“In fact, I did do something.”

Xia Xiao looked at Azhu, waiting for her next shocking words.

"Look, we had four barbecues in total and went to the restaurant five times..."

Ah Zhu recalled it, licked his lips, and his face was full of enjoyment, as if he was still at the barbecue table, eating barbecue and seafood. Xia Xiao knew that she was going to talk about this kind of thing, so he symbolically raised the corner of his mouth, then leaned against the round window, looking at the sea outside the window, startled the seagulls inside and lost their direction.

If he recalled carefully, Xia Xiao really felt that he did nothing, not even walking a few more streets or visiting a few more shops like he did in Yu Valley. Although he went to the Dragon Palace, he was only wounded. The unknown pearl was the only gain, and the rest were only medicine jars, medicine bowls, and medicine incense.

"What are you thinking about?"

Ah Zhu asked Xia Xiao, he lay flat on his back and said lazily:

"sleep."

"You are such a pig, how dare you say that to me."

Ah Zhu's voice was very soft, but it could not escape Xia Xiao's ears. But he did not answer. He never minded how others looked at him, and he was too lazy to explain. When Ah Zhu was sleeping, he got up to wash the medicine pots and bowls, tidied up his things, and prepared some food.

Because she got up early, Ah Zhu also slept for a while. She was a real pig, but when she woke up, she was bored and fiddled with her long legs. Ah Zhu made her legs stick straight against the wall and admired them repeatedly. They were straight, long, and white, and her little face was perfect. Ah Zhu was silly and happy, but she felt strange when she thought that she couldn't attract Xia Xiao.

“You really have no vision.”

Ah Zhu muttered, and stretched her legs straight to her abdomen. She simply thought it was fun, but when the ship completely left the port and stumbled in the waves, her head hit the ground with a dull sound.

Ah Zhu's leg kicked Xia Xiao's chest, waking him up. He glanced at Ah Zhu who had turned over, and stood up with a calm expression.

"I was wrong."

Ah Zhu apologized first, but Xia Xiao just opened his backpack and reached in. Was he going to draw his machete? Ah Zhu quickly spread out the bed sheet and quilt that he had dragged off the bed, and sat on it quietly, as if he was sure that he would not make any more noise.

"If you have food, be content."

He took out two bags of dried fish, both of which tasted spicy. Ah Zhu drooled at the sight.

“When did you buy it?”

"In the morning when you're sleeping."

Ah Zhu blushed, but Xia Xiao lay down again, wanting to sleep for a while. Ah Zhu doesn't get seasick anyway, so he eats when he's fine, and sleeps when he's full, which is the easiest way to worry about. Someone who has a clear preference is the easiest to coax, especially Ah Zhu.

After eating a small fish, Ah Zhu licked her fingers and began to sense the vital energy. She was about to pass the sense and enter the path of walking. Ah Zhu remembered that her master had said that as long as she entered the path of walking, she would be able to use the vital energy.

Ah Zhu, who practiced hard, made Xia Xiao, who had just woken up, say "oh yo", and also formed a seal. He gathered a lot of vitality, and the fluctuations of vitality that Ah Zhu sensed were even greater. After several times, Ah Zhu was able to use the vitality. She carefully clasped her hands together, like protecting a little bird that couldn't fly yet.

"Let me show you the results of my practice."

Xia Xiao raised her chin and told Ah Zhu to start quickly. She opened her hands mysteriously and slowly opened them, fearing to startle the little thing inside. Ah Zhu had calluses on her fingers, and even though she had peeled off several layers of skin when she was anxious and bored, it was still very obvious.

The open palm is like a small mouth with a ball of colorless air inside. They gather together, like water held in the palm of the hand, but lighter than water.

"Yes, you are on your way. Once you can use more energy than this room can handle, you can try to condense an energy seed."

"yeah!"

Ah Zhu raised his chin with great pride and said with a smile:

"I'm almost catching up with you."

"It's still a long way off, but if you put in the effort you put into eating, it might be quick."

"You can't become fat in one bite!"

"You can eat it all in one meal."

Ah Zhu clenched her fist, but Xia Xiao turned her head and gave her a look that seemed like a threat. If she dared to make a move, Xia Xiao would let her experience what cruelty was. Forced by the threat? Ah Zhu just snorted, shook her hair when she turned her head, and put on an expression of indifference.

The ship kept moving northward, and the weather was getting colder. Xia Xiao didn't need to cover himself with a blanket at first, just like when he slept in Haikou, and he gradually covered himself, first his stomach, then half of his body, and finally wrapped himself tightly, like a silkworm.

This change in temperature made Xia Xiao realize that it was only the end of winter, and this slightly cool feeling made him feel quite comfortable. A little colder was always better than a little hotter.

Because southerners rarely sail far, even if the ship went north at this time, it would not reach Goulong Bangshi. Therefore, Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang took advantage of the ship stopping four days later and entered the vast grassland of the barbarians. And this ship will continue to move forward, heading to the northern extreme ice land to find extremely precious ice stones and return to the country to exchange for towns and cities. But no matter how precious the things are, they are not as important as Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang's goals.

Carrying a bag and walking on the grassland, Xia Xiao repeated what he had said several times.

"This grassland is very vast, and we have no choice but to walk all the way. There are few shops and vendors on this road, so we can only hunt the creatures on the grassland or eat dry food. We have no choice but to move forward. It's either life or death."

Ah Zhu was not at all squeamish. He guaranteed that the trip would not be delayed, and then asked about things on the grassland.

"What is there to eat on the grassland?"

"It's hard to say about other things, but there must be rabbits."

“Is rabbit delicious?”

"Can you eat something so cute?"

Xia Xiao teased her deliberately and talked to her, so that the road could become shorter.

"It's cute, but life is more important. Grandma said we can roast the rabbit meat, but we don't have any salt."

"Yes."

Xia Xiao patted his backpack, which drew a round of praise from Ah Zhu.

"Great, that's all taken into consideration, but chili powder and cumin would be even better."

Xia Xiao said that there were some, and Ah Zhu got excited and shouted that she wanted to catch rabbits. Catching rabbits requires skills. Although she had never tried it, her grandmother said that you must set traps to catch those clever guys, otherwise you can't catch them. She wanted to try, looking around, looking for the target. But these places will be passed by them, and they will never come back, so Xia Xiao said:

"You'd better save some energy for walking. When you get hungry, I'll catch you."

"What if we can't catch it?"

"Then eat something else."

"What?"

"Horse thief."

Ah Zhu had heard this term before. It probably refers to robbers on horseback. But they are also human beings. They can't be eaten, right? Ah Zhu's questioning tone made Xia Xiao laugh. Horse thieves can't be eaten, but their food can be eaten. There is never a shortage of horse thieves in this barbarian grassland. They are a specialty here. Whether big or small, they can give them a good meal when they are in trouble in the future.

"It's good to meet them now. We can steal two horses."

Ah Zhu muttered a few words and exhaled two puffs of cold air. Haikou and the South were experiencing spring, and even approaching summer, but the Goulongbang clan in the north were still living in winter. Fortunately, winter was almost over, and their movements would be more convenient.

After walking for several days, Xia Xiao and A Zhu finally ate rabbits and encountered a group of poor horse thieves. The status of these horse thieves was too low, and they only had two inferior horses. They could not run fast, and they had to rest every two hours, otherwise they would fall to the ground and twitch. But even if it was slower, it was faster than walking, so Xia Xiao and A Zhu rode all the way and tied them to an erected wooden stake.

The inferior horse was eating grass, while Xia Xiao and Ah Zhu ate dry food. Although it was just some coarse food, Ah Zhu finished half a cake and smiled at Xia Xiao.

"This is the last piece. If we eat it, we will have no more dry food."

Xia Xiao tore off half of his cake and handed it to Ah Zhu, but she refused to take it. Xia Xiao said it was okay, but Ah Zhu kept saying:

"You must eat well. We still need you to fight the horse thieves."

The wood and vines rolled up to form a small house. Xia Xiao and Ah Zhu wrapped themselves in clothes and curled up inside. Although it was a bit cold to sleep like this, it was better than sleeping outdoors.

That day, Azhu, who never got up at night, woke up. She looked at Xia Xiao beside her, but there was no one there.

Pulling aside the curtain made of leaves, Ah Zhu poked his head out, and asked Xia Xiao when he saw him.

"What are you doing?"

“Look at the scenery.”

Ah Zhu wrapped himself in clothes and sat down next to Xia Xiao. It was pitch black all around, and the only way to see the scenery was to look up at the sky.