SES Chapter 208 Part 1

Chapter 208

She slept straight through until the afternoon.

When Mu Dai woke up, the tent had been baked by the sun into a little greenhouse. Specks of dust drifted slowly in the air, like small living creatures moving in slow motion.

Some people were already up, others were still snoring loudly. One corner of the tent flap was lifted, and the sound of running water came through with special clarity, mixed with Cao Yanhua’s intermittent shouting.

One moment it was “Brother Luo, Brother Luo,” the next it was “Jiefang, Jiefang.”

Mu Dai smiled. Moving as lightly as she could, she lifted the blanket, ducked out of the tent, and carefully pulled the zipper chain closed again.

So this place was really beautiful.

The sun was already slanting westward, golden light spreading across the valley. Somewhere high in the forest, unknown birds called to one another, one high, one low. The braided river rushed endlessly, several rocks breaking the surface midstream—step on them and you could cross. Cao Yanhua was on the opposite bank, running around in circles after Cao Jiefang.

Luo Ren was by the river, a small campfire burning beside him. He had gathered a pile of relatively flat stones and was stacking them around the fire one by one. When he saw her, he smiled and said, “You’re up.”

Mu Dai answered softly and went to the riverbank. She looked at her reflection in the water—her hair was a mess. She dipped her hand in the water and carefully smoothed it strand by strand. Cao Yanhua spotted her and came running over.

“Little Master, do you want a comb?”

He held up a forked branch, clearly something he’d picked up nearby. The branch was cleverly shaped, with many dense offshoots—at a glance, it really did look like a naturally grown comb.

Mu Dai was curious. “Let me see.”

As he handed it over, Cao Yanhua said proudly, “It works great. I just used it to groom Jiefang.”

Mu Dai’s expression changed instantly. “Get lost!”

Behind her came Luo Ren’s laughter.

The river water was clear and cold. She scooped up a handful and splashed her face; she felt instantly refreshed. She bent at the waist by the riverbank, stretching her body, and in that moment of full extension, she felt so comfortable she almost sighed aloud.

She stayed in that position, unmoving. In her upside-down world, Luo Ren—and the campfire—were strangely inverted.

“Where’s the fortune-teller?” she asked.

“Went scouting ahead. Said he doesn’t believe the only way out is following the silver-eyed bats. As for Fatty Cao, he’s been busy repairing bilateral relations with Jiefang.”

As he spoke, he pointed to a spot halfway up the mountain. “See that?”

Mu Dai squinted, awkwardly craning her neck to look. It was a dense patch of forest—nothing special.

“Basically, every twenty minutes or so, the fortune-teller pops up there once. I figure he’s already completely turned around.”

Mu Dai burst out laughing. The moment she did, her arms gave out and she scrambled back upright. She brushed the dust off herself and sat down beside Luo Ren.

Only then did she notice what was scattered beside the stones: large leaves, small bird eggs, bunches of green plants, mushrooms freshly dug up with mud still clinging to their roots—and even a tree stump.

“What’s all this?” she asked.

“Seasonings. Food. Supplies.”

He pointed them out one by one, teaching her what they were: fennel, wild ginger, tsaoko fruit, and some plants that smelled like scallions when you leaned close, though they looked like coarse grass you’d step on underfoot.

Mu Dai was astonished. “Are you going to cook?”

“We can’t leave until night. Are we supposed to just sit around hungry?”

“Can all of these really be eaten?”

“If they couldn’t, would I go to all this trouble just to amuse you?”

Her eyes grew wider and wider. “Then what are we eating tonight?”

Luo Ren thought for a moment. “We’ve got instant noodles, sausages, and some compressed biscuits. All edible. Besides that—pan-fried sausages, mushroom-and-egg stew, and maybe a soup. Too bad there are no fish in this river. Otherwise, slicing up a fish would’ve been nice.”

Mu Dai was thrilled. After a while, she suddenly hugged his arm and said, “From now on, I’ll go anywhere with you. As long as I don’t starve.”

Luo Ren replied slowly, “You’re way too practical.”

The ways of the world were truly unpredictable. The trip to Guan Si Archway had once been oppressive, yet its ending was unexpectedly lighthearted—like a countryside picnic.

Mu Dai tied her hair into a bun, rolled her sleeves up to her elbows, and helped Luo Ren with prep work. On the opposite bank, Cao Yanhua was burning the tree stump. Following Luo Ren’s instructions, he used a dagger to hollow out a bowl-sized cavity in the center, then lit a fire inside it. The fire burned from the inside out; once it was large enough to resemble a pot, he doused it.

At last, the fortune-teller stumbled out of the mountains, dizzy and disoriented. Under his arm was a thin stone slab—clearly something Luo Ren had asked for. Luo Ren took a look and said, “This’ll do.”

The stone slab was washed clean and placed atop the stacked stones. Fire burned underneath it like a griddle. They shaved several pairs of chopsticks and even made wooden tongs: long wooden strips shaved smooth, roasted over the fire and bent gradually, then plunged into the river to cool and set.

Mu Dai watched without blinking. Everything Luo Ren did seemed novel to her. Suddenly, she felt that anything could actually be simple—people just made life far too complicated.

Luo Ren spread the oil and seasoning packets from the instant noodles over the stone surface. The sausages were sliced into rounds and pan-fried. As they heated up, the slices curled slightly, edges lifting, glowing a vivid red with a hint of golden oil. The aroma filled the air.

Mu Dai waited nearby, holding freshly washed broad leaves. When the sausage slices were ready, she quickly picked them up with the wooden tongs and placed them onto the leaves. Green leaves, red sausage—beautiful beyond words. She took a deep breath, utterly delighted.

Luo Ren was amused by her expression. He picked up a slice and fed it to her, his fingers brushing lightly across her lips. Pulling his hand back, he licked his fingers with playful deliberation.

Unspoken sparks crackled in the air, tiny invisible currents dancing between them.