Wangqing wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Zheng Biao beside him, “Brother Zheng Biao, it's getting late. If we keep going, it probably won't be safe. How about we rest here for the night and set out again tomorrow morning?”
Zheng Biao was looking a little tired as well. After hearing Nie Wangqing's suggestion, he looked up, saw that it really was getting late, and stopped insisting. He agreed at once.
The two men reined in their horses at the same time and brought the carriage to a halt. Then Nie Wangqing called through the curtain, “Zhaoxue, Tian You, it's late already. We'll rest here for the night and leave again tomorrow morning.”
Only then did his call break the silence inside the carriage.
Hua Zhaoxue seemed to wake from her long silence when she heard him. She forced herself to gather her spirits, pressed down her thoughts, then showed Tian You a gentle smile before softly saying to everyone inside the carriage,
“Since we've already decided on exploring the ruins, there's no need to rush this little bit. Right now, it's better to rest and recover properly. Let's do as he says and get off to rest for the night, alright?”
“Right, right! Miss Zhaoxue is absolutely right. We've still got some rations strapped to the back of the carriage. Heh, let's get down, make something to eat, and continue tomorrow after a night's rest.”
Seeing Li Rui immediately agree with Hua Zhaoxue, Bai Ziting gave a delicate snort and said disdainfully, “Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating! Hmph, if you're not eating, you're sleeping! You might as well change your name to Pig Rui!”
Hearing Bai Ziting's annoyed jab, Li Rui scratched his head awkwardly. “Heh... I just want to recover faster... I mean, after Qi Energy enters the body, going a few days without food isn't really a big problem... but I just can't break the habit...”
“You!” For some reason, a burst of nameless anger rose in Bai Ziting's heart when she saw him acting like that. “Fine, fine! Then go eat! Eat yourself to death!” After snapping at him, she waved her little hand and stormed out of the carriage.
“...”
Tian You glanced at Li Rui, who was still sitting there awkwardly, then at Li Yuanqian beside him. Thinking of Bai Ziting's angry retreat just now...
At that moment, Tian You felt that this boy named Li Rui... definitely had a story.
“Tian You, shall we go down too?”
While Tian You was spacing out, a clear and gentle voice suddenly sounded by his ear, crisp as an oriole's song. Coming back to himself, he turned and met a pair of limpid eyes. Paired with the faint dimple at her cheek, they made her look all the more exquisitely beautiful, enough to leave anyone spellbound.
His heart trembled slightly. Tian You gently nodded, then followed Hua Zhaoxue out of the carriage.
By the time Tian You and the others came out, the sky had already grown dim. Zheng Biao and Nie Wangqing had begun piling up firewood. After stacking it neatly, Nie Wangqing was just about to take out a firestarter from his sleeve when Bai Ziting, standing nearby, said, “No need to go through all that trouble. Leave the fire to me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a string of sparks burst from her slender index finger. She pointed toward the pile of firewood, and before Nie Wangqing could even react, flames flared brightly from within the pile, startling the two men closest to it.
Seeing the reactions of Nie Wangqing and Zheng Biao, Bai Ziting clapped her hands, looking a little pleased with herself.
At that moment, Li Rui and Li Yuanqian also came around from the back of the carriage carrying some dry rations and fruit brew. When Li Rui saw the fire had been lit, a gleam flashed through his eyes. He quickly carried the food over, picked up a few sticks, roughly fashioned a wooden rack, and set the food over the fire to roast. Before long, waves of fragrance filled the air.
The rich aroma of roasted dried meat and flatbread stirred everyone's appetite, and even Bai Ziting, who was sulking for some reason off to the side, was no exception.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Li Rui chuckled. He took out a small knife, sliced up the meat, prepared two flatbreads, placed them in a large bowl, and handed it over together with a clean water flask to Hua Zhaoxue. “Miss Zhaoxue, you eat first.”
There was no other meaning behind this. He simply understood in his heart how important Dance Weaver was.
“Thank you.” After thanking him, Hua Zhaoxue took the large bowl from Li Rui, then turned and passed it to Tian You. In a gentle voice, she said, “Tian You, you must be hungry after all this time. Eat more.”
Tian You didn't stand on ceremony with her. After giving Hua Zhaoxue a deep look with his violet eyes, he took the bowl from her hands and began eating in small bites. Hua Zhaoxue simply sat beside him with a gentle expression, and from time to time, she used the clean handkerchief in her hand to wipe the grease from the corner of his lips.
“...”
Nie Wangqing was fine. He had already seen this scene once yesterday, so he had some resistance to it. But the other four were a different story... Looking at Hua Zhaoxue's focused and tender expression, they felt as if they'd taken a critical hit straight to the heart... the kind that dealt true damage...
After snapping back to themselves, the others suppressed that strange sense of defeat and gathered around the fire to eat the roasted meat. But whether it was just their imagination or not, the food that had smelled so rich and savory somehow turned bland in their mouths.
“Uh, don't you think... this forest is a little too quiet?” Halfway through the meal, Zheng Biao suddenly spoke up. “Brother Nie, what kind of beast attacked you before? We've been traveling all this way, and forget wild beasts, we haven't even seen a single bird.”
Hearing that casual remark, Nie Wangqing's body stiffened, and his gaze couldn't help but flick toward Tian You. In the briefest moment, he withdrew his eyes and laughed it off at Zheng Biao. “Back then, our carriage was attacked just after we entered the forest. Everything happened in a rush, so we didn't get a clear look at the beast either. We can't even be sure it was a creature from this forest.”
“Heh, that's fate for you~ If not for that beast, we wouldn't have run into Miss Zhaoxue and Tian You.”
The moment Li Rui said that, Bai Ziting quickly smacked him on the head and scolded, “Can't you say something nicer for once? What do you mean, if not for that beast? Are you saying it would've been a good thing for Brother Tian You and the others to get attacked?”
“No, that's not what I meant...”
Seeing the two of them steer the topic away, Nie Wangqing quietly let out a breath of relief. He didn't want to think too deeply about what had really happened either. As long as they were still alive and hadn't been harmed, that result alone was enough, wasn't it.
