Chapter 44: 44, Only allowed two bites

The campfire's light wavered uncertainly, and the forest was filled with the ceaseless rustling of leaves, a peculiar symphony of leaves clapping against each other.

This black fish was indeed too large, such that even half of it would be impossible for Ren Xiaosui to consume alone.

Yet his inability to finish it did not justify others pointing guns at him to rob him...

Yang Xiaojin withdrew a small salt bottle from the pocket of her athletic jacket, one hand gripping the black pistol, the other sprinkling salt over the fish without the slightest courtesy toward Ren Xiaosui.

Previously, Ren Xiaosui had wondered what sort of person Yang Xiaojin was—this girl rarely spoke, appearing rather tranquil.

Ren Xiaosui had supposed her temperament must be cold, but he had not anticipated her ferocity.

After sitting down, Yang Xiaojin uttered only a single word, "fish," from beginning to end—this fury was a maddened whirlpool lurking beneath a placid surface, unnerving to behold.

Ren Xiaosui watched as Yang Xiaojin had already scattered salt evenly across the entire fish, and he could no longer sit still. He looked at her and asked, "Do you have cumin?"

Yang Xiaojin glanced up at him: "No."

At that moment, Ren Xiaosui scrutinized the gun in Yang Xiaojin's hand—the M9. Its structure was simple and durable, and among his advanced firearms techniques, he was most familiar with pistols of the M9 variety.

Did that mean Yang Xiaojin usually wielded the M9 the most?

Yang Xiaojin's hands were not large, yet she gripped the gun so tightly that not a tremor escaped, and when she held the M9, there was a peculiar beauty to it. The weapon weighed only 0.96 kilograms, forged entirely of aluminum alloy—perhaps this was why Yang Xiaojin had chosen it.

When Yang Xiaojin finished sprinkling the salt, she turned to Luo Xinyu and said, "Come eat the fish."

Ren Xiaosui: "???"

You alone could manage two bites—why invite someone else?

As they spoke, Liu Bu and Luo Xinyu happily rose and approached, only for Yang Xiaojin to point her gun at Liu Bu: "Go back. The fish's owner does not welcome you."

Liu Bu stood frozen in place, neither sitting nor standing, taken aback by Yang Xiaojin's words!

Ren Xiaosui was momentarily stunned—he now found Yang Xiaojin's manner of conduct inscrutable, yet oddly intriguing.

Yang Xiaojin turned to Ren Xiaosui: "We each take two bites. No more."

Luo Xinyu sat down and curiously observed Ren Xiaosui, the atmosphere livelier now. She smiled: "I won't eat your food for nothing. Here, have some chocolate too."

She withdrew a large chunk of chocolate from her pocket and offered it to Ren Xiaosui, as if intending an exchange.

Ren Xiaosui considered this and accepted the chocolate—this was his first time seeing the actual product, having only heard Mr. Zhang mention it before: high-calorie, capable of swiftly replenishing energy.

Yet in the village, Old Wang's general store sold only ordinary white sugar, which was prohibitively expensive, let alone chocolate.

Two bites had become an unspoken agreement among them—no one dared take more.

Ren Xiaosui unwrapped the chocolate, stretched his mouth as wide as possible, and in one bite, stuffed the entire piece into his mouth...

Luo Xinyu was stunned, and even Yang Xiaojin stared at Ren Xiaosui in bewilderment.

After slowly chewing the chocolate in his mouth, Ren Xiaosui reflected and said to Luo Xinyu: "You still owe me a bite."

Luo Xinyu: "???"

Yang Xiaojin: "..."

It had to be said, the chocolate was quite delicious. In the refuge stronghold, even the food differed from that of the village.

The cookies were sweet and delightful, and this chocolate carried an unusual fragrance—bitter before sweet.

Ren Xiaosui resolved to find a way to trade for more such food along the way, to bring back to Yan Liuyuan and Xiaoyu at the village.

Luo Xinyu had sought to engage with Ren Xiaosui due to his unique survival skills, hoping to have someone to rely on in case of emergencies on the road. A person like Luo Xinyu, adept at navigating social currents, would never have managed to placate the true "big shots" within the stronghold otherwise.

Yet Luo Xinyu had not anticipated Ren Xiaosui to be so difficult to deal with...

Or perhaps she always felt his mind might truly be a little off...

Luo Xinyu took only a few small bites of fish meat before turning back to her campfire, where she retrieved another piece of chocolate for Ren Xiaosui. He did not eat it but tucked it into his pocket.

At that moment, Ren Xiaosui turned to glance at Yang Xiaojin, only to see her mouth stretched wide, nearly devouring a quarter of the remaining fish in one bite!

Ren Xiaosui was shocked—aren't you a girl? Couldn't you show a little restraint?

Even the sturdy village girl Li Youqian would not eat like this!

Originally, Ren Xiaosui had traded half the fish for water, leaving only a quarter. After Yang Xiaojin's two bites, only a sixth remained...

Yet for some reason, Ren Xiaosui felt Yang Xiaojin was utterly genuine, her every action straightforward and unpretentious, far surpassing the star-like Luo Xinyu.

However, when Ren Xiaosui met her gaze, he quickly licked the fish in his hands: "Still eating?"

Yang Xiaojin left expressionlessly: "Don't put the chocolate on your body—it'll melt."

That night, everyone pitched their tents for camping. Their trunks contained brightly colored tents, two people per tent just right, except Yang Xiaojin and Luo Xinyu, whose tents stood independently.

Meanwhile, Ren Xiaosui diligently disposed of all fish bones and scraps a hundred meters away before returning to prepare his makeshift bed.

Others sat in their tents, watching Ren Xiaosui bustling about, marveling at his wilderness survival skills—he seemed remarkably adept.

Ren Xiaosui had moved the original campfire aside, kindled a new blaze with many pine branches and other burnable kindling, and thoroughly extinguished and cleaned the old fire pit. The heated earth was now covered with countless pine needles.

These pine needles were abundant in the forest, thick layers in many places.

"This kid actually made himself a bed!" Liu Bu spotted Ren Xiaosui reclining comfortably on the pine needles. It was already late autumn, and the once-burned campfire area must have been quite warm, with the nearby flames still crackling.

It looked incredibly cozy...

In contrast, their private army's tents were tightly clustered around the campfire, their band members relegated to the outer edges, shivering in the cold—thankfully, they had blankets to cover themselves, else who knew how they'd survive the night.

And Yang Xiaojin... had pitched her tent right beside Ren Xiaosui's campfire heap, showing not the slightest politeness.

Ren Xiaosui opened his eyes and glanced toward Yang Xiaojin's tent—only to find the tent flap unclosed, allowing observation of the surroundings, and her gun in hand still trained on his direction...

Wait, her other hand held another gun, aimed at the private army's tents!

...

Thanks to Liu Li and Xiao Niu on the hillside for becoming the new masters of this book!