“Here, water.” Shen Yuanzhou came back in with the water before long.
Yan Yu’an thanked him softly, successfully earning a displeased look from Shen Yuanzhou. He first carefully rinsed Xie Ji’s wounds with water, washing out the impurities.
By now Xie Ji’s lips had gone impossibly pale. Yan Yu’an could only use a sharp stone to carefully gouge out all the rotten flesh.
Woken by the immense pain, Xie Ji relaxed the instant he saw it was Yan Yu’an.
“Bear with it.” Seeing him awake, Yan Yu’an was happy for a moment, then his voice took on a hint of tears. Xie Ji raised his hand, wanting to pat Yan Yu’an’s head to comfort him, but he had no strength at all.
The sharp stone cut across his wound, and the rotten flesh was gouged away bit by bit. Cold sweat poured down Xie Ji’s forehead, and he let out a pained, low roar—but then he glanced to the side, saw Shen Yuanzhou and Ning Bingque standing there, and shut his mouth at once.
Seeing this, Shen Yuanzhou gave a scoffing laugh. As if thinking of something, he walked out without a word.
After the rotten flesh was gouged out, Xie Ji passed out again from the immense pain.
Yan Yu’an pressed leaves against the wound, and only after seeing there was no more bleeding did he apply the herbs they usually used for injuries to the wound.
“It’ll get better.” He stared at Xie Ji lying on the ground, not knowing who he was saying this to.
Just then, Shen Yuanzhou came back. He tossed a gazelle onto the ground, and seeing this, Ning Bingque said: “Is this for us to eat?”
“Get lost.” The reply was Shen Yuanzhou’s voice, from which no joy or anger could be discerned.
Ning Bingque pursed his lips. He glanced enviously at the gazelle lying on the ground, muttered something, and then went out to hunt.
“Rest a bit.” Shen Yuanzhou skinned the gazelle and tossed it into the fire. He took Yan Yu’an’s hand. “If you don’t eat, he won’t wake up either.”
“What’s this!”
At this moment, Ning Bingque, who had gone out hunting, also returned. He looked in amazement at the blazing fire, circling around it.
But neither Yan Yu’an nor Shen Yuanzhou paid him any mind. He shrugged, not bothering to make a fool of himself, and tore his catch into strips of meat, swallowing them himself.
“Do you need to treat your wounds?” After he finished eating, he heard Yan Yu’an’s desolate voice. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and then he said: “Me?”
He pointed at himself, then glanced at the still-unconscious Xie Ji, and sighed. “No need.” As he spoke, the wounds on his body actually all healed—except for the feathers that had fallen from his wings, which couldn’t be restored.
Yan Yu’an narrowed his eyes and looked at him, then quietly said something to Shen Yuanzhou beside him. After receiving Shen Yuanzhou’s nod, a trace of sharp light flashed through Yan Yu’an’s eyes.
“Don’t you go getting any ideas about me.” Ning Bingque sensed something was off. He took a step back and wrapped himself in those feathers. “No matter how quietly you two talk, I still know what you’re scheming.”
His hearing was pretty good after all…
“Xie Ji saved you.” Yan Yu’an suddenly spoke. “If he hadn’t saved you, would you have died?”
Ning Bingque froze for a second, not knowing how to answer.
“I understand now.”
That one second of hesitation told Yan Yu’an everything. He couldn’t help pressing his lips together.
Xie Ji clearly hated Ning Bingque and Shen Yuanzhou the most—so why would he risk his own life to save Ning Bingque? Yan Yu’an didn’t understand.
As if sensing Yan Yu’an’s unhappiness, Shen Yuanzhou gave Ning Bingque a warning look, then said: “No mutant is allowed to let another mutant die at anyone’s hands but his own.”
Only then did Ning Bingque nod. “So that’s why I came to find you.”
Yan Yu’an didn’t understand. He said no more, only silently crouching beside Xie Ji, then smearing water on his lips. Only when he saw the cracked lips grow a little rosier did he let out a breath of relief.
“Eat something.” Shen Yuanzhou handed Yan Yu’an a cooler leg of gazelle.
Ning Bingque looked curiously at the leg giving off waves of aroma and couldn’t help swallowing.
“Never seen it before?” Shen Yuanzhou gave a mocking laugh, then took a bite of the gazelle. “Bumpkin.”
“You!” Ning Bingque flew into a rage and rushed forward, wanting to fight Shen Yuanzhou to the death.
…
Soon, the day passed, and Xie Ji still hadn’t woken up—he was even showing faint signs of a fever.
“Eat this.” In the evening, Shen Yuanzhou handed the herbs to Yan Yu’an. “This can cure fever.”
Yan Yu’an nodded. He boiled the herbs into a juice and tried to feed it to Xie Ji—but unexpectedly, however much he fed him, he spat out just as much.
Shen Yuanzhou’s face went completely dark. He took the medicine, pried Xie Ji’s mouth open in one motion, and poured it in.
Yan Yu’an: “…”
Ning Bingque clicked his tongue twice and nudged Yan Yu’an with his shoulder. “Shen Yuanzhou really wants him dead.” Then he successfully earned Shen Yuanzhou’s stare.
“Eat.” Ning Bingque took the roasted prey out of the fire. Since that meal of gazelle meat, Ning Bingque had learned to use fire—he’d even discovered that his wings could fan the flames to make them bigger.
But the payment for teaching him to use fire was, naturally, the daily prey.
“Thank you.”
“Tasty, right!” Ning Bingque was a little proud. He looked at Yan Yu’an expectantly, and only after seeing him nod did he happily bite in.
Shen Yuanzhou didn’t answer him. Though he couldn’t stand Shen Yuanzhou, having someone to help hunt for free wasn’t bad.
“An’an…”
The weak voice was caught at once. Yan Yu’an shot to his feet and looked at the now-conscious Xie Ji.
“Don’t move.” He pressed the Xie Ji who wanted to get up back down, his eyes red, looking utterly pitiful.
“Cough, cough…” Xie Ji coughed weakly twice. His wounds had accidentally torn open from the movement just now and were currently seeping blood.
“What are you pretending for…” Ning Bingque exchanged a glance with Xie Ji. Seeing the smugness in his eyes, he muttered something, then turned to say something to Shen Yuanzhou—but seeing the frost in his eyes, he wisely chose to shut up.
“Awake?” Shen Yuanzhou stood beside Yan Yu’an, ignoring Xie Ji’s provocative look, and pulled Yan Yu’an up from the ground. “The ground is cold. Careful you don’t get sick.”
“Cursed mouth…” Xie Ji grumbled quietly, then looked at Yan Yu’an coquettishly. “An’an, I’m hungry!”
Hearing this, Yan Yu’an hurriedly handed the meat to Xie Ji. At the same time, he put the mushrooms Ning Bingque had brought back into a stone bowl, added water, and only then said: “You haven’t eaten in so long, eat a little less meat. Later, finish a bowl of soup.”
Soup? For a moment, all three of them were puzzled, not knowing what soup was.
Only when the steaming mushroom soup was cooked did all three of them swallow in unison without meaning to.
After the soup cooled a little, he handed it to Xie Ji. “Drink slowly. Nurture your stomach first.”
“I want soup too!” Ning Bingque immediately said.
“There’s plenty more.”
Ning Bingque immediately went off happily to drink soup, leaving Shen Yuanzhou alone.
Yan Yu’an had clearly noticed him. He glanced at Xie Ji, who was drinking water, and said: “Aren’t you going to drink?”
Shen Yuanzhou slowly shook his head and walked out of the cave.
Yan Yu’an froze, then immediately chased after him. “Shen Yuanzhou!” he called.
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