Chapter 96 The Second Road to Exile 38

She really meant it. Out beyond the vehicle, there were still plenty of wild beasts. If you wanted to eat, go ahead—I swear I won’t be disgusted.

Lu Li hesitated, then slowly wrote down a single word.

Eat.

Shi Xianyu: "..............."

Lu Li peeked at her face with cautious uncertainty.

Shi Xianyu forced herself to keep smiling. "All right. I’ll go bring one back. Even if we are going to eat it, we should deal with it first and wash it, right? Otherwise, that’s far too dirty."

Lu Li nodded happily.

Shi Xianyu turned her face away, her smile growing bitter by the second.

"Xiaoyu! Come quickly!"

Outside the car, Ye Liuyun suddenly called out to her in alarm.

Shi Xianyu froze, then hurried out. "What is it? What happened?"

"Look over there! Just there, that..." Ye Liuyun pointed hard into the distance. "Th-that lizard... is it the same one from last time?"

Shi Xianyu narrowed her eyes and looked in the direction he indicated. Sure enough, a giant monitor lizard had appeared on the road, its body as large as a small car, still carrying that same huge-headed, round-bellied shape. Only the flower on its back was different now; its color was no longer bright red, but a dull yellowish brown like dead leaves, perhaps from severe dehydration.

"It is that lizard. Look at the tail—there’s only half left," Shi Xianyu said with certainty.

No one knew how the giant lizard had found its way here. It seized a half-dead wild beast from the roadside and crunched it to pieces, swallowing it whole. After a few steps, it snatched up another and went crunch, crunch, crunch again before gulping that one down too.

It feasted in stop-start fashion on two or three of the beasts, demonstrating the art of opportunistic scavenging to perfection. But some of the chili water had soaked into the wild beasts’ fur, and the lizard seemed to have been burned by the spice. It stopped on the road, tongue lolling as it panted.

It looked very much like something that found the food burning hot, and yet still wanted more.

"It won’t be burned to death, will it?" Shi Xianyu hesitated for a moment, then turned back toward the car. "I’ll get it some water."

She and the giant lizard had, after all, survived hardship together and shared a measure of feeling. She could not stand by and watch it die.

When Ye Liuyun saw her carry out another huge basin of water, he could not help feeling heartache for her. "Th-this... this much water..."

Shi Xianyu said, "It’s fine. It was leftover from washing up anyway."

"I’ll help you carry it," Lin Yuan said, jumping down from the roof and taking the basin from Shi Xianyu.

It was far heavier than expected.

He lifted a brow and glanced at Shi Xianyu in surprise, never having guessed that those slender arms and legs of hers could possess such strength.

"Could I borrow your knife?" Shi Xianyu said solemnly. "Xiao Li wants to eat too. I’m guessing creatures parasitized by Hua Su may all need to eat some fresh meat... perhaps?"

Lin Yuan looked at her. "Are you sure?"

Shi Xianyu nodded. "Mm. Since she can trust me without reservation, I should try to overcome this as well. There’s nothing I can’t accept."

Lin Yuan took the basin and walked toward the great patterned lizard. "All right."

The two of them came to a stop before it and set the basin down. The big lizard seemed to recognize its own bowl and hurried over to drink, making soft gulping sounds.

Shi Xianyu picked up a half-dead wild beast, held back her revulsion, and used the dagger to figure out what to do—should she cut its throat first to bleed it, or slit open its belly and go straight for the meat?

Though Ye Liuyun called these creatures wild wolves, they were nothing like the wolves in Shi Xianyu’s understanding. They were more like hyenas in shape, only leaner, with long, thin limbs built for extraordinary leaping. Their tails were slender too; their necks were thick and short, paired with broad jaws that gave them a powerful bite. If they charged and bit in a pack, it would be a nightmare.

Shi Xianyu silently assessed them in her mind, but still could not bring herself to do it.

Lin Yuan took the knife from her hand, stabbed it into the wild beast’s spine, drew it downward along the ribs, then made a horizontal cut and neatly sliced off a strip of meat.

"Is this enough?" he asked.

Shi Xianyu: "..............."

She looked up at Lin Yuan. "It’s not that I’m afraid. I’m just still working up to it emotionally."

Lin Yuan handed her the knife again.

After a moment of silence, Shi Xianyu said, "Forget it. Let’s use the piece in your hand. That’s fine."

Lin Yuan considered it, took the knife back, and gave her the meat.

Shi Xianyu pressed her lips together. "Could you help me skin it?"

Lin Yuan: "..............."

Shi Xianyu looked at him earnestly. "It’s not that I can’t. It’s my first time, so I want to learn your technique."

Lin Yuan had no idea what technique there could possibly be to this. He simply tore it apart with his bare hands and handed the meat to her once more.

This time Shi Xianyu said nothing. She accepted it briskly, then ran back into the car, washed it clean, cut the wild beast meat into small pieces like sashimi, arranged them neatly on a plate, inserted little forks, and finally set it before Lu Li.

She sat in the sofa seat opposite Lu Li and looked at her seriously. "Are you sure you don’t need a little salt or something?"

Lu Li smiled at her, the expression slightly shy.

"All right, then..." Shi Xianyu did not force her. "Go ahead and eat."

Lu Li looked at her, then at the meat on the plate, but did not move.

Shi Xianyu knew what she was worried about. She straightened her back and sat up properly. "I’m not scared, really. Go ahead and eat."

Lu Li hesitated for a while, then picked up the fork and rather delicately ate a piece.

Shi Xianyu said with an easy tone, "I really am not afraid. Xiao Li, no matter what you become, things will be the same between us as before. You don’t need to feel any burden in front of me, really. I can accept it."

Lu Li looked at her, still wavering.

Shi Xianyu sat for a while longer, and then she too began to hesitate. Reflecting on it, even if she had prepared herself mentally, Xiao Li might not have the courage to bare herself. Perhaps it would be better to wait until next time? Take it slowly, step by step. Xiao Li was still just a child...

Shi Xianyu smiled at Lu Li. "If you feel awkward, should I get out first? I can come back after you finish eating?"

Lu Li slowly shook her head, and then, right before Shi Xianyu’s eyes, her face split open into six petals. In the center, a crimson bud unfurled. At the same time, six soft, slender tendrils coiled around the raw meat on the plate.

Because Shi Xianyu had cut the pieces so small, some of the tendrils slipped and dropped the meat several times before getting hold of it.

Shi Xianyu repeated to herself: not scary, not scary, not scared, not scared, not scared...

The spiral stamen in the center opened as well, and the little girl’s delicate neck parted into a hollow opening. Inside were dense, threadlike patterns; on closer look, they proved to be layers upon layers of tiny flesh-colored soft spines, like a cat’s tongue.

The raw meat was stuffed into the opening by the tendrils, and the whole plate of wild beast meat was quickly gone.

Lu Li’s head closed back up. She picked up a tissue from the table and carefully wiped the bloodstains from her face.

Shi Xianyu: "..............."

Lu Li looked at her quietly, as if observing something.

Shi Xianyu curved her lips into a smile. "See? I told you—I’m not scared."

She stood, turned, and got out of the car, her calves inexplicably a little weak...

Outside, Ye Liuyun silently gave her a thumbs-up.

Shi Xianyu walked down with composure. "...Actually, it’s nothing. After seeing it a few more times, you get used to it."

Ye Liuyun looked toward Lu Li in the car and sighed. "Yeah. Once you get used to it, it’s actually not so bad."

After a pause, he asked somewhat puzzled, "Do you think she keeps looking like a five- or six-year-old because she was parasitized by Hua Su?"