Chapter 78: with translation of chapter title

Ning Jinli's tears were like broken pearls, large drops falling down.

Xiao Qidi had never encountered this situation before; he was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Seeing Ning Jinli cry harder and harder, she was almost out of breath.

Xiao Qidi's heart clenched as well; in his panic he sat beside her, grabbed her in an embrace, and held her tightly.

Was this the first time he had initiated a hug?

But it was the first time while she was awake.

Ning Jinli was stunned by his sudden move; after all, in her understanding, given Xiao Qidi's personality, how could he possibly comfort someone with a hug?

"Little brother, you…" Ning Jinli blinked, looking up at the handsome face near her nose.

Too close to focus, she could barely make out his appearance.

Even though it was blurry, his face was still handsome beyond words.

A strong masculine aura enveloped Ning Jinli at that moment, instantly blanking her mind and making her heart race.

Xiao Qidi inexplicably grew tense, his whole body tightening.

Seeing Ning Jinli's shocked reaction, he thought he had been rash, quickly let go, turned his head, and said, "Sorry, Miss Ning, I offended you… I…"

Ning Jinli saw his ears quickly turning red.

Then his neck and jawline, spreading across his whole face.

Seeing his flustered, nervous state, Ning Jinli laughed through tears, lightly leaning against his chest, "Will you only hold me this once?"

Xiao Qidi stared for a moment, then tightened his hold on her shoulders.

Ning Jinli slowly closed her eyes, feeling the safety from Xiao Qidi's broad chest and strong arms.

Even though he said nothing, her negative emotions gradually faded; her heart remained fast, yet her whole body seemed to completely relax at that moment.

Time passed second by second.

Ning Jinli didn't move, and Xiao Qidi kept his shoulders tense, not daring to shift.

After a while longer.

Only then did Xiao Qidi gradually adapt from his extreme tension; lowering his head, he saw Ning Jinli asleep.

Her head curled up in his arms like a cat.

Her delicate, exquisite face bore a blush more beautiful than the evening glow.

On her long, dense lashes hung tiny crystal tears.

This left Xiao Qidi dazed.

Swish… swish…

Outside, rain suddenly began to fall; the sky darkened gradually, and a haze lay beyond the cave mouth.

The dense patter of rain and the faint crackle of the fire inside the cave intertwined, making everything around seem even quieter.

Xiao Qidi carefully loosened one arm, picked up the raincoat he had woven from grass and leaves nearby, and gently draped it over Ning Jinli.

Then he sat still, continuing to hold her quietly.

Xiao Qidi also gradually calmed and relaxed, his heart as if surrounded by a warmth he had never known.

Although he once again wished time could stop at this moment.

Yet he felt time was passing even faster.

Unnoticed, day passed and night fell.

Ning Jinli had previously exhausted too much energy and strength; this time, after finally achieving mental and physical relaxation, she slept more soundly than ever, showing no sign of waking.

Soon it was deep into the night, and the rain finally stopped.

Because of the heavy rain, the thick fog had largely dissipated, even allowing moonlight to be seen spilling onto the cave entrance.

Xiao Qidi hated to release his embrace, but he judged the time was about right and he still had an important matter to attend to.

So he gently laid Ning Jinli down, covered her with his outer garment as a blanket, then added another layer of the raincoat to ensure she wouldn't get cold.

Next, he left the cave.

The hazy moonlight stretched his tall silhouette long; under the night sky, he stepped unevenly, somewhat laboriously, toward the nearby thicket.

The burn on his waist and back had mostly healed, but this time falling into Zhuiyingjian had injured him again.

Earlier, those who had captured him had given him a drug, and when he fell he used his body to shield Ning Jinli as a buffer.

Although he fortunately landed in the river, the impact from such a height against the water surface was still extremely terrifying.

Now Xiao Qidi's physical condition is only about thirty to forty percent of normal.

When he reached the depths of the thicket, he drew a few shallow breaths.

He had intended to rest a moment, when suddenly a rustling sound came.

He immediately held his breath and focused, walking softly toward it.

Soon, a group of wild boars foraging appeared in his sight.

The group numbered more than ten.

The leading large boar was estimated to weigh over a thousand catties, terrifyingly stout, its eyes glowing green, its protruding tusks like two curved daggers.

The other boars were not as large as it, but even the smallest was estimated at six to seven hundred catties.

With such a pack of fierce beasts, even at Xiao Qidi's peak condition he would not dare provoke them barehanded.

But now he decided to capture one.

In the thicket, a dozen or so wild boars walked while foraging, turning the ground they passed into a mess, sparing neither tender shrub leaves nor underground roots and stems.

Occasionally a mouse or rabbit hiding in a burrow would be startled out and swallowed whole by a boar.

The crunching chewing sounds were especially eerie in the night.

Xiao Qidi hid in the shadows, tracking and observing, and picked up two handy long sticks, sharpening one end as much as possible.

This is the weapon he could find.

After patiently watching for a while, finally a somewhat smaller wild boar ended up alone.

Xiao Qidi went around to the rear, approached stealthily, then, like throwing a spear, he forcefully threw a wrist-thick wooden stick over.

Swish—

The stick tore through the air and accurately struck the wild boar's neck.

The wild boar let out a yell, jumped up, shaking its head and charging wildly.

The stick that had just been stuck in its neck was flung away by it in a couple of motions, obviously not suffering a fatal injury.

Xiao Qidi secretly regretted it.

If it weren't for his current poor stamina, even with a sharpened ordinary wooden stick he would have been confident of heavily wounding that wild boar in one blow.

That wild boar panicked and scattered, soon frightening the entire herd.

For a moment, the thicket was trampled and rammed into utter chaos.

Xiao Qidi intended to strike again amidst the chaos; seeing that the wild boar's neck was bleeding, he knew that if he kept attacking and worsening its injury, he still had a good chance of successfully capturing it.

At that moment, the lead large wild boar let out a roar.

The sound, like a muffled thunder, instantly silenced the wild boar herd.

Next, the lead wild boar went to the injured companion, looked left and right, then scanned the surroundings.

Xiao Qidi quickly crouched and hid behind a thicket.

A wild boar capable of becoming leader not only has a large size and strong fighting ability, but also intelligence not to be underestimated.

Sure enough, after scanning around, the wild boar leader discovered that blood‑stained stick.

It extended its snout to sniff the stick; a pair of eyes glowing with faint green light swept toward Xiao Qidi's hiding place, and then it continued to sniff the scent while moving toward him.

Xiao Qidi dared not act rashly, lowered his body further, and at the same time clenched his hands around the remaining stick.

The heavy footsteps and the sound of the thicket being pushed apart drew nearer, and Xiao Qidi stared fixedly at the gap in the thicket branches ahead.

Under the hazy moonlight, that massive creature looked like a moving small hill, full of oppressive presence.

Faced with this situation, Xiao Qidi instead hoped it would come a bit closer.

Then he could thrust forward head‑on; as long as he poked its eye with the stick, he could drive it straight into the brain from the eye socket, which would be more effective than attacking other parts.

When the distance between them was less than half a zhang of thicket, Xiao Qidi had already prepared for an all‑out attack, but the wild boar leader suddenly stopped, making a gurgling sound.

Xiao Qidi instantly had a bad feeling.

However, at this distance, given his current physical condition, turning to flee would likely be too late.

Probably after just a few steps he would be struck by the wild boar leader, either dead or injured, and then be torn apart and eaten by the herd.

He could only continue to hold his breath.

Immediately, the remaining dozen or so wild boars walked to both sides, slowly closing in on his position.

Xiao Qidi was startled.

This herd of wild boars is too smart, especially the leader, which actually understands how to employ tactics; that earlier gurgling was precisely to convey commands to the other boars.

Xiao Qidi quickly glanced left and right.

The noise from the boars flanking from both sides grew louder, leaving only an opening directly behind him.

This was his last remaining chance.

Though it might be a near‑certain death, perhaps he could give it his all.

However, Xiao Qidi did not intend to do that.

He continued to hold his breath, waiting for an opportunity.

Soon, even his rear was blocked by a few wild boars.

A dozen or so wild boars emitted low growls and continued to advance on him.

Xiao Qidi held his breath and focused, estimating the distance was about right, then suddenly leapt out from the thicket, feinting a charge at the previously slightly wounded boar.

In the flash of an instant, the wild boar leader indeed took the bait, immediately spreading its four legs and roaring as it charged at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi immediately executed a reversal spear.

He fiercely stabbed the pointed end of the stick toward the wide‑open fanged maw of the wild boar leader!

Pfft—

The stick directly pierced the wild boar leader's throat, the huge impact nearly making Xiao Qidi lose his grip on the stick.

The wild boar leader had no time to slow down, and this attack only enraged it further, causing it to charge with even greater force.

Xiao Qidi forcefully pressed the stick's end downward, bracing it obliquely against the ground.

Another pfft— sounded.

A large portion of the stick's tip was thrust straight into the wild boar leader's throat.

Crack—

The tremendous impact at that moment caused this arm‑thick wooden stick to bend rapidly and then burst, breaking into several pieces!

Xiao Qidi decisively rolled on the spot to dodge.

Boom—

Accompanied by a muffled sound.

The wild boar leader's massive body collapsed with a thunderous crash.

It struggled to stand, swaying and madly charging, frightening the remaining dozen or so boars into scattering everywhere.

After a while, this massive creature finally had no strength left to move, lying on the ground with blood pouring from its mouth, wheezing heavily, while the other boars had long since vanished.

Xiao Qidi picked up a piece of the stick, walked up to it, and thrust it into its eye socket, cleanly ending its life.

Only then did Xiao Qidi finally relax.

After confirming the large wild boar was dead, he sat down, leaning against it to rest and regain his strength.

Finally, he dragged the boar to the edge of the trap Ning Jinli had set and shoved it inside.

After successfully hunting the wild boar and pushing it into the trap, having finished all that, the sky had already brightened.

Xiao Qidi hurried back to the cave with his weary body, and while Ning Jinli was still asleep, he quietly lay down beside her.

As the increasingly bright light streamed into the cave entrance, Ning Jinli finally woke up.

Seeing Xiao Qidi asleep, she piled everything covering her onto him, then hurried out of the cave.

Xiao Qidi slowly opened his eyes a slit, watching Ning Jinli's back, and the corner of his mouth twitched up: "Now Miss Ning should be pleased……"

A moment later——

"Xiao Qidi! Wake up, wake up!"

The excited shout carried far into the cave.

Immediately after, Ning Jinli rushed in, grabbed Xiao Qidi's arm and shook him, "I caught a wild boar! Come see!"

Xiao Qidi chuckled inwardly, but pretended to have just woken, slowly opening his eyes: "You really caught it?"

"Really! Don't sleep, get up quick! That boar is huge—I guarantee it'll blow your mind!" Ning Jinli laughed so hard she couldn't close her mouth, her cheeks flushed red with excitement.

Seeing her regain her usual vigor, Xiao Qidi felt warm inside.

The danger and fatigue from last night were all worth it.

Afterwards he followed Ning Jinli to the trap; her eyes sparkled, face full of pride as she pointed at the pit: "Look, a huge boar!"

Xiao Qidi glanced, gave a slight nod: "Hmm… it is pretty big."

Ning Jinli widened her eyes: "You're so bland? This is my trap's catch—aren't you going to praise me?"

Xiao Qidi then realized his act wasn't convincing enough, so he quickly exclaimed, "Miss Ning is amazing! Even I feel inferior! I admire you!"

Ning Jinli giggled, "Although it's over the top, I'll take it—rare for you to praise someone. Today I'll make you a feast of roasted wild boar as a reward."

"Okay, thank you, Miss Ning."

In Xiao Qidi's smiling eyes lay a hint of affection, barely noticeable.

But Ning Jinli's eyes were fixed on the big boar in the pit, and she didn't notice.

"Tsk… this is enough to feed us for a long time, and plenty for jerky, but here's the problem," Ning Jinli stared at the boar, brow furrowed, "we seem to lack tools to cut its meat."

Xiao Qidi was also stumped.

This really is a problem.

Wild boar hide is tough and meat thick; humans lack the sharp teeth and claws of large carnivores, so we need a knife to skin and carve it, and it must be sufficiently sharp.

But now the two of us don't even have a knife, let alone something that could barely serve as one.

Thinking this, Xiao Qidi looked at the two tusks protruding from the boar's mouth.

They aren't sharp, but at least they're pointed.

Perhaps we could smash them off with a stone—barely usable.

At that moment Ning Jinli snapped her fingers, "Got it! We should be able to find a ready-made tool!"

Xiao Qidi thought darkly, "Could she have come up with the same idea as me?"

No need to say it myself—I'll just ask her.

"What do you mean by a ready-made tool?" Xiao Qidi asked.

Ning Jinli grabbed his hand, "Come on, let's go to the riverbank and see."

Xiao Qidi wondered.

Riverbank?

Even if we needed a big stone to smash the boar's tusks, we wouldn't have to go there.

There's plenty right here……

Is her brain addled again, insisting on going far when something's near?

"What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up!" Ning Jinli urged, pulling him along.

Feeling the soft, tender touch from her palm, Xiao Qidi said nothing more and let her lead him to the riverbank.

If it's forsaking the near for the far, so be it.

Being able to hold her hand like this is nice……