Chapter 43: 43, First time in life

Ren Xiaosu did not dig out the termite mound to eat; he followed the deer tracks forward, and within minutes, the sound of flowing water reached his ears.

The closer he drew to the river, the more vigilant Ren Xiaosu became. Though it was past the twilight hour when creatures gathered to drink, he remained cautious—what if a beast had been delayed by some household matter and arrived late, only to encounter him?

Yet to his relief, he was not so unlucky.

He unwrapped the leaf holding a small piece of the termite nest and cast the entire nest into the river. The current was not swift, otherwise he would have had to devise a way to trap a nest with stones.

Then, with his bone knife, he slit open the palm-sized queen and tossed her into the river as well, beginning to patiently wait while holding the sharpened branch.

The moonlight that night was unusually bright; otherwise, Ren Xiaosu might not have discerned what lurked in the river.

The queen and nest drifted downstream, and Ren Xiaosu followed them along the shore. Suddenly, a dark shadow glided beneath the nest, and as ripples spread across the water, a large fish opened its mouth to devour both nest and queen.

But before it could, the sharpened branch was already there!

Ren Xiaosu had once used this method to catch fish, but back then, his speed and strength were lacking, requiring many attempts to succeed.

Now, it was different—before, he had been slower than the fish, but now his movements outpaced theirs!

Ren Xiaosu snatched back the branch like lightning. The black fish struggled in vain on the branch, and Ren Xiaosu cautiously retreated from the riverbank, as if the fish’s blood had summoned something ominous—the river below gradually coalesced into a writhing mass of shadows.

A flicker of doubt crossed Ren Xiaosu’s mind: were these shadows fish? He gutted the black fish on the shore and, without hesitation, cast its entrails into the river.

He could not bring the fish back to the camp to dissect it, as that would inevitably leave a bloody scent around the encampment.

Even the remnants of cookie crumbs could attract a giant deer; what might the blood scent draw? Though there were no bears here, caution never hurt. Moreover, the cooked fish flesh and bones had to be discarded far away.

In an instant, the river seemed to boil, as countless fish scrambled to devour the entrails, even tearing into one another.

Once a fish was bitten and wounded, it immediately became prey for the others.

What a cruel river this was—if a person fell in, what would happen?

Suddenly, Ren Xiaosu froze, for he noticed the fish scattering in panic. Without hesitation, he turned to leave—what could frighten those vicious fish? Surely something he could not afford to provoke.

On the way back to the camp, Ren Xiaosu pondered: what had changed in the wilderness now?

Why did beasts evolve, yet humans showed no difference?

No, there was a difference!

Wasn’t Zhang Baogen, who had once demonstrated supernatural abilities, or he and Yan Liuyuan, different from before?

When Ren Xiaosu returned to the camp, the band and private army were eating canned food and porridge.

Everyone stared when they saw the fish in Ren Xiaosu’s hands. They had mocked him earlier, knowing he had brought no rations—his oversized coat made it obvious.

So when Liu Bu told Ren Xiaosu to fend for himself, all rejoiced, for they disliked him intensely, this refugee-born boy who made them uneasy without knowing why.

But now, as they ate canned lunch meat in the wild, the aroma of Ren Xiaosu’s grilled fish wafted over…

This time, Ren Xiaosu had brought only an iron cup, a bone knife, and a box of matches—essentials for surviving in the wild.

Of course, matches were unnecessary; he could start fires naturally, but why not save effort? The matchbox was small, after all…

Liu Bu wrinkled his nose at the scent of grilled fish: “Hehe, just a fish.”

Suddenly, Ren Xiaosu heard the palace speak in his mind: “Task: Good things must be shared with others.”

He stood frozen for a moment, then approached Liu Bu with the branch skewering the fish. Liu Bu’s eyes lit up, and he said modestly, “What, you’re inviting us to eat fish? That’s not impossible…”

“What are you thinking?” Ren Xiaosu replied, “I just want you to see, to share in my joy.”

Liu Bu: “???”

“Task complete. Reward: 1.0 agility.”

That’s fine, Ren Xiaosu thought—sharing comes in many forms!

Liu Bu, flustered, snapped, “Ren Xiaosu, do you think I’d eat your fish?”

Ren Xiaosu eyed the nearly half-meter-long fish—too much for one person. He looked at Liu Bu: “Half a fish for three bottles of water.”

Liu Bu didn’t hesitate: “Deal!”

Ren Xiaosu sought water because fetching it was troublesome. He had planned to draw from the river but abandoned the idea after being frightened. He could squeeze pine needles for water, but it was too slow—better to trade something he didn’t need for convenience.

Three bottles of water—one for tonight, two for the road.

“Come on, everyone, fish for eating!” Liu Bu filled their brought pot with the half-fish Ren Xiaosu had cut for them, only to find the private army soldiers had already divided it all before he and Luo Xinyu and Yang Xiaoju could eat!

“This…” Liu Bu looked troubled, unprepared for such selfishness from the private army.

At that moment, Ren Xiaosu sat alone by his rising fire, while the others gathered around a large bonfire, as if from two separate worlds.

Suddenly, the girl in the duck-tongue cap, Yang Xiaoju, stood and sat across from Ren Xiaosu. She said calmly, “Fish.”

Ren Xiaosu, surprised by her unnervingly serene tone, found himself unable to refuse.

The bonfire’s glow danced on the girl—was every girl from the barracks this beautiful?

But, miss, could you move your gun away? As a perfect-level firearms master, pointing a gun at me—I’m genuinely terrified!

Ren Xiaosu had never robbed anyone, nor been robbed—this was a first in his life!

“Let you have two bites, just two!” Ren Xiaosu forced a smile.