Chapter Ninety: Bird Eggs on the Fire

Lianyue was naturally small, and when she wore Yuwen Lingxi’s clothes, they looked almost comically oversized on her. Even so, they were far more comfortable than her own wet dress.

Taking advantage of the fact that Dark Abyss had not yet returned, she spread the clothes she had taken off in front of the fire to dry. In no time at all, the moisture had vanished completely.

Lianyue glanced around, hesitated, then walked back to where she had changed earlier and put her own clothes back on.

When everything was finally in order, Dark Abyss still had not returned. Lianyue let out a relieved breath, hung his garment on the branch in the direction he had gone, and, summoning her courage, called with a flushed face, “Brother Ming, I’m done. You can come back now.”

Yuwen Lingxi, standing in the tree, heard her voice and finally took his gaze off the night sky. Looking toward the firelight, he said nothing to the three men before him and descended from the tree in a graceful bound.

Only then did Forty-Seven, Sixty-Nine, and Seventy-One dare to move their limbs a little. Their stiff shoulders eased slightly as well.

Seventy-One still could not give up, and stole another glance toward the fire. Regretfully withdrawing his gaze, he met the warning looks from Forty-Seven and Sixty-Nine. He rubbed his nose indifferently.

Forty-Seven said coldly, “Seventy-One, I warn you not to entertain any foolish thoughts. You cannot bear the young master’s anger.”

Seventy-One still did not take it seriously. He looked at the cautious Forty-Seven with contempt. “What’s the big deal? It’s not like we saw anything.”

“You!” Forty-Seven felt that speaking with this man was a waste of time. He also felt a little sympathy for Sixty-Nine; serving as this fellow’s partner must be some kind of punishment from a past life. When he turned to Sixty-Nine, his tone softened somewhat. “Sixty-Nine, keep your partner in line. I do not want to lose my life for no reason because of a stupid donkey.”

Seventy-One flew into a rage, like a horse with firecrackers tied to its tail, and shouted, “Forty-Seven, who are you calling a stupid donkey? Say that again!”

“Whoever I’m talking about knows it,” Forty-Seven said, too lazy to argue. He looked up at the birds startled into flight by Seventy-One’s shouting. “You’d better keep your voice down. The young master is not deaf. And you’ve already exposed our position.”

With that, he moved without another glance at Seventy-One and transferred himself to another tree.

Sixty-Nine had long since given up on Seventy-One. For so many years he had been dragged down by him, and who knew how many punishments he had endured because of it? If this went on any longer, it truly might cost them their lives. When they returned this time, he would request a different partner.

Since that was the case, Sixty-Nine did not bother comforting the enraged Seventy-One. He followed Forty-Seven and changed positions as well.

Seeing Sixty-Nine move, Seventy-One’s rage at being abandoned flared up even hotter. He stamped viciously on the branch beneath his feet and shifted in another direction.

The branch, the moment he left it, gave a sharp creak and snapped, falling from the tree.

By then, Yuwen Lingxi had already reached the far side of the banyan tree, carrying two plump rabbits in his hands. He cast an unreadable glance at the falling branch, then smiled with cold disdain. Such a parasitic menace, and yet the previous generation had allowed him to live until now. With a leap, he plucked several bird eggs from a nearby nest as well.

Lianyue naturally noticed the commotion, but she assumed it was all caused by Dark Abyss and thought nothing of it. She only called tentatively, “Brother Ming, is that you?”

“It’s me.” Hearing her call, Yuwen Lingxi stepped out from behind the tree.

Lianyue turned suddenly and saw his strong upper body outlined by the firelight. She hurriedly averted her eyes, her face turning red despite herself. In a small voice, she said, “Your clothes are on the branch. Put them on first.”

Yuwen Lingxi had already seen his garment. He set the rabbits and bird eggs at his feet, took up the clothes, and dressed himself neatly. Then, looking at Lianyue, whose face was still delicately flushed from turning aside, he said, “Done.”

Lianyue first stole a glance from the corner of her eye. Seeing that he truly was dressed, she turned her little face back toward him. The rabbits at his feet made her eyes light up at once, and she swallowed instinctively.

“Ha.” Watching her hungry-cat expression, Yuwen Lingxi could not help but laugh. Shaking his head, he began skillfully to prepare the two rabbits.

Lianyue edged closer. “What should I do this time?”

Yuwen Lingxi looked around, selected a branch of suitable length and thickness from the nearby pile, sharpened one end with his sword, and handed it to her. Pointing at a relatively flat stone jutting mostly from the ground, he said, “Use this to dig that stone out. Wash it clean, then carry it over to the fire.”

“Got it!” Lianyue took the stick and crouched before the stone he had indicated, working hard to dig it free.

The reason she helped so eagerly was that she had insisted on it herself, simply to prove she was not eating for nothing. Whenever that happened, whatever Dark Abyss asked her to do, she would not utter a single word of complaint.

Just as now, though she did not understand what it was for, she still worked diligently.

The stone had not been buried deep to begin with, and Lianyue scarcely had to exert herself before she dug it out whole. Then she took the waterskin Yuwen Lingxi handed her and carefully cleaned it before carrying it, as instructed, to the fire.

Standing up and dusting off her little hands, she asked excitedly, “What next?”

Yuwen Lingxi pointed to the waterskin she had casually set aside. Lianyue hurriedly passed it to him. Using clean water, he washed the already prepared rabbit meat once more, then took the larger rabbit and skewered it on a branch. After that, he set up a simple rack over the fire and placed the skewered rabbit on it.

Then he picked up another branch and pushed the red-hot coals in the fire into a pile. He lifted the stone Lianyue had set aside and placed it on top, then packed the surrounding area with more charcoal.

Lianyue watched all this and still had no idea what he meant to do, so she waited curiously for Dark Abyss to explain.

Dark Abyss ruffled her messy hair, then stood and picked up the bird eggs he had set aside and sat down beside the stone.

Lianyue began to guess and cried out, “Could this stone be for roasting bird eggs?”

“You’ll know in a moment.”

Lianyue was already used to his keeping her in suspense. She merely pouted and did not ask further.

Yuwen Lingxi took a branch as thick as a finger, stripped off the bark, and split it into four lengths.

Finding the scene on her side too dull, Lianyue stood and turned the rabbit roasting over the fire the other way. These past few days she had not merely been thinking about eating; she had been paying close attention to every step Dark Abyss took, already planning that once they truly got out, she would show off her skills properly to Sister Lan, Yao Yao, and the others.

On his side, Yuwen Lingxi judged the stone to be hot enough and called to Lianyue, who was still guarding the rabbit meat. “Come here.”

Lianyue wasted no time. She casually turned the rabbit once more, then ran over and crouched down.

Yuwen Lingxi first took one of the four split branches and set it on the scorching stone. At once came a sizzling sound. Then he took out a bird egg, and with a gentle squeeze of both hands, let the yolk and white drip onto the branch on the stone.

The moment the egg touched the hot stone, it began to hiss and bubble softly. Lianyue’s eyes widened. She had never imagined bird eggs could be eaten this way.

Seeing that side nearly done, Yuwen Lingxi took hold of the branch, turned it lightly, and the yolk and white clinging to it were flipped over. Another round of sizzling followed. Then he lifted the branch from the stone, wrapped the lower end in a leaf, and handed it to Lianyue.

Lianyue took it and looked at the golden, fragrant egg custard spread over the branch. She took a careful bite, and the taste of egg filled her mouth.

“So good! It’s really good!”

A smile touched Yuwen Lingxi’s lips. He had learned this method from the locals once when he was carrying out a mission in the northern desert, and this time he had merely tried it on a whim. He had not expected such a good result. It seemed the method truly worked.

Lianyue was beginning to worship Dark Abyss. It seemed that no matter what he touched, it became especially delicious. If only he could stay by her side forever, then she would be able to eat delicious food every day.

That thought made Lianyue, who had been eating with great relish, suddenly pause. Why had she thought of that? She shook her head and tossed the impractical notion to the back of her mind, continuing to eat the food before her. Yet for some reason, it did not seem as tasty as it had just now.