"Si Lu, come have some of the vegetable and shrimp soup I made for you. I'll feed you," Bai Di said casually, offering a bowl of soup that was almost cold by now.
This was specially prepared for Si Lu.
"Hmm." Si Lu turned his head and opened his mouth, sipping the soup. It was fresh and delicious.
Next to them, Hei Yao quietly began peeling shrimp.
They had grilled a lot of shrimp, but no one had started peeling them yet. When Hei Yao noticed this, he took it upon himself to peel them for Si Lu.
He knew how much Si Lu loved shrimp.
Bai Di sat on one side of Si Lu, while Cheng Mo sat on the other.
Cheng Mo was cutting the roasted meat into bite-sized pieces and placing them into a bowl before offering them to Si Lu with chopsticks.
Nance was also peeling shrimp but kept glancing at Si Lu, seemingly determined to be of help, whether or not the food was eaten.
Meanwhile, Song Zhan was grilling meat with practiced patience.
"Bai Di, you mentioned earlier that you had some good news. What is it?" Si Lu asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.
She had been wanting to ask him for a while, but Bai Di insisted they talk while eating. Now, they'd eaten several bites, and he still hadn't shared the news. Unable to hold back any longer, she asked outright.
"Oh, it's definitely good news! The bamboo house we've been building is finally finished. Tomorrow, we can start traveling by water. Isn't that great news?" Bai Di said, smiling as he continued to feed Si Lu some soup.
"That is great news! We finally don't have to stay in tree holes or caves all the time! Having a bamboo house is wonderful!" Si Lu exclaimed in excitement. "And now we won't have to worry if it rains. This is truly amazing! We'll also be able to save so much time."
That's right. Even if it rained, they wouldn't have to worry about getting soaked. They could continue their journey with the bamboo house floating on the water, simply steering it as needed.
More importantly, Cheng Mo and the others wouldn't have to exert themselves as much anymore.
She just hoped the water route would take them all the way to the beach. But even if it didn't, it wouldn't be a big deal. They could take the water route as far as it went and switch to traveling by land where necessary.
Now, they had two options instead of just one.
"In this way, everyone will be able to rest even when we're on the move. It's really fantastic!" Si Lu said, her happiness bubbling over.
"Exactly. We can take turns keeping watch during the journey. By the way, the idea of building the bamboo house was all thanks to our clever Si Lu. She really is the smartest," Cheng Mo said, his eyes full of affection as he looked at her.
That was true. Si Lu had even come up with the idea to use bamboo to build the house.
If it were left to Cheng Mo, he probably wouldn't have thought of something like that.
"Oh, don't say that. You were the one who first suggested taking the water route. As for the bamboo house, I just remembered something I'd seen before, that's all. If you'd seen it too, you would have remembered just as quickly. It's really a group effort." Si Lu said, slightly embarrassed.
After all, she had the advantage of having seen bustling, modern cities in her previous life. That knowledge allowed her to come up with these ideas.
If Cheng Mo or the others had experienced the same, they might have come up with even better and faster solutions than she did.
"Regardless, Si Lu is the best!" Song Zhan chimed in, smiling warmly.
"Okay, okay. Let's stop arguing about it. We're all in this together," Cheng Mo interjected with a chuckle.
"But now, our main concern is whether the waterway will take us all the way to the beach. But no matter what, we can always switch to land when necessary. If we can't find a good tree hole or cave to stay in along the way, we can rest inside the bamboo house," Cheng Mo added thoughtfully.
Indeed, the bamboo house would be incredibly useful.
"Yeah," Hei Yao agreed, nodding along.
"Everything's moving in the right direction. Everyone should rest up tonight. Except for the person on night watch, we'll need to be ready to travel tomorrow," Cheng Mo said, looking at the group.
"Alright."
"I'll take the night watch tonight. You all should rest," Nance offered with a smile.
He wanted to integrate himself into the group as quickly as possible. After all, he had decided to follow Si Lu.
So taking on these responsibilities felt like the right thing to do.
"No, you should rest. I'll take the night watch tonight. You've been sitting in the bamboo house during the day, and you've worked hard over the past two days."
"Even though I'm injured, it's not a problem for me to stay up and keep watch all night," Hei Yao said.
Though injured, his senses were still sharp. Over the last few days, they had all been busy building the bamboo house, which had taken a toll on them.
As for Hei Yao, he had been resting and recovering because his wound limited his mobility. He felt that night watch duty suited him well. After all, resting for his injury had also allowed him to rest overall.
"Alright, we'll leave it to you then," Cheng Mo agreed.
There was no point in making a fuss about it. Someone had to keep watch, and Hei Yao seemed like the best option.
"Thanks for stepping up," Cheng Mo added.
"If you get tired, let me know, and I'll take over," Bai Di offered, looking at Hei Yao.
Si Lu wanted to say something too, but held back.
There were some things she could involve herself in, but for others, it was better to leave it to the men to handle.
Besides, she trusted Hei Yao and Cheng Mo's judgment.
Nance, on the other hand, looked disappointed.
He had wanted to take on the night watch, but they didn't let him. He couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't fitting into their group.
Worse yet, he felt like he was the odd one out, the outsider. This feeling gnawed at him, filling him with fear and uncertainty.
He even started to worry—what if they decided to drive him away one day?
It was a thought that scared him deeply.
But what could he do? After all, they hadn't known each other for long. It was only natural that they didn't fully trust him yet.
"Nance, don't misunderstand. It's not that we don't trust you. We just think your injury hasn't healed completely yet. Once you're fully recovered, you can take the night watch duties," Cheng Mo said, reassuring him.
"Plus, you've already done a lot, helping us hunt and build the bamboo house these past two days. You should take a break," Cheng Mo added.
"Yeah, I understand," Nance's eyes brightened with relief.
Bai Di smirked and said softly, "Tsk, tsk. This guy is really naive."
Does he finally get it?
But honestly, whether he understood or not didn't really matter to Bai Di.
After all, he never liked the rabbit. He didn't find Nance cute in the slightest.
Snorting softly, Bai Di couldn't understand why the little females always found the rabbit so adorable.
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Thanks for reading! Remember to leave your votes for me! Let's look forward to Si Lu and the others reaching the seaside.
[Next chapters will unfold with mermaids and falcons making an appearance.]
[Let's look forward to the upcoming sea journey!]