Chapter 52 Chapter 52: Spending the night in the woods, the man attracted by the smell of food...

The aroma of the food did not attract any ferocious beasts, but it attracted a man.

Yesterday, Yan Zhuo received a clue from a hunter returning from a hunt in the mountains. They found a piece of torn cloth in a wild animal's cave. Both the material and color matched the clothing Cui Cen wore the day he went missing. Fortunately, they did not find any human skeletons in the cave.

He didn't intend to give up any clues. Jingliu's injuries had not yet healed, so he went into the mountains alone to search according to the route drawn by the hunter.

Yan Zhuo followed the route on the map and walked deeper and deeper into the mountains. Qingshan was a little different from other mountains. Even with the route map in hand, he still got lost if he wasn't careful.

Just as he was wandering in the mountains, he suddenly smelled an enticing fragrance. He was attracted all the way here by the fragrance and did not expect to meet Zhao Mingsheng here.

Seeing the petite figure in the crowd, a hint of surprise flashed in Yan Zhuo's indifferent eyes.

"Yan Zhuo?" In front of so many outsiders, Zhao Mingsheng felt embarrassed to call him King Heng, so he had to call him by his name in a moment of desperation.

Zhao Mingsheng was originally worried that Yan Zhuo would think she was rude, but after she shouted at him, she found that there was no displeasure on his face, and the cold look on his face softened a little.

"Yeah, it's me. Why are you here?"

Zhao Mingsheng breathed a sigh of relief and told him the purpose of his and the villagers' visit.

"Girl Zhao, do you know this man?" Uncle Cao's tense nerves finally relaxed when Zhao Mingsheng called out the strange man's name.

"Grandpa Cao, this is a friend of mine." Zhao Mingsheng thought about it and decided to conceal Yan Zhuo's identity for the time being. "His home is in Xiliu Alley, Qingkang Town."

When Uncle Cao heard he was from Qingkang County, he relaxed even more. "I wonder what brings you into the mountains?" Before Yan Zhuo could answer, he asked enthusiastically, "It's so dangerous to be alone in the mountains. Why don't you come with us?"

Before Zhao Mingsheng could stop it, the olive branch was extended.

Uncle Cao warmly invited Yan Zhuo to travel with him, but what if he has something important to do in the mountains? Don't let him be delayed.

Just as I was thinking about how to politely decline on his behalf, I heard Yan Zhuo say without hesitation:

"good."

Zhao Mingsheng blinked, suspecting that he had heard it wrong.

"I don't have anything to do. I'm just wandering around in the mountains. I'll just go with you guys."

The casual tone made Zhao Mingsheng look at him suspiciously. How could he make walking on this rugged mountain road sound like taking a stroll in front of home after dinner?

Thinking of this, Zhao Mingsheng suddenly thought of something and asked, "Have you eaten?"

The man opposite shook his head honestly. He had been wandering in the mountains all morning and was indeed a little hungry, otherwise he wouldn't have smelled the fragrance of food and followed it here.

A quarter of an hour later, the four people had eaten up the two dishes and one soup, without leaving any soup.

Zhao Mingsheng was originally worried that he would not be able to get used to this kind of coarse grain pancake, so he wanted to exchange the white flour pancake he brought from home for the one in his hand, but he refused.

"It's okay, I'm used to it. The army used to make this kind of pancakes for meals." Yan Zhuo said calmly, while eating a piece of pancake with shredded bamboo shoots in red oil and finishing it quickly.

After being together for such a long time, Zhao Mingsheng almost forgot that the man in front of her was a famous god of war. She also didn't expect that he was quite approachable and ate the same as ordinary soldiers in the army.

Yan Zhuo swallowed the food in his mouth quickly but gracefully, half lowering his eyes.

In fact, when the army was short of food, they had eaten food even rougher than this, but he didn't intend to let Zhao Mingsheng know about this.

"So you've been in the military!" Uncle Cao, who was standing by, also heard what he said and looked at him with admiration. "No wonder I thought you had the temperament of a soldier!"

If Uncle Cao had been a little wary of him just now, he had now completely accepted him. Seeing that the pancake in his hand was empty, he quickly handed him another piece.

"Eat more, I have more here if it's not enough!"

Uncle Cao's enthusiasm made Yan Zhuo a little overwhelmed, but he didn't hesitate. The pancake in his hand was baked until it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and it tasted like coarse grains.

In the end, Yan Zhuo ate half of the pancake in one breath.

Uncle Cao hummed a little tune while leaning against a big rock. He picked up a small branch to pick his teeth and patted his round belly.

Looking at the young man next to him, he clearly ate more than him, but his abdomen was still flat, not round at all. He sighed that being young was good, and asked Zhao Mingsheng.

"What are we having for dinner?"

I haven't even digested my lunch yet and I'm already thinking about dinner.

Zhao Mingsheng was searching the basket for the medicine bag that her father had prepared for her that morning. Her hands were busy as she said,

"The lunch break was short, and the ingredients were limited, so I didn't make any good meals. I don't know if they would suit Grandpa Cao's taste."

The group of young people not far away couldn't help but prick up their ears. It smelled so good. If this wasn't considered a good meal, then what was?

"It suits my taste perfectly!" Uncle Cao nodded and praised, "The food is much better than what my wife cooks!"

He looked around and saw that they were all from the same village and there were many women there. He didn't know how they would complain to his wife later, so he changed the subject and added:

"But these kang pancakes are still made by my old woman. In our village, if I say she is the best, no one dares to say she is second, hehe!"

Zhao Mingsheng found Uncle Cao's sudden desire to survive a bit funny, and his handsome eyes curved slightly.

When ordinary people cook, they are reluctant to add oil and salt, so the taste is naturally a little worse. Zhao Mingsheng is willing to add oil and salt, and also uses special pickled vegetables and chopped peppers to enhance the flavor, so the taste is naturally good.

Zhao Mingsheng handed the medicine bottle he had found to Yan Zhuo and said, "This is an ointment for mosquito bites. Apply it three times a day."

She discovered last time that Yan Zhuo seemed to attract mosquitoes. This time, entering the mountains was like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth. There were already several red bites on the exposed skin.

Yan Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then reached out to take the porcelain bottle.

When I opened the bottle, the light green ointment exuded a faint minty scent, which smelled quite pleasant.

He dipped his fingertips in some ointment and applied it to the affected area. The slightly cool ointment reminded him of the girl's fingertips that day, which also had a cool feeling.

Seeing him apply the medicine, Zhao Mingsheng turned to Uncle Cao and suggested, "After we set up camp tonight, let's go to the river to catch some fish?"

"Great fishing!" Uncle Cao applauded. "At our current pace, if nothing goes wrong, there's a river right next to where we'll camp tonight. We can catch some crucian carp there to make soup."

This season is the time when crucian carp are the most abundant and the most plump. Although crucian carp has many bones, it is the best for making fish soup. If you stew it for half an hour, the small fish bones will be dissolved.

"We can also catch some black fish and grill them. Black fish have few bones and thick skin, so they are the best when grilled!" When the topic of eating fish came up, Aunt Wang offered some advice. "And sprinkle some of that tree?"

She couldn't remember it for a moment, so Zhao Mingsheng gently reminded her, "Wood salt tree."

"Oh, yes! That's the powder from the wood salt tree."

"Wood Salt Tree" Their conversation aroused Yan Zhuo's curiosity. "Is it the kind of tree that produces salt on its trunk and leaves?"

Now it was Zhao Mingsheng's turn to be surprised, "You knew?"

"Well, besides military books, I also like to read some strange stories. I once saw it in one of them. I didn't expect that such a tree really existed." Yan Zhuo said lightly.

Zhao Mingsheng didn't expect that there was someone who had the same hobby as her. She felt very happy and couldn't wait to share her treasure with him.

"The tree is in the woods not far from here. Come on! I'll take you to see it."

The girl in front of him was full of energy, and her brilliant smile gradually melted the coldness in the man's brow.

Yan Zhuo tried hard to control the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise, and was about to agree when an tactless voice interrupted him.

"Everyone, pack up, we are ready to continue our journey!" Sun Dalang shook his long arms and shouted.

It was as if he had deliberately interrupted Zhao Mingsheng's plan to take Yan Zhuo to see the salt tree.

"Then we can only go next time." Zhao Mingsheng said with a hint of regret.

"It doesn't matter, there will be opportunities in the future." The man's calm voice gradually soothed the regret in Zhao Mingsheng's heart.

"Um!"

They could go and see it when they came back. She secretly memorized the surrounding terrain and was determined to take Yan Zhuo to see it once.

Sun Dalang's sudden order caught many people off guard, and even the people around him were unable to react.

"No way, are we going on the road again so soon?"

"That's right, Brother Sun, let's rest for a while!"

Sun Dalang's expression turned stern. "I just told you to eat quickly and stop meddling in other people's business. Now you're telling me you didn't get enough rest?"

The people around him were stunned, with a look of being speechless and unable to express their pain.

They did follow Sun Dalang's instructions and finished their lunch quickly, but as soon as they closed their eyes, the aroma of the food wafting from the Zhao family's young lady's place made them unable to sleep at all.

After waiting for a long time for them to finish eating, they started talking about what to eat next. Just by listening to them, they couldn't help drooling and couldn't sleep even more.

Just after he dozed off for a while, he heard Sun Dalang say that they were ready to set off. He sighed deeply. It was over before he even had a rest!

They were about to say something, but seeing Sun Dalang's expression that did not allow for rebuttal, they swallowed it back and had to stand up with a little fatigue.

Sun Dalang had been paying attention to Uncle Cao's movements. When he saw that Uncle Cao was particularly fond of the boy of unknown origin, his face almost tensed up.

Why did this kid get Uncle Cao's approval as soon as he arrived!

So he deliberately did something bad. He clearly heard that Zhao Mingsheng and the others wanted to go to the woods to take a look, so he deliberately chose to gather at this time.

With the experience of the morning, the afternoon trip went much more smoothly. However, we lost some time in the morning, so we still didn't reach the planned destination despite our best efforts in the afternoon.

The anxiety on Sun Dalang's face was obviously even more pronounced.

He glanced at the tired crowd and finally announced that they should take a break. They had to start a fire before dark. It would be very dangerous to walk in the forest at night without fire to illuminate and drive away wild animals.