STNS Chapter 495 (Patreon)

The fire burned brightly in the hidden cave where Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, Shuchang, Youmei, and Zhou Lihua were hiding. Smoke rose from the flames. At one point, smoke had started to fill the room, forcing Shuchang to create a vent through which it could escape. Zhou Lihua had taken him to task about how he had almost killed them. Hou Jingshu would not soon forget the look on the man’s face as he sat there with his hands on his knees and silently listened to the woman berate him.

At the moment, however, Hou Jingshu was doing her best to take care of Wu Meiying and Wu Jian.

She glanced at Wu Meiying. The young woman whose skin was usually pale and unblemished like fresh snow was now flush with patches of angry redness, especially along her cheeks and forehead. Her long, dark hair like midnight given substance lay in a tangled disarray from when she was tossing and turning. She had only stopped recently. Sweat ran down her face, neck, and chest. Hou Jingshu had loosened the woman’s hanfu in the hopes of cooling her down. It also made wiping the sweat from her body easier.

Hou Jingshu glanced at the woman’s chest. It was a bit larger than her own. She imagined it would normally look like two jade peaks, but it was red now just like her face. Grabbing a wet cloth from a bucket full of water, she wrung the cloth until it was just damp, then gently wiped some of the sweat away. Wu Meiying’s chest shifted a little and Hou Jingshu flushed slightly when she felt herself rub against something hard and pointed, but she did her best to ignore her own discomfort.

I’ve never seen her look so weak before…

Wu Meiying had always seemed like the strongest among the three of them, her, Wu Jian, and Wu Meiying. She had always known exactly what to do in any given situation. Hou Jingshu had often thought that Wu Meiying acted much older than she really was. Now the woman’s breathing was irregular, her body was covered in sweat, and her hands were resting limply by her side, with only the occasional twitch to show her discomfort.

Wu Jian was even worse off.

It was hard for Hou Jingshu to look at Wu Jian as he was now. He lay on another bed of futons right next to Wu Meiying, his eyes closed as though asleep, but his face was twitching like he was experiencing a nightmare. His dark hair was getting a little long. They would have to cut it soon. His body was also quite feverish, his face and chest flushed red and slick with sweat. She had removed his shirt the other night to help her wipe the sweat from his body and left it off since she and Zhou Lihua had been forced to do so periodically every few hours. His torso was normally a work of wonder the fascinated her to no end, but right now, she was too worried about his condition to feel arousal over his defined chest and abs.

Hou Jingshu did her best to care for Wu Jian without looking at his legs… or rather, without looking at the severed stumps. Zhou Shíwēi, the head of the Zhou Clan, had cut off Wu Jian’s legs before any of them knew what was happening. His severed legs were currently located inside of a storage ring to prevent them from rotting. Wu Meiying had said they could restore them before she collapsed. She grimaced every time she saw the bloody stumps. They had been forced to constantly cut them open to prevent the nerve endings from closing. She had wondered if they couldn’t just cut them once they were ready to restore his legs, but Wu Meiying had said to prevent them from healing over, and she figured the woman had her reasons. It was a thankless task that brought her nothing but pain, but she diligently did it every time his legs healed.

That was actually one of the reasons he had become so feverish.

Zhou Lihua and Youmei were also in the little cave with them. Zhou Lihua was sleeping in a futon not far away. She had been taking care of Wu Jian and Wu Meiying up until a little while ago, and in fact, she had tried to continue, but Hou Jingshu had forced her to sleep. The young alchemist had been running her body ragged as though attempting to make up for some sin she had committed.

I do understand why she’d feel so guilty though…

After all, it was thanks to her family’s clan head that they were in this situation.

Youmei was sleeping next to Wu Jian and Wu Meiying. The magical beast in the guise of a little girl had not left their side since Wu Jian collapsed. She lay curled up next to them. If she didn’t know any better, Hou Jingshu might have thought this little girl was their sister. Her peach-like skin and dark hair did make her look similar to Wu Meiying. The only difference between the two, aside from their very obvious age difference, was Youmei’s heterochromatic eyes and the scars on her face.

As she was wiping the sweat off Wu Jian’s face, she heard the grating sound of rock sliding against rock and looked toward the entrance. Shuchang entered the cave and pulled the entrance back into place, hopefully hiding them from any potential predators who may or may not wish to do them harm.

Shuchang was quite tall, and his body was defined by hardened muscle hidden underneath his orange and red hanfu. He had the sort of face that women who liked arrogant men might find attractive. He had sharp brows and a defined chin that further enhanced his devil may care aura. It seemed like he was perpetually smirking. His hair was a deep shade of orange but had red highlights and his eyes were a golden hue.

“Welcome back. How did the hunt go?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“Not as well as I would have liked,” Shuchang confessed. “But I did manage to scrounge up some grub. Behold.”

He waved his arm theatrically and several items appeared on a blanket before him. There was cacti and cactus fruit, a few wild onions, some mesquite pods, juniper berries, and a variety of rodents, reptiles, and…

“Insects, huh…” Hou Jingshu made a face.

Shuchang shrugged. “They’re a good source of protein.”

That was true, and she knew they couldn’t be picky, but the idea of eating insects still repulsed her. Hou Jingshu was a princess. She had been raised on the finest dining her country could offer. She had never been forced to debase herself by eating bugs before.

Yet while Hou Jingshu was a princess, she had also done things that a princess wouldn’t normally do. She had been trained under harsh conditions, journeyed into unknown lands, and fought tooth and nail to accomplish her goals. Compared to all that, eating bugs was a simple enough task. She just found bugs to be gross.

“Well, it’s not like beggars can be choosers,” Hou Jingshu mumbled as she rolled up her sleeves. “Since you caught the food, I’ll prepare it. Get some rest.”

“Thank the nine heavens,” Shuchang said with an exhausted sigh. He wondered over to a wall, leaned against it, and slid down. “I’ve been wandering that blasted badland for several days now. I’ll leave preparing the ingredients to you. I’m gonna get some shut eye.”

Shuchang was almost out like a light before he finished his sentence. Hou Jingshu spared him narry a glance as she looked at the ingredients laid before her, considering how best to cook them. She wasn’t a great chef. If she was being generous, she would say her skills were middling. 

The first thing she did was gather the mesquite pods and break them into small pieces, which she boiled in water from the stock they had on hand. Zhou Lihua told them they need to be careful with their water supply since there wasn’t much water available. What she made from the mesquite pods was a mildly sweet tea that would hopefully hydrate everyone and provide them with some necessary nutrients.

The main course was just skewered rodents and reptiles. She skinned the rats and lizards, cleaned the meat, and stuck them on sharp twigs that she roasted directly over the fire. Even she could do this much. Loong Chen often forced her to cook like this.

She wasn’t sure what to do with the cactus pads and fruit at first, but they were said to have a lot of moisture and were filled with nutrients, so she cut them into strips and grilled them over the fire until they were soft. She also carefully removed the spines from the fruits and split them over. After taste-testing one, she decided they had no need to be prepared and could be eaten raw.

After arranging the roasted meat, grilled cactus pads, and fruit on whatever flat stones she could find, she went about waking the others. Zhou Lihua was the easiest to wake. Youmei was the hardest. Of course, they couldn’t wake up Wu Meiying, who was unconscious, but Wu Jian did wake up when she gently nudged him.

“Come on. I made some food. You need to eat,” she said in a soft tone.

“Right…” Wu Jian mumbled.

Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua helped Wu Jian eat. They sat him up and fed him by hand. Zhou Lihua sat behind Wu Jian so he could have something to lean against since he had trouble sitting without his legs. He was strong, but his balance and stability were broken. So, she let him rest with his back on her chest. Hou Jingshu only felt a slight stirring of jealousy as her friend let Wu Jian use her breasts as a pillow.

“How is it…?” asked Hou Jingshu.

Wu Jian thoughtfully chewed the roasted rat, swallowed, then drank some of the tea she provided. She had decided to crush up the bugs into a fine powder and stirred them into the tea since they were high in protein.

“It’s tastes fine,” he said at last.

Hou Jingshu smiled bitterly. “I guess that’s the best I can expect.”

“You’re working with subpar ingredients to begin with. You won’t be able to make amazing food even if you were a chef who had mastered the Dao of Cooking, but the food is edible and it doesn’t taste bad. I think that’s good,” he said to her.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Well, I know so.” Wu Jian looked her dead in the eyes even though he was feverish. “Seriously, don’t worry about it. You’re doing a great job.”

Hou Jingshu flushed pink. His words made her feel warm. Even though their situation was horrible and Wu Jian had to be feeling the worst out of all of them, he still had nothing but kind words for encouragement for her.

“Jian… I…”

“I know the circumstances can’t be helped, but can you please not do that in front of me? How am I supposed to eat while watching such a sappy scene,” Shuchang complained.

“If you don’t like it, then don’t watch,” Wu Jian said plainly. “Keep complaining and I’ll start making out with Jingshu and Lili right in front of you.”

Hou Jingshu’s entire face turned red. Zhou Lihua giggled just a little. Meanwhile, Shuchang made a face like he had swallowed a lemon.

“What’s making out mean?” asked Youmei. The little girl looked slightly confused.

“It’s… a way a man and women who love each other show affection,” Wu Jian said after a while.

Her face brightened. “Oh! Like when Big Sis Jingshu and Master are naked hugging!”

It was a good thing nobody was eating or drinking because her words would have caused everyone to either choke or do a spit take. As Wu Jian tried to explain why she shouldn’t talking about their “naked hugging,” Hou Jingshu looked at their little cave and softly smiled. Their situation was dire. They were on the run from an extremely powerful individual who ruled the most powerful clan on the Xaio Continent, but at least they had each other.