Chapter 383 Everyone Wants Him Dead

Chapter 383 Everyone Wants Him Dead

When Su Youyue's gaze inadvertently swept over Tuoba Xiao's chest, she noticed that the wolf tooth pendant was missing. She remembered that until today, it had always hung there.

He couldn't have lost it again, could he?

To prevent him from going berserk later, she quickly reminded him, "General Tuoba, where is your wolf tooth?"

She hadn't forgotten how, when Tuoba Xiao lost the wolf tooth in front of her before, he nearly turned into a crazed beast. Later, at the Martial Arts Field, he even risked losing a crucial match for it.

Tuoba Xiao gave her a fleeting glance. "What does it matter to you?"

Su Youyue silently repeated three times not to get angry before she managed to calm down and explained, "I saw you weren't wearing it and feared you might have lost it somewhere."

Tuoba Xiao took out the pendant from his waist and put it back around his neck, then coldly said, "Even if I lost you, I wouldn't lose this."

"..."

She shouldn't have bothered to remind him.

Su Youyue completely ignored him and turned to look at the fire.

But soon, she heard the sound of someone getting up. Tuoba Xiao quickly walked from behind her to the fire and picked up another skewer of meat she had prepared earlier, starting to handle it.

Su Youyue wanted to see how he was cleaning it but was still upset and didn't go over.

She had been tired all day, and now she was exhausted, hungry, and sleepy. Soon, sleepiness overtook hunger, and she leaned against her knees, falling asleep.

She didn't know how long she slept, but eventually, she started shivering from the cold. Fortunately, she dreamed of Xie Yuan. In her dream, it was her birthday, and she was with Xie Yuan, just as on his birthday. The two of them were cuddled together, their warmth blending, feeling as if they were immersed in a honey jar made by time.

Although she knew her birthday this year was spent on the run, Su Youyue didn't want to wake up from the dream.

"Xie Yuan..."

Just as she called out, someone yanked her out of her dream without any gentleness. Her wrist ached, and her eyes were full of confusion as she looked up to see Tuoba Xiao staring at her coldly.

"What do you want?" she asked, pulling her wrist back in dissatisfaction.

What was he doing now? Couldn't she even sleep?

"Eat." He tossed a single word and shoved the skewer of roasted meat into her hand.

The aroma of the roasted meat was suddenly close, and her stomach growled louder than her brain could react.

Su Youyue blushed and swallowed the scolding that was about to come out.

If she wasn't going to eat it, it would be a waste.

In a fit of pique, she bit into the meat. Suddenly, she realized it must have just been cooked and was still hot, but her mouth had already taken a bite.

Unexpectedly, the temperature of the roasted meat was perfect, as if it had been cooled slightly after being cooked, making it just right to eat.

Compared to the piece she had cooked, this one was practically a delicacy. Although it had almost no salt, it lacked any fishy taste and was filled with a peculiar spicy flavor, with a hint of spiciness and a touch of heat.

She took another bite and noticed that the meat indeed had seasoning applied to it.

"Where did you get the seasoning?" she asked in surprise.

Tuoba Xiao's expression remained indifferent as he wiped off some green juice from his hands. "There are wild chives by the water."

Su Youyue didn't recognize many desert plants, but that didn't stop her from being pleased. This roasted meat was far better than her own poor cooking.

"Not bad," she praised.

The young man's lips barely curved, but his ears suddenly perked up. He quickly stood up and looked into the distance.

The wolves had returned, along with Hu Sang and the others.

"General," Hu Sang rushed over, first surveying the scattered corpses on the ground before finally looking at Tuoba Xiao, his gaze filled with suspicion and concern. "I arrived late. Are you injured?"

Tuoba Xiao glanced at him indifferently. "Indeed, you're late."

Hearing this, Hu Sang's face changed, and he immediately knelt on one knee. "My fault, please punish me, General!"

The men behind Hu Sang exchanged glances and quickly followed suit, kneeling down.

"General, please spare Hu Sang. After you went missing, Hu Sang led us in searching for you, which delayed us!"

"Yes, General. When you were blown away by the storm because of this woman, Hu Sang tried to hold you back. He was genuinely concerned for you! Please spare him!"

The group became agitated.

Su Youyue frowned slightly.

Hadn't Tuoba Xiao said anything about taking Hu Sang's life?

But Hu Sang's sudden eagerness to kneel and accept punishment made it seem like Tuoba Xiao had demanded his life as retribution, stirring up emotions effectively.

She wasn't sure if she was overthinking it, so she stole a glance at Tuoba Xiao's expression. His lips seemed to be smiling, but his eyes were unreadable.

"Since that's the case, let it be. Clean up here; we'll camp for the night and continue our journey tomorrow."

The men around Hu Sang breathed a sigh of relief, looking at him with joy. These men might fear Tuoba Xiao, but they had a deep bond with Hu Sang and didn't want to see him die for something that wasn't his fault.

They cleaned up quickly, and soon only bloodstains remained, with the body parts collected.

Moreover, they had brought salt and seasoning, and they were much more skilled at roasting meat than Su Youyue. Soon, they delivered skewers of roasted meat to both Tuoba Xiao and her.

Su Youyue had seen them preparing horse meat and camel meat for roasting earlier, so she also took some to taste. It seemed they had brushed it with juice from desert chives, but it wasn't as delicious as what Tuo Ba Xiao had prepared. Still, it was much better than anything she could have made.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, those not on night watch gradually returned to their makeshift tents to sleep.

Su Youyue went to the water's edge, intending to freshen up a bit.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard voices behind her.

At that moment, she was standing behind a grove of prickly pears nearly as tall as a person. The two men were approaching from the other side and hadn't noticed her presence.

"The general is too heartless. Hu Sang has been through life and death with him, and he delayed a bit to save him, yet the general wants his life!"

"Lower your voice... How could he consider Hu Sang a brother? He only treats those beasts as brothers. Don't you know he was raised by wolves, so he's just like those beasts, heartless and unfeeling."

"Heaven truly has no eyes, favoring such a heartless beast. If not for his innate strength, who among us would respect him! Not just us, I've heard even the Emperor and the Prince are dissatisfied with him. He actually conceded to a Great Shen man, disgracing all of us Dongrong People."

"If one day he loses his strength, he will surely die a terrible death..."

Sitting nearby, Su Youyue had already held her breath upon hearing these secrets, fearing that the two men might discover her presence.

She never expected that not only did she want Tuo Ba Xiao dead, but also the bandits in the desert and even these Dongrong People wished for his demise.

Tuo Ba Xiao really does attract hatred.