Shen Yuanzhou gave a scoffing laugh. He didn’t bother with Ning Bingque, and instead turned to look at Yan Yu’an. “That berry seems to have had some effect.”
Yan Yu’an glanced at Ning Bingque, who had joined the fight, and nodded. “That monster won’t hold out much longer.” He glanced again at the wound on Shen Yuanzhou’s back. “He had you stay here so you wouldn’t get hurt.”
Shen Yuanzhou said nothing, his gaze fixed on the monster.
The monster looked like it was suffering terribly. It feared the firelight, and combined with having eaten the berries, it was actually beaten by Xie Ji and Ning Bingque without the slightest ability to fight back.
“Roar!” The monster let out a roar and kicked with its foot at Xie Ji, who was biting it. But the next second, the monster’s head was fiercely seized by Ning Bingque’s talons.
The monster’s head was the one place on its whole body that, rarely, had no spikes. Ning Bingque unceremoniously increased the pressure, and the next second, the enormous gripping force forced the monster to throw its head back and let out a long howl.
Xie Ji seized the opportunity, suddenly released the monster’s leg, and bit down hard on the monster’s vulnerable throat.
The monster wanted to counterattack, but whenever it made any move, Ning Bingque would viciously scorch its skin with the torch.
The enormous biting force left the monster unable to make any sound at all. Combined with the blood gushing from one of its legs, it couldn’t help collapsing to the ground.
Xie Ji bit down hard on its throat and didn’t let go. A crack-crack sound reached his ears, and the next second, the monster fell completely.
To keep it from not being fully dead, Xie Ji bit it several more times before slowly backing away.
Yan Yu’an let out a breath of relief. Xie Ji immediately shifted back into human form. He took the torch from Ning Bingque’s hand and strode toward Yan Yu’an.
There were still bloodstains on his face from when the monster had splattered blood during the fight. He wiped his face carelessly, his tail lifting slightly behind him. “Impressive, right?”
Seeing that smug look of his, Yan Yu’an couldn’t help curving his lips and nodding—but then Ning Bingque immediately looked at him.
“You were impressive too.” Yan Yu’an couldn’t help covering his mouth and laughing. After he said this, he glanced around. “This fog has actually dispersed quite a bit.”
Shen Yuanzhou nodded. He said: “While it’s not completely dark yet, let’s get out of here first.”
The three nodded. Xie Ji squeezed Shen Yuanzhou aside and stood beside Yan Yu’an. “Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Yan Yu’an said quietly. “There’s one more very important thing.”
…
“Why do we have to move these animal corpses? They stink to death.” Xie Ji pinched his nose, two corpses in each hand, and tossed them onto an open spot right next to the lakeside.
Ning Bingque and the others had dug a big pit over here, but the pit was quickly filled.
They wouldn’t let Yan Yu’an touch the already-rotted animal corpses, so Yan Yu’an picked up some of the fresher small animals from the top.
He said: “If we don’t burn these corpses, once the weather gets hot, this place will breed a lot of bacteria.” He frowned and glanced at the mountain of corpses.
“By then, it could very well cause a large-scale die-off of animals.”
After almost all the corpses had been thrown into the pit, Yan Yu’an set a fire.
He lowered his eyes. The warm yellow light shone on his face. He knew you couldn’t set fires in the forest, but there were simply too many corpses—so he chose to burn them in the open space by the lake, ensuring that even if the fire grew too big, there’d be time to put it out.
“You’re really pretty.” Xie Ji suddenly spoke, interrupting Yan Yu’an’s thoughts.
“Thank you…” he said blankly.
Shen Yuanzhou gave a cold laugh. He glanced at the blazing fire and said nothing.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before the fire gradually died down. Yan Yu’an’s tense heart finally relaxed. He looked at the charred black corpses and frowned.
The four of them stepped forward and filled in the soil, and only when no trace could be seen did Yan Yu’an completely let out a breath of relief.
By now it was already dark. They decided to set off again tomorrow.
Xie Ji draped the bear hide over Yan Yu’an to keep him from catching a cold.
At this moment, Ning Bingque carried two big fish in his mouth from the lake and tossed them onto the ground. “Eat.”
As he spoke, he skillfully scraped off the fish scales, gutted them, then skewered them on branches and set them over the fire to roast.
Xie Ji glanced at him, then at the fish. Something seemed to come to mind, and his face darkened. He gave a soft huff at Yan Yu’an, then turned away, not looking at him.
Shen Yuanzhou wasn’t about to indulge him. He and Ning Bingque, for once, harmoniously roasted the fish together.
Soon, the aroma drew over Yan Yu’an, who had been comforting Xie Ji. He glanced at Xie Ji, who was still ignoring him, and shrugged in pretended helplessness. “Well then, if our little lion still won’t forgive me, there’ll be no share of today’s roast fish for you.”
Xie Ji swished his tail, crossed his arms, and still wouldn’t look at him. Only after hearing Yan Yu’an’s footsteps move a little farther away did he viciously grind his teeth, prop up his cheeks, and crouch on the ground in a sulk.
Yan Yu’an took the fish from Shen Yuanzhou’s hand and took a bite.
Though there wasn’t a single bit of seasoning, it was extremely fresh and delicious. He could even feel the fish meat dancing on the tip of his tongue.
“Hmph.”
Yan Yu’an looked up and glanced at Ning Bingque, who had suddenly turned glum. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Yuanzhou gave a light laugh and raised an eyebrow at him with a curve of his lips.
Ning Bingque clearly noticed. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and turned his head away, not looking at Yan Yu’an. His voice was muffled: “Nothing.”
As he spoke, he took another bite of fish.
On the other side, Xie Ji watched the three of them getting along so happily, and his anger flared up at once. He viciously kicked the tree beside him.
“I’m so mad…” he grumbled discontentedly.
Yan Yu’an left half the fish for Shen Yuanzhou. He glanced at Ning Bingque, who was eating extremely slowly, and suddenly understood something.
“I still haven’t tasted the fish you roasted.” He stood up, leaned in close to Ning Bingque, who wouldn’t look at him, and said with a smile.
Ning Bingque glanced at him, then at the fish in his own hand that he hadn’t even finished half of. He pressed down the corners of his mouth that were curving up. “I’ll reluctantly let you taste it.”
Yan Yu’an nodded, took the fish he handed over, and took a big bite.
“I want some too!” Xie Ji came over from over there in a huff. He snatched the fish that Yan Yu’an had bitten into, bit down along the tooth marks, then handed it back to him. “Just so-so.”
Ning Bingque was furious—then he shot to his feet and started fighting with Xie Ji.
Xie Ji, caught off guard, actually took a punch from him. Furious, he grabbed Ning Bingque’s hand, wanting to hit back, but Ning Bingque escaped.
Yan Yu’an felt like laughing for some reason.
“Not mature at all.” Shen Yuanzhou didn’t know when he’d come to stand beside him. He glanced blandly at the two who had already started fighting over there, his tone carrying a bit of pride.
Yan Yu’an couldn’t help laughing again.
Shen Yuanzhou, who was calling others immature, was actually a little kid himself.
Of course, Yan Yu’an didn’t dare say this to Shen Yuanzhou’s face.
Yan Yu’an knew those two weren’t going all out, so he simply didn’t bother with them. With a smile in his eyes, he felt an inexplicable anticipation for tomorrow.
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