Chapter 06
Ling Cheng’en washed the stone pot clean and returned to the rocky shore, sitting down beside Ling Xiaoxi to finally eat her late lunch.
Several stone stoves were still cooking different things. Ling Cheng’en glanced at the small pile of branches and firewood nearby, tore off a chicken leg, and quickly devoured it clean.
After finishing, she said to Ling Xiaoxi, “When you’re done eating and if you’ve got nothing else to do this afternoon, go gather more dry branches and leaves nearby. We’ll need them for cooking later, alright?”
“Sure! But do I still need to watch Brother-in-law this afternoon?”
Ling Xiaoxi’s mouth was greasy with oil as she looked at Ling Cheng’en with bright, eager eyes.
Ling Cheng’en glanced at her. She knew very well that expecting a seven- or eight-year-old child to care for an injured adult all day was unrealistic, so she shook her head.
“No need. He’s already had medicine applied. Once he drinks the herbal decoction later, his life should at least be stable.”
“Then can I go play with the other kids in the tribe this afternoon?”
Seeing her sparkling eyes, Ling Cheng’en waved a hand casually. “Go ahead. But when you come back, bring plenty of branches and dry firewood. Wet wood burns poorly and produces black smoke.”
Ling Cheng’en ate quickly. By the time Ling Xiaoxi had only finished half her meal, she had already polished off the entire roast chicken and a large bowl of egg soup. Meanwhile, crystals had begun forming in the saltwater boiling inside the stone pot.
Once all the water had evaporated, Ling Cheng’en extinguished the fire and scraped the pale yellow salt crystals from the bottom of the pot into a wooden jar.
The amount of purified rock salt wasn’t much. The process was troublesome, and even after purification the salt still contained many impurities; otherwise, it wouldn’t still have a pale yellow color.
But under their current circumstances—where they lacked almost everything—being able to refine the rock salt into pale yellow crystals was already the limit.
She tasted a little. There was still a bitter aftertaste, but it was definitely far better than licking raw rock salt directly. This kind of salt couldn’t be used long term—it probably still contained heavy metals—but for temporary use it was acceptable. There was no need to make too much of it.
What she really needed was sea salt or lake salt, which would be much easier to refine.
Ling Cheng’en’s expression remained indifferent, clearly dissatisfied with the salt in her hands.
But beside her, Ling Xiaoxi was utterly dumbfounded.
She distinctly remembered that the pot had been full of water just moments ago. How had it suddenly turned into something like sand?
“Big Sis, what is this stuff?”
“Salt.”
Ling Cheng’en set the wooden jar aside. Seeing that the medicinal herbs in the other stone pot were almost done boiling as well, she removed the remaining firewood from beneath it.
Ling Xiaoxi forgot all about the roast chicken she’d been eating. Shocked, she pointed at the jar of sand-like grains. “That’s salt? How is that possible? The salt stones at home are huge!”
“It came from the salt stone at home.” Ling Cheng’en casually tossed the remaining chunk of rock salt from behind a large stone toward Ling Xiaoxi. “There. The one you brought me this morning.”
Ling Xiaoxi hugged the rock salt, now only the size of two fists, and the entire little cub looked dazed.
“Big Sis… when you were unconscious, did you go meet the Beast God?”
Ling Cheng’en snorted lightly. “No. The Beast God came to see me.”
Ling Xiaoxi immediately became solemn with admiration. “Big Sis, you’re amazing! I’ll never call you stupid again.”
Ling Cheng’en curled her lips. “If you dare call me stupid again, I won’t give you any food. I’ll make you gnaw raw prey meat instead.”
With her lifeline firmly threatened, Ling Xiaoxi immediately shook her head like a rattle drum and raised her right hand solemnly. “I promise.”
“Hurry up and eat.”
Ling Cheng’en poured the medicinal brew from the stone pot into a bowl, carried all the dirty cookware from lunch to the stream to wash them clean, then returned to the cave carrying a bowl of uniquely foul-smelling medicine.
Zhong Zhen was holding a wooden bowl and drinking soup. He had eaten less than half the roast chicken from the large bowl.
Though he hadn’t eaten much, his spirits had visibly improved.
Ling Cheng’en set the medicine bowl beside him on the stone platform. “Drink this first.”
Zhong Zhen looked at the pitch-black liquid. The bitter smell alone made his scalp tingle, and he instinctively turned his head away while holding his breath. “What is that?”
“Medicine.” Ling Cheng’en stared at him expressionlessly.
Zhong Zhen eyed the bowl suspiciously. “Can I not drink it?”
“I’ve been busy since morning just for this bowl of medicine. If you dare refuse, I’ll force it down your throat myself.”
Ling Cheng’en spoke through gritted teeth. Her attitude was unmistakably firm.
Seeing the slightly ferocious look on her face, Zhong Zhen set down his soup bowl and took the medicine. He leaned closer to sniff it, and his expression instantly twisted in agony.
Ling Cheng’en squatted beside the straw bedding, watching him closely. The moment he showed any intention of pouring the medicine out, she was prepared to stop him immediately.
Zhong Zhen closed his eyes and resigned himself to fate, taking a sip.
The instant the medicine entered his mouth, he instinctively wanted to spit it out.
But Ling Cheng’en reacted swiftly, covering his mouth with one hand and forcing his head upward.
Even if he died, she was going to make him swallow that mouthful.
Zhong Zhen was still injured and couldn’t resist. He could only swallow the medicine.
After confirming he’d swallowed it, Ling Cheng’en finally withdrew her hand and frowned. “You must drink it. No spitting it out. It took me a long time to gather those herbs. If you waste it, then whether you live or die afterward will be up to fate. I absolutely won’t ask a shaman doctor to treat you again.”
Zhong Zhen stared at the remaining medicine in the bowl, feeling his temples throb painfully as every ounce of his endurance was tested.
“One breath. Finish it in one go.”
Ling Cheng’en herself hated drinking traditional medicine, especially crude, unprocessed coptis root. The broth it produced had a truly indescribable flavor.
But since she wasn’t the one drinking it, she felt absolutely no psychological burden.
Under her relentless stare, Zhong Zhen could only tilt his head back and gulp down the rest of the medicine in one breath.
The moment he finished, his face became extremely colorful as he struggled between vomiting and enduring. In the end, Ling Cheng’en stuffed a red sweet fruit into his mouth, finally suppressing the lingering bitterness.
Ling Cheng’en collected the empty bowl and stood up. “Alright. I’ll leave the food here. Eat if you get hungry. I’ll be out this afternoon, and Xiaoxi’s gone to play too. You’d better lie down and rest without moving around.”
Once Ling Cheng’en disappeared, Zhong Zhen pressed a hand against his forehead, suppressing the nausea churning inside him. After a long while, he finally drank the remaining egg soup in one gulp and lay back down on the straw bedding.
This time he fell asleep quickly, and his body no longer felt as burning hot and miserable as before.
He slept straight through until dusk.
When Zhong Zhen awoke, his mind was blank, as though he no longer knew what day or time it was.
The grass curtain over the cave entrance hadn’t been fully lowered. Lying there, he could see half the sky painted in rich colors—crimson sunset clouds, endless walls of ancient dark trees, and the boundless Northern Beast Plains stretching as far as the eye could see…
He had never viewed the Beast Plains from this angle before. So this was how the Stone Forest tribe’s chief and young chief saw the Northern Beast Plains—magnificent and dazzling beyond words.
Outside came the cheerful cries of children, along with flickering firelight.
Zhong Zhen pushed himself upright, only then realizing strength had returned to his hands.
He stared at them in astonishment, then lifted his head toward the smoke rising above the firelight.
Ling Cheng’en’s medicine… was actually this effective?
It was almost unbelievable.
Why had he never heard of such a thing before?
“Big Sis! Father’s back! And he brought the chief and warriors from the Medicine Radish Tribe with him! Hurry and come take a look!”
Ling Xiaoxi’s clear, childish voice, full of piercing energy, rang across the entire rocky shore—and reached Zhong Zhen’s ears as well.
