Chapter 147

"Sister, the stream seems to have shrunk!"

It has been more than nine days since the Ghost Doctor and his group left, and there has not been a single day of rain. The wolf meat that Fan Xiaoxiao dried has all turned into wolf jerky.

On this day, Fan was washing clothes by the stream when she discovered that the water, which used to be knee-deep, now only reached her calves.

Fan Xiaoxiao frowned as she looked at the stream before her; this was not good news. They had been delayed for quite some time on their journey, and judging by the days, the drought was probably less than a month away. But Gu Zhongtai and the others still hadn't returned. At this rate, it seemed they really wouldn't be able to reach the Tianshan Mountains before the drought arrived!

"Girl, do you think they've run into some kind of trouble?"

Aunt Wang carried the wild vegetables she had picked that morning, her face revealing undisguised worry.

Fan Xiaoxiao paused slightly as she put away the wolf jerky: "No, the old man's medical skills are superb, and Bai Hua is no ordinary person either. They won't get into trouble so easily."

"Yes, old woman. Don't worry so much. Let's just wait for them to come back." Uncle Wang was holding the wolf skins that had been dried long ago, and he was tanning them one by one with the wood ash he had collected over the past few days.

They had no horses for the past few days and couldn't go anywhere, so they simply tanned all the wolf pelts. That way, they could sell them directly when they arrived at their destination.

Lu Ye and Xiao Yu were reinforcing the carriage at the back, having nothing better to do these past few days. Ever since the wolf pack came, Lu Ye had been thinking about how to make the horses pull the carriage faster.

Everyone was busy with their own tasks, completely oblivious to the lingering worry on Fan Xiaoxiao's face. Except—

"Auntie, are you still worried about Brother Gu and the others?"

Xiao Bao, carrying a small basket on his back, sat down next to Fan Xiaoxiao and helped her clean the dried wolf meat.

"Me? No."

Fan Xiaoxiao shrugged, trying to appear as if she wasn't too worried. Xiaobao stared at her for a while, then said, "But Auntie, your brows are all furrowed! You're clearly worried about my brother and the others."

Children's intuition is often quite accurate. Fan Xiaoxiao's shoulders slumped, and she sighed deeply, saying, "Auntie doesn't know if she's worried about them, but they've really been gone for a long time. The water is slowly decreasing, and what will we do if we run out of water? And..."

Fan Xiaoxiao didn't finish her sentence. She wasn't sure if she was worried about the water or about Gu Zhongtai and the others. Or perhaps both—the plague on one side and the insidious drought on the other.

Xiao Bao patted the salt particles off his hands, and the little dumpling sighed like a little adult:

"The water supply will also decrease where my brother and the others are. Once they find out, they'll definitely come back as soon as possible!"

Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback, not expecting that she hadn't thought things through as clearly as Tuanzi. Xiaobao was right; since the water was decreasing, the royal tent would surely notice the water shortage. She had spoken with Gu Zhongtai last time, and this powerful figure should know what would happen next and would definitely return quickly.

But what if they also get infected with the plague?

The worry between her brows hadn't dissipated, and Fan Xiaoxiao was still frowning as she sorted through the wolf meat.

Xiao Bao patted her arm with an air of maturity: "Auntie, besides, my brother and the others have Grandpa Fatty with them, didn't you just tell Grandpa that Grandpa Fatty is really amazing? So, my brother and the others will definitely be back soon!"

Fan Xiaoxiao glanced at the little dumpling in front of her with some surprise. Was this dumpling some kind of spirit? How could it guess everything she was thinking?

However, Xiao Bao's interruption eased her worries considerably. Just as she was about to pat the little dumpling's intelligent head, Xiao Bao spotted Xiao Hei, who had gone out to investigate.

"Brother Xiao Hei!"

Xiao Bao waved excitedly, and the latter, who had obviously seen Xiao Bao waving at him from afar, raised the thing in his hand and waved it back at Xiao Bao.

"Hey! Brother Xiao Hei brought a pheasant!"

The sharp-eyed Tuanzi immediately spotted the colorful pheasant in Xiao Hei's hand, her little face flushed as she rushed over and hugged Xiao Hei's leg.

Fan Xiaoxiao smiled helplessly. These past few days, it was all thanks to Xiao Hei's abilities that they had been eating pigeons, rabbits, or pheasants.

The quality of food has improved dramatically, and Xiao Bao has noticeably gained weight.

At night, the two pheasants were cleaned and stuffed with some wild vegetables and spices. After marinating, Fan Xiaoxiao roasted the pheasants over the fire.

"Miss Fan! How much longer until we can eat the chicken!"

Xiao Hei has been eating delicious food every day lately, and he's in an incredibly good mood. He's always smiling and seems carefree.

"It will be ready soon."

After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao kept turning the roasted chicken in her hands, muttering to herself, "It's a pity we don't have lotus leaves here, otherwise it would be really delicious to make beggar's chicken. We should stuff some wild mushrooms inside the chicken, so that the inside is full of the freshness of the mushrooms and the outside is full of the fragrance of lotus leaves. With both of these, the chicken meat will be very tender. I guarantee you'll want to eat it again and again!"

"Gurgle~"

Fan Xiaoxiao's description was too tempting, and Xiao Hei's belly let out a croaking sound.

He swallowed hard, glancing shyly at Fan Xiaoxiao: "Really, really that delicious?"

"Why would I lie to you!" Fan Xiaoxiao shrugged, somewhat amused, and after turning the roast chicken around, continued, "And there's also Sichuan-style 'saliva chicken'! It's made with the best chicken meat, which is blanched in hot water until it's almost cooked, then cut into pieces and dipped in chili oil and vinegar! Ah! That's absolutely delicious!"

"Gurgle!" Another gurgling sound, even louder than before, rang out. Xiao Bao covered his mouth, smiled, and looked at Xiao Hei, saying, "Brother Xiao Hei, are you that hungry?!"

But to everyone's surprise, Xiao Hei scratched his head and shook it blankly: "It wasn't me, my stomach didn't rumble."

"Gurgle!"

"Hey! You still say it wasn't you! I clearly heard everything!"

Xiao Bao chuckled and pointed at Xiao Hei before walking over.

The latter's expression grew increasingly bewildered: "It really wasn't me! My stomach was rumbling, like it was beggar's chicken! And then it wasn't mine!"

His expression seemed genuine, and everyone was truly bewildered. Xiao Bao withdrew his hand, glancing around fearfully. It was pitch black; there shouldn't be anyone there.

"Gurgle~" Another gurgling sound rang out, and this time everyone stood up immediately. Fan Xiaoxiao frowned, pulled a torch from the fire, and shouted into the darkness, "Who are you! Why are you scaring us when we have no grudge against you!"

"Cough, baby, it's me..."

"Old man!"

"Grandpa Fat!"

(End of this chapter)