Chapter 72: Setting Out for the Qingwolf Den

()Chapter 83: Setting Out for the Qingwolf Den

Yue Ji is always curious about new things, nodding, "Now?"

Wan'er thought, firstly, that Yue Ji is now one of us, so we should gradually let her understand everything here; I really want her to experience it, and I have deeper thoughts about Yue Ji, but the timing isn't right yet; secondly, it is indeed because I like that feeling. However, if we do it now, the Lord would probably have reservations and might not agree, so we need to find a way.

"Hmm… fine, right now." At this point, a very sad expression suddenly appeared on her face; she covered her chest with her hand, let out a moan, and collapsed onto the chair.

"You… what's wrong with you…" Yue Ji shook a few times, still keeping her eyes half‑closed as if she had fainted, "Lord! Lord!" Yue Ji hurriedly called out for Li Bucai.

"What is it?" Li Bucai heard the shout and came out of Wu Zhuoran's room.

"Wan'er… Wan'er fainted, she was fine just a moment ago."

Li Bucai hurried forward, lightly patting her cheek a few times, and asked oddly, "How did she suddenly faint? Could it be because of the blood again?" He placed his hand in front of her nose; her breath was faint, and he asked Yue Ji, "Did she just now mention feeling uncomfortable from heat?"

"No, she just said that the Lord is very caring, and then she fainted." Yue Ji usually becomes tongue‑tied when she sees Li Bucai, but now, seeing his tense expression and assuming it was serious, she snapped back to herself and hurriedly asked, "Is she okay?"

"I see." Li Bucai had already guessed what remedy she had in her gourd, sighed in relief, released her, and said, "If that's the case, letting her sit here for a while will make her fine. Breakfast should be about ready, let's go first…"

"Then… what about her…"

"She often does this; no need to worry about her, she'll definitely not miss breakfast."

Yue Ji thought to herself: So this is what they call being caring; it's nothing serious.

At that moment, Wan'er's low whimper came: "Lord… Wan'er feels so sad…"

Looking up, Li Bucai saw her face flushed red; was the blood really clashing again? A misjudgment? He hurriedly asked, "Where does it hurt? Is it like that day, still a bit unaccustomed?"

Wan'er propped herself up, holding her forehead, and said, "No, I just suddenly felt a tightness in my chest, couldn't catch my breath."

Li Bucai, with a concerned expression, leaned down, gently stroked her forehead, and softly said, "How did this happen, did you catch a chill at night?" Yue Ji stared blankly at the two, feeling a bit envious of Wan'er.

"I don't know either, and I'm a bit cold…"

"Let me help you to the bed to rest a bit."

Wan'er pursed her lips and said softly, "Hmm… I don't want to go back to the bedroom…"

"Then what shall we do?"

Wan'er, with a pink face and shy eyes, looked at him.

Li Bucai saw that she wanted him to hold her: "This…" Yue Ji was just standing nearby watching.

But unexpectedly, Wan'er suddenly moved forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and quickly pressed her lips to his mouth.

Li Bucai was startled, his eyes widened as he stared at her face, which showed no sign of distress. Huh… so the earlier judgment was correct; she indeed wanted to do it for Yue Ji's sake.

Wan'er, seeing Li Bucai didn't resist, shifted to the side, giving up half of the chair; Li Bucai simply climbed onto the chair and then held her in his arms, hugging her tightly as if she were a doll.

Yue Ji stared blankly at the two, and for some reason, the more she watched them, the stronger an inexplicable loneliness and sense of loss she felt.

"Looking at her, she seems so happy; could this be what she calls being caring? What does it feel like?"

After a long while, until she was a little out of breath, Wan'er finally released her grip on his neck, panting heavily, and with a mischievous grin said, "Thank you, Lord, Wan'er feels much better now." She still sat on his feet, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Also, be kind to Yue Ji," waved at Yue Ji to come over, and then jumped out of Li Bucai's arms.

Yue Ji felt her heart about to leap out of her body; her nervous hands clenched tightly around her skirt sash, unsure whether to leave or stay. She buried her head, avoiding their gazes, wrestled for a while, truly yearning to taste that feeling; she bit her lip, took two steps forward, stopped at a distance of two steps from Li Bucai, and dared not move another half step.

"Lord… Lord…" she whispered, trembling as she offered a bow.

Li Bucai scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and said, "I scared you just now; Wan'er said she was having difficulty breathing, so I was giving her oxygen. You might not know, but for us this is basic first‑aid knowledge, usually used to rescue someone with breathing trouble. If you're interested, would you like… to learn it as well…"

Yue Ji stood there, not shaking her head, which counted as agreement; she stared at the ground, waiting for him to extend his hand.

At that moment, Li Bucai saw Rushi's silhouette walking toward them from outside the window, knowing she had come to call him for breakfast, and he gave a smiling face, saying, "Meal's ready, let's eat first, we'll talk when we return tonight."

Yue Ji timidly nodded, letting out a quiet sigh, and after the two had walked a few steps, she followed behind them out of the room.

……

In the Xinggong, Li Bucai gathered Wu Zhuoyue and the others together.

"You said that in recent days Qingwolf Beasts have been prowling outside the camp?" Li Bucai asked Wu Zhuoyue.

"Lord, on the night before your return, we heard a pack of Qingwolf Beasts howling; judging by the sound, there were about a dozen, and they only appeared in the northern forest while we were preparing dinner, probably attracted by the scent of meat."

"So the wolf den is near the camp?"

"Yes, Yue'er has already sent people to scout; near Longqi Mountain there is a cave, which is the Qingwolf Beast's lair."

"Very well, until the storage lockers are ready in the next few days we have no other tasks, so let's first eliminate that group of Qingwolf Beasts. There are only about a dozen, so this time we can dispatch seven or eight people."

"Alright." Wu Zhuoyue quickly said, "This time can we also bring Yue'er along? Since the last time we captured the Lulu Beast, she hasn't gone out with the Lord again."

"Hehe, indeed. These days we're away, the camp can't do without people; they'd be bored to death. Fine, this time we'll also bring Lord Yue'er along, then… who will be in charge of guarding the camp?"

Wu Zhuoyue pondered, "Logically we should keep Wan'er here, but if someone gets injured we'd still need her to treat them. How about… let's let Yue Ji stay, so she can better look after her people."

"Yue Ji, what do you think?" Li Bucai asked for her opinion.

Yue Ji gave a low "mm"; since this morning she kept her head down, only meeting Shan Ji and other clan members, and avoided eye contact with anyone else.

Having Yue Ji stay put made Li Bucai even more at ease, and he said, "Alright, it's settled. I'll also leave Rui Tong here; if anything happens, she can inform us at any time."

With the plan set, everyone set off immediately. Under Wu Zhuoyue's lead, they followed the "highway" northward, arriving at an outer mountain hollow of the Wolong Shanmai, and behind the forest they found a cave taller than a person.

"Lord, this is it."

There have been some issues these past two days; updates have been weak. Starting tomorrow, there will be at least two chapters per update.