Chapter 45 - The Third Evening (2/2)

“That’s right.” Long Yuehong’s expression relaxed. Long Yuehong then hesitated before saying, “But is this considered hunting?”

“Considering the goal, it definitely counts,” Shang Jianyao replied casually. “The only problem is how far we have to go to find fish.”

“…Why don’t we hunt other animals while we’re at it?” Long Yuehong suddenly had a strange thought. “Shang Jianyao, do you think you can use your Inference Clowning ability to lure prey over?”

Shang Jianyao sized up Long Yuehong. “First, you have to make them understand me. Second, you have to make them stop and listen to me.”

“…That’s true.” Long Yuehong opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask something, but he didn’t say anything in the end. He thought for a moment and said, “We can’t hunt blindly. Let’s consult Bai Chen first.”

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao didn’t mind. He turned around and walked toward the jeep, which was near the bonfire.

Long Yuehong stared at his back and fell silent for two seconds before gently sighing.

After approaching the jeep, Shang Jianyao asked frankly, “Bai Chen, where will there be prey nearby?”

Bai Chen pointed at the sparse trees. “You can head there to take a look. There should be rabbits. You have to pay attention when distinguishing footprints and feces…”

She briefly talked about the trick to hunting rabbits before saying, “If you were an ordinary person, I would suggest setting up traps and using tools. However, you have a certain level of marksmanship. You just need to maintain your calm and not panic.”

“Okay.” Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao immediately felt a little anticipation.

…

An hour later, while the sun’s rays were weakening, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong returned to the bonfire with ashen faces.

The former held a grayish-white hare in his hand with blood dripping down.

Jiang Baimian—who was warming herself by the fire—stood up. “You guys took so long to capture only one rabbit?”

“Rabbits are too sensitive. They run fast and have many holes…” Long Yuehong wore a stumped expression.

Jiang Baimian smiled and finished the sentence for him. “Besides, too many people passed by the area today, startling the rabbits. Therefore, they are even harder to catch.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Long Yuehong hurriedly replied.

Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and said, “We underestimated rabbits too much and thought that we could capture them easily.”

“Not bad. With the experience this time, it’ll be easier in the future.” Jiang Baimian pointed at the bonfire. “Remove its fur, drain the blood, and roast it.”

The rabbit was soon strung up on a relatively thick branch and was roasted over the crimson fire.

From time to time, Bai Chen sprinkled salt on the rabbit, making its surface gradually turn golden. It also gave off a fragrance that Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong had never smelled before.

“It seems to be very delicious…” Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao said in unison.

Jiang Baimian smiled and shook her head. “I can only say that we’ll make do. There’s no oil for basting, no spices for sprinkling, and rabbit meat is relatively tough. Thus, just make do with it.”

“How extravagant,” replied Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong subconsciously. It was such a waste to use oil to baste the meat when roasting!

Jiang Baimian kept staring at the small rabbit and didn’t look up. “Sometimes, we can only finish a portion on the spot when we don’t have a container to hold the oil that seeps out. In the wilderness, you have to know how to adapt to the environment.”

Just as Jiang Baimian said that, she suddenly glanced at the side of the small mound. “Two people are coming over.”

Long Yuehong—who was guarding the surroundings—immediately raised his Berserker assault rifle’s muzzle.

Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen looked over as well.

A few minutes later, they saw the two people.

It was a man-woman duo. The former was less than 1.8 meters tall and in his forties. He had long black hair and a very elegant beard that circled his mouth. Even though he was almost middle-aged, it was easy to tell that he used to be a handsome man.

The woman was about 1.7 meters tall, had blond hair, blue eyes, and deep facial features. She was very beautiful.

What they had in common was that they both wore loose, rarely-seen robes. One was black, and the other was grayish-blue. The latter had all kinds of strange and abstract symbols on its surface.

Jiang Baimian raised her eyebrows and asked loudly, “What are the two of you doing here?”

The blond-haired, blue-eyed woman in the grayish-blue robe immediately stopped in her tracks. She wrapped her left hand around her right hand and raised it to her eyebrows before bowing. “The Celestial Worthy of Immeasurable for Blessings.”

She used a perfectly accented language of the Ashlands, not the Red River language that was expected of her appearance.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, “I don’t know her well. I caught a whiff of the fragrance shortly after we met, so I came over to try my luck and see if anyone would be kind enough.”

“But there’s no way to be kind.” Jiang Baimian calmly pointed at the small rabbit by the bonfire.

“Since we’ve encountered each other, isn’t it good for everyone to have a chat?” The middle-aged man maintained his smile. “I’m not tooting my own horn, but everyone I’ve met has praised me for being knowledgeable.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baimian signaled Shang Jianyao and the others to keep their guard up. She then smiled and said, “Alright.”