One night passed. Bai Chen Zhu yawned, propping himself up to use his backpack as a pillow for Jiang Ye, replacing his own leg. He rubbed his sore back and entered the tent, where he saw that Bai Tao had already sat up.
Her hair was disheveled, her eyes vacant as she sat there in a daze.
Bai Chen Zhu thought something was wrong with her and hurried over. He waved his hand in front of her face and softly called out, “Bai Tao? Bai Tao?”
Bai Tao shuddered. She curled up her legs to hug her arms but accidentally touched the wound on her arm, sucking in a sharp breath of cold air.
“Are you okay? Does anywhere else hurt? I’ll apply medicine for you,” Bai Chen Zhu said busily.
“I…” Hearing this, Bai Tao’s mouth flattened, and her eyes silently grew wet. She quickly raised her hand to wipe them and turned away.
Bai Chen Zhu gently patted her back. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
These words were like a trigger. Bai Tao had been holding it together, but upon hearing them, she couldn’t anymore. She cried as she buried herself in Bai Chen Zhu’s embrace. “Wah wah wah, Brother Bai, I thought I was going to die. Wah wah wah, they have wings and tentacles, so terrifying! That one wing slash nearly sliced off my arm!”
Crying, she described the horror of the aliens, saying her first reaction upon discovering them had been to run, only for the winged ones to chase her relentlessly.
She said she had spotted one that seemed weaker and couldn’t fly well, so she attacked it, but then her mind inexplicably started hurting.
The more Bai Chen Zhu listened, the more he frowned. He comforted Bai Tao, combing her long hair, but in his heart, he couldn’t help thinking: ‘Why does it sound so much like my superpowers?’
Had the similarity between the insect race and human superpowers already reached this level?
At that moment, her mind had hurt, slowing her movements. She had nearly been sliced across the throat by a wing, but fortunately, Jiang Ye had arrived in time, saving her life.
“Right, where’s Boss Jiang?” Bai Tao belatedly remembered there was another person and abruptly lifted her head.
“He’s outside sleeping like a dead pig,” Bai Chen Zhu said, stroking her hair. Bai Tao broke into laughter through her tears, even bubbling a booger.
She cried for a long time before drifting off into a hazy sleep again, still mumbling words like ‘tentacles,’ ‘cockroach,’ and ‘bugs’ in her sleep. She looked extremely restless.
A few more hours wouldn’t make a difference on the way back. As the only uninjured one in the group, Bai Chen Zhu felt a strong sense of responsibility. After soothing Bai Tao, he went back out to check on Jiang Ye.
But at a glance, the spot was empty.
He was even less worry-free than Bai Tao.
“Jiang Ye?” Bai Chen Zhu called out.
No response.
Had something happened? Bai Chen Zhu searched for traces of Jiang Ye’s mental power.
Since he had planted his mental power in Jiang Ye’s mental sea early on, Bai Chen Zhu easily tracked him to a location several kilometers away.
He had run so far—had he gone to that big river from yesterday again? Bai Chen Zhu thought to himself.
His heart settled. He sat down on the spot and began packing the backpack. As he did, something fell out of the side pocket.
It was the translator. Bai Chen Zhu paused, stuffed it back in, and took out food and water.
Sure enough, Jiang Ye returned with a body full of water vapor, along with some blue-purple wild berries the size of fingernails. “Edible,” he said eagerly, sharing them with Bai Chen Zhu.
Bai Chen Zhu poked his shoulder with a fingertip. “Why’d you run off to bathe again?”
Jiang Ye retreated backward from the poke.
Playing the victim? He clearly hadn’t used much strength. As Bai Chen Zhu puzzled over it, the guy leaped away, swiftly unwrapped the bandages from his body, and nakedly displayed his scabbed wounds. “Your skills are great. Look, they’re almost all healed.”
“Really?” Bai Chen Zhu was skeptical.
Jiang Ye spun around to show him, proving he was lively and kicking.
Wasn’t this a bit exaggerated? Bai Chen Zhu didn’t buy it. He examined Jiang Ye’s wounds back and forth several times. Places that had been a bloody mess yesterday now had a thin layer of scabs today, and the bleeding had stopped.
“Since that’s the case, let’s head back now,” Bai Chen Zhu said.
—
Bai Tao’s recovery was clearly not great; her wounds had only just stopped bleeding. Bai Chen Zhu hoisted her onto his back and swatted away Jiang Ye’s outstretched hand. “You go grab all three backpacks.”
“I’ll take the backpacks. I can carry Bai Tao too,” Jiang Ye said, hauling the three backpacks.
“Don’t push yourself,” Bai Chen Zhu insisted. Even after seeing the wounds, he was convinced the insides weren’t fully healed, and he refused to let Jiang Ye do so much alone.
As the only healthy one in the team, he naturally should take more care of the injured.
“How heavy can one little girl be?” Jiang Ye felt belittled. “You know how strong I am.”
Bai Tao watched as she was argued over like an object and got annoyed. She directly looped her arms around Bai Chen Zhu’s neck. “No snatching! I’m sticking with Brother Bai.”
“What is this, selecting consorts?” Jiang Ye teased her. “And you picked this one?”
Bai Tao pouted and huffed, “If I were selecting consorts as empress, I’d send you to the cold palace first.”
Jiang Ye slung one backpack on his back and held one in each hand. He shook his head at her words. “Sigh, that’d make you a tyrannical emperor for sure.”
Bai Chen Zhu said helplessly, “The weather’s good now. Let’s go, you two.”
They needed to cross a mountain to reach the parking spot.
Along the way, Jiang Ye walked ahead while Bai Chen Zhu carried Bai Tao behind, already breaking a light sweat.
Bai Tao dozed off in a daze. When she woke again, she saw the same lush green forest, sunlight dappling through the trees, and Jiang Ye not far ahead carrying three backpacks.
She blinked, fiddled with Bai Chen Zhu’s ponytail, and smiled.
“What’s so funny?” Bai Chen Zhu asked, puzzled.
Bai Tao said, “It feels a bit unreal. Bro, you’re usually so…”
She racked her brains for an adjective. “…‘lone wolf’-ish. You don’t talk much, and you’re kinda distant with me—no, with all of us. It’s rare to see you willing to carry me.”
She murmured dazedly, “It just feels unreal, like you’ve been possessed or something.”
Possessed? It was just carrying someone. Bai Chen Zhu didn’t know what to say for a moment. “Am I that quiet?”
Bai Tao patched it up. “Except when you’re with Jiang Ye.”
Bai Chen Zhu tried to recall but couldn’t remember what she was talking about. “I feel pretty sociable.”
As if she’d heard a bad joke, Bai Tao burst into giggles. She waved her hands hurriedly. “No, that’s different from sociable.”
Bai Chen Zhu said very seriously, “I think I’m pretty upbeat and outgoing. Do we have some misunderstanding?”
If he was so upbeat and outgoing, then who was that guy who always went off alone? Who quietly slipped out of fun conversations to watch from the sidelines? Who sat quietly on the edge yawning during playtime?
Bai Tao nearly laughed herself unconscious, but her throat wound restrained her.
This laughter drew Jiang Ye over. He stopped, walked back a bit, and fell into step beside Bai Chen Zhu. “What are you two talking about?”
Bai Tao quickly changed the subject to avoid them bickering forever about whether Bai Chen Zhu was ‘upbeat and outgoing.’ She knew without a doubt Jiang Ye would side with him.
So she blurted out whatever came to mind. “Just how close you two are.”
Speaking of that, Jiang Ye got proud. With one backpack on his back and two in his hands, he patted his chest with his free hand, full of bravado. “Of course! Iron bros!”
Bai Chen Zhu sighed.
“It’s more than iron bros, isn’t it? Closer than that,” Bai Tao said casually.
Jiang Ye was puzzled and asked sincerely, “Is there anything closer than iron bros?”
Bai Tao fell silent.
Bai Chen Zhu’s heart pounded wildly, but he stayed quiet.
Bai Tao suddenly exclaimed ‘ah!’ “I got it! Blood brothers!”
Jiang Ye, like someone wielding a feather duster as a scepter, said to Bai Chen Zhu, “See? I told you we should swear brotherhood. Now we’re family.”
Bai Tao nearly fell off Bai Chen Zhu’s back laughing.
Not a reliable one among them. Bai Chen Zhu hefted Bai Tao’s knees higher on his back and said helplessly, “Isn’t there anything deeper than family or friendship?”
Bai Tao jumped in. “I know this one! Husband and wife!”
Jiang Ye disagreed. “How could love surpass family or friendship?”
As someone who had only dated once in his previous life—without tasting any sweetness and even getting stabbed in the back—and who had stayed single this life, Jiang Ye thought love was all a scam. He didn’t believe in things like growing old together.
Bai Chen Zhu chuckled. “Then you’re doomed to solitude.”
“What’s wrong with being doomed to solitude?” Jiang Ye didn’t mind. He looked at Bai Chen Zhu, his eyes clearly saying: ‘I’ve always been like this, and it’s not bad.’
Bai Chen Zhu shook his head. “Walking alone always gets tiring eventually. Look at us walking together—the road feels much easier.”
One exchange after another, the road stretched longer beneath their feet, bringing them closer to Zhou Zhuo Hua and the others.
Bai Tao forced her eyes open, her wounds burning painfully. The voices around her blurred into a haze. Half-asleep, half-awake, she heard Bai Chen Zhu ask, “Tao Tao, are you still scared now?”
“Don’t be afraid. Jiang Ye and I are here.”
Bai Tao’s mind jolted. She hadn’t expected her half-dreaming fears to be taken to heart. Somewhat embarrassed, she quietly rested her forehead on Bai Chen Zhu’s broad shoulder, holding her breath and saying nothing, pretending to be asleep.
If I had a big brother… Bai Tao thought out of nowhere, he’d probably be just like this.
—
“Who’s there?” Jiang Ye grabbed the advancing Bai Chen Zhu and stared in one direction. “Come out!”
Bai Chen Zhu looked where he was staring and saw a large rock. Two boys about thigh-high stood up from behind it, wearing wrinkled old clothes and with scrapes on their faces.
They tried to approach. Bai Chen Zhu frowned, and Jiang Ye picked up a long branch, pointing it at them. “Stay there. Don’t move.”
Two kids suddenly appearing in the deep mountains—it didn’t feel right no matter how you looked at it. Bai Chen Zhu scanned their clothes and said coldly, “What are you doing here?”
The taller boy said, “Big brothers, my little brother and I are lost.”
The shorter one was more obvious. He stared straight at the backpacks on Jiang Ye’s back and in his hands. His round eyes should have been innocent, but now they were filled with greed and desire.
‘Big brother’ looked at them pitifully. “We’ve been lost for two days. We’re really hungry.” He rubbed his belly weakly. “We’re starving to death. Big brothers, can you give us some food?”
Bai Tao hadn’t spoken, but at this, she couldn’t hold back and cursed, “As if!”
These two kids didn’t look like they’d starved for two days at all. Though their clothes were worn and they were a bit skinny, their spirits were fine.
Bai Chen Zhu watched them indifferently and released his mental power. An invisible, air-like wave of mental power swept the surroundings.
He opened his eyes and said knowingly, “We’ve been starving for a long time too.”
He stared at the two boys, his tone flat as if he’d eaten many kids before. “Tell me, between you and your little brother, whose meat is more tender?”
‘Big brother’ jumped in fright, retreating two steps. He shrank back, wanting to run but hesitating for some reason, not daring to bolt.
‘Little brother’ was more direct; he didn’t believe Bai Chen Zhu at all. These three were cleanly dressed, their bags bulging.
“Please! Give us some food!” Even as he begged, he lunged ferociously to grab, trying to hug the backpack in Jiang Ye’s hand. But Jiang Ye swiftly pinched his neck.
Jiang Ye knocked him out directly.
Bai Chen Zhu’s expression didn’t change as he set Bai Tao down from his back. “Then let’s eat ‘little brother’ first.”
Bai Tao leaned against a tree, fanning the flames. “I want the leg! Legs have the most meat.”
“Got it.” Jiang Ye set down the backpacks, laid the kid on the ground, and pulled out a small knife. “Gotta deal with the guts first.”
“Wait! My son!” A weathered middle-aged man suddenly ran out from fifty or sixty meters away, carrying a hoe. “Touch him and I’ll fight you to the death!”
‘Big brother’ hurriedly ran back, hiding behind the middle-aged man, looking at the three with fear and relief.
As the middle-aged man emerged, five or six more people followed behind him one after another, holding hoes, brooms, and various tools. They wore tattered clothes, their skin bronzed from years under the sun, faces fierce.
The middle-aged man roared, “Give back my kid!”
“Yeah, let go of the kid! Otherwise, none of you are leaving!”
“You pig-dog beasts, leave the food and that woman behind, then scram!”
…
Foul words came one after another. Facing this group of barbarians, Bai Chen Zhu said coolly, “I said, we haven’t eaten in a long time. Unless you trade food for him, today…”
Jiang Ye smiled. He pinched the tip of the small knife between two fingers and tossed it upward. The knife fell, flipped, and was tossed up again. He toyed with it above the boy’s head just like that, making onlookers fear he might slip and drop the blade onto the boy.
The middle-aged man’s eyes went bloodshot with rage.
Bai Chen Zhu followed up on his previous words with a cold sneer. “He is our lunch.”
They only had three people, while they had seven or eight. The middle-aged man quickly assessed their combat strength in his mind. His breathing grew rapid as he bellowed, “I’ll fight you all to the death!”
With that, he charged forward wielding his hoe. The men behind him followed suit, brandishing their tools as they rushed ahead.
