Chapter 166: The Great Magic Feast

“WL, what happened to Brother Jingwen?”

Seeing the anxious Lin Muxue, Lu Minli said from the side, “Sang Chu is injured, and so is Brother Jingwen. I’m afraid we’ll have to stay here for three more days.”

“Sang Sang and Brother Jingwen are both hurt? How did that happen?”

“Yi-ge just said, Brother Jingwen isn’t too bad, but Sang Chu’s injury is a bit more serious. The good thing is her fever’s gone down. I’ll go gather more of the mutated plants nearby. After that, we’ll be able to make more medicine. Sang Chu’s wound is a bit smaller.”

“Alright, I’ll go now.”

Muxue’s attention was diverted, and Lu Minli let out a sigh of relief, hoping she wouldn’t overthink things for now.

……

After Yi-p finished dealing with things, he couldn’t help but curse, “What the hell is all this? We just got out of that place, and now that we’re back in the apocalypse, everyone’s gone their own way!”

Yi-p’s familiar was a burly big guy, his whole body wreathed in flames. The little fire spirit was lazily curled up on the big guy’s shoulder, while Nashen was preparing food for him.

“Nashen, don’t spoil him too much.”

The little fire spirit, hearing this, couldn’t help but spit out a tiny fireball. Yi-p flicked it away with his finger.

Nashen said, “Master, fire needs a lot of food to grow. These foods contain a lot of magical energy, which is exactly what he needs.”

The others wanted to eat too, but since Master hadn’t given permission, they didn’t dare. The little fire spirit only got what Master specifically set aside for him.

Yi-p didn’t realize that what seemed like normal food to him was actually a source of magical energy for these non-humans.

So when he saw Nashen, he was briefly stunned, then quickly regained his composure and said, “Since you want to eat, go ahead and give it to him. Take whatever you want to eat, I’m not a stingy person. As long as you don’t betray me, as long as I have it, you can have it too!”

Nashen hadn’t expected to be included, and hurriedly knelt down and bowed, saying, “Thank you, Master. Nashen swears to the Demon King, I will never betray you.”

Demon King?

Yi-p was curious what this Demon King was, and why everyone swore by him. But he knew he couldn’t show it, so he just said, “Alright, I’m going to make some soup. Eat whatever you want, but remember, don’t eat everything at once!”

Of the group, only Sang Chu was a wood-type ability user, and without her, they couldn’t grow more plants.

Nashen replied, “Don’t worry, Master, I know what to do.”

“Mm.”

Yi-p sat down in a chair, watching the meat stew bubbling in a stone pot, unable to stop worrying about what to do next.

The more he thought, the more frustrated he got, and he scratched his head hard. “Alright, enough thinking!”

Just then, Tu You came in and saw him messing up his hair, and teased, “What, you think you have too much hair?”

Yi-p said, “Why are you here? Is Sang Sang alright?”

“There are plenty of people with Ah Chu, she doesn’t need me. So I came to hang out with you, a fellow loner. Besides, you look like you could use some company.”

Yi-p didn’t want to talk to him about Lin Muxue. He felt like Muxue was acting a bit strange, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Talking to Sang Jingwen felt like he was being tested, Lu Minli liked Muxue, and Tu You was on Sang Chu’s side. It felt like he didn’t fit in with any of them.

Tu You seemed to see right through him. “Thinking about Lin Muxue?”

“How did you know?”

Tu You laughed, “You can’t even read her mood, but Ah Chu can. She’s so sharp. Ever since Lin Muxue came out of her training room, she’s been acting weird. Ah Chu noticed, but didn’t say anything. I asked her why, and she said: ‘Some things you have to figure out for yourself. Besides, Xiaoxue is clear-headed. She knows exactly what to do and when. Even if she’s confused or has doubts, she won’t drag everyone down. Once she figures things out, she’ll talk about it, and then it’ll be resolved.’”

After saying that, he looked at Yi-p. “See? She’s got it all figured out, and Ah Chu knows her through and through. So stop worrying over nothing.”

Yi-p hadn’t expected Sang Chu to say that. “She really doesn’t care at all?”

Tu You replied, “Of course she cares, but what’s the use? Nothing’s happened yet. Ah Chu always puts the most urgent problems first. As long as things are under control, she doesn’t see it as a big deal.”

Yi-p sighed, “Forget it, I’ll never understand how those siblings think. I’m just overthinking. Anyway, I made extra soup—want some?”

“Yeah!”

They each took a stone bowl of soup and drank together.

When Jingwen came out with a bowl of soup, he saw Yi-p and a big rabbit sitting together drinking.

“Master, I’d like a bowl too.”

Jingwen swallowed a little, thinking no one noticed, but Yi-p had sharp eyes and ears, and caught it all. “Here, this one’s Ah Chu’s, this one’s yours, take them both.”

On the fire, several stone pots were simmering, sending out a mouth-watering aroma. Looking at the bowls and smelling the delicious scent, Xi Rui gave him a deep look. “Thank you.”

Seeing Xi Rui’s expression, Yi-p felt a bit awkward. “No need to thank me, these were meant for everyone anyway. They’re just at different stages of cooking, so some are ready sooner. The ones that are done, go ahead and eat. If you don’t like the smell, you can eat outside, or in the cafeteria, whatever you like.”

“Okay, I got it.”

After Xi Rui left with her bowl, Yi-p stared after her, grinning like an idiot. Tu You came over and got pushed aside. “What’s wrong with you, acting all lovesick?”

Tu You rolled his eyes. “Just checking if you’ve lost your mind. Nope, not yet!”

Yi-p said, “Alright, eat up. After we’re done, come with me. Lu Minli said after the cold snap, a lot of wild monsters died on the road. We need to go collect them.”

Tu You was confused. “Didn’t they say the Snow Demon King ate everything? Why are there so many corpses left on the road?”

“How should I know? Let’s go, stop dawdling. If we’re late, the good stuff will be gone!”

“Fine!”

Tu You gulped down the rest of his soup, then followed Yi-p, Nashen, and the little fire spirit out."