Chapter 20 Camping Continues... Camping continues, grilling...
"Is this charcoal you've roasted?"
Jason raised an eyebrow, looking at the pitch-black chunk of meat in Enid's hand, and praised her exquisite skills repeatedly. Enid puffed out her cheeks, looked a little angry, and then deflated instantly, trying to sneak up on him with the charcoal in her hand.
Now, the barbecue party turned into a contest of skills. Enid used the skills she had honed against Damian to fight Jason back and forth with his skewers. Unsurprisingly, she was defeated by Jason's seemingly casual gesture and could only throw away the charcoal in frustration.
"So weak, just you wait and see..."
Damian looked up, expressing his dissatisfaction with his sister's learning progress, and began to demonstrate enthusiastically. Holding the skewer in his hand, he started to fight with Jason and his sister. It was as if there were flashes of swords and shadows in an instant. All people could see was the sizzling aroma of meat and cumin. It seemed that it was not an illusion, but that the cumin on the meat almost drifted onto their hair.
"Tsk, you little devil..."
"Todd, take this!"
Enid's eyes were shining, and she didn't even bother to grill the meat again. She started taking pictures with her camera. Dick had no choice. In fact, he had already guessed that Enid couldn't grill well, so he had already prepared two skewers, one for Enid. But right now... she seemed more interested in the showdown between Jason and Damian.
At that moment, Cumin seemed to be flying very fast, already reaching the edge of Tim's hair. He dodged it with a sharp look, and then exchanged a glance with Stephanie. The two of them seemed to have joined the battle as well. Barbara, Cassandra, and Dick, who were seriously grilling meat, looked at each other and were also eager to try.
Fortunately, Bruce and Alfred, carrying fresh skewers, stopped the cumin showdown. Alfred's tone was distinctly humorous: "I almost thought the young masters and ladies came here for a kebab competition, not for a camping trip." As soon as he finished speaking, the group stopped moving instantly.
The instigator raised her hand somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I started this war first." She blushed a little, and after speaking, she cautiously glanced at the others. Cassandra hesitated for a moment before handing over the freshly grilled skewers she was holding.
"So, how did our baking turn out?"
Enid smiled and accepted the skewers of meat from Cassandra, praising them repeatedly for being delicious. Cassandra paused for a few seconds without saying anything, but it was clear she was happy. However, her happiness was quickly shattered by Bruce's words. Enid, not uncommonly, showed an expression of embarrassment, while Jason, somewhat gleefully, pointed to the black lump of meat next to Bruce. Yes, it hadn't been thrown away; instead, it had been placed on the plate.
“Old man, you can give it a try. This is the masterpiece baked by your new daughter.”
"Bruce...don't look."
"Hmm...it's quite artistic?"
Even Bruce couldn't bring himself to say something so insincere. Enid fell silent, then tried to salvage some dignity, but she seemed to have failed because she saw Bruce skillfully flipping the meat skewers and other grilled skewers, and he didn't look like a novice cook.
He grilled it quickly and well, and the meat was cooked to just the right doneness, enough to be distributed equally to each child, including Afu.
"How about you try mine?"
"It's delicious... but I think my brother and Afu made it even better! Father's was amazing too, and Cassandra's was delicious too!"
Enid smiled sweetly and praised each of the dishes she had eaten. Although Dick and Jason were both older brothers, even Jason himself subconsciously looked at Dick, his gaze fixed on him. Dick shrugged and said frankly, "After all, I was the one cooking for the past two weeks in the forest."
"Actually, I can still make stews! My Chinese friend gave me the recipe!"
She tried hard to prove herself. Cassandra looked at her with some curiosity, curious about the stew she mentioned. Dick bluntly exposed the truth and made a small joke: "Maybe boiling rabbit doesn't count as stew?" Enid's eyes widened when she heard Dick's words, and she looked at the others with a little shock.
"Doesn't that count?"
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t count,” Jason replied.
Disillusioned, Enid remarked that perhaps all she knew how to do was boil vegetables. Cassandra pondered for a moment and decided that maybe next time she could bring her some hot pot base, a suggestion Barbara agreed to.
However, when it comes to rabbit meat, no one expected that rabbit meat would actually make its way into the market.
A huge tiger slowly walked over, and everyone's vigilance instantly went on high alert. Only Enid walked over without a care in the world. Cassandra wanted to stop it, but Dick stopped her. So she watched as the tiger tried to rub against Enid in a somewhat coquettish manner, then left behind a large, muscular rabbit and went away.
"She was worried we wouldn't have enough meat, so..."
"Don't worry, Miss Fia. Mr. Tiger's kindness won't be wasted, right, sir?"
"Hmm, that's right."
Although they had seen each other on calls and video chats, Jason and Cassandra, seeing the real scene for the first time, couldn't help but marvel at how Druids interacted with animals in such a way. Meanwhile, Alfred had quickly taken in the rabbit and was teaching the vine butler Enid had given him how to care for it.
He learns very quickly.
The camping trip ended quickly.
After the barbecue ended, everyone dispersed to different corners to rest. Enid quietly tugged at Radick's sleeve. Radick glanced at the others and, since no one else noticed, slipped away with Enid. But the next second after they left, the others noticed with curiosity, but quickly looked away. After all, they needed to have some time alone together, right?
Dick almost thought she was going on a date with him, but his joy lasted only a few seconds before he saw the serious expression on her face. He also tried to suppress his other emotions and stared at her.
“Brother… could you come with me somewhere?” Enid met Dick’s gentle gaze, biting her lower lip. She wasn’t afraid, she just needed some courage, the courage to face it. “Could you come with me to my mother’s grave?”
The reconstruction of Saint Lin was finally completed, and she should go and pay her respects to her mother. From childhood to adulthood, her mother was the most vivid memory she had. But now, a month had passed, and she understood that it was time to wake up. Some things don't disappear just because you don't look at them or think about them. Besides, she remembered that she still had something to give to her father. But all she really needed was a little courage.
Dick gently stroked the top of her head and quietly brushed away the spices from it, granting her request as a matter of course.
"Of course, you can go anywhere, I'll go with you."
His voice was so gentle, like the quiet spring breeze, so still and silent, that it made her heart flutter. Enid seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to speak, and could only tug at his sleeve tightly, while her steps continued in the predetermined direction. Dick simply watched her and followed her.
All around them were the sounds of the wind and falling leaves. Amidst the undulating growth of all things, they passed over the newly sprouting tree roots and the slightly damp grass. By the empty lake, he could only see a clear teardrop and the snow orchids striving towards the sun.
The snow orchid was still struggling to survive the storm, its translucent petals as beautiful as when it first appeared. Enid released Dick and crouched down. With her hands, she dug out a small red box from the soil not far from the base of the flower.
“This is the flower my mother most wanted to see before she died, so I planted it here. Archdruids don’t have tombstones; after death, their souls return to the sacred forest, and their bodies turn to dust.”
She paused for a moment, gently stroking the soil on the red box to make the runes on it clearer, before standing up and holding the red box up for Dick to see.
"This contains a letter that my mother left for my father. I don't know what it says. I couldn't get it during the storm. Now that I have time, I plan to return it to my father. But I hope he can tell me what it says."
Enid tried to keep her tone light and not too jarring, and Dick guessed it too, so he deliberately acted relaxed and even winked at her: "That's obviously unlikely, Bruce probably won't tell you what's written in there."
Upon hearing this, Enid looked somewhat disappointed, puffing out her cheeks to show her disbelief.
"How about we make a bet? What if we lose..."
"The loser must grant the winner one request?"
"Okay, it's a deal."
A note from the author:
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The contents of the letter... are uncertain. I'm not sure if it will appear in the next chapter. There might be a part of it, but the beginning is Mary Reid apologizing to Bruce, saying she shouldn't have spoken ill of him in front of her daughter, etc. There won't be any romantic subplot. Mary Reid's letter is purely an apology, along with some prophecies. Yes, just like Dick said, Dad definitely won't tell everyone the contents of the letter, so don't get your hopes up. You'll find out when I get to that part of the story.
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