Chapter 48: Wilderness Survival Part Two

Chapter 48: Wilderness Survival, Part 2

Li Chengxiu grinned, carrying the pheasant he’d finally managed to catch, but his smile vanished the moment he saw the pile of things she was carrying in the fold of her clothing.

"Wan Jie, is this really necessary?"

He took two steps back, blinking rapidly, a conflicted expression on his face.

"Sure, your Fourth Brother here is decent-looking, but he’s no match for my older brother! How about this—once we get back, you can stare at him all you want. Who knows, you might even start to warm up to him?

You’re really great, honestly! It’s me—I’m not good enough for you! Let’s just stick to being siblings, okay? Or even sisters, if that works for you!

You really don’t need to take us both down with you!"

Jiang Wan stared at him blankly, not saying a word, which made him retreat another step in fear.

"Think about it—you went through so much trouble to save me. Wouldn’t it be more worth it to keep me around as your gofer? If you poison me, all that money on medicine you just spent will go straight down the drain!"

Alright, Jiang Wan understood.

She looked down at the mushrooms she’d gathered in her makeshift pouch. Each one seemed pretty plain and harmless-looking, without any flashy colors.

"Are these... not edible?"

"Yeah."

"...Have you tried them?"

"...Yeah."

"Speak clearly!"

"Yeah, I have—well, not me, but someone has!"

Li Chengxiu, who’d been about to say "yeah" again, snapped to attention at Jiang Wan’s sharp tone and quickly explained.

"Once, my family hired a cook. And let me tell you, his skills in the kitchen were something else—you’d be craving his food meal after meal! The way he cooked these death caps was perfect, except for the fact that eating them would kill you."

Jiang Wan glanced at him, then at the mushrooms, and finally took his advice, tossing them all on the ground. As she squatted by the stream to wash her hands, she casually asked,

"Did anyone in your family actually die after eating these mushrooms?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"The cook."

Li Chengxiu sighed mournfully, holding the pheasant as he squatted beside Jiang Wan and went on.

"He just tasted a bit to check the seasoning when the dish was done, and it cost him his life!

Every time I think of him, I get so sad. Such a talented cook, and I’ll never get to taste his dishes again. Ah.

That’s why I remember these mushrooms so well!

They’re just like my second brother—they might look honest, but they’re actually toxic!"

Perhaps because they’d been through life and death together, Li Laosi clearly no longer treated Jiang Wan as an outsider. He didn’t even hold back when dissing Li Laoer behind his back.

Jiang Wan didn’t bite. The war among the Li brothers hadn’t officially started yet, but its future intensity would be no less than that of the other Li family from that other timeline.

She’d have to be truly insane to get involved in that.

After washing her hands, she stood up and looked at the prey in his hands. It was a real wild pheasant, well-fed and looking delicious after a spring and summer of good living.

The bummer was that raw, it probably wouldn’t taste very good.

"We were in a bit of a rush this morning when we left, and I think I forgot to bring some supplies. Did you bring anything?"

She wasn’t even thinking about luxuries like oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar—just hoping for a fire striker. She’d just remembered that her bag probably didn’t have one, so she had to pin her hopes on her teammate.

Unsurprisingly, the guy shook his head as stubbornly as a rattle.

"Those things are always prepared by the servants. Why would I ever need to worry about them?"

"Heh."

Seeing Jiang Wan bare her teeth, the experienced Li Chengxiu quickly realized he’d messed up again.

"Sorry, my mistake!

I didn’t mean you’re a servant—I meant the servants in my household. I—"

"Enough!"

Not wanting to place any more misplaced expectations on someone who was clearly more skilled at being born into privilege than she was, Jiang Wan waved her hand to cut off his explanation and started figuring out how to survive.

She knew the theoretical basics of rubbing sticks to make fire, as invented by the ancients—hardwood against softwood. But after looking left, right, front, and back for a long time, she still couldn’t tell which was hardwood and which was softwood.

So, with her stomach growling in protest, she gave up. She didn’t even want to look at the pheasant in Li Laosi’s hands anymore—the more she looked, the hungrier she felt.

Dragging her hungry self along, she drifted over to the horse.

"Ru Hua, what are you eating?

Can I have a taste?

Don’t worry, I won’t take it for free. When we get back, I’ll hook you up with a feast."

Begging food from a horse was admittedly a bit embarrassing, but at least it was safe. If the horse was eating grass and leaves that weren’t poisonous, what was the harm in having a few bites herself?

The incredibly adaptable Jiang Wan the capybara shamelessly reached her ruthless hands into sweet Ru Hua’s dinner.

Unsurprisingly, she was met with another dirty look.

"Hmph."

Ru Hua was genuinely pissed.

She’d gone through all that effort to carry her ass out, and now, in the blink of an eye, this human was trying to snatch her chow?

Really, heh...

The horse might not be human, but the human was clearly no better!

The meaning behind Ru Hua’s long face was unmistakable, but Jiang Wan pretended not to see it.

After squatting beside her and observing for a long time, she finally worked up the nerve. She grabbed a large handful of grass just like what Ru Hua had, then grudgingly backed off to a respectful distance.

She shuffled slowly to the edge of the stream, found a relatively flat spot to sit down, and began to zone out, hypnotizing herself into thinking the grass was a matcha stick, mechanically stuffing a few into her mouth.

Fortunately, summer had just ended, and the grass hadn’t yet withered completely—it was still chewable.

But honestly, Ru Hua really had a strong stomach—this stuff was bitter and astringent, yet it managed to eat them with such relish.

The rich, meaty aroma wafted through the air, making her stomach growl like roasted chicken...

Hold up, roasted chicken?!

Snapping out of her daze, Jiang Wan turned her head toward the scent and saw Li Chengxiu covered in black ash, hands and face smudged, fumbling as he turned a grimy lump over the fire.

Noticing Jiang Wan’s gaze, he grew even more flustered.

"Wan Jieer, just wait a little longer! Fourth Bro will have this chicken roasted soon!"

Seeing his younger sister so hungry she’d started nibbling on grass had really tugged at Li Laosi’s heartstrings, and he felt immensely guilty.

If it weren’t for coming back to save him, how could Wan Jieer have ended up in such a pitiable state? As her older brother and a man, no matter what, he had to take good care of her!

"It’s just roasted chicken—if I can eat it, I can surely make it! Just wait a bit longer, it’ll be ready soon!"

That fickle Jiang Wan immediately tossed aside the weeds she’d been cradling like treasure and bolted over to that idiot at top speed.

"Get that chicken outta there now!!!"