Chapter 185: You Look at What State You're In Right Now

Countless silver threads fluttered down from the sky.

They fell on the roof tiles, like pearls and jade dropping onto a plate, crackling.

Li Shishi laboriously brought some firewood, sought out a household whose stove had not yet gone out, took a fire seed, and laboriously kindled a fire.

On the way, seeing corpses everywhere, she had long since been frightened pale.

Only the thought in her heart that an Immortal was by her side protecting her allowed her to force herself to hold on and not faint.

At this moment the Immortal was nowhere to be found; only that Immortal's magic artifact mount remained parked outside the courtyard.

The rain-soaked firewood simply would not catch fire no matter what, and still smoked, choking her into coughing repeatedly.

The Jin people came, the world changed.

In the past, when had she ever done such hardship? Even seeing it was rare.

Now doing it herself, she could not succeed no matter what.

For a moment, aggrieved, she sat on the ground, wanting to shed tears again.

It really is too hard.

Gurgle~~~

A continuous sound came from her abdomen, reminding her it was time to eat.

But now, forget the pastries and dried fruits she usually ate — not even a piece of dry rations could be found; she could only force herself to endure.

For someone who has never starved to suffer hunger, that feeling is like an invisible giant hand clutching her stomach, pinching and pinching, unbearable.

Li Shishi, truly unable to bear the hunger, stood up, preparing to go out, to search other houses in the village for food.

Driven by hunger, those corpses outside were no longer so terrifying.

Just as she opened the door, she saw a tall figure standing at the doorway.

Ah~~~

A subconscious scream, stopping halfway.

"Benefactor, you've finally returned~~~"

The tears she had been forcefully holding back finally fell; Li Shishi wished she could throw herself into her benefactor's arms, pouring out her grievances and fear.

"Step aside."

Lin Dao's tone was calm. "You're blocking the way."

Li Shishi subconsciously stepped back; whether from the rain or hunger draining her strength, she actually stumbled and fell backward.

Lin Dao, carrying a lunch box in one hand, took a stride forward, reached out and caught her slender waist.

In the cold environment, a hot male scent rushed at her face.

This time Li Shishi's legs truly went soft.

If this were a female-oriented novel, it could be described for at least half a chapter.

Unfortunately Lin Dao is not a female-oriented novel person; after steadying her he casually let go.

"Close the door, Shuoyu."

"Oh." The disappointed Li Shishi hurriedly shut the door, shutting out the wind and rain.

Arriving at the table, he set down the lunch box in his hand.

Lin Dao slowly turned his head. "Come eat."

The lunch box opened: a box of rice, a portion of green pepper potato shreds, a bottle of carbonated drink.

Tearing open the utensil pack, pushing aside the disposable chopsticks and handing them over. "Eat first."

"No matter what you do, you must first fill your stomach."

Lin Dao has seen too many starving people.

Driven by hunger, they will only do one thing: find food to eat.

Smelling the food's aroma, Li Shishi's abdomen was like a beating drum; her body frantically reminded her she urgently needed to ingest food.

Reason temporarily suppressed the desire to eat; perhaps she wasn't hungry enough yet.

She raised her head to look at Lin Dao. "Benefactor eat first."

"I've already eaten."

Earlier when he returned to the Modern World to pack takeout, he had already eaten a full table at the restaurant.

Li Shishi no longer stood on ceremony, lunging over and wolfing it down.

Such an eating posture was absolutely unprecedented.

Lin Dao found a stool and sat to the side; seeing the soaking wet firewood before him, he immediately laughed. "How could water-soaked wood possibly catch fire?"

"No wonder the moment I entered I smelled that choking odor."

He stood and walked toward the doorway; Li Shishi, eating, hastily stood. "Benefactor~~~"

The shout carried ten thousand words, like a little beast fearing abandonment.

Lin Dao didn't turn his head, just waved a hand. "Eat your food, I'm going to get some things."

Before long, Lin Dao returned, a backpack slung over his shoulder, and a camping stove in his hand.

He lit the stove, placed a kettle filled with water on top.

The room fell quiet.

Outside the rain pattered on without end; inside the stove hissed and burned, mixed with the sound of Li Shishi scarfing down rice and dishes.

The water boiled; Li Shishi had also finished eating.

Seeing her slightly conflicted look, Lin Dao also smiled. "No need to lick the plate; there will be more later."

Li Shishi's face flushed red with shame.

She really had that thought just now~~~

Lin Dao opened a carbonated drink and handed it to her, then took out a cup, added some tea leaves, picked up the kettle, and poured in hot water.

"Do you have any relatives?"

Lin Dao would be busy next, planning to settle Li Shishi first.

After eating her fill, Li Shishi's intelligence and rationality returned.

She understood Lin Dao's meaning and immediately performed a great bow.

"Benefactor!"

"Concubine's life was saved by Benefactor, willing to be a slave and servant to follow Benefactor's side!"

"Concubine was young when both parents died, with no relatives."

Even if there were, she was unwilling to seek them out.

In this chaotic world of today, only by following beside the Immortal Master is it safest.

Lin Dao, holding a teacup, glanced at her: "Not 'grass and ring, ox and horse'?"

"Ah?"

Li Shishi didn't understand what this meme was, and stood stunned for a moment.

"I have things to do."

Taking a sip of tea, Lin Dao muttered: "I'm going to kill all several hundred thousand Jin people, no time or energy to take care of you."

"You~~~"

On this side, Li Shishi walked forward on her knees.

She directly held Lin Dao's legs, raised her head to look at him: "Benefactor~ Concubine can take care of Benefactor's food and daily life, and also~"

"Can warm the bed for Benefactor, relieve loneliness~~~"

To pursue survival, she had completely abandoned her former posture.

The talented men of Bianliang City never imagined that this superstar would ever have a time of kneeling to curry favor like this.

She raised her face, blinked her eyes, and tried her best to show her most beautiful side.

Li Shishi believed that as long as the Immortal Master was male, he would not ignore an unparalleled beauty like herself.

She had made up her mind; even if the Immortal Master put her on the table right now, she would still serve with all her might.

"Pfft~~~"

The imagined face-touching, leaning in, picking up, and placing on the table did not happen.

Lin Dao instead laughed out loud, laughing very happily.

Li Shishi was stunned; what happy thing was there to laugh like that?

Lin Dao reached out, took a makeup mirror from the travel bag, and handed it over: "Before using a beauty's scheme, first look at what you look like now."

Taking the pink small box, Li Shishi, full of doubt, fumbled for a while before finally opening it.

Afterward, she saw inside the small box appear an indescribable face.

"Ghost~~~"

Li Shishi was frightened, threw away the box, and dove headfirst into Lin Dao's embrace.

"Is this the Immortal Master's magic artifact for capturing demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits?"

"Not a ghost." Lin Dao drew in his waist: "That's a mirror."

Li Shishi, trembling with fear, instantly froze.

After a moment, she stood up, picked up the box, and opened it again.

"Is~ it~ me?"

Hair once like clouds, now half-dry and not wet, stained with dust and weeds, like a messy chicken coop.

Originally a delicate and beautiful face, now full of dust and water stains.

Tears streaked out in lines, rainwater striking formed mottled marks.

Everything gathered together, looking just like a ghost.

Raising both hands to cover her face, Li Shishi squatted on the ground and sobbed softly.

She had wanted to use a beauty's scheme, never expecting her current appearance to be so wretched.

Truly embarrassing to death~~~

Lin Dao finished drinking the tea, cleaned up his things, stood up, and instructed: "Get up."

Li Shishi subconsciously stood up, her gaze doubtful.

"Calculate the time." He lowered his head to look at the wristwatch on his wrist: "The Jin people should be coming."

On the official road several miles away.

Mouke Hu Ligai, a ten-thousand-household directly under the Second Prince, led over a hundred riders gathered here.

"Mouke."

A Jin soldier stepped forward and spread his hands: "Dug them out, these things are all inside Ajuguli's bodies."

Hu Ligai, standing in the rain, reached out and picked up a bullet to survey it.

After a moment, he signaled the crowd: "Who knows what this thing is?"

A group of Jurchen people and Bohai people were all at a loss.

They truly had never seen it before.

Someone muttered: "Looks like it's made of iron."

A whip lashed out, and Hu Ligai was also angered into laughter: "Still need you to say it!"

"Mouke, there are marks on the warhorses' heads from being smashed by hammers."

That, everyone could see.

There should have been horse tracks to find, but unfortunately the rain washed them all away.

In the rain, over a hundred Jin soldiers were watching Hu Ligai, waiting for his decision.

After a moment of silence, Hu Ligai called over a man: "Erluda, take these things back and deliver them to the Second Prince."

Having said this, he handed the bullets and casings they had found to Erluda.

The man accepted the order and immediately took a few people, mounting their horses and heading toward the Main Camp.

"We were ordered to search for someone."

Hu Ligai looked around: "The person was found, but they are all dead."

"If we go back like this, we cannot explain ourselves to the Meng'an."

He extended his horse whip, pointing forward along the Official Road: "Chase them!"

"Once we catch the evil thief who harmed the Great Jin soldiers, I will cut off his head and use it as a night pot!"

The crowd roared in agreement, mounting their horses and spreading out, searching in a line as they advanced.

A mere hundred-plus riders dared to be so arrogant, running rampant within the borders of the Song Nation.

This stemmed partly from their invincible morale.

It was also thanks to the foil of the Song Nation's incompetence.

How could a nation that executes its own cannon soldiers for killing the enemy win any respect at all!

The Jin forces advanced and found the escape cavalry previously killed by Lin Dao.

"Looks like they're from the West Route Army; they all died the same way."

Hu Ligai nodded: "That means we didn't take the wrong path; continue forward!"

Arriving at the wheat field outside the village, the numerous corpses of men and horses attracted their attention.

"Moke."

A Jin soldier stepped forward to report, gesturing with his hand: "Still these iron lumps."

Hu Ligai nodded again: "That's right, this time I~~~"

The next moment, Hu Ligai felt a huge force strike him, and his whole body flew backward.

Only then did he hear the sound coming from the distance.

'Bang!'

On the roof of a tile house, Lin Dao, wearing a raincoat, lay prone on the roof pulling the bolt, ejecting a casing.

"Direct hit!"

Putting his eye to the scope again, the Jin soldiers in the distance were already in complete chaos.

His accuracy in shooting fixed targets was still quite high.

After all, during daily training, he mostly shot at fixed targets.

He once again aimed at a Jin soldier's figure and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

'Bang!'

In the direction the sound came from, under a dim sky, faintly visible muzzle flash.

These things allowed the veteran Jin soldiers to quickly find the direction.

They shouted, urging their horses to charge toward the village.

Lin Dao's eyes gleamed with fierce light, pulled the bolt to load, and locked onto the target.

"Bang!"

End of Chapter