Chapter 40: Making Sauce with Salt‑Yezi Grass

She knows Ying is very brave; does he really have no measures? She asks this also to probe how many traps Ying's tribe has, so they might be useful when escaping later.

"Of course there are. Dashan brought many people to scout the tribe; we have secret traps everywhere. As long as anyone from the Rongdi Tribe dares to come, we'll let them die here."

Hearing this, Nan Qinghuan doesn't ask further, fearing Ying would suspect; she has realized these savages indeed live in groups, eat poorly, but they are very intelligent—none of them is stupid.

For example, the Ying right in front of her.

Ying sees that she stops asking, then steps forward and hands her the roasted beast heart, "Eat, it's cooked."

She isn't very hungry; her eyes look at the scar on his leg, "Your leg is still wounded; may I treat it first?"

Ying's legs are covered in dark leg hair, yet blood keeps flowing down, which leaves Nan Qinghuan a bit helpless—does this man not feel pain? Ying initially wanted to say the small wound is fine, but when he sees Nan Qinghuan has brought some unfamiliar items, he becomes wary, "What is this?"

"It's Yunnan Baiyao ointment, do you remember? In the Forest I used a spray to treat you."

Ying recalls the first time they met when she treated his wound; at that moment he decided to bring her back, noting that the female's eyes were very beautiful.

Fortunately the wound isn't deep; Ying's body is strong, a bit of medicine will heal it. Her small hand gently touches his legs, bringing an odd sensation.

After applying it, Ying suddenly reaches out and grabs her arm, his breath a little unsteady.

"What are you doing?"

This makes Nan Qinghuan's heart tighten; could the man be thinking again… Ying sees her frightened and feels uneasy, gently releases her hand, "Thank you for treating the tribe's wounds."

The words surprise Nan Qinghuan; Ying says thank you? "No need to be formal, saving lives and treating injuries is a doctor's duty."

"Doctor?"

Ying naturally doesn't understand what a doctor is; seeing Nan Qinghuan's obedient demeanor, he recalls her leading him up the mountain to rescue people, "Huaner saved the tribe, how could she be a spy?"

Hearing this, Nan Qinghuan's face darkens, her grip on the ointment tightens slightly; indeed, the man still doesn't trust her.

She puts the ointment down and stuffs it into the bag she brought; indeed, that day he only tried to scare her, the bag wasn't burned, and all her survival tools are inside, which will be useful when escaping later.

"Huaner, eat the meat."

He hands her the beast heart, but she truly doesn't want to eat it; glancing at the raw meat in his hand, "May I eat the meat in your hand?"

"You want to eat meat?"

Because she said she wanted meat, Ying roasted a rabbit, oil sizzling and bubbling; though it had little seasoning, it was the most primal meat aroma.

"Huaner, you eat."

After saying that, he actually grabbed a fruit nearby, wiped it on a leaf and put it in his mouth. Seeing him hand the meat to her while he ate the fruit made her feel a little guilty, "Don't eat the fruit, eat the meat; I can't eat this rabbit?"

Ying just smiled, "Eat, eat more, get fat, that's good…"

He didn't utter the following phrase about bearing offspring; he noticed Nan Qinghuan strongly resists the idea of bearing offspring. He knows what she's thinking, that she constantly wants to escape, but once she becomes his female, she'll never escape in this life!

Nan Qinghuan knows what he meant, and instantly loses her appetite, "Having offspring, having offspring."

"Having a baby!"

Her stomach is growling now, but this flavorless meat is truly terrible to eat.

She had considered using the Plane Mall to buy things, but the first tier of the Plane Mall had already been claimed by her for medicines, so she can no longer seek its help. To live better in these ancient days, she must rely on her own hands to secure food and clothing.

"Is there any Salt here?"

"Salt?"

Ying indicates he doesn't understand, "What is salt?"

Nan Qinghuan looks up at the sky speechlessly, "Fine, it's like a chicken talking to a duck."

Suddenly a bright glint flashes in her eyes, "Ah, I have a way to get flavor."

After speaking, she stands to go outside, but Ying sees her about to leave and immediately blocks her, "Huaner, where are you going?"

Nan Qinghuan sees him staring at her so intently, she pouts a bit angrily, "Can't I just stay at the entrance?"

"What are you looking for? I'll help you."

"How can you help when you don't even know me?"

Ying looks a bit embarrassed, scratches his head, "Then I'll go with you."

Nan Qinghuan didn't go elsewhere; she went to the forest outside the cave, and on her return she saw pepper and a kind of leaf called salt‑skin wood—these are the best seasonings.

"Ying, that's enough."

Ying is a savage; the task of climbing trees to pick leaves and pepper naturally fell to him. Soon, Nan Qinghuan washed the crisp pepper and salt leaves clean, then found a clean stone to crush the pepper and salt leaves.

It must be said, there truly is nothing here; the only thing in Ying's cave is a natural stone pot, nothing else. Savages eat with their mouths, smash things with stone axes and rocks; everything is that primitive.

Nan Qinghuan found a stone and began pounding; Ying watched beside her, puzzled, "Huaner, what's this for?"

He is the chief, naturally quick to learn, and knows Nan Qinghuan wouldn't let him handle those leaves and little fruits without reason.

"You haven't seen it, have you? This green thing is called pepper; it's a seasoning, numbing and a bit spicy, indispensable for grilling. This leaf is called salt leaf; crush it and it becomes salty."

"Salty taste?"

Ying has never known what salty taste is; seeing Nan Qinghuan has finished, she carefully places the pepper sauce and leaf sauce onto a clean leaf.

Ying stands nearby, watching her work; he truly doesn't understand why she makes food so complicated, "Huaner, is eating something this complicated?"

"This isn't complicated; eating should have a sense of ceremony, even in this cave we must bring out flavor."

Nan Qinghuan knows he doesn't understand and doesn't want to explain; then she pulls a Fruit Knife from her bag, and at that moment Ying instantly grabs her arm, "What are you doing?"

She startles, quickly soothing him, "I just want to cut rabbit meat?"

Seeing Ying's wary eyes, the gratitude that had just risen in her heart instantly vanished; indeed, this man is constantly on guard against her.

Ying isn't afraid she'll hurt him; he fears she'll use this to escape. He once saw Nan Qinghuan kill that Giant Python with this knife; her slaying the python was something he could never forget—such a bold female exists in this world.

"I'll do it."