Chapter 17
After deciding what to do next, they began dividing into groups to gather supplies. Although Xia En's group hadn't explicitly stated they were a team, they'd been traveling together for so long that they were practically one. When assigning tasks, they were included.
The fourteen people were divided into three groups: one group looking for food, one group looking for herbs, and one group looking for water. The group looking for water had the fewest people, only three, while the group looking for herbs had four. The group looking for food had the most people, six people divided into two groups, and two people sat at the bridgehead to guard.
The ones on guard were my younger sister and An Shunan. An Shunan was an Olympic shooter and a very good shooter. My younger sister was left behind because of a foot problem. As long as the blisters on her feet heal, she won't get blisters so easily when traveling again because her skin is thicker.
Chu Huaiqin was in a group with Su Huaichen and Xia En, responsible for finding food. Although there were only three of them, Chu Huaiqin wasn't very helpful. April in the south was already very hot, and the forests here were slightly scarcer than those there. Without the lush foliage to provide a barrier, the ground temperature dropped, and Chu Huaiqin was practically half-dead.
He wore a straw hat, sweat dripping down his face, and walked like a little old man, supported by a cane. Xia En followed behind him, carrying a brace on his back, staring at Chu Huaiqin with dark eyes, his emotion undetectable.
"I second a comment that appeared the other day: Chu Huaiqin is definitely a creature with fangs."
"Ahhh, so exciting. Chu Huaiqin's face, even if he's a vampire, is definitely that of a young master."
"Xia En has the same cold expression as always. How unhappy must his life be? He acts like everyone owes him a million dollars every day."
"I think he's quite kindhearted. Luckily he caught Chu Huaiqin on the iron chain bridge. He's following Chu Huaiqin like this now, probably because he's afraid he'll faint!"
"Speaking of which, I still haven't figured out why Chu Huaiqin almost fell off the iron chain bridge!"
The live broadcast room sighed, thinking that even if Chu Huaiqin performed well, the international competition would be in July and August. Looking at his current state, he would only be beaten. There was still no hope for this year's international competition! It was sad to think about it.
"What is that?" Chu Huaiqin narrowed his eyes slightly and pointed his trembling finger towards a place not far away.
"It's a banana." Xia En also discovered it.
"Let's go quickly." As Su Huaichen finished speaking, everyone rushed over together, completely different from the way they walked just a little better than Chu Huaiqin just now.
But it's almost noon now, and I haven't had breakfast yet. I've been standing on the suspension bridge for more than an hour. Seeing bananas is like seeing beautiful women. There's nothing strange about it.
This is how the live broadcast room commented on Su Huaichen's behavior.
Su Huaichen first ran to the banana tree but couldn't climb up. Standing under the tree, facing the sun, he looked at the bananas hanging three or four meters high. His eyes were red from the sun, but he didn't want to look away. He raised his voice and said to Chu Huaiqin who was still lingering behind him, "Huaiqin, what do you think we should do?"
Su Huaichen licked his lips, picked up the water hanging around his waist and took a sip, then put the cork back on his waist and hit it against the dagger with a clang. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. His shirt and black pants were wrinkled into a ball. Now there was a load on Su Huaichen's shoulders, and he could be a porter. There was no trace of his former handsome face like the bright moon.
Chu Huaiqin and Xia Entang arrived one after another, but Chu Huaiqin didn't go any closer. Instead, he leaned against a tree to rest. Xia Entang walked under the banana tree and squinted, estimating the distance. He turned back and stared at Chu Huaiqin, frowning and saying, "I'll go up and pick them. You, you just rest here."
He walked over to Chu Huaiqin and thrust his handkerchief into his hand. His eyes swept over his soaked chest, his brows furrowed in knots, but he said nothing. He returned to the banana tree, rubbing his hands. With a sullen expression, he pondered how to jump up. He paced the ground, his feet stomping back and forth. It was unclear if this was a natural movement he made when thinking, or if it was because Chu Huaiqin was staring at him, making him uneasy. But then the livestream went wild. Everyone watched as fingernail-sized ants crawled from the grass onto his shoes and then into his pants. Xia Entang, still looking like a domineering CEO, crossed his arms and stared at the tree...
"Fuck, Xia En, you've disturbed their lair."
"Ahhh, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming with a bunch of disciples, run!"
"No, let me ask you, Director Xia, you could either jump up and climb the tree or step back. Why are you standing at someone's door? Didn't you see the loose soil in the grass?"
"Oh, Xia En, stop looking at the banana. There are countless ants on your feet. These ants are very poisonous."
"Oh my god, help me, I have intensive phobia, ahhhh, I can't take it anymore, the little ones are crawling in a group, vomit, I want to vomit."
"I'm going to switch to a different frequency too. I can't stand it anymore."
"Bullet screen protection, begging for a pair of eyes that have never seen an ant."
Countless comments swiped through the livestream, densely packed like ants beneath Xia En's feet. At this moment, Xia En finally moved. He reached out through his pants and scratched his knees, then his thighs, then his heels. Frowning, he muttered, "Why is it a little itchy?"
"Xia, Xia, Xia Entang, you, your feet," Su Huaichen, who was standing closer to Xia Entang, finally saw the figure of the ant from Xia Entang's black shoes and black pants, but he stared with wide eyes and couldn't say anything. He just pointed at his legs and kept backing away and shivering.
"What's wrong?" Xia Entang glanced at Su Huaichen and lowered his head. In an instant, his pupils were about to burst. Then Xia Entang did something that was beyond everyone's control. He screamed and jumped three feet high. "Oh, ah, ant, brother, brother... Damn, it hurts..."
When Xia En jumped up and came down, he happened to step on an ant nest. He was so frightened that he stamped a few times and rushed out of the ant nest. Single words kept popping out of his mouth. He instinctively slapped his hands on both sides of his pants, trying to shake the ants off, but to his surprise, the more he slapped, the more ants appeared. Xia En's face was twisted into a hideous shape, and his eyes were red...
"Hurry, take off your pants," Chu Huaiqin, who was panting against a tree, stood up immediately. With a fierce momentum, he threw his crutches and rushed over to grab Xia En, who was still jumping. "Hurry, take off..."
Chu Huaiqin was also shocked. Wild ants are not like domestic ants. Some of them are very toxic.
When Xia En heard Chu Huaiqin's words, he frantically put his hands on his waistband to unbuckle his belt, but his hands were shaking, and the more he tried to unbuckle, the more messed up he became. "I'm scared, brother, please, please, ah, it hurts..."
"Calm down, don't move," Chu Huaiqin pushed Xia En's hand away, and moved his hand quickly around his waist. With a clang, his trousers were exposed to the ground, and the live broadcast room was mosaiced at this time.
Through the half-body mosaic in the live broadcast room, Xia Entang was seen swinging his legs constantly and clapping his hands randomly. He almost cried when he heard the sound. After finally cleaning his pants and shoes, Chu Huaiqin pulled him to the open space and used a handkerchief to shake the ants off his legs. Before he could catch his breath, Xia Entang suddenly screamed, and then his face turned red and he cried.
Live broadcast room: ...
"Crying? Really crying?"
"Are you afraid of ants? I'm afraid of them too. A few of them are okay, but when a swarm of them comes, it's deadly."
"Well, even though Xia Entropy has a high IQ and is studying for a master's degree, he's only twenty years old. Ordinary people would still be sophomores. Hahaha, that's understandable."
"He's not even twenty, is he? I've seen his profile, and his birthday is still a few months away. He's only nineteen, so he's still quite a boy."
"Well, I see it but don't say it."
"Are you okay?" Su Huaichen picked up Xia En's pants and shoes with a wooden stick and threw them to the ground. He slapped his pants with the stick to drive away the ants, while looking at Xia En's sympathy. The ants were so scary. Now Xia En's long legs were covered with lumps, red and swollen.
"It's okay." Xia En gritted his teeth and wiped his face vigorously, forcing back the tears. He put his hand on his leg, wanting to scratch it, but something reminded him and he pulled it back. But it was still itchy and painful, and remembering that he was still live streaming, Xia En's tears flowed again.
"Don't be afraid, the production team will mosaic it." Chu Huaiqin finished speaking and glanced at the drone. The technician who was controlling the drone in the back shook his hands and nodded repeatedly. Since Chu Huaiqin couldn't see, the pressure of this look was also very scary.
"I'm not afraid." Xia En suddenly woke up after hearing Chu Huaiqin's words. Thinking of his current situation, he quickly bent down to pick up his pants on the ground. Seeing the ants still crawling on them, his whole body began to itch again.
"Don't wear it. I don't know if there are still ants in it." Chu Huaiqin grabbed his trousers and hung them on a branch, and asked Su Huaichen to go back to the camp to help Xia En find a pair of trousers and shoes.
Su Huaichen nodded in agreement and ran away with a stick. Chu Huaiqin saw Xia En's hand reaching towards his thigh and then retracting it. He frowned and stared at his leg, as if he wanted to scrape off the flesh.
Chu Huaiqin looked around and said to Xia En, "Wait here. I'll be back soon."
Xia En suddenly stood up and asked anxiously, "Where are you going?"
"Go and see if there's any Five Elements Grass."
"What is that?"
"Five Elements Grass is also called Ant Grass. Applying it to ant bites can relieve pain and itching."
"I'm going too."
"Stop it."
Chu Huaiqin said sternly, turning and walking away. Xia Energ froze, taking a step forward and then retracting it. He stared at the direction Chu Huaiqin had disappeared, his hands clenched at his sides until they ached.
"Ahhh, I can't stand Xia En's gaze. He's like an abandoned little wolfhound."
"You look so aggrieved, with tears of sorrow."
"If there's nothing going on between Xia Entang and Chu Huaiqin, I'll eat the keyboard."
"Please, let Xia En go. Everyone wants to get involved. First An Manrou, then Shao Tai, and now Chu Huaiqin?"
"That's right, Brother Xia Entropy only asked Chu Huaiqin for help because he was afraid of the ants. Don't pair them up for everything."
"Haha, what a joke. Everyone can see it. Who is clinging to whom? My brother belongs to us. Thank you. Take him away without making any appointment."
"Xia En's new fans, please behave yourself! Do they even know there are fans like you? Do you really think we're blind?"
"Just wait and see. Xia Entropy will slap them in the face sooner or later."
Xia Entang's followers surged after his identity was revealed, and they were all new. Before, people like An Manrou and Shao Tai didn't need them to fight; Xia Entang himself didn't even bother them. Besides their sneering comments in the comments, no one paid any attention. As for Chu Huaiqin, everyone clearly saw that Xia Entang was at fault, yet they were openly throwing mud at him. The fans of the "Wild Survival" group weren't happy about this. So far, Chu Huaiqin was one of the members they had pushed to compete in international competitions.
Amidst the clamor in the livestream, Chu Huaiqin quickly returned, carrying a piece of Five Elements Herb with white and green leaves. He picked two relatively flat stones, washed them with water from a bamboo tube, placed the herb on them, crushed it, and applied it to Xia En's legs, rubbing it in a layer.
The livestream couldn't see the application of the medicine, but after seeing Xia En's gloomy expression soften, they knew the herb was effective. Everyone couldn't help but wonder what was going on with Chu Huaiqin and why he even knew about the herb.
After applying the medicine, Su Huaichen arrived with his pants and shoes. After changing into them, the three of them once again focused on the bananas. With food now scarce, they couldn't let go. Chu Huaiqin's gaze was sharp, his momentum terrifying. Three daggers whizzed up and hit the banana stems directly. When they landed with a thud, everyone's eyes turned to Xia Entang, sympathy, sympathy...
Why do you have to suffer like this?
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